Over the last two weeks, each Year 5 class have visited Canterbury Mosque as part of their RE unit on Islam. We were greeted by the Muslim volunteers who talked about the rules and expectations of the Mosque. These included removing our shoes and keeping a calm quiet as we moved around the building. We were then split into three groups and moved around a series of activities:
1. Arabic writing - The children learnt how Arabic writing is written from right to left, such as that in the Holy Qu'ran, and had the opportunity to write their name in Arabic.
2. Muslim clothing/Ramadan food - The children learnt about how Muslims fast during daylight hours within the month of Ramadan and how they might eat foods like dates when it is dark as a quick release of energy. The children also had the chance to try on tradition Muslim clothing, for example the hijab.
3. Islam presentation - The children were taught about many aspects of Islam, in particular the Five Pillars and how these act as guiding principles for how a Muslim should live their life.
It was a really enjoyable experience for the children to be able to see an active Islamic place of worship and they showed respect and intrigue, drawing reference to things they had learnt back in school.
