Materials for Educators
Resources
Resources for fostering religious tolerance
This community-building toolkit helps neighbors connect with each other around issues of diversity, immigration, and religious difference.
Source: American Friends Service Committee: https://afsc.org/resource/resources-fostering-religious-tolerance-quaker-meetings-and-churches
After San Bernardino
If we as adults who work for a social justice organization need inspiration right now, we imagine that teachers and young people in classrooms do too. Take the time to study past moments of crisis, and ask your students who or what inspires them when challenges feel insurmountable. Pinthis poster to your classroom wall or schedule time for an inspiring documentary. But, most importantly, if you feel yourself or your students sinking into despair for a world that seems to be rotating wildly out of orbit, don’t be afraid to ask the question, “How are we going to get out of here?” Because if we never ask the question, we’ll never find an answer.
Source: Teaching Tolerance: http://www.tolerance.org/blog/after-san-bernardino
Debunking Stereotypes About Muslims and Islam
Many religions have things in common. At the same time, each is unique. In the shared category, Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, descends from the first five books of the Bible. That’s why some people refer to members of all three religions as “followers of the Book.” Some people also call the three religions “Abrahamic” because they all descended from Abraham. In the unique category, Jews were the first to believe that there was one God; Muslims believe that Muhammad was God’s messenger and Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.
In the same way that religions are both alike and unique, so, too are the members of those religions. In this activity, students learn more about Muslims in the United States and practice graph-reading skills.
Source: Teaching Tolerance: http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/debunking-stereotypes-about-muslims-and-islam
Confronting Students’ Islamophobia
How do you address Islamophobia in your classroom? What do you do when you see that prejudice and stereotypes are linked to in-the-moment fears?
Source: Teaching Tolerance: http://www.tolerance.org/blog/confronting-students-islamophobia
The Alwaleed Centre at the University of Edinburgh
All guides listed are published by the Alwaleed Centre and can be accessed at: http://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/alwaleed/resources/classroom
Faith Guide to Islam
Although produced with higher education establishments in mind, this guide produced by the Higher Education Academy is an excellent introduction to Islam and explores a number of challenges facing Muslim students
Brief guidance for handling Muslim parental concern
A very useful guide produced by British Muslims for a Secular Democracy exploring potential points of concern for Muslim parents. A worthwhile read for any teachers teaching Muslim pupils.
Guidelines for educators on countering intolerance and discrimination against Muslims
These guidelines, produced by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, aim to assist educators in identifying manifestations of intolerance and discrimination against Muslims in schools and to provide suggestions on how to prevent and respond to this phenomenon.
1001 Interventions
1001 Inventions is an extraordinary organisation promoting the many contributions Islamic scientists have made throughout the centuries. 1001 Inventions have produced a range of teaching resources, including a supplement for Scottish teachers, exploring a wide variety of subjects from the camera obscura to man's first attempt at flight. A great way to give pupils a glimpse at the extraordinary achievements of the Islamic world.
Source: http://www.1001inventions.com/media/teachers-pack-download
Interfaith Explorers (Charter Partner)
Interfaith Explorers is a free, UNESCO supported, online learning resource. The program helps pupils explore cultural diversity, understand and respect differences and embrace similarities. The Learning Unit at the heart of the Interfaith Explorers is designed to give teachers everything they need to plan a comprehensive programme of learning. It fulfills the need for a trustworthy bank of resources for pupils to explore different faiths and cultures in the world around them.
Interfaith Explorers is a project of the Maimonides Interfaith Foundation (www.maimonides-foundation.org), an international charity, supported by UNESCO, which brings people together through art, culture and education.
Founded by UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Professor Nasser David Khalili the Foundation recognises that tensions existing in the world today are the result of ignorance and lack of understanding. If ignorance is the problem, then education must be the answer.
Source: http://interfaithexplorers.com/
Islamic Network (ING.org)
Supplementing the academic study of religion, ING offers a rich array of curricula that can be downloaded free of charge by educators in middle and high schools and universities. ING’s curricula cover diverse topics and include digital presentations, discussion questions, activities, and links to films or film clips with accompanying questions. Curriculum includes:
Getting to Know American Muslims and Their Faith
A History of Muslims in America
Muslim Contributions to Civilization
Muslim Women Beyond the Stereotypes
Multifaith Curriculum: Shared Values
Multifaith Curriculum: Living the Faith
Source: https://ing.org/educators-academic-administrators/
Islamophobia Education Pack
A useful teaching resource created by Show Racism the Red Card. This pack contains activities which have been designed to help young people challenge stereotypes and prejudice towards Muslims and gain a greater historical and political awareness of the climate which has enable Islamophobia to flourish in recent times. A Scottish supplement can also be downloaded to make the pack relevant to the Scottish curriculum.
This pack is free to download but is meant to be used in conjunction with a DVD which must be purchased. Follow the link below if you wish to purchase the DVD for your school.
Source: http://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files//islamophobia_ed_pack.pdf
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
A series of lesson plans that can help guide and inspire classroom teaching and learning. Activities range from analyzing political cartoons to creating maps, modeling a peace summit, and exploring interpretations of the Quran. Each lesson provides links to necessary resources.
Source: PBS Global Connections: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/educators/lessons.html#women
