engaging islamic radicalisation through education challenge and … · 2019-04-05 ·...

Engaging Islamic Radicalisation through Education Challenge and Promise of Teaching Muslim Public Law Dr. Ebrahim Afsah Associate Professor of Public International Law Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies Faculty of Law University of Copenhagen ebrahim.afsah@jur.ku.dk coursera.org/course/muslimworld

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Profound Crisis of Governance

1. “Barbarians within our Gates”

2. “Well-intentioned but dishonest denial of problem’s religious nature.”

3. “We have not defeated the idea. We do not even understand

the idea.”

Values Symbol of Identity

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World

Function of any constitutional order:

• Rules of the Game • Values • Symbol of Identity

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World

Focus of this Course:

• Legal and social reality, rather than dogmatic ideal • Practical tensions from insufficient capacity • Popular dissatisfaction with bad governance

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Don’t mention the War …

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Don’t mention the Reports …

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World

Inherent audience dynamics:

• Extremely divisive issues • Extremely invested participants • Extremely complex and contested histories • Extremely tied up with identity, faith, perception

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

How to Teach a Controversial Topic?

Max Weber, Science as a Vocation, 1918: • ”… the true teacher will beware of imposing from the

platform any political position upon the student, whether it is expressed or suggested …

• Why should we abstain from doing this? … the answer is: because the prophet and the demagogue do not belong on the academic platform. …

• To the prophet and the demagogue, it is said: ‘Go your ways out into the streets and speak openly to the world,’ that is, speak were criticism is possible. In the lecture-room we stand opposite our audience, and it has to remain silent. …

• The primary task of a useful teacher is to teach his students to recognise 'inconvenient' facts - I mean facts that are inconvenient for their party opinions.”

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Addressing the ’Inconvenient’ Facts

The list is long: child marriage, slavery, role of women, role of religion and religious law, military capability, revenue collection, autocracy, inequality, underdevelopment, hypocrisy, moral deviancy, etc. etc. etc.

• Objectivity • Honesty • Evidence

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Global Audience, Global Challenge

Language • English ability of audience extremely diverse • Reaching beyond the echo-chamber • Sub-titles, local study groups, translated material

Culture • Teacher’s background makes a difference • Be respectful, but firm and clear • Dialogue of Civilisations or of the Deaf?

Geography

• Technical issues: broadband access • Local issues: animosities and narrow knowledge • Political issues: sanctions

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Searching for MOOC Best Practice

Rigour • What is an adequate academic level? • How important are enrolment and completion rates? • How much work/commitment can we expect?

Integrity • How important is reputation, institutional and personal? • How closely should instructors interact with the class? • How important is transparency for establishing trust?

Safety • Students: how to deal with trolls and aggressors?

• Avoid conspiracy theories by acting openly • Show actual or potential victims that you care • Pour encourager les autres: credible sanctions

• Teacher: how to avoid getting fired, or incarcerated? • Institution: how to deal with/use publicity?

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies

Centre for Comparative and European Constitutional Studies