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International Review of Education

, Volume 63, Issue 2, pp 153–167 | Cite as

Building peace education in the Islamic educational context

  • Mohammed Abu-Nimer
  • Ilham Nasser
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Following the events of 9/11, many misconceptions entered the policy-making platform with regard to the need for education reforms in the Muslim world. Based upon Western cultural and societal norms and increased scepticism of the role of religion in violence, these assumptions have triggered a strong wave of calls for a top-down approach to reform formal state schools in predominantly Muslim countries, These calls often meet with resistance at national and community levels. This article seeks to examine these misconceptions and investigate why educational reform efforts through top-down frameworks which are especially motivated by countering violent extremism or terrorism have had only limited success. Many major international intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental organisations and governments have invested time and effort into education measures aiming to build peace and coexistence in Muslim countries, but they have been unable to build a relationship of trust with community leaders and school authorities. The authors argue that the main reason for defiance is reformers’ failure to closely examine the cultural context of their chosen setting and work with existing tools and local institutions. Illustrating their point with a case study of an intervention carried out in informal Qur’anic schools in Niger, West Africa, the authors offer an alternative method which fosters changes from within. They argue that this model has a better chance of sustainability and could thus be used as the basis for future interventions.

Keywords

Peace education Education reform Qur’anic schools Islamic education Pluralism Co-existence Teacher training 

Résumé

Construire l’éducation à la paix dans le monde islamique – Après les événements du 11 Septembre, de nombreuses idées fausses portant sur le besoin de réformer l’éducation dans le monde musulman ont gagné l’espace d’élaboration des politiques. Fondées sur les normes culturelles et sociétales de l’Occident et sur un scepticisme accru à l’égard du rôle joué par la religion dans la violence, ces thèses ont déclenché une déferlante d’appels à une approche descendante pour réformer les écoles publiques formelles dans les pays à majorité musulmane. Aux niveaux national et communautaire, ces appels se sont souvent heurtés à des résistances. Le présent article vise à examiner ces idées fausses et à enquêter sur la raison pour laquelle les efforts de réforme de l’éducation selon des approches descendantes, ayant pour objectif principal la lutte contre l’extrémisme violent (LVE) ou le terrorisme, n’ont eu qu’un succès limité. De nombreux gouvernements, grandes organisations internationales intergouvernementales et organisations non gouvernementales ont investi du temps et des efforts dans des mesures d’éducation visant à construire la paix et la coexistence dans les pays musulmans, mais ils ont été incapables de bâtir une relation de confiance avec les dirigeants communautaires et les autorités scolaires. Les auteurs soutiennent que la principale raison de cette défiance est l’échec des réformateurs à examiner de près le contexte culturel d’un endroit donné, et à travailler avec les institutions locales et les outils existants. Par l’étude d’une intervention menée dans les écoles coraniques informelles au Niger, en Afrique occidentale, les auteurs offrent une autre méthode, qui favorise les changements menés de l’intérieur. Ils soutiennent que ce modèle, plus susceptible de se pérenniser, pourrait de ce fait être utilisé comme base pour de futures interventions.

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Notes

Acknowledgements

Without the efforts and suggestions of Renáta Smith, this article could not have been produced. Her work on content editing and literature review is much appreciated.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.The International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID)ViennaAustria
  2. 2.School of International ServiceAmerican UniversityWashingtonUSA
  3. 3.Salam Institute for Peace and JusticeWashingtonUSA

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