Islamic schools and muslim women identity: a comparative study of muslim girls' schools in Kedah, Malaysia and Leeds, United Kingdom

• Main Author: Rukhaiyah, Abd Wahab
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: BP Islam. Bahaism. Theosophy, etc; L Education (General)
• Online Access: https://etd.uum.edu.my/8166/1/s900626_01.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/8166/2/s900626_02.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/8166/

Islamic Education is important in instilling religious identity for every Muslim. In this case, Islamic schools play the role of moulding and strengthening Muslim women’s identity which has been wrongly interpreted as being marginalised, passive, weak, and uneducated by the western society. The formation of ideal Muslim women’s identity is influenced by teachers as role models, Religious Education subject, ethos, culture, and social environments of a society. In other words, the goal of educational institutions is the same which is to form faith, good practice, and values among Muslim women. However, the concept, approach, and mechanism used to achieve this goal differ according to cultural and geographical boundaries. Therefore, this qualitative research is aimed at identifying how Islamic schools form Muslim women’s identity among school students. Empirical data collection was done at two locations, namely the Maktab Mahmud (MM), Alor Setar, Malaysia and New Horizon Community School (NHCS), Leeds, United Kingdom. This research also compared the approaches used by both schools -which differ in society, culture, and country – in moulding the identity of Muslim women. Data were collected through observations, focus group, and interviews. 68 respondents took part in this research. Every school was represented by its principal, one representative of the administrators, two Religious Education teachers, and 30 students. The findings of this research showed that majority of the respondents agreed that Islamic school system influenced how their identitities were formed. In addition, the findings indicated that differences in culture, policy, and the fundamental elements of nations influence the school systems in Malaysia and the United Kingdom. In addition, this research found that the formation of Muslim women’s identity is a continuous process which is closely related to ethos, culture, and the social environments of a society. Therefore, the process of designing a curriculum, the concept and the implementation of educational approaches should take into account the backgrounds of the intended culture and society.