Transcript Stereotypes and Realities of the Middle East and Muslims

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?
Islam Today:
Hafez Rocks!
 O-Hum Darvish
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeN4kfBPx1k
Counter-stereotypes
 Girls in Iran and Turkey
Counter-stereotypes
 Pushing the boundaries
Counterstereotypes
 New Aspirations
Counter-Stereotypes
 Virtual Ambitions
Counter-Stereotypes
 New couture
Counter-Stereotypes
“Pop Culture”
 Nancy Ajram Coke ad
 http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=35O3udLS8
3Y
 Parody Coke ad
 http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=gGvXpJjqL
Wc&feature=related
Islam Today
 4 elements: Doctrine, Rules, Practice and Politics
 Each element is contested, diverse within community
(even when folks say it’s not)
 Hot-button issues:
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
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Sunni/Shia split
Jihad and violence
Compatibility with democracy
Gender
 Think about ethnicity, class, history in addition to religion
Sunnis, Shi’a and Sufis
 What’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 Terrorism
 Gallup 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 Angles
 Cross 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