The place of music in the education of Muslims : a study of connections with values education in an Australian Islamic school

This research was part of a values education broad project in which five schools were engaged. The schools (both primary and secondary) were exploring ways of building bridges between Department of Education schools and Islamic Schools. They have engaged in linking their school websites and in holding forums to discuss issues raised by the governments’ (State and Federal) values education agenda. Within that broad project, this research was concerned with music. There are numbers of Muslim students who attend non-Muslim schools and this project explored some ways to approach the teaching of music in culturally sensitive ways. It explored the practice in one Islamic school and it raises questions whether the practices that operated there may suggest approaches to music teaching that are sympathetic to Muslim cultures and values.