The critical role of Islam in global affairs makes it an increasingly valuable part of the undergraduate curriculum. Despite this, very little consideration has been given to methods of teaching Islam. This book brings together leading scholars to offer perspectives on teaching Islam to undergraduates.

Public interest in the religion of Islam and in Muslim communities in recent years has generated an impetus for Western Universities to establish an array of Institutes and programs dedicated to the study of Islam. Despite the growth in number of programs dedicated to this study, very little attention has been paid to the appropriate shape of such programs and the assumptions that ought to underlie such a study. The Teaching and Study of Islam in Western Universities attempts to address two central questions that arise through the teaching of Islam. Firstly, what relation is there between the study of the religion of Islam and the study of those cultures that have been shaped by that religion? Secondly, what is the appropriate public role of a scholar of Islam? After extensive discussion of these questions, the authors then continue to address the wider issues raised for the academic community having to negotiate between competing cultural and philosophical demands. This edited collection provides new perspectives on the study of Islam in Western Institutions and will be an invaluable resource for students of Education and Religion, in particular Islamic Studies.

During the nineteenth century British officials in India decided that the education system should be exclusively secular. Drawing on sources from public and private archives, Ivermee presents a study of British/Muslim negotiations over the secularization of colonial Indian education and on the changing nature of secularism across space and time.

Relations between Muslims and the public education systems of Europe are often characterised by tensions. There is often still a perceived incompatibility between the claims of individual Muslims or Muslim communities on the one hand and the aims of public education in Europe on the other. The relatively recent presence of Islam in much of Europe, the internal diversity of Muslim communities, the lack of a centralized, hierarchical church-like structure – different arguments are used to justify such a discriminatory treatment of one of the largest faith communities in Europe. Nevertheless, as this book aims to illustrate, there are already rich and diverse experiences throughout Europe of how to integrate Islam into the national and regional school systems, particularly in primary, but also in secondary education. Accordingly, this book provides some analyses of the ways in which Islam is integrated in education in certain regions of Spain, the Netherlands, France and England. These analyses are paralleled by empirical findings concerning the role of religion in the life of young Muslims, their views concerning religion in school, and the impact of religion in education and society in Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, France and England.

This book is the first study to qualitatively explore the concepts of higher education in Muslim contexts. It examines the different concepts of ‘a university’ and the way they shape practice in Muslim contexts, with a particular focus on the Islamic republic of Pakistan. Contributing to theoretical debates and discussing practical challenges that universities in Muslim countries face, the author analyses seven higher education institutions in Pakistan. She argues that there is a need for institutions to constantly review their mission and aims and objectives in light of the wider economic, political, and socio-cultural and religious development of a society. The book reviews the history of higher education institutions and examines opportunities for some Pakistani universities, to become centres of excellence in the future. This is subject to adequate support from the government, industries, philanthropists and the society at large. In return, these universities would have to cater to the needs of the society, from basic needs in the areas of health and education to science and technology. Islam and Higher Education breaks new grounds in the field of higher education in Muslim contexts and will be of interest to researchers in the fields of comparative education and Islamic Studies.

The scholarly contributors to this volume investigate various means to stimulate and facilitate reflection on new social relations while clarifying the contradictions between religious and social affiliation from different perspectives and experiences. They explore hindrances whose removal could enable Muslim children and youth to pursue equal participation in political and social life, and the ways that education could facilitate this process.

This book explores the connections between traditional Islamic education, rising religious intolerance, religious attitudes to gender, campaigns for curricula innovation and modernisation, and politics and society in Indonesia. Drawing on extensive original research and the deep experience of the authors, the book highlights tensions between traditional Islamic educators and modernisers, and between different understandings of Islam, emphasising the importance of these issues for the future of Indonesia.

Motivated by the intellectual historian Shahab Ahmed’s observation that “the history of Islamic paideia has yet to be written,” Islam as Education explores multiple forms that the search for knowledge and the transmission of wisdom have taken in Islam, focusing on the classical period (800–1500 CE). Ghiloni draws on a wide range of Islamic primary source material, ranging from sacred texts and parables to neglected pedagogical literature and paintings. He depicts three Islamic religious practices—pilgrimage, prophecy, and jihad—as modes of pedagogy: embodied ways of defining, defusing, and defending sacred knowledge. Islam as Education’s educational heuristic not only aids in understanding Islam, but also provides guidance for intercultural and interreligious relations. Ghiloni argues that Islam’s grand (knowledge) tradition serves as a bridge between Muslims and non-Muslims, and compares it with the educational theory of John Dewey, the celebrated American pragmatist. Based on this discussion, a final chapter develops practical tools for learning from cultural and religious difference.

Islam, Education and Freedom explores six key areas of freedom: identity, acceptance, pedagogy, conflict, trust, and love. Based on a qualitative case study of a progressive Islamic school in Southern California, North Star Academy, the book illustrates through the voices of the participants how each particular freedom was applied in the school. The authors show how the six freedoms were understood, taught, and practiced with the aim of developing courageous and confident American Muslims. It explores the ways the school leaders facilitate and impart each freedom and the influence this has on the development of American Muslim students' identity. The book culminates with a model for freedom in Islamic schooling. It concludes with three key insights: (1) Islamic schooling can facilitate or constrain the way that leaders, teachers, students, and the school community experience freedom; (2) as freedom is a core value of Islam, it should be made central to the conceptualization and practice of Islamic schooling; and, (3) Islamic schooling, when grounded in the six freedoms, can be a pathway to comprehensive school reform and is applicable to Islamic schools. The book includes a Foreword written by Khaula Murtadha, Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Community Engagement, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, USA.