http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1931309,00.html
Islamic studies 'letting down' multicultural needs Press Association Wednesday October 25, 2006 Guardian Unlimited Islamic studies in Britain's higher education institutions are failing to meet the needs of a 21st-century multicultural society, according to a report published today. Academics at Dundee's Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies examined 55 UK higher education departments and centres currently offering courses in the study of Islam and Muslims. They claim education structures are "letting down" Muslims and are calling for a "new agenda" offering education which is more relevant to contemporary British society and takes a more multicultural approach. The report, entitled Time for Change: Report on the Future of the Study of Islam and Muslims in Universities and Colleges in Multicultural Britain, was written by Abd al-Fattah El-Awaisi and Malory Nye. Prof El-Awaisi said: "The call for a new agenda is timely and necessary to prevent the misguided and narrow interpretation of Islam which is the source of so many problems in our multicultural society. "It is only through multicultural education we can work to eliminate extremism and fundamentalism." The report found most British non-Muslims do not "get" Islam and do not understand what makes Muslims "tick". "Many British communities, including British Muslims, have failed to understand each other and have failed to engage effectively in multicultural Britain," it states. "There is mutual incomprehension and this can only be addressed by education." The report claims Muslim schools and colleges run by Muslims for Muslims is not the answer. "Multiculturalism is not about separatism, ghettoisation or Balkanisation; it is instead recognition of diversity, the need for common ground, mutual respect and cultural engagement," it states. It adds that some departments concentrated on "out of date and irrelevant issues", while others chose local religious leaders as lecturers for "political correctness". It also criticised some Muslim institutions for focusing on their own political links and agendas and not those of multicultural Britain. The report makes a number of recommendations including a government-commissioned study on Muslim institutions and their place in the development of Islam and Muslims as an integral part of multicultural British society. It also calls for Muslim institutions to be encouraged to integrate more actively into the British higher education system. Prof Nye said: "All those who participate in the development of this area of higher education have the responsibility to respond to the new realities of contemporary multicultural Britain. "We must ensure the integration of all aspects of society within these debates and also recognise the need to make the understanding of Islam and Muslims a mainstream part of the curricula." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
