Frontline: Muslims

Student Note Grids & Critical Thinking Questions

By Susan L. Douglass and Nadia Pervez  - 2003

Overview

The purpose of this activity is to help students organize information and ideas while viewing the documentary film Frontline: Muslims. Completing the note-taking grids will enable students to answer discussion questions related to the film's content. Students will then be able to choose a topic of interest for further exploration.

Objectives

Students should be able to:

1. Find evidence of different kinds of influence in Muslim societies and analyze their impact
2. Evaluate commonality and diversity amongst Muslim men and women throughout the world
3. Compare student impressions of Muslim men and women before and after viewing the film
4. Analyze what speakers featured in the film say about Islam's stand on violence and intolerance
5. Evaluate how the role of Muslim Americans is perceived by Muslim and non-Muslims in the United States

Procedure

1. Motivation: From the list below, ask students to choose one topic of interest to focus on as they view the film. Explain that students will be writing an essay on their selected topic after viewing the film. For topics #1-4, watching the entire film is recommended so that students will have the maximum information to draw upon as they complete the note-taking grids. The note-taking grid for topic #5 can be completed exclusively while watching Chapter 10 on a DVD version of the documentary film.
   
   List of Topics:
   
   1. Diversity of Muslim Women
   2. Diversity of Muslim Men
   3. Intolerance and Violence
   4. Muslim Americans
   
   General Note: If you do not plan on showing the documentary film in its entirety, skip to #3 in the procedure section.
   
2. Evidence of different kinds of influences on people's attitudes (religion, education, gender, media)
3. Distribute student selected note-taking grid to each student. Copy or explain the following directions for each handout:
   1. Handout: Note-taking Grid on Social Influences List items you see in the countries shown in the film that represent evidence of various kinds of influences on people's attitudes about society. For example, advertising, education, the presence of foreign tourists, religious institutions and traditions, mass media, wealth and poverty. In the second column, write what you think the impact of these items on society might be.
   2. Handout: Note-taking Grid on the Diverse Roles of Muslim Women Pay particular attention to the Muslim women featured in the film. Record their names or other identification if you miss their name, the country they are from, their occupation, level of education and standard of living, a brief description of their dress and a brief description of what they talk about in the film. For example, if they are speaking mostly about the rights of women, or Islamic law, that's all you need to indicate.
   3. Handout: Note-taking Grid on the Diverse Roles of Muslim Men Pay particular attention to the Muslim men featured in the film. Record their names or other identification if you miss their name, the country they are from, their occupation, level of education and standard of living, a brief description of their dress and a brief description of what they talk about in the film. For example, if they are speaking mostly about the rights of women, or Islamic law, that's all you need to indicate.
   4. Handout: Note-taking Grid on Intolerance and Violence Pay particular attention to what speakers in the film say about intolerance and violence. Record the speaker's name or other identification, what country they are from and what they say about intolerance and violence, and how they associate these views with Islam or other influences.
   5. Handout: Note-taking Grid on Muslim Americans Examine what Muslims and non-Muslims say about Muslim Americans. Pay particular attention to how lives of Muslims and other Americans have changed after the events of September 11, 2001. You may also note the occupations, interests, education level, gender and ethnic or birth origins of Muslim Americans you see in the film.
4. Adaptation: If you do not plan to watch the film from beginning to end, distribute the section(s) of the Critical Thinking Questions that correlate to film segment(s) that will be viewed. Students can answer these questions while they watch the film. Each set of questions corresponds to DVD chapter titles and has a specific time code.
5. General Post-Viewing Discussion Questions: General post-viewing questions about the film (rather than the content) are provided below. Considering the quality of the information, the editorial decisions made by the producers, what the camera included and what was left out are important steps to media literacy and skill acquisition. These questions can provide the basis for further discussion and research. They will also help students to go beyond taking the information offered in the film at face value, and allow them to critically consider how well the filmmakers portrayed their subject. Discussion will help clarify some of the highly complex issues, such as those on Islamic law, historical background on the locations filmed, and the political background of the governments described.