Islamic Education in Western Contexts: Visions, Goals and Practices

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Religions focuses on Islamic education in Western contexts, encompassing visions, goals and practices given the recognition of diversity, multiculturalism and transnational migration flow. Alongside classical works, contemporary philosophies of Islamic education are gaining momentum. Issues of leadership, diversity, gender, pedagogy, identity and market challenges exemplify the growing research corpus in this field as part of the dynamic and cross-cultural fertilisation of global knowledge. This Special Issue aims to build on this significant research and develop further discussion by engaging Islamic education within a broader scope of ontology, epistemology and inquiry, including, but not limited to, curricular issues, arts and aesthetics, social justice and equity, parental involvement, mental health and well-being, sustainable development, environment, the digital revolution and globalisation and cultural heritage in Islamic-based educational milieus.

The complexities of Islamic education in Western contexts goes beyond envisioning concepts of Islam and the West through the rigid binaries of the Self and Other. Some remarkable intellectual achievements of Muslim scientists and scholars, such as al-Kindi (801–873), al-Farabi (870–950), Ibn al-Haytham (965–1039), al-Biruni (973–1048), Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980–1037) and Ibn-Rushd (Averroes, 1126–1198) contributed to medieval European thought and renaissance, with the most notable being Thomas Aquinas, along with scientific fields such as optics and medicine. Early Western colleges, such as Oxford’s Merton College, were inspired by Islamic higher education institutionalisation through waqf/trust, which was synthesised with the Western corporation as having a juristic personality. These shared historical links demonstrate the interweaved interactions between Islamic and Western educational thought and institutionalisation. Thus, Islamic education is familiar rather than foreign to a Western context and displays considerable potential for positive contributions to further knowledge fertilisation and cross-cultural understanding in recognising diversity and further inclusion. In the context of liquid modernity, recent colonial history and economic and political power dynamics, the current Muslim presence in Western landscapes remains tied to an influx of migration, including refugees, asylum seekers, and economic migrants. Muslim newcomers have to walk a tightrope between living as respected, active citizens and not compromising their core religious and cultural values. Islamic education is perceived as a necessary step forward in their agency to preserve a unique religious identity from eroding into the dominant cultural contexts. Nevertheless, such Islamic education is expected to evolve and adapt to new contexts, taking advantage of available opportunities and formulating revised proposals for emergent and devolved challenges, some of which question the substance, content and elements of traditional Islamic practice.

This Special Issue proposes to stimulate discussions upon the variant visions and practices of Islamic education for the contemporary Muslim presence in Western societies. How Islamic education is conceptualised has consequences for educational practice, learners’ lives, the future of Muslim communities and the latter’s relationships with indigenous societies. Islamic educational aims have been thoroughly discussed throughout Islamic history within spheres of psychology, sociology, spirituality and so forth. Further examination is requisite in a modern context of liquid values and neo-liberal economic culture. If Islamic education strove for wise actions based on Islamic values, its success would not be sufficiently measured by market metrics. So, the question of ‘what is distinctively ‘Islamic’ about Islamic education in Western contexts’ remains pertinent. Within which domains is Islamic education relevant? Some previously discussed questions on the aims of education remain timely as indicative topics to provide steerage and encourage conversation focused on Islamic education in Western settings:

• What should Islamic-based education aim at in bringing up children or young people developing within Western milieus?
• What unique contributions can Islamic education offer to broader Western societies?
• What are the priorities of Islamic education in Western societies?
• What kinds of achievements in terms of character, intellect and so forth should Islamic education seek its learners to embody?
• Who determines the aims of Islamic education in Western contexts: parents, educators, educational institutions, society or the state through legislative policies that provide both opportunities and limitations regarding permissible parameters?
• How much autonomy do Islamic-based educational institutions attain when determining and implementing their visions and aims of Islamic education?
• What should an institution/programme/home-schooling of Islamic education provide, and be able to impact?
• Given the power leaders are assumed to possess to shape education and how educational institutions are directed and conceived, this Special Issue is also attentive to cutting-edge research on educational leadership in Islamic-based institutions in various Western countries.

Accordingly, this Special Issue welcomes a variety of papers related to a breadth of aspects pertaining to Islamic education in a Western context, ranging from theoretical, systematic critical reviews and methodological and empirical research. Such contributions seek to feed into conversations on how Islamic education presents a key facet of Muslim presence in modern Western societies.

Dr. Fella Lahmar
Prof. Dr. Khalid Arar
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• philosophy of Islamic education
• Western context
• pedagogy
• ethical-spiritual Islamic values
• leadership, culture, Islamic environment
• moral values, social justice, well-being
• education policy
• arts and aesthetics
• identity, diversity
• equity and inclusion, dialogue