2. 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

3. 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)

4. Stereotypes of Islam

5. Islam is…

6. “Muslim World”

7. Muslim Population by Country

8. Cultural diversity of Islam

9. 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?)

10. Who Wears a Veil?

11. Counter-stereotypes Islam Today: Hafez Rocks! O-Hum Darvish http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeN4kfBPx1k

12. Counter-stereotypes Girls in Iran and Turkey

13. Counter-stereotypes Pushing the boundaries

14. Counter- stereotypes New Aspirations

15. Counter-Stereotypes Virtual Ambitions

16. Counter-Stereotypes New couture

17. Counter-Stereotypes Nancy Ajram Coke ad http://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=35O3udLS8 3Y http://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=35O3udLS8 3Y Parody Coke ad http://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=gGvXpJjqL Wc&feature=related http://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=gGvXpJjqL Wc&feature=related “Pop Culture”

18. 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: Sunni/Shia split Jihad and violence Compatibility with democracy Gender Think about ethnicity, class, history in addition to religion

20. 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)

21. Where Shi’a live

22. Imam Hussein

23. Iranian men commemorating the death of Imam Hussein

24. Imam Ali mosque in Najaf, Iraq, where most Shia believe Imam Ali is buried

25. Mazar-e Sharif in Afghanistan, where some Shia believe Imam Ali is buried

26. Askariya Shrine in Samarra, Iraq (tombs of 10 th and 11 th imams)

27. Muslim Attitudes towards Democracy and Terrorism Gallup poll representing over a billion Muslims worldwide (also Inside Islam film) Gallup poll Inside Islam 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

28. 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

29. First Contact

30. 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