Global questions in the classroom: the formulation of Islamic Religious Education at Muslim schools in Sweden

Abstract

My paper focuses on the formulation of Islamic Religious Education (IRE) at two Swedish Muslim schools where fieldwork was conducted in 2005–2008. Its aim is to contribute knowledge to ways in which IRE is formed as a confessional school subject within the framework and under the jurisdiction of the Swedish school system. Even though the general content of the classrooms was fundamentally the same, specific variations were clearly evident. The paper shows that global discussions on matters such as ‘authentic Islam’, gender inequality, and Muslim minority life have influenced the teaching that has been offered in these classrooms. These discussions have developed out of the many ways in which contemporary Muslims can choose to express their faith. And although each teacher deals with these issues in her own unique way, they all attempt to connect them to the pupils' situation as Muslims in Swedish society as well as to the national curriculum and local school syllabi. This leads to the concept of glocalisation, meaning that just as local conditions adapt to the influences of the global, so do global influences adapt to the conditions of the local. The paper demonstrates how the influences of interpretative tradition, local school context, situational perceptions and globally discussed issues work together to affect the content of IRE, meaning the type of interpretation of Islam that is provided in these schools.