الحرية الدينية فى الاسلام

ALLAH has created the mankind as a rational being. He created mankind and Jinns for His worship and He sent mankind upon Earth so that they inhabit it with the complicated tangle of faithfulness in God and yet do the worldly deeds. He will hold accountable each individual for what he did. This test would not remain valid if not accompanied with necessary freedom of action and belief. Freedom is actually bestowed upon mankind by God Himself and it will be totally wrong to maintain it as a modern achievement that came after western, or any other enlightenment. It is not that a human or a group of them or any constitution or charter can truly give or grant freedom. Most important of all this is freedom of Religion. There is no compulsion in Religion, 2: 256. The early Muslims remained steadfast to this principle in all of their Ghazvat and they granted freedom of religious belief to their subjects. Religious sites and houses of worship were safeguarded against any harm. Islam and religious freedom are not put together. The following article will examine the Issue of Freedom of Religion in Islam and will try to remove misunderstandings regarding the issue.

A Study on Helping Teachers Learn and Use the Investigative Approach in Science

The purpose of this study was to find out how teachers could be helped to learn and use the investigative approach in science. Two teachers from the lower secondary school participated in the study and my role was to help them learn and use the investigative approach through joint planning, modelling and reflective practice. The study was conducted in three stages. The pre-intervention stage showed the teachers' current practice in science, the intervention stage where the investigative approach was introduced and the post-intervention stage indicated the impact of the innovation on teachers' teaching to detect change. The research draws on qualitative data sources such as semi-structured interview, participant observations and teachers' reflective journals. Findings revealed that teachers came with their beliefs about the way children learn science and this was because of their experiences as students and the way they taught was a manifestation of their beliefs. The findings also showed that the change process is influenced by teacher beliefs, understanding of the change process and contextual factors such as time, syllabus, and relationships. The study found that working closely with teachers and encouraging them to reflect on their practices in a conducive, supportive environment helps teachers internalise change thus enabling them to attempt and implement the investigative approach to change their practice. The teachers were positive about the innovation and their self-confidence and understanding of the teaching learning process was greatly enhanced.