Teaching Islam to educate multiethnic and multicultural literacy: Seeking alternative discourse and global pedagogies in the Chinese context

In The Post-9/11 era, Growing Scholarly Literature And Social Concern Have Focused On Islamic Education In Muslim-majority Countries And For Muslim Minorities In The West. However, Public Attention And Academic Research Concerning The Teaching Of Islam As A World Religion And A Commonly Shared Human Civilization, Are Barely Understood In Secular Contexts And In Public Education. This Issue Requires More Attention, Especially In Asia. For The Sake Of Future Dialogue And Further Discussion, This Paper Is A Tentative Attempt At Initiating This Understudied Issue Of Teaching Islam As Multicul-tural Literacy. It Inquires About The Pedagogy Of Teaching Islam In An East Asian Context By First Briefly Reflecting On The Dilemmas Of Introducing Islam To The West And Its Implications For The University Curriculum. Departing From The Experience In North America And European Societies, This Article Then Attempts To Explore Alternative Pedagogical Discourse In Teaching Islam To Chinese Students In The East Asian Context By Considering Its Specific Geographical Position In Global Politics And The Recent Development Of Hong Kong. This Article Finally Foresees The Developing Pedagogy Of Islamic Teaching That Challenges Students To Break Away From the Media Cliche And Apathy Towards Human Suffering, Leading Them To Understand That They Themselves Are The Potential Peacemakers Of A Future Global Multiethnic And Multicultural Society. Discrimination Against Muslims Can Be Attributed To Islamophobic Attitudes, As Much As To Racist And Xenophobic Resentments, As These Elements Are In Many Cases Inextricably Intertwined. Racism, Xeno-phobia And Islamophobia Become Mutually Reinforcing Phenomena And Hostility Against Muslims Should Also Be Seen In The Context Of a More General Climate Of Hostility Towards Migrants And Minorities. Islamic Finance Offers Huge Potential For Development. To Further Consolidate Hong Kong’s Position As A Global Financial Centre, We Should Actively Leverage On This New Trend By Developing An Islamic Financial Platform In Hong Kong. Apart From Stepping Up Our Efforts To Promote Hong Kong’s Financial Services To Major Islamic Coun-tries And Regions, We Will Focus On Developing An Islamic Bond Market. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, In Conjunction With The Financial Sector, Has Set Up A Dedicated Team To Study Related Issues And Make Recommendations For The Early Introduction Of Islamic Debt Offerings In Hong Kong. Copyright © 2011 Routledge.