Lesson Idea from Facing History and Ourselves [1]

 

 

"Shajee's Story: Middle School Students Learn About Islam" highlights one San Francisco Bay Area middle school’s decision to be proactive and embrace the opportunity to learn about the Muslim religion.  The school’s decision was prompted by several incidences of expressed student indifference to learning about Muslims today within the school as well as recent name calling and bullying in several middle schools in the area.  At a time of increased stereotyping of Muslims and public questioning about Islam as a religion, teachers at these schools, with the support of Facing History and Ourselves Bay Area Office, decided to respond to this climate by including student speakers from the Muslim Student Association at Irvington High School to share their personal stories about being a Muslim American in today’s world.  The teachers hoped that through these open and safe conversations students would begin to build authentic connections and relationships with one another and any negative preconceived notions of what it meant to be a Muslim American would be addressed, questioned and healthy dialogue and friendship could follow.  As Diane Moore, of the Harvard Divinity School, believes "there exists a widespread illiteracy about religion that spans the globe;¹ [2] second, one of the most troubling and urgent consequences of this illiteracy is that it often fuels prejudice and antagonism, thereby hindering efforts aimed at promoting respect for pluralism, peaceful coexistence and cooperative endeavors."

(Moore, http://worldhistoryconnected.press.illinois.edu/4.1/moore.html [3])

  

"Shajee's Story: Middle School Students Learn About Islam" chronicles one speaking engagement at Orinda Intermediate School and the story of Shajee, a Muslim American high school student and President of Irvington High School’s Muslim Student Association. 

 

This lesson is part of the Not In Our School Video Action Kit [4], a comprehensive toolkit featuring films, lessons, and resources designed to motivate students to speak out against bullying, and create new ways to make their schools safe for everyone.

 

 

Prior to viewing this video, it is important to take time to build vocabulary and comfort in talking about religion with your students. This process can be referred to as religious fluency and includes feeling safe, comfortable and confident to talk about religion from a place of knowledge and insight.

 

One reading, “Talking about Religion,” written by Eboo Patel, founder and executive director of Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago, introduces many of the issues surrounding the "Shajee's Story: Middle School Students Learn About Islam" story (it can be found on page 88 of Stories of Identity: Religion, Migration, and Belonging in a Changing World, downloadable at http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/publications/stories-identity-religion-m [5]).  Downloading and sharing this reading, and discussing the Connections Questions that follow, can be a helpful tool in initiating conversations in the classroom about religion in our lives today.

 

Connections: 

 

These questions can be used as journal prompts, discussion ideas, small group work or for larger class discussions.

 

1. How did Patel overcome “rejection”? Who inspired him? What different traditions do they represent? What do they have in common? Who inspires you?

 

2. Patel believes that there is a connection between “inner coherence”—comfort with one’s identity—and a commitment to pluralism—the peaceful coexistence of different groups. What does he mean? How can people balance their own identities and beliefs with a commitment to pluralism?

 

3. Religion is an important part of Patel’s identity. Does religion play a role in the way you see yourself and others?

 

4. Reflecting on his silence, Patel explains that his friends were not equipped to discuss their faith with other people or to ask questions about the differences between their traditions. How can young people become prepared to talk about these issues? What does Patel mean when he talks about the “dangers lurking within this absence”?

 

5. Patel says that he and his friends were bystanders while Jews were intimidated at school. Have you ever been a bystander? Describe the situation. Why didn’t you get involved? How do you and your friends respond when people of different groups feel intimidated by racism and prejudice? How would you like to respond?

 

You may be interested in viewing Eboo Patel sharing a more extensive version of this story.  Please go to http://civicdilemmas.facinghistory.org/content/talking-about-religion [6]

(2) Preparing for a Classroom Speaker

In order to appropriately introduce personal narratives and/or host classroom speakers, it may be helpful to share with your students some helpful best practices that Shajee followed but are important to put in place for any speaker in order to make the most of the presentation.

 

 

Here are some suggested classroom activities that you may want to choose following this video clip.

 

In the closing of Eboo Patel’s story he writes,

 

In your own words, what do you think Eboo Patel is expressing here?  What is your definition of pluralism?

 

The video highlights a series if important questions educators face in confronting religious stereotypes in general.  Integrating these questions can be introduced as individual journal prompts, small group discussion questions or a larger Socratic discussion.