Islamitische godsdienstlessen: naar een integratief pedagogisch-didactisch model

In Flanders (Belgium) and in the Netherlands, confessional religious education (RE) as organized in publicly recognized and state-funded schools has often been criticized. The main criticisms are that confessional RE in general, and Islamic RE in particular, has an outdated pedagogy, while its content does not fit in contemporary Western society. In Flanders and in the Netherlands, many teachers of Islamic RE struggle with the question how confessional Islamic RE can, both pedagogically and with regard to content, be faithful towards the Islamic tradition and at the same time connect with contemporary Western society. In this contribution, the author argues that an integrative perspective on Islamic pedagogy, with particular attention for the rich hermeneutical tradition in Islam, could transcend this dichotomy.