Religious education and the knowledge society

Three years ago in London, I met Adil Mamodaly, who happened to be living in the room next door to me at our student residence near Kings Cross. At the time, Adil was pursuing a double Masters program (in Muslim Civilizations and Education respectively), jointly run by the Institute of Education and the Institute of Ismaili Studies.

Though we no longer live in the same city and can no longer enjoy a game of Monopoly together as easily, I am lucky to still be in touch with Adil. He is now working as a teacher and scholar with the Ismaili community in Canada and recently published a paper titled Rethinking the role of religious education in a knowledge society: A Shia Ismaili Muslim perspective.

Yesterday I caught up with Adil over e-mail and asked him five questions on the paper. He was kind enough to respond. Here is what he said:

1. This knowledge society; does it just have to do with the physical production of knowledge or are there intangible aspects to it? 

Knowledge societies do not just have to do with the physical production of knowledge but they also ought to consider how to use that knowledge towards the greater good of its society, and from a global standpoint, the entirety of the human race. 

2. Compared to teachers from Dar al Hikma, why do you think we've arrived to a state in the world where we specialize in particular subjects, rather than having broad "encyclopaedic" knowledge? 

I think it has to do with how knowledge itself has been understood in certain parts of the world. What has happened is that societies whose sole focus was to achieve greater economic gain saw knowledge not as a whole but in parts and therefore many fields of knowledge became specialized. Focusing in one subject area would make you an expert in your field but what we are seeing now is a knowledge gap where various fields of study have become overly specialized and are therefore alienated from each other. This again begs the question, what is our purpose behind the pursuit of knowledge? and to what end? 

3. Secular and Religious Education; need they be separate? Why so? 

Some would argue yes, presumably as an extension to the belief in the separation between Church and State. Though this is not the case all around the world, some societies do not see them as binaries, politically or educationally speaking. In terms of Education I would recommend that they be taught in harmony with each other because religions have existed throughout our history and in many facets of human life. Omitting this convergence in the education system suggests to our younger generations that we can pick and choose what we (in the present) want to say about the world which I believe distorts a real and meaningful understanding of our world to our students. If we distort history then students will have difficulty in understanding how the world has come to be the way it is. Dichotomizing secular and religious education within our learning system inadvertently says to the student that these two do not belong together nor have they ever belonged together, of which the opposite is true.

 This is but one argument in a very large discussion but I would be remiss if I did not say that we should evaluate how religious education is taught amidst the influences of secularism, both from a curricular and pedagogical standpoint. What we, as educators, should be asking is: "how can I teach and inspire my students to live their lives by contributing to the betterment of society through ethical principles and actions while pursuing economic betterment?" 

4. You mention Paolo Freire while discussing cosmopolitanism (p. 10). Is a transformation in the way young people are educated needed? If so, what would this transformation look like, and how would it help? 

I think I addressed some of this in the previous question but what I will say is that in addition to changes in how we educate young people we should seek to achieve a transformation within the student. In other words, developing their potential to contribute to the world in which we live in meaningful ways and with greater purpose is what Freire reflects upon. In connection with cosmopolitanism, diversity of peoples in our countries, cities and neighborhoods is a well known fact but how we develop individuals that will see this diversity as a strength and build upon it is of primary concern to educators as it ensures the safety and interactive growth of our species. 

5. If you had the chance to be heard by all the teachers in the world, what would you say? 

In addition to the question I posed in question 3, I would ask "how are you creating a space wherein students can look at the world through multiple lenses be it philosophical, scientific, religious, artistic or otherwise? And, how do you ensure that these multiple ways of understanding become a source of strength in your classroom rather than a burden?" 

Adil can be emailed at adil(dot)mamodaly(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks chief!