Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Islamic Education and the UK Muslims: Options and Expectations in a Context of Multi-locationality

  • Published:
Studies in Philosophy and Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The article will discuss Islamic philosophy of education to explain the role and aims of education for the Muslim Ummah (Community). It will then debate the needs of the UK Muslims with regard to the education of their children in the context of multi-locationality, and associated challenges of bringing up children while living between two different ‘ways of life’. How their concerns shape their expectations from education in the UK and their educational choices, will be argued while drawing on relevant literature and research, followed by some suggestions to inform future policy regarding education of the UK Muslims.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbas, T. (2004). The education of British South Asians. London and New York: Palgrave.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Abbas, T. (2006). Muslims in Birmingham, UK. Centre on Migration Policy and Society: Background Paper for the University of Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abdullah, A. S. (1982). Educational theory: A Quranic outlook. Makka: Umm-Al-Qura University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmed, A. S. (2007). Journey into Islam: The crisis of globalization. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmed, A. S., & Donnan, H. (Eds.). (1994). Islam, globalization and post modernity. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Attas, M. (1979). Aims and objectives of Islamic education. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Ghazali, H. (1995). On disciplining the soul. Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Hibri, A. (Ed.). (1982). Women and Islam. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ameli, S. R., Azam, A. & Merali, A. (2005). Secular or Islamic? What Schools do British Muslims Want for their Children? Vol. 3 of the British Muslims’ Expectations Series, summary http://ihrc.org.uk/file/BMEG_VOL3.pdf.

  • AMSS - Association of Muslim Social Scientists. (2004). Muslims on education. Retrieved January 4, 2005, http://www.amssuk.com/news.htm.

  • Anwar, M. (1979). The Myth of return: Pakistanis in Britain. London: Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anwar, M. & Bakhsh, Q. (2002). State Policies Towards Muslims In Britain: A Research Report. Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, University of Warwick.

  • Archer, L. (2003). Race, masculinity and schooling: Muslim boys and education. Oxford: OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashraf, S. A. (1995). Basic principals in the formulation of curriculum for tertiary education with specific reference to humanities. Muslim Education Quarterly, 13(1), 5–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagguley, P., & Hussain, Y. (2007). The role of higher education in providing opportunities for South Asian women. London: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Basford, L. B. (2008). From mainstream to East African Charter: East African Muslim students’ experiences in US schools. Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota.

  • Bauman, Z. (1997). The Making and Unmaking of Strangers. In T. Modood & P. Werbner (Eds.), The politics of multiculturalism in the new Europe: Racism, identity, and community (pp. 46–57). London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • BBC (2004). ‘Stop-and-search racism must end’. BBC News World Edition: Last updated 20 May 2004. Accessed 17.10.2012 @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3732169.stm.

  • BBC (2005). July 25 Police shot Brazilian eight times. Available online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4713753.stm (Accessed 15 August 2007).

  • Billings, A. & Holden, A. (2007). The Contribution of Faith to Integration … http://www.chorley.gov.uk/media/pdf/1/o/CommissiononIntegrationandCohesion_1.pdf.

  • Blair, M. (2002). Effective school leadership: The Multi-ethnic context. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 23(2), 179–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blunkett, D. (2004). Rethinking britishness. London: Foreign Policy Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brah, A. (1996). Cartographies of diaspora: Contesting identities. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brasted, H. V. (2005). Islam and identity in South Asia: at the crossroads of confusion and confrontation. In A. Johns & N. Lahoud (Eds.), Islam in world politics (pp. 105–126). London: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Coles, M. I. (2004). Education and Islam: a new strategic approach. Race Equality Teaching, 22, 41–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • CRE (2005). Citizenship and belonging: what is Britishness? ETHNOS Research and Consultancy by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in 2005. (Available at http://www.cre.gov.uk/downloads/what_is_britishness.pdf).

  • Cush, D. (2005). The faith schools debate. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 26(3), 435–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DFES (2007). Diversity and citizenship in the curriculum: Research review. Research report by Maylor, U., Read, B., Mendick, H., Ross, A. and Rollock, N. London: London Metropolitan University.

  • Douglass, S. L., & Shaikh, M. A. (2004). Defining Islamic education: Differentiation and applications. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 7, 5–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doyle, A. (2006). Educational equality, religion and the education of Muslim pupils: A comparative study of France and England. In R. Griffin (Ed.), Education in the Muslim world: Different perspectives (pp. 289–303). Oxford: Symposium Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. (1999). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esposito, J. L. (2002). Unholy war: Terror in the name of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, R., Cairns, J., & Lawton, D. (Eds.). (2005). Faith schools: Consensus or conflict?. London: Routledge Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geaves, R. (2005). Negotiating British citizenship and Muslim identity. In T. Abbas (Ed.), Muslim Britain: Communities under pressure (pp. 66–77). London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillborn, D. (1998). Racism and the politics of qualitative research: Learning from controversy and critique. In P. Connoally & B. Troyna (Eds.), Researching racism in education: Politics, theory, and practice (pp. 34–54). Buckingham: OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillborn, D., & Mirza, H. (2000). Educational inequality: Mapping race, class and gender. London: Ofsted.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haddad, Y. (2002). Muslims in the west: From sojourners to citizens. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hagopian, E. C. (2004). Civil rights in peril—the targeting of Arabs and Muslims. Chicago: Haymarket Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hain, P. (2004). Minister of Europe, Peter Hain’s Interview with Sunday Times, 9 May.

  • Halstead, J. M. (2005). Education. In T. Choudhury, M. Malik, J. M. Halstead, Z. Bunglawala, & B. Spalek (Eds.), Muslims in the UK: Policies for engaged citizens. London: Open Society Institute.

  • Haque, Z., & Bell, J. F. (2001). Evaluating the performance of minority ethnic pupils in secondary schools. Oxford Review of Education, 27(3), 358–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hashmi, N. (2002). A Muslim school in Bristol: An overview of the current debate and Muslim school children’s views. Bristol: CECS, University of Bristol.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewer, C. (2001). Schools for Muslims. Oxford Review of Education, 27(4), 515–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins, N., & Kahani-Hopkins, V. (2004). The antecedents of identification: A rhetorical analysis of British Muslim activists’ constructions of community and identity’. British Journal of Social Psychology, 43(1), 41–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain, A. (2004). Islamic education: Why is there a need for it? Journal of Beliefs and Values, 25, 317–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain, S., & Ashraf, A. (Eds.). (1979). Crisis in Muslim education. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ijaz, A., & Abbas, T. (2010). The impact of inter-generational change on the attitudes of working-class South Asian Muslim parents on the education of their daughters. Gender and Education, 22(3), 313–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, J. (1998). Islam in transition: Religion and identity among British Pakistani youth. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, R., Wilson, D. and Burgess, S. (2006). Ethnic segregation and educational performance at secondary schools in Bradford and Leicester. Working Paper No. 06/142.

  • Judge, H. (2001). Faith-based schools and state funding: A partial argument. Oxford Review of Education, 27(4), 463–474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabbani, R. (2002). Dislocation and neglect in Muslim Britain’s ghettos. Monday June 17, The Guardian.

  • Kepel, G. (1997). Allah in the West: Islamic movements in America and Europe. Oxford: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kepel, G. (2003). Jihad: The trial of political Islam. London: I.B. Tauris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kosmin, B.A. and Keysar, A. (2009). American religious identification survey summary report (ARIS 2008); Retrieved 08 November 2011 (Available at http://commons.trincoll.edu/aris/publications/aris-2008-summary-report).

  • Lawson, I. (2005). Leading Islamic schools in the UK: A challenge for us all. NCSL report. (Available at http://www.ncsl.org.uk/media-7a6-c0-leading-islamic-schools-in-the-uk.pdf).

  • Malkawi, F. (2004). Future of Muslim education. Islamic Horizons, 33(3), 46–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maududi, S. A. A. (1981). Towards understanding Islam, Ahmed, K. (trans. and ed.). Leicester: Islamic Foundation.

  • MCB (2007). Towards greater understanding: Meeting the needs of Muslim pupils in state schools’ (Available at http://www.mcb.org.uk/downloads/Schoolinfoguidancev2.pdf).

  • McLoughlin, S. (2006). Writing in an Asian City. In N. Ali, V. S. Kalra, & S. Sayyid (Eds.), A postcolonial people: South Asians in Britain (pp. 110–140). London: Hurst and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meer, N. (2007). Muslim schools in Britain: Challenging mobilisations or logical developments? Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 27(1), 55–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meer, N. (2010). Citizenship, identity and the politics of multiculturalism: The rise of Muslim consciousness. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mernissi, F. (1991). Women and Islam: A historical enquiry. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merry, S. M. (2005). Cultural coherence and the schooling for identity maintenance. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 39(3), 477–497.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merry, M. (2007). Culture, identity and Islamic schooling: Philosophical approach. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merry, M., & Driessenb, G. (2005). Islamic schools in three western countries: Policy and procedure. Comparative Education, 41(4), 411–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Modood, T., Berthoud, R., & Lakey, J. (1997). Ethnic minorities in Britain: Diversity and disadvantage. London: Policy Studies Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • National League Tables for England and Wales (2006).

  • National Statistics (2001). Online Office for National Statistics (Available at http://www.statistics.gov.uk).

  • Nieto, S. (2004). Critical multicultural education and students’ perspectives. In G. Ladson-Billings & D. Gillborn (Eds.), The RoutledgeFalmer reader in multicultural education (pp. 179–200). London: RoutledgeFalmer.

  • Parekh, B. (2000). The future of multi-ethnic Britain: Report of the commission on the future of multi-ethnic Britain. London: Profile.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker-Jenkins, M. (1995). Children of Islam: A teacher’s guide to meeting the needs of Muslim pupils. London: Trentham Books Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker-Jenkins, M., Hartas, D., & Irving, B. A. (2005). In good faith: Schools, religion, and public funding. London: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pulis, J. W. (Ed.). (1999). Religion, diaspora, and cultural identity: A reader in the anglophone Caribbean. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach.

  • Rai, R., & Reeves, P. (2009). Introduction. In R. Rai & P. Reeves (Eds.), The South Asian diaspora: Transnational networks and changing identities (pp. 1–12). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, R. (2004). Islamophobia: Issues, challenges and action. London: Trentham Books Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, R., & Wood, A. (2004). The achievement of British Pakistani learners. RAISE project report. London: Trentham Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (2006). Identity and violence: The illusion of destiny. London: Allen Lane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, S. (1998). Flash-backs-and-forth: researching the roots. In K. Haw & S. Shah (Eds.), Educating Muslim girls: Shifting discourses (pp. 43–62). Buckingham: OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, S. (2006). Leading multiethnic schools: A new understanding of Muslim youth identity. Educational Management, Administration and Leadership, 34(2), 215–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah, S. (2008). Leading multi-ethnic schools: Adjustments in concepts and practices …. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 29(5), 523–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah, S. (2009). Muslim learners in English schools: A challenge for school leaders. Oxford Review of Education, 35(4), 523–540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah, S. (2012). Islamic schools in the West: Persistence or resistance. British Journal of Religious Education, 34(1), 51–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah, S., & Conchar, C. (2009). Why single-sex schools? Discourses of culture/faith and achievement. Cambridge Journal of Education, 45(2), 191–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheffer, G. (2003). Diasporic politics: At home abroad. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sirin, S. R., & Fine, M. (2008). Muslim American youth: Understanding hyphenated identities through multiple methods. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. I. (2002). Introduction. In Y. Haddad (Ed.), Muslims in the West: From sojourners to citizens, (pp. 3–16). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Statham, P., Koopmans, R., Giugni, M., & Passy, F. (2005). Resilient or adaptable Islam? Multiculturalism, religion and migrants’ claims-making for group demands in Britain, the Netherlands and France. Ethnicities, 5(4), 427–459.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tibawi, A. L. (1972). Islamic education. London: Luzac and Company Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tinker, C. (2009). Rights, social cohesion and identity: Arguments for and against state-funded Muslim schools in Britain. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 12(4), 539–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyrer, D., & Ahmad, F. (2006). Muslim women and higher education: Identities, experiences and prospects: a summary report. Liverpool: John Moores University and European Social Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vertovec, S., & Rogers, A. (1998). Muslim European youth: Reproducing ethnicity, religion, culture. Aldershot: Ashgate.

  • Walford, G. (2003). Muslim schools in Britain. In G. Walford (Ed.), British private schools: Research on policy and practice (pp. 158–174). London: Woburn Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • West, A., & Pennell, H. (2003). Underachievement in schools. London: Routledge Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zine, J. (2007). Safe havens or religious “ghettos”? Narratives of Islamic schooling in Canada. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 10(1), 71–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This article was completed during my study leave (January–June 2012). I thank Professor Janet Ainley, Director School of Education, Professor Elizabeth Murphy Head of College of Social Sciences and Pro-Vice Chancellor, and Professor Mark Thompson, the Chair of the Staffing Committee for approving my study leave which enabled me to work on this article, among other outputs. Special thanks go to colleagues, who covered my work during this study leave.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Saeeda Shah.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shah, S. Islamic Education and the UK Muslims: Options and Expectations in a Context of Multi-locationality. Stud Philos Educ 33, 233–249 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-013-9391-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-013-9391-2

Keywords

Navigation