Dealing with Racism and Bullying

Suggested Duration: 60 minutes

Learning Objectives

To understand what racism is
To understand how racism is different from bullying
To understand that Islam condemns all forms of racism and teaches equality for all humanity

Key Words

Equality, racism, prejudice, discrimination, stereotype

Islamic Values

Islam accepts that it is God's design to make everyone different. Islam encourages us to accept all differences regardless of race, and excellence is solely based upon your love for God and righteousness.

Citizenship Values

Citizens do not discriminate against people because of their differences. These differences can arise between people because of a number of factors, including culture, ethnicity, race, religion, gender and disability.

Activities

Ask some quick questions to recap the last lesson. Share the lesson objectives.

A Starter Activity

Ask pupils to find a person in their class who they do not know very well. They should talk to them and discover three important things about them and vice versa. Take feedback.

Emphasise that the point of this exercise is to get to know each other, to move away from their normal comfort zones, and to speak to someone that they may not have spoken to before. Often racism is caused because people do not know anything about the other person. They sometimes form bad ideas of the other because they have never spent any time with them or their families. This lack of knowledge is ignorance and can lead to hatred. One of the ways of combating racism is to get to know each other. In Islam this is called 'ta`aruf' (as introduced by the IHNA Education Programme, developed by Building Bridges Pendle).

Ask pupils if they have friends who are from different cultures, religions and backgrounds. Do they treat them any differently to friends from their own community? Take feedback.

B Development

Activity 1: Racism, Bullying or Ignorance

Ask pupils:

Have you experienced bullying? Give some examples.
Have you ever bullied anybody? Why did you do this?

Explain what bullying is, using the following definitions: Bullying is when someone keeps doing or saying things to have power over another person. Some of the ways people bully others are by: calling them names; saying or writing nasty things about them; leaving them out of activities; not talking to them; threatening them; making them feel uncomfortable or scared; taking or damaging their things; hitting or kicking them; or making them do things they don't want to do.

If you dislike someone on the basis of their colour and background, then this is called 'racism'.

Activity 2: Different Scenarios

Ask pupils to read each of following scenarios and complete Pupils' Activity Sheet 2.1901. They should identify if each of the scenarios is racism, bullying or ignorance.

Scenarios

1 You are in a store and the assistant, who is of a different colour to you, ignores you when you ask for help. What could be the reason for this and what would you do? 2 In the playground you are being picked on by a child who is calling you names, some of which refer to your weight and height. What could be the reason for this and what would you do? 3 You ask the canteen/dinner lady if the food is halal and she tells you to eat whatever there is and stop being fussy. What could be the reason for this and what would you do? 4 In your school a non-Muslim argues that he is better than a Muslim. What could be the reason for this and what would you do?

Take feedback.

Explain to the pupils that there are many reasons why people sometimes behave in this way. For example:

lack of understanding
lack of confidence
fear of getting to know someone new
dislike on the basis of skin colour
dislike on the basis of religion.

Take feedback and stress that racism and bullying are two different things.

Activity 3: Islamic Guidance

Ask a pupil to recite the following verses. Explain the meaning.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَومٌ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَى أَن يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ

'O believers! One group must not make fun of another group, perhaps they may be better than them..!' (Surat Al-Hujurat 49:11)

Question: How could they be better than you?

Suggested answer: Perhaps others have better manners, are more honest or are more righteous.

God has revealed to me that you should be courteous to one another. One should neither hold oneself above another nor misbehave against another.' (Muslim)

He who has, in his heart, a grain of arrogance will not enter Jannah. Someone asked ‘how about a person who likes to wear beautiful clothes and shoes?' The Prophet, said all of God's affairs are beautiful and He likes beauty; arrogance means ridiculing and rejecting the truth and despising people.' (Muslim)

There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab and for a non-Arab over an Arab; nor for white over black, nor for black over white except in righteousness. Indeed the noblest among you is the one who is the most righteous.' (Last Sermon at Arafat)

C Plenary

Ask pupils how we can prevent or stop racism and bullying. Take quick feedback and emphasise:

Speak out; if you say nothing, others may think you agree.
Speak to people you trust and ask for help and remember that being a victim of bullying is not your fault.

Ask some of the following questions to recap the lesson:

Can I be nasty to someone because they are different to me?
Why is bullying wrong?
What is racism and why is it wrong?
What did Islam say about who are the best people?
What is ta`aruf?

Reiterate that Islam condemns all forms of racism and teaches equality.

Take whole-class feedback.

Suggested Follow-up Work

Ask pupils to create a poster saying 'No to racism!'