2018 NEH Scholars Visit Nur Allah Islamic Center with Imam Mikal Saahir and Judge David Shaheed. Image courtesy of IUPUI.
Since 2015, NEH funding has helped Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) host a summer professional development seminar for K–12 educators that explores what it means to be both Muslim and American. Over the course of three weeks, the participants learn from scholars and community members, learning deeply about the richness and diversity of Muslim American voices. Educators leave equipped with a more comprehensive understanding of Muslim history in the United States, better prepared to serve Muslim students in their communities, with materials and strategies for sharing this richness and diversity with their students and fellow educators.
“There is a lack of foundational knowledge in the U.S. about the core beliefs of Muslim Americans and the history of Muslims in America. It was wonderful to receive a background that will help us challenge the narrative.”
–Survey respondent
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The program facilitated rigorous lectures and discussions to prepare participants to implement materials in their curriculums. Image courtesy of IUPUI.
Throughout the seminar, the program focuses on primary sources that demonstrate the pivotal roles Muslim Americans have and continue to play throughout American history, from African American Muslims in the Antebellum South, to the long history of Muslim immigration, to Muslim Americans in public life after 9/11. Lectures and primary source engagement are complemented by visits to two mosques, where participants have conversations with local Muslim community members. These experiences not only prepare teachers to enhance their curriculums, but also prepare them to better serve their Muslim students in changing school districts. One participant commented: “I can better give voice to my Muslim students because my monolithic misunderstanding is now gone.” Another reflected: “I need to be a better supporter of my students and the only way to do that is to understand them.”
Facts & Figures
91%
of survey respondents agreed that they gained “valuable knowledge and/or skills” in this seminar.
Facts & Figures
91%
of survey respondents agreed that they will be able to “use what [they] learned from this workshop in [their] classrooms.”
In addition to the lectures and community talks, participants research areas of special relevance to their classes and prepare presentations on how to incorporate the seminar’s themes into their teaching. Participants developed innovative and diverse lesson plans, from incorporating Muhammad Ali biographies into 7th-grade reading, to exploring the nature of Islamophobia through a high school psychology course, to teaching about Islam in the American Midwest. Ninety-one percent of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they gained “valuable knowledge and/or skills,” that they will be able to “use what [they] learned from this workshop in [their] classrooms.” Participants described the content as “transformative,” and planned to “reframe various aspects of sources and instruction in regards to race, religion, and other matters.”
