Ijtihad in the RE classroom

This article examines the place of ijtihad in the British Religious Education curriculum. It argues that the concept should be taught to high school students earlier than A-Level. Knowledge of ijtihad enables students to understand diversity of thought and legal interpretation in Islam, and why diff...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Authors: Hussain, Zameer (Author) ; Cooper-Davies, Christopher (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Routledge 2024
In: Journal of beliefs and values
Year: 2024, Volume: 45, Issue: 2, Pages: 220–234
Further subjects:B Islam
B Religious Education
B Ijtihad
B Hermeneutics
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:This article examines the place of ijtihad in the British Religious Education curriculum. It argues that the concept should be taught to high school students earlier than A-Level. Knowledge of ijtihad enables students to understand diversity of thought and legal interpretation in Islam, and why different conclusions can be reached from the same or similar corpus of Islamic sources. Ijtihad has always played an important role in the consolidation and evolution of Islamic legal thinking. Yet despite increased research about the value of a hermeneutical approach in the RE classroom in recent years, ijtihad is rarely taught in UK schools. The article presents real life classroom experience and tweaks to the established RE syllabi which have been implemented in schools where the majority of students identify as Muslims. Its principal author (Zameer Hussain) is a religious studies teacher who brings his own expertise in teaching to this debate in order to evidence how a hermeneutical approach to the study of Islam at all levels will benefit students’ understanding of Islam and help them to understand the importance of legal pluralism within and between Islamic traditions.
ISSN:1469-9362
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of beliefs and values
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13617672.2024.2312337