1. Ninian Smart - The 7 Dimensions of Religion
Ritual
Repeated actions
Material
Items + places
Social
People + roles
Experiential
Experience
Mythological
Stories
Ethical
Rules + Guidelines
All religions include 7 common ideas
Doctrinal
Beliefs + Meanings

2. Clothes Questions Which is most important to you?
Does it matter what we wear?
Show this slide as students enter to provoke some thinking. Get them to think, pair, share their initial ideas then move onto the learning objective.

3. Ninian Smart - The 7 Dimensions of Religion
Material
Items + places
Learning Objective
To enquire into what clothing can communicate about the people wearing it.
To apply this to what we can learn from Muslim ways of dressing.
All religions include 7 common ideas

4. Clothes
Task
Looking at your A4 sheet and the three pictures at the top, write around the pictures what each one could communicate about the person wearing that particular set of clothes.
Get students to work in pairs annotating the three top pictures with what they think the style of clothing could suggest or communicate about the wearer – what could we learn about the person by what they’re wearing. It doesn’t matter what colour this is done in as they will only suggest for these pictures. Get them to feedback some ideas after 3-5mins of discussion and annotating.

5. Islamic Clothing Putting on Ihram and the Hijab Task
Using one colour pen, suggest ideas then for what you think these styles of dress could suggest or communicate about the people wearing them.
Using another colour pen, watching the video and reading the articles on the back of your sheet, what can we learn about what Muslims are intending to communicate through putting in ihram and wearing the hijab.
Students need two coloured pens. One to suggest ideas with (give 3minutes to do this) and one to write researched notes with from the video - (4min) and the articles on the back of their sheets (one on ihram and one from London’s Muslim mayor on the hijab). They may wish to use the highlighting technique here, so have some highlighters at the ready.

6. Islamic Clothing – What does it mean?
Putting on Ihram
The Hijab
If you have time and want to get students to feedback then hand out some whiteboard pens and get one person from each table to come up to the board and write their best point(s) that must be something different to the people before them (if they are all writing at the same time) about what each communicates about the wearer form their research.

7. Make your own… Material Items and Places
You are now going to create your own…. You must include…
A set of clothing with deeper meaning – what will your devotees wear that will express beliefs about your religion in the things that matter? Think about items, colours, styles, patterns/design, asking yourself: will individual choice be allowed at all?; how much will it cost and does that matter?; when will it be worn (i.e. will it go with you ritual or something other religious activity)?
An everyday item of clothing – what could your devotees wear everyday to show their commitment to your religion?

8. Links
“The most complete believer in faith is the best in morals, and the best among you is the best to their women” - Prophet Muhammad Sadiq Khan (mayor of London) - question-to-be-asked-about-why-muslim-women-wear-hijabs-a html Australian Muslim girl story (4min)