Muslims and Diverse Perspectives in the Classroom

Imagine a group of students sitting in a classroom, learning science, English, math, and history from their teacher based on textbook material. Seems simple enough, right?

It’s far from simple, however. The issue stems from not necessarily what is taught in class, but more so what isn’t. History in particular is usually taught from a Eurocentric point of view, with ancient Roman and Greek civilization, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment presented as important cornerstones of human achievement and the foundations for the growth of the world. And how we learn history largely informs our world view, which magnifies this issue. By upholding dominant narratives, learning solely from certain perspectives is dangerous as it erases the histories of people of color and devalues cultural identities not dominant within the curriculum. 

Muslim students are especially prone to the harmful effects of not learning nuanced perspectives in class, as schools by and large fail to offer culturally relevant curriculum. The misrepresentation and demonization of Muslims in the media compounds with underrepresentation in the classroom, and effectively devalues the cultural identity of young American Muslims. This results in the isolation and even persecution of Muslim students in schools, which can make them feel inferior and “lead to larger issues of social injustice” (Meymand). Furthermore, the Islamophobic and Orientalist biases present in the media can easily make their way into textbooks, thereby presenting false information as objectively true and endangering students’ world views (Meymand).

Now imagine what it would do for students to learn about the Islamic Golden Age as a period of incredible intellectual progress in everything from algebra to agriculture, instead of just learning about the Renaissance. Imagine if students learned about Nok sculptural art alongside Italian frescoes, and oral histories passed down by West African griots alongside Shakespearan sonnets written in London. How would our view of the world shift and our conceptions of knowledge and importance transform if we were taught that the first university in the world was built by a Muslim woman? 

Learning about the world from a Eurocentric-dominant perspective is not only an issue for students of color. The motivation and engagement of all students increase when diverse perspectives are offered (Meymand). Additionally, if holistic representation is a priority, we avoid perpetuating what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie calls “the danger of a single story” – a single story of people and a single story of the world.

The processes that take place within the student while learning in class have far-reaching impacts on how they view themself and everything around them. “Power and knowledge are intertwined,” and what they learn can be discouraging or empowering, even if indirectly so (Meymand).

This reflection was written by Ameera Mulla, a member of the 2022 Internship class. “Meeting the Needs of Muslim Learners in U.S. Classrooms“ by Parisa Meymand is linked below!

https://academyedstudies.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/meymandfinal.pdf