"Islam for Kids"
Many Germans know very little about Islam and everyday Muslim culture. With his book "Islam for Kids", the orientalist Anis Hamadeh hopes to give children in Germany essential knowledge about Islam. Philipp Bilsky reports
"Islam for Kids" – a useful aid for teaching children the facts
The lively pictures and brief explanations in Anis Hamadeh's German-language book help teach young readers about the world of Islam. A comic character, the Arab boy Aladin, takes the children into the mosque and across the whole of the Muslim world.
The author's programme is certainly ambitious. The book's nine chapters deal with the history of Islam, the Arabic language, the Qur'an, Muslim traditions and customs and Islam in Germany, among other subjects.
False idea of Islam
Anis Hamadeh feels there is great need for education about Islam in Germany, and hopes to provide that through his book. "Information is very important to tackle prejudices by providing knowledge about a subject; that's the key premise of the book."
Anis Hamadeh comes from a German-Palestinian family. His father came to West Germany from the West Bank in the 1960s. Hamadeh grew up in Germany, and graduated from university in Islam Studies.
He is now a freelance journalist and writer – with plenty to write about. Many Germans have a false idea of Islam, Hamadeh believes. He partly blames the media, which often only present clichéd images of Muslims.
Moderate Muslims are uninteresting
"If Muslims are moderate and liberal, more Muslim by culture than religion, they're often uninteresting for the media," says Anis Hamadeh. "The fact is, they say: well, there's nothing special about him, he hasn't got a beard, he hasn't planned a terrorist attack, why should we report about him? That's where I see a problem."
Many Germans have a false idea of Islam, Anis Hamadeh believes
But there are other reasons why most Germans know so little about Islam. Just like Christianity, Hamadeh says, Islam is a very complex subject. And as Islam seems so alien to many Germans, they don't even notice how little they know, he adds. But his book, he hopes, may help to change all that.
It's certainly a good idea to teach children about Islam, agrees Donja Amirpur. Amirpur runs the initiative "Vielfalt gestalten – Integration im Kindergarten", which promotes cultural diversity among pre-school children.
The initiative works in kindergartens in Bonn with a high percentage of migrant families. Members of the organisation step in when conflicts arise due to cultural or religious differences, for example. Part of their work is also teaching children about the basic ideas of Islam.
A great help for parents and childcare workers
That's why Hamadeh's book is very helpful, Donja Amirpur confirms: "I think it's also simpler for carers to pick up a children's book and get an introduction to Islam, rather than reading a thick academic tome. And this literature helps us to learn how to provide children with specialised information in an appropriate way from the very beginning."
This should prevent children from putting people into clichéd categories from a very young age. The initiative's members also hope that the German kindergarten teachers and carers will tackle their own fears and prejudices about Islam.
Philipp Bilsky
© Deutsche Welle / Qantara.de 2008
Translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire
Printversion
A Book against Prejudice and Clichés
Many Germans know very little about Islam and everyday Muslim culture. With his book "Islam for Kids", the orientalist Anis Hamadeh hopes to give children in Germany essential knowledge about Islam. Philipp Bilsky reports
; "Cover 'Islam for kids'")
"Islam for Kids" – a useful aid for teaching children the facts
The lively pictures and brief explanations in Anis Hamadeh's German-language book help teach young readers about the world of Islam. A comic character, the Arab boy Aladin, takes the children into the mosque and across the whole of the Muslim world. The author's programme is certainly ambitious. The book's nine chapters deal with the history of Islam, the Arabic language, the Qur'an, Muslim traditions and customs and Islam in Germany, among other subjects.
False idea of Islam
Anis Hamadeh feels there is great need for education about Islam in Germany, and hopes to provide that through his book. "Information is very important to tackle prejudices by providing knowledge about a subject; that's the key premise of the book."
Anis Hamadeh comes from a German-Palestinian family. His father came to West Germany from the West Bank in the 1960s. Hamadeh grew up in Germany, and graduated from university in Islam Studies.
He is now a freelance journalist and writer – with plenty to write about. Many Germans have a false idea of Islam, Hamadeh believes. He partly blames the media, which often only present clichéd images of Muslims.
Moderate Muslims are uninteresting
"If Muslims are moderate and liberal, more Muslim by culture than religion, they're often uninteresting for the media," says Anis Hamadeh. "The fact is, they say: well, there's nothing special about him, he hasn't got a beard, he hasn't planned a terrorist attack, why should we report about him? That's where I see a problem."
; "Anis Hamadeh (photo: private)")
Many Germans have a false idea of Islam, Anis Hamadeh believes
But there are other reasons why most Germans know so little about Islam. Just like Christianity, Hamadeh says, Islam is a very complex subject. And as Islam seems so alien to many Germans, they don't even notice how little they know, he adds. But his book, he hopes, may help to change all that. It's certainly a good idea to teach children about Islam, agrees Donja Amirpur. Amirpur runs the initiative "Vielfalt gestalten – Integration im Kindergarten", which promotes cultural diversity among pre-school children.
The initiative works in kindergartens in Bonn with a high percentage of migrant families. Members of the organisation step in when conflicts arise due to cultural or religious differences, for example. Part of their work is also teaching children about the basic ideas of Islam.
A great help for parents and childcare workers
That's why Hamadeh's book is very helpful, Donja Amirpur confirms: "I think it's also simpler for carers to pick up a children's book and get an introduction to Islam, rather than reading a thick academic tome. And this literature helps us to learn how to provide children with specialised information in an appropriate way from the very beginning."
This should prevent children from putting people into clichéd categories from a very young age. The initiative's members also hope that the German kindergarten teachers and carers will tackle their own fears and prejudices about Islam.
Philipp Bilsky
© Deutsche Welle / Qantara.de 2008
Translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire
Qantara.de
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The "DeuKische Generation"
A German-Turkish NGO Aims to Dispel Stereotypes
The focus is often on crime and violence when German media report on Turkish youth. A group of young Turkish-Germans are trying to dispel those stereotypes. Seda Serdar reports
Islam and Modernity
Countering the Rise of Mistrust
Only when fighting words like Islamophobia and Islamofascism are avoided can the issue of Islam and modernity be studied and debated in an unbiased way, argues Claus Leggewie
Islamic Theology in Amsterdam
Breaking down Prejudices against Islam
The University of Amsterdam began offering studies in Islamic theology this fall. The aim is to counter the possible radicalization of young Muslims by so-called "imported imams", as well as to break down prejudices against Islam. Ruth Reichstein reports
Printversion
Comments
1. A very usefull link
http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/xstnc-6.html Just read a resume from the history wrote by proved scientists from UK universities.
Philip Alexandrov | 10.02.2008 - 22:01
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