Viewing archives for Islam

Research Title

Religious education and hermeneutics: the case of teaching about Islam

Research Summary

This article explores the ways in which Islam is presented in an essentialist way in RE in England and Wales, leading to stereotypes that are embedded in resources and agreed syllabi. It provides a critique of essentialism, and makes a case for the role of hermeneutics in teaching and learning about Islam. A hermeneutical approach is argued to be a sound way to conceptualise Islam and a pedagogical opening to make sense of it, that may help overcome some of the weaknesses of the current ways of teaching about Islam.

Researchers

Dr Farid Panjwani & Dr Lynn Revell

Research Institution

Institute of Education, University College London / Canterbury Christ Church University

What is this about?

• In what ways do stereotypes enter presentations of Islam in RE?
• How can these be overcome?
• What contribution can hermeneutics make to the improvement of teaching and learning about Islam?

What was done?

This is a scholarly, analytical discussion of Islam and educational practice, focussed on the dangers of essentialism – defined as follows on page 268 of the article:

“Essentialism is the belief that a thing has a set of characteristics which make it what it is. Often this is accompanied with an assumption that how an idea or a phenomenon was in its original state, determines its essence.”

This limits engagement with the varieties of Islam and may set up Islam as the antithesis of ‘Western values’.

Main findings and outputs

• Academics often criticise essentialist views of Islam, but the tendency persists in RE resources and curricula.
• From p.270: “In endless textbooks we can see the playing out of this narrative as adherence to the same markers (dress, beliefs, festivals, rituals) are identified as the defining characteristics of belonging to religious communities. Approaches to the teaching of Islam that define Muslims through a focus on essential, ahistorical features are in effect creating and legitimising a stereotype.”
• Ibid.: “Even where diversity within Islam is recognised it is represented within cultural silos so that ‘different types’ of Muslims appear as a series of stereotypes, the liberal Muslim, the extremist Muslim, the Pakistani Muslim etc.”
• A second problem is to describe Islam as a ‘world religion’ by the use of common themes, beliefs, practices and concepts rooted in Christian traditions.
• Rather than just presenting diversity we need to explore why there is diversity in the first place. It is because of a hermeneutical process; when people first heard the Qur’an, different kinds of responses were made depending on the situations of the hearers. This process continues. There is no single teaching on attitudes to other religions, for example. Different communities place different boundaries and “Muslims make Islam as much as Islam makes Muslims”. (p.274)

Relevance to RE

Readers are strongly encouraged to read the original article in full, as lack of space here prevents sufficiently detailed summary. However, two clear pedagogical recommendations are made in its conclusion. First, rather than posing questions such as ‘what is Islam’s view on Christianity?’, it is better to ask ‘how have Muslims understood Islam’s relationship with Christianity?’. Second, the role of pupils should change – they should be enabled to enquire into different meanings; this is how religions continue to remain relevant and pupils can participate in this process for themselves.

Generalisability and potential limitations

As it is not a presentation of empirical data, the factor of generalisability does not really apply in this case. Rather, teachers are invited to weigh up the article’s arguments and try out and evaluate its pedagogical recommendations in practice.

Find out more

Farid Panjwani & Lynn Revell (2018) Religious education and hermeneutics: the case of teaching about Islam, British Journal of Religious Education, 40:3, 268-276.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01416200.2018.1493269?journalCode=cbre20

Research Title

Pupils’ perceptions of the religious links to terrorism

Research Summary

With the increased requirement to incorporate counter-terrorism measures into the British education system, teachers are now expected to discuss terrorism within the classroom setting. However, this is a challenging endeavour. This article explores research findings from a project conducted over several years into pupils’ perceptions of terrorism and its links to religion in general, as well as the specific links made with Islam, Sikhism and Christianity. Overall, the pupils thought that religion in general, as well as Islam in particular, was something that motivated terrorism. However, many pupils also expressed concerns about associating entire religious communities with terrorism, perceiving it as a stereotype, and expressed interest in discovering more about how and why religion was used to justify such violent attacks.

Researcher

Angela Quartermaine

Research Institution

Woolf Institute, University of Cambridge

What is this about?

• What are pupils’ perceptions on links between religion and terrorism?
• What are their concerns around this issue?
• What would they like to know and understand more about?

What was done?

Case studies took place in six Warwickshire secondary schools, with pupils aged 13-15. Multiple methods were used including document analysis, interviews with teachers and pupils, focus groups and surveys.

Main findings and outputs

• Religion certainly featured in pupils’ overall perceptions of terrorism.
• Most pupils thought religion the most likely motivation for terrorism.
• Pupils generally associated it with Abrahamic religions, especially Islam.
• Though some considered terrorism an ‘act’ of religion, others considered religion a ‘shade’ for the real causes, such as hatred or politics.
• ‘Extremism’ was sometimes used to mean an element of religion, at other times a point of differentiation from it.
• In discussing links between Islam and terrorism, some pupils focused on jihad, but others Islamophobia.

Relevance to RE

• The research shows the complex nature of pupils’ views on the relationship between religion and terrorism.
• It also shows how pupils are able to discuss the issue, critically.
• They were more confident to do so when equipped with good background knowledge – when discussing Christianity, they were more able to explain the problems with associating religion with terrorism.
• RE teachers therefore need to be equipping pupils with good religious literacy, so that they can understand the scope of these discussions. There needs to be attention to terminology, including terrorism, belief, extremism, religion.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This was a fairly large sample, including 264 pupils in a first session and 73 in a second. The schools are in a fairly small, largely white and middle-class area of central England, though close to major urban centres.

Find out more

Angela Quartermaine (2019) Pupils’ perceptions of the religious links to terrorism, British Journal of Religious Education, 41:1, 67-77.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01416200.2017.1361381?journalCode=cbre20

Research Summary

“Most U.S. adults identify with a particular religious denomination or group. They describe themselves as Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Jewish, Mormon or Muslim– to name just a few of the hundreds of identities or affiliations that people give in surveys. Others describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or say they have no particular religious affiliation. These are the conventional categories into which Americans sort themselves. But a new Pew Research Center analysis looks at beliefs and behaviors that cut across many denominations – important traits that unite people of different faiths, or that divide people who have the same religious affiliation – producing a new and revealing classification, or typology, of religion in America.” (Summary taken from original press release at http://www.pewforum.org/2018/08/29/the-religious-typology/ downloaded on September 12 2018.)

Researcher

Pew Research Center, Washington DC

Research Institution

Pew Research Center, Washington DC

What is this about?

This is about the different religious groups in the US, and how they vary internally, in terms of religious commitment, behaviour or attitudes to religion. Survey data were used to generate seven categories of religiosity that cut across religious boundaries. E.g. ‘Sunday Stalwarts’ are the traditionalist, highly engaged members, ‘Diversely Devout’ are those who whilst traditionalist are also open to ‘New Age’ beliefs such as reincarnation or psychic power and ‘Religion Resisters’ are those who think that institutional religion does more harm than good. The other categories are ‘God-and-Country Believers’, ‘Relaxed Religious’, ‘Spiritually Awake’ and ‘Solidly Secular’.

What was done?

A survey of 4729 respondents was done. It included 16 questions about their religious and spiritual beliefs and practices, the value they place on their religion, and the other sources of meaning and fulfillment in their lives. The typology groups were then created using cluster analysis, a statistical technique that identified homogeneous groups of respondents based on their answers.

Main findings and outputs

The findings are quite extensive and readers are directed to the main report (link below), but some examples can be given so as to provide a flavour. What is interesting is how the categories cut across traditional religious and non-religious lines:

• Some data may be unsurprising (76% of the ‘Solidly Secular’ have no religious affiliation).
• However, it raises questions that 17% of the ‘Solidly Secular’ category identify as Christian.
• Within Religion Resisters, non-Christian religious faiths contribute their highest overall percentage (11%).
• They only make up 6% of the ‘Sunday Stalwart’ category, which could be down to population or survey factors; the word ‘Sunday’ is used because 90% of the group belong to Christian churches and it did not figure in survey questions.
• There are interesting sub-findings, e.g. 19% of ‘Sunday Stalwarts’ and 12% of ‘Solidly Secular’ believe in reincarnation; 98% of ‘Religion Resisters’ believe there is spiritual energy located in physical things such as mountains, trees or crystals.

Relevance to RE

The final Commission on RE report speaks of the need for a deeper understanding of the complex, diverse and plural nature of worldviews at both institutional and personal levels, and to ensure that pupils understand that there are different ways of adhering to a worldview. This Pew Center research gives an original, imaginative illustration of these factors. RE curriculum developers and teachers could use it to consider how to represent diversity within religions; teacher trainers could use it to illustrate the need for this to trainees.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The survey was large-scale (4729 respondents) and care was taken to achieve a representative sample. One limitation is that the US rather than the UK is represented. The researchers also acknowledge that identifying cluster groups is as much art as science. However, UK teachers and researchers could take note of the problematising of religious categories and perhaps find ways to explore similar issues in our own contexts.

Find out more

The full Pew Centre research bulletin is available for free download at http://www.pewforum.org/2018/08/29/the-religious-typology/

Research Summary

The numbers of religious believers in the world will grow over the next half-century, according to demographic analyses and predictions. Absolute growth in their numbers might be less surprising than relative growth (i.e. they will be in an increased majority over non-religious people). Different parts of the world will be differently affected.

Researchers

Conrad Hackett & Marcin Stonawski

Research Institution

Pew Research Center, Washington DC

What is this about?

The research is about how numbers of people belonging to different religions, or not affiliated to a religion, are predicted to grow or otherwise from 2015 to 2060; and how the religious or worldview population composition of different parts of the world will be affected.

What was done?

The methodology is to begin with 2015 populations and then to consider the median ages and fertility rates of different religious or non-affiliated groups. These are the bases of predictions for future increases or decreases. For example, because the median age of Muslims is low (24) and the fertility rate high (average 2.9 children per woman), the Muslim population is predicted to increase. Factors such as conversion (‘switching rates’) are also built in to the predictions.

Main findings and outputs

The report is large and comprehensive, and readers are encouraged to continue to it (link below). However, here are selected headlines:

• 2015 world population= 7,284,640,000 2060 world population= 9,615,760,000
• 2015 Christian population= 2, 276,250,000 (31.2%) 2060 Christian population= 3,054,460,000 (31.8%)
• 2015 Muslim population= 1,752, 620,000 (24.1%) 2060 Muslim population= 2,987,390,000 (31.1%)
• 2015 unaffiliated population= 1,165,020,000 (16%) 2060 unaffiliated population= 1,202,300 (12.5%)
• 2015 Hindu population= 1,099,110,000 (15.1%) 2060 Hindu population= 1,392,900 000 (14.5%)
• 2015 Buddhist population= 499,380,000 (6.9%) 2060 Buddhist population= 461,980, 000 (4.8%)
• 2015 Jewish population= 14,270, 000 (0.2%) 2060 Jewish population= 16, 370,000 (0.2%)

Regional trends
The religiously unaffiliated population is heavily concentrated in places with ageing populations and relatively low fertility, such as China, Japan, Europe and North America. By contrast, religions with many adherents in developing countries – where birth rates are high and infant mortality rates generally have been falling – are likely to grow quickly. Much of the worldwide growth of Islam and Christianity is expected to take place in sub-Saharan Africa.

Relevance to RE

RE teachers should find useful background and teaching material here. The prediction, based on evidence, that religion’s presence in the world will increase over the next half-century underlines the need for good RE. The research should be useful in advocacy for the subject at various levels including individual school and national policy.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The research is partly predictive, but done scientifically by an internationally respected body. The findings are already generalisations and do not cover diversity within religions or the ‘non-affiliated’.

Find out more

The report The Changing Global Religious Landscape was first published online in April 2017. It can be freely accessed at http://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/05/the-changing-global-religious-landscape/

Research Summary

Across Western Europe, people who say they personally know a Muslim are generally more likely than others to have positive opinions of Muslims and their religion, according to a recent Pew Research Center study. However, simply knowing something about Islam is less associated with positive attitudes.

This pattern is evident across several questions asked of Europeans identifying as Christian to gauge attitudes toward Muslims, including whether they think Islam compatible with their country’s culture and values and whether they would be willing to accept a Muslim as a family member .

Researchers

Scott Gardner & Jonathan Evans

Research Institution

Pew Research Center, Washington DC

What is this about?

The research is about attitudes to Islam and Muslims among self-identifying Christians in 15 different countries in Western Europe. The main questions were:

• Is knowing about Islam associated with positive or negative attitudes to Islam and / or Muslims?
• Is knowing Muslims personally associated with positive or negative attitudes to Islam and / or Muslims?

What was done?

The data were gathered through a large questionnaire survey. Follow-up focus group interviews were also carried out in 5 of the 15 countries.

Main findings and outputs

• Western European self-identifying Christians who know Muslims personally are significantly more likely to hold positive attitudes to Islam or Muslims.
• But knowing something ‘about Islam’ is less associated with these positive attitudes.
• For example, the percentage who completely or mostly disagree with the statement that Muslims want to impose their religious law on everyone else in the country is much higher among those who know Muslims personally than those who do not: 85% compared to 48% in the UK and in Switzerland, 81% compared to 47% in Germany.
• By contrast, the percentages of those simply knowing a great deal or something about Islam who completely or mostly disagree with the same statement are 75% in Switzerland, 69% in the UK and 70% in Germany.
• Regardless of their level of knowledge about Islam, similar percentages in most of the countries disagree with the statement that Muslims “want to impose their religious law on everyone else in the country.” Swiss adults who know a great deal or something about Islam, for example, are only 4 percentage points more likely to disagree than those who know less about Islam.
• The patterns are similar for different questions such as whether they think Islam is compatible with their country’s culture and values and whether they would be willing to accept a Muslim as a member of their family.

Relevance to RE

The research gives interesting information. It also backs previous research about how RE teachers should deal with religious prejudice, or help pupils manage media representations of religion. It is evident in the research that personal knowledge of Muslims challenges popular stereotypes. This re-iterates the need for teachers to draw on pupils’ personal knowledge of faith group members when presenting or discussing religious traditions, though this needs to be done sensitively. See https://researchforre.reonline.org.uk/research_report/talking-about-religion-and-diversity/?show_me=&about=&taxes=

Generalisability and potential limitations

This is a major survey by an internationally respected research centre. Care was taken to achieve representative samples and the respondent group was large (24,559). Attempts were made to balance the population of focus groups (the focus group research was contracted to Ipsos MORI).

Find out more

Scott Gardner and Jonathan Evans, In Western Europe, familiarity with Muslims is linked to positive views of Muslims and Islam, online article available at http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/24/in-western-europe-familiarity-with-muslims-is-linked-to-positive-views-of-muslims-and-islam/

http://www.pewforum.org/2018/05/29/being-christian-in-western-europe/

Research Summary

Marking and feedback are essential parts of the teaching process, which allow teachers to know whether what they have taught has been learnt and therefore allow teachers to address the needs of pupils. They are also requirements for all teachers. However, they are time consuming and burdensome upon teachers. Technology has the potential to transform education, for teachers and for pupils. This study aims to investigate the role that technology has in the assessment of RE with the expectation that any benefits would also be felt in other curriculum subjects.

Researchers

Sam McKavanagh & Dr James Robson

Research Institution

University of Oxford

What is this about?

The planning was guided by these questions.

• In assessment, what can technology do that traditional methods cannot?
• How can the use of technology for assessment be beneficial to pupils?
• How can the use of technology for assessment be beneficial to teachers?
• How can technology allow us to meet the assessment objectives of RE?

What was done?

The three action cycles used different tools to assess pupils; multiple choice questions were used for each assessment.

• Cycle One (Traditional): pupils completed assessments using pen and paper.
• Cycle Two (Plickers): pupils held up unique pieces of card in different orientations to indicate their answer. The teacher’s smartphone could read and record the pupils’ response.
• Cycle Three (EDpuzzle) – through this website pupils watched videos that the teacher had embedded with questions. Scores were recorded so the teacher could track progress over time.

At the end of each cycle the following were conducted:

• whole-cohort questionnaires;
• small-group interviews; and
• teacher interviews.

Main findings and outputs

The findings show that technology:

• saved time;
• helped give quick and useful feedback;
• collated results;
• improved record keeping;
• reduced teacher workload; and
• increased pupil engagement.

In contrast, traditional methods of assessment failed to offer these benefits. Marking and feedback remained burdensome tasks for teachers and pupils did not respond favourably to them.

Technology has an important role in the assessment of RE. Pupils assessed using traditional methods and those assessed with technology showed no discernable differences in their results. The benefits to the teacher were clear: they saw a reduction in workload and were able to give immediate feedback and discuss issues with pupils which would not have had been possible with traditional methods. As Plickers and EDpuzzle can collate pupils’ results teachers can easily keep track of pupils’ performance across time, with minimal effort on their part. It is expected that these advantages would not only apply to RE and that teachers of other subjects, and in other school settings, would also benefit.

Relevance to RE

This was a piece of practitioner research and other teachers were involved in the collection of data. Therefore it will have real applicability to other teachers of RE.

The technology used is free to obtain and use and does not require pupil ownership of devices – this increases the accessibility to the technology.

One of the key findings was the savings in time for teachers whilst assessing and the production of useful real-time data, which they could use immediately to provide effective feedback to pupils.

Generalisability and potential limitations

Given the method of answer collection which the technology used, the research focussed on AT1/A01 (‘factual’ knowledge) the research did not attempt to assess AT2/A02 (‘learning from religion’) – whilst this should be possible, it was deemed that it would be stretching the research too thinly and that less clear results would be drawn. It would therefore be beneficial to retrial these technologies to attempt to assess AT2/A02 as well.

Given the length of the research project it was not possible to tell if pupils would become ‘bored’ or less enthused with the technologies the more normalised they became. A longer research process would uncover whether this is the case.

Find out more

McKavanagh, S. (2017). The role of technology in the assessment of RE (Master’s thesis). University of Oxford.

https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:27d8b9ef-0cab-4116-827a-d9b615627860

Research Summary

We Need to Talk about RE (London: Jessica Kingsley, 2017) is a collection of essays by established and emerging RE leaders commenting on theory, practice and policy around RE. The book focuses mainly on the English system, with European and wider global contexts referred to. Each chapter is a grounded, research-informed provocation. The book is edited by Dr Mike Castelli (currently Executive Chair of the Association of University Lectuters in Religion and Education) and Dr Mark Chater (currently Director of a charitable trust supporting RE).

Researchers

Mike Castelli, Mark Chater & Linda Woodhead

Research Institution

Several

What is this about?

The book as a whole promotes public discussion on what is needed from a new model of RE. The book argues that we need to talk about RE for several reasons: because so much is changing in the culture of schools; because teachers of RE are ‘cultural and religious heroes caught up in a conflicted education system’; because the kind of RE practised UK is unique, but gravely in danger of dismemberment and neglect; because of the urgent need to find consensus about the purpose and place of RE; and because wider society needs better ways of dealing with religious and cultural ‘otherness’.

What was done?

Each of the fifteen authors uses a distinctive methodology based on their own professional experience as teachers, researchers, practitioners, policy makers or consultants.

Main findings and outputs

Each chapter, written by a different author, offers a manifesto for change. The postscript, written by a serving teacher of RE, argues passionately for change based on clarity of purpose.

Relevance to RE

Trainee and serving teachers will find the book a stimulating, provocative and hope-inspiring daily companion to their practice.

Generalisability and potential limitations

There is no programmatic set of findings or recommendations.

Find out more

Castelli, M. And Chater, M (2017) ed. We Need to Talk about Religious Education: Manifestos for the Future of RE.London: Jessica Kingsley Publishing.

Research Summary

Islam’s reputation has been seriously compromised. Islamophobia and Islamism have been unlikely allies in this: Islamophobia thrives on negative stereotypes of Muslims, whilst Islamism thrives on the divisive effects of these stereotypes, which make it easier to portray Islam and ‘the West’ as enemies. The author calls for a balanced, evidence-based study of Islam’s morality (and contribution to human values) as a responsible way between these extremes. Four areas of Islamic morality are traced – inter-religious tolerance, scholarship, social welfare and gender equality. They stand in contrast to much of the popular image of Islam today, and need urgently to be studied. This would have the benefit of creating better understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim people and communities. Given the need for the RE curriculum and RE teachers to represent religious traditions fairly and accurately, the research presented in this article is highly relevant to both.

Researcher

Terence Lovat

Research Institution

University of Newcastle, Australia

What is this about?

• This is about the need for balanced teaching about Islamic morality; a vital task, since much ‘knowledge’ about Islam in western societies is driven by radical Islamist versions of Islam.
•  Examples of Islamic morality are presented, to shed light on Islam’s more positive contribution to human values and moral behaviour.
• The examples are from the following areas: inter-religious and inter-cultural tolerance; scholarship and science; social welfare; and gender equality.

What was done?

This is a scholarly essay which examines historical and contemporary sources and discussions of Islamic morality, making the case for a balanced and evidence-based treatment of these within education.

Main findings and outputs

• There are plentiful passages in Islam’s sacred texts that insist on respectful treatment of members of other faiths, e.g. in the Qur’an: Sura 21: 107 reads: ‘We have not sent you except to be a provider of mercy and peace to all humankind.’ Sura 109:: ‘to you be your religion and to me be mine.’
• Many scholars view Islamic societies such as medieval Cordoba as models of inter-religious tolerance, though this is also disputed.
• Against the stereotype of Islam as intellectually backward, for Islam, knowledge is God’s and the more knowledgeable we are, the more we can come to understand God. Medieval Islam pioneered scientific methodology, in areas such as engineering and medicine.
• The third pillar of Islam, zakat, is evidence of a strong commitment to social welfare. From the earliest days, a proportion of income, usually 2.5%, was deducted to support anyone in need. While an ethic towards assisting the poor is to be found in the other Abrahamic religions, Judaism and Christianity, only Islam spells out the obligation in the form of a tax.
• There are mixed views of Islam’s contribution to gender equality, some positive, others not. But the Qur’an guaranteed women’s right to inheritance, including of property, as well as rights for women to initiate divorce and testify in court. It protected women’s rights against coercion, including against sexual violence in marriage. Today, some scholars see the struggle to recover the voice of women as a recovery of Islam itself.

Relevance to RE

The material provided is of direct use to RE curriculum and pedagogy. The overall model (of steering a middle path between Islamism and Islamophobia) can be employed by curriculum developers and teachers in the service of balance, and the individual examples given can be used as teaching points when teaching about Islam. Lack of space permits only brief indications of the main points (above); teachers interested in using them as lesson items are advised to read the original article.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The material is of general use and relevance in preparing resources on and teaching about Islam. The research data come from a very broad and carefully considered base.

Find out more

Islamic morality: Teaching to balance the record, Journal of Moral Education 45.1 pages 1-15 (published online 4 May 2016), 10.1080/03057240.2015.1136601

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057240.2015.1136601

Research Summary

UK education and RE are highly politically controlled, and some writers think that RE’s emphasis on tolerance of different religions has prevented pupils from thinking critically about religion. Pupils’ learning about religions has often been found to be superficial and many popular resources present religions in terms of familiar stereotypes. The writer shows how this is especially true regarding Islam, which has undergone a transformation (once a world religion associated with the Middle East, now a potential source of terror), but its transformation is not reflected in syllabuses or resources used to teach about it. She argues that bringing questions in to RE from Sociology could help to address this weakness. Students could critically consider questions such as: how are Muslims likely to be treated and understood in the UK? Why are young Muslim girls more likely than their mothers or grandmothers to wear the veil?

Researcher

Lynn Revell

Research Institution

Canterbury Christ Church University

What was done?

This is a critical survey of relevant literature and other materials including official documents, RE text books and examination papers.

Main findings and outputs

• There is a discrepancy, generally, between religions as they are experienced and known in the world and religions as they are presented in textbooks and examined in RE.
• Regarding Islam, there tends to be an assumption that Muslims have common views and concerns and that the religion is not really diverse.
• Examination papers from 1997 to 2013 were analysed; it was striking how little questions about Islam had changed. On page 58 the author states:
• ‘Islam is now the fastest growing religion in the developing world, the meaning of Jihad has become a matter of popular discussion and the role of women in Islam has become an issue of international debate. These changes are not reflected in most of the questions: it is as though the Islam examined by students is the same Islam that existed a generation ago.’
• Yet examination papers do sometimes ask pupils to think critically, and the relationship between liberal values of tolerance and a lack of pupil criticism is not clear. The fact is that many different kinds of ideas influence RE in different ways.
• Using sociological questions may help pupils to be more critical. How are Muslims likely to be treated and understood in the UK? Why are young Muslim girls more likely than their mothers or grandmothers to wear the veil? This should not be based on ‘projection’ (unfounded assumptions) but ‘prediction’ (where observation and analysis are used).

Relevance to RE

• Regarding policy and curriculum, it would appear that examination boards should take a fresh look at their specifications and examination papers.
• In relation to school-level curriculum and pedagogy, teachers might reconsider approaches to Islam in the light of this research. They should take care to address the variety of Muslims and experiences and ask pupils to follow suit.
• Teachers should test the sociological questions mentioned by the author (above) for their value in helping pupils to think critically. Further, no doubt teachers and pupils will have questions of their own about the experiences of Muslims in UK society. These can be added to the list and would provide an interesting basis for follow-up research, based in classrooms.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The research draws on a varied and wide range of resources and uses these as a basis for a potentially very useful suggestion to teachers to test in their own practice.

Find out more

Predicting religion, Journal of Beliefs and Values 36:1, 54-63

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13617672.2015.1014652

Research Summary

The research builds on the idea that religions can be a cultural resource from which people can draw rather than a controlling background framework. In relation to Islam, different Muslim groups are seen to present different expressions of their own, that bypass traditional authorities. Anti-LGBT violence and pro-LGBT activism can both be viewed in this way. The research focuses on LGBT Muslims and their improvements on traditional Islamic scholarship, aimed at presenting Islam as a religion which embraces sexual and other forms of diversity. Teachers should take note of their challenges to notions of Islam as homophobic or authoritarian; their ‘different view’ of Islam points to diversity within the religion and how it can act as a vehicle for social justice.

Researcher

Shanon Shah

Research Institution

King’s College, University of London; William Temple foundation; Information network on religious movements; the Muslim Institute.

What is this about?

• Can people use religions ‘independently’, without referrring to official authorities?
• What are the experiences snd beliefs of LGBT Muslims?
• Can Islam be presented as a religion of equality and diversity?
• How can stereotypical views of Islam as homophobic or authoritarian be challenged?
• How might RE teachers consider these issues in their teaching?

What was done?

The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with 29 individuals – 17 in Malaysia and 12 in Britain, also observing and participating in their various social activities, including recreational sports, nightclubbing and activism, and in public events related to Islam and/or LGBT issues; and attended and made notes on congregational Friday prayers and sermons in both countries to assess if or how gender and sexuality were discussed. Media analysis was also carried out.

Main findings and outputs

• Traditionally, homosexuality is often viewed as ‘forbidden’ in Islam.
• However, some LGBT Muslims are taking charge and reinterpreting Islam to expand its notions of equality, diversity and social justice. The research looks at how they have created educational projects to spread their beliefs.
• For example, educational workshops are held during which Qur’anic passages often held to condemn homosexuality are re-interpreted: are these passages, which refer to Lut (the Biblical figure Lot), about loving, consensual same-sex relationships or sexualised forms of assault, exploitation and violence? How can these passages be squared with others that emphasise equality and diversity?
• A small number of UK Muslims are developing their religious literacy to form new Islamic groups that embrace gender and sexual diversity. They do this to reconcile their own personal identities with their faith, but also to re-shape Islam’s public profile.

Relevance to RE

• RE policy should reflect that religions need to be represented fairly and recognised as internally diverse. This research is a compelling example of these needs.
• Curriculum also should be planned to ensure that a range of views and practices within each religion is covered.
• In terms of pedagogy, the research offers rich resources. When teaching about Islam, family life and sexuality, teachers can ask pupils to consider: what are the different beliefs about these issues, within Islam? How might the different texts be intepreted, in different ways?
• Important reflective questions for pedagogy are also posed by the research. Having learned about LGBT Muslims and their understanding of their faith, pupils could be asked to reflect on how their own view of Islam has been affected by what they have learned.

Generalisability and potential limitations

By its nature, the research focuses on a minority group, but this is its appeal. It seems clear that the experiences reported are generalised, e.g. the author is right to suggest that several Islamic authorities state that homosexuality is forbidden and that gay Muslims have to work out how to react.

Find out more

Constructing an alternative pedagogy of Islam: the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Muslims, Journal of Beliefs & Values 37:3, 308-319 (published online 1 August 2016), 10.1080/13617672.2016.1212179

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2016.1212179