analyses of this study showed that it is difficult to generalize the educational settings of Islamic schools in the U.S. Keyworth (2009) mentioned the difficulty of constructing common standards among Islamic schools in the U.S., and the findings of this study revealed that there are complicated politics and perspectives behind Islamic schooling in this country. The key findings from the cross-case analysis showed that establishing Islamic educational standards and connecting Islamic schools in the U.S. under one main association may be complicated and ineffective. Analysis of the Islamic school contexts described by the six participants in this study sheds light on how immigrant Muslim communities and indigenous Muslim communities have their own schools. In the five cases represented by Rania, Sonia, Amira, Zainab, and Amal, either there were a few African American students or none. Additionally, in the school context discussed by Salma, there were no immigrant Muslim students. This shows that the divergent
perspectives between immigrant Muslims and indigenous Muslims in the U.S. continue to exist also in the climates of Islamic schools as these two Muslim communities mostly have their own Islamic schools that reflect separate cultures (Ahmad, 2012; Haddad & Smith, 1994; Khalifa & Gooden, 2010; Leonard, 2003; Pipes & Duran, 2000; Rashid, 2013). Moreover, the results of this research showed that establishing unity among Islamic schools in the U.S. can be complicated even in schools established by immigrant Muslims; the environments of Islamic schools may favor the culture of one significant
nation, as in the school contexts of Amal and Zainab where each school represented the culture of Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, respectively. To summarize, the results of this study showed that there is a lack of union among Islamic schools in the U.S., and this finding is in keeping with much of the research in the reviewed literature (Callaway 2010, Haddad, Senzai, & Smith, 2009; Memon, 2011; Merry, 2007; Niyozov & Pluim, 2009; Niyozov 2010; Rashid 2013; Sanjaktar, 2011). However, the results of this research pointed out that because of divergent perspectives, cultures, and politics, maintaining solidarity among Islamic schools may be complicated. Before multicultural education can be developed adequately in Islamic schools in the U.S, there is a strong need to promote multiculturalism among Muslim communities here, which by extension may also spur dialogue among U.S. Islamic schools.
The results of this study confirmed that most of the teachers and administrators in Islamic schools may not be familiar with the broad educational contexts of the U.S.; this was also mentioned by Haddad and Smith (2009), Merry (2005), and Niyozov and Pluim (2009). Furthermore, Niyozov (2010) pointed out that teaching Islam may even be an issue in Islamic schools in pluralistic societies, due to those communities’ different perspectives on religious education. The key findings and analyses of this study also highlighted the discussion of teaching Islam in multicultural communities. For example in the case of Rania, there were tensions between Arab and non-Arab parents about teaching Arabic. Also, the Islamic school contexts described in the cases of Amira and Sonia pointed out that teachers and administrators were more concerned with the academic success of the students rather than with understanding the needs of students. This shows that there is a necessity in Islamic schools in the U.S. to introduce
multicultural education and promote its development. Key findings and analyses pointed out that the contexts of teachers and administrators in Islamic schools requires a
transformational approach that “changes the basic assumptions of the curriculum and enables students to view concepts, issues, themes, and problems from several ethnic perspectives and points of view” (Banks, 2006, pg. 61). Each participant in this research directly or indirectly pointed out the importance of transformation in teaching beliefs, cultural norms, and religious perspectives to improve multicultural education in Islamic schools in the U.S. For example, the data analysis of Amira’s and Sonia’s interviews showed that the conceptualization of The Transformation Approach is also critical for Islamic school teachers to change their teaching beliefs which were formed according to their home cultures. Another example, the findings of Rania’s interview showed the importance of The Transformation Approach to understand the role of culture,
nationality, and politics in construction of Muslim communities and Islamic schools in the U.S. The Transformation Approach ( Banks, 2006) also may allow Islamic school teachers and administrators to develop critical pedagogy knowledge and skills for self reflection, self assessment, and tolerance (Memon, 2009; Zine, 2009). For example the case of Salma in this study showed that providing Islamic education which ignores the real life experiences of Muslim children and youths in the U.S only results in rebellion rather than reinforcement of mutual understanding and tolerance. The educational perspective that is based on critical theory promotes such individual consciousness which “understands how and why his or her political opinions, socio-economic class, role, religious beliefs, gender role and racial self-image are shaped by dominant
perspectives” ( Kincheloe & Steinberg, 1997, p. 23). McLaren (1995) considers critical pedagogy as a way of social transformation.
The overall project of critical pedagogy is directed towards inviting students and teachers to analyze the relation among their own quotidian experiences, classroom practices, the knowledges they produce, and the social, cultural, and economic arrangements of the larger society. (McLaren, 1995, p. 231)
In summary, to apply a transformational approach for multicultural education, the discourse of Islamic education needs to effectively shift to a critical perspective, one which should be informed by multicultural religious education.
Figure 6.1. Analysis of Multicultural Religious Education in Islamic Schools in the U.S.
Critical Pedagogy in Islamic Education Promoting pluralism in
Islamic education in order to provide opportunities for self
reflection and self evaluation of personal
religious beliefs , to create more understanding of
diversity among Muslims in the U.S. Transformational
Approach in Multicultural Education
Informing teachers and administrators about divergent perspectives , helping them understand
the educational contexts of the U.S. and consider the individual needs of
students in Islamic schools. Religious Multicultural Education in Islamic Schools in the U.S.
A discussion of key terms and analyses can explain the connection between this research and reviewed analyses; however, it is also important to detail how this research fills a gap in the existing literature. The overarching purpose of this study was to
investigate diversity in Islamic schools in the U.S., a concept that has been limitedly highlighted by previous literature. This research contributed significant information about how differences in terms of race, class, nationality, language, and gender contribute to different dynamics in Islamic schools. This research provided space for a multicultural education discussion that opens further research possibilities about this topic in Islamic schools in the U.S. Also, existing research has highlighted cultural diversity in Islamic schools in the U.S., but has not shed light specifically on the details of important discourses such as immigrant versus indigenous Muslims, Arabs versus non-Arabs, socioeconomic class, and denominational differences. Another point is that existing literature has focused on how to integrate Islam into the educational standards of a secular curriculum, whereas this research highlighted that in integrating multicultural education trends and practices in other (religious or non-religious) schools, it is also important to consider the individual needs of students in these schools and to provide social justice, equity, and culturally responsive teaching. Lastly, this research affirmed the particularization of Islamic schools’ contexts which indicates the need for education research designed as a collective case study in this area by showing similarities and differences among six cases.
I believe that in terms of multicultural education research, this study also fills a gap to visualize possible future structures of religious multicultural education in Islamic schools. The findings of this research addressed the necessity of Islamic schools in the
U.S. being informed about multicultural education and its implementations in religious schools and the importance of developing productive and effective multicultural education in these schools.