Teaching children about Allah

The increasing growth rate of the Muslim population in Australia highlights the importance of children being taught various aspects of Islam to gain a competent understanding about Allah. Diverse levels of government authorities in Australia affirm that children ought to be taken to learning environments where they will gain quality education and be provided positive impact on their lives. The process of teaching Islam is important as it lays a suitable platform through which children are given the adequate knowledge, belief, practice, rituals, and devotion. The purpose of the study was to examine the different ways through which Muslim children are taught about Allah in a private K-12 Islamic school in Sydney. The study aims at determining children’s beliefs (and questions) about Allah, the ways Muslim children learn about Allah, and, finally, textbooks’ potential in effectively teaching the belief of Allah to Muslim children. The study explains the importance of supporting religious beliefs in children from a young age so that they can practice their religion and know how to converse with God. Data collection methods which explored various ways in which children learned about Allah included a questionnaires with 60 school children aged from 9-12 years, and interviews with teachers and parents. Document analysis review of relevant Islamic textbooks was also conducteed. Through the content analysis of these qualitative and quantitative methods, the study established that it is essential to introduce Islamic education to primary school children, especially since the children at the case study school demonstrated a strong commitment to their relationship with Allah. The findings of the study indicate that it is necessary to: change the dynamics in the learning environments; increase the number of Muslim teachers who are more eligible to teach Islamic ideas to children; urge key stakeholders in the education sector to equip academic institutions with adequate materials; motivate teachers and parents to cooperate in supporting children to practice what has been taught in schools; have professional learning that takes a comprehensive approach; include diverse stakeholders in the readiness and execution of curricula and training of educators; and introduce new designs of the curricula and other instructive materials about religions and convictions.