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Opening the Eye of the Heart: Parents and Teachers as Storytellers

In preparation for writing this article I gave a lecture to a group of Ph.D. students, who were also religious education teachers, on the theme developing empathy towards the other. Near the end of my presentation, I shared with them the above poem by Ibn ‘Arabi, a well-known 12th/13th century Sufi Mystic. My purpose in reading the poem, considered by many to be an excellent example of creative imagination, was to convey that religious beliefs are true for those who hold them. And I also wanted to remind the students that one’s own religious faith can provide a positive attitude toward “the other.” After reading the poem, I raised some questions to connect theology to our life situations: How is imagination related to creativity and what role does it play in giving meaning to our beliefs? How does it work in the making of religious meaning? What do we know about pupils’ imagination? What does the Islamic tradition offer us regarding imagination? How can imagination be used in Islamic religious education? A number of questions and comments were raised. One student made the following comment: “We as teachers and parents recognize the needs of adults, but we ignore the needs of children, thinking that God can only be encountered at an age when abstract language is formed.” She then added that we cannot create the conscious awareness portrayed in the poem if our teaching about