Teaching RE to Muslim students

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Azam Ali is Head of RE at Challenge College in Bradford, where most of the students are Muslim. So how does he approach the study of Buddhism with a Year 8 class? The majority of his students don't have an issue with learning about other faiths, but occasionally students ask why they can't just learn about Islam. As a Muslim himself, Azam reminds them that Islam encourages racial harmony, social harmony, learning about other ideas, cultures and faiths. However, it's also important to make sure that no student is excluded because of his or her faith, so in this lesson on Buddhism Azam is aware of certain sensitivities that Muslims may have. Amongst other things, some students could be reluctant to draw images of the Buddha, when Islam regards idol worship as a grave sin. Azam's solution is an interesting one.