English and Islam in Malaysia: resolving the tension?

It is claimed that a conflict may exist between the implicit values underlying English language teaching and the values of Islam. This article describes two parallel pieces of research undertaken in a statefunded religious school in the state of Melaka in Malaysia aimed at investigating this claim. It concludes that the majority of students studying English in this context were well‐motivated towards English language learning and while recognizing the dangers of absorbing alien values through their language learning, felt able to resist these and to deploy English as a tool for the development of themselves and their nation without feeling that their identity as Malay and Muslim was compromised in any serious way.