4.1. Pedagogy of Muslim Identity and Citizenship in a Non-Muslim Context
A key focus of the educational strategies in both institutions lies on Islamic identity formation. The goal is to help the students how to navigate and balance expressions of Muslim identity within a non-Muslim context. This involves a process of fostering awareness of their own religious identity as distinct in relation to the wider majority.
Although the authorities employ similar teaching strategies, we observed differences in the way this was implemented. In mosques, fatwā was used as key aspect to create a sense of self-confidence in religious and social dilemmas among the students. The Islamic concepts of loyalty and citizenship served as a powerful tool to teach students how to position and define themselves within the wider society. For example, during the fiqh classes in the mosque, a student asked Imam 1 if he was allowed to join the Belgian military service as a Muslim. The student indicated that it had always been his dream to serve in the Belgian army, but he feared that he shall be obliged to fight against Muslims in countries like Afghanistan.
“I would like to work for the Belgian army. Is it allowed to serve military service within the Belgian army? What if I must participate in a war with Muslims (for example Afghanistan)?”
The imam pointed to the importance of “citizenship” and “loyalty” in his answer. He explained his opinion with the following statement:
“As a citizen, you have an agreement with the country in which you live. You are expected to contribute to the security of the country. Our prophet was also protected by the Christian king of Abyssinia. Muslims signed a citizenship contract and created a good relationship with them. It is a different matter of course if you must fight against Muslims. Here it is important that the war is ethical. If it goes against the ethical norms. Then, it is forbidden for you to join the military service. So, it is permissible. You must follow the rules of the country you live in. But think carefully. Listen carefully to your “widjdân”(conscience). It is important that you feel good and take care not to regret later. This choice is main”.
Noteworthy, is that a two-sided approach to loyalty can be identified in the answer of the imam: on the one hand, he reminds the student of his civic duty; on the other hand, he emphasizes the importance of considering the welfare of Muslims. Based on this account, we can state that the imam’s approach is characterized by a dual approach: a dilemma where Muslims desire to comply with Islamic precepts on one hand, but simultaneously tend to fulfil the expectations of the state as a citizen. Being loyal to a non-Muslim state is, in this regard, legitimized based the historical migration (hijra) of the prophet (
Taha 2013, p. 4).
The imam’s approach seems to represent a modernist vision of loyalty that seeks to redefine the classic theological distinction between the two concepts ‘
Dār al-Ḥarb’ (the land of war) and ‘
Dār al-Islām’ (homeland) based on the universality of Islam (
alamiyya) (
March 2009, p. 262). In contrast to the traditional approach, which limits his interpretation of Land of Islam to
one nation, the imam defends the idea that different countries could be perceived as homeland. For our pedagogical model, this means that the concept ‘umma’ is given a broader interpretation: the conception of an Islamic state transcends any association with Islamic faith and is considered a set of legal systems (cf.
Taha 2013, p. 21).
6 Put differently, according to this view, Islam could not be restricted to a certain nationality, ethnicity, culture, or tradition, but represents a way of life that encompasses all human rights and obligations (
Shavit 2008, p. 20). The approach of the imam is important for our analyses as it echoes a pluralistic approach. In this regard, Muslims are advised to be loyal to a non-Islamic residential country.
7 However, and in parallel, there would be some consensus on the conditions that would legitimize a migration:
first, the guarantee of the security, well-being, and religious freedom of Muslims;
second, a pursuit among Muslims of spreading the universal message of Islam; and,
third, a pursuit for harmony between Islamic and other civilizations. The latter represents the central message of
da’wa (
Al-Qaradhawi 2010;
Berger 2018, p. 26).
It is important to note that the imam’s approach to non-Muslims should be seen in the context of his profile as a Diyanet imam. His approach seems to stress the approach of the Supreme Court of the Diyanet (DIYK). The Diyanet makes no distinction between ‘
Dār al-Islām’ and ‘
Dār al-Ḥarb’ and represents the modernistic approach of loyalty. The underlying analogical reasoning of the Diyanet’s approach, which is guided by the Hanafi–Maturidi school (madhab), is the idea that certain principles are not applicable and should be revised depending on the context of the country of residence. This approach stresses the ‘
taysir’ and ‘
al maslahat al mursalat’ principles, which stand for facilitation, applicability, and social ethics (
Aydin 2015, pp. 175–79;
Afsaruddin 2015, pp. 148, 150;
Yakar 2021)
8. Two examples underpin this adaptive approach: The
first is related to Ottoman legal administration. Ottoman judges (qāḍī) who were appointed over a vast geographical area adapted their legal deliberations to the local community (
March 2013, pp. 369, 370). The juridical approach of Ottoman qāḍī was guided by the idea that jurisprudence need to respond to local needs (
urf). The
second is related to family law. In attempting to resolve problems, the Diyanet applies a hybrid approach that combines Islamic law with Turkish state law. In drawing upon
maslaha, it encourages Muslims to perform religious marriage (nikah) in accordance with the Turkish civil code (including dower ‘mahr’) (
Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu 2017, (nr.44) pp. 429–32, 439–44).It is important to note that this willingness to contextualize sharia is still evident in educational strategies, particularly in comparison to countries such as Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, where the relationship between state and religion is quite different (
March 2013, pp. 369–70). This approach can be seen as an important resource that reflects the encounter between Islamic law, identity, and the secular nature of the state. These key concepts reflect the necessity of one’s responsibility towards the community and state and enables hybrid identities to comply with state regulations including, military, marriage, and social security, citing the legal principle of
maslaha (
Taha 2013;
Yakar 2021). This fatwa clearly contrasts with the position of loyalty of ‘
Dār al-Iftā’ of Saudi Arabia, which bases its approach on a strict literal reading of the theological interpretation of the concepts ‘
Dār al-Islām’ and ‘
Dār al-Ḥarb’ (
Shavit 2015;
Taha 2013). Noteworthy, is that the
fatwā of the imam can be seen as a clear demonstration of the impact of the historical conception of religious pluralism on the contemporary practice of Islamic legislation (
fiqh and
fatwā). Otherwise, this
fatwā points to the willingness to contextualize education.
A third confirmation was the response we received to our e-mail that we sent to the Supreme Council of Fatwā (Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu). We received the following answer.
“A Muslim who reside abroad in the territory of the state of residence and have enjoyed citizenship rights, may participate in military service as a civic duty unless he provided, he does not fight against Muslims. It should not be forgotten that this permission only applies within the framework of the principle of citizenship”.9 (Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu)
An additional confirmation of this adaptive approach was found in the statement of one of the Diyanet imams we had interviewed. During our conversation, the imam stated that he takes part of a khutba (Friday sermon) commission in which he, together with other ‘imam coordinators‘ per province, has the task to discuss what aspects to include in the weekly khutbah content. He explained that content may vary according to the needs of the Muslim community, such as mental disorders, internet addiction disorders, Islamic marriage and divorce, Islamic nurturing, drug addiction, gambling, wastefulness, and extravagant wedding organizations. The aim is to provide a contextualized content based on common symptoms.
Traced back to the answer of the imam, participation in the army in a non-Muslim state is perceived as a religious duty. The underlying reasoning behind this approach is the goal to spread the message of Islam. Based on the approach of the Diyanet, we can state that the educational practice of the imam is driven by the methodological guidelines that stem from the pedagogical culture of the Maturidi–Hanafi school. With that line of reasoning, Islamic jurisprudence ‘fiqh’ becomes an important source of Muslim identification in a non-Muslim context.
This finding provides an important perspective on the content perspectives of the Diyanet. Especially when read against the background of current debates on the Diyanet, it provides remarkable insights. Although the Diyanet was perceived as one of the most moderate and acceptable religious visions, especially when compared with Salafist movements, it is nowadays attracting increasing criticism in social debates.
Baser and Féron (
2021), who have explored recent Turkish diaspora politics, stated that, especially since the beginning of the 2010s, European policy makers begin to be wary of the influence of Turkish politics on the Turkish diaspora. They state that various developments, such as the extension of voting rights for European Turks, that enables them to participate actively in Turkish politics, and the increase tension between the Turkish community and the PKK and Gülen movement, have strengthened the growing awareness (
Baser and Féron 2021, p. 227). In contrast to its secular profile, the Diyanet has since been perceived as counterproductive for the integration process of the Turkish community. A significant conclusion that can be drawn from the previous studies is that the critique seems to be related to political and economic concerns, such as external funding of mosques and imams in order to combat Turkish authoritarianism (
Öztürk and Bahar 2017). With a few exceptions about anti- LGBTQ expressions, the religious educational practices of the Diyanet do not see to trigger much reaction from European states. At this point it could be argued that the hermeneutic approach of the Diyanet is today put in a bad position in light of political issues.
Contrary to the jurisprudential teaching approach, as was the case of imam 1 in the mosque, the educational practice of the preacher is based on the pedagogy of ‘speaking together’. Dialogue sessions were created to make sensitive issues discussable. The aim of the authorities was to help students in their relations to the wider non-Muslim community by providing perspectives regarding the nature of relations with non-Muslims and promoting responsible citizenship. For instance, one of the preachers showed two different news fragments to the students. One fragment was about an Islamophobic attack on a mosque and the other about a terrorist attack motivated by Islam. The preacher encouraged the students to compare the fragments and interpret them in a correct way. The students discussed the differences between political ideology and religion and reflected on the negative influence of misinterpretation of religious text. At the end of the lesson, they shared their thoughts about the importance of tolerance and interreligious dialogue in a pluralistic context.
In another center, Preacher 2 provides the students with rhetorical guidelines on how they could underpin their arguments on difficult questions about their Muslims identity. The preacher begins his lecture with probing questions, such as “what if they ask you why you’re wearing a headscarf” or “what should you do if your employer asks you should refrain from fasting in Ramadan”. The objective is to equip students with the skills necessary to engage in clear and meaningful dialogue with non-Muslims. The following excerpt illustrates a conversation between the authority and the student.
The preacher asks the following:
“How will you react if your colleagues invite you for drinks for the Christmas celebration? “What if you say no? (Preacher) The students raise their hand:
Yes sister, tell me:
“I am a convert and do not attend my parents’ Christmas celebrations”.
(Student)
He responds as follows:
“This looks like if you feel better, as if you don’t want to be with them. Personally, I think you should be there. You should go with them. Be there but leave early. Ignoring them is not a solution. Go! Join them, but don’t stay too long, because if they are drinking and getting drunk and you are there … that is reprehensible”.
As the above conversation indicates, the preacher tries to encourage openness with other believers. The only problem seems to be the consumption of alcohol. The imam doesn’t perceive participation in Christmas celebrations as a religious action, but emphasizes the importance of dialogue, which he sees as an inherent part of religious duty. Important for our analysis is that his approach is not characterized by a concern of da’wa, inspired by Salafi interpretations of Islam, but implies rather a respectful participation than an active presence.
10 This becomes even more apparent as we consider his following words ‘
Go, otherwise it seems you feel better than them’. His approach is therefore analogous to the inclusivist approach to interfaith dialogue. Otherwise, these words can be interpreted as an expression corresponding to
maslaha, a principle of Islamic law that prioritizes social well-being. Noteworthy, when compared with
Dār al–
Iftā, this approach demonstrates a clear contrast with the fatwa of
Dār al–
Iftā, which prohibits Muslims to congratulate Christians with their festive occasions and interprets attendance at celebrations as a sin (General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta ‘
Ruling on celebration Birthdays’, Part. 4: 286). This approach relies on the idea that unbelief (ascribing partners and sons to God) cannot be honored and tolerated. For instance, according to a Salafi inspired website sponsored by Qatar Ministry Islamweb, it is forbidden to celebrate the feasts of non-Muslims, such as Christmas (
Islamweb.net 2009).
We observed that the preacher creates a didactic communication style to make the student feel comfortable. The preacher suggests topics, lessons, or workplans where students can participate in different ways. By having discussions on issues at school the students were introduced in their living context. Based on our observations, we would argue that both institutions (mosques and knowledge centers) contribute to the development of citizenship and relations with non-Muslims. However, we observed an important difference: while mosques made citizenship part of their educational program to promote Hanafi schools as the core of the identity tool, by stressing the importance of a context depended
meaning-making process that would help to understand normative Islam in a proper way, and apply its message to a daily context; the approach of the preacher was driven by the aim to build a repertoire of resistance to the negative image of Islam and the ideal relationship with non-Muslims. They were learned about awareness on citizenship through a process which is described in the literature on minority jurisprudence (
Fiqh al-aqalliyyāt) as
rationalization of permanent residence in a non-Islamic context (see
Taha 2013, pp. 3, 4).
As such, specific norms, such as ‘
citizenship’, ‘
umma’, and ‘
daʿwā’, were worked out in current situations driven by a rational interpretation of Muslim identity. In this line, this teaching practice can be considered as a pedagogy of Muslim Identity and Citizenship. This approach contributes to the fundamental concept of Islamic pedagogy ‘
taʿlīm’. This hermeneutic approach is closely related to the view of
Sahin (
2018,
2013,
2021), suggesting the creation of an educational system that is focused on the task where the teacher’s role is given special importance to a pluralistic understanding of the learning process.
In both cases, the authorities depart from the students‘ own experience and employ a communicative and interpretative didactic approach. The educational content is designed to address the specific needs arising from the changing context within the individual’s life. For our study, this implies that the educational offer only becomes relevant if the students respond to the urgent demands of the new context, rather than adhering to a fixed tradition and standardized form of mosque practices. From a pedagogical point of view, the approach of these authorities can be interpreted as hermeneutic: The students were taught to interpret historical components of normative Islam as passed from generation in context of reality. This is what Didier Pollefeyt calls
hermeneutical learning in religious education (
Pollefeyt 2020). This way encouraged students to find their own unique identity in an interpretative way. Such an interpretative approach opens a new hermeneutical perspective within the learner through evaluation, communication, and self-formation, which is part of the generally accepted goal of religious education in educational theory (
Roebben 2008, p. 1). The educational content is, in this sense, designed to address the specific needs arising from the changing context within the individual’s life. This strategy can therefore be described as a
pedagogy of citizenship: a process of breaking open, uncovering indifference, questioning, and positioning in a non-Muslim society.
4.2. Pedagogy of Commitment
Another important aspect that we observed was commitment to God. Commitment played a central role in the effort to spend time and energy for something or someone to reach God’s grace. Several methods were used to highlight self-consciousness in actions. The strategic aims were to teach the students to make sense of their difficult emotions and mental relapses and to deal with it. The students were taught to seek God’s peace to make sense of their difficult emotions, to accept and cope with it through devotion and dedication to God.
Praying together was one of the main methods that was helpful in dealing with stress.
Vaize 2 organized a ‘khatm’ prayer session with her student group at the mosque. The khatm entails a ritual in which the Qur’ān is read from the beginning to the end by the students. The khatm ended with a dua (supplication) made by the vaize. It was observed that this form of ‘communal worship’ had a positive impact on the relationship between students and the religious authority. The goal of the khatm was to give comfort and support to the relatives of the students in the group who deal with illness or who have passed away. It was perceived as an act to obtain God’s approval by helping each other. This practice of ‘praying together’ can be placed in line with the iḥṣān principle, which stands for a high collective consciousness or community spirit. Literally, the concept ‘iḥṣān’ represents the perfection of human development through common goodness (
Al-Attas 1991). It implies that every member of the Muslim community has an obligation to contribute to social well-being and order. For example, during our discussion, the vaize mentioned that mosque members outside the student group joined the khatm session to enhance the effectiveness of the prayer circle. Another striking aspect was that each mosque has its own WhatsApp group. These groups were useful to create a more interactive dialogue between authority and students. This example of communal praying ‘
iḥṣān’ is parallel with the pedagogy of bonding.
Another significant aspect of the pedagogy of commitment was ruqya.
Imam 2 performed the ruqya al-shar’iyya, a ritual performed by reciting specific Qur’ān verses in a glass of water or sugar cube. It was mainly used as mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques. The main purpose of this practice of ruqya is to heal and protect the individual from mental illness (
Rassool 2015). It allows the students to become more aware about their behavioral disorder and encourages them to connect to God through acceptation and supplication (
Skinner 2010).
In addition to Qur’ān healing, we could also notice that
Fatwā was implemented as a technique for stress and oppression reduction or as a mindfulness tool.
Imam 1, for example, applied the ‘acting as if’ rule of the Hanafi school as a coping strategy. When a student states that she is struggling with obsessions during prayer, the imam suggests that she should ignore and pretend the ablution was performed correctly. He emphasized that, according to the Hanafi law school, it is prohibited to break from a fard (obligatory) prayer caused by false thought and that she will sin if she cannot concentrate during prayer. He advises the student to ‘ignore the negative thoughts’ and pretend that she performed the ritual washing correctly (acting as if’). In this regard, unfounded beliefs and religiously contradictory thoughts are considered invalid (
Abu-Raiya and Pargament 2015, p. 243).
Compared with
Imam 1 and
2,
preacher 4 did not make use of fatwa or Qur’ānic interventions. Rather, he focused mainly on emotions such as guilt, shame, and regret.
11 His educational practice is based on a clear distinction between this world and the hereafter, and the good and bad choices that a person can make in life. The preacher tends to support the students who struggle with a sinful past by creating an ethical awareness that they have the possibility to do better and compensate for their sin. For instance, the preacher gave a sermon which was entitled as follows:
How do I react when I’m confronted with my past, for example, when seeing someone of my past? After the seminar, the preacher holds a private spiritual guiding session with the students who had made an appointment. These guiding sessions took place in his office next to the seminar room.
We also noticed that conversion storytelling anecdotes or narratives were used as important tools to influence the inner world of the students. To illustrate this, in one of his lessons, a Muslim convert rapper was invited as a guest speaker to share his conversion story. The preacher started his seminar with a PowerPoint slide entitled: ‘How can I leave my sinful life behind and start living a pure life?’. We observed that the real-life story on his previous life as rapper made the students feel emotional. This was confirmed by the preacher who emphasized the following: “Seminars like these ‘When I was an atheist, I thought the Qur’ān was a violent book’ are always fully booked”. Another confirmation were the conversion books we found in the library of the knowledge centers. For instance, we found the book ‘Afvallige’ (Apostate) in almost all the centers we visited. The book tells the conversion story of the Dutch ex-politician Joram van Klaveren, known as the former ‘right-hand’ of the extreme right-wing politician Geert Wilders.
The teaching practice as described above demonstrates that the preacher tends to create an ethical awareness by the students and encourages them to make a conscious difference of a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ in life. The central aim of the authority was to support students who struggle with a sinful past by remembering them to the attribute of ‘tawwab’ of God. The students learn to accept their sin, to give the past away, and turn to the
rahma of God. This strategy corresponds to the Qur’ān concept of ‘
muhasaba’ (self-reflection). By doing so, the teacher created a pedagogical setting where the students were remembered to their responsibility towards God to take control over their own actions and ask for repentance for their sin (
tawbah). Based on this, we could state that the preacher’s teaching was driven by the perception that God will dominate his ‘
rububiyah’, ‘divine love’ or nurturing if man succeeds in overcoming negative emotions and placing trust in God (
Sahin 2018).
12 This didactic approach departs from the Qur’ān doctrine that every human is born innocent and has the cognitive ability (
irāda) to distinguish good from evil (
Isgandarova 2018b). It is, in other words, a perfect devotion to God where, in contrast to Christianity, there is no mediator between God and the individual but, contrarily, every human is regarded as responsible for his acts (
mukallaf) and should constantly deliberate between his ‘free will’ (
irāda) and ‘aql’ (intellect) (
Düzgüner 2022, p. 71). This strategy corresponds with the Qur’ān concept of
Takwa, which entails the idea that human nature (fitrah, nafs) is not naturally bad, but is driven by ‘
irāda’ (own free will) and responsibility (
Düzgüner 2022).
We also notice that ‘empathy’ was used as a didactical tool to strengthen the rububiyat attribute of God. Empathy is a vital quality in fostering a successful ‘imam–student’ relationship and helps create a sense among students that their problems can be solved and that they can make progress. In addition, this empathetic approach ensured that students feel comfortable and motivated to participate in class. Preacher 1 seemed successful in convincing his students. The preacher encourages students to share their experiences and begins his lecture with the following question:
Preacher:
“Who has had waswasa so far? Put your hand up. It also happened to me during prayer. (Everyone laughs).
(The participants raise their hands).
Preacher:
Yes sister! Would you like to share your experience with us? Let me first tell my experience: There was a man who suffered from waswasa during prayer; every time he prayed; all kinds of thoughts came to his mind. One day the man says: Bro, I solved my waswasa problem. His friend asks him: how did you succeed in this? He answers: ‘I have stopped praying. I haven’t prayed since then’ (everyone laughs). Ok now seriously, let’s start… Waswasa can lead to serious diseases, and it can increase the distance between you and Allah. If you work 8 h at work you have nothing, the moment you pray it will come”.
Based on this answer we conclude that this empathetic approach is characterized by two aspects: ‘normalization’ and ‘sympathy’. For instance, the preacher encourages the students to accept the behavior and makes it discussable by stating that many people struggle with similar issues. With the words, ‘
It happens even to me last week’, he normalizes the conflict. This technique encourages students to consider the problems or difficulties they experience as normal. This creates the feeling that problems are soluble and that they can make progress. This fact is also supported in the literature on mental health. Research on motivational interviewing reveals that an empathetic approach has a positive influence on the patient’s willingness to accept feedback (
Miller and Rollnick 2002). Another effective therapeutic tool beside
normalization was
sympathy. This was used to increase student’s attention to build trust and shows vulnerability that makes students feel connected.
The above conversation clearly demonstrates that religious guiding constitutes an important aspect in the mediating role of the authority. For instance, we observed that students who experienced religion-related symptoms were most disturbed as they feel that they have disrupted their relationship with God and fear not to be able to fulfil God’s demands. We also find support for this reality in the literature. Several authors have argued that religious advice seems to have a healing effect on clients and emphasized the importance of adapting an Islamic spiritual perspective to mental illness. They rely on the fact that individuals who struggle with religion-related obsessions can be unaware of the specific content of their underlying thoughts and point to the need for Islamic spiritual care on mental illness that would assist in handling difficult emotions and allow clients to become conscious of the underlying misconceptions of their behavior (
Isgandarova 2018b,
2015, p. 88;
Düzgüner 2022 p. 95).
13The fact that an important part of the practice of the
preaching teachers takes place in mosques can be seen as another confirmation for the healing effect of religion. An explanation given by one of the preachers was that the spiritual atmosphere in the mosque has a positive effect on the mental status of the student and the relationship of trust between the student and the religious authority. These findings support and reflect the finding that feelings like bonding and trust can foster the learning process of students (
Sözeri et al. 2021).
To conclude, the reflective practices as described above seem to reflect a pedagogical technique of commitment to God: The students were introduced to Qur’ānic notions as
ihsan,
takwa,
tawbah, learned to accept their sin and to turn to the
rahma of God. This approach can be interpreted as an educational strategy that contributes to the fundamental concept of Islamic pedagogy ‘
tarbīyah’. An important conclusion that could be derived from the foregoing material is that besides its educational capacities as human flourishing and moral character (
Sahin 2021), the concepts ‘
ta’dīb’ and ‘
tarbīyah’ also highlight a therapeutic dimension of moral behavior that contribute to the mental health of students.
