Trust building forum attend Trinity Catholic School

Can we break misconceptions about Islam, reverse media misrepresentation and build bridges between Muslims and the wider community?

My response: an emphatic yes!

Humankind conducted its first workshop on the 16th of December 2022 at Trinity Catholic School. Myself and the Humankind team delivered a presentation to year 13 students. We started with a quiz to stimulate young minds to illustrate the difference between culture and religion.

This was important as religion is often confused with culture, creating stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam.

We then informed students about the Islamic faith and its teachings. We invited them to learn about sources of guidance, the Quran and the Hadith.

The students were aware of the Quran, but not all were aware of what the hadith were and what it consists of.

The students were also impressed by Islamic history and contribution to all walks of life. They were particularly interceded to hear about the Muslim conurbation to WWI and WWII.

Another hot topic was what the Quran says about women, their rights and their status. We coached them on Muslim women role models and I think my presence as a Muslim woman broke down a common misconception about “women being oppressed”.

With some humour and a safe space to discuss and ask questions, some questions asked included:

• What happens if you take the hijab off?
• What does Islam say about the afterlife?
• What does Islam say about same-sex marriage?
• What does Islam say about marrying out of religion?

The students had opened up about what they thought Islam was about and were very impressed by what they had learnt. This had also given them the chance to share their different faiths and discussed what they believed in and shared common bonds.

The Humankind team were inspired by the enthusiasm, fascination and interest in learning about Islam. We will be carrying this momentum into the new year as we conduct more workshops in the new year. So watch this space.

If you have a workplace where you would like HumanKind to deliver a presentation on Islam, please get in touch at https://www.karimia.com/humankind/