Computer Games and Religious Education

Education is to be considered as a special form of communication not restricted to a mere exchange or transmission of messages but aiming at learning. Educational media have, throughout the years, played a major part in this regard, and the advent of new technologies has contributed greatly to their advancement. Among these one can refer to computer games that have stood in the forefront due to their specific features. Despite a former insistence on their negative effects and their consequent dismissal, recent research has taken their positive impact into consideration. One is their possible involvement in educational programs. Their special place in teaching different subjects, ranging from physical skills to class lessons, has been recognized by experts and led to the supply of some products. Meanwhile, studies on the practical possibilities of this media in religious fields, especially Islam, are rare. The purpose of this article is to search the possibilities of this media in helping achieve an effective teaching. The thesis is that utilizing the players’ stated reason for their hobby can better assist in developing suitable educational games. One significant capacity of the media is its interactional feature. After examining what and how the games teach, some challenging aspects of them in religious teaching are considered. This has paved the way for more exact experiments in the future.