Thursday Post, Caliphate Unit

Caliphate Unit

Dr. G. Mick Smith

"Beyond the Sound Bites"

Reactions to Statements by Egyptian Cleric Safwat Higazi, 10-11 June 2012

What do the panelists say about Mursi's supporter, Higazi, and the Muslim Brotherhood?
Who was Gamal Abd Al-Nasser?
What did Higazi mean by stating "We are all Hamas?"

Summarize each of the panelists and their position:
Farid Zahran, Egyptian Democratic Party
TV Host, Hala Sarhan
Farida Al-Shubashi, Egyptian Journalist
Egyptian Lawyer, Essam Al-Hafnawi
Egyptian MP, Sha'ban Abd Al-Alim
Dr. Tharwat Al-Badawi, expert on Constitutional Law

http://youtu.be/_9MnLbsGPtg

Caliphate Unit
Time:  Five 42 minute lessons (or more for more extended research)
Grades: 9-12

Lesson 1:  What is a Caliphate?

Goals:

• to describe the term Caliphate
• to show the ways Caliphate have risen and fallen during Islamic history
• to show how the Caliphate plays a role in how Islamic societies answer questions of authority
• to modernize the Caliphate in order for Egypt to redefine itself after the dictatorship of Mubarak has been eliminated

Students will be able to:

• Identify the components of a Caliphate (Complex religion, Cities, Trade, Labor specialization, Social stratification, Centralized gov, Laws, arts/architecture, Public works, Record keeping)
• Analyze, interpret videos of Caliphate discussion
• Students will be able to identify the components of a Caliphate throughout the various time periods, rise and fall, by reviewing their Notebook material. 
• Think critically about the terms “caliphate” and social “authority”

Materials:
Umayyad Caliphs Build an Empire (students may refer to their Notebooks)
Checkpoint (these Questions are in their Notebook as well)
What caused the Abbassid dynasty to decline?
Describe the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the last Caliphate.

Preparatory homework:
Students will ask a parent or adult to define “caliphate” or the
religious and civil authority in a society in his/her own words the night prior to this lesson.

Activities:
1. Pair/Share of definitions of “caliphate” or religious and civil authority in society that students gathered as homework. As they share, record definitions on the board and ask students to identify patterns in the definitions and think about/discuss which components are recurring and most essential, as well as to add in any missing components.
2. Where does religious and civil authority come from? Who holds power?
3. Introduce videos and explain that students will be working in small groups or pairs to discuss and comment on current newsworthy videos. Students will analyze the videos with the Beyond the Sound Bites analysis and identify the components of the class definition of a Caliphate. Based on their analysis, students will make a decision about whether the videos reflect an historical caliphate, some combination of former caliphates, or a new type of caliphate altogether.
4. Regroup and discuss small group determinations of the status of the caliphate as a class.

Homework: Students answer textbook questions based on the unit, Caliphate.