Teaching Kids the Holy Quran...with Legos!

I’ve blogged on occasion about Legos. You might remember me mentioning The Brick Testament,which retells a number of famous (and in some cases shocking) stories from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Well, I appear to be the last person in the Islamophere to notice the wonderful blog Teaching Kids the Holy Quran, which aims to do the same for the Quran, but with some innovative twists.

I love this glimpse of a Lego Jahannam (Hell) from Chapter 72/Surah Al-Jinn:

The emphasis is on lessons as opposed to stories, and these lessons drawn from the Quran are often embedded in a real world settings (e.g., an imam giving a sermon, a father and son discussing a doctrinal matter over a barbeque), an approach that sounds strange but actually works quite well for these purposes. It’s a great explanatory device and one that’s particularly well suited to the Quran, I think.

Due to its complex and often iterative narrative structure and interweaving of genres—a fact that leads some observers to mistakenly claim it to be random or incomprehensible a la Thomas Carlye; were these critics to read a scholarly treatment of the aesthetics of the Quran, like  Michael Sell’s very insightful Approaching the Qur’an, they’d realize that the Quran’s rich language and subtle deployment of themes operate simultaneously on multiple aesthetic and intellectual registers; to judge it simply by whether or not it is linear in narrative is to really utterly miss the point, however understandable that instinct may be for the uninitiated—to try to portray it in a single, seamless narrative would be confusing. Its structure lends itself well to shorter stories and lessons. And there are, of course, a number of “controversial” verses that are often misunderstood and/or misrepresented that these short takes are perfect for glossing in a highly accessible and unintimidating manner.

I wonder if this innovative use of both Legos, scriptural exposition and web technology has indeed succeeded in reaching children who otherwise might not learn about the Quran. On the one hand, Legos are presumably an appealing and unintimidating medium for instruction to children; on the other, I wonder how many kids young enough to be swayed by the choice of Legos for the medium would sit still and scroll down a web page to read these stories. Or is this perhaps really targeting adolescents? In any case, it’s an intriguing formula.

Comments

[Waqas]

Salam
In our digital age the young ones might indeed require more than still images and written words to engage them. Perhaps one could combine Lego and animation to bring the point home even better.
Here's an example of what happens when CGI meets Lego: http://vimeo.com/36768371

[Mezba]

Salaams. Thanks for linking to my site.

I used to read the Brick Testament and think, do my Christian friends read their own book? How could they remain believers in peace and justice after reading the Old Testament. Then I thought the Quran could be so much better understood if people saw it in a similar form.

Doing the site takes time. You can check out the "Making of" album in facebook and see how long it takes to do one verse. So stop-motion animation is out of the question unless someone pays me for what is essentially a hobby.

[svend]

Thanks for the link, Waqas.

Great work, Mezba, though I don't entirely follow your reasoning vis-a-vis Christians and the Jewish Bible. I think that observation holds for some (often evangelical and North American) Christians today because of the literalistic way they approach scripture, but I don't see a paradox for most other Christians, who take a more nuanced approach, for better or worse. Also, they could turn the tables in a way by pointing particular hadith that seem to raise comparable issues for peace-loving Muslims.

[keylogger for Mac]

This is my first time i visit here. I found interesting things to many in your blog, mostly to the debate.

[Learn Quran]

My Quran Lesson is an easy way for you and your kids to learn the Holy Quran. All you need is a PC, headset with a microphone and a broadband internet connection.

[mobile spy]

This is my first time i visit here. I found interesting things too many in your blog, mostly to the debate.

[Wind Turbines]

for me, there islam is good, it is the people who give prejudice to it and also to the people who worship it.

[Search Engine Optimisation Companies]

i strongly agree with you turbine though our religions dictates our norms.

[printing hervey bay]

excellent initiative to give education and awareness to the kids about holy Quran.Continue to share the news of holy Quran.

[sell my restaurant]

there is a difference in religion and people as well as beliefs to stand point of every individual that could affect their behavior towards a thing.

[Holy quran reading]

Holy Quran is a true message of God which is necessary for a Muslim to read on daily basis. It may guides towards the way of Allah Almighty and Janna. However understanding of the Holy Quran is also important in order to live a successful lives here and hereafter.