Students then assess, through a group activity and reflective journal writing, how individual situations determine the meaning of a phrase and what cultural connections exist between the phrases and their uses. Review the Academic Content Standards related to this lesson. Reflect on class activities in a journal response examining what someone needs to know to correctly interpret what someone else says in a given situation and how language barriers might affect such interpretations. There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is Allah's messenger. In your journal, analyze the differences between the three translations of the phrase.
Students then share their responses, focusing on the very different possible connotations of each.
Many speakers of Arabic quoted in this article explain how this phrase is used in the religion of Islam. As a class, brainstorm a list of phrases that one could interpret differently given varied situations. Then, circle what you feel are the five phrases that could have the most varied meanings if used in a conversation that was overheard by a bystander. Divide students into small groups of three or four students each, and tell them to list, for each of these selected phrases, different circumstances in which the phrase could be used in a different way. Groups should try to come up with as many different realistic possibilities as possible for the meanings of the five phrases.