The Transmission of Islamic Heritage in Northern Ireland

Abstract

In this chapter I will explore the Islamic education of Muslim children in Northern Ireland as part of a community’s attempt to maintain its identity and transmit its religious and cultural heritage. The chapter is based on three years fieldwork in Northern Ireland (2000–03). During that time, I was a participant—observer in the Belfast Islamic Centre (BIC) and viewed the efforts to educate Muslim children in Islam. The main educational activities took place in the so-called madrasa, often better known by the children as ‘Sunday school’. How did the parents understand the concept of cultural heritage? How did the BIC’s madrasa contribute to the transmission of the community idea of Islamic heritage? How did the children, born and educated in Northern Ireland, react to this in-group acculturation? To answer these questions, I interviewed pupils (aged from 10 to 16 years old), teachers, parents, as well as other members of the community.

An earlier version of this essay was presented at an ESRC Seminar in June 2002 at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. In this short space, it is impossible to thank all the people who have contributed to this article. While I am grateful to all of them, I have to register my special gratitude to the Belfast Islamic Centre, its president and imam, and the teachers and pupils of its school. In addition, a particular thanks to Dr Mamoun Mobayed for his precious time dedicated to my research and Alouane Moloud for sharing with me his experiences and his useful suggestions.