This week, we have begun our new topic: Dialogue and Encounter. This is the sixth and final branch of our learning in Religious Education. In this unit, we will explore how Christians understand the Bible as a collection of inspired writings that were gathered over time. We will also consider the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, and how Christians read the Old Testament in the light of Christ, while also respecting that these texts remain sacred within Judaism.
We began our learning by focusing on the ‘encounter’ dimension of the topic, deepening our understanding of sacred texts. This gave us the opportunity to reflect on books that matter to us personally, and to talk with others about their sacred texts, why they are important, and how respect is shown towards them.
We started by consolidating our understanding of what a ‘sacred text’ is. We recapped our learning on the Torah from earlier in the year during Judaism Week, and also reintroduced the Qur’an into our discussions. Working with our learning partners, we generated thoughtful questions we would like to ask about the Qur’an, focusing on ideas such as importance, respect, and worship.
Later in the lesson, we were fortunate to be visited by Miss Guled, who spoke to us about the Qur’an and kindly brought in her own copy to share with us. We asked her a wide range of questions, as we were keen to deepen our understanding. She explained that Muslims often wash their hands before handling the Qur’an as a sign of respect, and that the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel from God. This helped us to understand that the words of the Qur’an, originally written in Arabic, are considered to be the words of God. We also learned that the Qur’an is often kept in a special place and treated with great reverence. In worship, Muslims may recite passages from the Qur’an, as well as spend time reflecting and praying to Allah, asking for guidance, forgiveness, or help.
It was fascinating to hear from Miss Guled, and we learned a great deal. For some of us, it was a valuable opportunity to deepen understanding of our own faiths. As a Catholic school, we celebrate and respect all religions, and recognise the importance of learning from and about others. It was particularly interesting to notice similarities across faiths, as Miss Guled explained that important figures found in the Bible also appear in the Qur’an, often with similar stories.
Later in the week, we came together to summarise our understanding of sacred texts. Some of us even brought in Qur’ans and prayer books from home, which created a special opportunity to share and reflect together. In our books, we took on the role of museum curators. We were tasked with summarising the importance of each sacred text and explaining how respect is shown towards them. Our blurbs were written as if they would be displayed in a museum, helping visitors to understand their significance.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Miss Guled for coming to talk to us, and helping us to understand more about the Qur’an and Islam. It was a brilliant opportunity and really inspired our learning process.
How can learning about other people’s sacred texts help us to deepen our respect for our own beliefs and those of others?
