Islamic higher educational institutions (IHEIs) in India have emerged and advanced within a complex spectrum of structural, constitutional, identity-related, and leadership challenges while remaining comparatively unexplored within religious education discourses. Employing a qualitative case study design, this paper explores the historical development, institutional challenges, and leadership practices of IHEIs in Kerala, India. Documentary analysis and systematic observational fieldwork were conducted across seven IHEIs between 2019 and 2023, while Darul Huda Islamic University (DHIU) was used as a primary illustrative case. For theoretical grounding, Hartung and Reifield's (2006) three structural features of Indian madrasas were analysed and then applied to the broader field of Islamic higher education. The findings reveal that despite the significant achievements made by Kerala's IHEIs through community mobilisation and innovative curricular models, perpetual deficits in leadership appointment practices, strategic planning, and systematic institutional evaluation restrict their organisational efficiency and sustainability. Hence, six context-sensitive implications are put forth for the governance, strategic planning, curriculum leadership, and quality assurance of IHEIs. The study is significant in the religious education setting by providing contextually substantiated details of Islamic higher educational leadership within a secular constitutional space and adding to the current theoretical knowledge of minority education and institutional adaptation.
This article addresses a persistent pedagogical problem in theological and religious education: contemporary students often experience Thomistic virtue ethics as conceptually dense and culturally remote. It proposes that Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings can function as a pedagogically structured medium through which Aquinas' moral anthropology becomes experientially intelligible. Using a comparative narrative - ethical method, the study conducts close readings of selected narrative units, examining their internal moral logic before correlating these patterns analogically with Aquinas' account of virtue as stable dispositions ordered towards the human telos. Tolkien's idea of subcreation provides the theoretical warrant for reading fantasy as formative rather than allegorical. Findings show that virtues emerge as structurally salient patterns across Middle-earth - prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, faith, hope, and charity - revealing how moral ambiguity, frailty, community, and providence shape the pursuit of the good. Pedagogically, the paper advances a formation-oriented model by proposing narrative-ethical mapping, workshop-style discussions, role-play and dialogical simulations, comparative reflections, and reflective writing as integrated strategies that move students from narrative immersion to ethical discernment and personal appropriation of Thomistic virtue ethics.
This paper addresses the critical omission of (non)religion within Critical Language Pedagogy (CLP), highlighting its centrality to fostering democratic and inclusive language classrooms. Drawing on Paulo Freire's philosophy of critical pedagogy and dialogue, the paper argues that (non)religious identities shape classrooms' 'thematic worlds' in profound ways. It critiques the privileging of dominant religious narratives and the marginalisation of nonreligious perspectives across educational contexts, particularly in English language teaching (ELT) materials. Through an anthropological lens, the paper challenges essentialist and monolithic portrayals of religion, emphasising the complexity and diversity of worldviews, including nonreligion. It proposes integrating (non)religion into CLP by engaging students as co-investigators in uncovering contradictions and limit-situations related to religious privilege. Practical classroom strategies are offered to foster nonreligious literacy, encourage critical reflection, and present marginalised voices often absent in ELT textbooks. Incorporating (non)religion into CLP not only challenges oppression but also extends Freire's vision of 'being more human', transforming language education into a truly just and reflective practice that respects and values all learners' identities.
