Slide1:Introduction

Weregularlyhearwordslikesafetyandinclusioninthecontextofeducation.Manygroupshavesuccessfullymarketedfortheinclusionoftheirstoryintothemainstreameducationalnarrative.AsteacherswenowseekoutsourcesthatpresentthestoriesofWomen,NativeAmericans,Latinex,AfricanAmerican,andLGBTQ+.TheseareallgroupsthathavebeenmarginalizedinAmericansocietyandpolitics.However,inyourquesttorepresentallvoices,haveyouthoughtaboutMuslimvoices?24%oftheworld’spopulationpracticesIslam(areMuslims),areyourepresentinganyofthosevoicesasyoupracticeyourcraft?

ThisbeginsmyfifthyearofworkingatJoelPJensenMiddleSchool,butlastyearwasthefirstyearIobservedfemalestudentswearinghijabsinthehallways.However,itisstatisticallyinaccuratetodeterminethenumberofMuslimstudentsbythenumberofgirlswearinghijabs.Many Muslim Americans believe that hijabsarenotmandatoryinthefaith,andyoungmennecessarily don’twearanyidentifyingclothing.

However,determiningthenumberofMuslimsattendingJoelPJensenisnotthepurposeofthispresentation.Instead,mygoalistoencourageyoutoincorporatewhatIwillcallMuslimStudiesintoyourteachingpractice(alongthesamelineasAfricanAmericanStudies).

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Slide2:CulturesImpactedbyIslam

IslamenterstheWorldNarrativeinthelate500s/early600sBCE.Sincethen,ithasebbedandflowedthroughagreatdealofthecivilizedworld,leavingitsmarkonthecultureoftheseareasinvaryingwaysanddegrees.Asaresult,thereisavastvarietyofliterature,art,architecture,food,music,etc.tochoosefromallofthemfromdifferentprimaryculturesaswell.Forexample,Iwastoldduringmyclassthat“Youcan’tlearnaboutWestAfricawithoutlearningaboutIslam,”byIsmailAbdul-Aleem.SoitwouldbeverysimpletoincorporateaMuslimindividualintothestudyofWestAfricangeography.

Irecognizethatwedon’tallteachinthesocialstudiesdepartment.Idon’teventeachsocialstudies.ButhavingageneralawarenessofwhereandhowMuslimshaveparticipatedinUnitedStatesandUtahHistorywon’thurtanyofus.

• Present-dayMuslim-majoritynation-states• Present-dayMuslim-majorityregionsoutsideofMuslim-majoritynation-states,

historicallyruledbyMuslimpolities• Present-dayregionswithsignificantMuslimminorities,historicallyruledby

Muslimpolities• RegionshistoricallyruledbyMuslimpolitieswithoutsignificantpresent-day

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Slide3:MuslimsinUSHistory

Infact,recordsofMuslimparticipationexistforeveryperiodofUnitedStatesHistory.OnthisslideIprovidelinkstotwoinformativetimelinesthatyoucancheck-outifyouareinterested.

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Slide4:MuslimsinUSHistory

Ihaveselected3geographicareasthatIwouldliketodiscussmoreindepth.Muslimslavesinthesoutheast,ImmigrantMuslimsthatsettledinNorthDakota,andMuslimswhoparticipatedintheCivilRightserainDetroit,Michigan.

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Slide5:MuslimSlaves

Scholars estimate that about 10% of all enslaved Africans who came to the United States were Muslim--this is about 30,000-40,000 people.Some of themwere among the most educated Americans, slave or free.Theyspoke,readandwroteArabicandseveral wrote autobiographies about their experiences. These primary sourcedocuments are available online and can easily be integrated into curriculum thatinvolvesslaveryandcaptivitynarratives.

Duringthecolonizationeraportraitswereonlymadeofimportantpeople,butthereareasurprisingnumberofportraitsofMuslimslaves.Thisindicatestheimpacttheseindividualshadontheirslavemastersandtherespecttheygarneredfromthemaswell.

ThisportraitisofAyubaSuleimanDiallo,calledJobbenSolomon(1701-1773)inAfricandress,withtheQu'ranaroundhisneck.Ayuba’swasfoundunsuitableforfieldworksohewasputinchargeofthecattle.Hewouldgointothewoodstopray,butafterachildstartedthrowingthingsathimwhileprayingheranaway.Hewascaptured.Whileinimprisoned,hegottosharehisstorythroughanAfricantranslator.Asaresult,hismastersetasideanareaforAyubatopray.DuringimprisonmenthisabilitytoreadandwriteArabicwasalsodiscovered.EventuallyAyubawasreturnedtoAfricain1738.Hismemoirsareoneoftheearliestslavenarratives.

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Slide6:MuslimImmigrationandtheProgressiveEra

MuslimImmigrationwasalsopartoftheProgressiveErawithimmigrantsfromSyriahomesteadinginNorthDakota.TheserecordsarealsofoundintheWPAArchives.Whileslaveshadcontinuedtopracticedailyprayers,theRoss,NDcommunityprovidethefirstrecordsofcommunalprayerservicesintheUnitedStates.TheWPAinterviewedhistoriescouldbeusedasmodelswhenteachingstudentshowtodocumentaninterview.

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Slide7:MuslimsandCivilRights

TheNationofIslamwasfoundedinDetroit,Michiganin1930.MalcolmXandMuhammadAliwerebothmemberswhosestoriesarepartoftheCivilRightsMovement.

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Slide8:HistoryofMuslimsinUtah

Initially,MuslimscametoUtahtoattendcollegesanduniversities.TariqKargicamefromIraqtoattendUtahStateUniversityin1958.HeisthelongestcontinualMuslimresidentinthestate.ManyMuslimstudentsreturnhomeaftercompletingstudiesbutsomestay.TheygiveUtah’s“conservativeatmosphere,familyfriendlyfocusandlandscapereminiscentoftheMiddleEastasreasonstostay.”

MuslimpopulationgrowthinUtahhasbeenmostlyfromrefugee.Intheearly1990stherewasaninfluxofBosnianandSomalianMuslimrefugees.SeveralrefugeeorganizationsexisttoassistintheresettlementprocessandMuslimsarefoundallalongtheWasatchFront.

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Slide9:AsianExclusionAct

LastyearItookacourseabouttheTopazInternmentCamplocatedoutsideofDelta,UT.(ThereisafantasticmuseuminDeltathatIencourageallofyoutovisitsometimeinyourlives.)AbigconnectionthatImadewiththecourseIattendedonMuslimAmericanHistoryandLifeandtheTopazInternmentwasthatpeoplefromtheSyriaandIndiawereidentifiedasAsianatthetimeoftheAsianExclusionAct.TwoCourtcasesthathadbearingontheAsianExclusionActthatdidnotinvolveJapaneseorpeopleofJapaneseDescentareGeargeDowvsUnitedStatesandUnitedStatesvs.BhagatSinghThind.

Itisalsointerestingtonotethattoday,apersonfromtheMiddleEastisconsidered“white”bythegovernment.Therefore,theydonotreceiveminorityassistanceanddonotaddtothediversityofanorganizationfromabureaucraticperspective.However,attheairport,aretheyreallyconsidered“white”?(Justsomethingtothinkabout…)

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Slide10:MuslimInfluencesinSpain

NowthatwehavelookedatMuslimhistoryintheUnitedStatesandUtah,IwanttoshowsomeotherplacesthatMuslimStudiescanbeintegratedintoaclassroom.Theorange-ishpartsofthemapareregionshistoricallyruledbyMuslimpolitieswithoutsignificantpresent-dayMuslimpopulations.So,let’stalkaboutSpain.

IneverythingthatIreadandheardoverthecourseoftheSummer,thepersonIwanttoseeamoviemadeaboutisAbdal-RahmanI.Hewasbornin731intotheUmayyadDynastyinDamascus.TheUmayyadswereoverthrownbytheAbbasids.Asistypicallythecase,whenoverthrowingadynasty,it’sbesttowipeout(kill)anyonewhocanhaveanyclaimtothethrown.(ThinktheexterminationofTsarNicholasIIandAnastasia…)So,theAbbasid’swerekillingAbdal-Rahman’sfamilysoheranwithhisbrother.Hisbrotherendsupgettingcapturedandkilled,butAbdal-RahmanmakesitallthewaytopresentdaySpainwithjusthimselfandaservant.Hethenmanagestotakeovertheregionandhisfamilyrulesthereuntil1031.

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Slide11:MosqueofCórdoba

Abdal-RahmanIIIbuilttheGreatMosqueofCórdoba,whichisnowknownlocallyasMezquita-Catedral.Thestructurecanbeusedinavarietyofclassestostudyarchitecture,art,symmetry,etc.

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Slide12:ThinkBeyondtheMiddleEast

WhenmostpeoplehearMuslim,theythinkoftheMiddleEastandpeoplelikeMalalaYousafzaiauthorof“IAmMalala:TheGirlWhoStoodUpforEducationandWasShotbytheTaliban”,butthatisalimitedview.ThelargestMuslimpopulationinacountryisinIndonesia.Also,didyouknowthataMuslimwomanisthePrimeMinisterofaMuslimmajoritycountry?SheikhHasinaWazedhasbeenthePrimeMinisterofBangladeshsince2009.

HumanitarianserviceandphilanthropyisincrediblyimportantinIslam.InMyanmar(previouslyBurma)thepredominatereligionisTheravadaBuddhism.MuslimshaveanumberofhumanitarianandrelieforganizationsintheUnitedStatesandaroundtheworld.

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Slide13:Conclusion

We’veincreasedoursensitivitytoWomen’sStudies,NativeAmericanStudies,AfricanAmericanStudiesandLGBTQStudies,makingspacefortheirvoicesintheconversationsinourclassrooms.ItisnowtimetogivethesamespacetoMuslimStudies.Ihopethispresentationhasgottenyouthinkingdifferently.

MychallengetoyounowistointentionallyincorporateonethingthatrepresentstheMuslimhistory,literatureorcultureintoyourclassroom.Itdoesn’thavetobeabigthing…justasimpleconnectionthatcanenhanceand/orextendyourcurrentcurriculum.AddacomparativetextfromaMuslimauthor,analyzeapieceofartormusicbyaMuslimartist,incorporatearecipetofoodsthatiscookedinapredominatelyMuslimcountry.Itdoesn’thavetobecurrentorcontroversial.ButbybeingpositiveandintentionalyouwillgiveavoicetoourMuslimstudents,providingthemconnectionsinacountrythathastraditionallyshownlittlevaluefortheirtraditionsandbeliefs.

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