“It’s a bit cool and awesome”
Using Liverpool’s Muslim Heritage to Help Muslim Pupils Learn how to “Translate” their Faith in the Liverpool of Today
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.v9i2.13437Keywords:
Muslim, School, Christian welcome, QuilliamAbstract
Contrary to the stereotype of conflict between Christians and Muslims, St Aidan’s Church of England Primary School in inner-city Liverpool is a place where as one pupil said, “We are all united together,” arguably a remarkable achievement for an Anglican school with approximately two-thirds Muslim pupils. This article is based on my ethnographic fieldwork with Muslim pupils in St Aidan’s and examines the role of education and the Muslim heritage of Liverpool in shaping the identity of Liverpudlian Muslims today. The article comprises of four main sections. First, it briefly describes the context of St Aidan’s and the nature of my fieldwork there. Second, it discusses the idea of hospitality as translation. In the third, main, section, the article evaluates how the theory of hospitality as translation was realized in the life of the school, focusing on an RE lesson that I taught in St Aidan’s which outlined the history of Abdullah Quilliam’s “Muslim Institute,” which ran from 1889 to 1908 and housed the United Kingdom’s first registered mosque. Having outlined the content of the lesson, the article then critically evaluates student responses and argues that education concerning Muslim heritage is crucial for their identity formation as Muslims. The title for this article is a quote of a Muslim pupil’s reaction to learning about the existence of the Muslim Institute and typifies the positive response and growth in confidence of their identity as Liverpudlian Muslims. Finally, the article argues that Christian hospitality provides a distinctive framework within which the process of Muslim identity formation can be facilitated and that fieldwork can be combined successfully to form a theological enquiry.
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References
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Nesbitt, E. 2001. “Ethnographic Research at Warwick: Some Methodological Issues,†British Journal of Religious Education, 23.3, 144–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0141620010230302
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Nouwen, H. J. M. 1998. Reaching Out. London: Fount.
Pole, C., and M. Morrison. 2003. Ethnography for Education. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Ramadan, T. 1999. To be a European Muslim. Leicester: The Islamic Foundation.
—2001. Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity. Leicester: The Islamic Foundation.
—2004. Western Muslims and the Future of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
—2007. The Messenger: The Meanings of the Life of Muhammad. London: Penguin.
—2009. Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
—2010a. The Quest for Meaning: Developing a Philosophy of Pluralism. London: Allen Lane.
—2010b. What I Believe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
—2012. “Multiculturalism: Commonality, Diversity and Psychological Integration,†in M. Farrar, S. Robinson, Y. Valli and P. Wetherly, eds, Islam in the West: Key Issues in Multiculturalism. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 24–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137025067.0009
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Robinson, D. 1997. Becoming a Translator. London: Routledge.
Sarroub, L. K. 2005. All American Yemeni Girls: Being Muslim in Public School. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.9783/9780812290233
Seddon, M. S. 2010. “Constructing Identities of ‘Difference’ and ‘Resistance’: The Politics of being Muslim and British,†Social Semiotics, 20.5, 557–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2010.513190
Seddon, M. S. 2011. “Negotiating Negotiation: Christians and Muslims Making a Space for the Religious ‘Other’ in British Society,†in H. Bacon, W. Morris and S. Knowles, eds, Transforming Exclusion: Engaging Faith Perspectives. London: T. & T. Clark, 23–43.
Shah, S. 2009. “Muslim Learners in English Schools: A Challenge for School Leaders,†Oxford Review of Education, 35.4, 523–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03054980903112557
Swain, J. 2006. “An Ethnographic Approach to Researching Children in Junior School,†International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 9.3, 199–213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13645570600761346
Thompson, P. 2004. “Whose Confession? Which Tradition?,†British Journal of Religious Education, 26.1, 61–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0141620032000149926
Venuti, L. 2001. “Strategies of Translation,†in M. Baker, ed., Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London: Routledge, 24–44.
Walford, G. 2009a. “For Ethnography,†Ethnography and Education, 4.3, 271–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457820903170093
—2009b. “The Practice of Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes,†Ethnography and Education, 4.2, 117–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457820902972713
Ward, G. 2005. Christ and Culture. Malden: Blackwell. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470776544
Whang, Y. C. 1999. “To Whom is a Translator Responsible - Reader or Author?,†in S. E. Porter and R. S. Hess, eds, Translating the Bible: Problems and Prospects. London: T. & T. Clark International, 46–62.
Yong, A. 2008. Hospitality and the Other: Pentecost, Christian Practices, and the Neighbor. New York: Orbis Books.
Ahmed, A. 2007. Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization. Washington: Brookings Institution Press.
Ahmed, S. 2009. Seen and Not Heard: Voices of Young British Muslims. Markfield, UK: Policy Research Centre.
Ali, E., and C. Jones. 2000. Meeting the Educational Needs of Somali Pupils in Camden Schools. London: Institute of Education, London University.
Ansari, H. 2004. The Infidel Within: Muslims in Britain since 1800. London: Hurst.
Arthur, J. 2003. “ ‘Baro Afkaaga Hooyo!’ A Case Study of Somali Literacy Teaching in Liverpool,†International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 6.3, 253–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050308667784
Atkinson, P. 1992. Understanding Ethnographic Texts. London, Sage. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412986403
Bretherton, L. 2010. Hospitality as Holiness: Christian Witness amid Moral Diversity. Farnham: Ashgate.
Burgess, R. G. 1989. The Ethics of Educational Research. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Chadwick, P. 2012. The Church School of the Future Review. London: Church of England.
Charmaz, K. 2006. Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage.
Christensen, P., and A. James, eds. 2008. Research with Children: Perspectives and Practices. London: Routledge.
Coffey, A. 1999. The Ethnographic Self: Fieldwork and the Representation of Identity. London: Sage.
Cooling, T. 2012. “Contestable Beliefs in Education: Fairness and/or Neutrality,†Oxford Review of Education, 38.5: 551–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2012.728977
Davis, J., N. Watson and S. Cunningham-Burley. 2008. “Disabled Children, Ethnography and Unspoken Understandings: The Collaborative Construction of Diverse Identities,†in P. Christensen and A. James, eds, Research with Children: Perspectives and Practices. London: Routledge, 220–38.
Dearing, R. 2001. The Way Ahead. London: Church House Publishing.
Donovan, P. 1999. “Neutrality in Religious Studies,†in R. T. McCutcheon, ed., The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Religion: A Reader. London: Continuum, 235–47.
Dwyer, C. 2000. “Negotiating Diasporic Identities: Young British South Asian Muslim Women,†Women’s Studies International Forum, 23.4, 475–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0277-5395(00)00110-2
Dykstra, C. 1999. Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices. Louisville: Geneva Press.
Emerson, R. M., R. I. Fretz and L. L. Shaw. 1995. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226206851.001.0001
Fetterman, D. M. 1998. Ethnography Step by Step. London: Sage.
Geaves, R. 2010. Islam in Victorian Britain: The Life and Times of Abdullah Quilliam. Markfield, UK: Kube Publishing.
Geertz, C. 1973. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.
Gest, J. 2010. Apart: Alienated and Engaged Muslims in the West. London: Hurst.
Gilliat-Ray, S. 2010. Muslims in Britain: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511780233
Habib, M. A. R. 2010. “Islam and the Myth of Literalism,†Boundary 2, 37.3, 69–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/01903659-2010-017
Hammersley, M., and P. Atkinson. 2007. Ethnography: Principles in Practice. London: Routledge.
Hannu, L., T. Heikkinen, R. Huttunen and L. Syrjälä. 2007. “Action Research as Narrative: Five Principles for Validation,†Educational Action Research, 15.1, 5–19.
Hewer, C. 2001. “Schools for Muslims,†Oxford Review of Education, 27.4, 515–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03054980120086211
Hussain, I. A. 2003. “Migration and Settlement: A Historical Perspective of Loyalty and Belonging,†in M. S. Seddon, D. Hussain and N. Malik, eds, British Muslims: Loyalty and Belonging. Markfield, UK: The Islamic Foundation, 23–34.
Jones, L. 1998. “Home and School Numeracy Experiences for Young Somali Pupils in Britain,†European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 6.1, 63–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13502939885208161
Kearney, R., and J. Taylor. 2011. “Introduction,†in R. Kearney and J. Taylor, eds, Hosting the Stranger: Between Religions. London: Continuum, 1–8.
Lewis, P. 2007. Young, British and Muslim. London: Continuum.
Moosa, E. 2006. “Contrapuntal Readings in Muslim Thought: Translations and Transitions,†Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 74.1, 107–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfj027
Nesbitt, E. 2001. “Ethnographic Research at Warwick: Some Methodological Issues,†British Journal of Religious Education, 23.3, 144–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0141620010230302
—2004. Intercultural Education: Ethnographic and Religious Approaches. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press.
Nouwen, H. J. M. 1998. Reaching Out. London: Fount.
Pole, C., and M. Morrison. 2003. Ethnography for Education. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Ramadan, T. 1999. To be a European Muslim. Leicester: The Islamic Foundation.
—2001. Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity. Leicester: The Islamic Foundation.
—2004. Western Muslims and the Future of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
—2007. The Messenger: The Meanings of the Life of Muhammad. London: Penguin.
—2009. Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
—2010a. The Quest for Meaning: Developing a Philosophy of Pluralism. London: Allen Lane.
—2010b. What I Believe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
—2012. “Multiculturalism: Commonality, Diversity and Psychological Integration,†in M. Farrar, S. Robinson, Y. Valli and P. Wetherly, eds, Islam in the West: Key Issues in Multiculturalism. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 24–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137025067.0009
Ricoeur, P. 2006. On Translation. London: Routledge.
Robinson, D. 1997. Becoming a Translator. London: Routledge.
Sarroub, L. K. 2005. All American Yemeni Girls: Being Muslim in Public School. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.9783/9780812290233
Seddon, M. S. 2010. “Constructing Identities of ‘Difference’ and ‘Resistance’: The Politics of being Muslim and British,†Social Semiotics, 20.5, 557–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2010.513190
Seddon, M. S. 2011. “Negotiating Negotiation: Christians and Muslims Making a Space for the Religious ‘Other’ in British Society,†in H. Bacon, W. Morris and S. Knowles, eds, Transforming Exclusion: Engaging Faith Perspectives. London: T. & T. Clark, 23–43.
Shah, S. 2009. “Muslim Learners in English Schools: A Challenge for School Leaders,†Oxford Review of Education, 35.4, 523–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03054980903112557
Swain, J. 2006. “An Ethnographic Approach to Researching Children in Junior School,†International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 9.3, 199–213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13645570600761346
Thompson, P. 2004. “Whose Confession? Which Tradition?,†British Journal of Religious Education, 26.1, 61–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0141620032000149926
Venuti, L. 2001. “Strategies of Translation,†in M. Baker, ed., Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London: Routledge, 24–44.
Walford, G. 2009a. “For Ethnography,†Ethnography and Education, 4.3, 271–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457820903170093
—2009b. “The Practice of Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes,†Ethnography and Education, 4.2, 117–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457820902972713
Ward, G. 2005. Christ and Culture. Malden: Blackwell. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470776544
Whang, Y. C. 1999. “To Whom is a Translator Responsible - Reader or Author?,†in S. E. Porter and R. S. Hess, eds, Translating the Bible: Problems and Prospects. London: T. & T. Clark International, 46–62.
Yong, A. 2008. Hospitality and the Other: Pentecost, Christian Practices, and the Neighbor. New York: Orbis Books.
Published
2015-08-03
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Wilson, T. (2015). “It’s a bit cool and awesome”: Using Liverpool’s Muslim Heritage to Help Muslim Pupils Learn how to “Translate” their Faith in the Liverpool of Today. Fieldwork in Religion, 9(2), 182-201. https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.v9i2.13437
