Nuraan Davids

Are Muslim women in need of Islamic feminism? In consideration of a re-imagined Islamic educational discourse

In its remonstrations against male patriarchy, common understandings of Islamic feminism have, on the one hand, claimed attachment to other forms of feminism. On the other hand, because of its location within the structures of Qur’anic exegesis and prophetic traditions, it has claimed a detachment from what has been understood as the largely secular base of other forms of feminism. Inasmuch, however, as there continues to be disagreement about feminism in its conceptions of the identity of women, gender recognition and inclusion, Islamic feminism has remained unproblematised. In this article, I wish to address two questions. Firstly, to what extent is Islamic feminism based on a bifurcationist or divergent understanding of Islamic education? And secondly, to what extent should Islamic feminism be reconsidered as a discourse of Islamic education? In addressing these questions, I argue that there are two possible solutions to the prevalence of social inequality experienced by Muslim women. One is a reformation of Islamic education. And secondly, that Muslim women need to engage and deliberate with the discourse of the Qur’an, so that they can begin to bring into contestation the privilege of male interpretation.

The invisible silence of race: On exploring some experiences of minority group teachers at South African schools

In its hasty retreat from a racialized and racist South Africa, democratic South Africa was intent on embracing the newly formed ‘rainbow nation’. It would be a nation free from all forms of oppression, and unshackled by anger and hatred, as made visible in the life of Nelson Mandela – the first president of a non-racial, democratic South Africa. It made sense to open schools to all races, inviting children, once divided along lines of race, ethnicity and cultures, to share a uniform, share a school and learn together. Admissions determined on the basis of race and ethnicity, were considered part of an apartheid past. Given the newly established landscape of desegregated schools, many teachers opted for posts at schools where they were previously not allowed to teach. This meant, for example, that coloured teachers began teaching at White schools, and Black teachers at Indian schools. Although not in the same numbers as learners, teachers began to migrate across racial lines in terms of teaching posts. This paper draws on research conducted with what the authors refer to as minority group teachers. These are teachers who do not form part of the majority group in the school in terms of race and ethnicity. In exploring the issues of race and ethnicity of minority group teachers at schools, this paper examines how the silence around conversations on race, ethnicity, religion, culture and language – what its authors call the identity of ‘otherness’ – leads to an invisibility that pretends there is no difference. In other words, if the identity of ‘otherness’ is not discussed, it does not exist. Secondly, this paper explores how this invisibility of ‘otherness’ experienced by teachers affects their teaching in diverse classroom settings. Thirdly, in exploring a conception of ‘otherness’, it is not the intention of this paper to advance an argument in defence of deracialized schooling. Instead, it looks for a language that can break the silence around race and racism – one that is not necessarily constituted by race. As such, this paper argues for a language of ‘otherness’ that is constituted by conceptions of infancy, potentiality and becoming – a language that will re-imprint itself on a re-imagined consciousness of post-apartheid citizenship.

Muslim Education and its (In)commensurability with Multiculturalism: Some Thoughts on the Imaginative Madrassah

Muslim education is not incommensurate with multiculturalism and, hence, does not pose a threat to multiculturalism at all. If Muslim education were to be perceived as a risk to multiculturalism then either such a form of education is not conceived appropriately or the claims of multiculturalism are false. Instead, the authors argue that Muslim education can engender multiculturalism — that is, Muslim education is attuned to multiculturalism. Moreover, they contend that Muslim education has the potential to give rise to new imaginings, which augurs well for the madrassah — that is, the educational institution often pejoratively accused of instigating violence. Instead, they argue that the imaginative madrassah can be considered as a seedbed for vigilance and recognition of the other — those virtues that can harness multicultural practices.

On Conflict and Violence in Schools

In chapter three we argued that schools remain an important means to build and disseminate notions of citizenship education, and can open up new possibilities for participation in political communities, which involves summoning others to speech, seeing things differently, and suspending a rush to judgement about issues. We will now turn our attention to the prevalence of conflict and violence at schools.

Resistance and dissonance in higher education : on doing things differently

The historical inequalities and imbalances, so deeply embedded in the institutional structures and discourse of higher education, continue to haunt university spaces as these institutions continue to veer along the precipice of transformation. While statues have been removed, buildings renamed, and fees adjusted, higher education in South Africa remains a largely disparate and alienating topography – no more so because of the gaping wounds left by iterative student protestations. Seemingly, the more leadership structures in higher education stonewalled student protestations, the more student resistance intensified – not only in scope, but in violence. In this sense, we are reminded of Foucault’s (1997) dyadic depiction of power and resistance – that is, that power necessarily provokes resistance, since without resistance, there can be no power. In this article, we reflect, on the necessity of resistance not only in relation to power, but as a practice that ought to be ubiquitous to higher education. And secondly, we argue that if higher education is to fulfil its ideological mandate of doing things differently for the sake of epistemological and public good, then it necessarily has to be underscored by dissonance.

Prioritising higher education: Why research is all that matters

Birthdays are joyfully relative events, which, at times, become more about reflection, and at times, regret, with each passing year. As Stellenbosch University embarks on its 100 th year, celebrations and commemorations have adopted tentative nuances and burdens of heavily-laden legacies of wrongs and ills, which stand to be corrected. Much has been said, and rightly so, of assuming responsibility for questionable roles in highly divisive and harmful practices. In turn, much is envisaged for future actions of remedy and redress – particularly in relation to social responsibility and community interaction. In considering the role and responsibility of a university, many would agree that if the core of higher education is its epistemological contribution, then its impact is determined by its social worth. In this sense, any teaching and learning should not only be cognisant of its social context, but teaching and learning should always be both responsible and responsive to the world which it encounters. Yet, a university’s responsibilities can, and should never be at the expense, or risk of research. As will be discussed in this article, prioritising higher education means prefacing, and giving precedence to research. Prioritising higher education through research creates the spaces necessary for a philosophy of dialogue. Moreover, research is indispensable to meaningful teaching and learning. Put differently, it is with research that a university sustains and advances its intellectual, social and ethical project into the realm of the public. And, this implies a renewed look at the university with an ecological parlance of inquiry that accounts for the university on the basis of assemblages, engagements, reflections and sightings – whether smooth and or striated.

On an Ethical Enunciation of Islamic Philosophy of Education

The question about what Islamic philosophy actually is, might best be answered by looking at the Qurān. In this text, one encounters terms like ‘ilm (knowledge), hikmah (wisdom), ‘aql (intellect) and tafakkur (contemplation), which are generally associated with actions of inquiry and hence attuned to philosophical inquiry. It is important to bear in mind that, although the Islamic faith came into contact with a number of other civilisations – such as Greek, Persian, Syrian, Egyptian and Indian cultures – thanks to the rapid expansion of the Muslim Arab civilisation, following the death of the Prophet Muhammad, these contacts should be not overestimated in relation to their philosophical influence. While the seminal thoughts of Socrates, Aristotle and Plato are widely evident in the works of Islamic philosophers such as al-Kindi, al-Fārābī, ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), ibn Rushd (Averroes), ibn Miskawayh, al-Ghazzālī’ and ibn ‘Arabi, philosophy in Islam is focused expansively on hermeneutical expositions of the Qurān and most commonly related to the notion of hikmah (wisdom).

Towards an African University of Critique

The most recent spate of student protests in South Africa has not only unleashed unprecedented scenes of violence and intimidation among students and university authorities, but has brought into stark focus an urgent need for spaces of critique and deliberation. In this chapter, we reflect on the tensions, frustrations and anger that continue to cloud higher education, and contend that unless (South) African higher education reclaims the notion of critique, the possibility of a thinking university on the African continent would remain elusive. By drawing on the seminal ideas of Foucault and Ranciere, we argue that through using critique, students would be obliged to put into question what they encounter restively, while also being open ontologically and poetically to that which is still to come. In this sense, critique as a form of dissonant thinking brings a discomfort in one’s reflection about something, yet, simultaneously stimulates one to reflect freely and in opposition to forms of coercion and domination. Such practices, we maintain, are commensurate with deliberative engagement itself because people would be invited to critique – that is, to put into question and look for other ways of constructing thoughts and practices.

Global Citizenship Education, Postcolonial Identities, and a Moral Imagination

In the past few weeks, a number of schools in post-apartheid South Africa have been plunged into disarray, as students have resorted to various forms of protest against the institutional regulation and purging of ‘black hair’ and ‘black languages’. While afro hairstyles of black girls are seemingly in discord with the traditional look of certain historically advantaged (white) schools, black languages are relegated to noisy sound bites, incompatible with the objectives of learning. As one side ferments frustration against experiences of marginalisation, humiliation, and non-acceptance, the other side appeases through assimilatory words of conformity, uniformity, and compliance. As one side attempts to (re)claim their dignity and recognition, the other side turns to the pre-existence of certain ways of being, acting, and speaking. So, which view and identity hold the greater value, and does the greater value of one identity render the identities of others deficient? Seemingly, these are the types of concerns which global citizenship education seek to address. In this regard, this chapter has two primary concerns. The first considers whether postcolonial societies, such as post-apartheid South Africa, are really in need of a global citizenship education. The second concern centres on the extent to which global citizenship education might be reconcilable with constructions of postcolonial societies.

Democracy, Citizenship and Religion in Egypt : On the Necessity of Disrupting a Post- Arab Spring

Drawing on a particular historical Islamic understanding of citizenship as a social contract between an individual and the state, the implicit premise of this chapter is that contemporary notions of citizenship are reconcilable with Islam. The author argues that democratic citizenship is not only a desired social and political practice, but also a recognition that the extent and strength of a democratic society is essentially determined by the level and extent of participation and engagement of its citizens. The emergence of a democratic citizenship in Egypt is, therefore, dependent on a willingness to disrupt and bring into the contestation the particular constructions of religion, which have thus far abetted repressive practices and have, ironically, paved the way for the disruption of democracy.