The following comprises a selection of handouts I use in class. I employ these mainly to stimulate discussion.
Allah’s 99 Most Beautiful Names helps us to see the breadth of divine attributes in Islam. I usually end in brief lecture on the role and usage of the bismillah in Muslim piety thereby re-emphasizing that the Islamic concept of the divine is strongly informed by the notion of mercy and compassion.
With Arabic Contributions to the English Language I have students think about the way cultures and civilizations are mixed in with one another. The historical (and by implication contemporary) overlap and mutual dependence can be detected in the mark Arabic vocabulary has left on European languages, English included. This process can be detected especially in the sciences, most notably mathematics, and in political and social terminology, as well as agriculture and commerce.
When discussing the status of women in Islam I distribute the handout with quotations from sacred scriptures addressing the issue of gender equality (Sacred Texts: The Status of Women). Students do not know to which tradition the individual quotations belong. Many have read enough about Islam to detect that the first three are taken from the Qur’an. Sometimes students therefore assume that all of these statements are found within the Islamic tradition. I asked students to respond to these quotations and pose the questions of whether they think religion can accommodate or even promote gender equality. Later in the discussion I provide students with the sources for the quotations (1.-3. Qur’an; 4-6 New Testament; 7-9 Code of Manu).
I begin our treatment of the contentious issue of Islam and acceptance of religious diversity with a discussion of what the Qur’an says about people of other religious traditions. I usually cut the handout Islam and the Religious Other in half and distribute only the upper part. This enable us to explore issues such as quoting out of context and the subjective and selective use of references. The bottom half can be used to complicate the issue and opens up the question of interpretation in the light of the seeming incongruence of scripture.
The Guide to Writing and the Plagiarism Help (which was developed by Keith Gumery from Temple’s English department) are not only designed for a writing intensive course and can be used as the basis for a class period spent on the issue of using appropriate references and avoiding plagiarism.