Page - 29 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/02

Using Media to Teach Religious Studies | 29www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/2, 17–35 their Qur’an, storing it prominently above all other books; the representative- ness of its visual appearance and its haptic impression are of vital importance. the oBLiGatory Prayer s.ALāT AND THE MOSQUE The fields of s.alāt and mosque are independent religious phenomena and could very well be discussed separately. i consider them together here because i think the prostration (sağda) during the s.alāt is intimately associated both historically and physically to the place of prostration (masğid) and because i am convinced that with this first-order mediatisation of religious communication in Islam, particular dimensions are exposed: body and space. The five daily obligatory prayers are one of the most prominent forms of experiencing and expressing Muslim piety,26 while the mosque crystallises the most prominent forms of Mus- lim architecture and art.27 If I take the first part of my hypothesis seriously, then a visit to one or more mosques in the course of the class is indispensable, for ritualised body chore- ographies accompanied by recitations and symbolic spatial configurations ad- dress the senses in a multimedial, multisensory form that can and needs to be retraced. That said, a theoretical religious studies classification before the ex- cursion seems to me important and necessary for proper preparation of the topic, first, to prepare the students for the field – in the form of a reading or other practical assignment and the application of think–pair–share methodol- ogy – secondly, so as to collect and adequately formulate questions that can be asked of the individual who guides the class through the mosque, and thirdly, to discuss handouts to be used for field notes during the excursion and for sub- sequent reflection. With regard to the religious studies classification of the s.alāt, it seems help- ful to me to reveal its historical development, for example, that the number of times it is to be practised and the times of day are not laid out in the Qur’an but emerged from the practice of the Prophet in correspondence with a form- ing tradition.28 additionally, the s.alāt can be analysed, for example on the basis of a close video analysis, as a form of religious communication, applying ritual theories that consider the prayer sequence and structure and its interritual en- tanglements29 or its performance of emotions, group identity and world views30 26 Cf. Watt/Welch 1980, 263. the body as a holistic and multi-sensory medium of experience and expres- sion is central to the Islamic tradition: all five pillars of Islam are forms of religious practice that stress bodily experience (esp. the h.ağğ pilgrimage and s.aum fasting). the same is true of the shiite passion play (muh.arram) and the dances of the mystic currents of islam. these forms of religious communica- tion are either “total communication”, that is, all senses are addressed, or one sense is pushed to its limits. 27 Cf. Korn 2008, esp. 50–70. 28 Cf. Watt/Welch 1980, 262–271. 29 Cf. Gladigow 2004. 30 Cf. tambiah 2002.