Summary Of If I Were A Muslim By Lillian Rida

The diversity between Americans has always been evident, and not just by the skin tone or religion, but also by their backgrounds, as well as how their lives are like today. Especially in African Americans and those who wanted to change the ways of religion, and the prejudice against them continues to stick, even today.

Muhammad a prophet for our time is written by Karen Armstrong. This book is like a diary that tells the life of Muhammad and how he played a big role in the Islamic religion. Muhammad was born in the year 570 ce and died in 623 ce. Muhammad was a man who did not have much going for him, he couldn’t read and lived in a cave with his wife at the time. When Muhammad was reached down upon by Allah he did not know what was happening and why it was happening. “ he knew that some people expected the imminent arrival of an Arab prophet, but it never occurred to him that he would be the one entrusted with the mission.” (p.10). Muhammad was 40 years old when this happened and he lived in Mecca. Mecca at the time had many different civilizations and was a big trading center. Arabs at the time did not like this and kept moving from places to place to get something stable. Some of the Arabs even had settled in urban areas around Mecca. Society in Mecca was based on laws and traditions that even though Allah is the main god

Americans strongly affirm the principles of religious freedom, religious tolerance, and separation of church and state. Nearly 9-in-10 (88 percent) Americans agree that America was founded on the idea of religious freedom for everyone, including religious groups that are unpopular. Ninety-five percent of Americans agree that all religious books should be treated with respect even if we don’t share the religious beliefs of those who use them. Nearly two-thirds (66 percent) of Americans agree that we must maintain a strict separation of church and state. Americans’ views of Muslims and Islam are mixed, however. As with other previously marginalized religious groups in U.S. history, Americans are grappling with the questions Islam poses to

I agree with the first quote “But not like Lady Gaga says because baby i wasn't born this way it was a choice” born a certain way is saying you have to follow the beliefs even if you don't want you. Making a difficult now in this generation can be hard because people would just be judgmental about not following it. Being Muslim is very difficult because it can mean that people see you different. Meaning born Muslim was not a choice for her because she was labeled some other rude names just for being Muslim. She had to accept her way of being and follow her belief because it's the way she has to go. She was not born to be Muslim that's the way she has to be brought into.

Muslims are one of the most marginalized people in the U.S for their beliefs and their religion but after 9/11 discrimination and hate crimes against them had become even worse.Throughout the U.S people have been “Anti-Islam” and believed that the Muslim’s religion is absurd, want muslims to change their beliefs or, leave the country.According to “Anti-Islman Discourse in the United States in the Decade After 9/11:The Role of Social Conservatives and Cultural Politics”by David D.Belt on page 211-212, talks about how a post on Charisma News with an article title “Why I am Absolutely Islamophobic” was urging at the fact that Muslim-Americans needed to be deported as soon as possible ,or go under sterilization.Also Belt talks about one of Bush’s family friend being,Franklin Graham saying that he thinks the muslim’s religion is “very evil “and “wicked”.One last example a man named Gabriel had said Islam is the real enemy of America and that we supposedly “we will be doomed in war if we don’t realize it”. People are so brainwashed it honestly insane and very ignorant at the things people think about Muslims, its barbaric.They believe what Muslims believe in and their religion is wrong and they should switch to “Christianity” because it is the “American way “ or have them deported because the do not belong there and are “terrorist”.

In recent years, America’s attention has been gripped by stories of women who have escaped from the Middle East. Each has a unique story, but they all have the same themes of oppression, abuse, and domination. Americans rushed onto the scene ready to “save” Middle Eastern women and many of the activists are now been highly praised for the influence they made in the region. Others, however, have come to question whether the Muslim women in the Middle East really needed the U.S. to rescue them from Islam. *Insert Thesis*

Nevertheless, it seemed ironic to have such feelings towards people who carried an ancient or looked a certain way. The fear of appearing Muslim expanded greatly after the nine eleven attacks in America. It created stereotypes, and lead to harassment.Understanding our history as a nation, it would be foolish to say we were introduced to segregation, discrimination, and resentment on September 11, 2001. Mahadridge said in an interview, “People had hate, they had anger, but it was directionless. After 9/11, it had direction.” Individuals were judge based off of many factors, including one's sexuality, appearance, and religion. On this day, another victim was simply added to the list of American hostility.

What it’s Like to be a Muslim in America by Dalia Mogahed and A Tale of Two Americas and the Mini-mart Where They Collided by Anand Giridharadas, both talk about what life is like being the “other” in America. Being a minority and trying to live a normal life interacting with the majority is shone to be difficult. There are two worlds living in one country, but neither of them truly understand each other.

The themes that I thought connect to the texts and videos we have expanded on in class are Identity and Boundaries (barriers). In this essay I will group the readings and videos and explore the theme in each and relate it back to Identity and Boundaries. Then how we can perhaps use related topics to illustrate my point.

There are many political, religious, and cultural factors that shape the lives of Islamic women many of them are completely different than factors in the lives of American women. Islam is one of the world’s fastest growing religions; however, Brooks argues that “Islam’s holiest texts have been misused to justify the repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of this once liberating faith.” The book also shows these factors have slowly been taking away women’s rights, rather than furthering them.

Prior to reading an excerpt on Islamic theology and Islamic philosophy in the book Introduction to Islam by Carole Hillenbrand, I did not realized the tremendous effect and contributions Muslims had on the fields of theology and philosophy. According to Hillenbrand, “the term normally used for “theology” in Islam is kalam, which literally means “speech”” (Hillenbrand, 170). Similar to all religions, those following the Islamic faith would eventually be faced with opposition and questions about the teachings of Islam. Hillenbrand explained that Muhammad was not looked to as a theological figure because he merely gained his revelations from the all-knowing God, Allah; therefore, Islamic theologians would begin to emerge overtime. These Islamic theologians would engage in debates on core issues and topics that oppositioners had with the islamic faith, such as

American scholars sought to demonstrate that there was a divide between the Middle East and the west, between Muslims and Americans. It was also stressed that America was one of the leaders of western Culture and norms, while Muslims were the “others” interfering with western ways. Which is the baseline of the divide that leads to Islamophobia. These following American Historians define the binaries that separate Muslims from Americans, which adds to what they

In today’s society women are given ample opportunity just as much as men. In some countries, such as middle-eastern nations that is not the case. Muslim women are often perceived to be submissive to Muslim men and unequal. Mohammed never taught for women to be treated as lower class citizens. Nonetheless, the blame is pointed towards the religion of Islam. The Islamic religion began as all monotheist religions representing a belief in one God and moral standards. In the following essay I will discuss and elaborate what Mohammed taught, how women lived in early Islamic society, and what it has become.

A current cultural conflict taking place in America today is religious. Many Americans discriminate against the Islamic faith and there have been countless acts of mistreatment of Muslims in the work place, at school, in public, and in the media. Negative feelings and acts toward Muslims have become so prevalent that in 1991 the Runnymede Trust Report coined a term for it. The report defined the “unfounded hostility toward Muslims, and therefore fear or dislike of all or most Muslims” as “Islamophobia” (Defining “Islamophobia”). There has always been some religious cultural conflict with Muslims in the United States, but since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, conflict has escalated significantly.

Americans are saying that Islam goes against Americas way of life, thus disowning the Muslim culture. By simply rejecting the Muslim people, America is going against its fundamental ideal of unity that goes beyond any race, religion, and background. With many diverse cultures and religions in America, it is unrealistic to ostracize Islamists and deny them the right to live in a free country. Though time has elapsed since 9/11, Americans still view Muslims as a group that can never fully