Frontline: Muslims

Thinking About Terms for Islam and Muslims

By Susan L. Douglass and Nadia Pervez  - 2003

Objectives

Students will:

• use syntactially and culturally accurate terminology in describing a world religion's history and culture
• use geographically appropriate terminology in discussing demographic and cultural regions of the world
• differentiate between terms related to Islam as a belief system and Muslims as a historical and cultural phenomenon

Procedure

1. The teacher should read the setup text "Critical Thinking on Terminology about Islam and Muslims," Part 1. This section of the teacher setup text provides and explains definitions and usage of a few basic terms posted in the Council on Islamic Education's online glossary, found on the web site at http://www.cie.org/teachers/glossary.asp#TOP.
2. Using Part 2 of the teacher setup text and the included list of questioning strategies, discuss with the students the concepts and connotation of the commonly used terms "Islamic world" and "Muslim world."
   
   Extension: assign students to find examples of phrases using these terms and other uses of "world" to represent other regions or groups in print and broadcast media.
3. Assessment: Using the handout "Accurate Terminology about Religion and Culture," divide students into pairs or small groups, or work as individuals to discuss usage of terms related to discussion of Islam and Muslims. Students should take a few minutes to study the terms in columns 1 and 2, and then match the terms to make accurate and appropriate descriptive phrases. Some terms might not be used, and some may be used more than once. Directions are provided on the handout. After the students have completed the terminology chart, debrief in groups or as a whole class activity.