Tapestry of Faith: Building Bridges: A World Religions Program for 8th-9th Grades

Islam 2: Contemporary Issues-Opening

Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Read Leader Resource 3 so you will be comfortable presenting it.
  • Copy Handout 1 for all participants.
  • Post blank newsprint.

Description of Activity

Invite youth to sit in a circle. Light the chalice with these words:

We light this chalice in celebration of Unitarian Universalism and the sustaining faiths of all people of the world. May the flame represent the fire of our commitment to understand all faithful people and build bridges that connect us as one human family.

Invite participants to check in by saying their names and mentioning either 1) an aspect of Islam that has been on their mind since the last workshop, or 2) something that struck them as interesting or surprising from the Welcoming and Entering poster board game activity.

Answer any questions about Islam from the previous workshop.

Read or share with youth, in your own words, the information from Leader Resource 3, Islam 2 Background. Use newsprint to list important terms from the resource.

The final section of Leader Resource 3 guides you to lead an experiment. Use a sheet of newsprint to record youth's answers in the experiment.

At the end of the presentation, distribute Handout 1, Sunni and Shia – Comparison Chart. Tell the group the deep divide between the Sunni and Shia sects is one difference among Muslims. To introduce the next activity, say that another difference to examine among Muslims relates to the role of women in religious and everyday life, both in contemporary and historical times.