Muslim-Christian Relations in the Era of Prophet Muhammad: Review of Najrān Delegation’s Case in Modern Context

Muslim–Christian relations are as mature as Islamic history itself. Historical evidences state the first interaction of Muslims and Christians occurred in 5th year after nabuwwah (615 AD) when Muslims migrated to Ḥabshah (Abyssinia) and second contact was established after immigration of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to Madinah. After getting socio-political stability in 8th hijrī (629 AD), Muhammad (PBUH) sent letters and ambassadors to different statesmen and religious leaders to spread the Islamic Mission and Message globally. One letter was also sent to the chief Bishop of Najrān. In response, the chief Bishop of Najrān accepted the invitation and personally came to meet the Prophet (PBUH) with his reputed delegation. The beloved Messenger (PBUH) warmly welcomed this delegation. As a result, the peace agreement was reached after some theological debate and discussion. Later on, throughout history, the relations between Muslims and Christians have been in situation of up and down. It’s also a fact that over the centuries, the Muslims-Christians relations had sometimes been one of enmity, sometimes one of rivalry, competition, and encounter. In spite of it, the Najrān’s delegation case has a historical significance in Muslim-Christian relations in the literature of both religions. Therefore, in this study efforts were made to explore the event of Najrān delegation as theological foundations for Muslim-Christian relations in times of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and how can we get benefit from it in modern era. Moreover, this study perceives that the case of Najrān delegation was the first practical interaction between Muslims and Christians of that age. Hence, we could get benefit from it with its modern applications and interpretations. The analytical, comparative and historical approaches have been adopted in this study with qualitative paradigm. I compared and analysed the case in Islamic and Christian context and then gave recommendation for its application.

Role of a Teacher in Facilitating Students Participation in Mathematical Tasks Through Questioning in a Primary Classroom

My experience of teaching of Mathematics in a rural context helped me realize that mathematics is considered as a set of prescribed procedures and rules, to be followed by a learner. This was deeply-rooted in my experience of exposure to Mathematics education. However, as a learner of Mathematics during my Master of Education (M. Ed.) at Aga Khan University-Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED), I realized that Mathematics is socially constructed knowledge. The prescribed rules are constructed by people in order to make sense of their activities related to daily life. So learning opportunities for learners to think, reason, and engage in Mathematical tasks, which they are exposed to, make them learn mathematical knowledge. Thus, my views about mathematics teaching changed radically. Hence, teachers play a crucial rule in educating students in Mathematics. This study was designed to explore how a teacher facilitates students' participation in Mathematical tasks through questioning, for meaningful learning of Mathematical concepts. This study was carried out in one of the co-operating schools of AKU-IED. The participant of the study was a female mathematics teacher with two years of teaching experience in Mathematics. She had not been to any pre-service teacher training programes but had attended two workshops (two weeks each); one was about teaching in general, while the other was focused on primary Mathematics teaching. The fieldwork lasted for seven weeks, during which I used an integrated range of qualitative research instruments; such as, semi-structured interviews, observations, post-observation discussion, and analysis of some of the available documents, such as textbooks and note books of the students. I also closely examined the students' understanding of particular mathematical concepts presented by the teacher during teaching. The data was analyzed based on teacher's views, actions and interactions with pupils in the class, through my own interpretation and analysis. Through focusing on a teacher's views and practices of students' participation in a Mathematics class, this study argues that teachers and students interact in class with the content of mathematics. Thus, teachers can play an important role in creating opportunities for students' participation in the class. Moreover, it highlights the influences of teacher's own experiences of Mathematics learning in facilitating students' participation in Mathematical tasks through questioning and meaningful learning of Mathematics. The study also highlights some of the issues regarding Mathematics planning and teaching that may interest other Mathematics teachers, teacher educators, teacher education programes, and research in education in