The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Dr. Ajile A. Rahman

Curriculum Unit: Women In Islam

Unit Title: Women in Islam

Subject Area: Social Studies

Related Subject Areas: Religious Studies, Current Events

Grade Levels: 9th - 12th

Suggested Pacing: 4 ­ 5 Class Periods

Objectives: Analyze and explain the status of women in Islam by:

• Identifying the major rights and responsibilities given to Muslim women by the religious laws of Islam
• Comparing and contrasting the status of a Muslim female student in Afghanistan with that of an American female student
• Describing the differences between the status of Muslim women in theory and in practice
• Examining the ways in which Muslim women are re-asserting their rights as human beings, as Muslims, and as women

Lesson Plans include:

• Going to the Source
• A Day in the Life of a Female Student: Here and There
• More Common Than Not (Pluralism Project Note: This lesson plan should be adapted; currently the skit format suggested in this lesson plan involving students role playing Muslims and non-Muslims is being debated in the California courts and may be too directed and possibly in violation of 1st Amendment rights.)
• Perception is Nine-Tenths Reality
• I Am Somebody
• Resources on Islam and Muslim Women

Overview:

Islam is one of the world's three great monotheistic religions, Judaism and Christianity are the other two. It is presently the second largest religion in the world with over 1.3 billion adherents worldwide and is the fastest growing religion in America, having doubled its numbers by 109% between 1990 and 2000.

It is important to know and understand the Islamic religion because of its influence on world affairs, immigration to the United States, international political relations, and our neighbors next door. It also exerts influence on the most serious social and political challenges that both the West and the world is facing. Women, a vital part of that faith, are sometimes the most visible form of "what is wrong with Islam." They are often misunderstood, misinterpreted, and sometimes maligned by those both within and without their faith.

For many Americans who hear the term Muslim woman, generally one of three images come to mind: a veiled, shadowy figure; a woman who looks both oppressed and depressed; or a female deprived of basic human rights. Each idea is correct to a very limited extent, but those images are not the result of normative Islamic beliefs but rather practices that are heavily influenced by incorrect religious interpretations and archaic cultural practices.

In reality, Islam gave Muslim women socio-economic and political rights, as well as a divinely and socially ordained status of spiritual and gender equality. This is in direct contrast to many, if not most, western countries that have only granted those rights to women, after a prolonged and difficult battle, during the twentieth century.

To download the lesson plans in Microsoft Word format, click here.