Islamic Educational Leadership in the Maghreb Countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53639/ijsse.v4i1.112Keywords:
Islamic educational leadership, Maghreb countries, Traditional scholarship, Educational reform, Post-colonial stateAbstract
This study analyzes Islamic educational leadership in the Maghreb countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania. Using a qualitative literature review and conceptual analysis, it synthesizes historical, sociological, and educational scholarship to explain how religious authority, state bureaucracy, and modernization shape leadership practices. The findings show that Islamic educational leadership is dominated by three interrelated models: the state-coopted scholar, the bureaucratic administrator, and the adaptive reformer. These models face persistent challenges, including curriculum reform, state surveillance, limited resources, pedagogical conservatism, and ideological contestation. At the same time, opportunities emerge through hybrid leadership, contextualized knowledge production, digital learning, and regional partnerships. The study concludes that effective Islamic educational leadership in the Maghreb requires a proactive hybrid model that combines scholarly legitimacy, pedagogical innovation, and strategic engagement with broader socio-political frameworks.
Downloads
References
Alabdulhadi, M. M. J., & Alkandari, K. M. (2024). Practices of Islamic education teachers in promoting moderation (wasatiyyah) values among high school students in Kuwait: Challenges and obstacles. Cogent Education, 11(1), Article 2365577. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2365577
Elischer, S. (2024). Weapons of the weak: How African states counteract homegrown jihadi Salafism. Journal of Global Security Studies, 9(3), Article ogae022. https://doi.org/10.1093/jogss/ogae022
Ezzani, M. D., Brooks, M. C., Yang, L., & Bloom, A. (2023). Islamic school leadership and social justice: An international review of the literature. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 26(5), 745-777. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2021.2009037
Felsenthal, I., & Agbaria, A. (2026). Justice before God: Critical Islamic education based on the work of Tariq Ramadan. British Journal of Religious Education, 48(1), 117-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2025.2480655
Hanif, M. (2010). Privatization of higher education in Indonesia. INSANIA: Jurnal Pemikiran Alternatif Kependidikan, 15(1), 67-83. https://doi.org/10.24090/insania.v15i1.1516
Hanif, M. (2014a). Desain pembelajaran untuk transformasi sosial: Studi perbandingan pemikiran Paulo Freire dan Ivan Illich tentang pendidikan pembebasan. KOMUNIKA: Jurnal Dakwah dan Komunikasi, 8(2), 113-128. https://doi.org/10.24090/komunika.v8i2.752
Hanif, M. (2014b). Tinjauan filosofis Kurikulum 2013. INSANIA: Jurnal Pemikiran Alternatif Kependidikan, 19(1), 87-114. https://doi.org/10.24090/insania.v19i1.465
Hanif, M. (2017). Hermeneutika Hans-Georg Gadamer dan signifikansinya terhadap penafsiran Al-Qur'an. Maghza: Jurnal Ilmu Al-Qur'an dan Tafsir, 2(1), 93-108. https://doi.org/10.24090/maghza.v2i1.1546
Hanif, M. (2022). Modal sosial dalam perbaikan mutu pendidikan. CV. Rizquna.
Hanif, M. (2023). Philosophical review of Avicenna's Islamic education thought. Asian Journal of Engineering, Social and Health, 2(6), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.46799/ajesh.v2i6.71
Hanif, M. (2025). Islamic education design for Generation Z. Asian Journal of Natural Sciences, 4(2), 77-92. https://doi.org/10.55927/ajns.v4i2.31
Hanif, M., Asdlori, A., & Efendi, A. (2024). Adapting to challenges: The development of Islamic senior high schools in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Social Science and Religion, 5(2), 355-374. https://doi.org/10.53639/ijssr.v5i2.266
Hanif, M., Dharin, A., & Hutauruk, M. E. (2023). Management of social entrepreneurship in Indonesian Islamic boarding schools. Pegem Journal of Education and Instruction, 13(3), 375-385. https://doi.org/10.47750/pegegog.13.03.38
Hanif, M., Efendi, A., Purmana, Y., & Ndow, M. (2026). Curriculum development management model for international-standard madrasas: Evidence from Indonesia. International Journal of Social Science and Religion, 7(1), 23-38. https://doi.org/10.53639/ijssr.v7i1.388
Hanif, M., & Fian, K. (2023). De-westernisation of Islamic education perspective Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Analysis, 6(6), 2512-2520. https://doi.org/10.47191/ijmra/v6-i6-48
Hanif, M., Ningamah, B. R., Izza, F. N., Wahyuning, P., & Khasanah, R. K. (2022). The use of Quizizz application on Islamic Education (PAI) learning in the new normal era. INSANIA: Jurnal Pemikiran Alternatif Kependidikan, 27(2), 198-213. https://doi.org/10.24090/insania.v27i2.6918
Hanif, M., & Prasetianingtiyas, H. (2023). Islamization of science in the era of Society 5.0: Study of al-Attas' thought. International Journal of Social Science and Religion, 4(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.53639/ijssr.v4i1.127
Hanif, M., Qudsiyyah, M., & Hanifah, N. D. S. (2025). Integrating information technology in Islamic education: A qualitative study using Richard Mayer's multimedia learning theory. AL-ISHLAH: Jurnal Pendidikan, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v17i2.7192
Hanif, M., & Salsabillah, N. A. (2024). Pendidikan kewarganegaraan di era digital: Perspektif teori sosialisasi politik. An-Nuha: Jurnal Kajian Islam, Pendidikan, Budaya dan Sosial, 11(2), 273-307. https://doi.org/10.36835/annuha.v11i2.749
Hilal, Y. Y., Hammad, W., & Gümüş, S. (2025). Exploring distributed leadership in the Muslim world: A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2025.2521612
Kaya, A., & Drhimeur, A. (2023). Diaspora politics and religious diplomacy in Turkey and Morocco. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 23(2), 317-337. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2022.2095703
Lahmar, F. (2024). Redefining leadership: The role of spirituality and motherhood in Muslim women's educational leadership. Religions, 15(12), Article 1565. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121565
Liamputtong, P. (2022). Handbook of qualitative cross-cultural research methods. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376625
Mukhibat, Effendi, M., Setyawan, W. H., & Sutoyo. (2024). Development and evaluation of religious moderation education curriculum at higher education in Indonesia. Cogent Education, 11(1), Article 2302308. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2302308
Murris, K., & Koro, M. (2025). Interpretation in qualitative research: Key concepts in qualitative methods. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003585046
Niesche, R., Eacott, S., Keddie, A., Gobby, B., MacDonald, K., Wilkinson, J., & Blackmore, J. (2023). Principals' perceptions of school autonomy and educational leadership. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 51(6), 1260-1277. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432211034174
Oplatka, I. (2023). Studying negative aspects in educational leadership: The benefits of qualitative methodologies. Research in Educational Administration and Leadership, 8(3), 549-574. https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1330936
Peng, T., Wang, C., Xu, J., Dai, J., & Yu, T. (2024). Evolution and current research status of educational leadership theory: A content analysis-based study. SAGE Open, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241285763
Poncini, A. (2023). Standards setting in religious education: Addressing the quality of teaching and assessment practices. Religions, 14(3), Article 315. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14030315
Rahmat, M., & Yahya, M. W. B. H. M. (2022). The impact of inclusive Islamic education teaching materials model on religious tolerance of Indonesian students. International Journal of Instruction, 15(1), 347-364. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2022.15120a
Rhazzali, M. K. (2023). Religion and prison in contemporary Muslim societies: Religious intervention in the carceral space of post-revolutionary Tunisia. Religions, 14(4), Article 474. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14040474
Saada, N. (2023). Educating for global citizenship in religious education: Islamic perspective. International Journal of Educational Development, 103, Article 102894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102894
Said, S. M., Sharif, S., & Abdullah, M. K. J. (2023). Unveiling the excellent leadership qualities and practices of principals in Islamic schools: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 22(9), 43-61. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.22.9.3
Savin-Baden, M., & Major, C. H. (2025). Qualitative research: The essential guide to theory and practice. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003483199
Schiavinato, V., & Rhazzali, M. K. (2024). Training of imams, murshidat and Muslim religious leaders: Experiences and open questions-An overview of Italy. Religions, 15(7), Article 868. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15070868
Şenel, A., & Demmrich, S. (2024). Prospective Islamic theologians and Islamic religious teachers in Germany: Between fundamentalism and reform orientation. British Journal of Religious Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2024.2330908
Tamburini, F. (2025). The bureaucratization of Islam in Algeria: The state as the only controller of religion. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 60(4), 2286-2307. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096231215726
Tamburini, F. (2026). The authentic Islam on the internet: The official websites of the ministries of religious affairs in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 61(1), 695-712. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241295633
Weideman, J. (2022). Praxis of reform: The politics of Zaytuna student housing in colonial Tunis. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 65(7), 859-889. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685209-12341587
Wolgemuth, J. R., Guyotte, K. W., & Shelton, S. A. (2024). Expanding approaches to thematic analysis: Creative engagements with qualitative data. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003389149
Wüst, A., & Nicolai, K. (2023). Cultural diplomacy and the reconfiguration of soft power: Evidence from Morocco. Mediterranean Politics, 28(4), 554-579. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2022.2033513
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Albukhary Alsonousi Othman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
