This article discusses how practitioners of Islamic Religious Education (IRE) in Dutch primary schools look at the relationship between IRE and citizenship education (CE). To what extent do they believe it is possible and desirable for IRE to contribute to CE? What would an integration of IRE and CE look like, and where do they see potential tensions between IRE and CE? In two extensive focus group discussions, with identity coordinators and experienced IRE teachers, the relationships between IRE and four citizenship dimensions, namely, identity, legal status, participation, and rights, were discussed. Qualitative content analysis of these discussions reveals that the integration of IRE with CE is desirable and possible, but in varying degrees based on the level of different citizenship dimensions. The extent of integration of IRE and CE also depends on the interpretations of Islamic key concepts. IRE and CE were also found to face similar challenges in seeking to achieve integration: both struggle with exclusive interpretations of Islam and citizenship.

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In Flanders (Belgium) and in the Netherlands, confessional religious education (RE) as organized in publicly recognized and state-funded schools has often been criticized. The main criticisms are that confessional RE in general, and Islamic RE in particular, has an outdated pedagogy, while its content does not fit in contemporary Western society. In Flanders and in the Netherlands, many teachers of Islamic RE struggle with the question how confessional Islamic RE can, both pedagogically and with regard to content, be faithful towards the Islamic tradition and at the same time connect with contemporary Western society. In this contribution, the author argues that an integrative perspective on Islamic pedagogy, with particular attention for the rich hermeneutical tradition in Islam, could transcend this dichotomy.