Integrating Islamic Moral Values into Foreign Language Curricula in Bangladeshi Higher Education

Abstract

The integration of Islamic moral values into foreign language curricula has emerged as a critical issue in Bangladeshi higher education, where universities strive to reconcile global academic standards with local religious and cultural contexts. This study explores the challenges and prospects of embedding Islamic ethical principles into undergraduate and graduate English Language and Literature programs while maintaining academic rigor, critical inquiry, and intercultural competence. Employing a qualitative research design, purposive sampling was used to select 20 participants, including English faculty members, curriculum developers, department chairs, and an academic administrator from public and private universities in Bangladesh. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis supported by systematic coding and categorization. The findings highlight significant challenges, such as the absence of a coherent curriculum framework, limited pedagogical resources, inadequate faculty training, institutional constraints, and concerns regarding academic neutrality. Despite these obstacles, participants viewed English Language and Literature as a promising platform for integrating Islamic moral values through ethical literary interpretation, value-based language instruction, contextualized learning activities, and interdisciplinary curriculum development. This study contributes to the growing scholarship on value-based curriculum reform by offering an empirically grounded framework for integrating Islamic moral values into foreign language education in Muslim-majority contexts.