This document provides an overview of a session on spiritual and humanistic perspectives in materials development. It discusses two articles on designing English teaching materials from Islamic perspectives. It then outlines the instructor's experience developing nursery rhymes to teach body organs to young English learners, drawing inspiration from the Quran and other Islamic references. The rhymes emphasize viewing the body and its organs as divine gifts from God that should be appreciated and cared for properly.

1. Session 6
Spiritual and humanistic
perspectives towards
materials development
Material Development Course MA
Instructor: Dr. Nafissi
Developed by: Somayeh Sorouri
Fall 2020

2. We will examine two articles:
Parsaiyan, S. F. (2018). Divine perspectives in designing English
teaching materials: The case of teaching body organs to young English
language learners. Journal of Language Horizons, 2(1), 9-29.
Khairuddin, Z., Shukry, A. S. M., & Sani, A. N. (2014). Reading
Trends and Perceptions towards Islamic English Websites as Teaching
Materials. English Language Teaching, 7 (8), 124-133.
doi:10.5539/elt.v7n8p124

3. 1.
Divine Perspectives in Designing
English Language Teaching Materials:
The Case of Teaching Body Organs to
Young English Language Learners
Seyyedeh Fahimeh Parsaiyan

4. Abstract
Upon the continuing spread of English as the global language, there have been dissenting
voices, albeit not resounding ones, from Muslim scholars lamenting the hegemony of
Western patterns of thoughts and the relegation or denigration of Islamic ideology,
values, and culture in education in general and ELT curricular and pedagogic thinking in
particular.
Despite the current qualms, the practice of reviving language teachings based on Islamic
sources and the socio-religious concerns of Muslim communities is still infrequent.
Feeling the necessity of designing educational materials, I narrate an experience of
composing nursery rhymes targeted at introducing body organs and their divine rights to
young English learners through deriving inspiration from Islamic references like the
Sublime Qur’an and Imam Sajjad’s Treaties on Rights (Risalat al-Huquq).
Inspirational for other language teachers and materials developers interested in carving
out identity and ownership in foreign language teaching.
4

5. 5
Introduction

6. Over the last three decades Muslim scholars in the Islamic societies critiquing the
Western and European values and ideological patterns like:
materialism, utilitarianism, skepticism, relativism,
and hedonism.
secularism,
6

7. They are spread headed through English language teaching.
Muslim children are not exempt from its consequences.
calls for:
 Confronting the world-wide penetration of secular intellectual
traditions and educational policies_ antithetical to the Islamic
worldviews in ELT.
 Reviving teachings based on the Sublime Qur’an and prophetic
traditions, with reference to Islamic values, history, civilization,
heritage, culture and literature, and topics arising from Muslims’
every-day life contexts.
7

8. This has fueled an academic movement in a number of Muslim countries like
Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, Nigeria for Islamization and decolonization of
contemporary knowledge in general and English teaching in particular, though it
has not brought the dawn of a new era yet.
makes it ambiguous to determine the status of English language education
in Iran.
8
The situation of Iran
An Islamic country
with anti-Western
policies on the one
hand
One of the devoted consumers, or purveyors,
of Western theories, teaching methodologies,
scholarly publications, pedagogical practices,
and products on the other hand

9. Imported foreign course books, with their ancillary materials such as
workbooks, CDs, DVDs, teacher guides, and annexed interactive multimedia,
and companion websites for teachers and learners build the backbone of
instruction in a good number of language institutes.
Such course books are presented to the local market with some degrees of
monitoring by the Ministry of Education, including occasional sort of
censorship or deletion of a few controversial subjects, contents, and images
that are potentially at variance with Iranian-Islamic norms and values.
The so-called localization efforts may be seen as window dressing serving
the interests of ELT industrial market.
9

10. Discussions among Iranian researchers:
Linguistic imperialism and cultural invasion in
imported ELT products.
Investigations of ideological underpinnings in ELT
chiefly internationally distributed textbooks and
their hidden curricula :
revealed the preponderance of socio-economic
and political worldviews imbued with American
and European lifestyles and norms like
materialism, McDonaldization, neo-liberalism,
capitalism, Western individualism, and
consumerism
10

11. professional calls for
If not resolved may put the cultural and religious identities of Iranian learners
of English in jeopardy.
Nevertheless, practical cases of “innovative work” derived from Islamic-Iranian
philosophical, academic, and intellectual traditions are still infrequent.
The language policies planned & English textbooks developed, published, and
distributed nationwide within the purview of the Ministry of Education have not
yet fared well in meeting the needs of Iranian learners.
11
assessment of English language teaching in Iran
figuring out effective solutions for the problems

12. How alternative views derived from Islamic-Iranian sources could possibly
replace the current materials in language teaching, especially those targeted at
young Iranian-Muslim EFL learners?
The case in view is designing materials (nursery rhymes) targeted at teaching
body organs to young English learners through deriving inspiration from Islamic
references like
 The Sublime Qur’an
 Exegeses
 Imam Sajjad’s Treaties on Rights (Risalat al-Huquq)
elaborates on various types of duties, obligations, or responsibilities of
humans to observe in their relationship with Allah and his creatures and the
rights of the various organs of the body.
12

13. Islamization of Knowledge and English Language Teaching
The outset: the time of the holy Messenger of Islam
Later: the Islamic Golden Ages like the time of Abbasid caliph, Harun ar-
Rashid, who founded a renowned Academic Research Centre known as Bayt al-
Hikmah (House of Wisdom) in Baghdad;
 Introduced many eminent Muslim scholars and philosophers
 the center for translation from Greek, Syriac, and Pahlavi
 the basis of a caliphal library that survived for more than a century
13

14. The emergence of different branches of science necessitated translating
manuscripts from different languages into Arabic and vice versa.
The rise of a multilingual culture began during the Prophet’s lifetime
and remains ongoing.
The program of Islamization of knowledge came to a halt later due to:
 Tartar and Crusader invasions
 the advent of colonialism in the Islamic world
 invasion of Western thoughts
 relegation and stagnation of Islam and Muslims.
14

15. instigated a drawn-out legacy of non-Islamic “educational dualism”
in the Muslim world which is more an imitation, copy or caricature of
Western education offered in the name of science and modernism, while
being bereft of either Western vision or Islamic vision.
“Muslim youth are being Westernized by Muslim teachers in Muslim
Universities.” (AbuSulayman, 1995, p. 18)
Calls for a genuine revival of education system based on Islamic
principles, objectives, values, and spiritual legacy.
15

16. Islamization of modern knowledge:
An “epistemological revolution” aimed at “the liberation of man from
-magical, mythological, animistic, national-cultural tradition opposed to Islam.
-secular control over his reason and his language.
Western sciences and their philosophical underpinnings are fallacious due to their
adherence to empirical experimentations, rational reasoning, veneration of secular
logic, and negation of metaphysical and spiritual dimensions of the reality.
This view of knowledge is in contrast with Islamic knowledge which hinges
primarily on revealed truth and the concept of Tawhid.
(Islam and Secularism, 1978)
16

17. Islamic education should gear towards harmonious, holistic development of
human beings through nurturing physical, mental, social, emotional, ethical,
moral, and religious capacities while the ultimate goal is submission or servitude
to Allah and his commandments.
The murky domain of English language teaching and Islam
17
Allah in the Sublime Qur’an holds a firm position on
multilingualism “And among His signs is the creation
of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your
languages and your colors: verily in that are signs for
those who know” (The Sublime Qur’an, 30: 22), and
hence encourages the humans to appreciate the
existing linguistic and cultural diversity.
But
history reveals
“a tinge of
antagonism between
English and Islam”

18. Reasons for this cynical view :
-nexus between English teaching and colonialism
-missionary works:converting people to Christians via English teaching & anti-Islamic
values.
Nonetheless,
After the WWII the economic and political ascendance of the USA, non-English
speakers including Muslims found English instrumental for future careers,
access to information, scientific and technological advancement, and economic
growth.
Today, Muslims a large number of English speakers (both as NS & NNS)
exceeding to several hundred million in number, with renowned philosophers,
scholars, educators, re-searchers, writers, and poets communicating in English.
18

19. There are also vivid policies and planned programs by former owners of
English language for setting English teaching programs in Muslim countries.
e.g. James K. Glassman, the executive director of George W. Bush Institute:
“As for English, the United States teaches it because the world wants to learn it –
because governments and people … see English as a way to move up economically.
Everywhere, including difficult neighborhoods … .
In teaching English, we teach a language and tell America’s story. Spending on English
teaching programs by the State Department has risen from $6.8 million in fiscal 2004 to
$46.6 million this year” (Strategic Public Diplomacy, 2010, p. 15).
19

20. Such encounters lead to 3 levels of debate:
20
Linguistic
Ideological Methodological

21. Linguistic
21
Mistranslation/inappropriate translation of Arabic Islamic words and concepts to
English, particularly those carrying “divine provenance” obscure the true original
meaning of such terminologies.
e.g. “salaah” & “zakaah” erroneously translated as “prayer” & “charity or alms” while they
have a broader meaning.
Suggestions
 Islamizing English language in accordance with the Islamic community’s
intellectual and cultural requirements
 Creation of a distinct brand of English marked by integration of original Arabic
terms to protect them from incorrect spelling, semantic loss, distortion, and
mistranslation
It is not really a violation of English. Rather, it is an enrichment

22. Ideological
Muslim youths’ inadequate knowledge of Arabic language and their limited
appreciation of the religion of Islam made them adopt manners that are foreign to
Islam.
e.g. use of non-Muslim saluting and greetings like “hi”, “bye-bye”, “see you”, or “good
luck” instead of using conventional Islamic expressions.
Americano-Eurocentric perspective of the ELT has a negative effect on Muslims.
Suggestion
Muslim educators & linguists should work on developing “Islamic English corpora” to be
utilized by materials developers and textbook writers.
e.g. English textbooks for Pakistani schools: Arabic and Islamic markers (Mashaa-Allah and
Alhamdulillah) inserted to show the iconic power of this text and its relationship to Islamic
values and systems and with the function of indexing and projecting an Islamic identity”
22

23. Methodological
incongruence between the aims of Muslim education and the objectives of teaching
English.
The force of homogenization, hegemonization and Europeanization in the name of
globalization has eroded not only the Islamic culture from the innocent minds of the
young pupils, but also their natural language.
Suggestion
e.g. Teaching English alphabets not based on the “conventional secular ‘A for Apple, B for
Ball’ method”, but via substituting them with teaching “Allah’s attributes through an English
alphabetical rhyme”
e.g. A for Allah,
B for Beneficent,
C for Compassionate...
23

24. 24
Course books could contain Islamic messages and themes
embedded cultures not in conflict with the values and cultures
of Muslim learners of English.
 Explicit mentioning of the Islamic topics & expressions in
English
e.g. the ways of doing religious rituals like “wudhu” or “Muslims’ habits
of preparing a special appetizer during the fasting month of Ramadan”
Mentioning of Islamic themes through pictures, Muslim names or
Muslims’ daily language activities, and using available authentic
materials, like newspapers with Islamic messages or Islamic songs.
e.g. By a song like “We love Muhammad”: students can focus on lexical sets
and grammar points while listening to the song and then speaking about the
Prophet.
Direct
Strategies
Indirect
Strategies
Mohd-Asraf (2012)

25. An ongoing movement on the part of materials developers for inclusion of
Islamic markers in English textbooks designed for Muslim learners
around the globe:
25
I Can Series (set of five books)
by Ghani and Ibrahim (2005) Introducing and illustrating some basic Islamic concepts and
manners to young Muslim children and answering children queries about Islam as faith.

26. 26
The Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim
Book of Colors
by Khan (2012) teaching English colors via elements of Islamic
culture like “Golden dome of the mosque” or “brown date in
Ramadan”
The Best Eid Ever
by Mobin-Uddin (2007) narrating the story of a Muslim family
celebrating an Eid related to Hajj pilgrimage
Under the Ramadan Moon
by Whitman (2011) introducing the month of Ramadan to young
readers and the particular rituals performed by Muslims during this
month

27. 27
Secrets of the Turtle
by Ghahremani Ghajar (2009) in which a turtle is depicted travelling to different places
like the holy city of Mecca and sharing its own stories with other people
There are also some Islamic smartphone apps and games.

28. Despite the reported cases, practical cases of Islamic English materials and
teaching practices are still infrequent, less known, or have not taken hold in a
widespread manner.
Rather than working for Islamic models of English, what actually could be seen
in much of the Muslim world is censoring teaching materials and removing
potentially controversial or un-Islamic subjects, words and phrases which is not
recommended.
Hence, the necessity of preparing creative and ingenuous Islamic
ELT materials is quite palpable, given the growing number
of Muslim English learners around the globe and in Iran.
28

29. In a very sensitive era in which Islam as a faith is
misapprehended, xenophobia and Islamophobia are
cunningly spearheaded by the global mass media, and
Muslims are biasedly imaged as nefarious, …
cultivating a generation of Muslim intellectuals who
can both:
- propagate true Islamic values and spirits and
- become insiders and use the language in their own
terms according to their own aspirations, needs, and
values … not as slaves, but as agents … creatively
and critically” is highly demanded.
29

30. 30
The Current Adventure

31. Under the request of a Qur’anic Cultural Center which offers English
courses for young learners, but the manager is dissatisfied with the
imported materials, Dr. Parsaiyan took a planned action.
To have a more profound understanding of the learning needs of the
target group of the learners and the attitudes of the students and their
families towards inclusion of classroom materials with Islamic themes,
she talked with a number of parents and language teachers.
They held varied viewpoints, the majority of them agreed on the
necessity of an alternative education featuring Islamic moral values in an
entertaining way.
31

32. Topic selection
How in Islamic sources –most notably the Sublime
Qur’an and narrations– the body parts, their statuses,
the reasons for their creation, and their functioning
have been pictured? The creation and evolution of
physical organs– accompanied with sophisticated
processes, is seen as one of the signs of Allah, the
Almighty.
32

33. These Qur’anic verses refer to a number of senses endowed blessedly to human
beings by Allah and the necessity of showing appreciation and grateful thanks:
 It is He Who has created hearing, sight and minds for you. What little thanks
you show! (The Sublime Qur’an, 23:78).
 Allah brought you out of your mothers’ wombs knowing nothing at all, and
gave you hearing, sight and minds so that perhaps you would show thanks
(The Sublime Qur’an, 16:78).
 Say: “What do you think? If Allah took away your hearing and your sight
and sealed up your hearts, what god is there, other than Allah, who could
give them back to you?” (The Sublime Qur’an, 6:46).
33

34. The way the body parts act, determine each individual’s destiny. The Creator
commands human beings to employ their physical organs in obeying Him by
performing good deeds and refraining from the evil ones.
Accordingly, in describing the Day of Judgment, Allah in the Sub-lime Qur’an
refers to the status of body parts and how they would be resurrected to speak and
bear witness to individuals’ actions:
 That day shall We set a seal upon their mouths but their hands will speak to
Us, and their feet bear witness to all that they did (The Sublime Qur’an,
36:65).
 ... Surely the hearing and the sight and the heart, all of these, shall be
questioned about that (The Sublime Qur’an, 17:36).
34

35. Treatise on Rights attributed to Imam Sajjad elaborates on various
types of duties, obligations, or responsibilities–rights or Huquq–
upon human beings to observe in their relationship with Allah and
his creatures.
Among other rights, the holy Imam elaborates on the rights of the
various organs of the body like tongue, hearing, sight, hand, leg,
stomach, and private part as organs through which manners are con-
ducted.
RQ: How such views could possibly replace the current approach to
teaching the body parts to young (non-)Iranian-Muslim EFL
learners at pre/intermediate levels of English language proficiency?
35

36. Nursery rhymes, short poems or songs for children are rich resources that can be
used in teaching young language learners.
The theoretical & research-based literature acknowledging the pedagogical
implications of nursery rhymes as natural literacy development sources; particularly
for young learners was the instigation for the writer to compose poetic verses aimed
at introducing body parts through such divine perspectives.
Some features & advantages of these rhymes are:
 Musical composition is easy to read, recite & dramatize
 Creates pleasant learning atmosphere
 Repetitive language: opportunity to learn sound patterns, word stress, pronunciation, etc.
 Vocabulary & grammatical structures: presented in meaningful situational contexts
 reflect the ideas and attitudes of societies and individuals that created them
 imprint certain meanings and values onto the young learners’ minds 36

37. The journey of composing rhymes commenced with consulting:
 The Sublime Qur’an & exegeses
 Arabic, Persian, and English versions of Imam Sajjad’s The Treatise on Rights
Persian & English commentaries on the book like Imam Sajjad’s Treaties on
Rights
 And some other books in Persian or English
Also:
 Collecting and reading sample nursery rhymes to get a sense of literary devices
like rhymes, repetitions, and alliterations
 surveying the popular English textbooks to see how the issue of body organs
has been presented
37

38. A fairly conventional approach:
Body organs are presented to young language
learners through nursery rhymes, short poems or
action songs in which vocabulary for parts of the
body (like head, finger, mouth, nose, eye and
ears…) plus a series of actions or movements
related to them are presented.
Ensuing TPR method–which theorizes that physical
movements can improve language acquisition by
creating mind-body associations–children are
encouraged to move each body part as they say the
body-related vocabulary.
The picture from Let’s go 2 (2012) depicts the above
claims.
38

39. The ideology in the excerpt:
 physical organs of the body as units of life neutrally
 responsible for performing a series of actions and movements
An orientation which might be suggestive of a humanistic and materialistic world
view devoid of any spiritual outlook.
The process of composing:
 Thinking, writing, drafting, editing, and proofreading repeatedly
 Finding the right homophonic words to rhyme together with right syllabic structure
 Finding strings of words and phrases which are catchy and delightful to read and
remember, simple in terms of grammatical items yet meaningful
 The meaningfulness element was prior to throwing ideas into verse lines because they
simply added a fun element.
39

40. Consultations:
 A religious advisor to inspect the poems for possible misinterpretations in terms of
divine perspectives.
 An ELT professor to comment on the poems & suggest on how the poems could be
improved by replacement of certain words or structures.
 Three English language teachers with experience of working with young learners to
assess the work and even practice some excerpts with their learners.
Refine them with a view of the target audience in mind.
Further evaluation of the designed materials: in a real context of learning via considering
teachers’ and learners’ perceptions.
They may replace conventional, often pointless nursery rhymes like “Twinkle, Twinkle
Little Star”, “Baa, baa black sheep”, “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and the like which are
widely rehearsed and memorized by our language learners, often mindlessly.
40

41. Things that grow day by day Are all His signs to observe!
The poem starts with eye faculty and the sense of sight. Allah has drawn our attention to its
unique importance in the Sublime Qur’an:
 Have We not made for him a pair of eyes? (Qur’an, 90:8)
eyes are windows to the world for seeing, pondering over, and appreciating the countless signs
and blessings of Allah:
 And the example of the disbelievers is similar to one who calls upon one that hears nothing
except screaming and yelling; deaf, dumb, blind–so they do not have sense (Qur’an, 2:171)
In the Treaties of Rights:
 Eyes are gateway to reflection, tools for learning, taking lessons, gaining knowledge &
insight.
 The right of sight: lower it before everything which is unlawful to you & abandon using it
except in situations that you gain insight or acquire knowledge by it.
41

42. The nursery rhyme
preludes with mentioning
the role of eyes in seeing
signs of Allah including
“Night and day”, “Rain
that falls and wind that
breaks”, “Red roses on the
earth”, and “Mom that
loves and dad that cares”.
It then encourages young
readers to “use our eyes
for His sake” and “close
our eyes to what He hates”
42
Night and day
Sun in the sky everyday
Rain that falls and wind that breaks
Are all His signs to observe!
Things that grow day by day
Red roses on the earth
Apple, orange and sweet pears
Don’t forget vegetables
Are all His signs to observe!
Mom that loves and dad that cares
Friends we can count on them
Are all His signs to observe!

43. We can hear what is there! What if we could not hear??
Like eyes, ears and the faculty of hearing: construed in Islamic references as a
great blessing endowed to human beings for which they are responsible.
Ears and what they lend themselves to are seen to play a determining role in the
prosperity or misery of human beings in the hereafter.
 They will then say: “if only we had listened and reasoned, we should not now
be among the inhabitants of the hell” (the Sublime Qur’an, 67: 10).
Humans are admonished not to lend their ears to evil words, rumors, slanders,
and backbiting.
Similarly, Imam Sajjad delineates the rights of hearing among which is keeping
it “pure from listening to backbiting.
43

44. The poetic episode starts with numerating a number of common sounds we can hear in our
daily life, like the various sounds of birds and animals, tools, as well as the human voices
including family members and friends.
44
Birds’ singing above there
Cats’ meowing below there
Dogs’ barking over there
Sheep’ bleating far away
Cows’ mowing so near
We can hear what is there!
What if we could not hear??
Thank you Allah for ears!
The part then ends with a moral part inviting readers to
observe the rights of hearing by not listening to “what
He hates” and closing ears “to those fakes”
We care about what He hates
Close ears to those fakes!
Mocking, laughing at others!
How awful are slanders!
Making our hearts far away
Filling ears with nonsense!

45. Watch what we say is not wrong! And keep it from lies and harms!
The faculty of speaking which is known as a distinctive feature endowed on humans. As
Allah, the Almighty explicitly states speech or the power of expressing inner thoughts,
intentions, and covert feelings is the quality graciously imparted to the man:
 He has created man. He has taught him speech (The Sublime Qur’an, 55:3-4).
speaking faculty is reflective of individuals’ character, personality, reasoning and
intellect. We are recommended to be diligent of what we say and not take lightly the
words that come out of our mouths as they are recorded by divine “sentinels”.
Believers are warned to preserve their tongue from telling lies, slander, mocking,
spreading rumors and scandals, bragging, backbiting, false testifying, using bad mouth or
obscene language, unnecessary talk, flattery, and finding faults and defects in others.
Imam Sajjad: “The right of the tongue is that you consider it too noble for obscenity,
accustom it to good, direct it to politeness…” .
45

46. To partially reflect such
sophisticated ideas, the
poetic episode starts with
some lines mentioning the
abilities performed by
“little tongue inside”. It
then refers to a number of
rights we should consider
about the speech faculty.
46
Let’s be thankful of our tongue,
Speak kind and be polite
Watch what we say is not wrong
Keep it from lies and harm
Words breaking others’ heart
In making fun or finding fault
By which grudges would come up
Time of anger we keep calm
And stop bad words coming out…

47. We don’t hasten to eat up, Chew it calmly with no rush
stomach as the main digestive system, has also spiritual role in the Islamic sources.
The closest thing attributed to stomach is the process of foods’ preparation and
attainment.
By placing a special emphasis on foodstuffs, Allah in the Sublime Qur’an orders
the man to assiduously “watch his food” and “eat of what is on earth, lawful and
good”.
There are also numerous recommendations for food consumption like filling the
stomach moderately and avoiding over eating, under eating or malnutrition and
more significantly consuming legitimate (Halal) food supplies and drinks and
avoiding forbidden (Haram) meals.
Imam Sajjad advises us on how over/under eating can cause “indigestion,
sluggishness, indolence, and it will hinder you from nobility and any good deeds”
47

48. The nursery rhyme invites the young learners to think about healthy items for our life
like “Milk, honey, apple pie”…. and then refers to a number of etiquettes like saying
“Bismillah” “Before taking the first bite”…
48
Milk, honey, apple pie
Orange, grape, banana
Rice, bread, cereal
Healthy items for our life
Halal foods by Allah
We don’t forget “Bismillah”
Before taking the first bite
We don’t hasten to eat up
Chew it calmly with no rush
Overeating is so wrong
Making body weak and dull… .

49. The other poetic episodes focus on hands and legs as two other
body parts and explain a few of their rights as elaborated on the
Islamic sources.
Beyond superficial repetitions and memorization, the students
could be encouraged to chant and sing while performing the
actions, apply their personal creativity to add lines and compose
verses, and make the language ‘theirs’.
The final composition, containing over sixty lines, is still in need
of modification, refinement and appropriation.
49

50. 50
Discussions and Concluding
Comments

51. The increasing number of Muslim young learners, including Iranians, who are engaged in
English language learning through Western patterns of thought, necessitates preparing
creative and ingenuous Islamic ELT materials by materials developers.
In the composed lyrics: body organs as signs (ayats) of the Al-mighty not only promote
learning of the language but propagate spiritual values, beliefs, ethics and courtesy.
Textbook writers and materials developers illustrators, musicians, and language experts along
with other professionals in Muslim countries should loosen the ties of dependency on Western
imported products or emulating them. The ones which can keep abreast of the changing
climates of the modern time.
The crucial role of language teachers is having a clear understanding of the vision and mission
ahead and faith in the purpose.
Teacher education programs aimed at propagating Islamic perspectives on language education
should be planned and structured methodically.
51

52. 2.
Reading Trends and Perceptions
towards Islamic English Websites as
Teaching Materials
Khairuddin, Z., Shukry, A. S. M., & Sani, A. N. (2014).

53. Abstract
A study of the reading trends and perceptions of Muslim Malaysian undergraduate
students towards Islamic English websites as pedagogical materials in English
language classrooms. Data was collected through a set of questionnaires to 180
students from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and Universiti
Sultan ZainalAbidin (UniSZA). The findings revealed that the students were self-
motivated to read the materials to gain spiritual knowledge and to use the
knowledge to deal with personal challenges. It also shows that the students
recommend that the materials are used for pedagogical purposes in the learning of
the English language. The study proposed that texts that bring enjoyment,
inspiration, spiritual knowledge and personal development are used as reading
materials in English lessons for Muslim students. This would enhance the
motivation to read more whilst improving the proficiency of the English language.
53

54. 54
Introduction

55. Malaysians do not read much for pleasure, nor pursue it as a hobby.
The reason for low interest in reading, especially in English, is the L2 learners
do not feel that their values and needs are portrayed in the English language
texts.
Islamic values: “a set of moral principles and guidance that recognizes what is
right behavior from what is wrong or what one should do or not.”
Due to the lack of fair representation of Islam and Muslims in books, English
Muslim views can now be read online where more and more English-speaking
M Muslim writers, scholars and Islamic organizations are writing on
I Islamic websites about Islam and discussing issues from the
Islamic Islamic world view.
55

56. An Islamic website: an Internet-based site created for and devoted to the service of
Islam as a religion and a way of life…whose main objective is to portray the
commandments of Allah and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.
Their four common features: beliefs, ethics, services and values.
Based on the growing statistics of readership on the Islamic websites, interests
towards Islamic writings among young Muslim readers are promising.
The Research Problem:
The culture of the native speakers is integrated into the classroom teaching
materials to teach the English language. This makes language learning more
successful.
However, it is a problem when other cultures are ignored which could lead to
further demotivation to learn a language.
56

57. L2 learners prefer to read authentic materials rather than pedagogical texts,
well-written Islamic English websites may offer an authentic reading
experience to replace the secular reading materials.
For Muslim English learners, Islamic content should be included when
teaching English.
This study is conducted to identify the reading trends of English Islamic
websites amongst Malaysian Muslim youths, determine the Malaysian youths’
perceptions towards the texts, and determine their perception of having
English been taught using materials from the English Islamic websites.
57

58. Research Questions
(1) What are the reading trends of English Islamic websites
amongst Malaysian Muslim youths?
(2) What are the Malaysian youths’ perceptions towards the trends
of reading English Islamic websites?
(3) What are their perceptions of having English taught using
materials from the English Islamic websites?
58

59. 59
Methodology

60. Sample
A quantitative study, a questionnaire was distributed to 180 students from
two Islamic universities.
The respondents: All Muslims from the Department of English Language;
all were required to take additional Islamic courses.
Simple random sampling technique was utilized.
Requirements: English proficiency for understanding the questionnaire,
prior exposure to English language and learning, familiarization in
reading Islamic texts.
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61. Methods of Data Collection
The English-major students were informed of the study and its reasons. The
names of those who received the questionnaire were noted for recordkeeping
purposes. The researcher was present at the site. Students were given as much
time to answer the questions as needed. The questionnaires were collected
immediately to ensure that all students submitted the questionnaires. 13
questionnaires were incomplete. Only a total of 167 participants from 18 to 29
years of age were used as respondents
Methods of Data Analysis
The data obtained from the 39-item questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS. It
is presented in the form of related statistical measures including frequency,
percentages, means and standard deviation.
62

62. 63
Results

63. Students’ Current Reading Trends
Table 1. Ratings according to the types of English Islamic texts
Types of English Islamic texts that students
read according to genres. More than half of the
students rated English Islamic articles as most
read. The second most read is websites.
Findings also reveal that children books and
comics are the least read Islamic English texts.
It is likely due to the small number
of available Islamic English children books
and comics publications.
64
English Islamic
texts
Percentage
Never
Read
Least
Read
Most
Read
Articles 8.4 38.3 53.3
Websites - 50.9 49.1
Motivational books 11.4 52.7 35.9
Teaching books 15 50.9 34.1
Academic books 23.4 43.1 33.5
Magazines 22.2 50.9 26.9
Historical books 23.4 55.7 21
Fictions 36.5 45.5 18
Children books 37.1 46.7 16.2
Comics 54.5 29.3 16.2

64. A list of the most popular websites
according to a previous pilot study
conducted on 30 Muslims youths.
However, the results elicited from the
respondents showed contradictory
results. It appears that the respondents
were not as exposed to the listed
websites as it was assumed. A majority
of the respondents are not familiar with
the list.
The questionnaire requested that the
respondents provide their own list of
favorite Islamic English website.
65
English Islamic
Websites No% Yes%
Yasminmogahed.com 68.9 31.1
Muslimmatters.org 79.6 20.4
Productivemuslim.com 74.9 25.1
Suhailwebb.com 73.7 26.3
None of the above 64.7 35.3
Table 2. List of English Islamic websites students read
31.14% of the respondents suggested
www.iluvIslam.com as one of their
favorite Islamic websites.

65. 60.5% respondents were self-motivated; whilst friends and
lecturers have equal influence: the respondents perceived
lecturers’ influence is as important as peers’ influence.
Family influence however appears to be low.
Because the respondents came from diverse backgrounds, not
many family members were as exposed to the English
Islamic online texts. The option of other influences:
Only 6.6% wrote: assignment, work, curiosity and social network
websites.
66
No Yes
Myself 39.5 60.5
Friends 40.1 59.9
Teachers/Lectures 40.1 59.9
Family 64.1 35.9
Others 93.4 6.6
Table 3. Factors that influence students
to read English Islamic online materials
%
Every Day 6.0
5 to 6 Days A Week 6.6
Less than 4 Days A Week 61.7
Not Applicable 25.7
Table 4. Frequency of reading English Islamic websites per week
How often students read the articles on English Islamic websites per week?
This table reveals that 61.7% of the students read the articles less than four
days in a week, and only 6% of them read the articles every day of the
week. However, 25.7% of the students answered that this question is not
applicable to them, possibly because they only read the articles once a week
or intermittently.

66. 38.9% of the students read 1-3 articles in English Islamic
websites, and only 6% of them read more than 10
articles in a month. However, 9% of the students stated
that this question is not applicable, which is likely
because they might not read the articles as frequently.
67
Table 5. Frequency of reading English Islamic websites per month
The results in Tables 6-10 are based on the topic
and subthemes that students read most. The topics
and subthemes were selected from a collection of
Islamic websites that are popular amongst the
Muslims who took part in the pilot study. The
topics were Personal Relationship, Islamic
Studies, Personal Development, Society and
Productivity.
Table 6. Topic on personal relationship and subthemes
Personal Relationship %No %Yes
With God 15.6 84.4
Marriage and family 35.9 64.1
With others 55.1 44.9
With brotherhood/sisterhood 62.9 37.1

67. 68
Islamic Studies %No %Yes
Beliefs 44.3 55.7
Qu’ran and Prophet’s Traditions 43.7 56.3
Biography of The Prophet 68.3 31.7
Religious edict 74.9 25.1
Supplication and Prayers 27.5 72.5
Table 7. Topic on Islamic studies and subthemes Table 8. Topic on personal development and subthemes
Personal Development %No %Yes
Motivation 32.3 67.7
Seeking Knowledge 38.3 61.7
Overcoming Hardship 41.3 58.7
Spiritual Purification 41.3 58.7
Reflection 48.5 51.5
Islamic Character Development 52.1 47.9
Grooming 73.1 26.9
Society %No %Yes
Women 34.7 65.3
Youth 35.9 64.1
Men 61.7 38.3
International Affairs 67.1 32.9
Domestic Affairs 71.9 28.2
Converts 71.9 28.1
Table 9. Topic on society and subthemes
Productivity %No %Yes
Work/Studies 24.0 76.0
Health/Fitness 52.7 47.3
Time Management 61.1 38.9
Table 10. Topic on productivity and subthemes

68. Table 11: positive results towards the items listed. The highest mean for “my knowledge of
Islam has increased”. The 2nd & 3rd are the items “my motivation level towards my religion
has increased” and “I am more optimistic towards life” respectively. The students agree
that their character, their relationship with people have improved through reading the
Islamic values. The lowest mean, ‘my fluency in the English language has improved’
means that their English has
improved somewhat after
they started reading English
Islamic websites.
69
Students’ Perceptions on the Effects of the Reading Trends and English Islamic Websites

69. Table 12: the students’ perceptions on the trends of reading English Islamic websites.
The highest mean, “more Muslims should read the websites” and “more should be done to
publicize Islamic English websites in Malaysian universities”. This is consistent with their
view that they enjoy reading it and would want more youngsters to be exposed to the
readings. The students are of the opinion that English language used in the websites is a
reliable and recommended source of knowledge for reverts because the English language
used in the online writings are also simple for them to understand.
The lowest item ‘people who read the English Islamic websites are fluent in the English
language’ implies that they do not consider themselves as fluent in English. The language
used is simple enough to attract wide readership regardless of the proficiency. English
classrooms should be able to accept them as teaching materials because the language and
content should appeal to many types and levels of readers’ proficiency.
70

70. 71
universities.
the writings can be used as teaching materials in the English language classroom in schools. 4.24
these articles should be common reading amongst all Muslims. 4.23
the Islamic writings make understanding Islam easier. 4.22
the English language used in the websites is an excellent way to spread Islam to non-Muslims. 4.22
there is a growing trend of reading materials from the English Islamic websites. 4.16
the English language used in the websites is an excellent way to spread Islam. 4.14
the English language used in the websites is an excellent source of knowledge for reverts. 4.11
the English language used in the online writings is simple for me to understand. 3.98
people who read the English Islamic websites are fluent in the English language. 3.47

71. 72
Discussion

72. The students recommend:
 Use of Islamic English reading texts to gain knowledge, for their personal worship and
overall understanding of the religion & for learning the English language.
 Read more of these materials in the English language in English classrooms
 Readings that are less focused on facts and non-academic texts
 Texts that address their personal problems and challenges
 Read about personal relationship with God and personal relationship in marriage and
family
Malaysian Muslim students do read, but they are reading from online sources rather than
books, especially on topics like personal development and religion.
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73. More Islamic materials should be recognized and accepted as teaching materials in English
classrooms in addition to the Western and secular teaching materials used throughout the
Muslim World.
Texts on spiritual knowledge and personal development, read and enjoyed by Malaysian
youths in their spare time.
Readings can be more meaningful when students learn more than just English.
Improving English proficiency whilst enhancing their knowledge of the religion Islamic
English contents are engaging and authentic for use in English classrooms.
Muslims find it more meaningful when the texts are addressing their needs whilst they
learn the English language
Suggestion: make pedagogical methods of teaching Islam fresh and engaging.
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74. 75
Thanks!