Laying Foundations for Islamic Teacher Education

Abstract

Increasingly, educators committed to the vision of Islamic schooling are expressing sentiments of moral dissonance. On the one hand, they choose Islamic schools because they aspire to affect hearts, nurture whole human beings, and grow spiritually while impacting their learners’ sense of higher purpose. On the other hand, they are up against an era of globalised educational reform, characterised by neoliberal-engendered market forces and neoliberal policy logic that promote performativity and efficiency. This narrows what counts as learning, technicises the art of teaching, and assumes all learning that counts is visible and measurable. The teacher education and ongoing professional learning that educators working in Islamic schools have access to remains bifurcated. It is unable to address how an educator committed to tarbiya as “soul-making” ought to navigate aspirations with realities. This paper serves as the introduction to a special issue (SI) dedicated to conceptualising why Islamically grounded teacher education is needed and what it may entail. This SI will also offer empirical studies related to existing Islamic teacher education and professional learning programmes that capture essential reflections for a burgeoning subfield of Islamic Education Studies. In this introduction specifically, the co-editors and a co-author colleague make three big moves to lay the foundations for Islamic teacher education, including (1) establishing urgency for why Islamic teacher education is needed, (2) conceptualising what makes teacher education “Islamic”, and (3) providing an example of one Islamic teacher education programme’s attempt to advance a coherent professional learning journey for Islamic school educators. Together, these three moves serve as an attempt to redress bifurcation and advance a contextually relevant in-road to teacher education that is rooted in an Islamic paradigm and worldview while conversant with contemporary debates in education.

1. Introduction: Acknowledging Roots for Islamic Teacher Education

Establishing the need for Islamically grounded teacher education is not a new call but rather a renewed call. Teacher education was very much on the minds of scholars and educators at the First World Conference on Muslim Education in 1977, held in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as evidenced by one of the seven conference publications being dedicated to teacher education [1]. In the late 1980s, the Clara Muhammad School network in the United States established the Muslim Teachers College for the same reason, namely to prepare educators to teach “Islamically” [2]. This need continued to be agitated and echoed as Islamic schools in Muslim minority contexts grew. Teaching Islamically does not narrowly connote a particular strategy or method that is deemed “Islamic”, meaning a reductive relegation to solely instructional technique, divorced from an overarching educational philosophy rooted in the Islamic tradition. Rather, it is a commitment to an Islamic Pedagogy, as a distinct philosophy of education [3] that foregrounds ‘epistemic confidence and sovereignty’ [4], drawing from educational values, beliefs, and principles of education rooted in the Islamic tradition. Islamic Pedagogy is a philosophical commitment and is one that informs the way an educator views the learner, the purpose of learning, and their role and praxis as an educator. These philosophical commitments inform the way unique expressions of education, coloured by a distinct purpose, manifest within and beyond Islamic educational settings, communities, and schools [5]. Over the past 50 years of Kindergarten to 12th grade (K–12) Islamic schools’ growth across Muslim minority contexts, such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, there has been a recognition that these schools have been established to offer a distinct form of education; one that is faith-based, where educators aspire to affect hearts, nurture whole human beings, and to grow spiritually while impacting their learners’ sense of higher purpose. But there are contextual realities that have engendered deep, complex and often interconnected or overlapping forms of cognitive, moral, epistemological, and ontological dissonance for many Islamic school educators. Section 2 will begin with elaborating the roots of this dissonance and establish urgency for Islamic teacher education. Section 3 will conceptualise what makes teacher education “Islamic”. Section 4 offers an example of one Islamic teacher education programme’s attempt to advance a coherent and integrated personal and professional learning journey for Islamic school educators.

2. Part I: Why Islamic Teacher Education?

Over the past decade, several accredited university-level teacher Islamic education programmes have been established across Western contexts. The University of South Australia (Australia), home to the co-editors of this special issue, established a Graduate Certificate in Education (Islamic Education) in 2017. This programme caters predominantly to both leaders and educators inside and outside of the faith committed to teaching in a K–12 Islamic school, in addition to educators within early years or early learning centres, community education, home-education, or home-schooling settings. Representing an aligned but distinctly different typology of Islamic teacher education, both Bayan Islamic Graduate School (Chicago, IL, USA) and Markfield Institute of Higher Education (Leicestershire, UK) offer an M.A. in Islamic Education, established in 2011 and 2010, respectively. At Markfield Institute, in addition to the M.A. programme in Islamic Education, a B.A. programme was launched in 2017, awarding degrees in the discipline of Islamic Studies with Education [6]. The University of Vienna (Vienna, Austria) established a master’s programme in Islamic Religious Education Studies in 2007. In Sydney, Australia, the Islamic Sciences and Research Academy (ISRA) offers a Bachelor of Islamic Studies with a pathway to a Master of Teaching (but not Islamic Education per se). This pathway provides “a solid grounding in classical Islamic knowledge as well as a teaching qualification recognised Australia wide” [7]. These efforts serve to deepen grounding in Islamic studies as a discipline and complement this with a degree (graduate or post-graduate) in education, predominantly focusing on supporting Muslim educators with an Islamic theology background in teaching Islamic, Qur’anic, or Arabic Studies within a K–12 Islamic school. A further typology is also evident as, for several decades, there have been pioneering efforts in the form of higher education programmes for Islamic theologians and religious teachers in many Western European countries, including Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Austria, and, among the earliest, at the University of Osnabrück and the University of Paderborn in Germany [8]. These are programmes in Islamic Religious Education (IRE) for the training and qualification of Muslim teachers of Islamic religious education in public schools [9]. In 2014, the University of Innsbruck established a bachelor’s programme for IRE with a similar focus [9]. These programmes serve an important demographic, and an identified need, supporting Islamic theologians and religious teachers in navigating tensions between religious orthodoxy and university policy demands [10] for the training and qualification of Islamic Religious Education teachers. These efforts add an important typology to the broad spectrum of Islamic teacher education. However, the two aforementioned typologies of Islamic teacher education programmes—the first supporting Muslim educators with an Islamic theology background in teaching Islamic, Qur’anic, or Arabic Studies within a K–12 Islamic school, and the second, training and qualification of Muslim teachers of Islamic religious education in public schools—position “Islam” or “theology” or “religion” (Islam) as a subject or discipline of study but not as the genesis of a distinct philosophy of education. As the basis for an Islamically grounded teacher education programme for all educators in an Islamic school setting, we have made the distinction between these programmes the focus of this article/series. (See

Table 1. Typology of Islamic teacher education.

Typology	Distinction	Conceptualisation of Islam and of Pedagogy	Target Audience	Current/Future Educational Setting of Graduates	End Goal	Gap/Need
“Islamic Educationally Grounded”	Endemic restructuring of teacher education within an Islamic paradigm	Islam as a genius of a distinct philosophy of education. Islam not seen solely as a discipline/subject (i.e., Islamic studies)	Predominantly in-service registered/qualified educators (early years, primary, or secondary, any learning area/subject, specialist role or leader; not only Islamic Studies or Religious Studies educators) in a K–12 Islamic school (inside or outside of the faith), or Islamic educational setting	K–12 Islamic schools; Islamic educational settings	Educator graduates who realise a sense of faithful praxis by establishing Islamic Pedagogy, as a distinct philosophy, as a renewed foundation for renewed and distinct educational praxis	What was missing from their secular undergraduate Education teacher education programmes Address bifurcation Islamic school educators cognitive, moral, epistemological, and ontological dissonance in their roles and praxis within an Islamic school/educational setting
“Islamically grounded + Integrated with Education”	Grounding in Islamic Studies-integrated with Education. Typically a hybrid model	Islam as subject/discipline > drawing out a conceptual foundation for a holistic framework to view education. Pedagogy as methodology	Current or future Educators within Islamic Studies Departments within K–12 Islamic schools or Islamic educational settings	Islamic, Qur’anic, Arabic educators in K–12 Islamic schools or Islamic educational settings	Provides educators with reflective exploration of Islamic educational traditions and aims to bridge the gap between Muslim seminary and secular modern education pedagogies	Preparedness of “traditionally” trained graduates of Islamic seminaries with contemporary Islamic Studies complemented by registration/qualification and training in education. Balance/challenge bifurcation between Islamic educational concepts and practical methodologies to address modern educational challenges. Address the contemporary educational needs of Muslim communities
“Islamically grounded + Integrated with Education”	Islamic Religious Education. Grounding in Islamic Studies, integrated with Education. Interface of education about faith within a secular public education system	Islam as a discipline or subject or form of religious education. Pedagogy as methodology	Public-school settings who offer IRE	Muslim pre-service teachers of Islamic religious education	Prepare Muslim Islamic Religious Education teachers to teach Muslim learners within the context of public-school systems	Registration/qualification of Muslim IRE teachers Balance tensions around bifurcation

)

In addition to accredited programmes across some of the typologies above, there are a plethora of professional learning opportunities emerging for educators in Islamic school settings. Summer institutes, online short programmes, conferences, Muslim educational consultants and coaches, and professional learning communities all contribute toward the array of opportunities available. Many of these, in their own way, are responses to an urgent need, namely, the imparting of a cohesive education in Islamic schools.

Teacher education and ongoing professional learning that educators working in Islamic schools have access to or receive remain bifurcated. It is unable to address how an educator committed to tarbiya as soul-making ought to navigate aspirations with realities. Islamic schools, like contemporary schooling broadly on account of globalisation [11] and a subsequent pervasive neoliberal educational era, are forced to either resist or succumb to neoliberal policy logics that narrows what counts as learning, technicises the art of teaching, and assumes all learning that counts is measurable [12]. In relation to measuring through testing, Rizvi et al. [11] explained,

The focus on human capital formation for greater competitiveness has created a demand for more robust regimes of testing. Within nation-states, testing has increasingly reshaped notions of worthwhile knowledge as well as pedagogical practices and has affected teacher professionalism. But beyond testing at the national level, international comparisons have also become important. In policy terms, comparative performance on testing regimes such as PISA has even become a surrogate measure for determining the quality and effectiveness of national educational systems. Indeed, it is no longer possible to understand education policy without an appreciation of the central role that testing and accountability regimes now play in policy development and evaluation.

Ball [13] cautioned, “the first-order effect of performativity is to reorient pedagogical and scholarly activities towards those which are likely to have a positive impact on measurable performance outcomes and are a deflection of attention away from aspects of social, emotional or moral development that have no immediate, measurable performative value”. Worryingly, Ball [14] argued that policy logics and technologies associated with performativity and the “technization” of pedagogy not only act as vehicles for technical and structural change but “mechanisms for reforming teachers”, for “changing what it means to be a teacher”, in what he termed a “struggle over the teacher’s soul”. Ball [13] argued further that the,

‘crucial aspect of these technologies [of control] and the [dominant educational] reform process generally is that these are not simply changes in the way we do things or get things done. They change what it means to be educated, what it means to teach and learn, and what it means to be a teacher. They do not just change what we do; they also change who we are, how we think about what we do, how we relate to one another, how we decide what is important and what is acceptable, and what is tolerable. As I have said already, these changes are both out there, in the system, the institution, and ‘in here’, in our heads and our souls (pp. 1049–1050).’

Meanwhile, a presumption Trevathan [15] expressed was that Muslims, and by extension Islamic schools, could be expected to challenge dominant educational paradigms and praxis, reified by calculative and rationalistic thinking, as manifestations of a type of “conceptual idolatry”, promoting and privileging a tendency to constantly quantify, codify, and measure (p. 13). This would position Islamic teacher education as prioritising the “teacher’s soul” and challenging policy logics that frame education policy and praxis narrowly inside of a so-called Science of Teaching (SoT) paradigm (see Ball, 2016 [13]; Biesta, 2016 [16]; Hattam, 2020 [17]), pushing highly scripted teaching and the further erosion of the autonomy of educators [18].

Teacher education reform has endured significant redirections over the past few decades, influenced by socio-political climate and contexts. Similar to the national curriculum in most Western contexts, paradigm wars and pendulum shifts [19] have equally implicated teacher education to the extent that there “has not been complete consensus in teacher education at any point over the past half-century—nor is there now…” [20]. For Islamic schools, this acknowledgement of a field in flux serves as a reminder of an opportunity for “epistemic resistance” and “epistemic resilience” [21]. It might also serve as a timely reminder to hark back to some of the concerns of the First World Conference. Specifically, the “intellectual colonisation” or “epistemicide” [22] of the colonial era positioned and imposed Western secular epistemology as superior and universal, leading to the bifurcation of schooling systems in the Muslim world and new minority contexts. Recalling such concerns can prevent similar bifurcation of teacher education in the present. Thus, the reinstatement of “epistemic confidence and sovereignty” [4] as companions to “epistemic resistance” and “epistemic resilience” [21] would view the need for Islamic teacher education outside of enduring Eurocentric and orientalist narratives and discourses that impose and project an imperative around “modernising” Islamic education, schooling, and pedagogies [23]. Presumably, within Western “enlightened” epistemologies, this would thereby be understood within a ‘reform’ agenda ‘redolent of a well-articulated political and ideological position that inherently assumes [the Islamic tradition] contains deficiencies that need correction and modernising rectification’ [24]. Instead, we conceptualise notions of reform within tajdid or renewal [25]. Specifically, renewing holistic teacher education grounded in Islamic worldview and epistemology with other enabling aligned theories, conversant with current debates in education, to both address contemporary challenges and embrace opportunities.

Returning to contemporary teacher education debates broadly, among the criticisms levelled is the missing ontological domain, that “teachers are human beings in the process of becoming” (Taylor 2006, p. 20 quoted in [26]). This includes being open to the essential question of “who is the self that teaches” [27] (p. 4) and a willingness for deeper inward inquiry into the “inner terrain of the teaching self” [28] (p. 45). Teacher education programmes are criticised for an overemphasis on skills, strategies, and content knowledge over non-cognitive skills such as interpersonal skills, empathy, relationality, motivation, resilience, self-efficacy, and adaptability [26]. Put differently, “The absence of these non-cognitive skills suggests that teachers are like machines that function like technicians, performing pre-conceived routines” [26].

Similar criticisms are levelled at teacher standards as forms of quality assurance [13] that create new frameworks for the construction of performance and articulate a new and narrow discourse around quality (p. 1051). In a highly performative era where teacher standards inform the design of teacher education programmes and notions of the “good teacher” and “good teaching” [12] in the practice of schooling, the absence of teaching standards that are relevant to the full extent of a teacher’s work—let alone the distinct role of an Islamic school educator—is damaging. Teacher standards in Australia, for example, have been critiqued for neglecting the affective, enactive, and relational aspects of teaching [29] and for atomising the profession into titbits of skills to be mastered and then measured [30]. Connell [31] (cited in [12]) referred to such accountability frameworks as having ‘constrained teachers’ work and reduced teaching to discrete sets of codified practice, which simultaneously ignore the complexities of teaching’ (pp. 293–294). Hickey et al. [12] argue that this serves to reduce ‘possibilities for an emplaced, responsive and transformative pedagogy that accounts for the contextual characteristics of schools’ (p. 294). Not only do teacher standards fall short in capturing the relational, social, emotional, empathetic, compassionate, creative, activist, and deep intellectual work teachers do [29], but equally absent is the dynamic interplay between self and learner in the nurturing of faith that educators in the context of Australian Islamic schools aspire. The absence of spirituality, nurturing of faith, and the centrality of God or the Divine in standards said to advance professional growth are key factors in the dissonance Islamic school educators express. The centrality of such factors in the work of Islamic school educators was evident in Alkouatli’s [30] research, which found educators supporting learners through forms of “triangulated reflection with the Divine”, guiding learners towards “self-refinement”, entailing a triangulated relationship between educator, learner, and the Divine, advanced “reciprocal self-development and God consciousness” (p. 205). Outside of Islamic education or schooling, studies on teacher effectiveness and the impact of connecting to God have been recognised by others. Walvoord (2008) [32] highlighted the “educator’s role in engaging students in spiritual formation by helping students relate the course to their own spiritual and religious lives” [32] (p. 187). Again, the spiritual domain and sphere of educators’ lives and their praxis are not considered within teaching standards. Barsh’s [32] study explored research on educator beliefs and spirituality, highlighting educator beliefs, such as spirituality, “are instrumental in influencing teacher decisions, which in turn, affect student achievement in the classroom” (p. 186). Educators were more effective when they “believed there was spiritual connectedness with the work they performed in the classroom”, argued Perrone et al., 2006, in [32] (p. 186), and “[s]pirituality, as a component of teacher beliefs, can impact multiple areas of educational practice”, including, directly and indirectly, an educator’s sense of efficacy (p. 186). Barsh [32] argued for “teacher education programs and ongoing professional development to holistically train teachers in pedagogical development that accentuates the importance of “connecting” with students and making learning transcendent” (p. 193). For Islamic schools, like other faith-based schools, moral character development is a central part of a teacher’s daily work and yet absent in teacher education and teaching standards. Lapsley and Woodbury [32] argued this absence is due to two reasons: (a) an overemphasis on skills, strategies and content and (b) a fear of imposing values. Yet, relational moments in every encounter are informed by moral decision-making: “It animates the life of schools, but it moves about without a sound. It attracts the idealism of teachers and the aspirations of parents and stakeholders, but it is an agenda that also gives pause if it invites suspicions about indoctrination and the imposition of values alien to faith or family” [33]. What is not covered in teaching standards and is central to being a teacher is teacher dispositions-craft knowledge, practical wisdom, and moral purpose, as “Teachers are indeed people. Who you are is how you teach” [34]. Teachers know what makes for a good teacher. In arguably one of the most human-centred professions, summarising major studies on what it means to be a teacher, Talyor [34] reaffirmed that ‘having a heart’ and having a strong ‘personal core’ are the foundations of an exemplary teacher.

Circling back to Islamic teacher education, we must equally acknowledge and foreground the highly charged context of anti-Muslim discrimination, Islamophobia, and constructed fear of radicalisation implicating Muslim experience in Western contexts, in particular. An important factor for why teacher education programmes that centre the Islamic worldview in education, Islamic Pedagogy, and would support the growth of Islamic schools have not made greater inroads in Western secular university faculties of education is because of the security infatuation that problematises “Muslimness” and pins it against Western liberal values [35]. A robust commitment to equity, inclusion, and decolonisation would draw from Islamic conceptions of education and see Muslim scholarship on education as assets to the field of education studies.

For us, the way forward toward Islamic teacher education requires an acknowledgement of the realities in the field of teacher education, along with the critique from within, as we have attempted to illustrate. Any move toward advancing Islamically grounded teacher education requires working within and against the grain of policy simultaneously, as argued by Thomson, Lingard, and Wrigley (2012), quoted in [12]. In order to move toward Islamic teacher education and build upon the critique levelled against existing teacher education and standards, we similarly argue that narrow, managerial, technicised definitions of teachers and teacher education are equally insufficient for capturing the esoteric aims or transcendent pedagogical work of an Islamic school educator [36]. As Alkouatli [36] argued, “not all existing secular, social science paradigms are appropriate for producing holistic knowledge for the development of Muslim individuals” (p. 5), similarly, not all educational paradigms are appropriate for fostering a child’s fitrah (natural disposition or state which a child is born with, which in the Islamic worldview is pure and innocent). If the aim of Islamic schools is to nurture young people to become fully human, where educators engage students in an exploration of transcendence enlivening the mind, body, heart, and soul [36], then surely a distinct form of preparation for being in such learning spaces is required. The following section, Part II, aspires to provide a conceptualisation of what makes teacher education “Islamic” with the hope of defining the aspired distinction.

3. Part II: What Makes Teacher Education “Islamic”?

Teacher education forms the foundation of any educational system, shaping future generations and ensuring the transmission of knowledge, dispositions, values, and skills. In the Islamic worldview, teacher education transcends mere information dissemination; rather, it aims at transforming the teacher and learner at once through incorporating spiritual, moral, and intellectual dimensions rooted in Islamic principles, values, and philosophy. This holistic approach is fundamentally tied to the purpose of knowledge and its intended outcomes, which, from the Islamic perspective, include the end goal of knowing God and learning to be focused on personal and spiritual growth, deepening God-consciousness (taqwa), the cognisance of God (maʿrifatullāh), and the refinement of the soul (or soul-making) [37]. This includes spiritual, moral, and intellectual development. These pertain to essential ontological and epistemological anchors, promoting holism [38]. Specifically, the ontological concept of tawhid (oneness of God, wholeness) [39] is an overarching principle of an Islamic worldview and education in the Islamic tradition, serving as both a philosophical and methodological construct that centres purpose and enables coherence and alignment with understandings of education and schooling [40] (p. 17). Given this profound purpose, teacher education is intrinsically connected to the sacred nature of knowledge, learning, and growth; therefore, it entails specific aims and responsibilities.

In the Australian context, a recent development has been the launch of a stimulus paper entitled “A Shared Vision for Islamic Schooling in Australia: Learners, Learning, & Leading Learning” [40] which emphasises that educators in Islamic schools have “[s]pecial qualities of mind and heart, as well as very careful preparation and continuing readiness to renew and adapt practice”, inclusive of “additional focus on other dimensions and domains of teaching” (p. 43), beyond the Australian Teaching Standards. Some of these include “educator efficacy and spirituality”, valued “educator dispositions”, and “relationality in and through teaching” (Prophetically inspired “warm, nurturing relationships that are mutually transformative rather than transactional”) (p. 44), signalling implications for teacher education and professional learning responsive to the needs of Islamic school educators in Australia.

3.1. The Sacred Role of Teachers

In the Islamic worldview, teaching is not merely a profession but a noble and sacred duty. The Qur’ān and Ḥadīth emphasise this when they speak of the value of knowledge and the revered status of those who impart it. The first word revealed in the Qur’ān was “Iqra” (Read) (96:1), underscoring the significance of education and knowing in Islam. This foundational moment highlights the role of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as a teacher and guide, setting a precedent for the esteemed status of teachers (scholars and otherwise) within the Muslim community. The connection between the sacred duty of Prophethood and teaching is found in several verses in the Qur’ān. For example:

Allah has favoured the believers in sending them a Messenger from among their own, to recite His revelations to them, to purify them, and to teach them the book [Qur’ān] and wisdom–though they were clearly astray beforehand (3:164).

This verse captures the mission of the Messenger, linking it to Divine revelation, to teach and purify the believers and guide them after having been astray. The Islamic worldview views teaching as a transformative practice aimed at both spiritual (purification) and moral and intellectual growth [41]. The status of teachers is further enhanced by the virtue of the fact that education in Islam is fundamentally about the recognition and realisation of knowledge as a manifestation of divine order [42]. Thus, the Islamic worldview sees education as leading to the cultivation of virtue and the development of an individual’s ability to fulfil their divine purpose of recognising and worshipping God and fulfilling the rights of His creation. This holistic understanding aligns the pursuit of knowledge with spiritual growth, thereby elevating the role of the teacher as both a guide in learning and a mentor in personal development. Thus, according to Imam al-Ghazālī (d.1111), the excellence of teaching and learning lies in the pursuit of knowledge, which is considered the most noble endeavour [43]. This perspective elevates the teacher’s role to one of spiritual and moral leadership, essential to the intellectual and personal development of learners.

Thus, the sacredness of teaching is linked to the purpose of education in Islam, which is not merely the acquisition of technical knowledge or professional skills but the formation of a moral and ethical human being [44]. Islamic education aims to produce individuals who embody the principles of justice, compassion, and moral integrity, aligned with the broader objectives of the Shariah [44]. This perspective underscores the role of education to cultivate not just intellectual capability or neoliberal conceptions of the good citizen over a good person [42] but also a deeply ethical and socially responsible character. For al-Attas [42], an end goal of a “good citizen” risked a potentially reductive criterion of goodness in the current era that might be viewed along the lines of productivity, while being a good person would naturally encompass a fuller conceptualisation of a good citizen and more. Contestations around citizenship hold additional nuance for Muslim peoples, including learners within Islamic schools in minority contexts, whereby imposed frames as “suspect citizens” can enforce pressure to conform within notions of the “good Muslim”, presumably in compliance with dominant values and groups. This is opposed to the mission of Islamic schools, which is arguably ‘preparing graduates who benefit humanity’ and yet who are ‘committed to change-making’ and ‘transformation’ (self and social) [40] via a conceptualisation of citizenship characterised by justice and equity, and the practice of critical citizenship for justice-citizenship that may challenge the status quo and invoke positive change (p. 21).

3.2. The Sublime Status of Teachers

It is agreed among Muslims that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the ultimate role model (Qur’ān 33:21), and he stated, “I have been sent as a teacher” (Ibn Mājah, 229), which at once raises the status of teaching and emphasises the role of teachers as moral and spiritual guides. Several verses highlight the importance of seeking and imparting knowledge, for example, “Say, ‘Are those who know equal to those who do not know?’ Only they will remember [who are] people of understanding” (39:9); “My Lord, increase me in knowledge” (20:114); and “Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees” (58:11). These verses collectively emphasise the value of acquiring knowledge, presenting it as a divine gift and a means of spiritual and intellectual elevation. The following Ḥadīth elucidates the loftiness of teachers. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Indeed, Allah, His angels, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the ant in its hole and the fish in the sea, pray for the one who teaches people goodness” [45].

The renowned Egyptian poet, Ahmad Shawqi (1868–1932), best known as the Prince of Poets, reflected the reverence for teachers in his famous poem:

Stand for the teacher and honor his rank,

For a teacher could almost be a messenger [of God].

Do you know of anyone nobler than the one,

Who nurtures souls and minds?

[46]

This poem emphasises the esteemed status and significant role of teachers in society. The first line urges people to stand and honour their teachers, acknowledging their high status. Shawqi elevates the teacher’s role by comparing it to that of a messenger of God, highlighting the profound influence teachers have in shaping individuals and society. The rhetorical question in the last two lines underscores the unmatched nobility of teachers, as they are responsible for developing and nurturing both the minds and souls of their learners. This comparison signifies that the impact of teachers goes beyond mere transmission of knowledge; they play a critical role in the holistic development of individuals, thus contributing to the betterment of society. The respect and reverence for teachers is presented as not just a cultural and religious obligation but as a recognition of their invaluable contribution to human development. This sentiment illustrates the high esteem in which teachers are held in the Islamic worldview, almost equating their role to that of a prophet in guiding and nurturing souls.

Such is the recognition of the status of teachers in the Islamic worldview that Muslim scholars have compiled extensive literature on showing adab (decorum, respect, and veneration) towards them. An important treatise in this regard was compiled by the 13th-century scholar Imam Burhan al-Dīn al-Zarnūjī, Taʿlīm al-Mutaʿallim Ṭarīq al-Taʿallum (‘Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning’), which serves as a comprehensive guide on the proper manners, methods, and mindset necessary for students of knowledge. Imam al-Zarnūjī emphasises the importance of sincerity and the intention to please Allah in seeking knowledge. It advises students to show utmost respect for their teachers, work diligently, and remain humble regardless of their achievements. The text stresses proper classroom etiquette, the significance of associating with righteous companions, and effective time management. It also highlights maintaining decorum in debates, focusing on practical knowledge, relying on Allah, and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to learn. These principles aim to manifest adab toward the teacher and nurture knowledgeable, morally and spiritually upright individuals.

3.3. The Distinct Role and Responsibilities of Teachers

The Prophet’s pedagogical approach was characterised by compassion, patience, affection, and empathy, serving as a model for teachers in the Islamic tradition [47]. In the Ḥadīth, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Indeed, Allah did not send me to cause hardship or to be harsh, but rather He sent me as a teacher and one who makes things easy” [48]. This was also the testimony of his closest companions. Muʿawiya b. Al-Ḥakam As-Sulamī said, “I have never seen a teacher before him or after him better at teaching than he” [49]. The Ḥadīth literature is replete with such examples. The Prophetic pedagogical approach manifested care, respect, and the dignity of people, young and old, friend and foe. The following anecdote exemplifies this:

Anas ibn Malik reported that he was walking with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) who was wearing a Najrani cloak with a thick hem. A Bedouin approached the Prophet, pulled him violently by his cloak, and the neck of the Prophet showed marks due to the rough tug. The Bedouin then demanded some of money. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to him, smiled, and ordered that he be given something.

[50]

This story highlights the Prophet’s exemplary patience, forbearance, and generosity in dealing with the Bedouin. Despite the physical discomfort and the rude demand, the Prophet responded with kindness and ordered that the Bedouin be given what he asked for. This incident is used to illustrate the Prophet’s noble character and his emphasis on forgiveness and gentleness, even in the face of harsh treatment. Further, he imparted pedagogical tools to his companions (and later followers) and, in doing so, provided a pedagogical precedent. This is role modelling at its best. When ‘Ā’isha, wife of the Prophet, was asked about his character, she immediately replied, “his character was the Qur’ān” [47]. Thus, teachers are expected to embody the virtues they wish to impart, leading by example and fostering a nurturing environment characterised by the principles espoused by the Islamic worldview.

An essential aspect of the responsibility of teachers is, therefore, the nurturing of their learners. The concept of “Tarbiyah” (nurturing) is central to Islamic educational philosophy, emphasising balanced development aligned with Islamic principles [51]. While Tarbiyah is meant to be holistic, it is the soul-making [52,53] aspect that is most pertinent. This was summed up succinctly in Abu’l-Fatḥ al-Busṭi’s (c. 942–1010 CE) most celebrated poem, Qasidatu ʿunuān al-Ḥikam (‘Epitome of Wisdom’):

O servant of the body, wretched in its service,

Do you seek profit from that in which lies loss?

Take care of your soul and perfect its virtues,

By virtue of your soul are you human, not your body.

These profound verses underscore the futility of prioritising bodily desires and material gains at the expense of spiritual and moral growth. It urges individuals to focus on nurturing their souls, as true humanity and excellence come from the soul’s virtues rather than physical or material achievements. The central message is the distinction between the transient nature of physical existence and the enduring significance of spiritual development. It emphasises that while the body is temporary and its desires often lead to loss, the soul is eternal, and its cultivation leads to true fulfilment in this life and success in the next life. This entails attaining a “good life” [44] in this world (dunya) and salvation in the next (ʾakhira). “Good life” is understood to mean having a wholesome balance between the body, soul, and mind, but also one that fulfils the purpose for its existence, which is the worship of God: “And I did not create the jinn and humans except to worship Me” (Quran 51:56). This perspective aligns with the broader Islamic teachings that highlight the importance of inner purification and moral integrity over worldly pursuits, all of which are at the core of the philosophy and aims of education in Islam [44].

This soul-making is concerned with the purification/refinement of the self and, according to the great classical scholar Imām al-Nawawī (d.1277), is based on the following five principles: to ‘fear God privately and publicly, living according to the Sunna, in word and deed, indifference to whether others accept or reject one, satisfaction with Allah Most High in dearth and plenty, and returning to Allah in happiness or affliction’ [53]. Ultimately, soul-making is “to live and act constantly according to God’s Will, to love Him with one’s whole being and finally to know Him through that knowledge which integrates and illuminates and whose realisation is never divorced from love nor possible without correct action” [54]. This allows the learner to acquire “the experience and knowledge of this unity and its realisation in thoughts, words, acts, and deeds, through the will, the soul, and the intelligence” [54].

Thus, Islamic education must integrate spiritual, moral, and intellectual training to graduate individuals, both the teacher and the learner, who can navigate modern complexities with a firm grounding in Islamic principles [44]. This holistic approach is essential for forming individuals who can contribute positively to both their communities and the broader society, upholding justice and moral integrity.

3.4. Embodying Islamic Values and Ethics

Teachers are role models who must exemplify the values and ethics they wish to see in their learners. This expectation extends beyond the classroom, influencing interactions with learners, colleagues, and the community. The focus on training teachers with moral and spiritual attributes, in addition to academic qualifications, underscores the continuous expectation for teachers to embody the values they impart. “The imperative for educators to constantly reflect on themselves and their conscious process of becoming is beautifully articulated in the verse of the Qur’an” [40] (p. 44), which reads: ‘You command people to goodness, and you forget about yourself?’ (Qur’an 2:44) [55]. This highlights the enduring importance of teachers as role models in the Islamic tradition. True knowledge must lead to the cultivation of virtue, and teachers play a critical role in guiding learners towards this ideal [42]. Al-Attas’ philosophy suggests that the essence of Islamic education lies in its ability to harmonise intellectual pursuits with moral and spiritual growth, positioning teachers as key enablers in this process.

3.5. Islamic and Secular Education

One of the most significant differences between Islamic and secular teacher education lies in the underlying educational values, concepts, and perspectives that guide pedagogy and, from within pedagogy, zoomed-in instructional practices. Islamic Pedagogy challenges the increasing technicisation of teachers’ work and emphasises the importance of holistic education (mind-body-soul), prioritising soul-making as outlined above. Thus, secular and Islamic philosophies of education diverge significantly in their underlying principles and objectives. Secular education typically emphasises rationalism, empirical knowledge, and the development of individual potential within a framework that separates religious beliefs from the educational process. In contrast, the Islamic philosophy of education integrates religious principles with learning, aiming to develop a balanced personality that harmonises intellectual, spiritual, and moral growth. This approach underscores the significance of knowledge (ʿilm) to understand and fulfil God’s will, promoting values such as respect, humility, and ethical conduct. Islamic education seeks to nurture individuals who are not only knowledgeable but also deeply connected to their faith, with the goal of achieving success in this life and the hereafter.

All forms of teacher education have been implicated in global reform agendas. As Ball [14] asserted, ‘[w]ithin each of the policy technologies of reform there are embedded and required new identities, forms of interaction and new values’ (pp. 217–218). This means that the nature of relations with learners is also changed by reform, and the ‘primacy of caring relations in work with pupils and colleagues’ has no place in the hard world of performativity’ [56] (p. 140). Consequently, within forms of secular education, for those that swim with the tide of reform, the teacher–learner relationship is increasingly and typically more formal and focused on performance and productivity as measured by academic success, with an emphasis on efficiency achieved through professional boundaries and effective content delivery. This reflects a seismic fault line between the pressures of reform and the imperatives of Islamic education. Lyotard [57], cited in ([14], p. 226), identified as part of ‘the post-modern condition’ threats to the conceptualisation of knowledge, which fundamentally change the nature of relationships between educator and learner, learning, and knowledge. Ball [14] argued further on the point of knowledge relations, describing these as being “de-socialized”, something educators must struggle with and against (p. 226). The ideal teacher–learner relationship in Islam is one of mutual growth, where the teacher not only imparts knowledge but also learns from the process of teaching [42]. This dynamic relationship fosters a sense of shared purpose and communal learning, which is integral to the Islamic educational ethos. An Islamic educational ethos, according to Brifkani [58], commenting on Islamic schools in the United States, is one that ‘has been undermined in many [Islamic] schools’ by ‘the demands of the modern positivistic education system’ so ‘heavily focused on academics and standardization’ (p. 2). The teacher–learner relationship in Islamic education should be characterised by a shared commitment to ethical and intellectual development. This relationship should nurture critical thinking and moral reasoning, enabling learners to apply their education in meaningful and socially responsible ways [44].

This section has highlighted the unique nature of Islamic teacher education, emphasising that it extends beyond the mere transmission of knowledge to encompass spiritual, moral, and intellectual transformation. Teachers in the Islamic tradition are seen as fulfilling a sacred duty akin to the prophetic role, where they not only impart knowledge but also guide students in their spiritual and moral development. This holistic approach integrates religious principles with education, aiming to cultivate individuals who are knowledgeable, virtuous, and deeply connected to their faith. The role of the teacher is elevated to one of moral and spiritual leadership, essential for the intellectual and personal growth of students. Islamic education seeks to produce individuals who can contribute positively to society, upholding justice, compassion, and moral integrity, thus aligning educational pursuits with broader spiritual and ethical goals.

4. Part III: A Transformative Model for Islamic Teacher Ed

Part I established that teacher education as we know it is contested. Within existing critiques of teacher education is an opportunity to also acknowledge that contemporary approaches to teacher education are insufficient in preparing educators in Islamic schools, given the distinct aims of Islamic education. Part II defined the distinction of the role of an Islamic school educator as soul-development, and not just of the learner but equally of the educator themselves. When faced with this conundrum of inadequate teacher education, the common reaction we have seen among Islamic school communities is to attempt both approaches separately. Islamic schools commonly expect educators to hold secular teacher education degrees that are intended to have prepared them with contemporary ‘best practices’ in imparting nationally mandated curricula, using conventional pedagogies or, worse, a “what works” approach [13] and assessment tools as their foundational qualification. To address the void of what it means to work in a faith-based school, Islamic schools will commonly provide orientation sessions, professional learning communities, or inspiring workshops on the role of an educator in the Islamic tradition. But the two remain bifurcated and, hence, lead to complex and often interconnected or overlapping forms of cognitive, moral, epistemological, and ontological dissonance educators express [59].

This final section, Part III, will elucidate our key reflections from facilitating the Graduate Certificate in Education (Islamic Education) programme, at the University of South Australia since 2018. The authors of this paper established this program at CITE within Education Futures at UniSA as an attempt to challenge the bifurcated approach to Islamic teacher education and to put forward an attempt that works “within and against the grain” [12]. In this final section, we will provide a brief background to the Grad Cert before elaborating on the five ‘turns’ the program design offers in an attempt to advance a coherent professional learning journey specifically for Islamic school educators.

4.1. Grad Cert Overview

The Graduate Certificate in Education (Islamic Education) was established by the authors of this paper at the University of South Australia’s Education Futures. All three authors are faculty at the UniSA within the Centre for Islamic Thought and Education (CITE). From CITE’s inception in 2016, developing a teacher education programme to support the growth of Australian Islamic schools was a core part of the centre’s mandate. The Grad Cert received formal accreditation in 2018 and enrolled its first cohort the same year. To date, 53 educators have graduated, with 75 currently enrolled in the programme. With Commonwealth Government funding approved for the programme in 2024, commensurate with other graduate programmes in Australia, including the Catholic Education teacher education programme, the programme is more accessible financially than before, both to smaller Islamic schools and individual educators; enrolment numbers are on the rise. Most current and alumni programme participants come from across Australian Islamic schools, which include educators from a wide spectrum of roles, including principals, heads of campuses, curriculum leads, wellbeing and welfare heads, heads of teaching and learning, and teachers from all key learning areas and year levels. Graduates of the programme also include those who are Muslim and those who are not, as well as those rightfully considered Islamic scholars and those with early or emerging understanding of the faith.

From the outset, it was emphasised that the Grad Cert is for all educators working in Islamic schools and not limited to those who teach religion. It was also emphasised that the Grad Cert is a programme about education in the Islamic tradition and not a programme about Islamic Education or religious studies. For us, this remains an important distinction in that the Grad Cert is essentially about education with learners, learning, and leading learning and the implications for curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. In school, this implies the centre of everything that an Islamic school does and everything that Islamic school educators are in service to. This was important for us to avoid the common assumption that the “Islamic” of Islamic schooling is limited to Islamic Studies or an Islamically informed learning environment; albeit, both are important spaces, especially when centred or connected. That said, the Grad Cert is designed to approach the study of education from Islamic conceptions of education—or what we refer to as ‘Islamic Pedagogy” [59]. Islamic Pedagogy provides the educational philosophical thought required to mediate a renewed sense of educational praxis relevant to contemporary Islamic schools.

The key aspiration of the Grad Cert has been to challenge the multiple forms of dissonance experienced by Islamic school educators head-on by firstly re-centring how Islam as a faith tradition can contribute to the way we think about educating young people and not solely relegated to the study of religion. To be more forthright, the aspiration of the Grad Cert is to illustrate to educators that the aims of an Islamic school education cannot be achieved in the absence of an Islamic Pedagogy. Said differently, it is not possible to nurture wholeness if the message systems of schooling [60], curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment are solely unidimensionally cognitive (absent of or separated from the moral, spiritual, relational, and imaginative). Secondly, the aspiration of the Grad Cert is that through re-centring esoteric aims and purposes and transcendent pedagogies [36], the programme inspires a ‘faithful praxis’, namely an “Integration of faith-informed principles and pedagogy, or the purposeful interaction between educational theory and classroom/instructional practice; also understood as a process by which theory is enacted, embodied, or realised)” [40].

Faithful praxis is the end goal of the Grad Cert. For us, faithful praxis is exemplified by educators who are committed to ongoing personal and professional reflexivity and growth, who continually seek coherence between faith-inspired beliefs about education and challenging realities in contemporary schools, and who are committed to being researchers of their own practice in a constant cycle of muḥasabah (self-reflection), as is the aspiration of a believer. For us, educators becoming reflexive and reflective practitioners also entails engaging in epistemic reflexivity [61] towards increased consciousness through increased conscious purpose in practice, both planned and in the moment, toward faithful praxis. The journey to faithful praxis is one that requires a substantial amount of time, cognitive and spiritual presence, and a willingness to challenge, be self-critical, unlearn, and relearn. In the following section, we outline the journey of the Grad Cert and how the programme design takes an educator through key ‘turns’ or turning points that are intended to challenge the bifurcation discussed and foster coherence for transformation.

4.2. Program Design Key Turns for Coherence

The Grad Cert consists of four courses, each twelve weeks in duration and structured like most conventional university-level graduate education courses that include lectures, readings, discussion forums, live dialogical tutorial sessions, and assessments. In this paper, we will not elaborate on the course content per se (written curriculum) but provide reflections on the inner thought process, pedagogic themes, and intentional moves weaved throughout each course and across the programme. The curriculum of the programme is where we feel the inner coherence is evident. For us, the curriculum is advanced through the following five ‘key turns’: (1) the ‘inward’ turn; (2) the ‘critical’ turn; (3) the ‘reflexive’ turn; (4) the turn ‘back’; and (5) the ‘pedagogical’ turn.

4.2.1. The Inward Turn

From the outset of the programme, there is an attempt to support each participant (as in-service educators, predominantly in Islamic school or educational settings) to articulate a clear and compelling pedagogical challenge within their practice that is in concert with their unique role and positionality within their school, and their Islamic schools’ local vision, mission, and education philosophy. The challenge, we believe, must be practise-focused and strength-based, acknowledging the significant strides the field of Islamic schooling has made and cannot fall into the trap of deficit-student, parent [62], or teacher blaming discourses, thereby resisting “policy logics that frame teachers [or students and parents] as the problem, and require policy technologies of control and compliance” ([18], p. 2). The ‘inward turn’ over the ‘outward guise’, the latter typically promoting deficit thinking, blaming, and inaction or compliance serves to claim a hopeful space for our educators and their practice, affording a greater focus on their efficacy, autonomy, and voice in a more integrated personal and professional growth-oriented space. The challenge must also bring people together and foster a shared and deep sense of urgency. For us, the challenge is captured in the way we began this paper, as moral dissonance and bifurcation.

There are ample studies to illustrate the moral dissonance young Muslims who enter university experience, desperately trying to negotiate what it means to be Muslim in a Western, secular context [63]. For an Islamic school graduate, this dissonance is arguably heightened after being sheltered while being educated in an Islamic school [39,64]. Educators in Islamic schools experience a similar dissonance, as we have argued in this paper, and it is commonly appreciated that despite significant strides in the field of Islamic schooling, the urgent challenge of nurturing young people who can draw on their faith to thrive in a secular society remains, not only in terms of socio-capital productivity or outputs within the neoliberal imaginary but as a whole human being who can benefit others. We have found through educators and their reflections before and after the programme that they frequently invoke a disconnect or a long-held sense that something was missing. Their reflections capture a realisation of being caught in “complex knowledge entanglements” [65] as educators, previously unknowingly and now knowing, caught between Western or secular pedagogies informing notions of “quality teaching and learning” and Islamic Pedagogy [66] (initially the intuitive type, as we believe every Muslim educator clings to the rope of Islamic Pedagogy by virtue of living Islam). Explained by our graduates as forms of ontological and epistemological dissonance in their thinking, perceiving, knowing and doing, paradoxically, they expressed, though deeply Muslim in their daily life, a realisation of not being deeply Muslim in their daily educational practice. The missing anchor is tawhid, a unifying principle for their personal and professional identities, and now their integrative co-dependent growth and development. After establishing conviction in a personal pedagogical or practice challenge, our focus then turns to finding common ground with a shared aspiration. This is achieved through reconnecting at the level of vision and mission. All Islamic schools that we have encountered reflect some core aspirations in their orienting documents, including aspiring to foster strong faith identities, thriving in and contributing toward broader communities in which they reside, and a holistic education that nurtures mind, body, and soul. In varying levels of emphasis and terminology, an analysis of Islamic school aspirations provides us with a collective sense of shared aspirations that further enables our inward turn.

4.2.2. The ‘Critical’ Turn

The ‘critical’ turn is likely our biggest turning point in the journey to faithful praxis. Most Islamic school educators are tacitly familiar with a critical archive derived largely from Critical Pedagogy scholars (e.g., Paulo Freire, Michael Apple, Henry Giroux, and Stephen Ball, to name a few) that they would have read during their teacher education programmes. But even in conventional teacher education programs, critical pedagogy tends to largely remain bifurcated from what is commonly referred to as core curriculum courses [12]. More importantly, as teachers begin their teaching careers, the overwhelming neoliberal policy logic demarcates any form of strong criticality to the sidelines of their work. Teachers commonly become consumed in the day-to-day—planning, teaching, grading, and reporting. As a result, our second big move in the Grad Cert is to reconnect Islamic school educators to a critical archive to re-establish that (a) schooling remains a contested space, i.e., that there is a significant disagreement within education scholars on the purposes of education and of schooling [67], and how learning should be done [12,18]; (b) national/state-mandated curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment are not free from the impact of dominant neoliberal policy logics [11], neither is it neutral as it is equally embedded in a particular, narrow orientation of education and a particular understanding of a secular worldview [38]; and (c) drawing inspiration from decolonial scholars we reinforce that schools, as we know them today, are reflective of a colonial model of schooling that operates in the absence of transcendent worldview [42,68,69].

Together, the critical turn in our Grad Cert through Critical Pedagogy and decolonial literature archives achieves the following few key shifts for Islamic school educators: (1) it reconnects them to a ‘mainstream’ and yet ‘alternative’ archive that is not Islamically driven; (2) it fosters allyship with other critical scholars aspiring for a different type of schooling that equally feel that the current pressures of performativity are damaging on the role of educators [13,14] of children and societies [11]; and (3) it fosters hope and opportunity that Islamic schools can be sites of resistance and ingenuity for doing school differently that are no longer insular religious safe havens for Muslim learners but sites for vision driven; they are alternative approaches to schooling that can offer solutions to broader schooling problems. They also reach a point in the journey where they appreciate decolonial literature, critical theory, and critical pedagogy, being situated within a constructionist paradigm, holding limitations around the paradigm’s relativity [38], and its uncomfortable relationship with the Divine, and ultimate truth, for Muslims, drawn from the canonical sources of Islam (Qu’ran and Sunnah) [70]. While having a decolonising effect on many, if not most, encouraging greater “epistemic disobedience” [71], leading to educators viewing dominant research more critically, it also invokes a search for greater consideration of an Islamic paradigm and an Islamic Pedagogy. As a viable solution to sometimes ‘complex knowledge entanglements’ ([65], p. 131), educators within Islamic schools can find themselves caught between involving Western and Islamic epistemologies and pedagogies, enabling educators to confidently question take-for-granted assumptions about what a good Islamic school educator is ([67], p. 50).

4.2.3. The ‘Reflexive’ Turn

At this stage in the faithful praxis journey, we find Islamic school educators affirmed but curious about what the alternative actually entails. They have digested the problem, expressed buy-in for the aspiration, and are inspired to think anew by the critical turn. Having schooled ourselves in a prescriptive and performative system, many educators begin asking for the curriculum that will solve this bifurcation or ask for the model school that is already achieving what we have articulated. Essentially, it is a search for a quick-fix solution. After all, educators need to return to the classroom the following day, and inspired critical thinking is not exactly a “plug and play” solution for tomorrow. At this stage, we make explicit that we do not have “the solution”, nor can we point them to a “model Islamic school” or a “model curriculum”. Some educators find this reality overwhelming; others feel deflated. This, then, is our ‘reflexive turn’, where we impress on Islamic school educators that they are experts in their contexts [72] as they know their learners best and what they need. If they focus on internal renewal (tajdīd) [40] of themselves, reconnecting with the depth of the Islamic tradition, they will find contextually relevant ways of responding to their practice realities and the challenges their school community faces. The reflexive turn is strength-based. It helps educators see their learners and the families of their learners in a new light where people are not the root of the problem but rather the pervasive dominant cultures of schooling and structure and design of curriculum and pedagogy need rethinking to achieve aspirations set out [72]. The reflexive turn is empowering for most educators because they realise that renewed thinking will come from within. It is also a stark realisation that professional learning in schools, particularly in Islamic schools where learning is a mutual endeavour, requires significant amounts of time for deep deliberation, collaboration, dialogue, awakening of voice, and thinking anew.

4.2.4. The Turn ‘Back’

Progress is commonly understood to be a forward move, where the ways of the past are shed. In the Islamic tradition, progress is defined as a turn back towards core ontological (beliefs), epistemological (ways of knowing), and axiological (values) that inform the Islamic worldview [69]. Distinct from merely implanting from the past, this turn back reinforces our decolonial move where we take a deep dive into education in the Islamic tradition, beginning with Islam’s conception of the human being [36,73], of the purpose of learning [42,74], a conception of education [52,64,75], conceptions of relationality and dialogue [70], of behavioural education [36], and many other. This is decolonial, as it pushes back against orientalist assumptions that the Islamic tradition inherently is backward, in need of modernisation, reformation, or erasure, offering nothing of value to the contemporary world [24] or the existential challenges of contemporary Islamic school. The turn back is the crux of our program and the very essence of our intent for establishing an Islamic teacher education. But it requires a journey to appreciate its value. We find that when we ‘turn back’ too early in the programme or too quickly on an educator’s journey, the depth of conceptualisation, and by virtue, its relevance, is glossed over. The first three turns outlined above (inward, critical, and reflexive) serve as the necessary foundations for this fourth step of turning back to be truly transformative. The turn back also gives educators in Islamic schools a common language of key concepts that define education in the Islamic tradition [40] that serve as the fodder for renewed thinking, but also the beginnings of articulating school-wide philosophies of education that articulate “the how” or process an Islamic school intends to advance to achieve its mission and vision. It is at this stage in the journey that educators in Islamic schools begin to develop a conceptual depth of understanding of education in the Islamic tradition. It is no longer bifurcated but rather from within and with conviction that there is a place to push back or against, as well as work within, national curriculum and standards and dominant policy logic to reshape education from the ground up.

4.2.5. The ‘Pedagogical Turn’

At this stage in the journey, Islamic school educators commonly have grown with the conviction that renewal is needed and possible. They express sentiments of aspiration, hope, and eagerness but are tempered with the realities of the pressures of schooling and the influence this holds on the work of educators. At times, the way forward feels daunting to many of our program participants, which is why we then make the ‘pedagogical turn.’ The pedagogical turn is, in reality, a full circle turn from the initial ‘inward turn’, now more confidently taking the position that real change begins with ourselves as educators and begins with what we can more readily claim autonomy over—our own teaching and our own practice. The pedagogical turn reminds Islamic school educators about our amanah (trust) as educators and that the cultivation of virtues in ourselves [42] is at the heart of soul-making [51,52]. We, therefore, lead pedagogically and not through curriculum or assessment because pedagogy is where the heart is, and softening hearts and nurturing souls are what define the distinction of education in the Islamic tradition [74]. We achieve the pedagogical turn by embedding a process of action research as a spiral throughout our program, enacted at multiple junctures. Action research, in its most robust form, re-establishes educators over top-down policy as the drivers of pedagogical-driven school renewal [12]. It positions educators as researchers and inquirers of their own practice, as ethnographers of their practice, of their unique school/educational settings and communities, and the lives of their learners [18]. In our program, this begins with educators naming their own pedagogical challenges, charting their own program based on their own existential realities for integrated personal and professional growth, collaborating with colleagues to envision their own alternative, and establishing their own “evidence” of impact. This is all done in relation to a constant intersecting reflexivity with aspirations of education in the Islamic tradition, their school’s vision and context, and their own wealth of experience [18]. It also redirects efforts towards the dialogic and embodied encounter [76], an encounter as deeply relational as it is triangulated with the Divine [36], among educator colleagues and between educators and learners, where the effort of renewal remains true to its purpose while being centred on material and contextual realities of educators, learners, and schools today ([12], p. 293). Further, Islamic school educators researching their own practice is a key strategy in developing Islamic schools as places that produce distinct Islamic pedagogical praxis knowledge [40]. Our intention here is also to engage the dialectic between theory and practice, as Islamic school educators are now grounded in Islamic Pedagogy. As a renewed foundation for their educational praxis, they experiment with Islamic pedagogic concepts, principles, themes, and values as emergent theories, deepening their understandings of the theory in practice for reciprocally stronger theory and practice. It is also our intention and effort to narrow the recognised gap between the conceptual and theoretical within the field of Islamic Education Studies [77] and actual practice within K–12 Islamic schooling [59]. Action research within our final turn provides educators with a template for ongoing Islamically grounded, vision-driven, and context relevant renewal in Islamic schools. It provides them with the agency to be exemplary educators within their classrooms, irrespective of whether—although ideally—their school leadership shares similar commitments to renewal reflective of our reframing of a reform agenda as instead an agenda around renewal. Renewal of Islamically grounded teacher education, and by extension, an agenda around “bottom-up” educator-led renewal with implications in K–12 Islamic schools, as an alternative to the bifurcated decontextualised policy agenda presently dominating educators’ professional work [12].

5. Conclusions: The Task Ahead for Islamic Teacher Education

This paper began with a problem, namely that Islamic school educators committed to the vision of K–12 Islamic schooling in Muslim minority contexts are expressing sentiments of complex forms of dissonance and that teacher education for Islamic school educators remains bifurcated. To unpack this problem, this paper first established the urgency for Islamic teacher education, then conceptualised what makes teacher education “Islamic” across a typology and closed with the journey that Islamic school educators in one programme experience to challenge the bifurcation and overcome their moral dissonance. The journey outlined in the final part of this paper reflects our collective learning about Islamic teacher education in practice over the past decade. It reflects the necessity for Islamic teacher education to work within and against education policy and practice that assumes universality. The journey outlined illustrates that Islamic teacher education requires time—time to be reflexive and introspective, time to challenge, foster critical allies, and turn back. Islamic teacher education cannot, from our experience, be a grafting of Islamic perspectives but must begin with a willingness to be constructively critical within a framework of aims and aspirations onto epistemically situated, even endemically reconstructed, as necessary, at the paradigm level. The task ahead for this emerging subfield within Islamic Education Studies [77] is to continue to explore, within this typology of Islamic teacher education, each of the three fronts outlined in this paper and possibly more. Initial pillars include the urgency for why an ‘Islamic’ subfield of teacher education is even required and needs ongoing exploration in universities, as does an Islamically grounded approach to teacher education and professional learning in schools and communities. The conceptualisation of what it means to be an educator from within the Islamic tradition deserves further research on both classical and contemporary thought but also from across contexts of Muslim societies and communities past and present on enactments of philosophies of Islamic education [68]. And the journey of Islamic school educators grappling with what it means to carve out a distinct identity and sense of self-efficacy requires ongoing research. The influence of neoliberal policy logic on the work of Islamic school educators, given the distinct aspirations and end goals of Islamic schools, also requires further research. What we have offered are our own reflections on working with Australian Islamic school educators, drawing broad strokes from reflections on their collective experiences in relation to our own reflexive efforts in attempting to embody, enact, and realise, as Muslim educators, faithful praxis as pedagogues in a programme based on Islamic Pedagogy, for Islamic school educator. Our program is but one attempt to address the forms of dissonance educators experience.

To close, we turn now to our special issue that we hope we have adequately set the scene for. In this special issue, readers will gain conceptual and empirical insights that offer a sampling of emerging thinking and research on Islamic teacher education. The papers in this special issue are far from an exhaustive account of the important work emerging in this subfield, but they serve as a much-needed invigoration and continuation of an urgent need.