Description

Great Muslim scientists who invented algorithm or the pinhole camera didn’t see a gap between their scientific experiments and religion. In fact, Islam inspired their scientific curiosity and helped them draw closer to their creator. This bond between Islam on one side and the various specializations of knowledge on the other did not break for centuries; it helped shape Islamic civilization and spread its light over the dark ages in Europe. Such a dynamic Muslim identity is needed today more than ever before. The core principles of Islamic education emphasize integrating Islamic values with contemporary educational tools. Such an approach highlights the significance of nurturing a harmonious relationship between faith and science, fostering critical thinking, and cultivating an ummatic-centric mindset among Muslim youth. In this colloquium, we are shedding light on successful models that envision Islamic education to go beyond Shariah and rituals and see it as a way to build this Umma for the benefit of humanity.

 

Summary

Dr. Farah Ahmed

Introduction

• Though the focus in this presentation will be on the Shakhsiyah educational model and its applications, it is important to understand the theory that underpins any model.
• Shakhsiyah is an ummatic educational model drawn from the Islamic worldview.

 

The Shakhsiyah Story: Timeline

• Late 1990s: originated from homeschooling networks with young children, focused on defining education in Islam and identifying parental duties, with ongoing research, trial, and development of Islamic education.
• Gradual expansion from early childhood homeschooling to two registered schools in London and Slough for ages 3–11 in 2002, to homeschooling groups for ages 11–16 in 2007, and registered school for ages 11–16 in 2020.

 

An Islamic Worldview

• The aim is conceptualizing and enacting education from (i.e. based on) and for (i.e. to inculcate) an Islamic worldview.
• Worldview orients foundational philosophical outlook towards and behavior in the world, enabling us to answer questions about the aims of education.
• Islam’s two beginnings—creation, with Adam (AS) being taught the names, and the final message, with the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ being instructed to recite—are educational encounters.

 

The Ḥadīth of Jibrīl

• Represents the foundational blueprint for the entirety of Dīn—Islām, Īmān, and Iḥsān.
• The Prophet ﷺ engages as an educator and a learner in a dialogic educational encounter with another creation—Jibrīl n—modeling the purpose (why), mode (how), and practice (what) of education.
• Provides key educational concepts—tarbiya, taʿlīm, and taʾdīb, respectively relating to Islām, Īmān, and Iḥsān.
• These concepts enable a deeper understanding of the fulfilment of human potentiality (shakhsiyya) as the purpose of education.

 

The Shakhsiyah Model

• Integrates foundational Islamic principles (enabling practical enactment of theory) as opposed to values (which some assume can be injected into secular frameworks).
• The seven principles of this system include niyya (intention), halaqa (prophetic pedagogy), and qudwa (leading by example).
• Several other Islamic educational systems propose a trickle-down model starting with higher education, whereas Shakhsiyah proposes a bottom-up approach starting before birth.
• Shakhsiyah reflects a more complex process of fulfilling human potentiality as personhood as opposed to a mere matter of superficially building identity.
• Shakhsiyah thus encompasses character, personal agency, individuality, and dialogic relationality with self, all levels of creation, and Creator.

 

The Prophetic Pedagogy of Dialogic Ḥalaqa

• The ḥalaqa (study circle)—reflected in Islamic educational traditions globally, modeled on the Prophetic example—is key to putting the Shakhsiyah model into practice.
• Ḥalaqa—like the Qurʾān itself—models critical, reflexive, dialogic pedagogy, which we must revive.
• Enables discussion, not just transmission; thinking and learning, not just studying; critical reflection on and agency in belief and action.
• Thematic curricula integrate Islamic principles, such as ḥalaqa pedagogy and ummatic thinking, into all subject areas, making learning holistic and applicable.

 

Impact and Vision

• Empirical research supports the effectiveness of the model, demonstrating its ability to engage students critically and spiritually.
• Aims to raise individuals who can critically navigate modern challenges while staying rooted in Islamic values.

 

Dr. Mohamed S. Ebeida

Introduction

• Itkan Institute aims to foster STEM education in Muslim communities, while preserving Muslim youth’s Islamic identity.
• Advocates reconnecting Islamic identity with scientific and technological excellence.

 

Key Challenges for Muslim Youth

• Peer pressure, societal misconceptions about Islam, and negative media representation create identity crises and defensiveness.
• Lack of connection between Islamic teachings and modern careers leads to a fragmented sense of purpose and perceived contradiction between Islam and progress.

 

Itkan Model

• Uses STEM education as a tool for empowerment, cultivating youth pride in an Islamic identity that champions technological excellence.
• Strengthens community by involving parents as mentors and role models.
• Restores the universal role of the masjid from site of mere ritual into community-based educational hub, where youth can find answers, develop their careers, and impact their daily lives.
• Promotes a practical application of Islamic principles through hands-on learning and leadership opportunities.

 

Steps and Achievements of Applying Itkan Model

1. Transfer knowledge from community STEM experts to students.
2. From a student hierarchy: students teach each other, boosting knowledge and self-confidence.
3. Encourage students to share knowledge with nearby communities—Muslim and non-Muslim; nationally and internationally.
4. Establish connections with industry—securing funding for programs and opening career pathways.
5. Seek STEM excellence as an Islamic obligation—to make the “tech-savvy but secular” Muslim a thing of the past, and to guard against the influence of disproportionately secular and atheistic elite academia.
6. Establish a network of chapters; encourage sharing knowledge.
7. Compete in national and international competitions, demonstrating excellence—Itkan students have excelled in robotics, earning national and international recognition.
8. Build soft power of Umma and let students see it, showcasing contributions of Muslim students in competitive fields.
9. Get support from Muslim scholars.
10. Instill care for Umma—“make students carry their Umma with them everywhere they go.”

 

Daily work

• Program runs consistently, year-round, every year from the age of 7
• Instills the notion that “being a Muslim is the coolest thing in the world and the best gift from Allah” to safeguard their Islamic identity and practice.
• Cultivates tech-savvy Muslim leaders who see science as a means to draw closer to Allah.

 

Panel Discussion

 Overlap and Contrasts

• The two models present much overlap despite nuanced differences in emphasis regarding the notion of education and the Umma’s educational priorities.
• Both models prioritize nurturing critical thinking, agency, and leadership from an early age to teenage years.
• Shakhsiyah focuses on a broad thematic curriculum incorporating the Islamic tradition in general education whereas Itkan targets STEM fields, linking Islamic principles with technological innovation.

 

Discussing Shakhsiyah

Elitism and universal education: the concept of shakhsiyah is not the same as more classical concepts like al-insān al-kāmil, which reflected an elitist discourse, particularly in philosophy and taṣawwuf. But how might the shakhsiyah model be scalable for universal education?

• Drawing on Islamic concepts and terminology offers discursive depth, providing conceptual maps for understanding ourselves more holistically.
• Framing premodern Islamic education as elitist compared to modern colonial Western education as universal is fallacious—Muslims enjoyed high levels of literacy in that everyone could read the Qurʾān; access to scholarship and learning was more meritocratic than access to elite institutions under modern capitalism.
• Scalability requires teachers’ education, research, and providing training in the model for the establishment of new schools.

 

Discussing Itkan

Identity and excellence: is identity more than skin deep; something to be added on to excellence in otherwise secular fields of knowledge? Can we comfortably collaborate with companies deeply implicated in the active oppression of Muslims?

 

• Scalability: project started three years ago at two Islamic centers in Dallas, TX; the project now boasts 35 Islamic centers across 12 states in the U.S. and Canada, with further footholds in Europe and South Asia, with membership growth doubling every 10 months.
• The point is not to endorse problematic companies implicated in oppression. Muslims can and should learn from everyone, while standing their ground on firm principles.
• The aim is to cultivate ummatic solidarity—through cross-chapter collaboration—to teach children how Muslims can work together precisely to solve technological problems that impact them in these oppressive ways, from the ills of social media all the way to the genocide in Palestine.
• Above everything, the program provides experiential learning for real world problems, offering practical opportunities for tarbiya.

 

Q&A Session

National Belonging vs Ummatic Belonging

• Ahmed: Children must be educated according to their real-world contexts. Islamic concepts must be relatable to that context. Children being educated in the UK must have knowledge of the UK and its history, as well as the histories of other parts of the world in which they live and to which they relate. Instilling agency and the love of learning enables children to flourish, even when they graduate to other forms of education that might be repressive or hostile to creative agency, including higher education.
• Ebeida: Children in Itkan programs are primarily American-born. The program demonstrates to them that they can thrive both as Americans and as Muslims and there needn’t be a contradiction between the two. Furthermore, by demonstrating excellence, Muslims are looked up to by non-Muslims, as was the case in the past in Muslim history. Instilling pride in Muslim identity completely overturns the problem of identity crisis.

 

Challenges of Choosing Instructors

• Ahmed: A deeply held position in Islamic education is that the educator is everything. If the educator’s intention is pure, they will have the drive to do everything they need to do to fulfill the educational task at hand. Furthermore, the educator should also be a perpetual learner themselves, constantly engaged in professional development; when the educator is always working on their own shakhsiyah, this trait is in turn imparted to the children.
• Ebeida: Though the challenge at an earlier stage was the overabundance of students signing up, the challenge now is the overabundance of skilled instructors willing to volunteer their time and thus the task of effectively putting their skills to use. Another challenge has arisen due to the program’s developing global scope, regarding how to tailor the program according to the various needs in each context.