Our Stories: Fazra
Our Stories: Fazra
Our Stories: Sumeya
Islam is a beautiful religion that is centered around 5 pillars, or basic acts: faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca. The Islamic holy book is called The Qur’an. Islam is the second largest religions in the world with almost 1.8 billion Muslims. People who observe the religion of Islam are called Muslims. In 2019, Canada is recorded to be home to about 37 million Muslims. Although Islam is known to be one of the world’s oldest organized religions (dating back to the 7th century), North American culture has adopted a general illogical fear, or phobia, of Islam. This phobia, called Islamophobia, rose greatly after September 11, 2001 when the Twin Towers in the United States were attacked by terrorists. After that attack, the stereotype and ignorant thinking spread that anyone who was Muslim was a terrorist. This Knowledge Builder is meant to celebrate the religion of Islam and Muslims in Canada and build an understanding of Islamophobia that targets, disrespects, and endangers Muslim people.
SYSTEMS AT PLAY
BARRIERS & ACCESS
LANGUAGE & TIPS
RESOURCES
Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Sentient in the West (Gallup)
Pro-Islam Canadian Policy (Global News)
The Quebec Mosque Shooting in Context (Noor Cultural Centre)
The World’s Muslim Population (Thought Co.)
8 Great Modern Innovations We Can Thank Muslims For (Sebastian Christ)
7 Questions British Muslims Are Tired of Hearing (BBC Three)
Approx. 30-50 minutes
OBJECTIVE
Engage in discussion around Islamophobia and the dangers of a single story.
THEMES
Islamophobia, Immigration, Stereotyping.
PREPARATION | - Load Fazra's Our Stories Video; - Load Sumeya's Our Stories Video. | 1 min |
REVIEW | - Check-in with your participants; - Review your foundations; - Encourage participants to take notes; - Emotionally prepare your participants. | 5-10 mins |
VIEWING | - Watch Fazra and Sumeya's video as a group; - Remember your "During Each Lesson" tips. | 6-10 mins |
DISCUSSION | - Did you identify any Systems, Barriers and Access in Fazra and Sumeya's stories? - How could you connect to these stories? - Did you learn anything new from these videos? - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie presented a popular Ted Talk in which she expanded on the dangers of a single story. In it, she explains that "the single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story." How does this relate to Fazra and Sumeya's stories? (Feel free to show clips of Adichie's Ted Talk if you see fit). - Have you ever been victimized by a "single story"? How did you navigate it? - How can we avoid stereotyping others? | 15-25 mins |
DEBRIEF | - Refer to "After Each Lesson" for specifics. | 5 mins |