Why this web site? The great majority of sites explaining Islam on the net fall into a few categories at this early stage of the Internet's evolution. They are either: 1. Highly defensive and offer very conservative arguments for why you should/must follow a particular vision of Islam and all its rules/customs/regulations. This agenda usually comes with attacks on 'Western' culture, Christianity and all their evils. This category does not tend to be concerned with being objective in any way as the goal is to convince you that this view of Islam is the only true one there is. or- 2. So-called 'Christian' attacks on Islam, Muhammed and the Qur'an by people either out to get Islam from the start for one reason or another, or by people tired of the sort of views expressed by the majority of the above sites and wanting to attack them. Unfortunately these sites can be quite vicious and destructive, as well as often inaccurate. There are not many sites on line at the moment which refuse to fall into either of the above polarized types- attacking or defending certain views and arguments in a closed-minded fashion. We believe that students should know the sort of agenda behind them and learn to understand where such arguments are coming from and then go on to better materials. We aim to guide teachers and students of key topics in Islam directly to areas on sites which do not compromise intelligent thinking and which explain the richness of the religion in objective terms. Take a look at our third category: 3. Useful resources for schools: Explanations of Views set in a historical context; explanations of how Muslims today live out their faith in various countries and cultures; statistical info; maps; Qur'an and Hadith quotes with expositions relating directly to a particular topic etc. Some of these resources may actually be found at category 1-Conservative sites but we guide you directly to the quotes etc. Of course, some sites are actually a mixture of defensive arguments and useful resources. The main function of this site is to direct teachers and students directly to the useful material while making them aware of the more extreme views out there. On a personal note, teaching the Islamic materials in R.E. for some years has lead me to be convinced of the need for a wider selection of intelligent materials which show the religion to be a rich and varied organism which actually promotes positive and critical thought. Can we move on from being defensive; from teachers teaching and students learning poor arguments founded on ideologies and propaganda? The responses from my GCSE RE students focussing on Islam has shown me that they don't all swallow the simplistic, patronising and sometimes inaccurate arguments which are supposed to represent 'the Islamic view'. The inadequacies of present materials have lead to the creation of this site in an attempt to provide a more faithful picture Islam through the wealth of good materials available now on the net. We hope you find the links useful and the editorial comments practical. Please bear in mind that on the GCSE pages there is usually much more material present than is actually needed for GCSE level: this provides a wide selection of important quotes, points and arguments for teachers and students to use as they wish in their work. The material can also be used on a deeper level- allowing the reader to look more deeply at the topic or point which puzzles or interests by directly accessing the web site through the links provided. Thanks to the authors of the many good sites with enlightening and interesting content on Islam whose pages we quote from and recommend. This document maintained by Paul Moran Material Copyright © 2000 {Paul Moran}