Muslims and Islam in U.S. Education

"Liz Jackson provides two invaluable services in this book. The first is to identify, and begin to correct, the distorted and incomplete ways in which Muslims are represented in American popular culture and in American school materials (textbooks, state standards, and curricula). Her account is richly informative and provides a framework for rereading those materials through a more critical lens. Second, she discusses the importance of these problems in the context of a wider understanding of multicultural education, and in this context her argument frames a broader set of questions about the purposes and methods of education in a democratic society. Her analysis is critical, challenging, but also constructive in providing a more productive way forward in dealing with Islam – as well as other "controversial" cultural subjects – in schools." Nicholas C. Burbules, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

"Liz Jackson provides two invaluable services in this book. The first is to identify, and begin to correct, the distorted and incomplete ways in which Muslims are represented in American popular culture and in American school materials (textbooks, state standards, and curricula). Her account is richly informative and provides a framework for rereading those materials through a more critical lens. Second, she discusses the importance of these problems in the context of a wider understanding of multicultural education, and in this context her argument frames a broader set of questions about the purposes and methods of education in a democratic society. Her analysis is critical, challenging, but also constructive in providing a more productive way forward in dealing with Islam – as well as other "controversial" cultural subjects – in schools." Nicholas C. Burbules, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

"Since the tragic events of September 11, public education has once again become a major site of debates about whether public schools in the United States should privilege Christian traditions or promote a robust secularism. American Muslim communities have found themselves at the pointy end of these debates, subjected to some very uncomfortable questions about their right to belong. At the same time, serious questions have arisen about the responsibility of public schools to the principles of diversity and social inclusion. This book unhesitatingly accepts the challenge of tackling these questions, and presents a philosophical analysis that is as perceptive as it is accessible." -- Fazal Rizvi, Professor in Global Studies of Education, University of Melbourne Australia