Teaching of Islamic Religious Art as an Aid to the Understanding of Islamic Culture

Abstract

This study involved pre-service elementary educators' attitudes towards curriculum on Islamic religious art. The research question, Will the attitudes of pre-service teachers change towards Islam and Muslims after being exposed to the key components of Islamic religious art: Masjid (mosque) architecture, nonrepresentational designs, and calligraphy, when taught in relation to Islamic culture? Most of the students knew very little about Islamic culture and some were distrustful of anything Muslims produced. The students easily assimilated the material and were able to create their own lesson plans on Islamic religious art and write research papers on varying aspects of the art form. This curriculum utilized the belief that the language of art connects with most people. During the course of this study the reactions of participants went from distrustful to appreciative of Islamic art and culture. Understanding of Islam and its culture could be considered essential in this day and age, specifically in the United States and education is the field which can be pivotal in creating this comprehension. Simultaneous education of students, teachers and parents is necessary to explain this segment of society in an accurate manner. Further research is essential to determine if art specialists, in-service teachers, parents, and administrators of educational institutions would support a curriculum on Islamic religious art for use by mainstream teachers as well as art educators.