Education and Schooling
‘Decolonising the university’ in Germany: Debates and challenges
American and British universities in particular have been rocked by a wave of student-driven contestation focused on the content of curricula, on the predominance of white (and frequently male) authors and faculty, as well as on institutions’ enmenshment in colonial exploitation and racialised hierarchies. Students and activists have begun to voice similar challenges in Germany;…
During the middle of Ramadan: the French parliament hesitation about banning veiled mothers from joining their kids on a school trip:
On the 15th of May, the French Senate examined a proposal for a new law – named the Blanquer law, in reference to the minister of Education—anchored in a vast project of reforming the French school system. The professed objective of such a law, originally proposed by the government of President Macron, is to (re)create…
Islamic research in Germany: A new Qur’anic commentary – and old questions of politicisation
Austrian theologian Mouhanad Khorchide, professor for Islamic religious pedagogy and director of the Centre for Islamic Theology at the University of Münster in Germany, has published the first part of a wide-ranging commentary of the Qur’an – a project that is to comprise 17 volumes upon completion. A large-scale tafsir The book – titled God’s…
Frankfurt University rocked by accusations of anti-Muslim racism
At the University of Frankfurt, a fierce debate has broken out over a proposed conference on the Islamic headscarf, signalling growing contestation over questions of identity and discrimination. Entitled “The Islamic headscarf – Symbol of dignity or of oppression?”, the conference is scheduled for May 8, 2019. Its principal organiser is Susanne Schröter, an anthropologist…
Religious Groups respond to the introduction of Relationships and Sex Education in the UK
An intense debate is taking place in the UK between religious groups in the context of what has been described as the introduction of ‘LGBT equality’ lessons and the announcement by the UK government that from September 2020, relationships and sex education (RSE) will become statutory in all secondary schools in England. Relationships education will…