This chapter firstly provides a brief historical overview on the transformation of religious education in Hong Kong. Throughout the British colonial era to China's resumption of sovereignty, the role of religion has been largely overlooked in the making of Hong Kong society, with religious education being a marginal academic subject in the formal school curriculum. Nevertheless, this chapter highlights the importance of religious education in Hong Kong society. The importance of the subject matter has been increasingly recognized given its intrinsic value in empowering students' resilience in coping with life challenges and depressing social environments. These are not outcomes that can be provided by the core academic subjects. Lastly, by considering the case of an increasing demand for Islamic education externally and internally, this chapter concludes with a new scenario setting an alternative aspiration for spirituality and religious education in Hong Kong's future. Copyright © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Kerry J. Kennedy and John Chi-Kin Lee; individual chapters, the contributors.

Present literature concerning ethnic students in Hong Kong has been largely focusing on ethnic students' struggle in identity formation, emotional and behavioral needs, acquisition of Chinese language, disparity of social rights and opportunities as well as academic and career mobility, etc. While perspectives of ethnic students' learning under mainstream teaching in Chinese schools have attracted much attention, voices of frontline educators' learning from everyday teaching ethnic students are not widely addressed. Rather perceiving teacher as a traditional authority figure in a mono-cultural Chinese classroom, this particular case-study argues growing number of frontline Chinese teachers have been undergoing experiential learning and ongoing reflection through daily teaching and interaction with ethnic Muslim students in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2018 Hong Kong Sociological Association 20th Annual Conference.

This paper explores teaching and learning experiences concerning young Pakistani Muslims in Hong Kong, who are found simultaneously immersed in two divergent systems of education - first, the conventional daytime schools where students are educated formally with general knowledge, and second, the madrasahs (Islamic learning institutes) where student recite Qur’an and receive religious teachings every day after school. Based on the ongoing ethnographic fieldwork (with methods including participant observation and interviews) in both local conventional schools and madrasahs in Hong Kong, this paper reveals that the three parties involved, namely the Chinese-speaking educators from conventional schools, the Qur’anic teachers from madrasahs (along with the students’ parents, who are often supporters of madrasah education), and the ethnic Muslim students, might have different understanding and expectations on education. This paper further argues that such difference could be a result of contrary worldviews and meanings of life to the two groups of educators, as well as limited communication between the two sides of educational institutes.

Population of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong has been growing, and many Muslim minorities are now studying in the mainstream kindergarten. In the midst of global wave of Islamophobia and the lack of understanding towards the cultural traditions of local Muslim minorities, this paper explores teaching Islam art as an inclusive attempt of childhood education program. With the example of promoting Islamic art workshop of Hong Kong Islamic schools and madrasahs, this paper foresees broadening Chinese students’ world map and cultural geography through teaching and learning Islamic art. Interacting with ethnic Muslim students, it may help students avoid unintentional insults and errors of etiquette.

In the post-9/11 era, growing scholarly literature and social concern have focused on Islamic education in Muslim-majority countries and for Muslim minorities in the West. However, public attention and academic research concerning the teaching of Islam as a world religion and a commonly shared human civilization, are barely understood in secular contexts and in public education. This issue requires more attention, especially in Asia. For the sake of future dialogue and further discussion, this paper is a tentative attempt at initiating this understudied issue of teaching Islam as multicultural literacy. It inquires about the pedagogy of teaching Islam in an East Asian context by first briefly reflecting on the dilemmas of introducing Islam to the West and its implications for the university curriculum. Departing from the experience in North America and European societies, this article then attempts to explore alternative pedagogical discourse in teaching Islam to Chinese students in the East Asian context by considering its specific geographical position in global politics and the recent development of Hong Kong. This article finally foresees the developing pedagogy of Islamic teaching that challenges students to break away from the media cliche and apathy towards human suffering, leading them to understand that they themselves are the potential peacemakers of a future global multiethnic and multicultural society.
[Copyright of Asian Ethnicity is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14631360802041893]