Acknowledgments

Numerous colleagues from across the Met contributed knowledge, ideas, guidance, and support to make this publication possible. In the Department of Islamic Art, warm thanks go to the curatorial staff, in particular Maryam Ekhtiar, who directed the project on their behalf. Deep appreciation also goes to Elena Chardakliyska and Kendra Weisbin for their research and writing, and their tireless work on all aspects of this publication. We thank Marika Sardar and Ellen Kenney for providing the original text upon which Chapters 1 and 2 in Unit 6 are based, and Denise-Marie Teece, Navina Haidar, and Deniz Beyazit for all their valuable contributions. We are also grateful for the assistance of others in the department, including Annick Des Roches, Melody Lawrence, Ria Breed, Courtney Stewart, and the fellows, interns, and volunteers who contributed in many ways, in particular Elizabeth Williams, Layla Hashemi, Ariana Muessel, and Eda Aksoy.

Heartfelt thanks go to the Education Department, especially Claire Moore, William Crow, and Merantine Hens, who were instrumental in the overall vision and realization of this publication; their writing, editorial contributions, and eye to educational content was vital during every step of the project. We are grateful to Donna Rocco for managing the myriad production aspects and supervising the printing. We also thank Vivian Wick for providing the video resources, Lucy Medrich for her editing and meticulous work on the bibliography, and Madeline Kloss for her help in preparing the online version of this guide. We appreciate Sehr Karim-Jaffer's work on the "key words and ideas" and her willingness to test a number of the lessons during guided Museum visits for K–12 school groups.

We are pleased to acknowledge others who contributed significantly to the content and production. Senior consultants included Walter Denny and Priscilla Soucek, whose close reading, feedback, scholarly guidance, and unstinting support were invaluable. We are especially appreciative of Walter Denny's generosity in allowing us to publish his excellent photographs. Philomena Mariani ably edited the manuscript in its successive stages. Many thanks to Daud Sutton, Ahmed Fares Rizq, and Abdul Rahman Mahmoud for the beautiful calligraphic examples in Unit 2, and to Anandaroop Roy for making the maps specifically tailored to this publication. Natasha Mileshina conceived the playful design for the family guide. Special thanks to Miko McGinty and Rita Jules of Miko McGinty Inc. for the attractive and thoughtful design of the resource overall and for always keeping the needs of K–12 teachers in mind.

In the Digital Media department we extend our gratitude to Christopher Noey, who helped launch the project with the curators at its inception. Eileen Willis and Morgan Holzer expertly managed the content and production of the digital version, and Lucy Redoglia prepared the images for the Museum's website. We also appreciate the help of Freyda Spira in the Department of Drawings and Prints, and the assistance of Naomi Niles of the Museum's libraries. We thank Barbara Bridgers and the staff of the Museum's Photograph Studio for the exquisite images of Met objects included in this resource. As always, we are grateful for the continued support of Christine Begley and the Development staff.

As with any project of this scale, the Museum's donors were vital. We owe our appreciation especially to The Olayan Group for its generous support. The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, and The Hagop Kevorkian Fund were all committed to the success of this project, for which we are most grateful.

Finally, we are especially grateful to our advisory group of New York K–12 teachers, who reviewed select units, identified key curriculum connections, and helped develop the lesson plans: Zakaria Baha, John Debold, Dr. Sujay Sood, Joanie Esposito, Erin Fitzgerald, Katherine Huala, Jesse Johnson, Jody Madell, Julie Mann, and Michael Wilkinson. We also thank Karen Rosner of the New York City Department of Education Office of Arts and Special Projects for her help in identifying several members of this group. These educators and those who participated in our educator's conference on Islamic art provided essential feedback on the content of this teacher kit to ensure relevance and applicability for use in the classroom.

Peggy Fogelman
Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Chairman for Education

Sheila R. Canby
Patti Cadby Birch Curator in Charge
Department of Islamic Art