How To Establish A Chaldean Culture

She describes how the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) divides the world into two camps: the camp of Islam under the caliphate and the camp of the West under the crusaders. Muslims who have not joined either ISIL or the crusaders are said to inhabit the “gray zone.” To win, ISIL needs to eliminate the gray zone by forcing “the grayish” to choose between the two sides. However, the Moroccan-American author also contends with this black and white view of the world in the United States. She experiences this when people express that the only Muslims they see are

In Jessica Harris’s “The Culinary Season of my Childhood” she peels away at the layers of how food and a food based atmosphere affected her life in a positive way. Food to her represented an extension of culture along with gatherings of family which built the basis for her cultural identity throughout her life. Harris shares various anecdotes that exemplify how certain memories regarding food as well as the varied characteristics of her cultures’ cuisine left a lasting imprint on how she began to view food and continued to proceeding forward. she stats “My family, like many others long separated from the south, raised me in ways that continued their eating traditions, so now I can head south and sop biscuits in gravy, suck chewy bits of fat from a pigs foot spattered with hot sauce, and yes’m and no’m with the best of ‘em,.” (Pg. 109 Para). Similarly, since I am Jamaican, food remains something that holds high importance in my life due to how my family prepared, flavored, and built a food-based atmosphere. They extended the same traditions from their country of origin within the new society they were thrusted into. The impact of food and how it has factors to comfort, heal, and bring people together holds high relevance in how my self-identity was shaped regarding food.

When discussing 9/11, the author writes about Post-9/11 America seemed determined: “Never Again.” Despite important differences, genocide and terrorism share one important feature, which is that both parget civilian populations. This led the author to ask, “To what extend is the mind-set of the perpetrators revealed by the way they frame their victims culturally (Mamdani, 11)?” The debate on this question turns around the relationship between cultural and political identity and in the context of 9/11, between religious fundamentalism and political terrorism. The ideas the author raised in the Good Muslim, Bad Muslim section, stuck out to me the most. Mamdani explained that President Bush moved to distinguish between “good Muslims” and “bad Muslims.” From the “bad Muslims” point of view, they were obviously responsible for terrorism and at the same time, Bush seemed to assure Americans that “good Muslims” were anxious to clear their names and consciences of this horrible crime and would undoubtable support “us” in a war against “them.” This doesn’t hide the central message of the discourse that unless proved to be “good,” every Muslim was presumed to be “bad.” All Muslims were now obligated to prove their credentials by joining in a war against “bad Muslims (Mamdani, 15).” This part of the reading really got me thinking about

In our society today, culture is not what it used to be hundreds of years ago. There is no more “pure” culture. Our culture today is enriched with many different traditions and customs that are being shared and adopted. Due to emigration and immigration, a variety of diverse customs, beliefs, and knowledge moved with every exiting and entering human being. Thus, changing and shaping the culture of many. Throughout the world, the beliefs and religious views of culture are dissimilar around the world. By taking the time to read, listen and learn about certain people’s culture, there will be knowledge and understanding that will be gained.

Every Culture has a set of rituals that they partake in, that are often constructed over a long period of time. Simple Actions, and special moments contain so much meaning and make everlasting memories. All rituals despite the locations they originate from, or the location they are carried out in contain the same components, they are repetitive, symbolic, remind a certain group of people about their values and beliefs, and these rituals commemorate a significant moment. For example christians commemorate the birth of christ by attending mass, and many other cultures celebrate this moment in many different ways that have in depth symbolic meaning. In the book “Guests of the Sheik” by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea rituals play a major role. Fernea’s husband Bob is an anthropologist studying the occupants of a small village named El Nahra and their culture. Fernea has documented her experiences, and adventures, and her perspective of the many rituals that the townspeople participate in such as, Ramadan, Muharram, weddings, and pilgrimages. In Muslim culture pilgrimages are immensely important and can even lead to an elevated status. Such as the pilgrimage to Mecca. Fernea is able to participate in a pilgrimage to Karbala with a couple of the towns women she had befriended. The Pilgrimage to Karbala is a symbolic, and cultural ritual in the aspect that it is reenacted every year, and is full of symbolic meaning, commemorates an important occasion and reminds a culture about their

The disbanding of the Iraqi army and “debathification” or dismantling of the government in place only served to increase the casualties of American troops and Iraqi civilians as the radical Sunni insurgency expanded. This point of cause and effect, clash of two distinct political and cultural worlds, defined this war for the generation serving, at home and the future generations. The threat of increasing terrorism after the attack of September 11, 2001 was one of the driving force of invasion of Iraq. However, in one analysis the increase of global terrorism today is told to be well contributed by the conflicts that were fueled by the western presence in Iraq and the surrounding

Have you ever thought about how to learn about Chaldean culture? This paper will provide you the reader with this knowledge. I will discuss Chaldean traditions and how my family have brought them to the United States. The Chaldean tradition derives from the ancient civilization and though it has little change my family is very fortunate to practice this unique culture. We as a family lived in the Middle East (Iraq “majority”, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran …), and nowadays are spread all over the world after the recent wars and challenges in the region that they live, especially those of Iraq. The Chaldean community like myself have migrated to the United States and live in two major Cities (Detroit in Michigan, and San Diego in California. The majority of Chaldeans like my family and I that have lived in USA came from the Northern part of Mesopotamia in a small village called, “Tilkef”. I am a Chaldeans like many of my relatives that are Christian Catholics, and we speak a language of Aramaic (The language that Jesus was speaking), which is also called Chaldean. The Aramaic is one of the oldest, continually spoken languages in the world. People think that Arabic and Chaldean languages are the same thing, actually they are nothing alike, and you will not be able to understand Arabic just because you speak Chaldean. I can speak both of these two different languages, and the use of this language is only because the Chaldean used to live with the Arab people for hundreds of

In the third grade, I remember bringing noodles to lunch, and all of my white classmates looking at me strangely. Little did I know, Americans did not bring noodles to lunch, but rather simpler things, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and lunchables. Although my introduction to the western culture was nothing as close to the Ibo people’s introduction to the western culture, it is clear that different cultures often have a hard time understanding the customs of another culture. Okonkwo’s response to new western influences spreading through his clan depicts how the introduction of different cultures can lead to disagreement because of contrasting religious values and customs.

As the outsiders a family of sudanese in Stephanie Soileau's “The Boucherie” share a cultural moment when forced to unite with their Louisiana neighbors when a cow has to be butchered, under muslim law. An act of grace for this impecunious community of cajun folks to receive a cow after an incident in the freeway where lost cattle was being trail back to its’ rightful owner. This one cow made its way to the home of the sudanese.The only non cajun family of outsiders, the miss fits, the foreigners were the ones to receive that gift in their own backyard. Now it’s up to the cajuns to befriend the Nasraddin family and persuade them to have a community feast without the fear of having the cops interfering with their celebration. Little did they know that

One of the families assessed for this assignment was a first generation Mexican American family originally from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The family consists of a young couple and two young children. Religiosity plays a big part in the lifestyle of this Mexican American family and this was evident in the rosaries worn by the couple. The couple regularly attends a local Roman Catholic Church for spiritual renewal and to pray for good health. Like other Catholics, they believe sickness is a sign of spiritual weakness and whenever individuals are sick members of the family pray for them (O’Brien, 2011). The family strongly prefers to prepare its own food, and its favorite dishes are traditional Latin American cuisines such as Chile, tamales and tortillas. Latin American cuisines are high in calories, high in salt, cooked in grease or deep fried, and contain lots of flour. When the family cannot cook they usually eat out, mostly in Mexican restaurants. Mexican Americans have a strong attachment to their families so they talk to their parents and siblings on an almost daily basis. Members of the family interviewed also communicate with their cousins, uncles, and aunts back in Mexico through online social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp. Communication between the couple and with other family members is almost always in Spanish.

While culture is prevalent in everyone 's lives, the way that culture is interpreted can drastically vary depending upon the generation a person grew up in. In both Madeleine Thien 's “Simple Recipes” and Kazuo Ishiguro 's “A Family Supper” the way in which the children view culture is significantly different from their parents views. While the children in each story grew up in different countries, the similarities between the children and their families are strikingly similar. The cultural views of the father and son in each story leads them in separate ways, which ultimately causes major rifts within the families and creates significant tension between father and son. The fathers in each story are authority figures to their children. Although the level of authority each father has over their children is drastically different due to the age of their children, it is clear both fathers demand a certain level of respect from them. The suppers in each story, while seemingly insignificant at first, actually carry a much deeper meaning. The suppers play a large role in how each story plays out. Although there are differences in regards to how each story conveys the message of cultural divide, the point remains the same. Culture is always evolving, and while this is generally viewed as a success for society, if those involved do not have a firm grasp on what is changing, it can lead to disagreements within society and in some cases disagreements within

While looking upon my personal culture and my family’s culture in an attempt to find appropriate dishes for this assignment, it became apparent to me that I have no definite culture. Whereas I have lived in Canada my whole life, my family’s background has engaged me in varying cultures, though I have never felt truly attuned to one culture. On the other hand, my father is a first generation Canadian, his parents both from Scotland. Though aware of my Scottish origins and my grandparents’ migration to Canada, Scottish culture has never been explicitly celebrated amongst those in my family. Furthermore, my family previously migrated from Ireland during the Irish famine, resulting in Irish culture to also represented in my family’s culture. Variously, my mother’s side of the family has lived in Canada for many generations, but I do not consider myself as being authentically Canadian. Accordingly, throughout my childhood, I was never encouraged to celebrate an explicit culture. Furthermore, religion was never prominent in my life either, as my parents decided against baptizing any of my siblings and me, as per the family tradition, because they wished for us to have religious freedom. However, because of the rest of my family’s religion, as well as my background, my family has always celebrated Christian holidays, though I have never been to church for a reason other than a wedding. I find that without any cultural ties from my family’s history and practices, that the culture I

This survey reveals that the problem with the Islam faith is not racial: The Muslim people are welcomed, the Islam faith is not. The violence that has been perpetrated against America, whether executed or planned, has brought to fruition religious persecution not seen since the persecution of the Jews in W.W.II. This “trust no Arab” attitude has brought shame to the Constitutional intentions of freedom of religion intended by our forefathers, and has set religious tolerance back 200 years. Looking at media representation of Muslim Americans prior to 9-11, it shows religious diversity in America, depicting Muslim America as just another religious community seeking to advance and protect their interests, not unlike other Americans. After 9-11 the media portrayed representations of threat and fear, creating boundaries between Muslims and other Americans. Such depiction transforms the identity of Muslims and American religious pluralism (Byng, M. pg. 3).

In this essay we will be discussing the relationships between food choices and religious practices through seasonal cycles and festive occasions that surround the Netherlands also to understand the relationship between food consumption and religious practices and to analyze the role of food as an expression of social identity.