Universities must employ Muslim chaplains or advisers and join forces with Islamic schools to break down widening divisions between British society and its Muslim communities, according to a senior Government adviser.
In a wide-ranging review of Islamic university syllabuses and the support available to Muslim students in England, published today, Ataullah Siddiqui, will tell institutions that their teaching of Islamic studies is “out of date” and for years has been conducted “in isolation and probably in complete ignorance of the [Muslim] community”.
Courses should be more job-related, departments should link up with seminaries and madrassas to reflect Islam in Europe post-9/11, they should have more qualified staff and provide better pastoral support for Muslim students, according to Dr Siddiqui.
See also BBC News, 4 June 2007