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Shia // Sunni – What are the differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims? When Fatimah (a Shia Muslim) stops to help Abubakr (a Sunni Muslim) recover from his asthma attack, they get talking. Then the argument begins.

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

 

AQA

Component 1: The study of religions: beliefs, teaching and practices –Key beliefs - Islam - Sunni and Shi’a core beliefs - The six articles of faith in Sunni Islam and five roots of Usul ad-Din in Shi’a Islam, including key similarities and differences.

 

Edexcel

Section 1: Muslim Beliefs - Islam -The six Beliefs of Islam: their nature, history and purpose including Kitab al-iman 1: 4; how they are understood and expressed in Sunni and Shi’a Muslim
communities today; the importance of these principles for Muslims.

 

OCR

Component Group 1 - Islam - The importance of practices • Islam as a way of life, lived in total submission to Allah • The importance of the Five Pillars of Islam to Sunni Muslims • The meaning of the Five Pillars: •• Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith •• Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day •• Zakat/Zakah: paying an alms (or charity) tax to be nefit the poor and the needy •• Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan •• Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca • The analogy of the house and pillars • The importance of the Ten Obligatory Acts to Shi’a Muslims • The meaning of the Ten Obligatory Acts: •• Salat Prayer •• Sawm: Fast •• Zakat/Zakah: similar to Sunni Islam, it applies to money •• Khums: an annual taxation of one-fifth of gains in a year •• Hajj: Pilgrimage •• Jihad: Struggle •• Amr-bil-Maroof: commanding what is good •• Nahi Anil: Munkar forbid what is evil •• Tawalla: expressing love towards good •• Tabarra: expressing disassociation from evil

 

Eduqas

Component 1 (Route A) Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World - Theme 2: Issues of Life and Death - Beliefs about death and the afterlife - Diversity of views between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims regarding worship at graves. Theme 1: Issues of Relationships -Relationships - Diversity of beliefs between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims regarding temporary unannounced marriage Component 3 (Route A) Option 3: Islam -Beliefs and teachings - Angels (Malaikah) ➢ The significance of angels in Islam: Qur’an 2:97-98,Qur’an 2:285 ➢ Diversity in belief between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims regarding angels and free will

 

Shia // Sunni

Fatimah   You need to sit up straight.

Abubakr  Salaam alaikum.

Fatimah   Alaikum salaam.

Abubakr  Forgot mine. Thanks.

Fatimah   No problem.

Abubakr  Oh, sorry.

Abubakr  Are you on your way to the mosque.

Fatimah   Yeah. We're gonna be late.

Abubakr  Oh, yeah. Oh.

Fatimah   It's okay, just wait.

Abubakr  I don't know you. What's your name?

Fatimah   Fatimah. You?

Abubakr  Abubakr.

Fatimah   Oh.

Abubakr  Wait. Are you Shia? You're Shia, innit? I'll see you later.

Fatimah   What?

Abubakr  I'm only messing with you, man.

Fatimah   What's your problem?

Abubakr  No, no, there's no problem. Hey.

Fatimah   If you've got something to say, then, then say it.

Abubakr  No, I mean, well, it's like you've all got chips on your shoulders.

Fatimah   What?

Fatimah   No, it's a chip on your shoulder, and I haven't.

Abubakr  You have.

Fatimah   I haven't.

Abubakr  So why are you all up in my face then?

Fatimah   You're always making out you're better than us.

Abubakr  Who?

Fatimah   Sunnis. You're always making out that Sunnis are better than Shias.

Abubakr  That's because we are better than you.

Fatimah   We're all Muslim. Just because there's more of you doesn't mean you're more right.

Abubakr  Well..

Fatimah   We do everything you do. We believe the Qur'an is Allah's words, we believe in the same prophets, we eat Halal, we give to charity, we fast during Ramadan, we say the five prayers every day.

Abubakr  Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, that is just so wrong that I can't even begin to explain.

Fatimah   What?

Abubakr  First of all- Man, I don't even know where to begin. First of all, Shias only pray three times a day. That's just wrong.

Fatimah   No we don't.

Abubakr  Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that we should be praying five times a day.

Fatimah   We say the five prayers, we just pair them up. We do dhuhr and 'asr together in the middle of the day and maghrib and isha in the evening. Sunnis are allowed to do that too.

Abubakr  Yeah, but that's totally different.

Fatimah   How is that totally different?

Abubakr  Because we don't do that all the time. We only do it when we miss one. And you do that thing with a brick.

Fatimah   What brick?

Abubakr  You know, the brick, the brick. The brick that you pray on. When we pray, we put our heads to the floor. You put your heads on a brick.

Fatimah   It's not a brick, it's a-

Abubakr  What?

Fatimah   Okay. Okay. It's a brick. But it's because Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam prayed on the ground and not on a carpet.

Abubakr  Yeah, okay.

Fatimah   Other than that, we pray exactly the same.

Abubakr  No you don't. We cross our arms whilst we pray. You guys just put your hands by your sides.

Fatimah   Right? Apart from that.

Abubakr  You fast wrong in Ramadan.

Fatimah   We fast wrong?

Abubakr  Yeah. Why do you always start a day after us?

Fatimah   Why do you always start a day before us?

Abubakr  The month of Ramadan starts, yeah, when we see the new moon in the sky, so it should be the same for every single Muslim.

Fatimah   Sunnis don't all start on the same day, some of you start when Pakistan says so, some of you start when Saudi Arabia says so. We always start when Iran says so.

Abubakr  Yeah, but what about at sunset? You know, when you're allowed to eat, you lot just take it a little bit further. What are you trying to prove, that you can fast longer than us?

Fatimah   No. We just want to make sure the sun is definitely set. We don't want to cheat.

Abubakr  Cheat? So I'm a cheat now am I? Getting a little bit personal? Are we? Why? Because you're losing the argument.

Fatimah   Oh, you're such a man. Not everything has to be a competition.

Abubakr  Okay, sister, whatever you say, yeah.

Fatimah   Don't sister me. I'm not your sister. And we're not children. I told you my name, so use it.

Abubakr  Okay, sister.

Fatimah   Stop it. Stop picking on me.

Abubakr  I'm not picking on you. It's just a bit of banter. Don't be a martyr about it.

Fatimah   That's not funny.

Abubakr  What? Woah!

Fatimah   I'm so sorry. Are you okay?

Abubakr  Do I look okay?

Fatimah   Come on. Don't just stand there.

Abubakr  Okay, where were we?

Fatimah   What? You need to go get dry.

Abubakr  If I go now, you've won. I can't let you win by pushing me into the pond.

Fatimah   I saved your life. No. Before with the inhaler.

Abubakr  How did you clock me as a Sunni, anyway?

Fatimah   Your name?

Abubakr  Oh, yeah.

Fatimah   You wouldn't be Shia with that name.

Abubakr  Oh, you want to go there, do you? Abubakr, Muhammad's best friend. Right.

Fatimah   Well...

Abubakr  No, no, no, no, no, we're sorting this out. Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was the last and greatest prophet of Allah, right?

Fatimah   Yeah.

Abubakr  Yes, so when he died, the first Muslims had to decide on a new leader, right?

Fatimah   Yeah. But they-

Abubakr  No, no, no, hear me out. You pushed me into the pond, yeah? Now hear what I got to say, the first Muslims had to decide on a new leader, and they had to choose somebody who was good at it, somebody who was there from the very start with Muhammad. Abubakr, who ended up becoming caliph, the successor.

S1            But that's not what Muhammad wanted. He said that Ali should be the new leader after he died. Ali, what?

Fatimah   But that's not what Muhammad wanted. He said that Ali should be the new leader after he died.

Abubakr  Ali.

Fatimah   What?

Abubakr  You lot are all so obsessed with Ali. Like he's important, yeah, but he's not that important. He's quite important. But he's not the most important. He's important yeah but-

Fatimah   What are you talking about?

Abubakr  You think he was a prophet? That's just wrong.

Fatimah   No we don't.

Abubakr  Yes, you do.

Fatimah   Don't tell me what I believe.

Abubakr  You add his name to the call to prayer. It should be (says call to prayer in Arabic). What do you say?

Fatimah   The same.

Abubakr  And

Fatimah   (speaks in Arabic)

Abubakr  Exactly. That's just wrong.

Fatimah   It's not. Wrong. It's just different. Ali wasn't a prophet, but he was married to Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter. He was a son in law and his cousin, his closest relative. That's why Mohammed chose him to be the new leader. Abubakr took over, while Ali and the rest of the family were still at the funeral.

S1            Wrong. It's just different. Ali wasn't a prophet, but he was married to Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter. He was a son in law and his cousin, his closest relative. That's why Mohammed chose him to be the new leader. Abu Bakr took over, while Ali and the rest of the family were still at the funeral.

Abubakr  You make it sound like it was some sort of conspiracy theory, like it was our plan to cut Ali out, Abubakr was chosen. Yeah, because he was the best man for the job, end of.

Fatimah   Ali should have been the new leader. Mohammed chose him, end of.

Abubakr  No, he didn't.

Fatimah   Yes, he did.

Abubakr  He didn't.

Fatimah   He did.

Abubakr  He didn't!

Fatimah   Did!

Abubakr  But, Ali got to be caliph later anyway. So, what's your problem?

Fatimah   You murdered Hussein.

Abubakr  Oh, I haven't murdered anyone.

Fatimah   Hussein? Ali's son, Muhammad Alaihi Wasallam's grandson. He was murdered at Gobela by Sunnis.

Abubakr  That had nothing to do with us. The guy who killed him wasn't even Muslim. But you guys won't ever let that go. And every year on the day that Hussein died, you do that wailing and that grieving, whipping your own backs, cutting yourselves with razors. That's just crazy, man.

Fatimah   We don't all do that. I don't do that. Does it look like I do that? That's just.

Abubakr  That's what I'm saying.

Fatimah   Yeah. What? I'm not disagreeing with you.

Abubakr  Oh.

Fatimah   Aren't you cold?

Abubakr  No.

Abubakr  My granddad says when he first came to the UK, Sunnis and Shias used to live on the same streets and go to the same mosques. You don't call it a mosque, though, do you? What do you call it again?

Fatimah   Imambara.

Abubakr  Even though you're wrong-

Fatimah   I'm not.

Abubakr  You are. This has been good, right? I haven't had a proper discussion like this, like, ever. Never got this at Koran school. Man, them days were long. Coming home from school, running over to the mosque.

Fatimah   Learning the prayers, learning the Arabic, reading the Qur'an.

Abubakr  Over and over and over again.

Fatimah   I liked it. I thought it was pretty easy.

Abubakr  Yeah, you would, wouldn't you? Uh, okay. Uh, I should go.

Fatimah   Yeah. You're gonna get ill.

Abubakr  Yeah. My mate lives just there so I can get some clothes off him.

Fatimah   Good.

Abubakr  It was nice meeting you.

Fatimah   You too.

Abubakr  Thanks for saving my life. Yeah.

Fatimah   No problem. You have to sit together. Asthma sufferers.

Abubakr  Salaam alaikum.

Fatimah   Alaikum salaam.

Abubakr  I gave you your inhaler, didn't I?

Fatimah   Yeah, yeah. Thank you. I better head off to mosque. I'm gonna be late.

Abubakr  Which way are you going?

Fatimah   That way.

Abubakr  Oh, I'm going that way.

Fatimah   Right then.

Abubakr  Yeah.

Shia // Sunni

Video length - 9.30
Published date - Sep 2016
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

Charlie and Blue Hear all about Hindu Worship – Zippity-zip, let’s go on a trip! Charlie and her favourite soft toy (and best friend) Blue visit a Hindu Mandir where Geetha shows them how Hindus use their senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell in worship.

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA

Component 1: The study of religions: beliefs, teaching and practices: Hinduism - Worship and festivals: places of worship - The importance of places of worship - Worship in the home, the temple, outdoors (such as shrines, and in the space of the heart.

Edexcel

Area of Study 2 – Hinduism - Section 3: Living the Hindu Life - The importance of Hindu places of worship: the nature, features of use and purpose of worship in different places, including in the temple, in the home, outside, including shrines and festival celebration and in the space of the heart, with reference to interpretations of Bhagavad Gita 9.13–27; the benefits for Hindus of having different places to worship in.

OCR

Component Group 1 -Hinduism- Beliefs and teachings & Practices - Approaching deity •Different Hindu understandings of the role,f orms and importance of the following types of worship: •• Havan or homa •• Puja •• Meditation •• Japa •• Bhajan or kirtan •• Darshan • The nature and importance of sacred places and spaces for Hindu worship: •• Temples •• Shrines •• Sites of pilgrimage •• Outdoors •• Hills and rivers 

WJEC

2.1 Unit 1 PART A - Hinduism - Core beliefs, teachings and practices -Practices - Worship  Features and importance of daily puja in the home: (Bhagavad Gita 3:19, 4:38)  Features and importance of congregational puja in the mandir (including devotions to the murti, arti and havan)  Diversity in Vaishnavite and Shaivite worship  Significance of bhakti  Role, importance and features of pilgrimage to Varanasi 

Eduqas

Component 3 (Route B) - Option 2: Hinduism - Beliefs and teachings -Practices -Places of worship in Britain and elsewhere ➢ Features and importance of daily puja in the home ➢ Features and importance of congregational puja in the mandir ➢ Diversity of views and practices: Vaishnava and Shaiva bhakti ➢ Hindu mandirs in Britain compared to those in India ➢ Features and importance of worship at outdoor shrines Worship/meditation ➢ The significance of different forms of worship/meditation; havan, puja, arati, darshan Bhagavad Gita 9.26, bhajan/kirtan, japa: Bhagavad Gita 3.19, 4.38, 6.11–12

Charlie and Blue Hear All About Hindu Worship

Charlie       Wake up blue.

Blue           Hello, Charlie. Hello, you.

Blue           It's dancing time.

Charlie       Blue. Blue!. Sorry, Blue. Did I scare you?

Blue           What do you think? Did you want something?

Charlie       I just wanted to know what you were listening to.

Blue           Oh, why didn't you ask?

Charlie       I tried, but you didn't hear me. Hmm.

Blue           Why are our senses so important?

Charlie       Because without them, we wouldn't be able to see, or hear, or feel, or anything. Hindus use all of their senses when they go to the temple to pray to God. I learned about it in school today. This is a picture of a Hindu god called Ganesha in a shrine. That's a special place for praying to God.

Blue           What do they do with all those things?

Charlie       Why don't you come with me and find out?

S3               Zippity zip. Let's go on a trip.

Geetha       Hello, Charlie. Hello, blue.

Charlie and Blue         Hello, Geetha.

Geetha       Welcome to the Sri Ganapathy temple. Now, when we normally come to the temple, we always wear some special clothes. So would you like to have some as well?

Charlie       Yes, please.

Blue           Yes, please.

Geetha       Right. So for Charlie we've got a lovely shawl. And it's blue as well. Then we've got a special shawl for Blue. Two bangles. We have a special bindi or pottu that we put on our forehead. Now, would you like to come in and see the temple?

Charlie and Blue         Yes, please.

Geetha       Come on.

Blue           Who's that?

Geetha       This is Lord Ganesha. As Hindus, we believe that God comes in many different forms and he's one of the most important ones, because all Hindus pray to him, and we pray to him to remove all the problems that we have in our lives. Many Hindus will have a statue of him in their homes.

Blue           Why does he have an elephant's head?

Geetha       Well, when we think of elephants, we always think of them as being kind and strong and wise, and hopefully we will try and bring those things in ourselves as well. And we know that he'll be strong enough and wise enough to help us remove all those problems in our lives.

Blue           Why is there so much stuff all around him?

Geetha       Well, this is a special place called a shrine, and it's where we worship God. And all the things that you see in front of you are the things that we offer to him, when we do our prayers. And we use all our senses so that we can concentrate fully on our prayers to him.

Blue           What are senses?

Geetha       Well, they're the things that help us make sense of the world, um, and so we have five of them, and they are sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell.

Blue           So I can see the statue.

Geetha       Yes, it's called a murti. It's an image of God, and you can see all the beautiful flowers and the lamps, the garlands and the clothes and the beautiful jewellery. It makes our sense of sight happy. What can you smell?

Blue           So I can smell something smoky and sweet and flowery.

Geetha       Well, that's the incense, and also the strings of flowers, which we call garlands.

Blue           But I can't hear anything.

Geetha       Well, it's quiet now, but when we do our service, then we might play music, or we may sing, or we'll have the bell ringing, or we might blow a conch.

Blue           What's a conch?

Geetha       Well, it's a seashell which is found in India, which is where our religion began, and if you blow in it hard, it can make a really loud sound like a trumpet.

Blue           What do you touch?

Geetha       Well, in our shrines at home, we're allowed to touch the murtis. Here at the temple. We're not allowed to do so, but the priests will touch them. And we treat them as the most important person in our lives, so we bathe them daily. We put new beautiful clothes on them and all the garlands to make them look beautiful. We also put special powder on our forehead, which is called a bindi or a potu, um, and then we also put our hands together in prayer and that makes our sense of touch happy.

Blue           What do you taste?

Geetha       Well, that's the bit that everybody enjoys. We make special sweets, which we offer to God, and also all the sorts of fruits that we can think of. And once it's been blessed, then we give it to everybody to share, and it's called prasad.

Blue           Yummy.

Charlie       Time to go home now, blue.

Blue           Thank you for answering my questions.

Geetha       You're welcome. This is a special flower to remind you of your visit to the temple.

Blue           Thank you.

Charlie       What did we learn today?

Blue           Well, today we went to a mandir that's a Hindu temple. And we learnt that, Hindus believe that God can be seen in many different forms. Murtis are statues of gods that Hindus use in worship. Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch are all used when Hindus worship.

Blue           Shh. Guess who.

Charlie       Blue, I told you before, this game doesn't work when there's only the two of us!

Blue           I wish I knew why.

Charlie       Good night. Blue.

Blue           Night, Charlie.

Charlie and Blue Hear all about Hindu Worship

Video length - 7.17
Published date - Jun 2016
Keystage(s) - 1
Downloadable resources

Refugee – If you were forced to leave your home and could only take one bag, what would you take? In this short drama, we meet a young girl and her family in an unknown land and discover how they came to be there, far away from home.

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA 

Component 2 - Religious, philosophical and ethical studies in the modern world: Theme D - Religion, peace and conflict - Religious responses to victims of war: To look at a present day religious organisation that helps victims of war.

Edexcel 

Area of Study 2: Religion, Peace and Conflict - Section 4: Peace and Conflict- Attitudes to issues surrounding conflict:

OCR 

Componet Group 2–Religion, philosophy and ethics in the modern world from a religious perspective - religion, peace and conflict; violence, war, pacifism, terrorism, just war theory, holy war; the role of religion and belief in 21st centuryc onflict and peace making; the concepts of justice, forgiveness and reconciliation

WJEC 

PART B - Theme 2: Issues of Human Rights - Human Rights and Social Justice

Eduqas

Component 1 (Route A) Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World Theme 3 : Issues of Good and Evil

Refugee

Dad         Jamie. Ash. Ash, Ash, what have you lost?

Mum       I don't know, Jamie. We've just got to keep going.

Mum       Oh my God.

Mum       Ash, careful.

Man        Pick a card. Any card. So what have you got? You know what it is, okay. You remember it. Put on the deck, please. Take a bit more than that. Shuffle that. Cover that, special kind of shuffle.

Man        At this point card could be anywhere. That's out, there. That's not your card. Okay, we can work with this. Think very hard about your card. I'm gonna read your mind. And I think your card is.

Man        You had it hidden all the time, didn't you? It's behind your ear.

Dad         Ashley. Come on.

Mum       Did you manage to get any sleep at all, darling?

Ashley     Yeah.

Mum       Good girl. I found us something to eat. Oh, I'm sorry, darling. That's all there is.

Ashley     Just eat round it.

Dad         Ashley. Come on.

Jamie       I'm tired. Can you carry me?

Ashley     I'm tired. You carry me.

Jamie       I need a wee

Dad         Don't use the water for that.

Mum       It needs to be clean. I'm in a minute, darling. Stay still. I think it's still in there.

Jamie       Mum!

Mum       Ash, can you take him?

Dad         Don't go far.

Jamie       I need to wee.

Mum       Quickly. Please, Mark. Come on, come on.

Dad         Grab your bag.

Mum       What?

Dad         Quickly!

Dad         Come on. Darling.

Mum       What are you doing?

Dad         We can't stay here. Ashley, no! This side. Come on. Come on. Come on. Ashley.

Dad         Got your bag, darling?

Ashley     Yeah.

Dad         Okay. Come on, let's go.

Ashley     Okay.

Dad         Well, things have changed. There isn't a choice.

Mum       This is their home.

Dad         They're stuck in the middle of a war zone. Do you really want to wait until one of the kids is killed?

Mum       We don't have anywhere to.

Dad         I'm going to to get Jamie. Ash.

Ashley     Yeah.

Dad         Come on. Okay. Be back in a minute.

Voice       Please. Come on.

Dad         Here we are.

Mum       Oh. Hi, darling.

Dad         Hey.

Mum       Good timing.

Ashley     Look what Grandpa lent me.

Mum       That was kind of him.

Ashley     Have you been taking photos on the way home from school?

Jamie       Grandpa!

Grandpa  What about-

Mum       Take one of dad, he loves having his photo taken. No!

Grandpa  Don't tell your mother. Our secret? Okay.

Grandpa  Oh, a spy

Ashley     Smile.

Grandpa  What should we say?

Jamie       Banana.

Grandpa  Bananas!

Refugee

Video length - 11.58
Published date - Jun 2016
Keystage(s) - 3, 4 and 5
Downloadable resources

The Five Pillars of Islam – It’s Ramadan, so Faysal and Jubayr are up at two in the morning to eat before the fast begins at sunrise. We follow the boys throughout their day as they explain the most important things they have to do as Muslims: The Five Pillars of Islam.

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

 

AQA

Component 1: The study of religions: beliefs, teachings and practices- Islam -Practices and Duties - Five Pillars of Sunni Islam and the Ten Obligatory Acts of Shi’a Islam. Salah and its significance: how and why Muslims pray including times, directions, ablution (wudu), movements (rak’ahs) and recitations; salah in the home and mosque and elsewhere. Sawm: the role and significance of fasting during the month of Ramadan including origins, duties, benefits of fasting.

 

Edexcel

Area of Study 3 - Section 3: Living the Muslim Life - Islam - Sawm as one of the Five Pillars: the nature, role, significance and purpose of fasting during Ramadan and Salah

 

OCR

Component Group 1–Practices - Islam - Public acts of worship - Salah as direct communication with Allah. The importance of practices - Islam as a way of life, lived in total submission to Allah • The importance of the Five Pillars of Islam to Sunni Muslims • The meaning of the Five Pillars: •• Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith •• Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day •• Zakat/Zakah: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy •• Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan •• Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca • The analogy of the house and pillars

 

WJEC

2.1 Unit 1 PART A - Part A Islam - Core beliefs, teachings and practices - Practices - The Five Pillars of Sunni Islam -Prayer/ Salat  Adhan call to prayer, praying at mosque and Friday Jummah prayer (Qur'an 15:9899, 29:45)  Praying at home, private prayer (Du'ah)  The preparations and intention for prayer: wudu and niyyah  The significance and symbolism of the different prayer positions that make a rakat (sequence of prayer) Obligatory Acts  Shahadah: the Muslim profession of faith in Allah and the prophet Muhammad; occasions when the Shahadah is recited, e.g. aqiqah ceremony, conversion to Islam  Zakat: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit others, what zakat tax may be used for, and additional charity (saddaqah)  Sawm: Fasting during the month of Ramadan. How and why Muslims fast during Ramadan and rules about halal and haram diet (Qur'an 2:183)

 

Eduqas

Component 3 (Route A): Study of a World Faith: Option 3: Islam:Practices: The Five Pillars of Sunni Islam: practices in Britain and elsewhere: Shahadah: the Muslim statement of faith: Qur'an 3:18 ➢ Zakah: How Sunni Muslims make payment of charity tax, alms and how zakat money may be spent ➢ Sawm: How Sunni Muslims fast during Ramadan: Qur'an 2:184. Issues relating to Muslims fasting in Britain ➢ Hajj: How Sunni Muslims undertake pilgrimage to the Ka'ba in Makkah; Qur'an 2:125. Issues relating to Muslims in Britain undertaking Hajj ➢ Salah: the practices of prayer in Islam in the mosque and at home, including Jummah prayer: Qur'an 15:98-99, Qur'an 29:45

The Five Pillars of Islam

My name is Faisal Bachani.

And my name is Jabarah Bachani.

We live in Beckenham. We're both 16 years old, and we're twins. Me, Jabarah, um, I'm older.

We live in Beckenham. We're both 16 years old,

and we're twins. Me, Jabarah, um, I'm older.

Well, Jabarah is older by one minute, but I'm still taller. We are both Muslims. My family is all Muslim.

We're quite religious. We practice a lot, especially my dad. At the moment we are in the sacred month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic year. Sacred because Prophet Muhammad received the first word of the Qur'an, the sacred book for Muslims. During Ramadan, Muslims are meant to fast. We're not meant to eat or drink from when the sun comes up to when the sun comes down. The first meal of the day before sunrise is called sehri. The Muslim year is shorter than the western year, and this means that Ramadan becomes earlier by ten days each year. At this present time, Ramadan is in the summer. Um, the days are quite long.

The most important things as Muslims we have to do are called the five Pillars of Islam. A pillar is a column that basically holds up a building. They support the whole faith, so without them it wouldn't be Islam. So the first pillar of Islam is the Shahadah. We have to say the shahadah. (Says Shahadah in Arabic) There is only one God and the Prophet Muhammad is his messenger.

The second pillar of Islam is Salat, which is a prayer. Muslims are expected to pray five times a day. Wudu is a way to cleanse yourself before prayer. You have to wash your face, wash your hands, wash your arms, wash your legs. The call to prayer is done just at the beginning of Fajr, which is the first prayer of the day.

My father usually leads the prayer. My grandpa usually prays with us as well. My mom and my grandma usually pray with the group, but because the camera people were here today, they prayed in a separate room. Muslims pray in the direction of the Ka'bah, a big cube shaped building which is in Makkah, because Muslims believe that the Ka'bah is the house of God. During prayer, you have to recite passages of the Qur'an and then you have to prostrate to Allah. It's when you bow to God. It symbolises that he is the one Lord. He created all of us and he alone deserves praise and we are his servants.

It is quite hard to concentrate in lessons. When you're fasting, you feel the urge to eat, your tummy constantly hurts and your mouth is quite dry all the time. I think you're exaggerating a little bit. If it's on the first day, yeah, it's going to be hard, but the other days you get used to it. Sometimes it's bad, but like, it depends on the day, really.

In school at lunchtime, we pray the Zuhr, the second Zuhr. We usually pray in the chapel, sometimes with friends or sometimes alone.

The third pillar of Islam is called Zakat, and it is where Muslims give charity to the poor. Instead of using my lunch money for lunch for Ramadan, I would save the money for charity. When we start earning, we will give Zakat, which is a 40th of our money left over when we've paid for our homes and food. Sadaqah is voluntary act of giving to charity because we don't earn yet we give to Sadaqah. We regularly go to a charity shop on the high street. I do ironing, I iron some clothes, we label clothes, we help out the reception area. It's better to go out and help others rather than sitting at home.

The third prayer of the day is called Asr.

The fourth pillar of Islam is sawm, or fasting, on the holy month of Ramadan. Muslims are meant to feel what it's like to feel poor. It's meant to make us grateful for what we have rather than wanting more. It's also meant to cleanse us because it is a holy month.

My mom and my grandma usually don't wear a headscarf in the house, but Muslim women usually cover their hair in the presence of strangers. When the sun goes down, we are free to eat. Usually we first of all have a date and a glass of water and then we pray Maghrib Salat, which is the fourth salat. And then after that we have a big feast. We, um, have our favourite food. My mom cooks a lot of food. That meal is called iftar. It feels great. You know, it feels great to, um, to eat again, you know, you feel, you feel for those who don't have enough food for for a day or for a year.

The fifth pillar of Islam is Hajj. It's a sacred pilgrimage to Makkah. You have to do a lot of rituals, and you have to also visit a lot of places where the prophets visited. The most important part of the Hajj is visiting the Ka'bah, which is the house of God. The hajj happens in a specific month, Dhu al-Hijjah, we ourselves haven't actually been to Hajj, but we've been to a minor one called Umrah. We didn't do it in that specific month, but we saw the Ka'bah. It's a lot different from the pictures, you feel in awe of it. Our dad wants us to go on the Hajj in two years time. He wants us to become a bit more mature first, you know.

Usually we pray Isha, which is the fifth prayer in the day, at home with our family, but because it's Ramadan, we pray Isha at the mosque. You see a lot of your friends, a lot of your relatives, you know, it's very happy sight in the mosque. Your, your mind is focussed on praying so you feel closer to God. Ramadan is quite an important part of Islam. It's quite special to me because I do a lot of different stuff in Ramadan. It brings our family together. It makes us all kind of come together and eat together. I think it's special because in Ramadan I feel closer to God. The five pillars are special to me because they are the most important part of Islam, without which you can't really call yourself a Muslim.

The Five Pillars of Islam

Video length - 7.00
Published date - Oct 2015
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

Muslim Birth Ceremonies – Omaima has a new baby cousin called Jenna and is looking forward to babysitting duties. Before Jenna was born, Omaima went to visit parents-to-be Hawra and Mustafa to talk about their plans for the birth and the various traditions that Muslim families follow when a baby is born.

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

 

AQA

Component 1: The study of religions: beliefs, teaching and practices –Practices - Worship - Islam - Shahadah: declaration of faith and its place in Muslim practice.

Component 1: The study of religions: beliefs, teaching and practices –Key beliefs - Authority - Islam - Risalah (Prophethood) including the role and importance of Muhammad

 

Edexcel

Area of Study 3 - Section 3: Living the Muslim Life - Islam - Shahadah as one of the Five Pillars: the nature, role and significance of Shahadah for Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, including reference to Surah 3: 17–21; why reciting Shahadah is important for Muslims, and its place in Muslim practice today.
Area of Study 1 - Section 1: Muslim Beliefs - Islam -RiSalah: the nature and importance of prophethood for Muslims, what the role of Muhannad teaches Muslims.

 

OCR

Component Group 1–Practices - Islam - The meaning of the Five Pillars: • Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith

Public acts of worship - The place of Shahadah in Muslim practice, including the first words uttered to a new born, for converting to the faith and said by/to the dying •Shahada has the only ‘non-action’ pillar

 

WJEC

2.1 Unit 1 PART A - Part A Islam - Core beliefs, teachings and practices - Practices - The Five Pillars of Sunni Islam -Prayer/ Salat  Adhan call to prayer, praying at mosque and Friday Jummah prayer (Qur'an 15:9899, 29:45)  Praying at home, private prayer (Du'ah)  The preparations and intention for prayer: wudu and niyyah  The significance and symbolism of the different prayer positions that make a rakat (sequence of prayer) Obligatory Acts  Shahadah: the Muslim profession of faith in Allah and the prophet Muhammad; occasions when the Shahadah is recited, e.g. aqiqah ceremony, conversion to Islam  Zakat: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit others, what zakat tax may be used for, and additional charity (saddaqah)  Sawm: Fasting during the month of Ramadan. How and why Muslims fast during Ramadan and rules about halal and haram diet (Qur'an 2:183)

 

Eduqas

Component 3 (Route A): Study of a World Faith: Option 3: Islam:Practices: The Five Pillars of Sunni Islam: practices in Britain and elsewhere: Shahadah: the Muslim statement of faith: Qur'an 3:18

Muslim Birth Ceremonies

Omaima  I'm Omaima, and this is my beautiful new cousin, Jenna. She was born just a few weeks ago, so I'm still a little bit nervous when I hold her. She's so tiny and fragile. In a Muslim family like ours, how we begin our lives is important. We believe that we are born Muslims and we don't become Muslims later on in life. Before Jenna was born, I went to speak to her mum and dad about their plans for her birth.

Omaima  Hi, how are you?

Hawra     How are you?

Mustafa  I've really enjoyed married life. It's been a great opportunity to share all my thoughts, my ideas, uh, get a lot of support from my wife, but I'm now looking forward to the next stage of our married life and really bringing up a child. Teaching the baby things and caring for the baby, introducing them to our friends, and, and our extended family, and, and you know, I think that's going to be a really, sort of, special time.

Omaima  What's the first thing you do to welcome the baby to Islam?

Hawra     When the baby is ready the first thing that we will do is to read the call for prayer in Arabic. It's adhan and iqamah .Adhan is the first part of the call for prayers, is recited in the right ear of the baby, and the iqamah is recited in the left ear of the baby.

Mustafa  (Mustafa recites call to prayer in Arabic.)

Mustafa  We start off with reciting that God is great. Allahu akbar. We recite it four times and then we declare that there is no God but Allah. So, Ash-hadu an-la ilaha illa Allah, which is recited twice.

Hawra     It can be read by anyone, but generally the dad is there, so he will be the first one to read. It's seen as a blessing for them and for the baby, uh, so people like being there.

Omaima  Do you know what you're going to call the baby?

Hawra     We have got a few names in mind, uh, and then we will decide on the day, I think. Uh, but in Islam, it's recommended to call the babies after the names of the 99 names of God. One of the 99 names is, uh, Raheem, and Raheem means, uh, merciful. There is a prophetic saying that says, uh, I think about 50% of a name of a child does affect the personality. So by giving them beautiful name like merciful, you would hope that child would be merciful to others when they grow up.

Hawra     There are lots of other traditions in Islam when the baby is born. Um, one of them is tahneek, putting something sweet in the mouth of the baby, be a bit of date or a bit of honey, and this means this baby would grow into, uh, someone with a sweet nature.

Omaima  What other things do people do when the baby is born?

Mustafa  If the baby is a boy, we will be, uh, going through a tradition that we have, which started from the prophet Abraham or Ibrahim, who was, uh, one of the messengers and the prophets of God. And, he, he circumcised his son, and that ever since, uh, our traditions is that we've continued this, um, this practice. And so, what we'll be organising is inviting a doctor to remove the foreskin of the penis, and this sort of resembles and signifies purity. Some people do it after three months, some people do it after six months. But usually it's between the first three years of the birth of the child.

Hawra     One of the traditions that, uh, Muslims practice when the baby is born is the aqiqah, which is done on the seventh day. Um, it's basically introducing the baby to the whole family, bringing everyone together, sharing a big meal. Traditionally, people slaughter an animal, but, uh, I wiil be just ordering some food from the restaurant, the easy way.

Mustafa  So I'm really delighted to have all our friends and family here with us today to share with you the joyful occasion that we have been very lucky that Jenna has blessed our lives.

Guest      Okay. Question number six. In the Holy Quran, Ayatul Mubahala was found in Surah Al-baqara. True or false?

Mustafa  So one part, of the aqiqah is to shave the hair of the baby and weigh it and find out the value of that weight in gold and its worth. And then it's seen as a really important blessing to give that to charity. And, so that's something that we would like to do. I'm not sure if Laura will let me shave the hair, the baby. As it's winter and it's going to be cold.

Omaima  We've had a really great day celebrating Jenna today. The food was amazing. The quiz was really good. My team nearly won, but most importantly, it was really nice to spend my time with my friends and family.

Omaima  Jenna has been given an amazing welcome to the world. Hawra, Mustafa and the whole family have done everything they could to make sure she is loved and looked after and brought up as a Muslim. I'm looking forward to babysitting her, just maybe not changing the nappies.

Muslim Birth Ceremonies

Video length - 06.30
Published date - Sep 2015
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

Extremists – A back street brawl between two young men with extreme and opposing views – men who would never take the time to talk, to listen, to understand each other. And yet… a conversation begins. This provocative film reveals some challenging truths about prejudice, extremism and radicalisation, and shows that the best way to understand these problems is to talk.

The attached lesson materials featuring this film have been awarded the PSHE Association‘s Quality Mark.

CREDITS

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA                                                                                                                                                                                    Component 2 - Religious, philosophical and ethical studies in the modern world Theme D - Religion, peace and conflict - Terrorism -Religious understanding of and attitudes to terrorism Component 2 - Religious, philosophical and ethical studies in the modern world: Theme F – Religion, human rights and social justice - Human Rights - Issues of equality, freedom of religion and belief including freedom of religious expression.

Edexcel                                                                                                                                                                             Section 4: Peace and Conflict -Section 4: Peace and Conflict - Issues surrounding conflict:divergent Muslim teachings and responses to the nature of problems involved in conflict – violence, war, and terrorism; how Muslims have worked to overcome these issues, including Malik's Muwatta 21. 3. 10; non-religious (including atheist and Humanist) views towards the issues surrounding conflict and Muslim responses to them. Area of Study 3 – Islam - Section 4: Equality - Muslim teaching on human rights: Muslim teachings and responses to the nature and purpose of human rights; why Muslims might support human rights as important, including Surah 5: 8; divergent Muslim responses to the need for and application of individual human rights, including the support offered by situation ethics; the problems human rights might cause for Muslims; Muslim responses to non-religious (including atheist and Humanist) arguments about human rights. 

OCR                                                                                                                                                                 Religion,philosophy and ethics in the modern world from a religious perspective - Religion, peace and conflict -Violence and conflict- Key philosophical and ethical concepts: • Forms of violence • War •Justificationof violence • Just War theory - The relationship between religion,politics and terrorism in the 21st century •Different religious attitudes towards terrorism and the causes of terrorism.

WJEC                                                                                                                                                                                    PART B - Theme 2: Issues of Good and Evil - Forgiveness  Peace and conflict: Just War Theory/Lesser Jihad, Pacifism and Conscientious Objectors  Islamic teachings about forgiveness: Qur'an 64:14, 42:30  Examples of forgiveness arising from personal beliefs Good, Evil and Suffering  Philosophical perspectives on the origin of evil: The Devil tests humans: Qur'an 2:34, 155  The belief in pre-destination (al Qadr)

EDUQAS                                                                                                                                                                          Component 1 (Route A) Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World - Theme 4: Issues of Human Rights - Human Rights and Social Justice ➢ Islamic beliefs, teachings and attitudes toward the dignity of human life: Qur'an 5:32 ➢ Islamic practices to promote human rights including equality: ummah in action ➢ An example of conflict between personal conviction and the laws of a country ➢ Censorship, freedom of religious expression and religious extremism (including Islamphobia) Prejudice and discrimination ➢ Islamic beliefs, teachings and attitudes towards prejudice and discrimination: Qur'an 5:8, 49:13 ➢ Islamic beliefs, teachings and attitudes towards racial prejudice and discrimination, including the actions of the Christian/Muslim Forum 

 

Extremists

Man 1      You bloody terrorist!

Man 2      What?

Man 1      You're a bloody terrorist.

Man 2      I'm not.

Man 1      What?

Man 2      I'm not a terrorist. I'm an extremist.

Man 1      Exactly.

Man 2      They're two different things.

Man 1      What?

Man 2      Terrorist and extremist. They don't mean the same thing.

Man 1      They do.

Man 2      They don't. Not all extremists are violent.

Man 1      Well, most of them are.

Man 2      Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Jesus.

Man 1      I was talking about Muslim extremists. You're all Islamists.

Man 2      Do you even know what an Islamist is?

Man 1      Yeah. All right. What's an Islamist?

Man 2      Someone who believes the world should be controlled by Islam. The government, law, society.

Man 1      Well, then.

Man 2      Do you know what Islam means?

Man 1      What, you mean-

Man 2      The word Islam.

Man 1      No.

Man 2      Submission or peace.

Man 1      Submission or peace?

Man 2      Yeah.

Man 1      How can it mean submission or peace?

Man 2      Because to me, submission is peace. I submit myself to the will of God and it brings me peace.

Man 1      But you want more?

Man 2      No, no, no, no, I want everyone in this country, everyone in this world, to submit themselves to the will of Allah Sharia Law.

Man 1      Exactly.

Man 2      Yeah, because then we'll all live in peace and harmony. That's what makes me an extremist. It doesn't mean I want to go around blowing people up. It just means I'm standing up for something. But you-

Man 1      Right, I'll stand up against people like you, trying to ruin this country.

Man 2      And how am I?

Man 1      We used to be the greatest country in the world until people like you started coming here.

Man 2      What do you mean? Brown people like me?

Man 1      Too right. You're all bloody the same, you want free schools and hospitals when you don't even belong here, you don't even try to fit in.

Man 2      And what gives you the right to decide who belongs?

Man 1      Because I was born here, British born and bred.

Man 2      I was born here too.

Man 1      Yes, but you're not English, though, are you? Where are your parents born?

Man 2      Pakistan.

Man 1      Exactly.

Man 2      But I was born here. You can't choose your parents and where you're born.

Man 1      All right, I'll give you that. But-

Man 2      Where was your parents born?

Man 1      Slough.

Man 2      What about your grandparents?

Man 1      England.

Man 2      Yeah, all of them? Do you know, as a white British man, you share a third of your DNA with the Germans? Nearly half with the French. So how does that make you feel? You racist.

Man 1      I'm not racist. I just hate Muslims. You just said it for yourself. You want to take over the bloody world. You're a bunch of medieval barbarians.

Man 2      Man, where'd you get this stuff?

Man 1      9/11, 7/7, ISIS, Al-Qaeda.

Man 2      Do you know, there's over 1.5 billion of us. We're not all the same. We're not all terrorists. We're not even all extremists. Most Muslims just want to live a quiet life.

Man 1      I've read about what you lot want.

Man 2      Where?

Man 1      Newspapers. What? It's the news. They have to check their facts.

Man 2      What you don't think they're going to choose to report some facts and not others?

Man 1      Yeah, they'll report the important ones.

Man 2      Newspapers want drama, blood, death, bad guy. They're never going to report 'Yesterday, millions of Muslims all over the world were living their lives in peace and harmony'. Real world Muslims aren't such a threat to you.

Man 1      Yeah, but you stand out like it's deliberate. I don't see why you can't just be like us.

Man 2      Because I'm a fundamentalist.

Man 2      That means I live my life strictly by the teaching of my religion, the Qur'an and the saying the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, peace be upon him.

Man 1      Why would you choose to live like that?

Man 2      I didn't choose, I was born a muslim.

Man 1      You can't be born a religion.

Man 2      Religion feels good. I look at myself in the mirror and I know who I am.

Man 1      Right. So you want to turn us all into Muslims because it makes you feel good?

Man 2      Yeah, okay, I do.

Man 1      Right, do you know how scary that is? You can't just come here and tell us to speak Arabic, cover up our women and chop off the hands of our criminals and not eat bacon. We're British. It's not the way we do things here. So of course we're going to fight back.

Man 2      So you're allowed to fight back, but we're not?

Man 1      What do you have to fight back against?

Man 2      It's not the British being attacked. I've been really attacked by soldiers, tanks, drones. My people are being oppressed. Of course I want to fight for them.

Man 1      But you said Islam means peace. Doesn't it say in your Qur'an that killing people is wrong?

Man 2      Except in a just cause, and this is a just cause. This is a just war. When America wants to wipe out the Muslim people.

Man 1      Where'd you get that from?

Man 2      What?

Man 1      America wants to wipe out Muslim people. Come on.

Man 2      The internet. What?

Man 1      There are 300 million people in America. They're not all the same either. Some of them are Muslims.

Man 2      Well, fine. But Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria, Guantanamo. Look, there's a war to be fought, man.

Man 1      But you're not a soldier.

Man 2      I could be.

Man 1      What, so you want to go die in a desert?

Man 2      Yeah, maybe I do.

Man 1      Why?

Man 2      Because, because I want to feel a part of it. Yeah, danger and glory and brotherhood. It's exciting, okay yeah. Is it, is it so bad? And I, and I hate this country. I mean, how would you feel if-

Man 1      What?

Man 2      If you, if you grew up learning alcohol is wrong? Homosexuality is wrong. Women showing their bodies is wrong. Sex before marriage is wrong. Think how I feel when I walk the streets and I see women in their tiny skirts, tight tops and the sex on TV and movies and music videos, adverts.

Man 1      Jealous.

Man 2      Angry and disgusted and frightened. And, yeah, jealous, because I can't help seeing this.

Man 1      If you don't like it, go back to Pakistan.

Man 2      How did you get like this?

Man 1      Like what?

Man 2      How did you get so radicalised?

Man 1      Hey, I'm not radicalised.

Man 2      Yes, you are.

Man 1      You're the one who's radicalised.

Man 2      Of course I am, because I'm angry. I want the world to be somewhere I can feel safe. I want someone to blame for the things that scare me, and yeah I've met people who felt the same way, and it was like waking up. They understood me and it felt good. And bit by bit we made each other angrier. So yeah, we radicalised ourselves because we wanted to outdo each other, and you're the same

Man 1      I'm bloody not.

Man 2      You're an extremist, you're a racist. How did you get to be like this?

Man 1      Because-

Man 2      Why do you hate me so much?

Man 1      Because the world's a mess. I mean we can't trust the media or the banks. And there weren't any jobs. Dad never had a job, so there wasn't anything for us to do except, you know, watch telly, go online and see these adverts which tell you life's about having money, cars, phones and watches, and we couldn't have any of that. So you look around for something else to make you feel like you're a part of something, a football team, a band, a gang. And then you get older and you still don't have the money or the job or the stuff you're supposed to have, so you start to feel like cut off. Like, you got no, no reason, no purpose, and you look around for for someone to blame, anyone. It could be bankers, immigrants, paedos, and then you hear about these Muslim terrorists waging a war against your way of life, but you don't know any terrorists, but you know, some Muslims and bam! You found a purpose, an enemy, and you do something about it because it gives you a reason to exist, and that's what we all need. We need to feel like we know who we are.

Man 2      No society is perfect in this life.

Man 1      So why don't you think for yourself then?

Man 2      Why don't you?

Man 1      I do.

Man 2      Do you?

Man 1      Well, do you?

Man 2      All right. Maybe I don't always think for myself.

Man 1      Well, maybe I don't either.

Man 2      I still believe Sharia law is the right way to live.

Man 1      I still think the British way of life is disappearing because of people like you.

Man 2      So, what do we do?

Man 1      Well, I guess we keep on talking.

Man 2      All right. I've got to go.

Man 1      Me, too.

Man 2      My daughter.

Man 1      Got a daughter?

Man 2      Yeah.

Man 1      How old?

Man 2      Three.

Man 1      Mines five. You getting the bus?

Man 2      Yeah. 58.

Man 1      That's mine too.

Man 2      Alright.

Extremists

Video length - 09.03
Published date - Jul 2015
Keystage(s) - 4
Downloadable resources

Holy Books: The Bible – A range of different people from a vicar to a translator describe how the Bible was put together and why it means so much to Christians.

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA

Component 1: The study of religions: beliefs, teaching and practices - Christianity - Introduction /pre-work Worship and festivals - Different forms of worship and their significance:
• liturgical, non-liturgical and informal, including the use of the Bible
• private worship.

 Edexcel

Area of Study 1 - Christianity - The significance and importance of the various beliefs, issues and practices to Christians today should be explored throughout the sections. This should include reference to how the Bible informs a Christian’s understanding of the topics and how approaches to the issues are underpinned by philosophical arguments and ethical theory as applicable. Area of Study 3 – Catholic Christianity - The significance and importance of the various beliefs, issues and practices to Catholics today should be explored throughout the sections. This should include reference to how the Bible informs a Catholic’s understanding of the topics and how approaches to the issues are underpinned by philosophical arguments and ethical theory as applicable. Area of Study 1 – Catholic Christianity - The significance and importance of the various beliefs, issues and practices to Catholics today should be explored throughout the sections. This should include reference to how the Bible informs a Catholic’s understanding of the topics and how approaches to the issues are underpinned by philosophical arguments and ethical theory as applicable. 

OCR 

Component Group 1 - Christianity Belief sand teachings & Practices - Worship • The structure of church services, for example Anglican Communion service, Roman Catholic mass, Quaker meeting, Greek Orthodox service and Methodist Sunday morning worship • The concept of worship • Purposes of worship • The role and importance of liturgical worship for some Christians •The role and importance of informal/charismatic worship for some Christians • The role and importance of individual prayer, private prayeranddevotionforChristians • The role and importance of private and public worship to Christian communities and individuals •Different interpretations and emphases given to sources of wisdom and authority by different Christian denominations

WJEC 

2.2 Unit 2 PART A - Christianity - Core beliefs, teachings and practices Beliefs - The Bible Ø As Word of God, authority, sacred scripture (Deuteronomy 4:1-2) inspiration and revelation Ø As a collection of writings based on context, audience, society, authors' intentions Ø Uses/usefulness (2 Timothy 3:16-17); absolute law, guidance, use during worship and ceremonies (Christening, Marriage, Funerals) Ø Differing ways of interpreting biblical writings: literal, conservative, symbolic, biblical myth Ø Bible in relation to other sources of authority, e.g. conscience (Romans 2:14-15), family, reason, society, situations, civil law, circumstances

Component 2 (Route A) Study of Christianity - Salvation ➢ Law: Word of God; inspiration and revelation; differing ways of interpreting biblical writings; Bible in relation to other sources of authority.

Eduqas

Component 2 (Route A) Study of Christianity - Salvation ➢ Law: Word of God; inspiration and revelation; differing ways of interpreting biblical writings; Bible in relation to other sources of authority.

Holy Books: The Bible

Alistair McConville     The Bible is a collection of books. In fact, the word Bible means a collection of books, and it's divided into two. There's the Old Testament, which is composed of 39 small books, and there's the New Testament, which has 27 small books.

Eddie Arthur The Old Testament was written in Hebrew with a few bits in Aramaic.

Alex Wood    The Old Testament is the story of God creating the world, and Israel, who are his chosen people.

Tanya Walker Some of it is poetry, some of it is biography, some of it is straightforward narration of history.

Alistair McConville     Books of law, for example. This is Leviticus, which tells the early Jewish people how to live. Poetic books like the Psalms, which would have been put to music. This is Proverbs, which is philosophical reflections, really. There are books of prophecy, like Jeremiah, that explain what God is saying about the future of the Israelites.

Alex Wood    The Bible is all about God's rescue plan, and that plan really comes into play when Jesus comes into the story, and that's the beginning of the New Testament.

Alistair McConville     The New Testament talks about Jesus as the Messiah, the Christian fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies.

Alex Wood    The point is that Jesus is God's Son, and he came to keep God's promise that we will be with God forever.

Eddie Arthur The New Testament was written in Greek because Greek was understood right across the world at that time.

Alistair McConville     There's a collection of biographies of Jesus, those are the Gospels. There are letters from various important early Christians, and it has apocalyptic works that are predicting how the world's going to end. Most people don't think of God as having literally written the Bible with a pen and paper. Rather, they think that God inspired human writers to record those things that God wanted to say.

Eddie Arthur If you read the book of Revelation, John said, an angel told me to write this down.

Alistair McConville     Sometimes it's clear that they are speaking for themselves about their own understanding of what God has said or done.

Eddie Arthur Luke says, I asked a lot of people. I did a lot of reading, and I've written this up.

Alistair McConville     As people continue to write about Jesus, it became important to make a final decision about what was going to be in the Bible. Lots of bishops came together when the Roman Empire became officially Christian, to discuss which books that they already knew and respected should be in the official version of the Bible, and which shouldn't.

Tanya Walker So the Bible is actually made up of 66 different books, written by over 40 different people across a span of around 1500 years, across three different continents, three different languages, and loads of different genres. There's all sorts of different things going on, and when we come to read the Bible, we, we bear in mind what kind of text am I reading and how is it appropriate to interpret it?

Alistair McConville     How to interpret individual passages varies. So in the Catholic Church, for example, only the church has the authority to explain to Christians what the Bible means. In the Protestant church, more characteristically, individuals have greater scope to interpret the Bible for themselves.

Tanya Walker Some of it is poetry, and we're meant to read it allegorically, metaphorically, it's hinting at different things, but it's not meant to be taken literally.

Alistair McConville     Some Christians say that Genesis, for example, is a historical account of the beginning of the world. Other Christians say that Genesis tells us something true in a metaphorical way.

Tanya Walker Other bits we realise, okay, the person who was writing this section meant and intended for it to be read as straightforward history.

Alistair McConville     The Gospels are a really important part of the Bible. They are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, four different books, each of which gives an account of the life of Jesus.

Tanya Walker This is exactly how it happened, the people are saying, these are our eyewitness accounts of what happened. But then, of course, some of the things that Jesus says are stories. He tells parables, and we're not to take them literally, but we're to understand that in that story there is a meaning that we're to take and to apply to our lives.

Alex Wood    I think loads of us find reading the Bible really difficult, and I definitely was like that. I never read the Bible, and whenever I did, I found it really tricky to understand. It wasn't really until I joined a church and I met a friend and he explained how to read the Bible, where to start, which bits to read, and since then, I've found reading the Bible one of the most fulfilling things that I do.

Tanya Walker So you may have noticed that Christians write in their Bible, or that their Bibles are very worn through sometimes. This is because Christians believe that it's the meaning that's important and precious, and not the paper and ink itself.

Eddie Arthur And from that we have the notion that the Bible itself can be translated. The important thing is that it's available in the language of the people who are reading it.

Tanya Walker Now, it's been translated into over 2000 languages. That's ten times more than any other book.

Eddie Arthur This is a New Testament in a language called Guéré from the Ivory Coast. (Reads from the bible). There is no one way that people do translation. In Ivory Coast we worked in a mud hut, with solar panels on the roof, and a laptop plugged into that and discussed the text in Greek, seek to express it as clearly as possible in Guéré, and then go through a rigorous process of review checking, editing. It took longer to revise it than it did to do the initial translation.

Alex Wood    On Sundays, we read the Bible together. Somebody will step up onto this stage here, they'll open the Bible and they'll find a particular passage, and then we'll all grab our Bibles where we're sat, and we'll have a look at it together. The most important thing, I guess, is for that preacher or that speaker to explain how the passage is relevant to us today, how is it going to make a difference to our lives?

Holy Books: The Bible

Video length - 06.00
Published date - Apr 2015
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

Holy Books: The Torah – A Rabbi and two Jewish scribes (who happen to be married – to each other, not to the Rabbi) describe the Torah – what it contains, how the scrolls are copied, and the ways in which the Torah is used in worship.

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

 

AQA

Component 1 - The study of religions: beliefs, teaching and practices - Judaism - The synagogue and worship - The written law (Tenakh) and the oral law (Talmud) and their study, use and significance in daily life.

 

Edexcel

Area of Study 1 – Judaism - Section 1: Jewish Beliefs - The nature of the Almighty: how the characteristics of the Almighty are shown in the Torah, and why they are important in Jewish life today, including One, Creator, Law-Giver and Judge, including reference to Genesis 2.

 

OCR

Component Group 1 - Judaism - Practices -Worship• The structure of the synagogue service •The importance of the synagogue, in relation to the following religious features: •• Design •• Artefacts •• Synagogue services •• The role of the synagogue within the Jewish community •• Worship in the home •• The place of worship in the home •The significance of the Ark, the Bimah, the lack of representation of G-d, the Ner Tamid and the Mikveh • The nature and importance of the Torah readings, other readings, prayers and sermons •The connection between the synagogue and the Temple • Issues related to worship and the synagogue, including the length and structure of synagogue services and different uses of Hebrew in the service • Common and divergent emphases placed on the features of a synagogue by different Jewish groups, including separating women and men in an Orthodox synagogue •Different interpretations and emphases given to sources of wisdom and authority by different Jewish groups

Prayer• The role and importance of prayer in Jewish worship, including the Amidah (the standing prayer) • The role and importance of private prayer for Jews • The importance of: •• The three daily periods of prayer •• The concept of spontaneous prayer •• Recitation of the Shema •• Recitation of Grace after meals •• Teaching children to pray •• The direction faced when praying •• Prayer and the observance of the Mitzvot in the home • The importance of prayer for praise, confession, thanks giving and supplication.

Law• The form and content of the Tenakh (the Written Law) • The Chumash and the Sefer Torah • The nature of the Talmud (the Oral Law) •The relationship between the Talmud and the Torah, including the ways in which the Talmud is used in relation to the Torah • The use of the Torah in the synagogue • The use of the Tenakh in private worship • The way that the Torah provides structure to the life of a Jew, including the use of the Neviim and Ketuvim in public and private worship •The significance of the use in daily life of the Tenakh and the Talmud •Issues related to the law, including the different views held amongst religious Jews regarding the nature of the Torah and the Talmud • Common and divergent emphases placed on the Tenakh and Talmud by different Jewish groups •Different interpretations and emphases given to sources of wisdom and authority by different Jewish groups.

 

WJEC

2.1 Unit 1 PART A - Part A Judaism - Core beliefs, teachings and practices - Practices - Worship in the home and synagogue  The importance of the synagogue: internal features- aron hakodesh (ark), ner tamid, bimah, Torah, Ten Commandments, seating  Reading of the Torah during synagogue worship  Diverse practices within Orthodox and Reform synagogues – worship and the role and gender of the Rabbi  The importance of the home for worship in Judaism: challenges and benefits of observing Shabbat (Exodus 20:8-10) 2.2 Unit 2 PART A – Judaism - - Core beliefs, teachings and practices Beliefs - Sacred Texts  Importance of The Tenakh (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) as revealed and/or inspired Word of God  Importance of the Talmud

 

Eduqas

Component 3 (Route A) - Option 4: Judaism - Practices - The Synagogue ➢ Features of different synagogues in Britain: significance of bimah, aron hakodesh, Torah scrolls, ner tamid, seating, minyan; Exodus 20:4-5

Holy Books: The Torah

Rabbi Benji Stanley    Torah the word means teaching. The way teaching is often given in Judaism is through books.

Avielah Barclay           The Torah has a lot of valuable lessons and a lot of interesting things to say, even to people who are not Jewish.

Mordechai Pinchas    That's totally correct, because the reason that the Torah was given in the desert, for everyone to see, was that everybody has a piece of the Torah.

Rabbi Benji Stanley    People sometimes call it the Five Books of Moses, because he's one of the main characters, and also he was involved in writing them down. So Torah can mean the five books, or it can mean all those books and conversations that have grown up around the five books, with people trying to figure out how to live responsibly and kindly.

Rabbi Benji Stanley    We read the five books of Torah on a scroll written in Hebrew.

Mordechai Pinchas    So the Torah is really five books in one.

Rabbi Benji Stanley    Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, numbers, and Deuteronomy. Or actually the Jewish terms for those books are Bereshit, Shemot, Vayikra, Ba Midbar and D'varim. So at the beginning of the Torah, we have the story of creation, the story of Adam and Eve, the story of Noah, and then we have the story of Abraham, who had a child, Isaac, and the first book of the Torah tells us about their travels and their missions.

Mordechai Pinchas    Second book is called Shemot, Exodus, and that's about the Jews who were stuck in Egypt, and then they were freed from slavery, lots of miracles, and then moved off on to their journey to the Promised Land, which is Israel.

Rabbi Benji Stanley    Moses leads the people to Mount Sinai, and Moses runs up the mountain, has some conversations with God, and then carries some of God's laws down the mountain on two tablets of stone.

Mordechai Pinchas    The third book is kind of a bit of an interruption. It's called Vayikra, and it's about the priests and the offerings, and it's lots and lots of rules.

Rabbi Benji Stanley    Nowadays in Judaism, we don't sacrifice animals, but we do give up our time, in order to think about how to behave well in the world.

Mordechai Pinchas    And then the fourth book is Bamidbar. It's all about the wandering in the desert for 40 years, really, that's about them stopping being slaves and learning to actually be a people.

Rabbi Benji Stanley    They tend to complain a lot. They argue with Moses, they argue with God, but eventually they're getting towards a new land, and that's what we have in the fifth book of the Torah.

Mordechai Pinchas    Finally, the last book just before they go into Israel is Moses telling them all the rules, reminding them of everything that's been happening. That's called D'varim, Deuteronomy.

Rabbi Benji Stanley    Moses dies just before the people enter the land of Israel. So in a way, the five books of Torah end with Moses being buried.

Rabbi Benji Stanley    The Torah scroll is treated with great respect. So it has clothes like a queen or a king. It has wonderful silver crowns and it has this special robe. Now we undress it on Saturday morning during our service, and also some synagogues have services on Monday and Thursday morning as well, when you would also undress the scroll in order to read from it. Hagbah means lifting up, and it's a moment when someone lifts up the scroll so the whole community can see the section which is going to be read, and you would show all directions so that everyone can see it. (Reads passage from the Torah in Hebrew)

Avielah Barclay           We read the Torah from right to left, and we read it using something called a yad, which means hand in Hebrew. And as you can see, there's a little hand carved at the end of this, and we use it to point at the letters as we read them.

Rabbi Benji Stanley    We don't want to touch the parchment, the stuff that the scroll is written on directly with our fingers. And that's one of the reasons we also dress the scroll so that when we're not using it, it's well respected. It's in its special ark, which is where the scroll lives, where the scroll is kept.

Avielah Barclay           The scrolls that we use today are essentially the same as the first ones written thousands of years ago, because we can only copy from one to another, and then it has to be checked three times, because one mistake can change the whole meaning of what it says. It's important for it to be written by hand. A computer can print out a book that you can read, and you can still learn it that way, but you can't use it in public ritual because it hasn't been imbued with the holiness that a person with a soul can give to it.

Mordechai Pinchas    So originally all the Torahs were written with one of these. This is a reed quill. Nowadays most people use a feather. This is a swan's quill. But this quill is from a vulture. The bird we can't eat, so I can't use it to write. The parchment sheets, they're joined together with animal sinew and gold plated needle.

Rabbi Benji Stanley    But the book is never finished. You can roll up the scroll, but really, the scroll continues. In all those conversations we have about what does this mean and how does it affect my life?

Holy Books: The Torah

Video length - 06.00
Published date - Apr 2015
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

What is Jihad? – We hear the word “jihad” used all over the media, but what does it really mean? An Imam, a Muslim youth worker and a Muslim journalist describe what jihad means to them.

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

 

AQA

Component 1: The study of religions: beliefs, teaching and practices – Beliefs and teachings - Duties and festivals - Islam - Jihad: different understandings of jihad: the meaning and significance of greater and lesser Jihad; origins, influence and conditions for the declaration of lesser Jihad.

 

Edexcel

Area of Study 3 -Section 3: Living the Muslim Life - Jihad: the origins, meaning and significance of jihad in Islam; divergent understandings of jihad within Islam, including the difference between lesser and greater jihad; the conditions for declaration of lesser jihad, including reference to Surah 2: 190–194 and 22: 39; the importance of jihad in the life of Muslims.

 

OCR

Componet Group 1 - Islam - Practices - The importance of practices -The meaning of the Ten Obligatory Acts: Jihad: Struggle Jihad•The meaning and importance for different groups of Muslims of: •• Greater Jihad – the struggle of every Muslim to live according to ‘the straight path’ •• Lesser Jihad – the removal of evil from society with the goal of making the world an abode of peace • The precedence of Greater Jihad over Lesser Jihad •Conditions for the declaration and conduct of Lesser Jihad • The concepts of Munkar and Ma’ruf •Common and divergent views of different Muslim groups about if and when the holy war aspect of Lesser Jihad should be waged •Different interpretations and emphases given to sources of wisdom and authority by different Muslim groups

 

WJEC

2.2 Unit 2 PART A - Islam- Core beliefs, teachings and practices Beliefs –Practices - Muslim Identity and Ummah  Features of mosques in Wales and elsewhere: domes, minarets, qibla wall, mihrab, minbar  Pilgrimage to Mecca as an obligatory act: purpose and practices/rituals (Qur'an 3:18)  Clothing: hijab, niqab, burkha - diversity of attitudes and practices within Islam as seen in different Muslim communities in Wales  Lesser Jihad; the conditions for declaration of lesser jihad (Qur'an 2:190, 22:39) 2.1 Unit 1 PART A - Part A - Islam - Core beliefs, teachings and practices - Beliefs - The Nature of God  Allah as one God: Tawhid (Qur'an 3:18)  The qualities of Allah in the Qur'an; e.g. immanence, transcendence, omnipotence, beneficence, merciful (Qur'an 46:33), the 99 names of Allah  The meaning of Islam as 'submission' to Allah and how Muslims live a life in submission to the will of Allah, including the importance of Greater Jihad  Shahadah as a statement of faith in Allah, shirk as sin against Allah  Reasons for the prohibition of images of Allah or any human figure

 

Eduqas

Component 3 (Route A): Study of a World Faith: Option 3: Islam:Practices: Jihad ➢ Greater jihad: The daily struggle to live as a good Muslim Issues regarding living as a Muslim in Britain today and maintaining a Muslim lifestyle ➢ Origins,influence and conditions for declaration of Lesser Jihad in the Qur'an and Hadith: Qur'an 2:190, 22:39

What is Jihad?

Passer-by    It's like a holy war.

Passer-by    I'm not really sure. Not really sure at all.

Passer-by    Um.

Passer-by    Actually, no. Sorry.

Passer-by    War.

Passer-by    Um, terrorism.

Passer-by    Uh, when I hear the terms jihad, then I normally think of it in a terrorist context.

Passer-by    Um, I kind of think of the Middle East and stuff like that, I guess.

Passer-by    But then I've also heard that there are maybe multiple levels of jihad or something, that that's it's also like an inner fight for your own personal salvation and spirituality.

Imam Iftikhar Daad    My name is Iftikhar Daad. I'm an imam and I teach children basic Quranic education. Jihad is an Arabic word which means to strive and struggle. Jihad can be divided up into two different parts. So we have the greater jihad and we have a lesser jihad. And this concept has come from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, where he returned back with his companions from a battle, and he explained to them that we have returned from a lesser jihad to a greater jihad. To fight with your own ego, meaning your temptations and your desires, to control your own self is a greater jihad than to actually fight your own enemy physically.

Imam Iftikhar Daad    Once all avenues have been exhausted, of communication, trying to promote peace, and if peace is still not being achieved, then at that point the last resort will be to, uh, have a battle. And that battle has to be declared by a government which has to be advised and sanctioned by a panel of scholars, and when it does happen, there are a list of things that the army and the generals are briefed on. They have to make sure that it's only to achieve peace, they cannot kill women, they cannot kill children, they cannot destroy places of worship, they cannot destroy plantation and crops, they cannot kill animals.

Dr Bilal Hassam           My name is Bilal Hussein, and I work with a spectrum of young Muslims looking at how we can create better leaders in the Muslim community.

Dr Bilal Hassam           To be radical is a good thing, and it's something we should be proud of. And for me, Islam offers answers of how to channel my radicalism in a good way. Radicalism means, to be, to channel all that energy and zeal and idealism and wanting to make the world a better place. Often there's a concern that, oh, Islam plus radicalism equals terrorism. I can understand where that comes from, because there are times in the past where people have used Islam as an excuse to carry out terrible things. Now, how does Islam describe this idea and this notion of jihad? Within the concept of jihad, there is an idea of violent struggle, of picking up arms, and, and we have to look at, what, what does Islam actually say about this? Islam, Islam, is not a pacifist tradition, you know, if you see someone being attacked on the street, it's your duty as a Muslim to protect that person, and that might mean being violent, and it's only, and again, and this is expressed time and time again within the tradition, it's only as a last means, as a last resort.

Dr Bilal Hassam           Jihad is about correcting injustice. Whether I'm fighting with my brother, uh, or whether I'm struggling to wake up in the morning, I'm being unjust to myself. If I don't get up, that's, that's an injustice to myself, I owe my own self, I owe my own body rights, and I owe- I have a responsibility to myself, which means I've got to get up, I've got to eat healthy, I've got to exercise, I've got to be nice to my parents, I've got, this is all struggle. And within that, within the wider struggle, it means that there are ills in society that I should be really worried about and I should pray for, and I should look to correct them as best I can.

Passer-by    I think it's something that you sometimes see titled in news lines, um, stories, blogs, uh.

Passer-by    The media, just whenever you see the TV and something bad's happening, they'll, they'll bring up words like that, and I don't even know if that's what it means, so.

Passer-by    I think the sun or whatever, just, just talking a load of rubbish about, you know. Yeah, and they're just using that word.

Passer-by    The terms jihad I normally hear through news outlets, um, especially with the 24 hour news cycle. It's just kind of a buzzword that I think when it scrolls across the ticker tape or it gets mentioned kind of in the background, then people tend to perk up and and feel like there might be some kind of danger or something happening there.

Remona Aly    The job of a journalist is to convey a message to the people. It could be on topics like faith or the environment, or on human rights. It's about reaching the people, and also to provide a voice for people who don't always have a voice.

Remona Aly    The terms that are used about Muslims within the media can be really confusing. So, you've got words like jihadists and Islamic terrorists, Islamist. So, it can be really confusing for people when they read all these different terms and they all kind of, like, blend into one meaning. Uh, but that's really worrying because obviously they think that a fifth of the world's population could be just an extremist or a terrorist. If journalists do use religious terms, they have to be very sensitive to the true meaning of those terms. So they need to understand, what, what the root word conveys, and they have a responsibility to convey that true meaning to the reader.

Remona Aly    I think it's really important to challenge the poor image of Muslims in the media. In my own work, I led a media campaign called Inspired by Muhammad and that focussed on British Muslims who are inspired by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, we focussed on the environment, human rights and social justice.

Imam Iftikhar Daad    My personal jihad is to make sure that I can control my temper.

Remona Aly    To carry on, even when the world seems to be against me.

Imam Iftikhar Daad    That I can establish my five daily prayers.

Remona Aly    To have some kind of voice and to be as positive as possible.

Dr Bilal Hassam           I want to make the world a better place.

Imam Iftikhar Daad    To make sure that I can become a good Muslim.

Dr Bilal Hassam           And my jihad is waking up to get round to doing it.

What is Jihad?

Video length - 06.47
Published date - Oct 2014
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

In the Beginning – Adam lives in luxury with his best friend Monkey, but there’s something missing in his life. Then Eve moves in to Eden and the trouble begins. This is what happens when you cross the first few chapters of Genesis with an American sitcom. WARNING: the theme song will stick in your head for days. Altogether now, “At first it was just watery, but how conditions oughter be for creating life and all that stuff…”

Animation by Ceiren Bell

https://www.truetube.co.uk/wp-admin/post.php?post=4788&action=edit

In the Beginning

Video length - 07.49
Published date - Sep 2014
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources