Islam And Muslim Identity In Culture

Is it possible to be a Muslim without believing the validity of the prophecies of Mohammed? Is it possible to be a Christian without believing in the resurrection of Jesus? My definition of religion transformed greatly during my studies the past few months. Even as a religion major at St. Olaf College I thought of religion very narrowly, as a construct of metaphysical beliefs. But I've come to realize that religion runs far deeper than my Lutheran mind previously conceived.

There is a Mexican man that enters with the rest of his family. They eat beans, rice, flour tortillas and etc. The family does there every day routine, the dad wakes up at six- thirty to go to work in his truck. The children go to school and the mother stays at home. The things a person does in their all has a reason which goes all back to culture. Culture is what makes up everyone different from one another. Texts such as “What is Cultural Identity?”, “Where Worlds Collide” and “Two ways to Belong” supports that depending on one’s culture it effects one perspective on the world and others.

As Americans, we have failed in the effort to uphold the truth “...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” (The Declaration of Independence). For hundreds of years, we have failed to reach a state of true equality.Though through the years we have made significant strides, racial stereotypes and prejudice still haunt our society today. Hate and division have already left their ugly scars on United States history in the form of slavery, segregation, and inequality. Now we must look to the healing redemption of peace and love to bring us back together.

In today’s time, the United States of America have drifted off its course of trying to reach a utopia. Social problems are rising for many people of color and non-color people. The problems have been illuminated in politics, education, employment, and social media. Problems such as discrimination of a certain group of people, and economic hardship are the most common issues. Reflecting back on America’s history, America has had a long history of white versus black ever since the slavery era, which took place during the time of the civil war. Ever since then, the United States have striven and persevere to change its society ethics. But, America is now slowly shifting back to a world where white supremacy and people of color are immensely separated

The beginning keynote speaker for the Social Work Teach-In, Reverend Douglas VanDoren, made a compelling speech on the concepts of racism and how White privilege contributes to the increased oppression of certain vulnerable populations. A statement that he made that resonated with me was, “We should see the difference in color. We should not be colorblind.” He made it clear to his audience that each of us should recognize the differences that individuals have and the cultural norms that they possess. With each person’s differences, there is a chance that communities will need to recognize the resources that are now necessary and what positive aspects different cultures could bring to community involvement.

In the familial sense, my heritage means many things in America. My heritage is discrimination. My heritage is water hoses and dog bites. My America is chains and wooden boats. My heritage is the Civil Rights Movement. My heritage is the nineteenth amendment and Women’s Suffrage. My heritage is separation. But, these battles that my ancestors had to endure do not make me see the world with a hardened heart, as some might assume. When I think about all the things that my ancestors and others like them have done to progress us into a future of acceptance, I am for one proud, and also moved to do the same. I know that I am a minority and people like me have been oppressed from centuries, but I am not one to dwell on being the Underdog. There is not a single person in the world who can’t find someone who has it worse than themselves. So, I feel that it is not my job to focus so much on the troubles on our past, but to rather use the past to inspire the future. The cultural heritage of African-Americans, which has within the last sixty or so years centralized around fighting injustices and developing individuality, has taught me to see the world as a blank canvas, that has been shaken but not shattered, and shown me that this canvas can be painted by

The United States has been referred to as a melting pot, but what happens when the place where many come to chase a superficial “American Dream” fails us. And divides the nation more than it has been in the past as well as hurts businesses, and affects immigrants lives. Who knew one man who holds the most amount of power in the United States could be as close minded and oblivious due to his lack of racial knowledge. One thing many of us pride ourselves with is learning about other races and cultures and being racial ‘woke’ in order to decrease racism and racial injustices towards one another. By doing we help the quality of life of each other slightly better, instead of creating barriers that only divide us.

Throughout our glorious run as the premiere leader in the world there has been many issues that have affected the people that walk this earth. From disease to war to religious strife we have always had our problems. But one problem that I believe has been a recurring theme time and time again is our inability to accept others, whether it is their ethnicity, religious beliefs, or even their cultural practices we as a people have always struggled to find common ground with one another. This has been demonstrated a sickening number of times from the very radical wiping out of Jews by the Nazis and more recently with the race war that is continuing in the United States of America. This problem does not only always arise in such harsh and radical situations. For example, it can be as simple as in the 1960’s a young African-American child being told he can not go to the same school as his next-door neighbor because of his skin color. This is our world’s greatest problem and if we can fix it, we can start on the road to recovery to healing our beautiful world.

As change came to America, change entered my life. To be even more specific, January 20, 2009, the date of Barack Obama’s inauguration was truly the end of my childhood. That was the day where I became aware of race. Not only was I aware of my own race but of those who were around me. Children have the freedom to live their lives without having to face certain realities such as race. Adults on the other hand, have these topics almost constantly thrown into their faces. Never to be ignored. Always in need of being addressed. I knew that race always

As a young African-American man in America, my life (past, present, and future) has been a constant struggle for survival, adequate education, and self- awareness. No matter how handsome, smart, or strong one is or can be, the level of success and peace will always be determined by skin color in America and others countries across the globe.

Numerous people have work together to manage a change in racism. Centuries ago, any Afro-American didn’t have the opportunity to attend to school or college. In addition, it was unlikely to hire an Afro-American as a manager of an enterprise. Previously, the Afro-American were captives who had no right to choose what they fancied doing. As a result, to the influence of a few men, this situation has been evolving. For instance, we can lecture about Nelson Mandela, who fought to obtain equal rights for Afro-Americans and aided to achieve a change in the world. Even though we still have racism in our cultures. Now, it is probable to meet a CEO of a company who is Afro-American. Furthermore, we can mention Barack Obama,

Muslim culture generally reflects the traditions and customs of Muslims that they adopt for a perfect and respectable life in the society according to the lessons of Quran. Muslim culture is a giant combination of diverse cultures, That’s because Muslims live in various countries all over the world. Most of the practices are common faiths and guidance for all Muslims no matter what country or even content they reside in.. These basic faiths and belives are based on the teachings of Islam. The Muslim culture is a subject of debate for many people who lives in different parts of the world and belong to diverse communities. Muslim culture represents the unification of brotherhood where all Muslims are bound to

"Islam" is derived from the Arabic root salaama meaning peace, purity, submission and obedience. Islam stands for making peace by submitting to the will of God and obeying His law. Jews and Christians view Islam as the latest of the world's great religions. However, worldwide Muslims (sometimes written "Moslems") understand their universal religion as the "final religion" and the "primal religion."

For my paper I decided to choose the religion of Islam. I decided to pick this religion because of its fast growing rate. It is also different from what I am used to growing up with, so I was interested in learning more. I had learned some basic facts after the 9/11 event, but the Muslim religion and culture was still a mystery to me. Picking this topic has helped me learn more about Muslims and will help me better relate to them in my future work.

Islam is one of the oldest religions in history dating back to about 600 AD. It began when a man named Muhammad heard a voice from the heavens instructing him to proclaim the word of god. Currently there are over 800 million followers of the Muslim religion. The main text of the religion is the Quran which is said to be the word of God, or Allah as called in Muslim. Within the Quran, The five pillars of Islam are proclaimed along with many other concepts very unique to the Muslim religion. Prayer is a very important aspect of Islam as well. Islam has a long history of invention, heritage, and world imperialism that must be understood to completely identify with the concepts of the religion and culture.