There is no doubt that the events of 11 September 2001 have had far-reaching consequences for the international perception of education systems in the Islamic world. The US government, in... Show moreThere is no doubt that the events of 11 September 2001 have had far-reaching consequences for the international perception of education systems in the Islamic world. The US government, in particular, has strongly criticized both religious schools outside state control and national educational curricula as sites of possible Islamic militancy. As a result, many Arab states, including Jordan, have witnessed public debates in which members of national governments and Islamist opposition groups appear at odds about the need for curriculum changes and educational reform. Show less
The appearance of a small number of students wearing the face-veil or niqab at two unrelated universities, The American University in Cairo and Leiden University, led to official bans on face... Show moreThe appearance of a small number of students wearing the face-veil or niqab at two unrelated universities, The American University in Cairo and Leiden University, led to official bans on face covering. The bans were justified on remarkably similar grounds, at the core of which were arguments that face covering is inherently incompatible with principles and practices of liberal education. Yet the prohibition of face veiling speaks t o issues far larger than pedagogy in liberal educational settings; it gets to the core of critical issues relating to integration, liberalism and the possibly uneasy place of Islam in it all. Show less
