Now More Than Ever: Lesson Plans on the Basics of Islam and the Modern Middle East

Editor

Some of these girls are refugees from Syria and Iraq.  Now, through the mercy and compassion of others, they are safe, fortunate enough to attend school in Bahrain.  But there are many more just like them still hoping to escape the conflict and war that continues unabated in their homeland. 

If only the United States – self-proclaimed greatest nation on Earth  – could hold itself to the same standard as Bahrain.

The President of the United States – acting from fear, ignorance, and prejudice, in defiance of the America’s best virtues, of tolerance, inclusion, and mercy – has unilaterally decided that Islam is the enemy.

Educators, do your part! Teach the next generation of American students that Islam is not the enemy. The enemy is extremism, whether it comes from Aleppo or Washington.
 
Find time in your class for one of these lessons on the history, beliefs, culture, and humane values of Islam.

LESSON PLANS

There is plenty of false information about Islam on the internet.  For many reasons, you must be careful of what you read – pay close attention to your sources and always ask yourself, “How does this piece of information fit with what I already know?”  

Here’s an honest attempt to accurately convey the most basic beliefs and practices of Islam in a form suitable for use in the classroom or for anyone who is just curious about a topic that relevant in a rapidly globalizing world.  Please read the following in the spirit with which it was written – with good intentions toward greater understanding and tolerance.

  • Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam (Free online text suited for middle or high school classroom use, guided reading questions, and suggested activities): Who was Muhammad, and how did the Arab world of the seventh century shape his teachings?  
  • Five Pillars to Hold Me Up: What Do Muslims Believe? (Free online text suited for middle or high school classroom use, guided reading questions, and suggested activities): What are the basic teachings of Islam, and what does it mean to be a Muslim?
  • United Arab Emirates Case Study: How would you diversify your single resource economy? (Free online text suited for middle or high school classroom use, guided reading questions, and suggested activities):  It is risky for a nation’s economy to be overly dependent on any one business, especially a single raw commodity, like oil.  Such commodities are subject to sudden fluctuations in price.  While world demand for oil is high, and while a nation’s reserves last, that nation might be very wealthy.  But what would happen to that economy if oil prices fell?

THIS UNIT WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH A GENEROUS GRANT FROM THE BILATERAL US-ARAB CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.