Islamic Religious Education in Cyprus

Abstract

This article discusses Islamic Religious Education (re) in present day Cyprus on both the southern and northern sides the dividing line established in 1974.reis understood in its broadest sense to includereclasses in formal education, Qur’an teaching in a mosque-like environment or summer school instruction. First an introductory description of the political background of current Cyprus laws is depicted, followed by an illustration of the actors, past events and options for the future. Case studies on recent conflicts in north Cyprus highlight the political aspect of providing or rejectingre. Lastly, the article raises the question as to how the differing approaches torein north and south Cyprus could be integrated once the Cyprus Conflict has been settled.

“Fraternal” Other: Negotiating Ethnic and Religious Identities at a Muslim Sacred Site in Northern Cyprus

“…It is noted in several places in the literature that the political elites of the Turkish-Cypriot community voluntarily and enthusiastically adopted the revolutionary reforms that were compulsory in Turkey, such as the introduction of the Latin alphabet, ban on religious dress in public places, and changes in family law (Beckingham 1957a; Killoran 1998; Nevzat and Hatay 2009). A serious and irreversible decline in religious education and religious services has been the result (Atalay 2003; Hendrich 2015).…”

Dilemmas of Religious Education, Freedom of Religion and Education in Cyprus

“…Article 23(4) states that "education and instruction in religion shall be conducted under state supervision and control". This article implies that only the state provides religious education, and hence, there can be no after school or extracurricular religious instruction such as Qur'an courses (Hendrich 2015;Latif 2014).…”