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Women in Islamic Cultures

 Leslie Keeney 

According to Cheryl Bassiouini in her online book about Islamic culture, “The word ‘Islam’ is derived from the same root as the words salaam (peace) and silm (the condition of peace).  Islam means to abandon oneself in peace.”  Yet, Islam and the Middle East carry a negative connotation for most tenth grade students, if not many adults in the United States.  We are often presented with images in the media of the very negative aspects of Islam and its treatment of women.  Taking into account that this is a one-sided interpretation, the curriculum unit that follows will attempt to expose students to a more historical perspective of Islam through a variety of literary readings. 

James Ngugi’s essay “Creating Space For One Hundred Flowers to Bloom” examines the need to respect literature from other cultures as people worldwide become more intertwined. “Looking at the world today, one sees many countries, nations, peoples, customs, languages, and a multiplicity of apparently unsolvable conflicts and problems.  But in reality the world is becoming one” (Ngugi 12).   Tolerance for other religions and cultures becomes more pertinent as our world grows into an increasingly global community.  Understanding how others view themselves and the issues affecting them is a useful and necessary curriculum to teach in today’s world.  As I will discuss below, reading literature is one means to close true cultural gaps and attempt to reach some common understanding. 

Academic Setting 

Rio Rancho High School is one of the most innovative high schools in New Mexico.  Located northwest of Albuquerque, the school was built five years ago around the concept of academies.   Students choose an academy after their freshman year that meets their career objectives and general interests.  The Fine Arts Academy, for example, offers unique courses such as master dance, audio-visual production, and graphic arts.  Additionally, students are required to take four years of mathematics, four years of science, and four years of humanities, an integration of English, history, art, music, and architecture.  Taking these courses equates to the highest graduation requirements in the state of New Mexico. 

            Certainly a major influence in the school is the presence of the Intel Corporation.  The expectation of technological proficiency is high, both among students and teachers.  Each classroom is equipped minimally with three computers, although four or five is not unusual.  Each of these computers is connected to the Internet and a vast computer network within the school.  One computer is also hooked up to a television set in the classroom, providing a mode of interactive presentations.  Additionally, each academy building has at least one computer lab with enough computers to accommodate a class of 30 students.  The opportunities for student research are impressive. 

            The student population is primarily middle class, both upper and lower, with between 50 – 60 % of Anglo origin, 30 – 35 % Hispanic and the remaining representation of mixed ethnic backgrounds including, Native American, African-American, and Asian.  The population of the town continues to grow at a rapid pace, with about 300 new students entering the high school per year. 

            Classes at Rio Rancho High School operate on the four-by-four block system.  Each semester, students take four courses that meet for approximately 90-minute periods on a daily basis.   One credit is earned per course, allowing students to earn eight credits per year.  In the case of humanities, students take the class over the entire year, earning one credit for history and another for English. 

The curriculum unit that follows is designed for tenth grade humanities students, although it could be used in either a world history or world literature class at the high school level.   Tenth-grade humanities encompasses the study of world literature and world history from the ancient Greeks and Romans to World War I in the first semester.  The second semester turns away from Western civilization’s roots to those of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.  During the course of the year, students are introduced to numerous works of literature corresponding to the historical and cultural periods covered in the curriculum.  Humanities teachers are actively involved in the curriculum, discussing changes frequently throughout the school year, as well as meeting to make changes in the summer.  New material is added all the time, enriching the course greatly. 

In this two-week unit, students will be exposed to a range of Islamic literature beginning with the Qur’an and ending with writings by contemporary women authors, including the Egyptian writers Nawal Saadawi and Alifa Rifaat.  Readings will be closely related to their historical context, and activities will take a humanities approach, incorporating art and architecture along with the historical and literary objectives. 

Context and Background 

Why teach world literature, particularly literature of the Middle East?  Students will certainly ask this question, if not their parents.  The answer must be considered in two parts: First, why world literature in itself, and secondly, why the literature of the Middle East?  “The fax, the telex, the computer, while facilitating communications, also mean the instant spread of information and culture across national boundaries” (Ngugi 13).  As our world continues to shrink via communication, international conflict, popular culture, economic interdependence, it becomes increasingly important to understand cultures different than our own.  “As our country and our world become more diverse and interconnected, the ability to understand, live, and work with people from other cultures is a 21st century survival skill” (“Enduring Understandings About Culture”).   

Wolfgang von Goethe is credited with coining the term “world literature.”  Professor Gary Harrison with UNM wrote about Goethe’s understanding in his essay “What is World Literature?”  Goethe understood that world communication was expanding during his lifetime, and an era of “global citizenship” was at hand (Harrison 3).  Certainly, world literature is a vehicle to gaining insight into other cultures, and realizing our similarities and differences.  According to Harrison, “Goethe’s idea of world literature also assumes, however a sense of universal values” (4).  This concept of universality is further supported by the goals stated in the Peace Corps education program, World Wise Schools: “Despite our differences, there are cultural universals that unite us in a common humanity” (“Enduring Understandings About Culture”).  It is in part this universality that justifies teaching our students about the literature of other cultures, particularly those less understood by Western students.   

We also need to teach our students that we must understand and allow for differences between cultures.   Thomas Greene’s essay, “Misunderstanding Poetry,” outlines this clearly: “Reading texts from remote cultures might be said to train our ethnocentrism, enlighten it, discipline it, broaden it, but never altogether dispel it.  And so it must be for our students” (72).  Thus, we can introduce our students to new cultures, hoping they will gain a clearer understanding of them, while realizing they will never fully get past their own preconceptions. 

            Traditionally, the concept of teaching world literature rested on the Western canon of great works from the literary traditions of ancient Greece and Rome, Shakespeare, and other great white male, western European writers.  Students can expect to learn about these great works in a world literature class.  While teaching the Western canon is important, it is not the only literature that should be taught.  In the world humanities classes at Rio Rancho, for example, the curriculum covers the foundations of Western civilization during the first semester only.  The second semester is dedicated to an understanding and study of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.  This curriculum reflects a trend noted in Cassell’s Encyclopedia of World Literature, that in, “the changed attitudes of the last twenty years…added importance has been given to non-European writing…[including] the larger treatment of the literatures of Africa and Asia” (qtd. in Lawall 26).  Thus teaching the literature of Islam is appropriate and acceptable in today’s expanded view of what world literature and world history should contain. 

            Perhaps of even more relevance today, teaching about Islam may help to bridge an understanding to the events of September 11.  Again, as we consider the need to live in a global community, our students must realize what a large part of the world Islam has influenced.  According to one website, between .7 and 1.2 billion people profess to follow Islam.  This constitutes 20 percent of all people worldwide, placing Islam second to Christianity in religions practiced on earth (“Islam-Questions, Answers, and Facts”).  Thus discussing issues surrounding Islam as it is practiced in the Middle East becomes important for us today as educators. 

            While this unit is primarily one intended to expose students to the literature surrounding the issues of women in Islamic society, it is necessary to begin with an examination of the history of Islam.  In her essay, “Reading World Literature,” Sara Lawall discusses Myron Tuman’s thoughts on this subject.  “Reading always involves some unfamiliarity, he says, because texts are already separated from the initial circumstances that gave them meaning; understanding a written work, consequently, entails a leap of the imagination or ‘essentially the same skills as the effort to understand forms of cultural experience different from our own’” (Lawall 31).  If we can provide the students with some contextual background before reading, it may assist their understanding of the texts. 

The Rise of Islam 

The Middle East is an important region when considering both the rise of civilization and monotheistic religions.  Three major rivers: the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates, witnessed the birth of early civilizations.  In the city of Ur, Mesopotamia (now Iraq), Abraham was born.  Also known as “The Patriarch,” he founded what is now the city of Mecca, and built the first temple to worship a single god.  The Semitic people are believed to have descended from Abraham.  From the race of the Semites, the three great monotheistic faiths evolved. In Egypt, Moses was born and became a great prophet for the followers of Judaism, leading them out of Egypt to Sinai.  Later, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem (Palestine), and carried the word of God to those who became Christians.  Finally, Muhammad was born in Mecca (Saudi Arabia), and is believed to be the last of the prophets for “the people of the book” (Bassiouini). 

Around AD 610, a man from Mecca named Muhammad had visions from which he believed that he received the word of Allah (God) through the angel Gabriel.  From a small following of about 30 people, Muhammad’s influence grew to become one of the major religions of the world.  In AD 622, he began his journey, or Hijra as it is known in Arabic, and escaped to Medina. The date of this journey is regarded as the beginning of the Islamic calendar.  Once he gained a larger following there, he returned to conquer Mecca and installed it as the holy city of Islam.  In World History – The Human Odyssey, Jackson Spielvogel proclaims, Muhammad and his followers changed the course of world history.  Within a century after his death, the Middle East was united and the Arab empire stretched from Spain in the east, to the Indus River valley.  Arab rule brought with it the culture and religion of Islam.  It is this religion and culture, which is viewed as controversial by the West, particularly in regards to its women (224). 

            Followers gathered to the city because Islam offered a simple but revolutionary message: all members of the faith are equal, irrespective of race, color, social or economic status (Fernea 125).  The followers of Islam must perform certain duties, known as the “Five Pillars of Islam”: shahadah – recitation of the following phrase professing faith – “There is no god but God; Muhammad is the prophet of God”; salat or prayer five times daily and in a Friday service; zakat – giving a percentage of one’s annual income to the poor; saum – fasting during Ramadan, a holy holiday during the ninth month of the Muslim calendar; hajj – a religious journey to Mecca for all Muslims who could afford it during their lifetime (Fernea 125). 

Prayer is performed five times daily as established by the Prophet.  Individual prayers take place at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and night.  The populous is called to prayer by a muezzin, “usually a pious member of the community who has a particularly strong or resonant voice”(Bassiouini).  Prior to prayer, all Muslims must perform ablutions, or ritual cleansing.   Prayers may be communal, and the Friday noon prayer must be.  Communal prayers are lead by an imam, generally an individual schooled in Islamic religion.   Finally, all prayer is performed facing Mecca, where the Ka’ba is located (Bassiouini).  The Ka’ba is the holiest shrine of the Islamic faith, which holds a massive black meteorite that symbolizes Allah.  It is to the Ka’ba that Muslims are required to make their pilgrimage if possible during their lifetimes.  The collection of short stories to be used in the curriculum unit written by Alifa Rifaat, Distant View of a Minaret, constantly refers to the Muslim prayer rituals.  It is important to have an outline of those rituals for the students, so they may understand the function of prayer in Rifaat’s world. 

The Split of Islam 

Following the death of Muhammad in AD 632, some disagreement arose over who should succeed him as caliph (successor).  A majority of Muslim peoples supported Muhammad’s wealthy father-in-law, Abu Bakr.  His followers became known as the Sunni (followers of tradition).  Today, 85-90 % of all Muslims follow the Sunni tradition (Bassiouini).   The remainder followed Ali ibn abu Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, and formed the Shia, or Shi’ites (party of Ali).  The Shia believe the leaders of Islam should follow a hereditary hierarchy, whereas the Sunni believe that the Muslim people should be governed by consensus.  Today, the majority of the Shi’ites live in Iran. 

            While both groups, Sunnis and Shi’ites, use the Qur’an as a basis for Islamic beliefs and practices, differences in interpretation have led to different schools of laws or rites.  Thus, there is a diversity of religious and social practice across the Muslim world.   Edward Said discusses this in his article “Impossible Histories – Why the many Islams cannot be simplified.”  “Each region and people who came under its sway developed its own kind of Islam.  Thus, Islam is a world of many histories, many peoples, many languages, traditions, schools of interpretation, proliferating developments, disputations, cultures, and countries”(Said 70).  Furthermore, he continues with a distinction one should make when discussing Islam, “One should therefore begin by speaking about Islams rather than Islam…, and then go on to specify which kind, during which particular time, one is speaking about” (Said 70). 

            A note should be mentioned here about Sufism.  While this curriculum unit will not address Sufism because of time constraints, in case students are interested, I will provide a brief explanation.  The Sufi movement is a mystical one, begun by Muslims searching for a personal union with Allah (God).  “The Sufis are represented in all schools of thought in Islam and found in all Muslim communities.  Because of its mystical, spiritual character, Sufism appeals more to individuals and small groups” (Bassiouni). 

This said, the curriculum unit that follows looks at literature samples from a few areas of the Muslim world, mostly those within the confines of the Middle East, particularly Egypt.   One article outside of the Middle East was taken from an issue of the New York Times Magazine, and focuses on the reintroduction of the strict Islamic interpretation of Shari’a (Islamic law), and its implications for a woman accused of adultery in northern Nigeria, where many people follow Islamic religion and law. 

Islamic Law            

The Shari’a, or Islamic law, is based on interpretations of both the Qur’an and the Hadith.  The Hadith were the deeds and sayings of the prophet, as recorded by his followers.  The Qur’an is the principle source of Islamic law as it contains the rules by which the Muslim world is governed.  The Hadith is a complementary source to the Qur’an, along with the Sunna, which helps to explain the Qur’an.  “The Shari’a contains the rules by which a Muslim society is organized and governed, and it provides the means to resolve conflicts among individuals and between the individual and the state” (Bassiouini).  Again, Islamic law is not consistent worldwide.  Among the Sunnis there are four schools of shari’a, and there are two practiced by the Shi’ites. 

The Qur’an and Women’s Place 

It is commonly believed that Muhammad was illiterate, thus his followers recorded his revelations in what became the holy scriptures of Islam, the Qur’an, around AD 650.  Miriam Cooke explains in her introductory essay on the Middle East that, “Until today, Arabs consider the Arabic of the Qur’an, Allah’s uncreated word, to be the touchstone of faith and acme of prose eloquence” (409).  Since the Qur’an was and continues to be such an instrumental piece of literature for the Arabic-speaking world, it is a logical point to begin exploring Islam in the classroom. 

            Exegesis of the Qur’an has been used to claim women are inferior to men for centuries.   However, scholars have done much work to show this is not the case, exposing common misinterpretations of the Qur’an and Islamic law used to uphold patriarchal domination.  Qasim Amin, an early reformer and proponent of women’s emancipation, addressed one example of this issue.  “Any man who fears fitna (temptation) should avert his eyes [as commanded by the Qur’an, 24:30], just as any woman who fears fitna should avert her eyes.  The commands in the noble verse direct both groups to avert their eyes equally.  In this we have clear evidence that it is no more appropriate for woman to cover her face than man” (qtd. in Hoffman-Ladd  28). 

            Another area of Qur’anic misinterpretation is over the word zina, meaning adornment, ornament, or beauty. “The Qur’an says, ‘Tell the believing women to avert their eyes and to preserve their chastity and not to show their adornment (zina) except that which appears (ma zahara minha), and to draw their shawls over their bosoms and not to show their zina except to their husbands’ and to close relatives with whom marriage is prohibited (maharim) “ (Hoffman-Ladd 29).  According to Hoffman-Ladd, early exegetes of the Qur’an interpreted zina to mean makeup, jewelry, or natural beauty.  The consensus among the interpreters is that women may show the hands and face in public, again supporting the idea that Islamic law finds no justification in the Qur’an for veiling. 

            Disentangling patriarchy in Islam was an important process to early feminists in Egypt.  “The Feminist Vision in the Writings of Three Turn-of-the-Century Egyptian Women,” an article by   Margot Badran, shows that by reading the Qur’an, “Women discovered that the veil was not required by Islam, nor were sex segregation and female seclusion.  They also realized that Islam guaranteed women rights that patriarchy withheld from them” (13).   Patriarchy was the established order within the Arabian Peninsula at the time of the revelation (Wadud 80).  One way to look at interpretations of the Qur’an is to look to the practices in place before the Qur’an came into being.  These practices, it can be argued, were only perpetuated by Islamic society, not commanded as religious law in the Qur’an.  If we look to Eleanor A. Doumato’s article, “Christian Women and the Coming of Islam,” the presence of purdah (veiling) and patriarchy did exist in the years prior to Muhammed’s revelations. 

            Doumato examines practices in the city of Najran in southwest Arabia.   She brings up an important distinction, also raised by Egyptian feminist, Nawal El Sa’dawi, that veiling and seclusion are class-related practices.  Doumato, in studying the words of the sixth-century Najran martyrs, finds that class divided the society of Najran.  “Among the nobility, the veiling and seclusion of women appear to have been well established, and these practices are central to the story of the martyrdom of the noblewoman, Ruhayma” (184).  She finds that the seclusion of these women was a sign of their virtue, indeed a belief among Islamic proponents of purdah.   

            If modern Egypt is taken as an example, it is obvious that purdah has remained an upper-class institution.  Sa’dawi pointed this out in a booklet written in 1977: “These men ignore the fact that the majority of women in Egypt (80% or more) are peasants and have never worn the veil….Do they believe that femininity and honor are qualities enjoyed by only a small minority of Egyptian women? “ (qtd. in Hoffman-Ladd 35).  Sa’dawi suggests purdah is an exploitative class position, not an institution supported by Islamic law. 

It is necessary here to look to the Qur’anic reference regarding veiling found in Sura 24 (Light): 

Say to believers, that they cast down
Their eyes and guard their private parts;
that is purer for them.  God is aware of the things they work.
And say to the believing women, that they cast down their eyes and guard their private parts, and reveal not their adornment
save such as is outward; and let them cast
their veils over their bosoms, and not reveal
their adornment save to their husbands
or their fathers, or their husbands’ fathers,
or their sons or their husbands’ sons,
or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons,
or their sisters’ sons, or their women
or what their right hands own, or such men
as attend them, not having sexual desire,
or children who have not yet attained knowledge
of women’s private parts; nor let them stamp
their feet, so that their hidden ornament
may be known.  An turn all together
to God, O you believers; haply so you will prosper.
(qtd. in Papnek 305-306)

This passage is important to consider for several reasons.   First, it discusses veiling; “veils over their bosoms” is open to several interpretations.  In fact, there are many interpretations of this line as seen by the variety of veiling carried out by Muslim women around the globe.  There are extremes from the burqa – a veil covering the entire head with a mesh screen for women to peer through, to a simple head covering exposing the face.  Further on, the passage clarifies the women’s social group and thus the people with whom purdah need not be observed (Papnek 305 – 306).  

Western View versus Islamic View 

The Western image of the Islamic women includes a veiled, secluded individual with little or no rights.  Indeed, according to Hoffman-Ladd, “one of the most frequent criticisms leveled at Islam by Western observers is that it degrades women” (Hoffman-Ladd 23). With our sense of freedom and equality, the Islamic woman’s place in society is difficult to assimilate into a Western view.  This issue is necessary to address with our students.  We must give them both sides, not only the stereotypical Western view.   The lesson plans will address a Western versus Islamic perception of veiling and seclusion. 

Western views of Islamic women have formed over the centuries, usually through the eyes of men. An observation of women in seventeenth century Jerusalem made by a traveling Frenchman perpetrated the view that, “the lot of women in the Orient is much worse than that of women in Europe.  Women in the Orient are treated as chattel for men to buy and sell” (Ze’evi 159). In contrast, the court records of the Jerusalem shari’a court from this time period indicate marriage was a contract with women having many rights equal to men.  Women could dissolve, and often did dissolve, their marriages regularly if the terms of the marriage contract were not met.  Additionally, women had rights to trade, buy and sell property, and exercised this right freely.  Women probably also had an education sufficient to allow them to handle these roles, as observed by an Ottoman traveler, Evliya Çelebi (Ze’evi p 161-168). 

Westerners have formed perceptions while ignoring the fact that Islamic women have been largely inaccessible to outsiders in foreign encounters with Muslims.   Perceptions have been created without contact.  “For too long the western observer, accustomed to gaze through a veil darkly, has accepted formless shadows as tangible objects of reality” (Waines 643).  To the casual Western observer, the veil is a restrictive device.  Muslim women don’t all see themselves as restricted.  On the contrary, quite often in the literature, the veil is seen as a device of freedom.  For example, “It was precisely their protective veiling, these women insisted, that allowed them to escape the traditional female roles of mother and wife in order to pursue professional, educational and social lives necessarily conducted in public” (Slymovics 10).  It is this issue of veiling and purdah, the system of secluding women in Muslim societies, which is central to the controversy. 

Hanna Papnek puts forth an interesting perspective on the veiling of Muslim women:  

For the foreign observer the experience of encountering large numbers of human beings whose faces cannot be seen is a considerable shock, and this is probably an important element in the strong feelings, which foreigners usually express about purdah as an institution.  Persons inside burqas are experienced as non-persons by those who are not used to seeing them, but it remains to be explored further whether the persons inside the burqas also feel depersonalized, and whether they are seen as less than persons by the people who interact with them.  In one sense, of course, the experience of walking on streets where others are rendered invisible, or are depersonalized by being inside burqas is quite analogous to the experience of being a pedestrian and interacting with persons encapsulated inside cars.  (298)
 

If we consider Papanek’s viewpoint, it further supports both Waines’ and Hoffman-Ladd’s research concluding we don’t know enough to make assumptions about the women inside the veils.  It is important then, to look more deeply into a Muslim perspective of veiling. 

“‘Islamic dress’ (al-ziyy al shar’i) also called hijab (veil, cover, protection), involves at least covering the hair with a scarf and wearing long sleeves and a long skirt” (Hoffman-Ladd 24).  In Egypt, although Islamic dress is not the traditional garment, it signifies women looking to lead an Islamic lifestyle.  The hijab has, “a high practical value in that it broadcasts a woman’s respectability, enabling her to venture into the public sphere without harassment or damage to her reputation, whereas the women who wear Western clothing are often suspected of susceptibility to sexual immorality and are frequently harassed in the street and on public transportation” (Hoffman-Ladd 24).  This is a valid perspective, the idea of respectability provided by the veil, and comes up often in pro-veiling literature written by men and women. 

Alifa Rifaat’s short stories from Distant View of a Minaret will be important here, as they offer a true insider’s view of one area of Islamic culture.  In the translator’s forward to the novel, Denys Johnson-Davies tells the reader, “More convincingly than any other woman writing in Arabic today, Alifia Rifaat, an Egyptian in her early fifties, lifts the veil on what it means to be a woman living within a traditional Muslim society” vii).  We learn of Rifaat’s authenticity of experience, as she has only traveled outside of Cairo, Egypt twice in her life -- both of these to Mecca and Medina in order to fulfill the required pilgrimage, or hajj, of the Islamic faith.  “Most of her stories express, implicitly rather than explicitly, a revolt against many of the norms and attitudes, particularly related to woman and her place in society” (Johnson-Davies vii).  As Johnson-Davies points out, this revolt is one within the Islamic religious framework, not of a Western feminist origin.  She revolts against “man-made” interpretations of the Qur’an and seeks change not in her religion, but in its interpretation. 

  Respectability and veiling will be further explored in literature samples to be used with the students.   Some poetry written by anonymous poets supporting the veil will be presented in the implementation section of this curriculum unit.  The poems will be useful in contrast with the short story by Nawal El Saadawi, “She Has No Place in Paradise.”  Saadawi’s story is “one of her darkest pieces, presenting a woman’s life in this world and the next as utterly desperate” (Biddle 441).  

Education and the Islamic Woman 

A final area of discussion must include the role of education as a force of change for women in Islamic societies.  Another common theme throughout the critical literature on Islamic women is education as a change agent.  Beginning with the concept of purdah, education is viewed in two ways.  First, as was noted earlier, some women view their opportunity to attend school as possible with the burqa, allowing them to continue to observe purdah traditions.  Thus again, veiling permits women to interact in society.  An opposing view sees education as the deciding factor for discarding seclusion.   “For instance, the seclusion of women and their consequent exclusion from gainful employment outside the home is often a feature of lower-middle-class urban life in South Asia, while upper-class urban families who could more readily ‘afford’ to observe purdah may discard it under the influence of increasing contacts with modern education and western lifestyles” (Papanek 292). 

            Education as a means of working outside the home and contributing financially is another area often discussed.  In many developing Muslim nations, one of the arguments of feminists is the need for women to work.  An education provides women with an opportunity to join the work force.  Again, this phenomenon can be viewed as both supportive of purdah and against it.  Women with an education can enter fields where they are needed to perpetuate separation of the sexes.  For example, women doctors are necessary for women patients, particularly in regards to gynecological issues, and women instructors can teach female students.  In the previous examples, educated women actually enhance and encourage separation by fulfilling the roles formerly allotted to men in Muslim society. 

            On the other hand, turn-of-the-century Egyptian feminists viewed education as a means of preparing women for decent jobs if they wanted them.  “They also argued that education would provide a solid foundation for social relations between women and men, paving the way for the final elimination of sex segregation” (Badran 16).  Education has indeed fueled feminist movements, as female scholars reinterpret the Qur’an and promote equality between the sexes in Muslim society. 

            The National Geographic article, “A Life Revealed” is an interesting piece bringing in a very positive view of life within the confines of fundamentalist Afghan-Islamic society.  The “Afghan Girl,” Sharbat Gula,  is presented to us in her current state, twenty years since she first appeared as a haunting face with striking, unforgettable eyes on the cover of National Geographic.     In “A Life Revealed,” author Cathy Newman tells us, “She harbors the hope of education for her children.   ‘I want my daughters to have skills,’ she said.  ‘I wanted to finish school but could not.  I was sorry when I had to leave.’”   Gula’s   views on the importance of education for her daughters will be explored with students, as will her thoughts on purdah and the woman’s role in Afghanistan. 

            In conclusion, various issues can and should be addressed with students in this unit.  Primary sources, such as the Qur’an, provide readings open to interpretation, and valuable as a teaching tool for discussion and written response.  Past and present treatment of women in Islamic cultures must be included, along with a simple background to the rise and spread of Islam. 

Goals and Expectations 

Students will encounter various works of literature, including primary sources, newsprint, and fiction in the course of this unit.  Additionally, students will be exposed to various forms of Islamic art and architecture in order to gain an understanding of the influence of the arts in Islamic culture. 

            The following curriculum unit will be a cross-curricular one using a humanities approach.  Thus, the New Mexico appropriate state standards and benchmarks for language arts, social studies, and the arts are listed below.   All of the standards listed will be addressed over the course of the unit. 

            New Mexico content standards and benchmarks for language arts, social studies, and the arts are abbreviated below.  To access a complete description of the standards, please go to <http://164.64.166.11/cilt/standards/>. 

Language Arts

·        Content Standard 1: Strand: Reading and Listening for Comprehension
Students will apply strategies and skills to comprehend information that is read, heard, and viewed.  

Benchmarks:

A: Listen to, read, react to and analyze information
B: Synthesize and evaluate information to solve problems across the curriculum
C: Demonstrate critical thinking skills to evaluate information and solve problems
D: Apply knowledge of the reading process to evaluate print, non-print, and technology-based information   

·         Content Standard 2: Strand: Writing and Speaking for Expression
Students will communicate effectively through speaking and writing. 

Benchmarks:

A: Communicate information in a coherent and persuasive manner using verbal and non-verbal language
C: Demonstrate competence in the skills and strategies of the writing process to inform and persuade  

·        Content Standard 3:Strand: Literature and Media
Students will use literature and media to develop an understanding of people, societies, and the self. 

Benchmarks:

A: Use language, literature, and media to understand the role of the individual as a member of many cultures 

Social Studies Standards: 

·        Content Standard 1:

History: Students are able to identify important people and events in order to analyze significant patterns, relationships, themes, ideas, beliefs, and turning points in New Mexico, United States, and world history in order to understand the complexity of the human experience. 

Benchmark

D: Skills: Use critical thinking skills to understand and communicate perspectives of individuals, groups, and societies from multiple contexts  

·        Content Standard 2:

Geography: Students understand how physical, natural, and cultural processes influence where people live, the ways in which people live, and how societies interact with one another and their environments.  

Benchmarks:
B: Analyze natural and man-made characteristics of worldwide locales; describe regions, their interrelationships, and patterns of change
E: Analyze and evaluate how economic, political, cultural, and social processes interact to shape patterns of human populations, and their interdependence, cooperation, and conflict   

The Arts

·        Content Standard 5: Observe, discuss, analyze, and make critical judgments about artistic works.  

·        Content Standard 6: Show increased awareness of diverse peoples and cultures through visual and performing arts.  

Implementation 

Unit Calendar: 

Week 1

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Introduction to Islam Lecture   Unit Overview   Maps   Magic Boxes	Vocabulary   The Qur’an   Architecture Lecture – The Mosque	Map Review   Web Poetry   Art Lecture	Map Review   National Geographic Article   Project work	Map Review   New York Times Magazine article   Project Work

Week 2

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Map Review   Nawal Saadawi   Project Work	Map Review   Alifa Rifaat   Complete Project Work	Alifa Rifaat   Map    Review and Assessment	Discussion   In-class written assessment	Project presentations   Food Tasting   Music or Video

Individual Lesson Plans 

Week 1 

Day One 

Begin with a quick activity to find out what students’ perceptions of Islam are.  Make a chart to return to at the end of the unit. 

Introduce Islam through a lecture with notes.  Give students sufficient background to understand the unit.    

Present the maps.  Discuss important political features, especially Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey. The first day should give a general overview of the area without too much depth.   I will be using two maps from a reproducible series, Geographic Literacy: Maps for Memorization.  These maps cover the area of Southwest Asia (or the Middle East), and North Africa.  For the purposes of this unit, I will not include a map on South Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India), as it will be covered in the following unit in my school’s curriculum.  However, as a self-contained unit, a map of these three nations is also advisable.  Good maps are also available on National Geographic’s web site.  Label.  Also introduce geographical vocabulary for the Middle East.  The following web site provides some useful terms: <http://cnug.clackesd.k12.or.us/wood/index.html>. 

Magic boxes were an intellectual pastime of the Arab people.  This activity can be used to draw a connection to the mathematical achievements of this culture.  A short reading is available in the Fernea Humanities text discussing math and science achievements.  Finish up by doing a magic box activity.  Create a 3 by 3 grid.  Using the digits 1 through 9, place each digit (used one time only), in each of the grid boxes so that each row, column, and diagonal adds up to 15.  (While this activity does not have a connection with the women in the culture, it does provide a cross-curricular function and may spark the interest of students as a fun activity).

Suggested homework activity: Read the introduction to Islamic Civilization by Elizabeth Fernea in the Humanities textbook pp.124 – 131 as reinforcement. 

Day Two 

Provide students with the vocabulary list and definitions below.  Vocabulary will be useful and important in the course of the readings, and knowledge will be assessed at the end of the unit in the form of an in-class essay that incorporates the vocabulary. 

Vocabulary List 

ablution	Washing the face, arms, and feet prior to prayer
adhan	Uttering used to call all Muslims to prayer, salat.
Allah	God
burqa	A veil covering the face completely, with a fine mesh screen covering theeyes allowing women to see, but not be seen.
galabia	A long Egyptian shirt reaching down to the ground.
Hadith	The sayings and deeds of the Prophet (Muhammad)
hijab	Veil, covering, dress worn by Muslim women.
imam	Leader of prayer
Ka’ba	The most holy structure in Islam is situated in Mecca, and is according to Islam the center of the world.
khutba	Khutba is a central sermon in Islam. It is performed with the midday prayer in the mosque on Friday, but also with the two ids of Islam, the Idu l-Kabir and Idu l-Fitr, and as an extra sermon in times of hardship.
mihrâb	Niche in a mosque, indicating the qibla, the direction in which a Muslimshall perform his salat.
minaret	Tower near to, or built into, the structures of a mosque, which is used by the muezzin to call out the adhan in order to make people to come to prayers in Islam.
minbar	Pulpit in a mosque, placed next to the mihrab.
mosque	A muslim church
muezzin	The person calling out for people to come to the mosque to perform salat, the five-daily prayers of Islam.
patriarchy	When a society places its males as the dominating force.  The familystructure and inheritance is based around the father.
purdah	The practice of separating women, usually restricting them to their homes.
qibla	The direction in which the believer orients himself or herself for salat, the prayer of Islam.  The qibla is always directed towards the Ka'ba of Mecca, but for 1.5 years in the early Islam, the qibla was Jerusalem (from 622 to 624).
salat	Ritual prayer or divine service in Islam.
shari’a	Islamic law

Pass out or display the passage from the Qur’an, Sura 24 (Light).  It appears in the context and background section of this curriculum unit.  Read silently and then aloud.  Discuss student interpretations.  What do they think the Qur’an is saying about veiling?  Show pictures of women in fundamental Islamic societies wearing burqas.  Ask students if they think the Qur’an says women should wear this type of head covering.  Begin a chart or poster tracking perceptions of women in Islamic societies based on the readings.  Students will find this useful when working on their in-class essays at the end of the unit.

Complete the lesson with a presentation of the architecture of Islam, particularly focusing on the mosque.  Use the websites listed in the web resources to either print pictures or create a power point presentation.   Refer to <http:/i-cias.com/e.o/mosque.htm> for excellent notes on the mosque.  Include a discussion about women and mosques during the presentation.   Another website, <http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/yahyam/page36/womeninmosques.htm>, includes discussions about women and mosques, with links to other articles.  This site would be good to use with the research project. 

Suggested homework activity:  Read “The Mosque” in the Spielvogel World History – The Human Odyssey text on page 247.  Complete the questions. 

Day Three 

Review areas on the map with students.  Focus on one area each day.  Students should be studying maps at home also. 

Choose two or three poems from the web site: <http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/2704/index2.html>

Some suggested poems include: “To Western Woman” and “The Woman’s Veil.”   These two offer a positive Muslim woman’s perspective on veiling.  Discuss and record responses.  These will provide a contrast to the stories being read later in the unit. 

Present an art lecture.  Focus on geometric patterns in Islamic design.  In order to tie into the overall theme of the unit, focusing on rug weaving would be beneficial, as women were and are the primary carpet weavers.  The web resources offer excellent examples of art.  For example, the “Islamic Art” site gives detailed information about different periods of Islamic art and useful vocabulary.  The link is <http://www.lacma.org/islamic%5Fart/intro.htm>.    

Suggested homework assignment: Read the selection on “Mughal Painting” in the Humanities textbook.  Use art terms from today’s lecture to discuss one of the paintings in a paragraph or two. 

Day Four 

Open with map review, again focusing on a specific region. (If using a South Asia map, point to Afghanistan). 

Read the National Geographic article, “A Life Revealed.”  Bring in discussion from yesterday’s poetry readings.  How does the “Afghan Girl” view the veil?  What are her beliefs in education?  If available, show students pictures from the original photos in the earlier issue of National Geographic from June, 1985.  Discuss and record responses to how she has changed and how her lifestyle may have contributed to those changes. 

Begin independent project work.  Students will be required to find and analyze one piece of Islamic art or architecture per group member, using vocabulary from the two earlier lectures.  Each group project should include at least one or two mosques from different parts of the world.  Completed projects will be compiled into a web site, brochure, or poster.  Students will need to include several photos of the work, along with an original description, and citation of sources.  Divide students into teams according to computer availability.  (If computers are not widely available, students can work on an analysis activity involving photocopies and books).  Refer students to the web resources listed at the end of the bibliography in this curriculum unit. 

Suggested homework assignment: Read about the Taj Mahal, available in the World History textbook, p.542.  Assign questions. 

Day Five 

Open with map review, again focusing on a specific region. (Pointing out where Nigeria is would be useful here). 

Read the NY Times Magazine article: “Death by Stoning.”  Discuss the interpretation of Islamic law presented here.  Continue to add to the chart/poster on women. 

Continue with project work. 

Day Six 

Open with map review.  Also review the chart compile during the readings last week.  Discuss what has been seen as the role of the Muslim woman so far. 

Read Saadawi’s “She Has No Place in Paradise.”  Continue adding thoughts to the chart.  Use guided questions provided in the documentation. 

Continue with project work. 

Suggested homework activity: Read “A Pilgrimage to Mecca” in the Spielvogel World History – The Human Odyssey text on page 229.   Complete the questions about the “Black Stone.” 

Day Seven 

Map review – Test tomorrow! 

Open with reflection of the woman in Islamic society.  Review charts.  It might also be helpful to review the rituals of prayer in the Islamic faith.  Have students silently read Alifa Rifaat’s “An Incident in the Ghobashi Household.” (Available in Distant View of a Minaret).  Once again add to the chart, emphasizing cultural aspects of the story and vocabulary.   

Wrap up projects.  Presentations on the final day of the unit. 

Day Eight 

Open with brief map review.  Pass out assessments – the multiple-choice test available with the reproducible text is easy to use. 

As students finish up, hand out Alifa Rifaat’s “The Kite.”  (Available in Distant View of a Minaret).  Have them read silently, while others complete the map test.  After all students have completed the story, discuss and add to the chart.   

Suggested homework activity: Students should start considering what they have learned about Islamic culture, literature, and women.  How will they synthesize this material for an in-class essay assessment? 

Day Nine 

Discuss the literature read as a whole.  Discover themes recurrent across the readings with the students and list these as possible essay topics. These may include: limitations of women in Islamic societies, the role of education, the role of prayer, and Islamic dress. Students should then be given the rest of the period to construct a five-paragraph essay about the women of Islam.  Essays should include at least three concrete references to the literature read, and use a designated number of the vocabulary words (five is a good number). 

Suggested homework activity: Project presentations will be due on the final day.  Students should prepare their portion of the presentation for the class. 

Day Ten 

Wrap up the unit.  Students will present their art and architecture findings.  A rubric is the best assessment for these projects.  A sample can be found in the documentation. 

Introduce students to food from the region.  This can be approached in several ways.  I like to bring food in that I have prepared for them.  I try to prepare something authentic and unique to the region studied.  Two wonderful cookbooks come to mind: Flatbreads and Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid has an extensive Central Asian section, including recipes from Afghanistan and Persia.  Another book by the same authors, Seductions of Rice, also has a Central Asian and Persian section.  These volumes are great references as they include not only recipes, but anecdotal stories of the authors’ travels in the regions, and numerous photos of the people, landscapes, and foods as well.  Another alternative would be to have students find recipes on the Internet and prepare food to bring in for the class. 

During the food tasting it is good to have music from the region, and/ or a video. 

Documentation 

Supplemental Resources 

Women in Islam – In-Class Essay Rubric

 

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Introduction (Organization)	The introduction is inviting, states the main topic and previews the structure of the paper.	The introduction clearly states the main topic and previews the structure of the paper, but is not particularly inviting to the reader.	The introduction states the main topic, but does not adequately preview the structure of the paper nor is it particularly inviting to the reader.	There is no clear introduction of the main topic or structure of the paper.
Accuracy of Facts (Content)	All supportive facts are reported accurately.	Almost all supportive facts are reported accurately.	Most supportive facts are reported accurately.	NO facts are reported OR most are inaccurately reported.
Sources (Content)	All sources used for quotes and facts are credible and cited correctly.	All sources used for quotes and facts are credible and most are cited correctly.	Most sources used for quotes and facts are credible and cited correctly.	Many sources used for quotes and facts are less than credible (suspect) and/or are not cited correctly.
Focus on Topic (Content)	There is one clear, well-focused topic. Main idea stands out and is supported by detailed information.	Main idea is clear but the supporting information is general.	Main idea is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information.	The main idea is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information.
Commitment (Voice)	The writer successfully uses several reasons/appeals to try to show why the reader should care or want to know more about the topic.	The writer successfully uses one or two reasons/appeals to try to show why the reader should care or want to know more about the topic.	The writer attempts to make the reader care about the topic, but is not really successful.	The writer made no attempt to make the reader care about the topic.
Flow & Rhythm (Sentence Fluency)	All sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud. Each sentence is clear and has an obvious emphasis.	Almost all sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud, but 1 or 2 are stiff and awkward or difficult to understand.	Most sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud, but several are stiff and awkward or are difficult to understand.	The sentences are difficult to read aloud because they sound awkward, are distractingly repetitive, or difficult to understand.
Sentence Structure (Sentence Fluency)	All sentences are well-constructed with varied structure.	Most sentences are well-constructed with varied structure.	Most sentences are well-constructed but have a similar structure.	Sentences lack structure and appear incomplete or rambling.
Transitions (Organization)	A variety of thoughtful transitions are used. They clearly show how ideas are connected.	Transitions clearly show how ideas are connected, but there is little variety.	Some transitions work well; but connections between other ideas are fuzzy.	The transitions between ideas are unclear or nonexistant.
Conclusion (Organization)	The conclusion is strong and leaves the reader with a feeling that they understand what the writer is "getting at."	The conclusion is recognizable and ties up almost all the loose ends.	The conclusion is recognizable, but does not tie up several loose ends.	There is no clear conclusion, the paper just ends.
Grammar & Spelling (Conventions)	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.

 Islamic Art and Architecture Rubric 

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Introduction (Organization)	The introduction is inviting, states the main topic and previews the structure of the paper.	The introduction clearly states the main topic and previews the structure of the paper, but is not particularly inviting to the reader.	The introduction states the main topic, but does not adequately preview the structure of the paper nor is it particularly inviting to the reader.	There is no clear introduction of the main topic or structure of the paper.
Accuracy of Facts (Content)	All supportive facts are reported accurately.	Almost all supportive facts are reported accurately.	Most supportive facts are reported accurately.	NO facts are reported OR most are inaccurately reported.
Sources (Content)	All sources used for quotes and facts are credible and cited correctly.	All sources used for quotes and facts are credible and most are cited correctly.	Most sources used for quotes and facts are credible and cited correctly.	Many sources used for quotes and facts are less than credible (suspect) and/or are not cited correctly.
Focus on Topic (Content)	There is one clear, well-focused topic. Main idea stands out and is supported by detailed information.	Main idea is clear but the supporting information is general.	Main idea is somewhat clear but there is a need for more supporting information.	The main idea is not clear. There is a seemingly random collection of information.
Commitment (Voice)	The writer successfully uses several reasons/appeals to try to show why the reader should care or want to know more about the topic.	The writer successfully uses one or two reasons/appeals to try to show why the reader should care or want to know more about the topic.	The writer attempts to make the reader care about the topic, but is not really successful.	The writer made no attempt to make the reader care about the topic.
Flow & Rhythm (Sentence Fluency)	All sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud. Each sentence is clear and has an obvious emphasis.	Almost all sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud, but 1 or 2 are stiff and awkward or difficult to understand.	Most sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud, but several are stiff and awkward or are difficult to understand.	The sentences are difficult to read aloud because they sound awkward, are distractingly repetitive, or difficult to understand.
Sentence Structure (Sentence Fluency)	All sentences are well-constructed with varied structure.	Most sentences are well-constructed with varied structure.	Most sentences are well-constructed but have a similar structure.	Sentences lack structure and appear incomplete or rambling.
Transitions (Organization)	A variety of thoughtful transitions are used. They clearly show how ideas are connected.	Transitions clearly show how ideas are connected, but there is little variety.	Some transitions work well; but connections between other ideas are fuzzy.	The transitions between ideas are unclear or nonexistant.
Conclusion (Organization)	The conclusion is strong and leaves the reader with a feeling that they understand what the writer is "getting at."	The conclusion is recognizable and ties up almost all the loose ends.	The conclusion is recognizable, but does not tie up several loose ends.	There is no clear conclusion, the paper just ends.
Grammar & Spelling (Conventions)	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.	Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.

 Bibliography 

Teacher Resources

Badran, Margot.  “The Feminist Vision in the Writings of Three Turn-of-the-Century Egyptian              Women.”  Bulletin (British Society of Middle Eastern Studies) 15: 1/2 (1998): 11-20. 

Bassiouini, M. Cherif.  “Introduction to Islam.”  1988.  MidAmerica Arab Chamber of Commerce.  June 20, 2002.   <http://www2.ari.net/gckl/islam/titlepage.htm>. 

Cooke, Miriam.  “The Middle East.”  Global Voices – Contemporary Literature from the              Non-Western World.   Ed. Arthur W. Biddle.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.,              1995. 

Doumato, Eleanor A.  “Hearing Other Voices: Christian Women and the Coming of Islam.”                         
            International Journal of Middle East Studies 23.  2 (May, 1991): 177-199. 

Durant, Will.  The Story of Civilization: Part 1 -- Our Oriental Heritage.   New York: Simon and               Schuster, 1963. 

Harrison, Gary.  “What is World Literature?”  Department of English, University of New Mexico,               April, 2002. 

“Enduring Understandings About Culture.”  Culture Matters.   n.d.  Peace Corps.  June 12, 2002.               <http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/culturematters/enduring.html>. 

Hekmat, Anwar.  Women and the Koran: The Status of Women in Islam.  New York:               
            Prometheus Books, 1997. 

Hoffman-Ladd, Valerie J.  “Polemics on the Modesty and Segregation of Women in Contemporary              Egypt.”  International Journal of Middle East Studies  Volume 19, Issue 1 (Feb., 1987):              23 – 50. 

Hoodfar, Homa.  “Devices and Desires: Population Policy and Gender Roles in the Islamic              
   Republic.”  Middle East Report 190, Gender, Population, Environment (Sep. – Oct., 1994):              11-17. 

“Islam – Questions, Answers, and Facts.”  Attack on America Special Edition.  2000. Touch of             Love.  June 16, 2002.    

Johnson-Davies, Denys.  Translator’s Forward.  Distant View of a Minaret.  Rifaat vii –ix. 

Kjeilen, Tore.   "Mosque”  Encyclopaedia of the Orient.  Oslo, Norway: Nov. 16, 2002.                
            <http://i-cias.com/e.o/mosque.htm>

Lawall, Sarah.  “Introduction: Reading World Literature.”  Reading World Literature: Theory,              History, Practice.  Austin: Texas, 1994. 

 “New Mexico Content Standards, Benchmarks, and Performance Standards.”  1999.

State of New Mexico Department of Education. June 15, 2002.            
            <http://164.64.166.11/cilt/standards/>. 

Ngugi, James.  “Creating Space for a Hundred Flowers to Bloom.”  Freeing Culture from         
            Ethnocentrism.  Ed. James Currey.   Oxford: 1993. 

Papanek, Hanna.   “Purdah: Separate Worlds and Symbolic Shelter.”  Comparative Studies in             Society and History 15, 3 (June 1973): 289-325. 

Said, Edward W.  “Impossible Histories – Why Many Islams Cannot be Simplified.” Harper’s              Magazine 35.  1826 (July 2002): 69-74. 

Slymovics, Susan.  “‘Hassiba Ben Bouali, If You Could See Our Algeria’”: Women and Public              Space in Algeria.”  Middle East Report 192, Algeria: Islam, the State and the Politics of              Eradication (Jan. – Feb., 1995): 8-13. 

Spielvogel, Jackson.  World History – The Human Odyssey.  Agoura Hills, CA: West Publishing,              1998. 

Wadud, Amina.  Qur’an and Woman.   New York: Oxford, 1999. 

Waines, David.  “Through a Veil Darkly: The Study of Women in Muslim Societies.  A Review              Article.”  Comparative Studies in Society and History 24.  4 (Oct. 1982): 642-659. 

Ze’evi, Dror.  “Women in 17^th-Century Jerusalem: Western and Indigenous Perspectives.”                     
            International Journal of Middle East Studies 27.  2 (May 1995): 157-173. 

Student Resources:  

Dowden, Richard.  “Death by Stoning.”  The New York Times Magazine (January 27, 2002):              28-31. 

Fernea, Elizabeth.  “Islamic Civilization.”  An Introduction to the Humanities.  Illinois: Scott              Foresman, 1996. 

Newman, Cathy.  “A Life Revealed.”  National Geographic Apr. 2002: n.pag.  

Rifaat, Alîfa.  Distant View of a Minaret.  Trans. Denys Johnson-Davies.  Portsmouth, NH:               Heinemann, 1987.  

Rischar Davis, Pat.  Geographic Literacy: Maps for Memorization.  Portland, ME: J.Weston              Walch, 2001. 

Saadawi, Nawal.  “She Has No Place in Paradise.”  Global Voices – Contemporary Literature              from the Non-Western World.  Ed. Arthur W. Biddle.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice              Hall, 1995. 

Web Resources 

Asher.  “Islam.”   June 2000.  June 15, 2002.  <http://cnug.clackesd.k12.or.us/wood/index.html>. 

Provides a geography page with terms discussing the Middle Eastern region.   Useful for an opening discussion with a map.   Also has further links to pages with a brief synopsis of the rise of Islam, and a science and math contributions page. 

Gray, Martin.  “Places of Peace and Power.  The Sacred Sites Pilgrimage of Martin Gray.”   1983-2000.  Martin Gray.  June 15, 2002.   <http://www.sacredsites.com/explore.html>.
 

An excellent site with several useful pages.  One page links to sacred sites from around the world.  Another links to maps of geographical areas for the sites.  Each photo has detailed information about the specific sites.   Great for research.

Komaroff, Linda.  “Islamic Art.”  LACMA Islamic Art. 2001-2002.  Museum Associates, Los              Angeles County Museum of Art.  June 15, 2002.                     
            <http://www.lacma.org/islamic%5Fart/intro.htm>. 

A vocabulary site for Islam and Islamic art terms.  Also links to different periods of Islamic art studies.  Connect to a link containing a series of slide images of art from the different periods.  Useful for an art journal activity.

Mulder-Slater, Andrea.  “The Islamic Mosque  -- A Discussion About Muslim Architecture and its              Influence on Subsequent Architectural Styles.” Art History.  2002.  About, Inc.  June 15,             2002. <http://arthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa040300a.htm>. 

Provides a discussion about Muslim architecture, particularly the mosque.

“Shrines and Palaces.”  1995-2001.  Islamic Arts and Architecture Organization.  June 15, 2002.               <http://www.islamicart.com/>. 

A good overview for research projects.  Breaks down Islamic art into a series of categories.  Includes photos and descriptions.

Uddin, Ayesha.  “Ayesha’s Islamic Archive.”  Global Islamic Websites.  Updated April 10, 2001.          June 15, 2002.  <http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/2704/index2.html> 

        Many links to Islamic poetry, essays, art, and architecture.