Teaching about the Qur’ān in public schools in Norway

Bibliographic Data

ID21827724
AuthorsSynnøve Markeng (0009-0004-8686-6119, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume17
Issue2
Pages62-87
Publication date2023-12-13
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScandinavian Journal of Islamic Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1901-9580 • E-ISSN: 1901-9580
PublisherDet Kgl. Bibliotek/Royal Danish Library (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.7146/tifo.v17i2.142372
OpenAlexW4389703928
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited11

This article discusses what teachers in Norwegian public schools have to say about teaching their pupils about the Qur’ān. Exploring what teachers find important or challenging is relevant to what both Muslim and non-Muslim pupils learn about the Qur’ān, since religious education (RE) in Norway is non-confessional and compulsory. The empirical material consists of four semi-structured interviews with RE teachers. Following James Watts’ model (2013, 2019), which suggests that religious scripture is ritualized along three dimensions, this study finds that the interviewed teachers emphasize working with content and meaning (the semantic dimension) rather than recitation (the expressive dimension) or any special treatment (the iconic dimension) of the Qur’ān. Another finding is that the teachers are reluctant to address Qur’ān recitations in their classes. The article examines this uncertainty in relation to the teachers’ perceptions of what pupils should learn about religious scriptures in general, pedagogical considerations about how to teach RE, and overarching RE-specific aims and concerns in relation to debates about Muslims and Islam in Norwegian society

Confessional · Islam · Linguistics · Mathematics education · Norwegian · Pedagogy · Perception · Political science · Politics · Religious education · School teachers · Sociology · Theology · Education and Islamic Studies · Islamic Studies and Radicalism · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious Education and Schools

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access