Original scientific paper
Presenting Islam in confessional religious education within the curricula of public elementary and high schools
Mato Zovkić
Abstract
This author is a Catholic New Testament exegete also engaged in inter-religious dialogue. Convinced that confessional religious education within the curricula of public elementary and high schools should introduce the students into their own culture and religion along with the culture and religion of others and enable them for constructive living in pluralistic democratic societies, he analyzes the material about Islam in Catholic school manuals of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Together with Sarajevo Muslim theologian Aid Smajic he evaluates this material as inclusive and open for dialogue. A touchy problem is how to present the atrocities of Catholic crusaders on Muslims during 200 years in the middle ages and the rule of Turks over Christians in the Balkans from 14th to the beginning of 20th century. He depicts 2007 Toledo guiding principles on teaching religion in public schools adopted by OSCE experts for human rights and education programs. He concludes encouraging teachers of religion to avoid stereotypes and help their students in rejecting prejudices against Islam and Muslims.
Keywords
school manuals; Islam and Muslims; dialogue; crusades; Turkish rule over Christians in the Balkans; purification of memory; stereotypes; prejudice
Hrčak ID:
113126
URI
Publication date:
24.6.2009.
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