New Directions in Islamic Education: Pedagogy and Identity Formation

305 Pages·2013·2.453 MB·English

by  Abdullah Sahin

a
New Directions in Islamic Education explores the relationship between pedagogy New DirectioNs
and the formation of religious identities within Islamic education settings that are b
based in minority and majority Muslim contexts. Based on empirical research, the d in
u
book engages critically with the philosophical, theological and cultural dynamics
l
that inform Muslim educational thought and practice. The book offers an integrated la islamic
model of Islamic education that identifies the heart of the Islamic educational h
imagination as tarbiyah, a transformative process of becoming. Overall, this book s
seeks to ground the theory and practice of Islamic education within the experience a eDucatioN
of the educator and the learner, and it synthesises the spiritual foundations of Islam h

with the tradition of critical reflection to be found within the classical Muslim in
educational heritage.
Pedagogy & Identity Formation
Education | Religious Education | Islamic Studies

Dr Abdullah Sahin is a Muslim educator who has researched the learning and
teaching of Islam within Muslim majority and minority contexts in the modern abdullah sahin
world. He directs the Centre for Muslim Educational Thought and Practice N
and is the course leader for the MEd programme in Islamic Education at the
e
Markfield Institute of Higher Education, which is validated by the University w
of Gloucestershire. He has taught at the universities of Birmingham, Aberdeen
D
and Kuwait.
i
r
Advance Praise for New Directions in Islamic Education: e
c
t
This ground-breaking book is one of the most significant contributions made in i
o
recent years to Islamic education. Abdullah Sahin offers an educational way into
n
the renewal of Islamic faith and the restoration of young people’s confidence in the
s
Islamic tradition. It is an essential read for secular policymakers as well as teachers
i
of religion. n

i
John m. Hull s
Emeritus Professor of Religious Education in The University of Birmingham, UK la
m
What makes New Directions in Islamic Education inspiring to practitioners in the
i
field is its combination of empirical analysis of our current malaise, its authentic c
and intellectually provocative theological grounding, and its practical solutions. e
Abdullah Sahin’s seminal work has the potential to set the pace in Islamic education
d
in the coming decades. u
c
edris Khamissa a
Director of Al-Falah Islamic College, Durban, South Africa t
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o
n
978-1-84774-058-8 | UK £22.99 | US $34.95
K
KUBE
PUBLISHING
KUBEPUBLISHING.COM
New DirectioNs iN
islamic eDucatioN
Ee
DeDicatioN
For Zara and Noor
New DirectioNs
in
IslamIc
EducatIon
Pedagogy & Identity Formation
abdullah sahin
New Directions in Islamic Education:
Pedagogy and Identity Formation
First published in England by:
Kube Publishing Ltd
Markfield Conference Centre
Ratby Lane, Markfield,
Leicestershire LE67 9SY
United Kingdom
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.kubepublishing.com
Email: [email protected]
© Abdullah Sahin, 2013
All rights reserved
The right of Abdullah Sahin to be identified
as the author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-84774-058-8 paperback
ISBN 978-1-84774-033-5 casebound
ISBN 978-1-84774-064-9 e-book
Typesetting by Naiem Qaddoura
Cover Design by Nasir Cadir
Printed by Imak Offset, Turkey
Ee
coNteNts

List of Tables and Figures vii
Transliteration Table viii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction: Rethinking Islamic Education
in the Modern World 1
Part I
Context and MethodologICal
orIentatIons
1. British Muslim Youth: Between Secular Exclusion
and Religious Extremism 33
2. The Empirical Study of Religious Experience:
A Phenomenological Critique of Modernist and
Postmodernist Paradigms 52
3. Studying Muslim Religiosity Empirically: The Muslim
Subjectivity Interview Schedule 69
Part II
eMPIrICal studIes
4. Attitudes towards Islam among British Muslim Youth 97
5. Modes of Islamic Subjectivity among British Muslim Youth 119
6. Attitudes towards Islam and Islamic Subjectivity
among Kuwaiti Youth 149
v
new directions in islamic education
Part III
theology, PhIlosoPhy and Pedagogy
7. New Perspectives on Islamic Educational Theology
and Philosophy: Tarbiyah as the Critical-Dialogical
Process of Becoming 167
8. Reflections on Teaching the MEd in Islamic Education 211
9. Conclusion: Future Directions in Islamic Education 237
Appendices 245
Bibliography 260
Index of Qur’anic Verses 283
General Index 287
vi
Ee
list of tables aND figures

Figure 4.1 Frequency of Prayer in Three Schools 104
Figure 4.2 Effect of Age on Prayer Frequency 105
Figure 4.3 Frequency of Prayer and Similarity/Dissimilarity
with Parents’ Interpretations of Islam 112
Table 4.1 Five Factors and Original Scoring 108
Table 4.2 Mean Scale Scores by Sex and Age 111
Table 5.1 Modes of Religious Subjectivity 120
Appendix 1 Muslim Subjectivity Interview Schedule (MSIS)
(The Original Instruments) 245
Appendix 2 Rotated Factor Loadings and Frequencies of
Responses on each Factor Item 249
Appendix 3 Muslim Subjectivity Interview Schedule (MSIS)
in Arabic 252
Appendix 4 Percentage Responses to Sahin–Francis Scale
of Attitudes towards Islam in Arabic 258
vii
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traNsliteratioN table

Consonants. Arabic
initial: unexpressed, medial and final: ء ’
ء ء ء ء
ء ا د ض ﻙ
a d d k
ا د ا ضد ا ﻙ ضد ا ﻙض د ﻙ ض ﻙ
ا د ض ﻙ ب ذ ط ﻝ
b dh t l
ب ذ ب ط ذ ب ﻝ طذ ب ﻝط ذ ﻝ ط ﻝ
ب ذ ط ﻝ ت ر ظ ﻡ
t r z m
ت ر ت ظ ر ت ﻡ ظر ت ﻡ ظ ر ﻡ ظ ﻡ
ت ر ظ ﻡ ث ز ع ﻥ
th z [ n
ث ز ث ع ز ث ﻥ عز ث ﻥع ز ﻥ ع ﻥ
ث ز ع ﻥ ج س غ ـﻫ
j ج س ج s غ س ج ـﻫ غ س g hج ـ ﻫغ س ـﻫ غ h ـﻫ
ج س غ ـﻫ ح ش ﻑ ﻭ
h ح ش ح s h ﻑ ش ح ﻭ ﻑ ش f ح ﻭ ﻑ ش ﻭ ﻑ w ﻭ
ح ش ﻑ ﻭ خ ص ﻕ ﻱ
kh خ ص خ s ﻕ ص خ ﻱ ﻕ ص qخ ﻱ ﻕ ص ﻱ ﻕ y ﻱ
خ ص ﻕ ﻱ
Vowels, diphtho ngs, etc .
ـﹶــ ــﹺ ـ ـﹸــ
ـﹶــ ـ ـﹶــﹺــ ـ ﹶـ ــــﹺ ﹸـ ــ ــ ـﹺـﹶــﹸــ ـ ـ ـﹸــﹺــ ـﹸــ
Short: a i u
ـﹶــ ــﹺ ـ ـﹸــ ﺎﹶــ ﻮـﹸ ـ ﻲﹺــ
ﺎﹶــ ﺎﻮﹶــﹸــ ﺎ ﹶـﻮﻲــﹸ ﹺــ ـ ﻮ ﺎﻲـﹸﹶـــﹺـ ـ ﻲ ﻮﹺــﹸــ ﻲﹺــ
long: a ﺎ ﹶــ ﻮ ـﹸ ـ i ﻲ ﹺـ ـ u ﻮ ﹾﹺــ
ﻮ ﹾ ﹺـ ـ ﻮ ﹾ ﹺـ ـ ﻮ ﹾ ﹺـ ـ ﻮ ﹾﹺــ
diphthongs: ﻮ ﹾﹺـ ـ aw ﻰ ﹾ ﹶــ
ﻰ ﹾ ﹶـ ـ ﻰ ﹾ ﹶـ ـ ﻰ ﹾ ﹶـ ـ ﻰ ﹾ ﹶــ
ﻰ ﹾ ﹶـ ـ a y
viii
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akNowleDgemeNts

In the course of my work on Islamic education, which I regard as having come
to fruition in this book, I must first and foremost express my gratitude and
thanks to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta[ala, Whose guiding presence has turned every
challenge and every moment of despair on my journey into an opportunity of
strength and hope.
I have also been blessed to receive the support and encouragement of
many people whom I would like to acknowledge and thank. Bekir Demirkol
and İlhami Güler both made my formal study of Islam in Ankara an excit-
ing period of self-questioning and discovery. Ömer Özsoy, Osman Taştan and
İbrahim Özdemir showed true friendship and support for which I am grateful.
Thanks are also due to Nuri Gökalp, Ömer Kormaz, the late Ömer Tarhuni,
Ahmet Tutunci and Abdullah Gül, the current president of Turkey, for their
support for my project when I was most in need. I remain grateful for my
mentor, colleague and friend John M. Hull; I benefitted immensely from his
intellectual and spiritual generosity. I would like to thank my editor Yahya Birt
for his encouragement throughout the editorial process and for his continued
sincere advice, support and friendship. I thank Paul Timmins, Nick Peim for
their contribution to the MEd programme and for their rewarding friendship.
I am grateful for the encouragement of Wilna Meijer, who listened gracefully
and responded critically to my ideas. I’d like to thank Leslie J. Francis for his co-
operation. I remain grateful to Ros Jennings, John Hockey and Ian Thackray at
the University of Gloucestershire for their help and guidance when I needed it. I
thank Ian Johnson for his patience and invaluable support during my long stay
in his house in Bournville. Ramona Kauth showed true solidarity and friend-
ship, and I am grateful to her. In Kuwait, I’d like to thank Fahad Al-Failakawi
and Jamal Al-Hajji, and their families for their help and support; Eisa Al-Ansari,
ix