Integrating Social and Spiritual Values in Inclusive Islamic Religious Education: Transforming Curriculum for Students with Special Needs in Indonesia's Changing Society

Abstract

The urgency of developing an inclusive Islamic Education (PAI) curriculum is increasingly highlighted in response to the national education system's demand to accommodate the diversity of learners, particularly students with special needs (SSN). The current weaknesses in the PAI curriculum's responsiveness to individual needs, along with the dominance of cognitive approaches, indicate a gap between the ideals of regulatory frameworks and the realities of classroom practice. This article aims to analyze the challenges, barriers, and strategies for developing the PAI curriculum within the context of inclusive education. The study employs a library research method with a critical review approach and reflective analysis of relevant scholarly literature published in the past ten years. The findings reveal that implementing an inclusive PAI curriculum faces several obstacles, such as limited teacher competence in inclusive pedagogy, inadequate facilities, a lack of adaptive curriculum guidelines, and cultural resistance to innovation. Nevertheless, innovative strategies have emerged, including the use of differentiated instruction, affective-humanistic learning approaches, technology integration, and the reinforcement of universal Islamic values such as rahmah (compassion), tasamuh (tolerance), and ‘adl (justice). This study contributes theoretically by enriching the framework of a more responsive and humanistic Islamic curriculum. It also offers practical contributions through recommendations for teacher training, policy reinforcement, and the development of a systematic and sustainable adaptive curriculum to support the realization of equitable, participatory, and civilized education.