Global terms: Religion and Worldviews

Teaching Islam: Creating the ‘Discovering Muslims in Britain’ Resource

Matt Vince | 03 October, 2023

The overall aim of Discovering Muslims in Britain is to support teachers to embed sociological perspectives in the classroom.

The project was inspired by my own research, discussions about the RE/ RVE curriculum in Wales, and the expertise of the Islam-UK Centre at Cardiff University. The project was a response to an emerging desire to represent local, ‘lived’ expressions of religious traditions in the classroom. The sociological approach to the study of Islam and Muslims in the UK that the Islam-UK Centre specialises in lends itself to this kind of analysis, so it seemed like a great opportunity to try and bring this expertise into the RE classroom.

I’ve always thought it odd that there is a lot of research out there that tells teachers what to do, yet distinctly less that attempts to implement ideas for the classroom. Yet there is always a clamour on various RE forums for resources, especially quality resources from a reputable source. Feedback from focus groups showed the need for resources that were practical and accessible for the ‘average’ school and teacher.

We developed both teaching resources and CPD training in an attempt to put research into practice. This is the principle at the core of Discovering Muslims in Britain.

We came across some unexpected surprises. Firstly, we found much wider institutional support than we had expected, from both schools and Cardiff University. This shows us that there is a desire to support projects like this. Secondly we found that creating ‘classroom ready’ resources really means resources that are easily adaptable, we cannot predict each classroom context, teacher, school type and level of expertise. We felt this was a productive solution.

The most crucial question we grappled with is what constitutes ‘legitimate’ knowledge about Islam. There were some anxieties from teachers where accounts of Muslims in the resource seemed to contrast with the “textbook answer”. Such anxieties reflect longstanding tensions between representing “official” and “lived” accounts of religion in the classroom, as well as with scholarship itself. Unpicking these tensions may be a fruitful avenue for further research, and improve the RE curriculum.

After creating the resource, our top tip is to treat the accounts of people, in this case Muslims, as a source of knowledge and evidence about a religious tradition alongside that of the traditional sources of knowledge and wisdom. By comparing and contrasting these sources, and trying to unpick the differences, we can begin to get at differences in context, and how abstract teachings or historical narratives are “made real” today.

In the course of this research we came across some good sources of information about Islam. One that stands out is the Muslim Museum Initiative. The work of the scholars at the Islam-UK Centre is also really useful – check out the Public Seminar Series.

The process has given me valuable insights into teaching about religion generally. Something that really struck us when trying to conceptualise the course is negotiating the tension between teaching about the “core” of Islam, or constructing a kind of fixed framework of concepts to begin to understand what Islam was, and then presenting “lived” Islam as enshrined in the perspectives of Muslim communities. Importantly, shifting the focus from understanding Islam to understanding Muslims also afforded us more room to lead with the idea of Islam as understood and lived by Muslims, and more room to achieve the latter. We hope teachers continue to use and benefit from this resource.

Find the Discovering Muslims in Britain Resource here

About

Matt is an Honorary Research Fellow of Cardiff University's Islam-UK Centre and part of the development team on the Discovering Muslims in Britain project.

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GCSE Shia Textbook

Zameer Hussain | 05 September, 2023

Our Resource of the Month is a FREE textbook about Shia Islam for GCSE. This is tailored to the GCSE specification, but would be useful for all teachers to gain useful information about Shia Islam.

In this blog, co- author Zameer Hussain talks about the inspiration for writing the book, along with scholar Dr Ahab Bdaiwi.

With the GCSE reforms in 2016 that required diversity to be explored, we felt it was an opportunity to equip and educate teachers about the Shia perspective before teaching about it. For the first time, an in-depth understanding of Shia Islam was required on the GCSE specification, along with Sunni Islam. We had found that Shia Islam wasn’t always accurately portrayed in resources nor was it given much space in textbooks. Therefore we felt such a book was necessary.

The book was authored by myself and Dr Ahab Bdaiwi. Dr Bdaiwi is a well-respected academic in Islamic scholarship and I am a teacher and member of the RE community, with experience in training teachers about Shia Islam. We felt that between us we had the knowledge and credibility, as well as the right balance between academic rigour and understanding of the classroom, to offer a book to teachers.

We consulted with well-respected Shia scholars, such as Ayatollah Fadhil Milani, as well as academics with a specialism in Islam, such as Dr Chris Hewer. We wanted to ensure our writing is accurate and represents Shia Islam in an authentic way. Their feedback was invaluable for our work.

We had a very clear aim that the book should be accessible to teachers and students. Throughout the writing process we constantly asked ourselves the question; can someone pick this book up and feel confident in teaching about key beliefs and practices of Shia Muslims? As well as covering the requirements on the GCSE specification, we wanted to give some background detail to ensure a rich, complex understanding.

As Shia Muslims we are only too happy to help and support teachers in this way. All over the UK teachers will find Shia mosques which welcome school groups and individual teachers as visitors. Tours can be arranged and questions can be asked to scholars. I myself have supported teachers in understanding Shia Islam more for many years and am always interested to hear about teachers’ questions or ideas. Feel free to contact me if you ever want to ask questions about Shia Islam!

Over the years, in training teachers, I have come to a couple of points of understanding for non-Muslim (and non- Shia) teachers. It is important not to pitch Shia Islam as an off-shoot or breakaway from ‘mainstream Islam.’ Shia Islam has its own traditions and history that shouldn’t be framed through a Sunni lens. Of course, it shares much with Sunni Islam but the Shia worldview should be given the same credibility as other traditions. For example, there may be only a Sunni narrative taught around the life of Prophet Muhammad that overlooks a Shia perspective. Shia historians reject the idea that Muhammad didn’t know he was a prophet until the Angel Jibril visited him, for example. I also advise that knowledge about Shia teachings come from credible sources such as literature or websites written by Shia scholars or experts. A good website is https://www.al-islam.org/ which contains lots of Shia literature translated into English and reflects the diversity of opinion within the Shia tradition.

Unfortunately, whether intentional or not, there is a lot of false information online about Shia Muslims. This includes inaccurate claims that Shia see Ali as a prophet, that they worship the Imams and believe the Quran is incomplete and has been tampered with. There are also generalisations that depict the whole Shia community as performing blood-letting during Ashura, when this is not the case.

Some aspects of Shia Islam are not on the GCSE specification that would be great for students to learn about. For example the Ziyarah pilgrimages to the mausoleums of the Imams are very important to Shia Muslims. The spirituality that can be found in Shia Islam is also profound. This can be seen when studying the psalms and supplications that have been passed down from the Imams. Through the study of this prayer literature, there would be an excellent exposition of the way Shia Muslims are taught to conversate with God which gives an insight into Shia theology.

When it comes to learning about Shia Islam, there are some key figures, events and ideas. For example, Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, is one of the most inspirational figures due to his stand against injustice. His life and death are very important to learn about to gain an authentic understanding of what is important in Shia Islam. Additionally, a grasp of the historical events before and after the death of Prophet Muhammad that led to Muslims going in different directions is essential to understand why there are Sunni and Shia Muslims. In modern Shia Islam an exploration of the altruism and servitude displayed on the pilgrimage to Karbala, Iraq, during Arbaeen would offer an excellent understanding; it reflects Islamic ethics and social justice in a profound way. It would also be worthwhile exploring the tradition of Shia poetry that teaches us so much about Shia history.

About

Zameer has been involved in Religious Education and interfaith work since 2013. This has included leading RE departments and supporting teachers nationally with subject knowledge.

See all posts by Zameer Hussain

Ethical Veganism in the Curriculum: Religion, Worldviews and the Contemporary World

Dr Heather Marshall | 27 June, 2023

I taught RE for a number of years, and am now the RE PGCE course leader and senior lecturer at Edge Hill University. This role allows me to be active in school education, but also to take a strategic approach to research around Religion and Worldviews. The best part of my job is working with beginner RE teachers, who are not only learning a to navigate the complex technical, emotional and intellectual terrain of the classroom, they are finding themselves as teachers in relation to their school contexts and wider society. In this blog I will present my work on ethical veganism in the curriculum, and suggest that the Religion and Worldviews paradigm has much to offer teachers as they explore the urgent questions of our world today with their pupils.

As an ethical vegan myself, my doctoral research concerns the experiences of vegan children in schools and how far the ‘omnivore norm’ can be challenged through the Religion and Worldviews curriculum. As you can imagine, this takes me to the heart of all sorts of fascinating, and sometimes challenging, ideas. The experience of vegan children in schools is an example of a school’s ‘hidden framework’ (Giroux 2001), the dominant school culture which reflects the dominant culture and power relations of wider society.

There is much rich content that can be brought into the curriculum to make sense of values around the food we eat. Vegetarianism in the Dharmic traditions is encouraged in scripture and modelled by centuries of religious leaders. We can explore the environmental impacts of meat production and the compelling ethical questions raised by our globalised intensive meat industries. Moreover, ethical veganism is a topic which speaks to the future of the planet; sustainability, the climate emergency and human exploitation. These types of questions can be found in religious and non-religious worldviews, which further allows pupils to explore the overlapping, complex and interconnected nature of worldviews in our less Christian but more religiously diverse contemporary society. Western perspectives often draw a clear distinction between humans and non-human animals, while many Eastern religions traditions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, view all life as interconnected and believe in the principle of ahimsa, which requires avoiding harm to all creatures. An environmental worldview can be inspired by religious or non-religious values, or an eclectic mixture of ancient, contemporary, spiritual and practical concerns.

As Religious Education shifts towards a Religion and Worldviews paradigm, such an examination of ethical veganism is an example of how the curriculum can explore the relationship between religion and worldviews in the contemporary world. Ethical veganism is a rapidly growing philosophical belief rooted in practice and protected under the Equality Act (2010) and European law. It can be perceived as a secular worldview yet for many it is closely intertwined with religious belief and practice. From vegan food served in shops and restaurants to discussions about animal treatment, environmental responsibility, human health, social justice, and of course, religion and beliefs, this topic opens up a wealth of pertinent questions. Just like other religions and worldviews taught in RE, veganism is a dynamic and multi-layered subject of study, fostering lively debates and discussions, critical thinking, and thought-provoking questions. My research shows me children’s strong interest in the animal kingdom and their eager engagement in conversations about animal welfare, ethics, and their treatment. The potential to explore such an urgent and engaging set of topics is an example of how the shift towards a Religion and Worldviews approach could be of great benefit to RE.

For any teachers interested in pursuing these questions with their pupils, the following websites are a good places to start:

Veganism in Education
Animal Interfaith Alliance – Faiths Working Together for Animals
Interfaith Vegan Coalition
NATRE- Veganism as a worldview in RE

Reference:

Giroux, H. (2001). Theory and resistance in education. Westport, Conn: Bergin & Garvey.

About

Heather is Senior Lecturer and RE PGCE Course Lead at Edge Hill University, plus has lots of previous experience of being a classroom RE teacher in Liverpool.

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Teaching about Islam

Chris Hewer | 10 January, 2023

After studying Christian theology and a PGCE, I became a secondary RE teacher in the 1980s. That brought me to the study of Islam in order to facilitate a syllabus on the Abrahamic religions. Without knowing it at the time, that initial MA set me on the path for the rest of my life, studying different aspects of Islam and helping other people to understand it in its richness and diversity. Over fifteen years I delivered more than one hundred twenty-hour adult popular education courses on Understanding Islam around Birmingham and London. Since charitable funding dried up with the banking crash, I have concentrated on developing written and electronic resources for teachers and others who want to understand Islam and the theological interaction between Christianity and Islam.

The vehicle to deliver the electronic resources is my own website (chrishewer.org). A Muslim satellite TV channel asked me to deliver a weekly thirty-minute programme on Understanding Islam. This formed the basis for a comprehensive course in forty-six parts, which can be found on my website with the video recordings, each accompanied by a written article. Similarly, electronic material developed for an online distance learning course was incorporated alongside written resources tailored to fit the GCSE RS Islam syllabus. All these resources are made available without charge to be downloaded from my website. Together with in-service days delivered on request, the web-based materials comprise the principal means for assisting teachers in the classroom.

Few teachers have had the privilege of years of concentrated study of different strands within the complex web that is Islam. This can lead to a restricted menu in our teaching. To augment this, I have contributed material on the website on both Twelver and Sevener Shi’a traditions, the different schools of Sunni law, theological schools and the continuum between reason and tradition. Shi’a Islam is often less well resourced, so there is a new section on the website, ‘Hussain&Justice,’ exploring the circumstances leading up to the massacre at Karbala; which, in Shi’a understanding, is the most significant event in Muslim history after the life of Muhammad. This provides material not only for the discrete topic of Karbala and Ashura but also gives insights for reflection on many aspects of human living.

Islam understands itself to be something more than a religion or set of practices and beliefs. It speaks of itself using the Arabic word din, meaning a complete way of life both individually and collectively. The guidance of the Qur’an, embodied in the life of the Prophet Muhammad, is meant to speak to the human condition for everyone. This affects the way that I teach Islam. It should be presented in such a way that it resonates empathetically with students; whether they follow it or not. Material on the website on modesty, or economics, provides plenty for discussion at KS3 and thought-provoking content on relieving the sufferings of others is provided for KS2. Teachers often ask me how they can make Islam come alive; by putting the human condition at the centre, Islam provides relevant grounds for lively reflection.

About

Chris Hewer studied Christian and Islamic theology and taught in schools and universities. Specialist in adult popular education about both faiths for the last 25 years.

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Explore the Bible with New Eyes: the Visual Commentary on Scripture

Dr Chloë Reddaway | 04 April, 2022

The Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS) is a freely accessible online publication that provides theological commentary on the Bible in dialogue with works of art.

Each section of the VCS is a virtual exhibition comprising a biblical passage, three high-resolution (zoomable) art works, a short commentary on each one, and a longer ‘comparative’ commentary drawing them together.

Using visual art to help unlock and support understanding for pupils

VCS exhibitions aim to transform interaction with Scripture. Our hope is that our users will never read the biblical passages or see the art works in the same way again.

The exhibition curators represent a diversity of disciplines, methodologies, and perspectives as they explore illuminating interactions between the text and images. Their choice of artworks ranges from the ancient world to the contemporary: you’ll find Hans Holbein next to Banksy, and video art alongside illuminated manuscripts.

Hermeneutical principles

The VCS is a constructive contribution to living traditions of thought and practice that converse with the Bible as an authoritative resource in contemporary contexts.

Its theological hermeneutics align with the seminal defences of the role of images in Christianity advanced by theologians like John of Damascus. Artworks are selected on grounds comparable to those that governed the choice of commentary for inclusion in Jewish Talmud or in Christian Catenae: not because they all said the same thing, but because their insight and dialogical potential were fruitful for their communities.

Interdisciplinary thinking

The VCS is a theologically driven project, informed by biblical studies and art history, with an interdisciplinary team based in the TRS department at King’s College London. Each page of the VCS is theologically ‘curated’, and each has the potential to become a dramatic event, perhaps even an ‘epiphany’ for the viewer.

The contemporary conversational engagement of art with Scripture builds mutual understanding and creative perspectives on present issues for non-religious as well as religious audiences, in our increasingly polarised times. Visual art offers an hospitable space for multiple viewpoints to be explored, and the ‘conversational’ mode of interaction fostered by groups of three artworks promotes peaceable rather than conflictual interpretative practices.

The VCS in the classroom

RE teachers are already discovering the VCS and using it in the classroom. You can search the website by book within the Old Testament and Apocrypha or New Testament or by theme (e.g. Wisdom, Creation, Miracles…), explore a ‘spotlight’ topic (currently Coptic and Ethiopic art), use the video channel, or learn more about the hermeneutical principles behind the VCS. There are 265 exhibitions currently online, and hundreds more in the pipeline.

The VCS is working on tailored school resources to bring the Bible alive in new ways for students. If you would like to join a focus group for school resources, or pilot them in your teaching, or if you’d just like to discuss ways of using the VCS, please contact Dr Chloë Reddaway at vcs@kcl.ac.uk

You can subscribe to the free VCS mailing list at the bottom of the homepage.

About

Chloë is Research Fellow, Arts and the Sacred at King's College London

See all posts by Dr Chloë Reddaway

Ways of Knowing: Trying out Islam as a Worldview

| 15 February, 2022

I have been listening with interest to conversations about the shift to Worldviews. I have long wondered how far my teaching reinforces for my mostly white, largely atheist students, the impression that all followers of a religion think and do the same thing. And moreover that religious beliefs and actions exist in a place distant to my students’ lives and concerns. Worldviews thinking seemed to respond to my concern. I wanted to move away from my comfortable World Religions focus on the holy building, the holy book, the core beliefs, but how?

I have been proactive in using and emphasising a multidisciplinary approach. I have explicitly tried to achieve a balance of theology, philosophy & social sciences in my planning – using lots of the RE: Online, NATRE & RE Today CPD and resources (I’m starting to feel like Lat Blaylock’s stalker!). Awareness of these different lenses has allowed me to clarify my aims when engaged in the constant and almost overwhelming process of selection, omission and deciding, from everything that could/should/ would be great to cover, what will actually make it into each precious little lesson. I wanted to introduce more reality, more diversity, more challenge and a nuanced understanding at KS3 but with only a 50- minute lesson a week and largely religiously illiterate (and many uninterested) young people I wasn’t sure where to start.

Into this overloaded head space came Islam as a Worldview. What caught my eye was not just the level of research and detail, but the emphasis on the personal, lived experience of different Muslims across history. This was just what I needed. I chose the Malala Yousafzai resources for Year 8 who were already looking at Islam. I had looked at Malala for a previous ‘inspirational religious people’ unit but it had felt trite and superficial. The Islam as a Worldview on the other hand really resonated with what I was looking for. It was my first attempt in exploring wider political and geographical contexts in lessons and I was keen to try!

We began with the context & background to Pashtun life- I never knew Malala’s father was such a great example. Then we moved to fundamentalism and why the Taliban gained support. Many students commented that it challenged their ideas to consider that terrorists weren’t necessarily ‘all bad’. My favourite lesson was looking at what Islam taught about education and the events leading up to Malala’s shooting as a ‘what would you do?’ style activity – most of us were considerably less courageous than Malala! We rounded off with a reflection, debrief and a ‘what Malala did next’ lesson. I really enjoyed teaching the whole unit and felt it had been a much more thorough and engaging way to cover the tricky question of religion and terrorism. The student’s feedback was overwhelmingly positive and there were many interesting questions and conversations in the classroom.

It is exciting to trial a multidisciplinary Worldviews approach. It has given me an insight into the value of real-life contextualised ‘stories’ and a way to tackle tricky, messy questions like who is a ‘real’ believer. This process illustrated to me particularly the importance of not just telling students there is religious diversity, but of really showing them the massively wide spectrum of belief and thinking (of which religion is just one strand) that can see Malala and the Taliban striving to be ‘good Muslims’ in such different ways.

Samantha Keddie has been a Secondary teacher of RE for 15 years, firstly in South London and now East Sussex.

About

Beyond the ‘Proof Text’: Analysing Islamic Texts at GCSE

Karen Steele | 02 November, 2021

It took just moments to decide the focus of my project for the Edge Hill RE Subject Knowledge Summer School. I’ve always loved teaching Islam and enjoyed the challenge of developing my subject knowledge for the 2016 specification. The support of people like Zameer Hussain with Shi’a Islam has been greatly appreciated. However, at times my lessons felt a bit plodding and superficial. I recognised immediately the Ofsted Research Review[i] reference to the use of ‘proof texts’ in GCSE. I’ve been guilty of that. Although I had included some textual analysis and scholarship into my lessons, I still felt I could do better. I knew straight away, therefore, I wanted to develop my confidence with Islamic texts and consider how to deliver the content in a more memorable, engaging and meaningful way. After attending the Summer School, I developed a student anthology with carefully selected and sequenced readings, clearly linked to the specification content.

Day 1 of the Summer School included an inspiring session on text and story by Mary Myatt. She reminded us of something we all know, but too often forget when preparing students to sit exams: humans love stories and stories matter. Daniel Willingham claims ‘our brains privilege story’[ii]. RE has an abundance! Text and story are a wonderful way into learning about the Islamic traditions and can be used to enhance our GCSE. That’s what I set out to do.

Islamic texts are daunting: the many collections of Hadith, the varied commentaries and interpretations. Even as an RE specialist, I worried about my ability to get it right. This is why Edge Hill’s offer is so important. Surrounded by specialists including RE teachers and academics, I could ask questions, share ideas and consider feedback. The very patient Dr Harith Ramil supported me with my project, answering my endless questions, offering suggestions and critiquing my work. If only every RE teacher had opportunities like this.

The ‘final product’ is by no means final. Like the tradition of textual interpretation in Islam, it will continue to evolve. Not everyone will agree with my selections and the interpretations I have offered. However, I’m now able to justify my choices and engage my students in a deeper dialogue about the ways texts and story are used in the tradition. The anthology includes 7 texts from the Qur’an and Hadith, chronologically covering key events in the early development of Islam.

Back in the classroom I have proudly issued Year 10 with their anthologies. Together we have analysed and annotated Al-Fatihah (Surah 1:1-7) and an Al-Bukhari Hadith narrating the Night of Power. I can see Year 10 already have a strong foundation for investigating the Islamic understanding of God and the importance of the Qur’an. They are instinctively referring to the texts they have studied to support their claims rather that ‘sticking in a quote’. Will this have the desired impact? Time will tell, but the early signs are good; students are showing a richer and more contextual knowledge.

Edge Hill will put my resources on their website soon. I have included a list of the many resources I discovered and notes for each text designed to help busy teachers.

I feel privileged and grateful to have had this opportunity. If you get the chance to apply to the Summer School, I recommend you go for it.

[i] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-review-series-religious-education/research-review-series-religious-education

[ii] Https://www.marymyatt.com/blog/using-stories-in-the-curriculum

About

Karen Steele has taught RE in secondary schools for over 20 years. She is a senior lecturer at the University of Worcester, where she leads the secondary RE PGCE. You can link to her other blogs which are full of recommendations to improve subject knowledge. https://missevareteacher.wordpress.com/blog/

See all posts by Karen Steele

Boxing, Activism and Nation of Islam: the amazing life of Muhammad Ali

Dr Kate Christopher | 05 October, 2021

Would you start an RE lesson with a boxing match? By that we mean a lesson about a famous boxing match, not a re-enactment in the classroom! To celebrate Black History Month we present a set of four learning sessions (suitable for Key Stages 2- 4) on Muhammad Ali, one of the world’s all-time greatest boxers. Ali was also a conscientious objector, antiracist activist and devoted Muslim. All these aspects of his life are intertwined, as our multiple worldviews are. As well as a contribution to teaching resources for Black History Month, these lessons are also an example of what worldviews can look like in the classroom.

Pupils might be confused to learn about a famous fight in RE, although some would absolutely love it. During his career as a boxer Ali fought in and won several iconic fights. His sporting career illustrates how he constantly challenged preconceived ideas about how a black athlete should behave in public. In our lessons, we present Ali’s actions inside the ring as just as important to an understanding of him as those outside. In a worldviews approach, the strands of someone’s life and context cannot be separated.

Ali was once called the most famous Muslim in America. Like most people Ali sometimes had contradictory beliefs and his Islamic interests shifted over the years. In our lessons we trace Ali’s path from Nation of Islam to Sufi Islam, to Sunni Islam. Pupils will consider Nation of Islam in historical and political terms, as well as religious.

After he had won the 1964 match, Cassius Clay announced to the world the name he now wanted to be known as: Muhammad Ali. He had always been interested in Islam. At high school he wanted to write an English paper on black Muslims (Nation of Islam), but was not allowed to. Muhammad Ali first saw Malcom X, one of the most influential black figures of his time when he spoke at a Nation of Islam rally and the two became friends. Malcom X watched Ali’s 1964 match with Sonny Liston match from the side-lines. The next day as the world was still in shock over Ali’s victory, with Malcom X by his side, he announced he was a Muslim and that he had a new name. He said ‘Cassius Clay is a slave name, I didn’t choose it and I don’t want it. I am Muhmmad Ali, a free name – it means beloved of God, and I insist people use it when they speak to me’.

Incredibly Ali visited the town of South Shields in 1977 to have his marriage blessed in the mosque there. The Al-Azhar Mosque serves the Yemeni community of South Shields, who had settled in the area around the First World War to work for the Merchant Navy. A short documentary details this moment, showing footage of Ali and his wife in South Shields and the pride of the local Yemeni community to welcome this dazzling figure to their mosque. In our lessons we give a link to this documentary, created by photographer and artist Tina Ghavari.

A worldviews approach to learning about Ali, whether in a lesson or at a lunchtime or whole-school event, means his antiracist struggle or his devotion to Islam is not separated from his whole life. Ali was an athlete, a campaigner, a public figure, a conscientious objector, a husband and father and a Muslim. All these strands make up the man. We hope you enjoy exploring Muhammad Ali with your pupils, you can find the resources on RE:ONLINE here.

Kate Christopher, part-time in a Secondary school teacher in East London and independent RE adviser

Lynn Revell, Faculty Director of Research, Canterbury Christ Chuch University

About

Kate teaches part-time in a secondary school in inner London, is an RE Advisor and is Culham St Gabriel's Lead Consultant for Professional Development. Email: kate@cstg.org.uk

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Ramadan Reflection by a Muslim from the Shia tradition

Zameer Hussain | 21 April, 2021

“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may develop God-consciousness.” (Quran 2:183)

Every now and then, a notification will pop up on our phones. It will ask us to complete a software update so that the applications, functionality and performance of our devices will work to its optimum level. I would like to think that the month of Ramadan is the ‘software update’ for our souls where the one who fasts, once the month is over, can perform to his or her optimum level for the rest of the year.

Contrary to what many may perceive, both within and outside the Muslim community, Ramadan is not about food and drink. The aim of Ramadan, as the Quran verse mentions, is God-consciousness. If I don’t feed my pet for a day, it has fasted. If I do similar, I would ask myself if I am better than this pet of mine when in reality, Islam teaches me that the human being is the highest of God’s creation. When I fast, I am aiming to defeat my animal nature and tap into the divine nature that God breathed into us. This is what fasting aims for – defeating the animalistic desires (food, drink, sex, anger etc.) and realising the divine nature through becoming God conscious.

Here I will explain 3 levels of fasting using familiar language:

Grade E Fast

If I was to get an E grade for one of my A-Levels, I would have passed but in all honesty, it may not open the door to many opportunities. An ‘E-grade fast’ is where I simply abstain from food and drink for a day. However, I may not change any vices I may have such as anger, bad language etc.

Grade C Fast

If I was to get a C grade for one of my A-Levels, I have more than passed and it will open the door to some opportunities. A ‘C-grade fast’ is where I do not just abstain from food and drink for a day but my ethics become virtuous too. Whilst usually I may road rage when someone is driving slow in front of me, whilst fasting I remain calm. I remove my vices and transform them into virtues.

Grade A* Fast

If I was to get an A* grade for one of my A-Levels, I have reached the peak of my subject area and it will open any door for me. An ‘A*-grade fast’ is where I quash my animalistic desires, become virtuous but also activate my divine nature in some form of union with God. Union with God means that I would do everything that God is pleased with and avoid what He is displeased with. My will becomes the same as His where He is pleased with me and I am always pleased with Him.

Imam Ali, the first Shia Imam (whose death anniversary is also mourned by Shia Muslims this month), summarises these levels of fasting well: “Some people get nothing from fasting except hunger and thirst.” Every Ramadan I always aim to achieve an A* with my fasting. It is a struggle and there are days where I achieve an E or C grade. However, I know that if I do achieve the A* one day, I will have the best of software upgrade for my soul that will help me function properly all year around.

About

Zameer has been involved in Religious Education and interfaith work since 2013. This has included leading RE departments and supporting teachers nationally with subject knowledge.

See all posts by Zameer Hussain

Inspired by…Bringing historical methodology into GCSE teaching of Christian beliefs

Thomas Breakwell | 26 January, 2021

In my teaching of AQA GCSE RS Christian beliefs I have found one aspect perplexing, namely the paradoxical role of scripture. On the one hand, the new GCSE Religious Studies places a greater emphasis on every RE teacher’s favourite buzz words, ‘sources of wisdom and authority’ and yet pupils spend very little, if any time at all, actually engaging with scripture in any meaningful way. Instead, engagement with biblical scholarship seems to begin and end with cutting a few quotes from the synoptic gospels or John or the letters of Paul and simply pasting them in an exam answer without any engagement with the history, audience or purpose of the biblical texts.

The result is that I often find pupils asking me fantastic questions such as ‘who is Mark?’, ‘who was Luke writing for?, ‘what is a gospel?’, ‘what was life like at the time of Paul?’, ‘did Jesus actually exist?’. These are all excellent questions, and questions that pupils should be asking, and yet I felt that these questions were often ill-served by the current GCSE specification.

In response, this academic year, I did something different. I taught a lesson that was completely removed from the specification. The aim of this lesson was for pupils to gain a greater understanding of the historical Jesus and importantly how New Testament scholars use historical methods to ascertain if events contained in the gospel narratives can be considered to be historical. The lesson went something like this:

I started by briefly explaining to pupils the audiences and purposes of each of the synoptic gospels and John. The aim of this being that my pupils would begin to appreciate that the gospel texts they have been studying where written by authors to particular audiences and therefore these texts, like any other text, have a purpose and sit within a historical and social context.

Following this, I Introduced to pupils three main criterion which are often used by scholars in the study of the historical Jesus: the criterion of dissimilarity, criterion of embarrassment and the criterion of multiple attestation. The criterion of dissimilarity is simply a method that considers if the events in Jesus’ life (for example his baptism) are distinct from the teaching of 1st century Judaism or the early church. If they are, it reasons that it is more likely to be historical. The criterion of embarrassment considers if the event in Jesus’ life would have been considered embarrassing for the early church. If it would have been embarrassing for the early church it seems unlikely they would just make it up! Finally, and most importantly, the criterion of multiple attestation which focuses on if the event in Jesus’ life occurs in multiple different Christian and non-Christian sources. If an event in Jesus’ life such as the crucifixion is referenced in both Christian and non-Christian sources, such as the writings of Josephus, then it is more likely to be historical.

After my explanation, my pupils got to work. As a class, pupils read the baptism of Jesus (along with some information about baptism in first century Palestine). Then using the three criteria, I modelled step by step how each criterion could be applied to the baptism of Jesus. The benefit of modelling the first example as a whole class allowed me to reiterate what I expected my class to do and address any questions or misconceptions they had.

After scaffolding and modelling the first example, it was now time for my pupils to practice on their own with pupils applying the same criteria to several of the miracles of Jesus such as the exorcism of the blind and mute man and the raising of Jairus’ daughter. I found that my higher attaining pupils went one step further and even considered the limitations of using the criterion of embarrassment, multiple attestation and dissimilarity to study the miracles of Jesus. To end, we discussed as a class their views on if the events ascribed to Jesus in the gospels are historical and if such a question matters for Christians today.

Overall, I think my off-specification adventure helped some of my pupils to begin to think a little bit more deeply about biblical texts and historical methodology. I hope this blog provides a little bit of inspiration to go a bit beyond the specification and get your GCSE classes to delve a little deeper into the rich world of the texts they are reading. Not only would engagement with historical methodology enhance our teaching of Christianity, but other worldviews might also benefit from an appropriate form of this approach.

About

Thomas is a Subject Lead for Religious Studies at Colmers School & Sixth Form College, Birmingham.

See all posts by Thomas Breakwell