AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The RE Today charity in Britain has published a new educational collection titled "Knowing Muslims, Knowing Islam" to help school teachers teach Islam more accurately and comprehensively. This collection includes lesson plans, case studies, and first-hand narratives of dozens of British Muslims and is designed for teaching students aged five to 14.
This project was unveiled on October 19 at the British Muslim Heritage Centre in Manchester; an action taken following ongoing concerns about the quality of religious education in British schools, especially the way Islam is presented. In England and Wales, religious education is compulsory in state schools, but its content is not determined within the framework of a single national curriculum, and schools generally follow locally agreed syllabuses; an issue that has led to differences in schools' educational content.
According to statistics from the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education, in a 2020 survey, a quarter of primary and secondary teachers had stated that they did not have enough confidence in teaching Islam or were unsure about their ability in this area. Also, a 2018 survey showed that only 52 percent of primary teachers felt confident teaching Islam, while this figure reached 95 percent for teaching Christianity. A 2024 report by the British Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) also criticized the weakness in the depth of religious education and the existence of misconceptions about religious traditions in schools.
One primary teacher present at the unveiling ceremony said that before using these resources, he had limited knowledge about teaching Islam; but the first volume of the collection, published in 2025, allowed him to add 18 new lessons to his curriculum. He also replaced the unit on pilgrimage with a six-week course on Hajj and described these resources as equivalent to half a school year of quality religious education.
The new collection presents Islam not only as a religious tradition but as a living faith in the daily lives of Muslims and emphasizes the diversity of their beliefs, rituals, and experiences. Ian Nicholson, the national adviser for religious education at RE Today, criticizing the approach that presents Islam as a monolithic and uniform religion, said that in teaching this religion, more attention should be paid to the complexity of contemporary Muslim life and their diverse voices. School experience has also shown that first-hand narratives of Muslims help students better understand this diversity.
The publication of these resources coincides with the British government's plan to reform religious education and draft a national curriculum; a plan that has been welcomed by some Muslim educational activists, but they have emphasized that reforms will not be achieved merely by changing syllabuses and also require enhancing teachers' knowledge and preparedness in classrooms.
Hugh Thomas, the director of education for the Diocese of Sheffield, has also said that some teachers are worried about presenting religious material incorrectly and the possibility of insulting or offending followers of religions; meanwhile, Shazia Nayyar, the interfaith dialogue coordinator at the Equilibria Institute, has described the goal of these efforts as reducing barriers and building bridges of communication between communities and schools.
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