Omer Hamad
Instructor: Siobhan Rolfes
WRD 110
25 September 2015
The Lexington Muslim Community Ever since moving here from Saudi Arabia, I have been a member of the local Muslim community. I did all the normal things a little Muslim boy does. I went to Sunday school, I attended Friday prayer with my father, and I had Muslim friends. As I grew up, I stopped attending Sunday school, I only went to Friday prayer when school was out, and I grew apart from my childhood Muslim friends. Yet I was, and currently am, a part of the Muslim community. A community which encourages a person to relax their mind and soul through prayer. While this is all great, there are some interesting aspects of the Muslim community that I am not completely familiar with. One such topic includes the various methods in which the Muslim community reaches out to the general public with a positive message. This sort of thing is a necessity due to the recent rise of Islamophobia, not only with the conservative crowd, but with the liberal crowd as well (Bayoumi 132). Islamophobia is fundamentally a prejudice against Islam and Muslims. It exists within the US in almost every corner of the country. According to Moustafa Bayoumi, the reasoning behind islamophobia is based off of facts and ideas which could be easily discredited with a basic understanding of Islam (Bayoumi 132). Any given Muslim community obviously doesn’t want people to harbor a dislike for them; they want to do what they can to be seen as a
During the Post-Classical Age, cities and urban areas in Muslim society played critical roles in religion because Muslim people had to make religious pilgrimages to Holy Cities such as Mecca and Jerusalem, trade because the cities had huge complexes which allowed trade to flourish, and cultural advancement because the cities were filled with a variety of different people as well as there were great advancement in education.
Updated information regarding the rating of this examination may be posted on the New York State Education Department’s web site during the rating period. Visit the site http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/ and select the link “Scoring Information” for any recently posted information regarding this examination. This site should be checked before the rating process for this examination begins and at least one more time before the final scores for the examination are
After a horrible terroristic attack that shocked the whole world on September 11th in the center of New York City, Muslims in the Western world have been constantly fighting against prejudice. After September 11, media interest in Islam increased, where Islam was usually portrayed in a negative way. Before 9/11, many Muslims lived the normal, everyday life. However, the attack has changed lives of many people that belonged to the Muslim community, where they were the victims of guilt. Unfortunately, many Americans were introduced to Islam, after the 9/11 attack, thus even till today, Islam is associated with terrorism. For the past ten years, Muslims felt excluded from the American society by being rifled, attacked, discriminated, checked
the government and media. I believe that people running this country are Anti Islamic due to there view on things. Also this is a Zionist country, which is another reason that makes the media discriminate against the Muslim’s, due to the conflict with Palestine and other Muslim countries. The media has always portrayed Islam in a negative way. The reason the media is biased when it comes to Islam because they hate the Islamic structure and the beliefs. The majority of media conglomerate ownership is of people who
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
Islam originated in present day Saudi Arabia where the prophet, Muhammad, had been born. Islam would later be able to spread quickly through trade, the appealing nature of the Islamic faith, and military campaigns.
As a child, I didn’t think my life’s situations and experiences were too different from others being a Muslim in Canada. I only came to the realization of this as I grew older. Living as a Muslim we celebrated different holidays, wore different types of clothing, and valued things differently. I grew up in Cambridge, Ontario, and only moved to Mississauga in the ninth-grade grade where I realized how much differently I was treated. It wasn’t always ignorance; they were just unknowledgeable and unaware and I couldn’t blame them as I was apart of a religious minority. I looked at the understanding of my life’s events being apart of an Islamic subculture from a conflict theorist’s perspective where social life was looked at as “privileged groups
For this paper, I have chosen to interview an acquaintance of mine who is a devote Muslim and follower of Islam. For the sake of this assignment I will be referring to him under the pseudonym of Jack. I spoke with Jack about some wide-ranging topics discussing things such as, media, bias, stereotypes, and really in general what being a follower of Islam is like in this divided country right now. In our country, today it’s pretty apparent there is a type of fear of Muslims, so much so that 7 heavy populated Muslim countries are not permitted from entering the United States of America. I never had conversations as personal as this with Jack and I feel as if I gained a lot of insight into the types of things minorities, and especially Muslims
I grew up in a Muslim household, under a family that was religious when it came to daily prayers, fasting the month of Ramadan, and engaging in traditional Islamic holidays. I go to the mosque fairly often, and occasionally read verses of the Qur’an. My parents always asked that I at least do the minimum when it came to being religious. I pray the five daily prayers, and happily fast the month of Ramadan, but I never feel forced to do anything. I went to an all-Muslim elementary school associated with the mosque, and learned a lot about Islam through school. As I grew older I tried to visit the mosque and further immerse myself within the Muslim community as much as possible, especially as I felt my Muslim identity strengthen. As a result, I
Historians, specifically American historians of the 21st century have demonstrated an interest in the Middle East in Islam, due to Americans frequent contact with the Middle East in the early 1960s. Islam and the Middle East have played a remarkable role in Americans discussion and reaction to the events that took place on September 11th, 2001. During this time Americans were beginning to regard the Middle East, Muslims, and Islam as one entity. Americans and the world regarded the Middle East as Islam and Islam as the Middle East. Thus, this correlation between the two made Muslims say Muslim Americans and Muslims in America as less western and more of another, but they were also seen as untrustworthy individuals. Additionally, prior to the September 11th, attacks and an after effect of September 11, was that Muslim men were violent and Muslim women as oppressed individuals. Thus, the perception of Islamophobia and the threat it brings to western society has impacted the discussion of Islamophobia in America.
Driving along the highway, all eyes are drawn as a magnet to the unique building with its golden dome and unusual architecture. The Islamic Center is located at the base of a residential street in a small neighborhood. The center houses an Islamic school, a community center, an international school and the Mosque, which is the place of worship for Muslims.
America is predominantly known as the melting pot of the world. It has cultivated a variety of populations in search for a “new life.” People from a variety of religions, races, and ethnicities live in this country and call it their home. People whom identify as Muslims are one of the many groups of people who live, work, and worship here. Since we live in a country where there are multiple religions and races, it is important that we learn their customs and culture.
The two largest religions in the world, Christianity and Islam, were implemented by two of religions most powerful leaders, Jesus and Muhammad. Without question, both Jesus and Muhammad have affected humanity powerfully. As religious leaders both men laid down the principles upon which Christianity and Islam are founded yet today. However, while Jesus performed miracles and arose from the dead, thus proving to his followers he was God, Muhammad performed no such feats, and made no such claims. In fact, Muhammad’s only claim was that he was the last prophet sent from God.
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
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.