Grade 7/8:

Last week students completed their exploration of Unit 2-MSC: The Caliphate in Medina. This week they spent time on reconciling their understanding in form of story writing. In groups they worked on unit 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 analysing the three big ideas: 

1) Debates arose after the passing of Prophet Muhammed about the rightful leader.
As a result, two models of leadership emerged: Divine leadership- supporting Imam Ali as the Imam appointed by the Prophet and Public consultation- supporting Hazrat Abu Bakr as next leader;

2) Shia Interpretation of Hazrat Ali’s Imamat is grounded in Quran and Hadith of the Prophet; and

3) Through his actions and words, Hazrat Imam Ali demonstrated that living your faith includes using your intellect, being ethical and commitment towards others and improving lives of people in your society. 

Students will continue to work on their stories next week. We also invited grade 6 students in our class for 30 minutes where grade 7/8 and grade 6 discussed some of Imam Ali’s teachings in small groups and through role plays demonstrated how these teachings apply to our everyday life.

Grade 9/10:

Students continued their exploration of unit 3.2 by learning about some of the main achievements that took place during the Umayyad period, especially in art, architecture and literature. We explored that Umayyad courts became the centre of culture and learning, and Umayyad rulers acted as patrons, supporting and encouraging different forms of entertainment, art and learning. This tradition of patronage allowed for many cultural innovations. With the expansion of the empire in the East and the West Muslim encountered with Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus and Buddhists, giving rise to cultural exchanges, and enabling these settlements to build upon the traditions of the ancient world. In the last hour of class, students continued to work on their year-end project.

Al Azhar:

Al-Azhar students continued to work on their documentaries in their groups. These will Inshallah be ready to share with parents at the end of the term