Favourite Model of Islamic Education

In this assignment, it is required to compare two models of Islamic religious education in Europe, or
two countries that have different forms of IRE. Then, both of these models will be compared to each
other, and it will be stated, which model I personally favour one upon the other. At that, I will try to
give reference to the articles provided, however, I will also try to include some insights from other
sources in which I found some important points that could be worth mentioning and could also fill
some gaps of open questions.
For the assignment I have chosen to compare the religious education model of Austria, because this is
the country I was born and raised in, and because I also am interested in the development of an ideal
education model, and the IRE in France.
Putting Austria’s Muslims’ history into perspective, Islam as a religion was officially recognized due
to the presence of Bosnian Muslims who were within of the Austria-Hungary monarchy 1 and also due
to ambassadors of Muslim countries or states, which had good relations with the Austria-Hungary
monarchy. Regarding the fact that the number of Muslims increased with the invited labour workers,
the Islamic Religious Community of Austria (IGGÖ) was recognized as a representative of the Muslim
community and its relations with the state. The same organisation is now in charge of the content
created for Islamic religious education in public schools, as well as have institutions in which IR
teachers are brought up.
However, in the last decade, Austria’s political attitude towards Muslims has changed offensively,
which caused a creation of an Islam law, which prohibits establishing religious associations outside
the IGGÖ – a law, which is not enforced over other religions and is unconstitutional. Thus, this has
created a lot of controversy and still is a matter of discussion. Nonetheless, Islamic religious education
in public schools is provided by the state as a facility, whereas the teachers and the content of the
education is covered by the IGGÖ.
France on the other hand has an extremely strict separation of church and state since 1905. Egalitarian
values of the state are of utmost importance, causing the expression of religious or cultural differences
to be silenced or held in private. Due to this stance toward religion, it is expectable that religious
education in public schools is not to be found at all. The only exception of the education system is that
parents are allowed to choose a day in the week to enrol their children in a non-governmental religious
education facility.
The negatory attitude towards religion in France has caused its position to uphold in other subjects in
school, like philosophy or history. This has given religion, in particular Islam, an opportunity to still
be taught from various perspectives, such as it being a civilisation, according to the philosopher Regis
Debray2. Outside of public school however, religious education is taught in non-governmental
organisations and facilities, like mosques or private afternoon schools, in which Muslim children are
brought to by their parents.
Comparing both of the Islamic religious education models, it is clear that Austria’s stance towards
religion is more neutral and accepting as the stance of France. The religious education facilities
presence in public schools make an enormous difference in the development and education of children
with a religious background. Families of these children should have the right to teach religion not just
in the private sectors but also in public spheres. If religious education is treated in this way, religious
people in society are looked at in a very prejudicial way because of their lack of knowledge of a
religion. This does not only apply to Islamic religious education but also to all the other religions as
well. French public schools providing religious education only from particular aspects such as
historical or philosophical, creates a perception that any other aspect of a religion is irrational or
1
Berglund Jenny, Publicly Funded Islamic Education in Europe and the United States, The Brookings Project
on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, Analysis Paper No. 21, April 2015
2
Berglund Jenny, Publicly Funded Islamic Education in Europe and the United States
unacceptable. Due to this problem, ongoing debates about Islam, Muslim or the notions of
Islamophobia will not come to a peaceful ending.
For this reason, I believe that the religious education in Austria as a system is highly successful.
Although admittedly, the lack of qualified teachers in religious education is still a problem that needs
to be solved by increasing advertisements for studying Islamic religious pedagogy as a master’s
degree. One key aspect that is disregarded in religious education in the public schools is the
importance of memorizing the Quran. Under the curriculum, the hifz education is not established,
which is unfortunate, since it is clear that practicing memorization on a daily basis has its advantages
not only in religious education but also in enhancing learning in other subjects. 3
Another key point is that the head of IGGÖ is playing an active role in bettering the conditions of
religious education in public schools. During the years 2011 and 2016, the head of the organisation has
not been positively influencing the conditions of IRE4, moreover, he as the representative of the
Muslim community, did not defend them during the discussions against the unconstitutional Islam
law.

3
Jenny Berglund (2017) Continuity and Change: Experiences of Teaching
Religious Education in the Light of a Life Trajectory of Hifz and Secular Education, Religion &
Education, 44:1, 88-100, DOI: 10.1080/15507394.2016.1267544
4
https://www.mjoe.at/presse/islamgesetz/ &
https://www.mjoe.at/uploads/media/Pressekonferenz_IV_SanacMussWeg.pdf