Its all arabic to me!

A little bit of help for full course pupils who are trying to learn their key words.
Choose three or four words to learn each day.
Write them on cards and carry them round or stick them up in a place where you will look at them every day.

Talk to your friends about the words you have learnt because every time you say the word out loud it goes a little deeper into your brain.
Text random key words to other pupils on the course.
Buy a nice set of coloured pens and write the words out in different colours.
Write a comment for the blog using as many key words as you can.

Finally don't get bogged down by trying to learn too many words. It is better to learn a few words than not to learn any.
Good luck!

shahadah = declaration of Muslim faith, the first pillar of Islam, 'the is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger'.

salat = prayer five times a day, the second pillar of Islam.

zakat = giving to the poor, the third pillar of Isalm, Muslims give 2.5% of their income.

sawm = fasting in Ramadan, the fourth pillar of Islam.

Hajj = pilgrimage to Makkah, the fifth pillar of Islam.

wudu = ritual washing performed before prayer.

rakah = a full round of prayer.

niyyah = intention, epecially telling Allah how many rakahs of prayer you will perform.

jumah = friday prayers at mosque.

qibla = the direction of Makkah, the direction of prayer.

Ramadan = the month of fasting.

Id-ul-Fitr = the celebration at the end of Ramadan.

Do women make the best vicars?

Before 1994 there were no women vicars in the Church of England. The decision to ordain women led to deep unhappiness amongst many Christians. Some left the church of England and became Roman Catholics. The catholic church remain opposed to women priests.
So why do some Christians think that women should not be vicars?
Some Christians have religious reasons for believing this, for example, Jesus was a man and in the communion service the vicar represents Jesus and the Bible says that women should not have authority in the church.

However other people say this attitude is just sexist and God is not a sexist. The words of the Bible were written at a time when women and men had very separate roles in society. That has changed now and women play a full and equal role with men. So surely the church should come into line and allow women to play a full and equal role in church leadership?
The Reverend Joy Carroll was one of the first women to be ordained in the Church of England and she was the inspiration for the character of Geraldine Granger, Vicar of Dibley. Carroll firmly believes that women can bring something to church leadership that men cannot.

For more information on the Vicar of Dibley visit
http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/vicarofdibley/


What special qualities do you think women can bring to church leadership?

Do you think it is right for women to be vicars? Why?