Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet

American Muslim Responses to September 11

By Susan L. Douglass and Aiyub Palmer

Overview:

This lesson discusses the events of September 11th in terms of values discussed in the life of Muhammad.

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• Summarize the comments of contemporary American Muslims on the events of September 11th and evaluate their responses in terms of the values these comments reflect.
  
  
• Explain the relationship between the responses of the American Muslims shown in the film and the Islamic values from the Qur’an and Muhammad’s example described in the film.
  
  

Procedure:

1. Have students read Student Handout 1: American Muslim Responses to September 11th which contains quotes of contemporary Muslims regarding the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
   
   
2. Then, in groups, have students use Student Handout 2: Understanding American Muslim Responses to summarize the views of Daisy Khan (architect), Kevin James (FDNY Fire Marshall), and Mohamed Zakariya (calligrapher) in column 2.
   
   
3. Discuss as a class how the reactions of the contemporary Muslims to September 11th are related to the Islamic values covered in the lesson on Personal and Civic Values in Islam.