So many parts of our life are tied into the Middle East, yet we know so little about it...why is this? The Middle East is a very complex region, it fact just calling it the "Middle East" is over simplifying things.
Think of all the different ways we are tied to this Region; take for instance religion- Judaism Christianity and Islam. Wars and other global conflicts; listing Israel, The Persian Gulf War, The Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is only the begnining of a very long list of our Military and Political involvement.
In order to better learn about this region will we be doing a number of different activities. First as a class we will watch MSNBC's special on the Middle East, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17722026 so if you were gone watch this on your own and take notes on the developments of the region and compare Shiite and Sunni Muslims
Then we will start the "project" for this region, a webquest created by another school which does a very good job of providing you the opportunity to learn about the region.
http://home.earthlink.net/~lazarski/home/Midest1.htm
Go there and read the instructions... and get to work!
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Here is an example of a postcard a student could post.
Dear Family,
Today I am writing you from another stop on my trip through the Middle East. Today I am in Medina a city in Saudi Arabia. From what I have learned Medina is one of the most important cities for the Muslims, with the other being Mecca. In Medina there is a Holy Mosque where the Islamic Prophet Muhammad has his tomb. The Islamic God is called Allah, and the followers of the religion are called Muslim which translates to “one who submits to God”.
I am learning a whole lot about the customs and practices of this faith. In my opinion this religion seems to be very misunderstood by many people, especially back home in the U.S.. Would you believe that many of the people and stories in the Koran (The Islamic Holy Book) are the same as in the Bible? Despite many of the prejudices back home the Koran urges the practice of kindness to ALL Humans and Animals. The Islamic religion has five main beliefs/practices these include
1. Shahadah meaning confession of faith that there is only one god.
2. prayer, They pray five times a day in a traditional fashion.
3 almsgiving, giving money to the needy,
4 fasting for a whole month known as Ramadan
5. a pilgrimage called a Hajj to Mecca (the other really important Islamic city)
Muslims observe a couple different Holidays with the most important being feasts during Ramadan the first is `Id al-Fitr and the second is `Id al-Ad-ha.
One tradition we don’t really understand is why women Muslims dress the way they do. It actually is because of a practice of female modesty. The dress can actually depend on culture and can range from a hijab a scarf over the head and under the chin or a burka, a complete covering of the head, face and body. Despite the appearance of the dress and our interpretation of it being a limit on a woman’s freedom, in the Islamic religion women have many rights including the right to divorce.
Well dinner nears, so I am going to end this letter, hope I have helped you learn something.
Best wishes,
Your son
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