عنوان

Interpreting rightness at a U.S. Islamic school: A _- adventure tale

Number

TL48796

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

Interpreting rightness at a U.S. Islamic school: A _- adventure tale

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Aaron J. Weiss

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

Cucchiara, Maia B.

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Temple University

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2016

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

252

Text of Note

Committee members: Blankinship, Khalid Y.; Davis, James E.; Keith, Novella Z.

Text of Note

Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=978-1-339-75538-0

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Discipline of degree

Urban Education

Body granting the degree

Temple University

Text preceding or following the note

2016

Text of Note

This study took place at Tafsir Islamic School (TIS), a mid-sized K-12 Islamic school in a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States, and seeks to answer two questions: (1) by what means are specific versions of orthodoxy and orthopraxy constructed, maintained, and challenged in the Tafsir community?, and (2) how could the general interpretive climate corresponding to these processes be described in theoretical terms? Qualitative ethnographic field work was conducted at TIS over an 18 month span involving extensive participant-observation and semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 20 adult participants-including teachers, administrators, and community members-a flexible and collaborative research design strategy, and an iterative, grounded theory approach to data analysis. The findings suggest that orthodoxy and orthopraxy are constructed and contested through a complex network of corroborating and competing factors, including (a) executive decisions, (b) rogue pedagogy, (c) theological dialogue, (d) peer discipline, (e) community reinforcement, (f) sanctioned associations, and (g) vigilante policing. The distribution of interpretive power within the school community results in a de facto system of checks and balances, as disputes within and between sects (e.g., Sufis, Salafis, conventional Sunnis) prevent any one group from gaining unchallenged prominence. Colliding hermeneutical processes result in a normative balance that fluctuates over time with changing community members and socio-historic circumstances. This balance, referred to as a dynamic interpretive equilibrium, characterizes the general ideological climate of the school. In examining the diversity of interpretive orientations at an Islamic school, this study demonstrates the active role Muslims play in shaping the character of their faith. It likewise undermines popular one-dimensional depictions of Muslim schools, portraying Islamic education as a living, active and contested phenomenon.

Cultural anthropology; Islamic Studies; Religious education; Ethnic studies

Subject Term

Social sciences;Education;Education;Interpretation;Islamic;Muslim;School;United States

Alenzi, Suad A. H. S. M.

Cucchiara, Maia B.

Subdivision

Urban Education

Temple University

Call Number

1800565786; 10112384

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y