Exercise 2: Is Islam a peaceful religion?

Time: 50 min

Goal: The aim is to analyse the videos from different perspectives and to learn to see the different ideas, angles and various data presented in the videos.

Methods: The method to be used is the Six Thinking Hats process by Edward de Bono (De Bono: 2017). This is a method by which a wide variety of information can be gathered from a video. Six different hats of thought define six different approaches to the object of the task. Each of the six thought hats represents a different approach to the task to follow. The method of six thinking hats can be used individually, but they can also be applied when working as a group. Through this method, not just one opinion is heard in the classroom, but different perspectives are given the floor.

• White hat – objectivity, facts, numbers, dates, main directions, and statistics are important. The wearer of the white hat relies on the facts and brings out as much objective data as possible. “What information do we have,” “What do we need,” “What is missing,” and “What important facts were presented in the text?” (De Bono 2017: 41).
• Red hat – intuition and feelings are important. The wearer of the red hat expresses their feelings about problems or ideas, highlights his attitude, relies on intuition and inner feelings like “I like it,” “I think I feel that…,“ and overall intuition in regards to the article (De Bono 2017: 59).
• Black hat – criticism and scepticism. The wearer of the black hat follows all the ideas with a critical eye, disputes the presented views, highlights the so-called black scenario – the weaknesses, dangers and contradictions of the solutions. The aim is to criticise the article and ask“What happens if,” “What could go wrong,” “What are the possible problems I see as a threat,” and “What could have been different?” (De Bono 2017: 72).
• Yellow hat – optimism and positive thinking. The yellow hat is in favour of solving the problem. The wearer of the yellow hat believes in themselves. They are conscious and in purposeful search for positivity (sometimes hypothetical). They ask “How could this idea be useful,” “What could ensure the success of this idea,” “Under what conditions could it be useful,” “What new opportunities does it offer,” “Why is this article worth reading,” while bringing out a positive overview (De Bono 2017: 89).
• Green hat – development and creativity. The wearer of the green hat abandons old ways of thinking and offers new and unexpected solutions. They ask “What is interesting about this idea,” “What does this idea lead to,” “What does this idea suggest,” “What other options are there,” “What did our group find for themselves in this article that is new?” (De Bono 2017: 113).
• Blue hat – holistic thinking. The wearer of the blue hat juxtaposes different approaches, finds a common ground and creates a new whole. A blue thought hat means thinking about thinking. The blue thought hat is the organisation of thinking and the regulation of the process. They ask “What makes this article a whole,” and “Why is this treatment good?” (De Bono 2017: 130).
   

Instructions

The teacher distributes thought hats to the students in the class which are yellow, white, red, black, green and blue. Then, an explanation is given as to what the wearer of each hat needs to pay attention to when watching the video (see the explanation of the method). The first video is watched for about 11 minutes, after which the owner of each thought hat gives feedback on what they noticed and why. Then the second video is watched for about 13 minutes, after which the owner of each thought hat again gives feedback on what they noticed and why. Finally, the teacher asks the representatives of the different thought hats which video arguments they agree with and why. If there are more students in the class, form groups and share the hats between the groups.

Video 1: Johnson, D. [OxfordUnion]. (2013, July 3).Islam Is Not A Peaceful Religion.

Video 2: Hasan, M. [OxfordUnion]. (2013, July 3).Islam Is A Peaceful Religion.