Project+Resources

**Local Documents, Data, and Cartoons**
World Digital Library Supported by the United Nations Educationa, Scientific and Cultural Organization, this site includes significant primary documents from cultures around the world.

Internet Islamic History Sourcebook Part of the Sourcebook series sponsored and run by Fordham University, this database provides images and text of significant documents in Islamic history.

Muslim Association of the Lehigh Valley, Al-Ahad Islamic Center, Hindu Temple Society of Allentown Although these sources don't technically fall under the category of document, data, and/or political cartoon, these local religious societies will be the most valuable local resources. You can contact these centers for information and individuals to interview.

Religious Tolerance - Adherents World Wide This website provides percentages of followers for each of the world's major religions.

Nation Master This site provides statistical data on global population statistics, including religious affiliations, mortality, and birth rates amongst others. You may use this data to develop a better understanding of existing cultural and national similarities and differences.

Reading Political Cartoons Part of a unit plan from PBS, these three political cartoons illustrate the complex nature of stereotypes.

Photographs and Posters
[|fair4care.pdf]This poster publicizes a fair and soccer tournament between the Islamic Associations in the Lehigh Valley.

[|hajj travel poster.pdf] This poster from a South African travel agency publicizes the packages available to those Muslims seeking to fulfill the obligation to journey to Mecca. You can analyze this poster for content - focus specifically on the seeming contradiction between the holy duty of all Muslims and the materialism represented by this poster.

Hajj Photo Gallery 2008 This photo gallery from the British newspaper, "The Guardian," offers 13 stunning images of the 2008 Hajj. You can compare these photos to the message presented in the travel poster cited above. Consider the meanings, emotions, and significance of each image.

Holi Function 2010 This site from the Lehigh Valley Hindu Temple Society is a gallery of photos from a festival held in 2010. Anaylyze the images in relation to the larger world religions and the local community.

Hindu Holi Festival Gallery This photo gallery from the BBC contains photographs of Indians celebrating the Holi festival. Analyze these individual photos and compare them to those from the local celebrations

**Local Audio and Music**
The Muslim Association of the Lehigh Valley This website provides an audio version of the Quran. Islam teaches that one must read and recite the Quran in its original Arabic, this audio version will allow non-Arabic speakers to hear the tones and cadences of the holy text.

Islamic Music This site provides links to many sites featuring Islamic music. Most importantly the site author provides a brief summary of the Islamic regulations about music.

Gayatri Mantra In Hinduism it is believed that chanting the Gayatri Mantra will help one to achieve enlightenment by removing obstacles to full spiritual development. This site provides an image of the mantra in its original Sanskrit, lists where the mantra is mentioned in the Upanisads, and provides an audio version of the Mantra.

Schola Cantorun Bogotensis This site provides links to sheet music and audio files of Gregorian chants. This music was very popular in Western Europe during the Middle Ages and provides insight into the teachings of medieval Christianity.

Classic Christian Hymns This site provides links to sheet music, lyrics and free audio of traditional Christian hymns. Amongst the public domain lyrics are "Our Mighty Fortress" by Martin Luther, the traditional English hymn "Greensleaves," and "While Shepards Watch Their Flocks" with music by Handel. These songs provide insight into Christian beliefs.

Buddhist Meditation Music This site provides free downloads of Buddhist meditation music. A key tenant of Buddhism is the overcoming of desires which requires meditation. These chants and music can help one to focus meditation.

Yang Chants (Tibetan Chant) This image of a Tibetan chant with notations dates to the 19th century. Although very different from traditional sheet music, you can use this image to identify differences and similarities between western music and eastern music.

Schoyen Collection - Music This section of the Schoyen collection includes 191 music manuscripts from around the world dating back to the earliest civilizations. This site can be used for multiple purposes including comparison of cultures and times. More importantly, "the Schøyen Collection comprises most types of manuscripts from the whole world spanning over 5000 years. It is the largest private manuscript collection formed in the 20th century."

**Local Video and Maps**
Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding Sponsored by Muhlenberg College, this institute seeks to foster understanding and communication between these two monotheistic faiths.

Muslim Association of the Lehigh Valley, Al-Ahad Islamic Center, Hindu Temple Society of Allentown These local religious societies will be very valuable local resources. Students will interview individuals from these societies to learn more about the religious diversity within their own community.

Predominant World Religions Map This map illustrates the distributions of major faith traditions throughout the world. You can use this map to identify where the major religions are concentrated.

GoogleEarth Students can use this satellite generated map to investigate the topography and cultural characteristics of the regions under investigation. The application allows viewers to select specific criteria to be displayed on the map. For example, you can select "places of worship" or "images" to show photograph and images. These maps also provide links to other useful information.

Civilisations Interactive Map This interactive map from BBC allows students to select religious ideologies and locales to see how they developed over time. This map concisely illustrates how these religions developed and collided over the course of history.