The ethics of disagreement (adab al-ikhtilaf): religious education for intercultural competence in Arabo-Islamic pedagogy

This article explores Adab al-Ikhtilaf, the ethics of disagreement in Islamic thought, as a pedagogical framework for teaching religious education (RE) in high schools within diasporic Muslim contexts. It argues that the principles of ethical disagreement can serve as culturally grounded tools for fostering intercultural communication competence. The paper conceptualises Ikhtilaf as a dialogical practice rooted in humility, synthesis, and reasoned argumentation. For example, the integration of Iqrar, or concession, acts as a conflict resolution practice to nurture mutual recognition in classroom settings. The article responds to dominant Western pedagogical paradigms, such as the Socratic dialogue, and offers Adab al-Ikhtilaf, as an Islamic dialectical tradition, as an alternative mode of engaging disagreement. By distinguishing between Jadal, Munadhara, and Mukabara, it proposes a reorientation of Islamic dialectics away from polemics and towards ethical deliberation. The article provides a guide for implementation and an assessment rubric that translate these philosophical and theological concepts into teachable strategies. These include the use of Dalil (evidence) and Tadabbur (deliberation) to foster reasoning and ethical engagement. Ultimately, this study aims to equip students with the ethical, dialogical, and intercultural skills necessary for pluralistic societies. It theorises a curriculum that enacts religious thought as pedagogy.