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  • 05 October 2018 | Bangladesh

    First Step Camp Organised by ITREB Bangladesh

  • 05 October 2018 | Bangladesh

    First Step Camp Organised by ITREB Bangladesh

As the STEP program is being delivered to the Secondary REC students in Dhaka, Bangladesh, students ages 12 to 21 took part in a STEP CAMP organized by ITREB for the first time ever in Bangladesh. The topic was on Identity and Pluralism. The camp was held on Friday, October 5th from 4:30 AM – 4:00 PM and it was led by Mehak Lalani, STEP teacher from USA. Venue was first Jamatkhana, then Kurmitola Golf Club and then sessions in Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center (IJKC). Students started the day by taking part in the rites and rituals of morning Jamatkhana, Later the group went to the Kurmitola Golf Club to enjoy the greenery, walking, breakfast and some golf. Students experienced the sport of golf and it gave exposure to the children to play golf and appreciate the spirit of the sport. Students really enjoyed the sport and were very excited with this new experience.

Once the students came back to the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center, students interacted with each other in the STEP session where they started by discussing their own identities and labels that they use to describe themselves. They categorized these labels into religious, social, and personal characteristics. Students were given the Jowhari’s Window (For information: The Johari window model is used to enhance the individual’s perception on others) to reflect on “What I know about myself”, “What others know about me” “What I don’t know about myself” What others don’t know about me.” By this activity, they were able to see how complex and dynamic one’s identity really is. Students then applied this concept of personal identity to religion by observing and collaborating to understand what are their perceptions and assumptions of who a “good Muslim” or “bad Muslim” is and how misleading and narrow their thinking may be. These labels may also become very problematic when communicating to any individual who are different from us. Therefore, we understood the value of leaving behind our judgements and accepting all Muslims as fellow brother and sisters who are all a part of one Ummah.

The students situated their Shia Ismaili Muslim identity by placing themselves as a part of this large weave of different interpretations within Islam. Students acted out a couple of role plays to think through how we should interact with our Muslim brothers and sisters and what approach we can take. After that, the students were divided into four groups which took a proactive approach by creating a video using the Dhaka Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center as an Ambassadorial Building to express who the Shia Ismaili Community is and what are the core beliefs and values that we live by every day. Later, the students viewed each other’s projects and shared the strengths and areas of improvement of each video in terms of how it represents the Ismaili community. This was a real learning experience for the students as they were able to practice the articulation of who they are as Shia Ismaili Muslims. At the same time, children also learnt that they need to be very patient, welcoming and accepting others from own religion as well as different religions, and the pluralistic approach they should take while interacting with fellow humans from all walks of life.