Islamic civilization
Islam: An American Faith, Set of 6 documentary films on aspects of Islam, descriptive of the faith, its beliefs and practices. $9.95 ea or $49.95 for the set.
For many these two ideas: Islam and America are not compatible, many on both sides feel that there is a great divide and that America can never reconcile with Islam and Muslims cannot live in peace with America. This film aims to dispel that myth. Starting from a historical perspective highlighting the fact that Muslims were already present in the New World prior to the arrival of the first European settlers and coming to the present post 9-11 America where some are questioning their identity, whereas others are defining their American Muslim identity.
A collection of stories from authentic Islamic literary and religious sources such as Hadith and Qur’an, which illuminates Islamic morals, ethics and values in an accessible way.
Winner of the 2004 Aesop Prize, Ayat Jamilah/Beautiful Signs: a Treasury of Islamic Wisdom for Children and Parents is the second book in Eastern Washington University Press’ This Little Light of Mine series. A young adult/adult crossover anthology, it draws from not only the core of Islamic spirituality and ethics, the Qur’an, and the traditions (hadiths), but also from the mystical verse, folk tales, and exemplary figures of the Islamic narrative. Unlike any other collection of Islamic stories, Beautiful Signs gathers traditional stories from the farthest reaches of the Muslim world, which stretches from Morocco in the west to Indonesia in the east, and from China in the north to Tanzania in the south. This unique anthology, with its rich and thorough explanatory notes, will be invaluable to anyone wishing to understand, or to teach, geography, world history, or world religions. It will also be treasured by Muslim families and by all parents committed to broadening the lives and values of their children and themselves.
Critical Thinking on Terminology about Islam and Muslims Critical Thinking about Terminology Related to Islam and Muslims: This lesson helps students critically evaluate some of the phrases and concepts used to describe Islam and Muslims. Students learn about the distinctions between using terms such as “Islamic” and “Muslim” to describe different behaviors or cultural products, and gain awareness of journalistic categories such as “Muslim world.” For use with: Video documentary FRONTLINE: MUSLIMS or as standalone lesson.
Discover Islamic Art Museum With No Frontiers/DiscoverIslamicArt, a collection of art by period, dynasty, region and themes, bringing together works in many museums with their full information. The site also features interactive games exploring artworks and objects. A great way to see how Islamic art is organized and how it changed over time and across Muslim cultures. A project of the EuroMed with European Union funding.
A virtual walking tour of the Dome of the Rock and the third most important mosque in Islam, in Jerusalem. It features 360 degree views and detailed explanations of the architectural and decorative features, and their significance. (Since Adobe Flash is no longer supported, an alterative is to download Ruffles Flash emulator at http://ruffles.rs and install it as a browser extension)
Dover Publications is a heritage publisher specializing in facsimile editions of early lithographic books, inexpensive literature, art and craft books, antique mail-order catalogs, and historical design and art books in very inexpensive editions. They are an invaluable resource for the teacher who wants to integrate art into the social studies classroom. The Dover Design Library is only one part of a wonderful art-historical resource for teachers that includes a world-wide collection of cultural designs from architecture, textiles, ceramics, and jewelry. Another way to find their design books is to search http://doverpublications.com using terms like Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Islamic, geometric, and a cross-cultural classic design book from the 19th century, Owen Jones, Grammar of Ornament and Arabic Art in Color by Prisse d’Avennes
Categories of teaching resources published by the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University. Teaching Units include: Islam and Politics; The Incense Routes: Frankincense and Myrrh: As Good As Gold by Joan Brodsky Schur (2013); Geography of the Arabian Peninsula by Joan Brodsky Schur (2013); The Illustrator’s Notebook: Parts 1-3 by Mohieddin Ellabbad (2009) and numerous others
Background Modules: An Introduction to Islam by Susan Douglass (2010); Tapestry of Travel by Karima Alavi (2009); Who Are the Arabs? by Steve Tamari (1999); The Arabic Language by Sabah Ghazzawi (1986); The Contributions of Arab Civilization to Mathematics and Science by Julie Peteet (1985)
Upper elementary and middle school school history magazine called Calliope: Exploring World History, with issues on “Islam,” “Ibn Battuta,” “Al-Ma’mun,” “The World of the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent,” “The Crusades,” “The Qur’an,” and “Arabic Lights” on Arab cultural influences, and “A World of Faiths” (on all the major world religions). Other titles are also of interest. Calliope is now called “Dig Into History” on archaeology
The Bridging Cultures Bookshelf/Muslim Journeys is a companion website for a collection of more than 25 books and films given to public libraries, provided through a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association, funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The books were selected by a team of scholars and librarians to help public audiences in the United States become more familiar with the people, places, history, faith and cultures of Muslims around the world, including those within the U.S. The Muslim Journeys Bridging Cultures Bookshelf has been awarded to more than 800 libraries across the country in December 2012, for use in presenting public programs since 2013. Advisers to the project include distinguished scholars knowledgeable about Muslim history, religion and culture, librarians, and other cultural programming experts. The website expands upon the bookshelf selections with extensive resources available for reading, understanding, discussing, and going beyond the selected books. Target grade levels: High School and Adult Education
The site is hosted at the Abusulayman Center for Global Islamic Studies, George Mason University
Rich resource for cross-over lessons on science, technology and culture
An excellent lecture from one of the leading experts on Shi’i Islam, Dr. Sayyid Hossein Nasr explains the differences between the two branches of Islam and their contemporary forms.
In the Biennial Willem Bijlefeld Lecture, Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr explored the history of the relationship between Sunnism and Shi’ism, which goes back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Dr. Nasr discussed the manipulation for political interests of Sunni-Shi’ite differences by forces both internal and external to the Islamic world and reflected on the future of the relationship between Sunnism and Shi’ism and the impact it is likely to have within the Islamic world itself and in its relation to the West.
The Willem A. Bijlefeld Lecture, named after the first director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, brings a distinguished scholar to campus for a public presentation on Islam or Christian-Muslim relations to promote interreligious understanding and mutual respect in the local, national and world communities.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr is University Professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Nasr has lectured widely throughout the United States, Western Europe, most of the Islamic world, India, Australia and Japan. Dr. Nasr is the author of more than fifty books and more than 500 articles.