Brakhage 1

Chesney Brakhage

Mrs. Doran

Introduction to Teaching

3 November 2014

Article Review over Islam in the Classroom

Hossain, Kazi I. (2013). Understanding Islam in the U.S. Classroom: A Guide for

Elementary School Teachers. Multicultural Education, 20(2), 49-52. Retrieved October

25, 2014, from ProQuest.

As the title of this article suggests, it was about teaching Islam in the public elementary

school systems. The United States has always been a very diverse nation, but recently it is

seeing an increase in the number of Muslims that live here. Even though the population has

increased, they are often misunderstood. According to this article, this misunderstanding is due

to recent events such as the destruction of the twin towers on September 11, 2001, the war on

terrorism in Afghanistan, and the Fort Hood shootings. Because of this misunderstanding, the

author of the article believes that Islam should be introduced to elementary children who have

not yet fully developed stereotypes and views of people who are different than they are.

In order to help students develop a view that is less degrading towards their Muslim

peers, Hossain suggests that there are three different techniques to address Islam in the

classroom. The first is to teach the concepts of similarity. Hossain compares Islam to

Christianity. He says that both religions believe in one God, Jesus, heaven, and the Bible. They

also have some of the same rituals such as praying, fasting, and giving. They even had some of

the same stories that included Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Noah, as far as Hossain is

concerned. The second technique or concept is the concept of diversity. This technique focuses
 Brakhage 2

in on educating students that not all Muslims are Arab. This allows teachers to teach on the

different cultures of Islam rather than the actual religion, which, according to Hossain, will help

with parents who are more opinionated about the teaching of Islam. The final technique that

Hossain emphasized was the focus on the historical contributions made by scholars and scientists

of the Islamic faith. Some of the main contributions that Hossain writes about include the

number zero, astrological developments, and advancements in medicine.

While I am not trying to be racist or judgmental, this article definitely seems to be written

by a Muslim. This is not just because of his name, but the attitude throughout the entire article is

one that esteems Islam. Also the author tries to compare Christianity and Islam, which is

something that many Muslims I have talked with have tried to do. They say that we believe in

the same God and the same Jesus. On the opposite side, there are Christians who try to convince

Muslims that they worship the same God. This is not true because the God of Christianity and

the God of Islam do not have the same characteristics. The first is just, merciful, loving, and all-

powerful, while the second changes his mind and calls for submission in the hope that he will be

merciful to his followers.

The article is saying that Islam must be taught in schools. As a Christian, I believe that it

is important to know what people of other faiths believe, but at the same time I know that I do

not accept what they believe. The article only focuses on teaching Islam in schools, but I believe

that if we teach Islam in schools we should also teach Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and

Buddhism. If one religion is taught in public schools, all religions should have the same

opportunity to be taught. I do not believe that elementary school is the place to teach religions

because many children are not yet ready to learn about all of the different religions. If I were

required to teach religions, mainly Islam, I would definitely focus on the more cultural parts of it
 Brakhage 3

or the contributions made from Muslim scholars because I would not want to teach that Islam is

similar to Christianity because it is not. As a Christian though, I should strive to teach my

students to be respectful of all religions and cultures because each culture has something

beautiful in it and each religion has a culture or cultures tied with it. I would also teach my

students to discuss their different worldviews using civil discourse rather than arguing the

validity of each others beliefs.