Posted on 08/23/2004 3:00:25 AM PDT by billorites
FRAMINGHAM -- The history of Islam was a dusty subject until Sept. 11, 2001, when the terrorist attacks on the United States had students asking a lot of tough questions.
Nearly three years later, knowledge of the history of Islam and the cultures of the dozens of predominantly Muslim nations remains minimal.
In an effort to reverse the trend, a week-long workshop for Bay State teachers was held at Cameron Middle School in Framingham this past week to send educators back into the classrooms armed with answers.
According to the participants, the workshop worked.
"When I teach this year I want to actually help kids understand the Middle East," said Framingham history teacher Steve Manning, who teaches at Cameron Middle School. "How can they understand Iraq if they don't know the history of the people?"
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Primary Source, the group that organized the workshop, called "The Genesis and Genius of Islam," began offering the course three years ago, said Deborah Cunningham, senior program director for the group. The workshop is sponsored by the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and the Mosaic Foundation out of Virginia.
The gap in knowledge of the Muslim world has been pointed out many times since the War on Terror started. In his book, "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror," former U.S. anti-terrorism adviser Richard Clarke argues that the West will not win the war on terror until they understand the Islamic culture and Muslims understand us.
In an effort to educate listeners, National Public Radio ran a six-part series this week on the West's involvement in the Middle East from the Crusades to the war in Iraq.
During the weeklong seminar the teachers heard about the history of Islam from its beginnings through the rule of the Ottoman Empire, received a primer on the art, science and legal traditions of the Islamic cultures and found the wide variety of ways that Muslims practice their religion.
Professors from Boston College, College of the Holy Cross and Harvard and Bridgewater State College took part. Lectures ranged from the birth of Islam, to Islamic art to women's role in early Islam. Even the lunch breaks were filled with learning opportunities, with screenings of movies and documentaries covering various aspects of Islam.
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In Massachusetts public schools, Islam comes into the lesson plan when students study world religions as well as topics such as the Crusades and the study of the modern Middle East. Usually these topics are covered in eighth and ninth grades.
The workshop comes at a good time for eighth-grade history teachers.
Robert Dunn, a history teacher at Shrewsbury Middle School, will teach world history to his eighth-graders for the first time this year, after the state changed the order of how history is taught. In past years Dunn taught U.S. history in eighth grade.
"A huge chunk (of world history) will be on Islam," Dunn said. "I'm trying to catch up. (The workshop) has been great."
When school starts in a few weeks, Dunn said he must be prepared for some pretty frank questions about Islam.
"Everything we're thinking, kids will be saying these things," Dunn said.
Many student's perspective on Muslims comes from what they see on the news and from movies and television shows. Dunn hoped to find an Islamic nation he could use as an example of where women have rights more like those in the United States, to dispel some misconceptions.
"Students come in with preconceived notions about things," Dunn said. "I'm looking for a country to choose that has progressive Islam."
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Even if the class is not studying world religions or the Crusades, topics related to Islam pop up often. Discussions about Islam or Muslim countries have been common since the Sept. 11 attacks, said Elizabeth Ward, a history teacher at Natick High School.
"Current event issues happen all the time," Ward said. "I feel that social studies should be a place to discuss those issues, and give them a historical perspective."
Students' knowledge of Muslims and their religion mostly comes from what their parents tell them, television or possibly a teacher, Ward said. Most children have only snippets of information about Islam.
"There is a lot of myth dispelling," Ward said. "I get kids who really know nothing about it, except the extremists (they see on the news), and to them that's all Muslims."
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Much of the confusion Americans have about Islam comes from looking at the action of Muslims, often the most extreme groups, and what is written in the Muslim holy book, The Koran.
During the workshop, Barbara Petzen, outreach coordinator of Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies, said anyone studying or discussing Muslims must keep in mind the difference between what the Koran says and what is actually practiced.
One of the West's biggest criticisms about the Muslim world is the treatment of women. In the beginning, however, they had a large role in the religion.
"Realize, women didn't have the same access to the written ," Petzen said. "And the sections they did have access later may have been edited out."
The group spent quite a lot of time discussing a subject that fascinates and perplexes many non-Muslims -- veiling.
Unlike the stereotype, not all Islamic countries require women to wear veils, and the vast majority do not insist on women covering head to toe.
Some Muslims see the veil as a sign of prosperity, rather than something oppressive.
"The veil is a symbol of high class," Petzen said. "(It shows) the ability of a husband to keep his wife out of the work force, as well as being a sign of sexual honor and purity."
Westerners hear Osama Bin Laden's anti-technology message and assume that Islamic cultures are backward. Muslims, however, have a strong tradition in math and science, said Ibrahim Kalin, an assistant professor of religious studies at Holy Cross. Alexandria, Egypt and Baghdad in the Ninth Century were the learning centers of the world. Scholars -- Muslims, Christians and Jews alike -- came to those cities to study and debate, as well as translate scientific works, Kalin said.
Islamic sailors were the best seamen of the day, Kalin said, who noted that even Christopher Columbus had several Muslim sailors on his voyage that wound up in the New World.
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Manning, a history teacher at Framingham's Cameron Middle School, has found his students often have a warped image of Islam.
"People look at Islam and see a group people that are all terrorists," Manning said. "It's not true, and in education I think we have the obligation to present the truth."
Manning hopes to provide an accurate and detailed picture of the Islamic world to his classes.
"When I teach this year I want to actually help kids understand the Middle East," Manning said. "How can they understand about Iraq if they don't know the history of the people?"
Topics involving Muslim countries and Islamic fundamentalists often pop up during class these days, Manning said, because of events in the news.
"I have seen in the last two years, when we talk about current events, I anticipate they will have questions (about Muslims)," Manning said. "I want to be in the position to answer them or direct them to a place where they can get more information."
Manning noted that religion and politics have a much closer relationship in the Middle East than in the United States.
"In the west we look at religion as one thing and politics as another," Manning said. "What I've seen is religion and politics is one thing (in the Middle East)."
Besides the information the teachers get from the presentations, Primary Source armed them with a list of books and Web sites covering various topics on Islam.
"Progressive" Islam: "We only butcher Americans, Israelis, Christians and Jews on days of the week ending in the letter 'y'."
You know, teaching religion and all that.
As it is the Islamic religion, we all can rest easy. We have a obligation to know about the next worlds leaders to better serve them.
The history of Islam can be summed up in four words.
1. Oppression
2. Slavery
3. Murders
4. Maimings
I taught in the Framingham system for five years. For the most part, there is actually some quality educating going on there. HOWEVER - it is a hotbed of far left liberalism. (At least at the high school level) you'll find many fans of Zinn, Chompsky, the UN etc. This story is par for the course. I repeat my mantra - YOU are the taxpayer. YOU have the right to know what is being taught in your schools. YOU need to get involved. If YOU don't - the Lefty Freaks run the system.
Heck, I grew up in Framingham in an area known locally as the Muster Field. Attended what was then called Framingham High School on Flagg Drive. Went back there a few years ago and I had serious problems recognizing the town I grew up in let alone the liberal attitudes of the townfolk.
Wonder how all that happened at times but one thing is for sure, I'll never go back there again.
10 to 1, these are considered to reasons why Islam should be praised.
Later in the semester, the kids probably learn why classes are bad (and why Class War must come to America), why women must enter the workplace (and how America remains a sexist nation), and how sex is basic to health (and why America in the 21st century still clings to oppressive Victorian attitudes, and fails to recognize the beauty of sex between adults and children).
Color me surprised, this is coming from Kennedy and Kerry's state.
It probably won't surprise you then that th High School (the "new" one on A street) hosted Klintoon a few years back. Kerry visited two years ago. People were swooning. There are literally fewer than a handful of conservative faculty there. See my post yesterday about the flags.
So many rant about public schools, yet don't bother to get involved. YOU have the power to vote out controversial board members. YOU have the right to volunteer or become employed by the school system and be on the front lines.
It's good to be the king.
The Imam has a couple of answers for you (I will not dig up the links at this time)...
A man may have sex with his wife at any age (even before 1st menstruation), after all she is his wife.
Mohammend is not the "pervert" that the West portrays him to be, after all he waited 2 years before having sex with his young bride.
..."...the extremists (they see on the news), and to them that's all Muslims."...
Students should also see the other kinds of "good Muslims". Those 'good Muslims" do not kill directly, they contribute money to the killers. These financial gifts are their contribution to the eternal jihad to kill or convert every non-Muslim.
Othe "good Muslims" act reasonable and friendly in order to dupe the kafir into laxity and passivity, thus making the job of takeover of non-Muslim countries possible without resorting to massive beheadings.
Some video of Islam-inspired beheadings would be an important visual teaching tool. There are several downloads available free on the Internet.
Genesis 22:2
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