Representations of Islamic identity in <i><b>Safar</b></i> Islamic English-medium Textbooks 7 and 8: a multimodal discourse analysis

This perspective also enables attention to tensions within the textbooks, including those between tradition and modernity, religious authority and personal agency, unity and diversity, and moral ideals and lived complexity. The dataset comprises three units from the selected textbooks; Fiqh, Contemporary Issues, and Lifestyle and Community which contain 53,512 words of text and 272 images. Drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics, Visual Grammar, and intersemiosis theory, the study analyses how verbal and visual resources interact to construct meaning across modes. <br><br>The analysis shows that identity is articulated through five strands: action, feelings and beliefs, values and ethics, knowledge, and materiality.

The discussion argued that Islamic identities in the UK are understood as dynamic and contextual, embodied and socially recognised, negotiated in belonging and civic life, knowledgeable and materially anchored, and interconnected and fluid. the findings reinforce and extend the insights of the systematic literature review, which indicated that Muslim identities in the UK are dynamic and multifaceted. Four strategies of meaning making of language and image in the Safar textbooks are also identified: referential projection, normative projection, affective projection, and expansion and elaboration.

These strategies render Islam accessible and contextually relevant, yet they also simplify complexity and reduce diversity.<br>By foregrounding intersectionality, tension, and reflexivity, this thesis advances debates on discourse, identity, and multimodality, and demonstrates the importance of critically examining educational materials as sites where identities are shaped, negotiated, and regulated. The study contributes original insights into Islamic education and curriculum design in multicultural contexts, where affirming identity must be balanced with recognising diversity and contestation.<br><br><i>Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2031.</i><br>