DLTK's Countries and Cultures
Islamic/Muslim Ideas

I want to start off by saying, I'm not a Muslim but I have had a lot of terrific advice from Islamic viewers when putting together this section.  If you have anything you'd like to contribute or errors you've bumped into that you'd like me to correct please feel free to email me!

	Islamic (Muslim) Geometric Art Age 3+
	Islamic (Muslim) Prophets Mobile Age 3+
	Phases of the Moon art project various ages
	Pop-Up Kabba Eid Card Thanks to the viewer who contributed this craft idea!

Note from a viewer (Tanya):  I am a Muslim who is homeschooling a 6 year old and a 4 year old. When I went to look for winter bulletin board ideas, I ran across the "multicultural" one.  Islamic art, while great for a math lesson, really doesn't fill the bill for Ramadan.  Really, Ramadan is so much more!  You could put a crescent there--which has much more significance to Muslims during Ramadan than Islamic art  (It is the sighting of the crescent that actually signals the beginning and end of Ramadan).  You could also color the background green, which is said to be the prophet's favorite color.  Also, Muslims in Egypt like to celebrate Ramadan by creating beautiful Fanoos (which are lanterns).  Even the significance of no food or water from sunup to sunset would be better than Islamic Art.  

There is also a few facts that I would like to share with you about Ramadan. 

• Ramadan is not necessarily a "winter" holiday. As a matter of fact, Ramadan is not exactly the holiday Muslims celebrate, but is the Arabic name for the MONTH before the real holiday. The month of Ramadan is significant to Muslims because it was when the Qur’aan was revealed and obviously it is the month of fasting. 

• The month of Ramadan occurs a few weeks earlier every year so it will be celebrated in the summer in a few more years and then eventually come to be celebrated again in the winter. 

• There is also something much more important that you totally missed and that is the actual holiday of Eid. The celebration that follows the month of Ramadan is called Eid-ul-fitr. (Eid means recurring happiness or festivity). Teaching children about Ramadan without mentioning Eid-ul-fitr is like mentioning the entire month of December as a big celebration leading up to Christmas eve--but then forgetting to tell kids about Christmas day!

• Ramadan for Muslims is a whole month of fasting leading up to a wonderful three days of serious celebrating. We give money to the needy, exchange gifts, children get new outfits, we celebrate together by gathering for the morning prayer at the Mosque, we return home for a huge breakfast, and we spend the next three days celebrating with family and friends. 

• Then, three months later, we celebrate another Eid. The second Eid is called 'Eid-ul-Adh'ha (the Festival of sacrifice). It falls on the tenth day of Zil-Hijjah, the last month of the Muslim year. (Ramadan is the 9th month of the Muslim year.) This is where you typically see news about Muslims making the pilgrimage to Mecca. This Eid is significant in it's own way as it marks the completion of Hajj to Mecca--a journey each Muslim must make at least once in their lifetimes if the are able to. 

So you see, there is more to Ramadan and Eid than Islamic art. Thanks for listening.