Humankind: breaking down barriers in schools

As part of HumanKind interfaith activities, HumanKind Ambassadors visited Nottingham Bluecoat Academy on Wednesday 9th November 2021. This was Humankind’s first visit to an institution. Muskaan Jamshied, the HumanKind co-ordinator had been invited along with two other ambassadors, Karim and Khateeb.

Bluecoat Academy invited people from different faiths to share their beliefs.

Each group had the chance to show and tell the students about materials and objects they used in order to practice their faith. The children seemed very intrigued and had many questions regarding the Muslim faith.

The groups were then split up and sent to different classes where the children were able to ask questions they had about each faith.

The headteacher, Mrs Kirsty Lacey, welcomed everyone so warmly and was very intrigued by what we had to share as people from different faiths.

This gave Humankind the chance to break down stereotypes and barriers between both communities as we were able to share our beliefs and our way of life as Muslims living in Britain.

This was also inspiring for Muslim children in the school as they were able to connect and ask more questions about Islam. This allowed them to talk about their faith and shared their thoughts with the rest of the class. This broke down many misconceptions.

I too, as a Muslim woman, felt understood and respected. I was able to inform people about my religion without being disrespected and misunderstood.

We met a variety of faith leaders including:

• Julie Lowe who is a priest from the orthodox parish chaplain at the University of Nottingham. It was inspiring to share our beliefs through a peaceful discussion where we were able to make connections and work together to inform others about our faiths.
• Harvir who had attended to represent the Sikh faith. We were able to discuss our commonalities on specific topics and carried on a friendly warming conversation about our experiences as a Muslim and a Sikh in Britain.

Overall, this was inspiring as the interfaith week showed diversity. Humankind is about breaking down barriers and building connections between both communities which was a success!

If you would like to become a Humankind ambassador or find out more, please visit our website.