Islamonderwijs aan de Vlaamse Hogescholen: een stand van zaken

Abstract

In this article, we elaborate on the current state of Islamic education in Flanders. Due to a difficult start, the school subject is, up until the present day, highly contested and challenged. In order to increase its quality, several initiatives have been taken over the past decades. One of these initiatives is the establishment of teacher training programs for Islamic religious education. The article first discusses the complex story of the instutionalization of Islam in Belgium. Subsequently, an overview of the different trajectories regarding the professionalization of Islamic education is given. In order to make the reader familiar with these trajectories, we focus on the curriculum of Islamic religious education in two Flemish university colleges. Contents, subject didactics, teaching internships and student testimonies clarify the teaching strategy. In conclusion, we argue that there is still room for quality improvement. In this regard, this article provides useful recommendations such as increasing the number of inspectors, updating the curriculum, and providing innovative learning materials.