Teachers` conceptions and practice of Islamization of knowledge in the teaching of English : a case study

Abstract

Islamization of knowledge is an important concept that has been extensively debated by Muslim scholars, who view it as a panacea to revive the Muslim Ummah, as well as a catalyst leading to the Islamization of Muslim life. However, before one can carry out the agenda of Islamization of knowledge effectively, he or she needs to have a clear conception of what it is and what it involves. This exploratory case study specifically examined seventeen teachers` conceptions and practice of Islamization of knowledge in the teaching of English. In this study, qualitative measures, namely, a semi-structured interview, classroom observation, the informal conversational interview, and the review of documents were employed. The teachers, who taught an ESL course that included the reading of Western texts, were first interviewed on their understanding of Islamization of knowledge, the teaching of English from an Islamic perspective, and how they went about teaching the Western short stories. Based on the results of the interviews, three teachers, who stated that they taught English from an Islamic perspective, and who were willing to be observed, were chosen to be observed. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the teachers did not know what Islamization of knowledge meant. Nevertheless, all the teachers said they knew what teaching English from an Islamic perspective means, and claimed that they saw the need to do so. Data from the classroom observations of the three chosen teachers demonstrated that there were five recurring themes with regard to how they taught English frogi`"` an Islamic perspective. They highlighted un-Islamic practices; brought in Islamic concepts and Islamic Arabic terms; related the texts to the stories of the prophets, with special reference to Prophet Muhammad; discussed current issues, and finally made references to Qur `anic verses or hadith. This study also uncovered the problems that the teachers faced in teaching English from an Islamic perspective. This study has implications for the teaching of English as a second or foreign language, English language textbooks, curricula, and teacher development programmes from an Islamic perspective .