ABSTRACT
This paper examines the pedagogy–politics intersection framing the perceptions, expectations, and organisation of Islamic education (IE) within the Muslim-minority context of Europe. It is structured around (a) a conceptual analysis of education, and (b) the exploration of socio-political dynamics informing IE in Europe. IE is often defined with contradictory depictions. In the broadest sense, IE means Islam's transformative vision of education (tarbiya) prompting human flourishing. As a curriculum subject, IE refers to how Islam is taught within diverse European educational systems. This includes publicly funded RE models in Europe that range from confessional (Germany), to non-confessional (UK), to a combination of both (Nordic countries). State-sponsored IE in continental Europe has emerged as a convenient tool to enact the official security policies in educational spaces and to manufacture politically correct Muslim identities. The community-based traditional IE is utilised to reproduce identity narratives borrowed from parental heritage of European Muslim children. The “educational good” in both approaches largely excludes the lived reality and interest of the learners. The paper concludes by stressing the significance of providing an inclusive IE, in Muslim and mainstream education, that facilitates contextual, reflective teaching and learning of Islam and empowers learners to understand, respect, and navigate the plurality informing their lives.
