Resource Type: Lesson plans

Extremists – A back street brawl between two young men with extreme and opposing views – men who would never take the time to talk, to listen, to understand each other. And yet… a conversation begins. This provocative film reveals some challenging truths about prejudice, extremism and radicalisation, and shows that the best way to understand these problems is to talk.

The attached lesson materials featuring this film have been awarded the PSHE Association‘s Quality Mark.

CREDITS

Curriculum Mapping

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA Component 2 - Religious, philosophical and ethical studies in the modern world Theme D - Religion, peace and conflict - Terrorism -Religious understanding of and attitudes to terrorism Component 2 - Religious, philosophical and ethical studies in the modern world: Theme F – Religion, human rights and social justice - Human Rights - Issues of equality, freedom of religion and belief including freedom of religious expression.

Edexcel Section 4: Peace and Conflict -Section 4: Peace and Conflict - Issues surrounding conflict:divergent Muslim teachings and responses to the nature of problems involved in conflict – violence, war, and terrorism; how Muslims have worked to overcome these issues, including Malik's Muwatta 21. 3. 10; non-religious (including atheist and Humanist) views towards the issues surrounding conflict and Muslim responses to them. Area of Study 3 – Islam - Section 4: Equality - Muslim teaching on human rights: Muslim teachings and responses to the nature and purpose of human rights; why Muslims might support human rights as important, including Surah 5: 8; divergent Muslim responses to the need for and application of individual human rights, including the support offered by situation ethics; the problems human rights might cause for Muslims; Muslim responses to non-religious (including atheist and Humanist) arguments about human rights.

OCR Religion,philosophy and ethics in the modern world from a religious perspective - Religion, peace and conflict -Violence and conflict- Key philosophical and ethical concepts: • Forms of violence • War •Justificationof violence • Just War theory - The relationship between religion,politics and terrorism in the 21st century •Different religious attitudes towards terrorism and the causes of terrorism.

WJEC PART B - Theme 2: Issues of Good and Evil - Forgiveness  Peace and conflict: Just War Theory/Lesser Jihad, Pacifism and Conscientious Objectors  Islamic teachings about forgiveness: Qur'an 64:14, 42:30  Examples of forgiveness arising from personal beliefs Good, Evil and Suffering  Philosophical perspectives on the origin of evil: The Devil tests humans: Qur'an 2:34, 155  The belief in pre-destination (al Qadr)

EDUQAS Component 1 (Route A) Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World - Theme 4: Issues of Human Rights - Human Rights and Social Justice ➢ Islamic beliefs, teachings and attitudes toward the dignity of human life: Qur'an 5:32 ➢ Islamic practices to promote human rights including equality: ummah in action ➢ An example of conflict between personal conviction and the laws of a country ➢ Censorship, freedom of religious expression and religious extremism (including Islamphobia) Prejudice and discrimination ➢ Islamic beliefs, teachings and attitudes towards prejudice and discrimination: Qur'an 5:8, 49:13 ➢ Islamic beliefs, teachings and attitudes towards racial prejudice and discrimination, including the actions of the Christian/Muslim Forum

Transcript

Extremists

Man 1 You bloody terrorist!

Man 2 What?

Man 1 You're a bloody terrorist.

Man 2 I'm not.

Man 1 What?

Man 2 I'm not a terrorist. I'm an extremist.

Man 1 Exactly.

Man 2 They're two different things.

Man 1 What?

Man 2 Terrorist and extremist. They don't mean the same thing.

Man 1 They do.

Man 2 They don't. Not all extremists are violent.

Man 1 Well, most of them are.

Man 2 Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Jesus.

Man 1 I was talking about Muslim extremists. You're all Islamists.

Man 2 Do you even know what an Islamist is?

Man 1 Yeah. All right. What's an Islamist?

Man 2 Someone who believes the world should be controlled by Islam. The government, law, society.

Man 1 Well, then.

Man 2 Do you know what Islam means?

Man 1 What, you mean-

Man 2 The word Islam.

Man 1 No.

Man 2 Submission or peace.

Man 1 Submission or peace?

Man 2 Yeah.

Man 1 How can it mean submission or peace?

Man 2 Because to me, submission is peace. I submit myself to the will of God and it brings me peace.

Man 1 But you want more?

Man 2 No, no, no, no, I want everyone in this country, everyone in this world, to submit themselves to the will of Allah Sharia Law.

Man 1 Exactly.

Man 2 Yeah, because then we'll all live in peace and harmony. That's what makes me an extremist. It doesn't mean I want to go around blowing people up. It just means I'm standing up for something. But you-

Man 1 Right, I'll stand up against people like you, trying to ruin this country.

Man 2 And how am I?

Man 1 We used to be the greatest country in the world until people like you started coming here.

Man 2 What do you mean? Brown people like me?

Man 1 Too right. You're all bloody the same, you want free schools and hospitals when you don't even belong here, you don't even try to fit in.

Man 2 And what gives you the right to decide who belongs?

Man 1 Because I was born here, British born and bred.

Man 2 I was born here too.

Man 1 Yes, but you're not English, though, are you? Where are your parents born?

Man 2 Pakistan.

Man 1 Exactly.

Man 2 But I was born here. You can't choose your parents and where you're born.

Man 1 All right, I'll give you that. But-

Man 2 Where was your parents born?

Man 1 Slough.

Man 2 What about your grandparents?

Man 1 England.

Man 2 Yeah, all of them? Do you know, as a white British man, you share a third of your DNA with the Germans? Nearly half with the French. So how does that make you feel? You racist.

Man 1 I'm not racist. I just hate Muslims. You just said it for yourself. You want to take over the bloody world. You're a bunch of medieval barbarians.

Man 2 Man, where'd you get this stuff?

Man 1 9/11, 7/7, ISIS, Al-Qaeda.

Man 2 Do you know, there's over 1.5 billion of us. We're not all the same. We're not all terrorists. We're not even all extremists. Most Muslims just want to live a quiet life.

Man 1 I've read about what you lot want.

Man 2 Where?

Man 1 Newspapers. What? It's the news. They have to check their facts.

Man 2 What you don't think they're going to choose to report some facts and not others?

Man 1 Yeah, they'll report the important ones.

Man 2 Newspapers want drama, blood, death, bad guy. They're never going to report 'Yesterday, millions of Muslims all over the world were living their lives in peace and harmony'. Real world Muslims aren't such a threat to you.

Man 1 Yeah, but you stand out like it's deliberate. I don't see why you can't just be like us.

Man 2 Because I'm a fundamentalist.

Man 2 That means I live my life strictly by the teaching of my religion, the Qur'an and the saying the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, peace be upon him.

Man 1 Why would you choose to live like that?

Man 2 I didn't choose, I was born a muslim.

Man 1 You can't be born a religion.

Man 2 Religion feels good. I look at myself in the mirror and I know who I am.

Man 1 Right. So you want to turn us all into Muslims because it makes you feel good?

Man 2 Yeah, okay, I do.

Man 1 Right, do you know how scary that is? You can't just come here and tell us to speak Arabic, cover up our women and chop off the hands of our criminals and not eat bacon. We're British. It's not the way we do things here. So of course we're going to fight back.

Man 2 So you're allowed to fight back, but we're not?

Man 1 What do you have to fight back against?

Man 2 It's not the British being attacked. I've been really attacked by soldiers, tanks, drones. My people are being oppressed. Of course I want to fight for them.

Man 1 But you said Islam means peace. Doesn't it say in your Qur'an that killing people is wrong?

Man 2 Except in a just cause, and this is a just cause. This is a just war. When America wants to wipe out the Muslim people.

Man 1 Where'd you get that from?

Man 2 What?

Man 1 America wants to wipe out Muslim people. Come on.

Man 2 The internet. What?

Man 1 There are 300 million people in America. They're not all the same either. Some of them are Muslims.

Man 2 Well, fine. But Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria, Guantanamo. Look, there's a war to be fought, man.

Man 1 But you're not a soldier.

Man 2 I could be.

Man 1 What, so you want to go die in a desert?

Man 2 Yeah, maybe I do.

Man 1 Why?

Man 2 Because, because I want to feel a part of it. Yeah, danger and glory and brotherhood. It's exciting, okay yeah. Is it, is it so bad? And I, and I hate this country. I mean, how would you feel if-

Man 1 What?

Man 2 If you, if you grew up learning alcohol is wrong? Homosexuality is wrong. Women showing their bodies is wrong. Sex before marriage is wrong. Think how I feel when I walk the streets and I see women in their tiny skirts, tight tops and the sex on TV and movies and music videos, adverts.

Man 1 Jealous.

Man 2 Angry and disgusted and frightened. And, yeah, jealous, because I can't help seeing this.

Man 1 If you don't like it, go back to Pakistan.

Man 2 How did you get like this?

Man 1 Like what?

Man 2 How did you get so radicalised?

Man 1 Hey, I'm not radicalised.

Man 2 Yes, you are.

Man 1 You're the one who's radicalised.

Man 2 Of course I am, because I'm angry. I want the world to be somewhere I can feel safe. I want someone to blame for the things that scare me, and yeah I've met people who felt the same way, and it was like waking up. They understood me and it felt good. And bit by bit we made each other angrier. So yeah, we radicalised ourselves because we wanted to outdo each other, and you're the same

Man 1 I'm bloody not.

Man 2 You're an extremist, you're a racist. How did you get to be like this?

Man 1 Because-

Man 2 Why do you hate me so much?

Man 1 Because the world's a mess. I mean we can't trust the media or the banks. And there weren't any jobs. Dad never had a job, so there wasn't anything for us to do except, you know, watch telly, go online and see these adverts which tell you life's about having money, cars, phones and watches, and we couldn't have any of that. So you look around for something else to make you feel like you're a part of something, a football team, a band, a gang. And then you get older and you still don't have the money or the job or the stuff you're supposed to have, so you start to feel like cut off. Like, you got no, no reason, no purpose, and you look around for for someone to blame, anyone. It could be bankers, immigrants, paedos, and then you hear about these Muslim terrorists waging a war against your way of life, but you don't know any terrorists, but you know, some Muslims and bam! You found a purpose, an enemy, and you do something about it because it gives you a reason to exist, and that's what we all need. We need to feel like we know who we are.

Man 2 No society is perfect in this life.

Man 1 So why don't you think for yourself then?

Man 2 Why don't you?

Man 1 I do.

Man 2 Do you?

Man 1 Well, do you?

Man 2 All right. Maybe I don't always think for myself.

Man 1 Well, maybe I don't either.

Man 2 I still believe Sharia law is the right way to live.

Man 1 I still think the British way of life is disappearing because of people like you.

Man 2 So, what do we do?

Man 1 Well, I guess we keep on talking.

Man 2 All right. I've got to go.

Man 1 Me, too.

Man 2 My daughter.

Man 1 Got a daughter?

Man 2 Yeah.

Man 1 How old?

Man 2 Three.

Man 1 Mines five. You getting the bus?

Man 2 Yeah. 58.

Man 1 That's mine too.

Man 2 Alright.

Extremists

Video length - 09.03

Published date - Jul 2015

Keystage(s) - 4

Downloadable resources

7/7 – On Thursday the 7th of July 2005, four bombs were detonated in central London – three on tube trains and one on a double-decker bus. 52 innocent people were killed and over 700 more were injured in the first ever suicide bombings in the UK. We speak to people whose lives were directly affected by the attacks and hear their testimonies, as well as perspectives from an Imam and an expert in the study of terrorism.

CREDITS

7/7

Video length - 10.27

Published date - Jun 2015

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

Holy Books: The Torah – A Rabbi and two Jewish scribes (who happen to be married – to each other, not to the Rabbi) describe the Torah – what it contains, how the scrolls are copied, and the ways in which the Torah is used in worship.

Curriculum Mapping

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA

Component 1 - The study of religions: beliefs, teaching and practices - Judaism - The synagogue and worship - The written law (Tenakh) and the oral law (Talmud) and their study, use and significance in daily life.

Edexcel

Area of Study 1 – Judaism - Section 1: Jewish Beliefs - The nature of the Almighty: how the characteristics of the Almighty are shown in the Torah, and why they are important in Jewish life today, including One, Creator, Law-Giver and Judge, including reference to Genesis 2.

OCR

Component Group 1 - Judaism - Practices -Worship• The structure of the synagogue service •The importance of the synagogue, in relation to the following religious features: •• Design •• Artefacts •• Synagogue services •• The role of the synagogue within the Jewish community •• Worship in the home •• The place of worship in the home •The significance of the Ark, the Bimah, the lack of representation of G-d, the Ner Tamid and the Mikveh • The nature and importance of the Torah readings, other readings, prayers and sermons •The connection between the synagogue and the Temple • Issues related to worship and the synagogue, including the length and structure of synagogue services and different uses of Hebrew in the service • Common and divergent emphases placed on the features of a synagogue by different Jewish groups, including separating women and men in an Orthodox synagogue •Different interpretations and emphases given to sources of wisdom and authority by different Jewish groups

Prayer• The role and importance of prayer in Jewish worship, including the Amidah (the standing prayer) • The role and importance of private prayer for Jews • The importance of: •• The three daily periods of prayer •• The concept of spontaneous prayer •• Recitation of the Shema •• Recitation of Grace after meals •• Teaching children to pray •• The direction faced when praying •• Prayer and the observance of the Mitzvot in the home • The importance of prayer for praise, confession, thanks giving and supplication.

Law• The form and content of the Tenakh (the Written Law) • The Chumash and the Sefer Torah • The nature of the Talmud (the Oral Law) •The relationship between the Talmud and the Torah, including the ways in which the Talmud is used in relation to the Torah • The use of the Torah in the synagogue • The use of the Tenakh in private worship • The way that the Torah provides structure to the life of a Jew, including the use of the Neviim and Ketuvim in public and private worship •The significance of the use in daily life of the Tenakh and the Talmud •Issues related to the law, including the different views held amongst religious Jews regarding the nature of the Torah and the Talmud • Common and divergent emphases placed on the Tenakh and Talmud by different Jewish groups •Different interpretations and emphases given to sources of wisdom and authority by different Jewish groups.

WJEC

2.1 Unit 1 PART A - Part A Judaism - Core beliefs, teachings and practices - Practices - Worship in the home and synagogue  The importance of the synagogue: internal features- aron hakodesh (ark), ner tamid, bimah, Torah, Ten Commandments, seating  Reading of the Torah during synagogue worship  Diverse practices within Orthodox and Reform synagogues – worship and the role and gender of the Rabbi  The importance of the home for worship in Judaism: challenges and benefits of observing Shabbat (Exodus 20:8-10) 2.2 Unit 2 PART A – Judaism - - Core beliefs, teachings and practices Beliefs - Sacred Texts  Importance of The Tenakh (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) as revealed and/or inspired Word of God  Importance of the Talmud

Eduqas

Component 3 (Route A) - Option 4: Judaism - Practices - The Synagogue ➢ Features of different synagogues in Britain: significance of bimah, aron hakodesh, Torah scrolls, ner tamid, seating, minyan; Exodus 20:4-5

Transcript

Holy Books: The Torah

Rabbi Benji Stanley Torah the word means teaching. The way teaching is often given in Judaism is through books.

Avielah Barclay The Torah has a lot of valuable lessons and a lot of interesting things to say, even to people who are not Jewish.

Mordechai Pinchas That's totally correct, because the reason that the Torah was given in the desert, for everyone to see, was that everybody has a piece of the Torah.

Rabbi Benji Stanley People sometimes call it the Five Books of Moses, because he's one of the main characters, and also he was involved in writing them down. So Torah can mean the five books, or it can mean all those books and conversations that have grown up around the five books, with people trying to figure out how to live responsibly and kindly.

Rabbi Benji Stanley We read the five books of Torah on a scroll written in Hebrew.

Mordechai Pinchas So the Torah is really five books in one.

Rabbi Benji Stanley Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, numbers, and Deuteronomy. Or actually the Jewish terms for those books are Bereshit, Shemot, Vayikra, Ba Midbar and D'varim. So at the beginning of the Torah, we have the story of creation, the story of Adam and Eve, the story of Noah, and then we have the story of Abraham, who had a child, Isaac, and the first book of the Torah tells us about their travels and their missions.

Mordechai Pinchas Second book is called Shemot, Exodus, and that's about the Jews who were stuck in Egypt, and then they were freed from slavery, lots of miracles, and then moved off on to their journey to the Promised Land, which is Israel.

Rabbi Benji Stanley Moses leads the people to Mount Sinai, and Moses runs up the mountain, has some conversations with God, and then carries some of God's laws down the mountain on two tablets of stone.

Mordechai Pinchas The third book is kind of a bit of an interruption. It's called Vayikra, and it's about the priests and the offerings, and it's lots and lots of rules.

Rabbi Benji Stanley Nowadays in Judaism, we don't sacrifice animals, but we do give up our time, in order to think about how to behave well in the world.

Mordechai Pinchas And then the fourth book is Bamidbar. It's all about the wandering in the desert for 40 years, really, that's about them stopping being slaves and learning to actually be a people.

Rabbi Benji Stanley They tend to complain a lot. They argue with Moses, they argue with God, but eventually they're getting towards a new land, and that's what we have in the fifth book of the Torah.

Mordechai Pinchas Finally, the last book just before they go into Israel is Moses telling them all the rules, reminding them of everything that's been happening. That's called D'varim, Deuteronomy.

Rabbi Benji Stanley Moses dies just before the people enter the land of Israel. So in a way, the five books of Torah end with Moses being buried.

Rabbi Benji Stanley The Torah scroll is treated with great respect. So it has clothes like a queen or a king. It has wonderful silver crowns and it has this special robe. Now we undress it on Saturday morning during our service, and also some synagogues have services on Monday and Thursday morning as well, when you would also undress the scroll in order to read from it. Hagbah means lifting up, and it's a moment when someone lifts up the scroll so the whole community can see the section which is going to be read, and you would show all directions so that everyone can see it. (Reads passage from the Torah in Hebrew)

Avielah Barclay We read the Torah from right to left, and we read it using something called a yad, which means hand in Hebrew. And as you can see, there's a little hand carved at the end of this, and we use it to point at the letters as we read them.

Rabbi Benji Stanley We don't want to touch the parchment, the stuff that the scroll is written on directly with our fingers. And that's one of the reasons we also dress the scroll so that when we're not using it, it's well respected. It's in its special ark, which is where the scroll lives, where the scroll is kept.

Avielah Barclay The scrolls that we use today are essentially the same as the first ones written thousands of years ago, because we can only copy from one to another, and then it has to be checked three times, because one mistake can change the whole meaning of what it says. It's important for it to be written by hand. A computer can print out a book that you can read, and you can still learn it that way, but you can't use it in public ritual because it hasn't been imbued with the holiness that a person with a soul can give to it.

Mordechai Pinchas So originally all the Torahs were written with one of these. This is a reed quill. Nowadays most people use a feather. This is a swan's quill. But this quill is from a vulture. The bird we can't eat, so I can't use it to write. The parchment sheets, they're joined together with animal sinew and gold plated needle.

Rabbi Benji Stanley But the book is never finished. You can roll up the scroll, but really, the scroll continues. In all those conversations we have about what does this mean and how does it affect my life?

Holy Books: The Torah

Video length - 06.00

Published date - Apr 2015

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

The Gospel of Luke – The Resurrection – In the last of three dramatised extracts from Luke’s Gospel that tell the Easter story, we see the disciples pass from the depths of sorrow as Jesus is buried, to the heights of joy when he returns from the dead (Luke 23: 50 to 24:47).

Courtesy of The Lumo Project.

The Gospel of Luke – The Resurrection

Video length - 08.57

Published date - Mar 2015

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

The Gospel of Luke – The Crucifixion – In the second of three dramatised extracts from Luke’s Gospel that tell the Easter story, we see Jesus’ trials and his crucifixion at Golgotha – the Place of the Skull (Luke 22: 54 to 23:49).

Courtesy of The Lumo Project.

The Gospel of Luke – The Crucifixion

Video length - 11.20

Published date - Mar 2015

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

The Gospel of Luke – The Last Supper – In the first of three dramatised extracts from Luke’s Gospel that tell the Easter story, we see the events leading up to Jesus’ arrest – from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the Last Supper (Luke 19:36-48; 20:19-26; 21:37 to 22:34; and 22:39-54).

Courtesy of The Lumo Project.

The Gospel of Luke – The Last Supper

Video length - 12.46

Published date - Mar 2015

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

I Am Pagan – The number of Pagans in the UK has doubled in recent years, and you probably follow some Pagan traditions yourself without even realising it. Nick Taylor – a practising pagan himself – talks us through the eight Pagan festivals, their links to the natural year, and the influence they’ve had on many British traditions.

I Am Pagan

Video length - 08.03

Published date - Jan 2015

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

Forced Marriage – Sameem Ali was forced to marry a man she hardly knew at the age of 13, but eventually escaped her abusive family. She is now an author, a local government councillor and campaigns for better education about the problem of forced marriage. Here she tells her story and makes it clear: “Forced marriage is not part of my culture”.

Forced Marriage

Video length - 07.36

Published date - Jul 2014

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

Story of a Heart – Ever had an annoying friend who just won’t leave you alone? Well in Leon’s case it’s his own heart who is always following him around and nagging him to clean up his lifestyle: “Look Leon, whatever you do to yourself, you do to me…”

Story of a Heart

Video length - 06.46

Published date - Jan 2014

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

The Sikh Naming Ceremony: Naam Karan – Do you know what your name means, or how your parents chose it? Sikh names usually have special meanings, and they are chosen with the help of the Guru Granth Sahib – the Sikh holy book. Ajmeet goes to a gurdwara to find out exactly what happens at a Naam Karan – the Sikh naming ceremony.

Curriculum Mapping

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA

Component 1: The study of religions: beliefs, teaching and practices - Sikhism- Sikh Birth and Naming Ceremonies. - This covers the meaning of a Sikh birth and naming ceremony

Edexcel

Area of Study 1 - Sikhism - Section 3: Living the Sikh Life - Birth and naming rituals and ceremonies: the celebration and significance of Naam Karan and Hukamnama; the significance of Amrit sanskar (the initiation ceremony) for Sikh families, including reference to the Rahit Maryada Chapters 11 and 13; divergent understandings of these ceremonies between khalsa and non-khalsa Sikhs; the significance of the names Singh and Kaur in the naming and Amrit ceremonies, and for Sikh identity today.

OCR

No link to GCSE spec

WJEC

2.1 Unit 1 PART A - Sikhism - Core beliefs, teachings and practices -Practices - Ceremonies  Naming a Sikh child – meaning and significance  The significance and use of the names Singh and Kaur  Sikh initiation ceremony (Amrit Sanskar) – importance and significance in a Sikh’s life and consideration given to the perspective of non-khalsa Sikhs  Meaning of the main features of the initiation ceremony

Eduqas

Component 3 (Route A) - Option 5: Sikhism - Beliefs and teachings -Practices: The meaning and significance of birth and naming ceremonies ➢ The significance of Amrit Sanskar: (the initiation ceremony): Bhai Gurdas Var 3.11. The significance and use of the names Singh and Kaur

Transcript

The Sikh Naming Ceremony: Naam Karan

Harinder My name's Harinder. Har means God. I understand my name in full means he or she of all strengths.

Harchand My name is Harchand Singh Greval. Har is name of God, uh, Chand is a means moon and Singh is lion.

Harinder This is my niece, Manpreet Kaur. Her name means the love of our hearts and minds.

Aman My name is Aman Chopra and my name is meaning is, uh, you know the peace. It's a peaceful environment, we can say that.

Harinder This is my daughter Pia Kaur, and her name means beloved.

Ravinder My name is Ravinder. Ravinder, Rav means son. And inder means God, so it the son of God.

Ajmeet My name is Ajmeet Singh. Ajmeet means today's friend and Singh means lion. It lets everyone know that I'm a Sikh. When I was just five days old, my parents brought me to the Gurdwara, the temple, and I was named in a special ceremony called Naam Karan, which means name making. Obviously I can't remember it, so I've come to the Gurudwara to find out exactly what happens.

Ajmeet Babies are brought here because it's the centre of the Sikh community, and because this is where the Guru Granth Sahib, our holy book, is kept. It plays a very important part in the naming ceremony. My friend Harjinder Singh explains.

Harjinder Whenever you enter the diwan hall, as we call it, or the prayer hall, if you want to say it in English, you always see a throne like contraption at the end of it. It is a throne, and on that throne sits the holy book. When it's not in use, when it's not being read, it is covered by by wonderful kapre, by wonderful cloth. We sit on the floor. The guru sits a bit higher.

Ajmeet Can you tell me a bit about the history and the importance of Guru Granth Sahib Ji?

Harjinder The Guru Granth is the most important item in Sikh teachings. The guru, the teacher, granth, book, is our Pope, our bishop, our, even our king. So whether you are dealing with a name giving ceremony, as we're discussing today, or it is about a death or a or a marriage or what have you, the central point in the ceremony is always going to be the guru grant. The granthee, the man who looks after the grant, the book. In other words, he puts the Guru Granth Sahib on its side and opens it at random, and then the hymn that you find on the top left hand side of the page is the hymn that leads that that ceremony or that day.

Ajmeet This is Pritpal Singh, Gurmeet Kaur and their baby daughter Garnaev Kaur. Garnaev had her naam karan here just a few weeks ago. There is no set time for the naming ceremony to take place, but it usually happens as soon as possible after the birth. So what did you do on the day of your daughter's naming ceremony?

Pritpal In a Sikh household, when a baby is born, when the both the mother and the child, they are healthy enough, they are good enough to go to the local gurdwara, we just go there and to have the naming ceremony done.

Ajmeet The whole family went to the gurdwara to introduce the new baby to the community and to present her to the Guru Granth Sahib.

Ajmeet We all bow to the book to show our respect, and it's never too early to learn.

Pritpal We offered a Ramallah, a piece of cloth, to Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy scriptures.

Ajmeet The family usually gives a gift. It might be food for everyone at the Gurudwara to share, or a donation of money. Pritpal's family gave a Ramallah that's a cloth which is used to wrap up the Guru Granth Sahib to protect it when it isn't being read. The Granthi opens the Guru Granth Sahib at random, and the first letter of the first word on the page will be the first letter of the baby's name.

Pritpal We were blessed with at this time Gur poorai kirapaa dhhaaree, so the letter was G, at the end we decided Ganeev which means a priceless worth. The first letter is Ganeev and the full name is Geneev Kaur.

Ajmeet Sikhs are also given the names Singh and Kaur.

Gurmeet Sikhism believes in equality. Our 10th guru gave a boy's name Singh, which means lion and the girl's name Kaur, which means princess.

Pritpal That'll be very important because then the people will not get discriminated because their background or their, uh, class status by the surname. At the end, uh, of the ceremony we had, we were blessed with the Karah Parshad, which is a holy, uh, food. Um, and, uh, it's like a small pudding, very sweet, but delicious.

Ajmeet The sweet taste is a reminder of God's blessings. Everyone is given a piece of karah parshad from the same bowl to show that we are all equal and all part of the same community, which we call the Sangat. And that's the Naam karan. Sikh names are special because they're chosen with the help of the Guru Granth Sahib, and our names show that we are all part of the Sikh community, just like little Geneev Kaur.