Over the past three years we've organized workshops aimed at providing background information on the history of Islam in Asia and Asia in the history of Islam. Let's use this corner of the forum to discuss how we might incorporate more about both Islam and Asia in our lessons.
Here are links to the programs of the three workshops.
2006
2005 - focused on China
2003 - focused on China, held at USC
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islam in asia
05/14/2006 06:23 AM
#1
islam in asia
Attached, in pdf format, are the presentation outlines for the 2006 workshop. The document includes lists (and in some cases links to websites) of recommended resources.
I found the workshop of May 13 on "Islam in Asia", quite interesting. I have many thoughts to reflect and share with my colleagues. At the moment I do not enough time to write. So I will just post the following pictures, and wait for a good opportity to share with you, what I learned.[Edit by="rrustamzadeh on May 14, 2:22:12 PM"][/Edit]
Woops!
obviosly the pictures are not attached. Here is another try.[Edit by="rrustamzadeh on May 14, 2:37:08 PM"][/Edit]
Thanks, Reza, for sharing these photos. I've asked Michael Laffan to scan some of the images for the Indonesian guide for pilgrims. I think they are quite interesting in what they reveal about Indonesian conceptions of Saudi Arabia and other peoples.
I attended the Saturday class at UCLA. I took the lesson plans back to my school and used one of them with the general music class I am currently teaching. There is a CD with recordings of different types of Islamic music, and different types of instruments used. A few of the students were already familiar with the instruments and some had also heard the music before. It was a good opportunity for me to get to know the backgrounds of my students better. A few of them also asked why that music is used in movies with war and deserts. One or two of them associated the music with terrorists. Interesting. It made me stop and think more about the media and how it influences popular beliefs.
I participated in the May 13 Islam in China seminar and would like to pass on a few points that might be useful to History teachers and others. We learned about the diverse ethnic and religious makeup of China which includes minority groups like the Chinese Muslims who have been around China since the 8th century. Their role in China is much like the religious/ethnic minorities found in the US like the Amish or Native Americans. Chinese Muslims, like their counterparts in the US, have gone through periods of repression but have continued to survive and flourish. They even survived Mao's Cultural Revolution and the current communist regime which is avowedly atheistic although they have never experienced the kind of religious freedom that is afforded American minorities. Religious freedom in China is still a questionable reality. I thinks it is an eye opener for many to realize that China has a diverse population like ours.
Another connection between Islam in Asia and teaching history can be made when covering the period of Western Imperialization. We learned how the Muslims and Islam served to unify Indonesia during the period of Dutch colonization and provided the people with a means to gain independence. It is also interesting to note that rather than the Arab world, Indonesia by far, is where the largest Islamic population in the world is found.
We also learned about a very useful website which provides students with a virtual visit of a South Asian village where one can tour and experience every aspect of the life of the people living there, almost as if they had been there in person. Take a tour yourself at http://virtualvillage.weslyan.edu