Photograph courtesy of Foothill Elementary School
Decked out in costumes for the International Day are second-graders (from left) Morgan Mousley, Mishi Maniar, Yehia Eissa and Denise Lin.
Foothill takes a look at the world of Islam
By Rebecca Ray
Foothill Elementary School celebrated its annual International Day event a little differently this year. Usually, the school's Parent-Teacher Association sets up booths of arts, crafts and costumes from one country on each continent. But on Feb. 1, the PTA featured arts, crafts and costumes from various Islamic countries.
Photograph courtesy of Foothill Elementary School
Students (from left) Robbie Wright, Matthew Marcus and Andrew Lee learn to dance the 'dabka,' a traditional dance of celebration in Lebannon and Syria.
PTA members said they wanted to educate children about Islamic culture, especially in light of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
At Foothill, presenters from the Islamic Networks Group, a nonprofit educational organization based in San Francisco, spoke to classes about Islam, a faith shared by nearly half a billion people around the world.
Photograph courtesy of Foothill Elementary School
Third-graders Nadine Ruparel (left), and Grace Kim (center) work on an art project during the International Day.
To show students that Muslims can be of any race or ethnicity, PTA members hung posters in the school library with information on various Islamic countries, including Iran, Algeria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Egypt and Indonesia, the last of which is the largest Muslim country in the world with about 180 million Muslims. PTA members also displayed traditional Islamic costumes and posters that showed Islamic calligraphy.
Teachers, parents and students learned dabka, a traditional dance performed in Lebanon and Syria to celebrate events, such as weddings. Adults and children also sampled breads and sweets from different countries. One of the sweets was Turkish Delight, made of gelatin and sugar, which tastes like a sweet Gummy Bear.
Photograph courtesy of Foothill Elementary School
Zakia of Revival Arts uses henna dye to draw a design on the hand of fourth-grader Jonathan Chen.
At the henna station, adults painted hearts, baseballs, footballs and flowers on children's hands with dye from the henna plant. Although the art of henna varies among Islamic cultures and countries, it is generally done on the hands and feet for celebrations such as weddings and circumcisions. The dye colors the outermost layer of the skin and lasts about two to three weeks.
Children also colored arabesque patterns on paper plates. Arabesque--intricate designs of flowers, stems, leaves or geometric designs used on canvas, fabric, carpets, tiles and other ceramic art objects--is common in all Islamic cultures.
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