By Silma Ihram

Bismillah

In August of 2024 the Islamic Curriculum Initiative was granted approval to present at the Annual Australian Islamic schooling Conference, held at the Islamic College of Brisbane and jointly sponsored by the University of South Australia and the Association of Islamic Schools of Australia. Islamic schools have developed rapidly in Australia since the early 1980’s, partly due to government funding – both recurrent and capital, both of which have steadily increased so that the independent (and mostly ‘religious’) schools sector is better resourced and more financially endowed than most ‘public’ or government run schools.

The theme of the conference was “Islamic Worldview: Renewing Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment. Approximately 200 delegates from many Islamic schools – now numbering around 70, with one school nearing 5,000 students – attended from cities around the Australian continent. Multiple sessions had presentations demonstrating curriculum initiatives from within Australian schools, and there were keynotes from innovative international speakers. These included renowned Islamic scholar Dr Samir Mahmoud, Dr Claire Alkouatli – a Canadian academic and education consultant who is researching human development within Islamic tradition and Dr Farah Ahmed, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge who has studied innovative educational practice generated from community led initiatives. 

I was honoured to present at one of the workshops on behalf of the Islamic Curriculum Initiative. This was the only presentation that reflected the need to include the Palestinian crisis in the curriculum – an area I have been active in supporting in ‘the land down under’. As Australia – like its Western allies – has been a strong supporter of Israel, the opportunity to engage in discussion and analysis of the unfolding crisis in Palestine is an imperative for many teachers in Australian schools – whether Muslim or non-Muslim. But as this is politically fraught, and Islamophobia has been increasing once again since October 7 2023, Muslim schools in particular have been reluctant to openly address the issue. Those teachers who have dared to discuss the implications and background to the conflict have also struggled to find appropriate resources. This was therefore an excellent opportunity to present the Islamic Curriculum Initiative to such a broad cross-section of mostly teachers, but also administrators. 

The workshop attracted considerable attention, and included the President of the Islamic Schools Association of Australia. Capably prepared by members of the ICI – Zeynep Alp, Laila Shatara and Craig Stewart, and covering recent and historical details about Palestine as well as the range of resources and their application for the classroom, I slightly adapted it to match Australian curriculum imperatives. While there is a national curriculum, and curriculum guidelines in each state, many schools have considerable freedom within these constraints to include topics and resources that reflect the needs and interests of their students. While the majority of the audience readily accepted the suggestions and opportunities to include such resources in their teaching, some of the administrators in the audience expressed their concerns about the political repercussions of discussing Palestine in the classroom. As one school leader suggested “..we are dependent on the government”. Unfortunately this is the reality of many Islamic schools in Australia and why they have not yet tackled critical ethical issues that could help graduating students make an important contribution to their society. My response was “Actually no brother, we are dependent only on Allah (swt)” a sentiment that many in the audience agreed with.    

Australian schools are in the unique position of graduating leaders for the wider Australian community. One such leader is Bilal el-Hayak, one of my own students who graduated from Noor al Houda Islamic College in 2006 and is Mayor of one of the largest Councils in Western Sydney. He was the first and possibly the only Mayor who worked with his constituents to fly the Palestinian flag  in early 2024 outside the Council chambers. While the conference indeed covered many important areas and there was much discussion about curriculum initiatives, the dependence on government funding will need to be overcome for Australian Islamic schools to begin including a truthful, justice-oriented, and decolonized curriculum that represents more closely Islamic values.