Lack of Islamic Knowledge and the Trust Issue

Abstract

E. Gokcekuyu
Abstract:
This article will focus on Muslim youth and the educational facilities that provide Islamic knowledge in the Netherlands. It will argue that Muslim youth in the Netherlands display a vulnerability to political manipulation because of a severe lack of Islamic knowledge and the lack of trust in the state, society and educational facilities. Since Islam is a heavily politicised subject, there seems to be trust issues in education that jeopardise citizenship among Muslim youth. The Dutch Constitution provides for a free and open society with privileges for Muslims as a religious minority to establish its own schools of Islamic theology where Islamic knowledge with the potential to prevent vulnerability from political manipulation and may aid citizenship in the Dutch community is made accessible. The question here is: What is the role of reliable Islamic education for the Muslim youth that will let these young Muslims extract Islamic awareness from the primary Islamic sources that may aid citizenship in the Netherlands?