Position Papers

  • Paper 1 - How Islamic is My School?

    A preliminary analysis of ‘decolonial’ educational projects reimagining and enacting K-12 education from an Islamic theoretical basis

    Authors: Farah Ahmed, Amaarah Decuir, Dina El-Odessy & Maya Shaaban

    Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education

    This paper is currently under review and will be shared when it is published.

    Abstract: This paper presents a preliminary scoping study of seven schools or educational projects that are seeking to renew K-12 education from an Islamic worldview. It offers a cursory analysis of the discourse of these schools as they define their understandings of education and the human person, and attempt to enact these through philosophies, pedagogies and practices. It considers the decolonial nature of both the discourse and practices adopted by the schools, as well as the wider context within which these schools sit.

    The toolkit from this paper will be available soon.

  • Paper 2 - Islamic Pedagogies for Your School

    Rethinking contemporary schooling in Muslim contexts: An Islamic conceptual framework for reconstructing K-12 education

    Authors: Farah Ahmed and Safaruk Chowdhury

    Journal: Educational Philosophy and Theory (2024)

    https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2024.2411325

    Abstract: This paper presents a conceptual framework drawn from philosophies of education underpinned by an Islamic worldview. The framework offers an interconnecting network of Islamic educational concepts that can be used by contemporary educators in Muslim contexts think through how they might reconstruct preK-12 education in a more authentic and culturally coherent manner for their communities. This work of reconstruction and renewal is needed to decolonise schooling in Muslim contexts and offers scope for intercultural pedagogical discourse amongst philosophers of education.

    The toolkit from this paper will be available soon.

  • Paper 3 - Expanding Research Paradigms

    Expanding Research Paradigms: Posing design questions to guide research in sites of Islamic education

    Authors: Claire Alkouatli, Dylan Chown, Seda Özalkan, Nadeem Memon, Farah Ahmed, Arwa Al Qassim

    This paper is currently under review and will be shared when it is published.


    Abstract: This paper examines how empirical research in sites of Islamic education is conceived,  framed, and designed. Sensitized by scholarly emphasis on the importance of establishing clear paradigmatic foundations for rigorous educational research, in both traditional Islamic scholarship and  contemporary social science literature, we conducted a methodological analysis of contemporary Islamic educational research literature. We found inconsistency in research designs, paradigms, and data–paradigm engagements. By drawing on theory, methodological analysis, and our own empirical experiences, we articulate a  Paradigmatic Inquiry Framework composed of Design Questions and Guiding Questions to  support contemporary researchers in constructing robust Islamically-coherent research  paradigms. 

    The toolkit from this paper will be available soon.

  • White Paper for Islamic Schools

    Roadmap to Renewal: Islamic Educational Theory into Practice: White Paper on the Cambridge Dialogues Stakeholder Workshop December 11-12, 2023. 

    The Roadmap to Renewal Conference held December 2023 at the University of Cambridge, included a two-day stakeholder workshop. As Islamic schools increasingly grapple with how to center the ‘Islamic’ more deeply and authentically, many are embarking on a process of renewal (tajdīd). In the spirit of tajdīd, the workshop brought three groups into dialogue: school leaders, academics, and theologians - each contributing constructive insights from complementary vantage points toward a roadmap to renewal. We sought to:

    1. Capture “vantage points” and intersections of perspectives from school-leaders, academics, and theologians on a roadmap for renewal that draws on Islamic conceptualisations of education

    2. Build an international network of multiple institutional partners, mapping future potentialities and a plan for ongoing sustained collaboration through a dialogic practice loop

    The workshop involved a small select group of 20 people who attended by invite only (approximately 6 representing each vantage point).

    Emerging Findings:

    The following is a summary of some of the overarching reflections from across the dialogues:

    1. Vantage points intersect – a shared language is needed as labels can be Inaccurate

    2. Curriculum initiatives are blossoming and yet Islamically grounded models are needed

    3. Academics need to make the benefit of research for schools more explicit

    4. Reading through educational orientations fosters stronger coherence in Islamic schools

    5. Undervaluing of Islamic Studies teachers/scholars must be contested

    6. Fostering an Islamic personhood is a collective responsibility

    7. Need to get our education model right: Cognitive dissonance in Islamic schools is real

    8. Getting the model “right” must begin with getting the purpose of education right

    9. Cannot forget the needs of Muslim students in public schools

    10. Diversity offers richness in our school cultures and enables critical thinking

    The full paper can be accessed here.

Unity in Diversity

Members of the Cambridge Dialogues project are situated across a broad spectrum of religious schools of thought, of cultures, nationalities and ethnicities. We have differing academic backgrounds and situate ourselves within a range of scholarly disciplines and methodological traditions. Our differing perspectives are important for rich dialogue and sometimes expressed through nuance in our shared position papers. 

Our position papers should not be read as having the full consensus in every detail of all members of Cambridge Dialogues. However, we share the following commitments: 

  • rooting our work in Qur’an, sunnah and traditional Islamic scholarship;

  • the importance of Muslim educational self-determination across our differences; 

  • there is much to be learnt from educational traditions in non-Islamic contexts;

  • the imperative of educational coherence at epistemic, pedagogical and curricular levels in renewal of K-12 education in Islamic contexts;

  • the blessings of diverse learning communities and the importance of collaborative work; 

  • the importance of working at the interface of scholarship, research and practice.