As liberal democracies include increasingly diverse and multifaceted populations, the longstanding debate about the role of the state in religious education and the place of religion in public life seems imperative now more than ever. The maintenance of religious schools and the planning of religious education curricula raise a profound challenge.…

This paper explores the concept of "community engagement," a central theme within a British research project examining the issues of cultural sustainability among faith-based schools. Discussion is informed by the views of Muslim and Jewish school community stakeholders at the time when the policy of social cohesion was being legally…

Many critics hailed the new film, "Four Lions," by director Chris Morris as "provocative, incendiary, audacious, and shocking" and "one of the funniest and boldest comedies of the year." As a satirist, Morris already established his wit signature with the production of the mockumentary series, "Brass Eye." Using the same absurdist approach, he…

This paper presents findings from 11 in-depth interviews with Turkish undergraduate students, who were, by the time of data collection, about to spend a semester at a European university under the Erasmus exchange scheme. The students all agreed to be interviewed about their feelings about studying in a foreign culture, and were found to be…

The number of people in need of care, support and assistance from afflictions (natural and artificial) keeps expanding by the day. From a simple traditional based dislocation to a sophisticated "man induced" social problems of wars, refugees, drug addiction, homosexuality, HIV/AIDS pandemics etc, the society today (either developed or…

This essay is excerpted from the author's book "Divisions within Islam," part of a 10-volume series for middle and high school students on the World of Islam. It provides information on the religious practices and beliefs of Shiism, and its differences with Sunni Islam. It mentions that Shiism is the second-largest denomination of Islam,…

It is the mark of a great world religion to accommodate different outlooks and sensibilities. Quite often, these differences are manifested in terms of formal divisions within the faith. In Islam, the major split is between Sunni and the various forms of Shiism, though other divisions also exist. This essay, excerpted from the book "Divisions…

Voluntary religious conversion is a topic of great interest and fascination. However, this fascination is increased when the religion is Islam and the convert is female. Through the use of three in-depth interviews, this research hopes to answer the following questions: how much does a dissatisfaction with typical British individualism contribute…

Selected verses from Abdullah Yusuf Ali's English language translation of the meaning of the Quran have been used as a literary text to teach both descriptive and figurative imagery (including similes, metaphors and symbols) to students at the undergraduate level in an Islamic institution. The technique--Illustrating and Designing for teaching…

Two major assumptions have dominated much of the discourse on Islamic schools in Pakistan since the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s and following the US attack on Afghanistan in October 2001. First, the Pakistani state-run education system is failing. Because of the poor quality of education at public schools, parents choose to send their…

In this article, the author investigates the controversial curricular and instructional aspects of teaching about Islam in social studies courses. Specifically, the author discusses pedagogically sound approaches to teaching about "jihad" and "Shari'ah" law, two of the most important and controversial concepts in Islam that often generate intense…

The present paper explores the problems of English Language and Literature junior and senior majors, who are enrolled in a drama course at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG). The course emphasizes the significance of drama. Morgan (1987: 7) defines drama as an "art of communication," which is essential in teaching literature. A survey…

"Conceptions of Islamic Education: Pedagogical Framings" argues that "madaris" (Muslim schools) cannot exclusively be held responsible for the cultivation of extremism. Islamic education can most appropriately be framed according to three interrelated concepts: "tarbiyyah" (rearing or nurturing), "ta'lim"…

This study analyzes the connections among multilingual language practices, multilingual literacy practices, and social identities in two Sunni madrassahs in Mauritius. The study is framed by sociolinguistic and poststructuralist perspectives on language and identity, and social practice views of literacy. Data collection and analysis involved…

This article investigates the relationship between religious identities of African American Muslims and school performance. We examined how understandings of religion inform how American Muslims view, behave, and imagine their role in school. The first author conducted interviews over the course of a year with four American Muslims, two of whom…