What’s the Takeaway Message?
Get away from stereotypes: deprogram, dismediation
Diversity of the religion and of its peoples
Prescriptive ≠ Descriptive (use real Muslims, not just text; arts and culture not just doctrine)
Ethical vs. Doctrinal (not just the 5 pillars of belief/practice)
Specificity and complexity of issues/perspectives
Interfaith: Why do we ask different questions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam
Best Practices: Compare! Analogize to what kids already know
Media-rich approach
Humanize: Land Called Paradise
Find real people/anecdotes: “authentic” doesn’t mean “representative”: Inside Islam
Literature, film, internet, blogs
Popular culture and music: O-Hum
Humor: Allah Made Me Funny
Active: Arabic, crafting/art, Google Earth (hajj tour)
Stereotypes of Islam
Islam is…
“Muslim World”
Muslim Population by Country
Cultural diversity of Islam
Gender and Islam
Gender and religion—do we do this with all religions?
The “veil”—changes the public female body by covering it[How does American society
influence women to change the public female body? Jerry Hall]
Early reform vs. later stiffening/patriarchy
Islamic feminism vs. control of women (why?)
Who Wears a Veil?
Counter-stereotypesIslam Today: Hafez Rocks!
O-Hum Darvish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeN4kfBPx1k
Counter-stereotypesGirls in Iran and Turkey
Counter-stereotypesPushing the boundaries
Counter-stereotypes
New Aspirations
Counter-StereotypesVirtual Ambitions
Counter-StereotypesNew couture
Counter-StereotypesNancy Ajram Coke
ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35O3udLS83Y
Parody Coke ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGvXpJjqLWc&feature=related
“Pop Culture”
Islam Today4 elements: Doctrine, Rules, Practice and Politics
Each element is contested, diverse within community (even when folks say it’s not)
Hot-button issues: Sunni/Shia split Jihad and violence Compatibility with democracy Gender
Think about ethnicity, class, history in addition to religion
Sunnis, Shi’a and SufisWhat’s the difference, and what difference
does it make?
Historical background of split: not the whole story
Doctrine/practice: not the whole story
Historical experience tells us more (cf Northern Ireland)
Where Shi’a live
Imam Hussein
Iranian men commemorating the death of Imam Hussein
Imam Ali mosque in Najaf, Iraq, where most Shia believe
Imam Ali is buried
Mazar-e Sharif in Afghanistan, where some Shia believe
Imam Ali is buried
Askariya Shrine in Samarra,
Iraq
(tombs of 10th and 11th imams)
Muslim Attitudes towards Democracy and
TerrorismGallup poll representing over a billion Muslims
worldwide (also Inside Islam film)
Most respondents want democracy, but also want societies to reflect Islamic values
Most respondents support equal political rights for women
Of 1.5 billion Muslims, only thousands are actively engaged in terrorism activities; however, about 7% support their activities
Their motivation is primarily political, not religious
Curricular AnglesCross curricular reinforcement is key
Humanities: history, ELA, music, art Science (spices, history of science,
hydraulics/mechanics/Rube Goldberg) Math (Islamic geometric design, algebra) Economics (where oil prices come from) PE (debke and other folk dance) Service projects Technology (google earth, blogs, movie production)
Projects in any curricular area in conjunction with classes in the Middle East
First Contact
First Contact: Classroom to Classroom
Many organizations provide links between classrooms
iEARN.org: Projects and topics across the curriculum
ePals
Global Nomads
Blogs from Middle East at Global Voices
Listing of other organizations and resources at TeachMideast