http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-1 ... fmredir=smA new high school curriculum will help young people realise there's no conflict between following Islam and being raised Australian, despite an atmosphere of Islamaphobia, according to young student Gaida Merei.
Ms Merei was part of the pilot program of what will eventually become a national syllabus for Islamic and Arabic studies.
She said young Muslims often find themselves questioning their identity because they don't have the answers to questions about their faith that are raised in the news.
"It could make them [young Muslims] question their belonging and negatively impact the way they view their role in society and whether their contribution has value."
She said the pilot program gave her a confidence boost.
"It meant I could embrace my identity a lot more confidently, and confirmed that just because I followed the faith, it didn't conflict with being raised Australian."
Currently, Australian Islamic schools use approved curriculum for core subjects such as maths, science and English, but there is no cohesive religious studies or Arabic program.
In an attempt to change that, leading experts in Islamic education from around the globe are meeting in South Australia to look at creating a standardised national Islamic studies curriculum that would become the first in the western world.
The two-day conference brings together international experts from New Zealand, Indonesia, North America amongst others to discuss a renewed approach to teaching in Islamic schools.
For the last couple of years several Islamic schools have been in the spotlight for governance concerns.
Centre for Islamic Thought and Education, Professor Mohamad Abdalla, said these issues shed light on the need for Islamic schools to re-evaluate future direction.
As part of the conference agenda academics and policy specialist will look at creating a learning program relevant to a modern-day Australian context.
The course explored often misunderstood topics of sharia, women in Islam, terrorism and identity.
Ms Merei said she missed out on learning about these subjects at the Islamic school she attended and now understands the value of learning about them from a credible source.
"They can properly engage in debate and discussion with people who have different understandings and perspectives.
"They'll be less frustrated when questioned on these topics because they can actually respond."
She said in today's world self-proclaimed scholars are brainwashing young people who have little understanding of their faith.
Ms Merei said having a basic understanding of these topics would empower them to see through their politically motivated propaganda.
Professor Abdalla said an Australian curriculum was expected to be ready in the next two to three years.
A really good step in the right direction if it is a national curriculum for Islamic schools. I have my concerns that Islamic studies may be pushed nationally into our public school curriculum though.
