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The crossing : A story of partition 1947
Alesha Faraz
The Crossing is a moving book about the India-Pakistan Partition of 1947. It tells the story of the Ansari family, who live a quiet life in Triplicane, Madras, until history changes everything. As tensions rise, their daily life becomes dangerous, and staying home is no longer safe. The family leaves everything behind and joins the migration toward Pakistan, a place that exists more as hope than certainty. This historical book about 1947 shows the fear, confusion, and courage of people during the Partition. On crowded trains and unfamiliar roads, the family faces many hardships, but also finds kindness from strangers. They must make difficult choices to protect their loved ones. A powerful historical book on the 1947 Partition and an unforgettable India-Pakistan Partition story. The book is based on true events, that tells the story of survival, bravery, and hope. For readers who search for migration history and real stories from that time, The Crossing is a must-read book on the 1947 Partition it brings the events of 1947 to life, highlighting both the brutality and the acts of kindness that shaped this critical moment in history
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The Religious Groups of Mecca and Medina in the Sixth and Seventh Centuries ce
Ilkka Linstedt
Ancient and modern urban centres have been important loci for encounters between individuals of different identities. In this article, I present Mecca and Medina as multi-religious towns in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods of the sixth and seventh centuries ce. Mecca was a very small town, but the Kaaba shrine there served as a regional pilgrimage site that drew people from different faith communities. Medina was a larger settlement with a significant Jewish population. Jews, Christians and others (‘pagans’) lived in both towns. Some of these ‘others’ had also adopted some of the basic ideas of monotheism, although they had not actually converted either to Judaism or Christianity. The sources used in the article are, in particular, inscriptions, the Quran and Arabic poetry. Recent research based on these sources has required a reassessment of earlier scholarly reconstructions of Mecca, Medina and the Arabian Peninsula. According to the conventional narrative, between 610 and 632 ce, proselytisation by the Prophet Muhammad led to the rapid spread of Islam in these urban centres and the expulsion or forced conversion of non-Muslims. However, based on the new evidence provided by the inscriptions and a reexamination of relevant passages in the literature of the period, this no longer seems to be true.
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The Enduring Legacy of the Habsburg Islam Policy: Muslim Communities in Central and Southeast Europe
Sevgi Adak and Thomas Schmidinger
Examines contemporary legal and political structures governing Muslim communities in Central and Southeast Europe.
When Otto Habsburg – son of the last emperor of the Austria-Hungarian Empire Karl I – died in 2011, among those who prayed at the funeral was Mustafa Efendi Cerić, the Reis-ul-ulema of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the highest Islamic office in the country. This was to honour the long-lasting relationship between the bygone empire of the Catholic Habsburgs with Bosnian Muslims. The cornerstone of this relationship was the 1912 Islam Act (Islamgesetz) of the Habsburgs, which granted Islam legal recognition and incorporated it into the imperial system. This book explores the legacy of this Act and the ways in which it continues to impact the legal frameworks and political structures governing Islam and Muslim communities in the successor states of Austria-Hungary.
• Explores the cultural and political dynamics that emerged in Central Europe as the home of centuries-old Muslim communities as well as of recent Muslim immigrants
• Maps in detail the diverse trajectories followed by the successor states to the Habsburg Empire with regards to the governance of Islam and Muslim communities
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The Enduring Legacy of the Habsburg Islam Policy: Muslim Communities in Central and Southeast Europe (OPEN ACCESS)
Sevgi Adak and Thomas Schmidinger
When Otto Habsburg, son of the last emperor of the Austria-Hungarian Empire Karl I, died in 2011, among those who prayed at the funeral in Vienna’s Stephansdom was Mustafa Efendi Cerić, the Reis ul-ulema of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was to honour the long-lasting relationship between the bygone empire of the Catholic Habsburgs with European Muslims. The cornerstone of this association was the 1912 Islam Act (Islamgesetz) of the Habsburgs, which made Austria-Hungary the first Catholic European state to confer official status to Islam. This book explores the legacy of this act and the ways in which it continues to impact the legal frameworks and political structures governing Islam and Muslim communities in the successor states of Austria-Hungary. It discusses the unique coexistence in Central Europe of centuries-old, ‘indigenous’ European Muslims with recently settled Muslim immigrants, and the trajectory of their interactions with the state. This volume is therefore not only crucial to the debate about European Islam but also to the question of the legal and political framework of Islamic religious communities in a secular Europe.
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Educational games for Science learning: A teacher`s toolkit for board and card games to support active science learning
Kiran Qasim Ali, Wadhwani Nimarta, and Ruby Bano
This booklet aims to restore science education to its roots in inquiry and exploration. By incorporating play into science teaching, it seeks to rekindle the interest and engagement that conventional methods frequently diminish. Play is not a mere break from learning; it involves experimentation, decision- making, and discovery - processes that are essential both to childhood and to understanding science.
The games presented here connect curriculum goals with interactive, purposeful activities. They provide teachers with structured yet flexible tools to promote active learning, deepen conceptual understanding, and foster student participation. Each game reflects the realities of local classrooms while offering opportunities for adaptation and creativity.
We invite teachers to consider science not as a fixed set of facts to transmit, but as an evolving field to explore. These games serve as initial models that can be adapted, expanded, or serve as inspiration for new designs. Our purpose is not to present definitive solutions, but to encourage thoughtful innovation in teaching practice.
Above all, this booklet affirms a simple principle: science learning can be enjoyable, meaningful, and profoundly human when it is grounded in play. -
7th Educational research day: Building a culture of inquiry: Promoting research in HPE
Department of Educational Development (DED)
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The Beautiful Game on a Muslim Pitch: How Football and Religion are Shaping Identity and Society
Aaron W. Hughes and Leif Stenberg
Examines how football and religion act together to shape both identity and society in Muslim contexts.
This book showcases how football and religion are becoming increasingly interlinked in Muslim contexts in order to interact with and influence both identity and society. The first part of the volume is devoted to issues of identity, showing how football aids in its construction, maintenance and subversion. The second part reveals the deep-rooted connections between football and political and religious establishments by demonstrating how these organisations frequently use the game to disseminate or propagate their larger messages.
Altogether, the contributors reveal how football has increasingly become a site for confrontations and negotiations over different understandings of religion – as a racial category, as gendered power and as it is invested in issues of state politics.
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Water, sanitation & hygiene (WASH) education: Activity booklet
Noor Ul Ain and Fozia Parveen
This booklet has been designed as both of informative and interactive resource. it offers practical knowledge about clean water access, safe sanitation, and hygiene practices, along with hands on activities that can be used in classrooms, community meetings, or family discussions. Whether, you are a teacher, student, health worker, or community leader, this booklet aims to empowers you with the tools and knowledge to become a WASH ambassador in your home and neighborhood.
We believe that real change begins with education and collective actions. By creating awareness and encouraging simple, everyday practices, we hope this resource contributes to a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient Murree. -
Environmental and climate change dictionary: Part II
Fozia Parveen
When we published our first environment and climate change dictionary in 2023 at IED (https://ecommons.aku.edu/books/117/), I was surprised by the response we received. Many people reached out to us to tell us how they hear these terms in their workplaces and how our dictionary helps them understand the words better. I wanted to make sure that we continue to add words to the dictionary in order to increase the understanding of others but also our own understanding of many terms we hear on a day-to-day basis. This year with the participants of “Introduction to Climate Change” course at FAS we continued with our dictionary and have added 105 more words to the list of already existing 130 words. We hope that we will continue to co-create such resources for broader community education in the future as well. This year I asked each participant to add 3–5 words which were not to be a repetition of the words already given in our first edition. I reviewed the words twice and students changed the definitions accordingly. After the final review they had to add these words to our Canva page. Later in summer 2025, two FAS interns Aiman Gohar and Alefiya Najam with the help of Yamna Sarwar and M. Wasiq Imran (Teach for Pakistan) interns finalized the Canva version and edited the words further. I reviewed the words one last time before finalizing the book. The participants of Introduction to Climate Change who have contributed to this book include (as they appear in the document) Kamran Abid Khan, Ruyab Jahan, Syed Ali Arsalan, Maheen Azar, Syeda Shamael Riaz, Urooj Nisar, Sheeza Fakhruddin, Sadia Khuwaja, Natasha Ali, Abdus Salam, Shahrayar Morani, Faisal Nabi, Hania Shoaib, Faiza Zafar, Anisa Khan, Syed Samsam Ali, Arjumand Mir, Sana Hameed, Imran Uddin, Moeen Akhtar, Nadia Afsheen, Tahira Nargis, Nizar Alam, Alisha Rashid Majeed, Muhib Afzal, and Najeeb ur Rehman. Please note that some student input is missing as they did not complete the final step of the publication. I hope this work encourages students to contribute more in the future and helps expand our collective knowledge. We warmly invite everyone to use this dictionary with open hearts. Thank you for supporting our mission to advance climate change education.
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Sustaining and scaling up community managed water: WASEP in Pakistan
Jeff Tan, Stephen M. Lyon, and Attaullah Shah
Community-based water management (CBWM) remains the leading model for implementing and sustaining rural water supply services in low- and middle-income countries despite the lack of sustainability. Moreover, measures centred on providing external support to communities directly and through a wider policy and institutional framework have not improved sustainability. This book examines the key features, performance and limitations of the CBWM model through the case study of the Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP), a successful community-managed scheme that has delivered clean piped drinking water to over 450 mainly rural settlements in Gilgit-Baltistan, Northern Pakistan.
This case study draws on the findings of a 2019–2022 research project to assess the sustainability of WASEP and its scalability to urban centres funded by the British Academy’s Urban Infrastructures of Well-Being Programme. The research was undertaken by an inter-disciplinary team of UK- and Pakistan-based researchers from the social, engineering, and environmental sciences, along with development practitioners. Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained through a review of WASEP schemes, a large-scale household survey, interviews, focus group discussions, and an engineering audit, based on a random sample of WASEP schemes and control sites. The chapters examine different aspects of the CBWM model and WASEP and illustrate how community participation and engineering best practices can deliver and sustain clean drinking water up to a point, and the constraints of the CBWM model on long-term sustainability that is relevant to practitioners, communities, governments and donors. -
History of HIV and AIDS in Kenya: Evolution and Contemporary Issues
Maureen Akolo, Abednego Ongeso, Horatius Musembi, Too Wesley, and Dunstan Achwoka
Kenya is at the cusp of attaining HIV epidemic control. With a four-decade old epidemic, that at its height ravaged the country with devastating effects at all levels, the foreseeable end is indeed a momentous feat. Yet, as we forge into the future, it would be remiss of us to fail to honor the work and lives of all who in some way contributed to the gains that we see today.
The epidemic now calls for a new way of thinking. The challenge is different; and that is to end AIDS as a public health threat sustainably. Written by five authors who served as front line health workers during the height of the HIV epidemic and continue to be involved in the response, this book will appeal to many a reader. Policy makers, educationalists, students, scientists, anthropologists, historians, faith and lay communities will all resonate with the book. By providing a historical chronology of events in Kenya's HIV response, myths and misconceptions, scientific and programmatic advances, the authors provide useful insights into the past, contemporary issues and provide a sneak preview to what the future holds. -
5E instructional model: A constructivist approach to teaching & learning
Munira Amirali, Javed Ahmad, Shella Asad, Sadam Hussain, Syed Sardar Hussain, Tahira Jabeen, Tajun Nisa, and Wahid Murad
I taught ‘Curriculum Teaching and Learning’ as one of the master-level courses that enables course participants to broaden their understanding of curriculum models, teaching, learning and assessment approaches. The assignment required participants to choose a topic in their subject area, review relevant literature, and identify challenges faced by teachers and students during teaching and learning that topic.
In addition, course participants were asked to list misconceptions students possess regarding the relevant topics and explore possible solutions and recommendations to address the identified challenges and misconceptions. Thus, the course participants developed learning resources (lesson plans) using the 5E model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend or Elaborate, and Evaluate) based on constructivist learning theory to implement the lessons in real classroom settings.
This teacher manual is one of the Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Course Outcomes. It is a valuable resource for subject teachers and educators, offering research-based information on teaching and learning of the selected topics, along with detailed lesson plans for classroom implementation.
This teacher manual includes lesson plans submitted by Javed Ahmad, Sadam Hussain, Sardar Hussain, Shella Asad, Tahira Jabeen, Tajun Nisa, Wahid Murad. I hope that you will find this manual helpful!
First of all I would like to acknowledge Curriculum, Teaching and Learning course participants for developing the lessons following 5E model.
I express my gratitude to Ms Sania Iqbal Siddiqui (Specialist, Aga Khan University Examination Board) for her invaluable editorial insights and meticulous attention to detail that have significantly enhanced the quality of this document.
Finally, I would like to appreciate Ms Sara Faizal for her exceptional efforts in designing and compiling the document ,and ensuring an insightful reading experience for our audience.
You will also find a brief introduction to the 5E model of lesson planning in this document. Following that, you will find the students’ work, which includes a brief literature review on their selected topic, as well as lesson plans for English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Each lesson plan concludes with activities and references. -
Mashru' Istiqlal Misr 1883: min awraq Muhammad Abdu (d 1905) al-Majhulah= مشروع استقلال مصر 1883 من أوراق محمد عبده المجهولة
Walid Ghali and Emad Abu Ghazy
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Teaching and teacher education in Pakistan: Historical and contemporary perspectives
Anjum Halai
This book explores teaching and teacher education along the continuum of teachers’ careers within the context of Pakistan. It makes a significant contribution by consolidating historical and contemporary perspectives on teaching and teacher education into one concise volume, grounded in the social, cultural, political, and fiscal landscape of Pakistan—a lower middle-income country. The aim is to provide actionable recommendations for addressing issues within this field in the contemporary, fast-changing world. It argues that to adequately prepare children and youth for a dynamic world, teaching and teacher education must undergo transformation. Teacher education provision needs to be nimble and responsive to new teaching methods and emerging needs for skills development. Teaching must also accommodate the diversity in classrooms resulting from significant demographic shifts, increasing socio-economic divides, persistent gender inequities, conflicts, and disruptive digital technologies, among other factors. Divided into two interconnected sections, the first situates the evolution of teacher education within the global context before shifting focus to Pakistan's historical post-colonial policy landscape as a lower-middle-income country. Finally, it addresses the current context amidst the digital revolution, neo-liberal policies, and privatization. The second section draws upon highly relevant classroom-based research from Pakistan to provide insights into key issues in teaching and their implications for teacher education. Overall, the book offers profound insights applicable to teaching and teacher education in other similar post-colonial lower-middle-income countries.
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Fostering environmental sustainability through Early Childhood Education(ECE).
Tahira Jabeen, Fozia Parveen, and Nasima Shakeel
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Pathways to teacher development and students success
Edward Bonnituo Kankpog Bonnituo Kankpog, Nyagwegwe Wango, Indede Selline, Ibrahim Salifu, and Uthman Amadu
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Bachpan aur muqami khail: Khail tehqiq ki aala tareen shakal hai
Yasmeen Mehboob, Bibi Saleema, and Zakir Ahmed
This book delves into the timeless significance of traditional games in childhood and education, illustrating how they shape physical, social, and emotional development. It highlights the unique way these games foster creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving, blending learning with the joy of play. Rooted in cultural heritage, they serve as a bridge between generations, offering more than entertainment—they become tools for holistic growth. By exploring their role in nurturing curious minds and strong communities, this book reveals the lasting impact of traditional games on both childhood experiences and lifelong learning
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Towards an engaging and integrated climate change pedagogy
Noor Ul Ain, Fozia Parveen, Nighat Rabbani, and Afsana Shaheen
Note Three years ago, we embarked on a journey to create open and free resources for teachers. We were overwhelmed by the positive response to each of our publications, whether in the form of activity booklets, dictionary, fiction, or early childhood lesson plans.
We were fortunate to receive a grant under the Climate Action Fellowship project from the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar. Initially, the project aimed to create a resource booklet of lessons and activities focused solely on climate change and climate change pedagogy. However, as we progressed, we realized the importance of first meeting with teachers to understand their current knowledge and needs. As a result, the development of the resource book was extended to the latter part of the project.
Now, as we near the end of the fellowship, we are preparing to publish two resource books for teachers, complete with ready-to-implement engagement activities. I would like to extend my gratitude to the U.S. Mission for their generous grant. Through this initiative, we directly engaged 50 incredible teachers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a climate action projects. Their work has been truly inspiring, and it will undoubtedly encourage many more in their regions to take similar action. Their input helped us identify common theme sand lessons, which we have addressed by offering additional resources.
This book was primarily led by Miss Noor Ul Ain over several months who was hired using the Tehqeeq and Tarkeeb departmental grant at IED. After the initial draft, the booklet was reviewed by the MPhil bridging class of 2026 at AKU-IED. The entire team then worked collaboratively to add new activities and enrich the content wherever possible. As I arranged the book we added more activities where we felt the need. The booklet has been created using canva education however, we would also like to acknowledge using magic media and other AI tools to create some visuals and for proofreading some of the work.
I hope that educators interested in disaster risk reduction, education in emergencies, and climate change education will find this resource valuable and provide feedback for future improvement.
I am deeply grateful to all the teachers and school systems who continue to incorporate our open resources into their educational packs. We will continue to create more educational resources for them. -
Governance and Islam in East Africa: Muslims and the State in Kenya and Tanzania
Farouk Topan, Kai Kresse, Erin E. Stiles, and Hassan Mwakimako
Explores the relationship between Muslim communities and the State in East Africa in political, institutional and legal contexts
- Focuses on the relationship between Muslims and the State in Kenya and Tanzania
- Asks which factors, both within and outside the Muslim community, shape and affect this relationship in contemporary times
- Presents 13 case studies exploring governance issues within and across the categories of politics, institutions and law in Kenya and Tanzania
- Identifies cross-cutting issues of governance and Muslim communities which are relevant beyond East Africa
Recent studies of Muslims in Kenya and Tanzania have tended either to examine governance of Muslims in relation to security issues, or to discuss the reforms attempted within communities and their implications for Muslim theology, rituals and general welfare. Both these approaches are covered in this book, and a third is added – the study of Muslims as citizens or residents of their respective countries, looking at their activities and attitudes in relation to the various challenges they face together with their fellow compatriots and citizens.
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Orthopaedic innovations in developing countries
Masood Umer and Haroon Rashid
This book focuses on improving orthopaedic surgery in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Over the last 35 years, orthopaedic surgeons have made multiple innovations locally in Pakistan that have never come to the surface. Many surgeons in our world work in a resource-constrained setting and have to use frugal innovations to work their way out. These are the ground realities of working in a LMIC, which will be shared globally through this book.
Starting from seeing patients in the clinic and to the operating room, very high standards have been set in Pakistan for others to follow and replicate within their own resources. This book will be a narrative of how these innovations were achieved and the way forward considering the resource constraints that are present in low-middle-income countries compared to Western countries.
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