Fourteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the teaching materials of Islamic Education subjects at public universities in Palopo according to multiculturalism and deradicalization perspectives. The study maps lecturers of Islamic Education (IE) learning strategy at public universities and describes student perception about multiculturalism and deradicalization after learning IE subjects. This qualitative research was conducted at three public universities in Palopo. Data collection procedure was conducted through in-depth interviews with a number of Islamic Education subject’s lecturers and students. The collected data were analyzed according to the research focus. Firstly, the results show the content of IE subjects consists of three main aspects of Islamic teachings including faith (aqidah), law (shariah) and morals (akhlaq). The themes of multiculturalism and deradicalisation are not specifically covered in the lesson plans but described through various face-to-face teaching. Second, the role of lecturers in counteracting radicalism issues are conducted through dialogues with students, discussing radicalism with historical approach and normative approach, and asking students to analyze the negative impact of radical behavior. Third, the students believe that multiculturalism is a necessity but do not yet comprehensively understand multicultural values. Some students in these three higher education institutions view radicalism as a dangerous attitude. However, most of universities have not understood factors that could trigger radicalism. The implications of this research emphasize the importance of revitalizing positions of religious subjects especially Islamic education subjects at public university.