Halaqah: Dialogic Pedagogy for British Muslim children in Uncertain Times

This paper reports the findings of an empirical study evaluating halaqah, a traditional Islamic oral pedagogy, which has been adapted in order to contribute to developing a sustainable socially just multicultural society in... [ view full abstract ]

This paper reports the findings of an empirical study evaluating halaqah, a traditional Islamic oral pedagogy, which has been adapted in order to contribute to developing a sustainable socially just multicultural society in 21^st century Britain. Halaqah is daily practice in two independent British Muslim faith-schools. It aims to develop the agency and hybrid identities of Muslim children through providing a safe space to cumulatively explore challenging issues. Previous papers at UKFIET have presented the Islamic educational theory underpinning the use of halaqah as dialogic pedagogy, and its parallels with mainstream dialogic educational theory. This paper reports the findings of a small-scale qualitative study exploring children (aged 10-11 years) and young peoples’ (aged 15-19 years) views on personal autonomy and being Muslim, and whether halaqah has helped them navigate their identity as Muslims living in a secular society. Three hour-long dialogic halaqah sessions were held with each group involving a series of key questions to generate dialogue on these topics. The data from these sessions was subjected to both thematic and dialogic (SEDA) analyses, to evaluate children’s and young people’s views, and their capacity to engage in dialogue with each other, and with an imagined secular other. Emergent themes relating to autonomy in childhood and adulthood, autonomy and choice, independent and critical thinking, navigating authority, peer-pressure and choosing to be Muslim are explored. These themes are presented in relation to developing a socially just and sustainable approach to the integration of Muslims into European society. Finally, potential curriculum implications, and the capacity for cross-cultural, international and social justice applications of halaqah, as a critical dialogic pedagogy that enables sustainable development, will be suggested.