11/30/11

An article on the Huffington Post about Facebook and Twitter and how they might effect Islam. The article talks about how Facebook could be a problem because of the freedom of speech is much greater on Facebook then really allowed in Muslim countries. The article also brings up the fact that people waste lots of time on the internet. To me this reminds me of social networking and the Arab Spring. Because of the internet and access to it, people were able to get their word out more and tell people outside of the country what was going on. In this case it was good for the people in that country to let the world what was going on. It got them outside help and awareness. I'm not sure if that is what Islam needs, but I can see Facebook and Twitter as a way to help in a way. So they can share their ideas and let the world know that not all of them are terrorist. Let people know what Islam is all about. It could be  a good thing, you never know. But it could also lead to bad things for the Muslim community. With the internet developing so fast, who knows what can happen, good or bad. We just will have to wait and see.

11/29/11

An article in the Islam Tribune tells readers about Iran and their plan to seal off eastern borders to Afghanistan and Pakistan by 2015. The reason for sealing the boarder is drug trafficking. No one will be allowed to cross these borders, not even pedestrians. The majority of the border, about 90%, is already sealed. The plan is to finish the last 10% in three years. "In early 1990, Iran began to build a "wall" to seal its approximately 1,800 kilometre-long (1,100 mile) border with its neighbours to control drug trafficking and infiltration of armed rebel groups or bandits." There has been a long battle with drug traffickers and many of Iran's security forces have been killed in the process. Hopefully this wall will help improve the drug situation. I think it is crazy for countries to be building tall walls to keep people from going in our out. There must be a better way. Walls are probably not aesthetically pleasing and just make the area around the wall ugly. I think this is an extreme way to handle things. But many people around the world are doing this to their borders.

11/28/11

An article in the Huffington Post, What do Muslim Women do for Fun? This title really caught my eye. Yes, I do really wonder what Muslim women do for fun. The little caption underneath says espically women who wear a veil. When a women is wearing a veil it is hard to really know ones identity underneath that veil. usually these veils are plain and black. It really takes away ones identity and personal likes, dislikes and anything else you  can tell from what a person wears, says or does. Some of the things the Muslim women asked said was cooking, hanging out with friends and family, going to the park, read, etc. Yes, these are normal women, but it is just so hard to imagine that with a veil covering up so much of ones self. Some quotes fro the women: "Sahar (32, NY): I love to get pedicures, go on sushi dates with my best friend and love to bake cakes!!" "Hebatallah (28, Wash.): Spending family time in the park, reading novels; volunteering to help the environment as much as possible; and enjoying a good laugh :)"

11/16/11

I found an article in the Huffington Post about a Tennessee State Representative that said that Allah was not the real God.
CLIFTON: "Sorry, you said Allah is a false God?"
WOMICH: "Yep, absolutely. Absolutely he’s a false God. There’s only one God: Jehovah. And the son, Christ Jesus who died on the Cross. Now because I believe that, I have a Fatwa on my head. I will never convert to Islam. Allah is not a real God." Is what he responded.
I think it is okay to not believe in Allah or certain God's but to say it our loud in a crowd of people especially if you are a public figure is not the place to state your opinions. He needs to put his opinions aside in the public view about Muslims. They probably don't relate to him and his job politically to say that he Allah is a false God.

11/15/11

In the ABC special we watched yesterday in class it talked about the Hajj. I learned a lot of things about the Hajj. Only Muslims are allowed to go there and if you are not a Muslim you are not allowed there. In the special we saw it showed us video footage of all the steps that you have to take for the Hajj. First they had to wash themselves and wear special clothes. Then I saw an image of the Mosque. It was beautiful and extremely big. I had never seen it before and I have never seen something so extravagant. It was amazing. There were so many people there it was unbelievable. I love how so many people gather in one place to do the same thing, pray to God. After they did all their rituals at the Mosque they moved on to walk. They walked very far, and the reporter said it was 90 degrees out. That is insane. Then they came back to Mecca and walked more around the Kablah in the Mosque. I thought this was a great video to see. It really captured my attention and gave me a better understanding to what the Hajj really entails. It gave me a perspective I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. This seems like an amazing and crazy experience.

11/14/11

Professor Valeta showed us a video clip a while back about a Muslim reality show. I'm not really quite sure what to think of it. It could be a good thing that people are seeing what is happening in Muslim houses and kind of turns away from the bigger picture Americans usually get of Muslims, such as terrorist and being afraid and not understanding their culture. This show could get out what really happens in Muslim life other then what we see on news, which is mainly bad stuff. This show could show good stuff. But on the other hand it is a reality show, which usually aren't that good or promote positive views about who is on them. Most reality TV shows that are on air right now show the people on them in a negative light. So this show could also be bad for Muslims. I haven't seen the show so I'm not sure how or what direction it will go. I think it has potential to be good, it just depends on how the TV channel wants to show these people. I hope it goes in a positive direction.

11/9/11

There is conflict in Syria about their opposition leaders who came to meet the Arab League secretary-general. A bunch of demonstrators were there and threw eggs at them. People in Syria are angry at the government they want change and military action. The opposition members are not asking for this so people are angry. I'm not really up to date with what is happening in Syria but from this article people are upset. This goes along with the Arab Spring, and goes along with what is happening in Liyba and Egypt and other countries in the Middle East. Although a quote in the article talks about how Syria's situation is not the same as Libya's. '"The Syrian case is not similar to that of Libya," Salem said, explaining that the Arab League has not been seen as exerting the same amount of pressure as it did during the case of Libya.' Details about what is happening isn't really clear in this article, but I hope leaders of Syria start to listen to their people. I'm not sure how strict of a county Syria is compared to others in the Middle East but they seem to be in a similar situation of anger at the government.

11/8/11

I will probably be getting all my Islamic news from the Aljazeera English website because I find that the most reliable news source for anything happening in the Middle East. I found a news article about a bus in Egypt crashing. Tourists from Hungary were killed and injured. The bus driver lost control of the bus because it was going at a very high speed. "The accident happened on the first day of Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, when many Egyptians and tourists head to Red Sea resorts for vacation." I'm not sure what race/ethnicity the bus driver was but I'm sure it was an accident. I looked more into the holiday Eid al-Adah. The prophet Abraham was asked by God to give him his son. They sacrifice a cow or a ram and the meat is given away to others. "One-third is eaten by immediate family and relatives, one-third is given away to friends, and one-third is donated to the poor." my article about Eid al-Adha states. It is a happy time for Muslims. For many families it is one of the few times they get to have meat.

11/7/11

An article in the Huffington Post talks about Muslims in Libya starting their Hajj near Mecca. They wear white robes to symbolize purity and equality under God. "started at dawn to ascend the Mountain of Mercy at Arafat, 12 miles (19 kilometers) outside Mecca, where Islam's Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his farewell sermon." they walk very far and start at a very important place. People who go pray for peace and to atton for their sins. Many people cannot go on their Hajj because of the uprising in some of the Middle Eastern countries. People celebrated at a Libyan tent camp because of the downfall of Gadhafi. Hajj seems like a very interesting and liberated experience and important to Muslims.

11/2/11

An article in the Huffington Post talks about Islamic Art Galleries Reopening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Navina Haidar the artist is very excited an nervous as people enter her galleries. I just wanted to post some of the art she has done because it is very beautiful. 

11/1/11

An article in the Christian Post about girl scouts being pro-life. The article is called Girl Scouts Convention Has Pro-Abortion, Ultra-Feminist Agenda, Say Ex-Members. The article then goes on to talk about this girl scout convention that has pro-life views and how parents are upset that these girls are hearing about these things. Girls scouts is suppose to be neutral on these issues such as abortion and gay marriage. 'They claim to be somewhat neutral on these issues, but the facts reveal a totally different story,” she said. “They promote things that we as Christians do not teach.”' I think girl scouts should be neutral on these topics and need to work harder to achieve those goals. If it is only in the convention that they are hearing these things then whoever is leading the convention needs to work on cleaning up their programing and what they are teaching to these girl scouts. If it is in a problem with the whole girl scouts of America program then someone needs to take over and fix it. All these girls shouldn't be forced to see something a certain way. They should have time to learn about the issues and choose for themselves.