The Contribution of the Non-Muslim Teacher to the Ideal Identity of the Islamic Primary School

Abstract

In 2021, more than one million Muslims lived in the Netherlands, corresponding to approximately 5% of the total population. From the start of the first Islamic schools in the Netherlands in 1988, Islamic schools employed mostly non-Muslim teachers. How the identity of an Islamic school should be put into practice in the plural Dutch context is a regularly recurring topic of discussion. Many researchers and board members assume that the ideal identity of the Islamic school cannot be formed with non-Muslim teachers. They suppose that the ideal identity can only be shaped with Muslim staff. This article describes, on the basis of qualitative research among three non-Muslim teachers, how they can contribute to the development of the ideal identity of Islamic primary schools. This research shows that the contribution that non-Muslim teachers make to the ideal identity of the Islamic school can be very important. The presence of the non-Muslim teacher gives the pupils the opportunity to learn about religious diversity. The school becomes a training ground for dialogue and respectful interaction with each other. The results of this research are not only relevant for Islamic schools, but also, schools of other denominations can revise their view of the ideal identity and staff with a different worldview than the board of the school.