Islam in America:

Muslims in Novels
Lesson Plan
Subject:

American

Literature

(10th

Grade) or higher
Grade: An advanced 9th grade or
higher level.
Introduction: This lesson should take
place over at least a three week period. The students will be divided into five
groups and each group will read and report on a novel assigned to them. This
lesson assumes that they had a brief introduction to Islam in a World Studies class.
If this is not the case, a few days might be necessary to introduce concepts such as:
Shariah, Jihad, Justice (Adil), etc. to them. This lesson should encourage the
students to realize that Muslims contributed to the building of this nation
linguistically, through the Civil Rights arena, and in other fashions. The students will
read short historical pieces from newspapers and magazines to go along with their
novels so they can discuss the way historic figures and shown in the novels
selected.
Objectives:
1) Students will be able to analyze
characters, plots, and style of the works read.
2) Students will be able to prepare
journals, book reviews, and character sketches dealing with the novels under
discussion.
3) Students will be able to discuss the
novels orally and take a written essay exam on the novels prepared by the teacher
after consultation with the students.
Materials/Resources:
Novels:
Ishmael
Reed
Mumbo
Jumbo
(Atheneum, 1972), Kent Smith Future X (Halloway House, 1990), Sterling Hobbs
Black Angels (Halloway House, 1993), Claude McKay Harlem Glory (Charles H. Kerr,
1990), and Hezekiah Butterworth In the Days of Jefferson (D. Appleton, 1905).
Articles:
Claude McKay, Nation Vol. 140 (April 3,
1935), pp. 382-83; William Meade, Selim the Algerine Grahams Illustrated
Magazine 51, (1857), pp. 433-437: and selected readings from The Autobiography
of Malcolm X. These can be found in the main branch of the Chicago public library
or from the Newberry Research Center Library. I have copies of each if the teacher
has no other resource.

Summaries of Novels:
Black Angels: Here we see a reanalysis of the facts revolving around the death of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
In Black Angels he was assassinated by the secret agent Pisces and the Nation of
Islam was actually ran by four lieutenants of the secretive Master Farrad (the
teacher of Elijah Muhammad) and not by Elijah Muhammad.
Future X: The great-grandson of
Malcolm X (Ashford Henderson) travels through time and replaces his grandfather
after him being assassinated after a return from Hajj in an airport restroom. In the
future drugs are legal and skinheads have divided the nation into cantons according
to race. Ashford Henderson attempts travel through time to insure the skinheads
will not take power. The plan fails in the end and Ashford dies on Feb. 21, 1965 in
the Audubon Ballroom. This novel is 384 pages long and a wise teacher might
suggest chapters to read to ensure a student finishes it.
Harlem Glory: A fictional account of
the rhetorical fight between Sufi Abdul Hamid and Father Divine. A quick read of
122 pages. An ambitious student might track-down Claude McKay Harlem: The
Black Metropolis to read a historical account of this conflict.
In the Days of Jefferson: A juvenile
novelization of the life of Thomas Jefferson. It contains the life story of Selim and
Jeffersons meetings with the Cherokee nation. This work shows that Jeffersons
ideals of the brotherhood of man might have been derived from his meetings with
the Cherokees and with Salim. I would suggest focusing on the four or five chapters
that deal directly with Selim. This book is out of print but available easily through
inter-library loan.
Mumbo Jumbo: A portrayal of Harlem
during the Depression. Main characters are Sufi Abdul Hamid, Black Herman (a
magician), and Papa LaBas (a Voodoo priest). The novel revolves around the
exploits of an art theft ring that steals native works of art to return them to where
they were created and the hex placed on the United States after the U.S. Marines
invade Haiti. Sufi Abdul Hamid tracks down the long lost sacred book of Osiris. The
novel spans time from the Nixon presidency, to the Harlem of the 1920s, to Egypt of
Moses time, to the 1970s. The novel presents history through the eyes of an Neohoodoo Afro-centric Vision. It is also important for its fictional portrayal of the figure
Sufi Abdul Hamid -- he is important to the study of the African American Labor
Movement, Harlem history, and Islam in America.

Congruence to Illinois Standards and

Goals:
State Goal 1: Read with Understanding
and Fluency
CAS A: Construct and extend meaning
from text by synthesizing the content and ideas from literary works dealing with a
specific issue or subject.
CFS 3: Recall, paraphrase, and
summarize.
4: Explain and verify answers to
questions about reading materials.
5: Maps, graphs, and charts to
gain information.
7: Analyze and synthesize
information to form opinions.
9: Formulate questions and make
predictions.
State Goal 3: Write to communicate
for a variety of Purposes.
CAS A: Produce documents and other
written works that adhere to standard English conventions.
CFS
1:
Use
Standard
English
conventions of grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
2: Use precise nouns, vivid verbs,
and modifiers, and the active/passive voice appropriately.
CAS B: Write with focus, clarity,
organization, elaboration, and coherence in a manner that conveys to the reader a
clear understanding and interpretation of ideas and information.
CFS 2: Employ appropriate pre-writing
strategies to generate ideas and promote fluency.
5: Write an outline to organize
ideas in a clear, coherent, cohesive, and logical manner.
6: Take notes from appropriate
sources and cite references.
8: Edit, revise, and proofread all
written work.
9: Write about and/or respond to
fiction and nonfiction.
10: Keep a journal.
State
Effectively in a Variety of Situations.

Goal

4:

Listen

and

Speak

CAS A: Listen and respond to formal

and informal oral presentations or interactions using active, analytical, and critical
listening strategies.
CFS 1: Paraphrase the speakers
purpose and viewpoint and ask and answer relevant questions.
3: Evaluate oral presentations
according to an established rubric.

Vocabulary and Concepts:

Selim the Algerine: A lower level son
of a nobleman from Algiers, North Africa that was taken into slavery by a Spanish
slave ship in the Mediterranean after his return from school in Istanbul. He was a
slave in New Orleans and escaped from slavery and lived among Native American
Nations along the Mississippi. Eventually he made it to Philadelphia where he
became known as the wildman of Shenandoah. Selim converted to be a
Christian and attended the First Continental Congress.
Sufi Abdul Hamid: An African-American
leader of the Dont Buy Where You Cannot Work labor boycotts in Chicago (19281930) and Harlem (1930-1938). These events led to many cashiers, janitors, and
stock people being hired to work in Woolworths and many similar stores. He was
also the founder of a labor union (the Negro Clerical League) and the religious
groups the Temple of Divine Tranquility (Harlem) and the Ahamidab Church
(Chicago).
Malcolm X: A petty criminal from
Detroit that joined the Nation Of Islam in the 1940s while in prison. This uplifting
Black Nationalist organization grew when the self taught Malcolm Smalls X started
its newspaper Muhammad Speaks and helped found numerous temples around the
United States. He was responsible from bringing the Calypso singer Louis Walcott
(later Louis Farrakhan) and the boxer Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) into the
Nation of Islam. After making Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca in 1964, he converted to
Orthodox Sunni Islam. The author Alex Haley set Malcolm life into print after many
interviews in the Autobiography of Malcolm X which was published posthumously

by Grove Press. Malcolm was assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem in

Feb.21, 1965

Activities:
Day One: Teacher assigns novels and
pass out historical articles to read along with novels. Students preview book. Read
cover summary, table of contents, first and last page, and authors biographical
sketch (if available). Formulate questions that predict characters actions and plot
direction. Group appoints spokesman to present their findings.
Week One to Three:
This reading circle will extend over a
three week period. Each student will summarize the historical article, write a
paragraph summary of each chapter assigned and keep a reading journal. They will
also prepare a book review which will: summarize the novel in one page, list
personal highlights and disappointments with novel, and will present character
sketches of major characters. The report will also compare the authors portrayal of
characters with their coverage in historical articles read.
Week One:
Teacher models journal writings and
how to write article summaries using articles students are not reading but that deal
with similar topics. Class works daily in groups or has silent reading time for their
articles and novels. Oral presentations on Friday of weeks readings. One minute
per student. Turn in daily journals for the week. Historical article summary due.
Week Two:
Students discuss novel as a group with
a different group leader, note taker, and questioners each day.

Week Three:
Same as week two, but by Wednesday
the groups should be winding down discussion and discussing potential essay
questions for a final on Friday. Individual book reviews due the following Monday.
Teacher will present rubric to class on Thursday.
Student evaluation:
1) Oral presentation on the book.
2) Teacher developed test. A different
test on each book. It will be an essay test to allow each student to stress their
individuality and to stress the importance of writing. Three to four essay questions.
One of the questions will compare an article to the presentation of a figure in one of
the novels.
3) Writing assignments.
Character
sketches. Article summaries.
4) Journal assignments. Daily 12-15
total. These will vary from discussion of a characters action to summaries of
chapters. Derived by teacher after the teacher reads each novel.
5) Book reviews as described above.