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Web supportMy Life, My Religion has a series of clips that

are suitable to use when teaching about Islam

and the Ummah.

See: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pc1c9/clips

NATRE members and RE Today subscribers can also

download the following from the RE Today website:

• a copy of the magazine article on pp.30–31

• a copy of the active reading grid on p.28

• a PowerPoint presentation to support the teaching

of this unit

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Why is the Ummah important to Muslims?

Description of achievement: I can ...

Assessment for learningThis section shows some of the outcomes achievable by pupils of different abilities in the 9–11 age range.

9–11

• describe what the Ummah means to Muslims

• give some examples of what difference religious commitments make to some people’s lives

• describe three different ways in which the Ummah supports Muslim people all over the world

• make connections between belief in the Ummah and teachings and sources of wisdom in Islam

• describe some of the impacts of religious commitments on life

• outline the challenges and benefits of being part of the Ummah in Britain today

• explain the significance of the Ummah to Muslims and express ideas about this concept of community

• make connections between aspects of the Ummah and similar ideas in other communities

This unit could help pupils in Scotland to achieve RME 2–04b and 2–05a.

Background knowledge for teachersUmmah means community or the worldwide community of Muslims. There is no living leader of the Ummah. Allah is the only one who Muslims follow. The Ummah aims to promote the welfare of everyone in the Muslim community. The Ummah benefits from a shared language – most Muslims learn Arabic so they can read the Qur’an. The Ummah supports the worldwide community of Muslims by:• supporting one another financially, for instance

through the giving of Zakah• encouraging the members of the community to

take care of one another• encouraging people to live the best life they can

and not engage in wrong doingThis unit uses interviews with young people to help pupils understand the significance of the Ummah in the lives of Muslims and how the Five Pillars support the Ummah.Through exploring identity and belonging using a film clip, engaging in active reading and applying their learning in thinking and writing tasks, pupils will be able to answer the unit question: Why is the Ummah important to Muslims?

Essential knowledge for pupilsPupils should know: • the meaning of the Ummah• the significance of the Ummah in the lives of Muslims• examples of the Ummah in action (e.g. in the

Five Pillars)

Many pupils in this age groupExpected for 11-year-olds

Almost all pupils in this age group

Expected for 9-year-olds

The most able pupils in this age group

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Links across the curriculum The activities in this unit support pupils to:• use simple organisational devices in non-

narrative material• ask questions to improve their understanding of

the text• identify the main ideas drawn from more than

one paragraph and summarise theseFor those using RE Today units of work, this supports 2.8 What difference does it make to believe in Ahimsa, grace, and/or the Ummah?

Expectations

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2Expressing identity

Your community

Active reading

Bring in a series of items that express some of the multiple identities that you, as a teacher have, for example: • a pile of books to show you are a teacher• a photo to show your place as a partner, parent,

sibling or child in your family• something to show your allegiance to a sporting

team or musician or other hobby• something to show a group you belong to such

as a book group, running club or choir• a map or similar to express the significance of

a particular location to youDescribe who you are to the pupils and how your identity is made up of many things including membership of several communities. Explain that in this unit, we are going to learn about Muslim people and the importance of community to them.Show the opening clip from My Life, My Religion where Sara has made a short clip expressing something of who she is. See: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02mwkl7

Ask pupils to work in pairs to write about or draw four objects that show who Sara is, what is important to her and what communities she belongs to. Ask them to meet up with another pair to present and justify their choices.How would the pupils express their own identity in 90 seconds? Which communities do they belong to and how does that affect what they do? Ask pupils to work individually to create a 90 second film or script of their identity.

As a class, identify between three and five features of the Ummah. Discuss what the purpose of each of these features is. Record their ideas in a table; Column 1 titled ‘Feature of the Ummah’ and Column 2 titled ‘Purpose of this feature’. Explain to your pupils that they, like Sara and Bilal and Fizzah, belong to one or more than one community. For some of them this might be a religious community but all of them belong to the school community. Ask the pupils to think about the features the class recorded about the Ummah. Can these features be found in your school? If this feature is found in school, how does it help the school community? If the feature is not found, how could it improve your school’s sense of community? Ask pupils to record their ideas around a picture representing your school.

For these activities you will need each pair of pupils to have a copy of the ‘Understanding Ummah’ activity on pp.30–31. Explain to the pupils that you are going to find out about the importance of the Ummah to the Muslim community. Ask the pupils to work in pairs.

SummarisingRead the text on p.30 to pupils and ask them to sum up what they have heard in one or two sentences.Next give the text of p.30 to each pair.Ask them to:• underline any words that they think someone would

need to find out more about• write no more than five sentences that summarise

what they have read

Digging deeperGive each pair a copy of the two interviews on p.31. Ask each pupil to read one interview and summarise what they have found out using the active reading grid on p.28. After filling in the thinking frame, pupils explain to their partner what they found out from their interview and identify and describe similarities and differences. Share their understanding of the significance of the Ummah for Muslims.

DefiningGo back to the words they underlined on p.30.Underline any words that require defining on p.31.Using information gained, any books or additional resources, create a glossary of terms that could be added to the magazine article.

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4 5Five Pillars of Islam and the Ummah

Writing to improve understanding

Before embarking on this activity, pupils will need to have learnt about the Five Pillars of Islam. If this is not something you have taught about before, the pupils will need to be introduced to them first. You might look at Opening Up Islam pp.25–29 for this. Remind the pupils of the Five Pillars of Islam:• Shahahdah, declaration of faith• Salah, prayer• Zakah, giving of money• Sawm, fasting• Hajj, pilgrimage to MakkahArrange pupils to work in pairs. Give each pair a copy of p.29 either as a whole or cut up into separate cards. Each card describes something about how following that pillar reflects being part of the Ummah. Firstly, ask pupils to identify which of the descriptions relates to which of the Five Pillars of Islam, either by sorting the cards or writing the names of the pillars on the sheet. There are two cards per pillar.Next, ask pupils to choose which three of all the quotes relate most to the Ummah and write a paragraph to explain their ideas.

Below are two suggested writing activities. You can either choose the writing style that links with the learning you are doing in English or choose a writing activity suitable for individual pupils. Alternatively, you could create a different activity linked to the writing style you are studying in English. Both of these tasks allow pupils to apply what they have learnt about the Ummah and apply their learning to the different writing tasks. The second task may be suitable for less able or younger pupils.Newspaper articleAsk pupils to write an article about the Ummah to be placed in a local newspaper or magazine. In the article they must include:• an explanation of what the Ummah is and what it means

to Muslims• two or three examples of the Ummah in action in the local area• technical language with definitions, referring to their glossary• key features of a newspaper articleA postcard describing the UmmahAsk pupils to write a postcard to Sara, Fizzah or Bilal thanking them for helping them to understand the Ummah through their film or article. In the postcard they must include:• a description of what the Ummah is• examples they have seen or learnt about that show the Ummah

in action• technical language with definitions, referring to their glossary

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Name of interviewee:

The three most important things about the Ummah: Why was the Ummah important to Bilal/Fizzah?

Three important words and their meanings: Three questions you would like to ask:

Activity 2: Active reading

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Activity 4: The Ummah in the Five Pillar cards W

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One way I feel part of the Ummah is by sharing one belief that ‘There is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.’ We remind ourselves of this at least five times a day during prayer.

Jummah prayers on Friday bring the whole community together. We pray the same thing but also all hear the words of the Imam. This goes on around the whole world. I can go to Jummah prayers wherever I am in the world.

All pilgrims complete the same rituals. Men dressed identically in ihram and women in clean clothes. These rituals remind us we are part of one worldwide community, completing our pilgrimage with about three million other members of the Ummah.

It is great to be able to support other Muslims financially. My money is not just for me and my family. I need to share it with those who are having a difficult time. Allah tells us to do this as part of one community.

Muslims are reminded to care about each other by fasting. It reminds us that everyone is our responsibility – all our brothers and sisters in the Ummah, not just the family we live with. We need to care about everyone.

The fact that a declaration of our belief is the first thing that a baby hears at birth and the last thing I hope to hear before I die, makes me feel part of the Ummah. We all share these beliefs and they are so important that we want to hear them at the beginning and the end of our lives.

Everyone hopes to go on this journey. It might take me all my life to be able to save up and to make myself ready for this journey by sorting out any disagreements. However long it takes, I will pursue this dream – a shared dream with everyone else in the Ummah.

When we pray, whoever we are, we pray using the same movements, we use the same words, we pray facing Makkah. Imagine the whole Ummah doing the same thing – it’s so powerful!

The paying of our contribution during Ramadan brings the community together. We often pay ours through our local Mosque. Our whole community is encouraged to look after people, to do this good deed. It is a joy and a duty.

During this special month, fasting is really hard but it helps me to know a little bit of what it is to be less fortunate. I love the fact that we all do this, however rich or poor we are across the whole world.

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UNDERSTANDING The UmmahFizzah and Bilal share with us what being a member of the Ummah, the worldwide community of Muslims, means to them.

What community do you belong to? What

similarities or differences does it have to the

Ummah? We would love to hear about your community for our

magazine.

W elcome to the latest of our series of articles looking into different communities and why these communites are

so important to their members. Most of us believe we belong to a community or, usually, more than one community whether it is a school, a family, a swimming club, cubs, where we live or the team we support. For many Muslims, the most important community they belong to is the Ummah, the worldwide community of Muslims, united by their belief in Allah.

Many Muslims think of the Ummah as being like a worldwide family of Muslims, people who all believe the same thing, they even call one another brothers or sisters. They all have one shared language – whatever language they use in their everyday lives, all Muslims learn Arabic so they can read the Qur’an – it makes it much easier when a whole community has a shared language. Probably the most important part of the Ummah is that everyone is equal whether you are rich or poor, a female or a male, a child or an adult, black or white.The Ummah encourages people to care for one another, to live a good life and to support other Muslims financially. It is estimated that in Britain, during the month of Ramadan in 2016, £100 million was donated to charitable causes – the equivalent of £38 per second!

PrayerThe Ummah is united by prayer. Muslims all pray in the same language, Arabic, with the same body language, facing the same place and addressing the prayer to one God. The timing of their prayer moves around the world as the earth rolls around the sun.

Sharing what you haveMuslims are asked by their religion to give some of their money to help those less fortunate, as a sign of thanks to Allah. Allah is referred to by 99 beautiful names, three of which are: Allah the Giver of All, the Satisfier of All Needs, the Generous One. Zakah, the third pillar of Islam, requires Muslims to give £1 from every £40, 2½% during the time of Ramadan. Charity is also given at other times of year too. At Eid ul Adha, Muslims also donate so that food is given to those in need. This is called Qurbani. It is the giving of a sacrifice of an animal or of money to show submission to Allah. This sacrifice or money is then distributed to those in need. These practices bring the Ummah together: everyone is involved, the richer help the poorer, everyone remembers God.

PilgrimageMuslims all hope to go on the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Makkah. The Hajj shows them what the Ummah really is. Everyone is equal with people wearing simple white clothes and completing each aspect of the pilgrimage together. Whether richer or poorer, black or white, male or female, everyone completes the same journey together. However not all Muslims can go on the Hajj to Makkah. There are 2 billion Muslim people and only about 3 million per year go to Makkah for the Hajj. But there is unity in aspiring to go, and in facing the Ka’bah every time Muslims pray, so the Ummah is strengthened by the fact that the Ka’bah is the centre of the world for all Muslims.In the Qur’an it says, ‘You have been the best of communities brought forth for humankind: commanding good, forbidding evil, and believing in Allah.’ (Surah Ali `Imran: 110). I wonder if this sums up the Ummah?What community do you belong to? What similarities or differences does it have to the Ummah? We would love to hear about your community for our magazine.

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We spoke to Bilal about what the Ummah means to him as a teenager living in London.Why is the Ummah important to you? The Ummah is important to me as a Muslim because it means we should stick together and know who to seek for help, also it ensures a special bond between Muslims. A sense of safety if you will.

How do people know you belong to the Ummah? People know I belong to the Ummah because of the way I dress, my respect for all people, not just Muslims but non-Muslims too. I am self-controlled and respectful, Aklaq, to other children of God. I feel part of the Ummah through the special greetings we give one another, for example, As-salamu alaykum, when I am talking about religion or praying together peacefully in the mosque side by side. It doesn’t matter what tradition you are, we are all under the same umbrella, followers of Muhammad (pbuh).

What do you do regularly that makes you feel part of the Ummah? I pray in groups, read Qu’ran to kids and make sure my community is clean and safe. When I see the wide presence of Muslims around the world and when I go to the Middle East to see the Holy Sites, I feel part of a big community. The Ummah makes me feel amazing, knowing people will have my back no matter what. It makes sure that I am filling my mind with education and that is the best feeling.

What are your responsibilities as part of the Ummah? I always help out in the community; that means teaching kids how to read Arabic, read the Qu’ran, telling them stories and teaching them how to pray. I also make sure there are no extreme ideas and most importantly help non-Muslims understand what real Islam is.

Fizzah is a teenage girl attending school in London. We asked her about being part of the Ummah and what it means to her.Why is the Ummah important to you?It gives me a sense of belonging to a family with a common goal. It also gives me a voice based on my religion, not my colour, ethnicity or any other identifying factor.

How do people know you belong to the Ummah?I think my hijab distinguishes me as part of the Muslim Ummah and I see it as my outward Islamic identity, differentiating me from others. The unity shown by Muslims around the world with our common goal of worshipping our Lord, Allah, makes me feel connected with one collective voice, the voice of the Ummah.

What do you do regularly that makes you feel part of the Ummah?I attend my mosque regularly as well as a Saturday Islamic school which gives me a sense of being part of a bigger team. I also take part in various activities such as sports tournaments, stage plays, workshops and interfaith meetings. Being part of the Ummah makes me feel safe and wanted by people who are experiencing the same things as I am. It also brings a closer connection through the things we have in common which can help others understand the message Islam wants to convey. What are your responsibilities as part of the Ummah?It is important to always give a good impression as I feel I am a representative of Islam in everything I do, from my manners all the way through to my appearance. This is an important part of a Muslim’s life and one that I take particular care in ensuring I do this to the best of my ability.

‘The Ummah is important to me as a Muslim because it means we should stick together and know who to seek for help’

‘Being part of the Ummah makes me feel safe and wanted by people who are experiencing the same things as I am’

RE Today