Islamic religious education in the Netherlands

Ina Ter Avest, Cok Bakker, Leni Franken

Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter starts with a brief elaboration of church-state relations in the Netherlands and the presence of the Muslim community in the country. Subsequently, the Dutch education system is explained: in accordance with freedom of education, education is not the sole prerogative of the state, but also of private (religious) institutions. As a result, education is divided into different “pillars”: in addition to the “neutral” governmental schools, there are also Roman Catholic, Protestant Christian, and “other” non-governmental schools - including Islamic schools - which are all funded by the state. Following this model, IRE is organised in different ways, ranging from “impartial” education about Islam in the primary school subject Spiritual Movements to education in Islam in Islamic schools. These different ways of organising IRE are scrutinised, with particular attention to IRE in Islamic primary schools. Stimulated by recent controversies and pedagogical innovations, the chapter ends with some recent trends and initiatives for improvement.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIslamic Religious Education in Europe
Subtitle of host publicationA Comparative Study
EditorsLeni Franken, Bill Gent
PublisherRoutledge
Chapter11
Pages179-195
Number of pages17
ISBN (Electronic)9781000378160
ISBN (Print)9780367353759
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Taylor & Francis.

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

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