Redefining Leadership: The Role of Spirituality and Motherhood in Muslim Women’s Educational Leadership

This study explores the perspectives and experiences of three Muslim female headteachers in Islamic schools in England, each with over twenty years of experience, to understand how they perceive and negotiate their leadership roles. Using Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s theory of agency and structure, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted in three phases: 2010–2012, and 2018–2020. The rich longitudinal data, despite the limited sample size, provided an in-depth understanding of emerging themes around Muslim women’s leadership in British Islamic schooling. Analysis reveals that these headteachers conceptualise leadership through the Islamic principles of imāmah (spiritual leadership), qiwāmah (guardianship), and amānah (trusteeship), emphasising ethical responsibility, continuous learning, and service-oriented leadership. Their leadership within this framework is neither submissive to men’s authority nor rivalling it but acts as an autonomous agency through the Tawḥīdi (Oneness of God) theological framework and akhlāq (ethical framework), defending chosen values within the Ibādah (worship; acts of devotion to God alone) context. Motherhood is seen as intrinsic to their leadership, with nurturing, guiding, and supporting roles extending from home to school, challenging the dichotomy between private and public spheres. This paper contends that the current educational leadership models are predominantly Western, failing to capture the unique experiences and perspectives of female Muslim leaders who reject framing their perspectives within feminist parameters. Advocating a decolonised approach, centring these women’s coherent religious conceptual frameworks, the study suggests that these leaders’ practices offer a unique perspective on educational leadership, blending spiritual, ethical, and communal responsibilities, and calls for further research to explore the identified themes in broader contexts.