INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO
TEACHING ABOUT ISLAM IN THE PRE-COLLEGIATE CLASSROOM
A Special Panel for K-12 Teachers and Other Scholars
Sunday, November 21, 2004, 11am-1:30 pm
Hyatt Regency San Francisco at Embarcadero

Resource Pages:

Films/Videos

Music/Dolls

Islamic Law

Print Flyer

Teaching about Islam in the classrooms of post-9/11 America is a topic that is as sensitive as it is important. Because of the increase in negative and inaccurate stereotypes of Islam and the growing visibility of Muslims in the United States, accurate and high quality teaching about Islam is more necessary than ever--especially at the K-12 level, when young people begin forming their images of the world.

Up to 50 middle and high school teachers will receive free admission for one day to the Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association for a special panel on teaching about Islam. The panel stresses the importance of teaching about religion, rather than teaching religion. It also emphasizes the need for mutual understanding and respect among religious traditions. Both K-12 teachers and other scholars who normally attend the MESA Annual Meeting will be interested in this panel and in the accompanying resource materials, which can be adapted for use at different levels.

The 2-1/2 hour panel includes four presentations:

1. "Useful Videos about Islam," by Louisa Moffitt, the Marist School.

Dr. Moffitt will discuss several videos about Islam which have been chosen for their accuracy and classroom usefulness. K-12 Teachers will receive printed guides to the films, as well as information on where the films are available for free loan to teachers for classroom use.

2. "Music and Popular Culture as Resources for Teaching about Islam," by John Voll, Georgetown University.

Dr. Voll will demonstrate musical examples of popular expressions of Islamic faith from around the world. He will also discuss Muslim dolls and Muslim puppet videos, showing how they can be used for teaching about Islam. The music CDs and a set of the dolls will be available on free loan to teachers for classroom use.

3. "An Introduction to Islamic Law for Teachers of Pre-Collegiate Classrooms," by Asifa Quraishi, University of Wisconsin Law School.

Dr. Quraishi will give a brief overview of issues of Islamic law, including lawmaking and legal interpretation in classical Muslim jurisprudence. Materials will be provided as tools for understanding the various strands of legal, political and social influences that make up the complex events and discourses in the Muslim world today.


4. "Muslim Spain: Teaching about Religious Pluralism and Our Shared Heritage," by Munir Shaikh of the Council on Islamic Education, a doctoral candidate at UCLA.

   This presentation showcases three lesson plans introducing students to a case study in religious pluralism-that of Muslim Spain, or Al-Andalus, where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived side by side, sometimes conflicting but usually cooperating in the creation of a shared society.

MESA is providing free admission for the day to 50 elementary and secondary school teachers, who are invited to the Special Panel, Book Exhibit, Film Program, and whatever other scholarly panels they wish to attend that day (the full program can be found on the MESA Website-- http://w3fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/).

Each participating teacher will receive free MESA registration for the day, a binder of teaching materials and a $20 stipend to help defray lunch and travel costs.

Registration is limited to fifty K-12 teachers and will close when the program is filled.

To Apply: Registration is currently full. To be placed on the waiting list, please email Michele Delattre at orias@berkeley.edu
510-643-0868

Sponsored by:
Middle East Outreach Council
Middle East Studies Association
Center for Middle Eastern Studies Al-Falah Program, University of California, Berkeley
Office of Resources in International and Area Studies, University of California, Berkeley,
and the Bay Area Global Education Program at the World Affairs Council of Northern California