ABSTRACT
Many of the examples mentioned in the last chapter highlight the central place of religious faith and discourse in many awareness-raising activities undertaken by Muslim voluntary welfare associations. Religious education, in one form or another, plays a very dominant role in the sociocultural activities of Muslim NGOs through which they hope to tackle social problems or to affect change for the better within families and the community. In this chapter, the approach of an Islamic voluntary association that specializes in religious education will be described and analyzed. First, the way in which the association's members perceive the – actual as well as ideal – status of religion and religious doctrine will be pointed out. Subsequently, its vision and discourse on social relationships and social harmony that flow from this perception will be dealt with. This will be followed by some observations on the role of discipline and agency in the association's educational approach. The chapter will conclude by mentioning some theoretical implications for the civil society concept of the preceding material.
