Islamic Family Education Amidst Social Dynamics: A Comparative Study of Indonesia and Yemen

Aims: To compare Islamic family education practices in Yemen and Indonesia and examine how socio-political dynamics shape the transmission of Islamic values in families. Study Design: Descriptive qualitative research using a narrative-comparative approach. Place and Duration of Study: The study compares Yemen and Indonesia. Three face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with a female academic from Taiz, Yemen, who was living in Indonesia. Methodology: The study drew on one key informant’s experiences, contextual observations, and academic literature. Interviews were conducted in Arabic and Indonesian, recorded with permission, transcribed, and analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke’s framework. Triangulation and member checking were used to support interpretation. Results: In Yemen, the informant described mothers as central educators who transmit Islamic beliefs, Qur’anic learning, etiquette, and moral values through narratives, role modelling, and daily routines amid conflict and instability. In Indonesia, family education was described as facing pressures from modernization, digital media, and the delegation of religious learning to formal institutions and online public figures. The comparison also highlights tensions between local customs, gender inequality, and Islamic educational ideals. Conclusion: Family-based Islamic education remains a key means of transmitting religious and moral values, but its practices are shaped by distinct political, cultural, and digital contexts. The study calls for renewed parental religious literacy and context-sensitive, gender-just family education.