A Visit From the Imam
When Shakeel Rahman Miah, the imam of the Islamic Center of Burlington, stepped into the Kiva in the Center for Creativity last June, a respectful hush fell among the sixth graders who were waiting to meet him. Dressed in a traditional white turban, long robe, and sandals, Rahman was there to announce winning designs from among the Islam-inspired decorative tiles the students had created and submitted to him as part of the final project in their interdisciplinary study of geometry, Islamic art, the Quran, and the history of the Middle East. Perusing the sixth graders’ work on display, leaning in to observe details on the glazed ceramic, and occasionally calling over a student to ask a question about their project, Rahman had the close attention of all as he considered colorful, complex designs based on the mathematical principles and religious symbolism common in Islamic art.
According to math teacher Kent Vienot—who worked with art instructor and department chair Ruth Bauer along with sixth grade language arts teachers Cathy Griffin and Sean Melia to teach the unit—Islamic tile designs offer a fascinating way to engage students in a project that brings together diverse but related fields of study. Identifying such drivers for inquiry is a major goal among Shore faculty as they increasingly focus on interdisciplinary, project-based teaching and learning.
“During a workshop a few years ago,” Vienot explains, “the sixth grade team got together to map out the curriculum paths for everything we teach. In looking at the sequences in parallel, we discovered some great connections.” The Islamic tile project grew out of one such thread. “At about the same time in the year, English classes would be reading a book about Afghanistan, history would be studying the Middle East, in math we’d be doing geometry, and in art, Ruth Bauer was already focusing on elements of Islamic design.” (Bauer was the recipient of the Parents of Graduates award in support of her travel to study the work of Muslim artists in Spain.)
The teachers designed a shared unit in which sixth graders would learn about such topics as Islam’s five pillars while they dug into the math hidden in Islamic decoration, which tends to avoid using figurative images, instead making frequent use of geometric patterns which have developed over the centuries. Four basic shapes—circles, squares, star patterns, and multisided polygons—are used by artists to create intricate patterns in media ranging from tile to carpet, stone, wood, and metal. “We’d have the students research Islamic design, look at examples of Islamic tile art, and consider the philosophy and beliefs that inspire the art,” recounts Vienot.
Sixth graders would discover that Muhammad, the founder of the Islamic faith, preached against the worship of idols, and encouraged artists whose work was destined for religious settings to develop motifs based on geometric shapes (a fundamental to ancient Middle East sciences), arabesques (swirling vines, leaves and flowers), and calligraphy—indeed the same inspired patterns found on tiles, prayer rugs, fabrics, and the walls of mosques and public buildings throughout the Islamic world. Some scholars argue that Islamic patterns are created to lead the viewer to an understanding of the universe, while others believe the purpose of the decorations are to transform spaces or objects into experiences of the infinite.
“But,” says Vienot, “as we asked ourselves whether creating tiles could truly be a driver of learning across subjects, we realized something was missing.” In the project-based learning model, it’s not enough to cross disciplines, as worthwhile as this may be. Instead, what motivates students to make connections between different areas of inquiry and technique is an end goal that’s outside of school—a product of sorts that answers a real-world challenge or accomplishes a real-world aim. “What we needed,” Vienot continues, “was a connection with an imam from a local mosque. We’d present the tile designs to him, and then he’d then select three winning tiles to be displayed in the mosque.”
Vienot found an eager partner in imam Shakeel Rahman Miah, the young, soft-spoken worship leader from Burlington. As one of the Islamic Center’s youth counselors as well as its imam, Miah was excited about the opportunity to serve as expert judge of the students’ designs, and to speak with them about Islam in general. “Like many people, when I was younger I didn’t know much about Islam as a religion, even though I was born Muslim. But when I reached high school, an imam from our local mosque opened up the floodgates and dispelled all the myths I believed. In college, he advised me to study at a madrasa, or seminary. Now, as an imam myself, I’m happy to be the one educating others about Islam.”
In the Trustey Family Theatre, Miah’s question-and-answer session with Shore sixth graders ventured far and wide as students wondered about Allah, Mohammed, the wearing of the hijab, and many other topics. The imam patiently answered every inquiry and even joked with the sixth graders about playing basketball in his middle school days. Then it was time for the eagerly awaited announcement of the winning tiles. “All of your work is wonderful,” he told the students, “and I wish I could pick all of them. However, God rewards those who perform excellently with excellence.”
The imam called out the three students who created the winning tiles, praising their calligraphy, their understanding of the five pillars, their depiction of the spread of Islam, and their design. Each of the winning creators then presented their tiles to Miah so he could return with them to the Islamic Center, where they’d be displayed and, hopefully, joined by more tiles created at Shore as this project and the partnership with the imam continues in the years to come.
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Top tile designers posed with the imam.
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Tiles on display in the Center for Creativity
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Imam Shakeel Rahman Miah spoke with sixth graders.
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A tile design by Caroline Brennan
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Devan Hernandez presented his winning tile.
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A winning tile design by Eden Welch
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