Teaching Islam in Israeli Institutions of Higher Education

The idea of a workshop dedicated to the teaching of Islam was conceived byIsraeli academics who teach “Introduction to Islam.” This course is obligatoryin all Islamic and Middle Eastern studies departments in Israeli universitiesand colleges, and is a popular elective course for students from variousfaculties. Indeed, it is a demanding mission. While teaching Islam or, forthat matter, any religious tradition to those who are new to the scholarly criticalapproach to religion may be challenging anywhere,1 the Israeli settingposes additional difficulties. It involves teaching in classes composed of amixed crowd of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian students, some of whom aredeeply committed to their faith, while others are quite secular.The tense climate of the Arab-Israeli conflict inevitably shapes, in oneway or other, the learning environment. The uneven power relations insideIsrael, often unacknowledged yet very present, as well as the prevalent stereotypesand prejudices about Islam in Israeli society and media also impact theclasses and teachers. All that aside, many of the teachers who deliver thisintroductory course shared an urgent need to rethink and revise the “classical”syllabus, one formulated by the great founders of Islamic studies in Israeldecades ago. To this end, a good number of full professors, associate professors,young instructors, and some graduate students from all of Israel’s fiveuniversities, as well as from its colleges and seminaries for high-school teachers,got together for an intensive day of exchanging ideas ...