Islam commentary: due Friday, 2/24 before school

[Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)]

Please write 3 separate short paragraphs on the following topics:
1. treatment of women
2. justification for jihad and/or martyrdom
3. anything else about Islam that you choose

Your commentary should be guided by what interested you the most or
what you were most surprised to learn from the handouts on these
topics.

[Lizzy Hilt]

Women
Throughout the course of these handouts, a common theme was the issue
of clothing, and women’s rights based on the Koran. It seems to be a
disputed topic and wildly interpreted throughout the Muslim world.
While reading these handouts I realized the true value of women. In
some cases they were originally viewed as higher than men. Ever since
the times of the Koran, women have been highly valued and had rights a
thousand years before European women ever dreamed of them. It was
interesting reading about Muhammad and how a successful businesswoman
proposed him to. I was unaware of the extent of rights they had. Along
with these rights it is almost viewed as a privilege to wear the
clothing that comes along with this society. Women believe that they
respect themselves by wearing such garments. Especially in today’s
competing society, a striking point in one of the handouts was this
attire levels the playing field between men and women. It shows men
that these women are serious about their studies and can do just as
well and even better than the men.

Jihad/Martyrdom
Jihad and martyrdom seem to have a strong focus on the individual in
the Islamic religion. I noticed throughout the handouts the
reoccurring theme of purifying oneself, and a noble way of reaching
this would be through performing an act of martyrdom. In one of the
handouts it stated that if your son were to die in an act of
martyrdom, one would express their grievances to the mother, then
congratulate them. In jihad I hadn’t realized that the main stress of
it is on cleansing yourself to be the best person you can be while
pleasing Allah. They both have such a strong focus on bringing honor
to yourself that it seems like if you don’t, you are not being the
best person you could be. Based on these handouts I believe that it’s
almost instinctual for people strive to reach the status of an act of
martyrdom and die for their beliefs. If you think about it, it is
logical to die for something you believe in, and since religion is
such a huge part of Muslim society, jihad and martyrdom seem like the
perfect solution.

Personal Interest
In contrast to learning about the extensive rights women have in this
culture, it was surprising learning about some of the drawbacks of
being a woman as well. A couple of the handouts explained how a woman
was raped and chose to take the issue to court. Only to be sentenced
herself for having intercourse out of wedlock. As a religion, it
doesn’t seem ethical for people to punish a woman for being tortured
by men. As these handouts mentioned spiritual cleansing is extremely
important to Muslims and seeking out justice for a crime committed
against you should not be turned around in such a way that you can be
murdered for it.

[Alexa Lee]

Women
Reading the women focused handouts provoked me to think more deeply
about the issue and just more generally about Islam. I read that
according to Qasas "a woman's value is half that of a man" and "the
fine for murdering a woman [is] at half that for murdering a man".
Additionally the Quran states that "women have the same right as is
exercised over them, though the men have a rank above them". I was
wondering why a woman's value is half that of a man. Why were men
considered higher than women? Is there an ancient cultural rationale
as to why this is or is there a religious reason (information spoken
by God)? Also is the Koran the only 'directly spoken by God (from
the
messenger Gabriel)' scripture of Islam, or is Qasas as well?
When I read about the martyrdom I was
Martyrdom
When I read the handouts with quotes from the Quran and pondered
about
modern-day 'martyrs' (suicide bombers) I realized just how
contradictory the two are. The Quran states "No killing of women,
children, the elderly, priest, hermits, noncombatants generally. No
burning farms or trees. No kidnapping noncombatants". Today suicide
bombers do all of the above. They injure innocent civilians in
pursuit of martyrdom. It seems that the suicide bombers are not
"extremist" Muslims but "confused" Muslims. If they were such
extremist Muslims they would be extreme about this concept of "no
killing noncombatants generally". However, they ignore this detail
and go about bombing highly populated areas with tons of harmless
bystanders. I believe that real martyrs would only die when
persecuted for their beliefs, not go out and kill people for their
beliefs, whatever they may be - that is something else entirely. I
feel that extreme Muslims might try to 'purify' the world not with
violence (that would go against the Quran) but through example like
they have done in the past.
Other
I was surprised upon learning that the reason Osama bin Laden hated
the US and many Western nations was not because they were Christian,
but because they were secular. Apparently he refers to pagans in his
hate speeches. The 'infidels' were not the Christians or Jews
because
they essentially believe in the same God as Muslims. These
'infidels'
were considered to be "bedouins of ancient Arabia" and the secular
people of the West. Ultimately the main issue was that "Islamic
radicals such as bin Laden make their case against America and the
West not on the grounds that these cultures are Christian, but on the
grounds that they have abandoned Christianity." In fact even
Ahmadinejad said that America was not "Christian enough"! Wow, I
always thought that the reason why bin Laden and Ahmadinejad hated
the
West was for their Christian values, but turns out that it is the
very
opposite.

On Feb 23, 8:04 am, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"

[Alexa Lee]

sorry i copied and pasted from the last group so the formatting came
out a bit funny

[Cat Mosier-Mills]

Although the issue of Islam's treatment of women has been debated, I
was surprised to discover that it's more of a cultural/interpretive
phenomenon than a religious phenomenon. For example, in the article
"Islamic Fundamentalism vs. Moderate Islam", it says that although
Saudi Arabia and Indonesia/Turkey/Bangladesh are all predominatly
Muslim countries, Saudia Arabia doesn't allow its women to drive,
while the other countries have female elected leaders. It's all up to
interpretation, just as Christian fundamentalists in our country
interpret the Bible more literally than others. Some take the
messages
in the Koran, which encourage modesty, very literally, and want
Islamic law to be the law of the land (such as in Iran and Sudan.)
Countries with Western ideals, such as Bosnia, don't enforce the
dress
code, and, as mentioned in the poem by the Muslim girl, many girls
embrace the Hijab or Chador out of respect for their culture,
religion, and family.
Martyrdom has always been an interesting concept for analyists and
observers alike; and, like the treatment of women, it's left open to
interpretation. In the handout "What does Islam say about war?", we
see that war is a last resort, "subject to the rigorous conditions
laid down by the sacred law." Additionally, it mentions the constant
confusion with the word "jihad" ("struggle" instead of "holy war").
The sentence that stood out to me the most was from "Why some strap
on
bombs", saying that: "Confronted by a seemingly endless combination
of
death, destruction, restriction, harassment, and humiliation, they
conclude that ending life as a bomb -- rather than having it ended by
a bullet -- endows them, even if only in their final moments, with a
semblance of purpose and control previously considered out of reach."
It doesn't necessarily justify suicide bombings or martyrdom, but it
provides an interesting insight into the psyche of Palestinian
suicide
bombers -- that sometimes they aren't "social misfits or clinical
psychopaths."
What I found most interesting overall was the article on Ayaan Hirsi
Ali. As a harsh critic of Islam and fearing for her life, she's been
named Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2005, and has
been given several other accolades for her work. As a Muslim who grew
up in Somalia, her book presents a personal look on Islam's treatment
of women -- especially men following in Muhammad's footsteps by doing
"borderline pedophile" things. (She remarks how Mohammad fell in love
with his wife when she was 6, and married her when she was 9!) I find
her to be an extremely influential and inspiring woman.

On Feb 23, 8:04 am, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"
<kenneth.sk...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Steven Wood]

The treatment of women in Islamic culture is very intriguing in a
westerners eyes. The interesting part is how the treatment of women
is justified in Islamic culture. The justification is because men in
this culture are trying to preserve the purity of women by any means
necessary. Muslims go about this task in numerous ways from
restricting what women can wear to violating their rights and
devaluing women as a whole. This justification seems to root back to
the time of Mohammad and how he treated women. Mohammad, in contrast
to his time period, respected women's role in society and gave them a
great deal of respect, compared to the itemizing of women that
occurred previously. It seems that every "injustice" that has been
committed towards women has been in response to Mohammad's actions has
been done purely to prevent the itemization of women. For example,
the veiling of women is meant to de-sexualize a women to therefore add
depth to the person beyond appearance promoting women to a status
above a "belonging". In my opinion this justification makes sense to
me, though these actions towards women have been made extreme and
therefore remove the respect women once had by removing their opinion
in the matter.

The justification for Jihad is not something I understand because
of the misinterpretation of the word. To many when they hear the word
"Jihad" they instantly think of a man with bombs strapped around his
body about to blow up a civilian building. In my opinion the word
Jihad means something completely different, a struggle. What is most
interesting about this is the priority of the two major jihads.
Greater Jihad is the type that translates roughly into inner struggle,
smaller Jihad is the idea of an outer struggle or converting others.
The interesting part of the priority is that the Qur'an states that
Greater Jihad is to always come before smaller Jihad; therefore,
bettering one's self or one's country is prioritized above bettering
others, which is very logical. Martyrdom is a different situation
that I beleive is left for the Islamists and is not a common practice
among Muslims;therefore, once again making the word seem irrelevant
because of the lack of support for martyrdom in the Muslim community.
After saying this one more idea comes to mind. These terms are far
from being specific to Islam. Jihad is seen in every religion. A
struggle to convert others, one example that out scales and smaller
Jihad is the Crusades. A campaign that started for the sole purpose
of converting Muslims.

Out of all of these statements I believe the most interesting that
I found reading these handouts were the similarities between the three
major monotheistic religions Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. This
relation goes so deep that the religions and their followers are even
considered brothers or cousins. Not only is this analogy great
theoretically, but in makes logical sense as well, because of the
family tree of Abraham. Stated in many of the handouts the
similarities go past just relatives but also the prophets that are
worshiped. For example Abraham is seen as a prophet in every single
one of these religions.

On Feb 23, 8:04 am, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"
<kenneth.sk...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Maddie Chapin]

The treatment of woman in Islam intrigued and amazed me, from ideas
ranging from their attire to their treatments compared to men. For
one, the women's attire in Islam is such a culture shock for me. In a
few of the handouts they discussed how in countries like Iran and
Kuwait the wearing of the hijab is required. Comparing this to our
culture, women would never be forced to wear a certain type of attire
and would be considered a violation of rights. It also is ironic to me
how many believe "Islam actually improved women's status in the 6th
century". I thought this was really strange considering the lack of
rights the women carry and also found the rebuttal to this argument
from the Arabs point of view really interesting. They consider women
and men equal, just both carry different expectations. Where as here
in the US, we automatically assume the men look down highly upon the
women although Mohammed seemed to respect them.

The idea of the Jihad, or "holy war", shows how devoted Islamic people
really are to their religion. I think that although Jihad can be
interpreted as very forceful and not a good idea from numerous
cultures, it is also interesting to step into the point of view of the
Islamic people. Some of the handouts helped me empathize with the
Islamic interpretation and how the Jihad is inspired by words from the
Koran, which much of the culture seems to be inspired by. Although, I
do believe that the jihad is too forceful and can result in the
hurting of innocent civilians which is drawing the line. It is one
thing to be enthusiastic about your culture and I respect this, but it
is another to do so by hurting civilians and carrying out unnecessary
human rights violations.

The overall emphasis on religion in this culture seems to be the most
prominent aspect of the handouts and these countries. Although before
reading the handouts, I had somewhat of an idea as to how significant
the Muslim religion is, I realize now that I never understood it to
the full extent. Some articles discuss people dying for their
religion, such as martyrdom, and many risking opportunities and jobs
in life for their religion, such as the women of this culture who tend
as the care giver because of the words stated in the Koran. The Koran
essentially decides the fate of individuals considering that the 5
pillars of Islam determine the way of life. Even the importance of
family seemed to be determined by the Prophet, which was also unique.
I have never seen a more devoted group and have a new found respect
for this religion of Islam, because of the great measures many take to
rightfully practice their religion in this culture although some of
these measures are taken to an exaggerated extent.





Widespread religion

On Feb 23, 8:04 am, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"
<kenneth.sk...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[James Lofton]

Treatment of Women: As a number of these handouts pertained to the
"unequal" rights that muslim women have as compared to the male peers,
it was interesting to see that quite a few gave a positive view
towards the cultural phenomenon. For example, one handout referenced a
woman who says that the veiling of themselves makes them more equal in
an educated setting. Whether it be at a university or a workplace, due
to the lack of sexual attraction to the veiled women, both sexes are
more equal. It is also really interesting, coming from the same
packet, that many women who currently wear the garments, are
rebelling. To us it seems counterintuitive, that a form of rebellion
would be to wear a religious garment as opposed to racy western
clothing; however, the parents of these women thought that
"westernizing" would bring better economic standing to the muslim
world, but in the most part it has not. So these women think going
back to the "un-secular" ways of the past is the best way to make
their countries great again. So as a whole, these handouts really
pointed out the fact that these muslim women are taking part in some
of these acts by choice. But obviously, some inequalities, such as the
different requirements for divorce, are blatantly in need of reform.

Justification for Jihad: It was very interesting to me to see how many
of the people we call terrorists, who conduct suicide attacks,
actually believe that they are doing themselves good in sacrificing
themselves. This is an interesting belief in it of itself; however,
the fact that they are completely mistaken in the beliefs of their own
`Holy Book, is very odd. Being that it explicitly states in the Koran
that no children or elderly should be harmed in their jihad. This is
often disregarded in indiscriminate terrorist attacks. What I really
take away from the jihad oriented handouts is that no matter how much
the west, and even fellow muslims, try to dissuade the extremists from
conducting these activities, it will produce no effect. The men and
women who do this are protesting the involvement of external forces in
their religion and society. When these people think they are doing a
justice to their religion, the thing they care about most in life, it
is nearly impossible to influence their judgement in a positive way.

Islamic Business Ethics / Banking: I found the handouts that talked
about the implementation of the Islamic mindset into business and
banking especially interesting. In considering the many ethics that
Islamic businessmen abide by, such as the consideration for peers
among others, and how they contrast with the idea of business in the
western world. In understanding these Islamic principles, it is easy
to see the corruption, hostility, and manipulation that abound in the
businesses we are most familiar with. Being a businessman in the west
requires a certain disregard for the feelings of those around you. In
Islamic backed businesses, it is all about fairness and good will.
This also translates into the Islamic banking idea. Which is extremely
interesting in its difference from Western banking. While on one level
the two systems seem worlds apart, they essentially achieve the same
goal, just through a different manner. Islam runs by a different set
of rules than the rest of us, and in a society dominated by muslims,
such as the middle east, the world must seem like a different place.

On Feb 23, 8:04 am, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"
<kenneth.sk...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Shefain Islam]

Women:
Being a Muslim girl, I think about the idea of Islam and women a lot. Reading from the Quran and seeing translations of women being told to "draw their scarves around themselves" but then also being from a pretty liberal family and living in the Western world confuses me often. Is the veiling of women culture or religion? If it's religious, should I follow the custom? But the handout with "Purdah" at the top summed things up really well. The idea of purdah means different things to different people and there is no one answer for the reason behind purdah. While it is definitely not a religious practice since the idea of veiling predates Islam, Islam has been connected with veiling because the cultures that were Islamic (the Arabs) were cultures that veiled women. In the handout, different women were explaining their reason for wearing the hijab but what I found most interesting was the fact that women now wear the hijab as a form of rebellion against their parents who did not believe in veiling. I feel personally connected with this idea because my grandmother and my mother don't veil themselves but I'm seeing more and more people around me like my cousins get into veiling as a way to better themselves in a way that they believe their parents didn't do. Going back to the idea of veiling and culture, I strongly believe that while the idea of modesty  goes throughout the Muslim world, how modesty along with other "Muslim" roles of women are expressed around the world vastly differ. While in Saudi Arabia women can't drive and have "religious police" enforcing a dress code, Bangladesh (with over 140 million Muslims) has had two women prime ministers and have very few veiled women. Instead, in Bangladesh you will see more South Asian traditions like saris and the traditional attire of Indians, Pakistanis, and Bengalis. The reason for these facts is again culture rather than religion. Women in Bangladesh are also allowed to drive, go out in public alone in whatever they choose to wear, and are allowed to divorce their husbands. Again, culture not religion. I think the West often looks at the Muslim world as just Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and therefore mistakes many cultural traditions as religious traditions which is a problem.

Jihad/Martyrdom:
Jihad and martyrdom are probably some of the most controversial topics surrounding Islam. The way that jihad and Islam are represented to the Western world through atrocious inhumane acts like car bombs and 9/11 frankly embarrass me. It's sad for me to think that the first time some people heard of Islam was when Muslims crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center, killing thousands. The truth is that Jihad is a personal struggle just as much as it is an outer struggle. The handouts with Quran passages said that Islam does not promote any kind of violence or aggression unless aggression is prompted by the other party first. Even then, Muslims should only retaliate with the same amount to aggression that the other party started with and should never increase aggression. The way radicals like Al-Qaeda is practicing "jihad" is completely the antithesis of what Islam is all about but many radicals are so obsessed with the personal struggles they felt, they find a religious passage, twist it, and use it as their mission statement in the killing of innocent civilians. Not only do they use it as their mission statement, they believe that practicing "jihad" will give them a free ticket into Paradise. I think the way that terrorists view martyrdom is funny view because martyrdom is supposed to be a selfless act and therefore, people who were selfless in fighting for their religion deserved to be rewarded. However, if terrorists are trying to achieve the "spoils" of martyrdom for themselves, they are not being selfless. Instead, they are thinking of themselves and their afterlife, not the fate of the religion and its followers. To commit an act with the thought of martyrdom in the back of your mind is a completely hypocritical thing to do. Martyrs didn't want to become martyrs, they became martyrs because they were selfless. They did not want to be idolized or given a free key to Paradise but when terrorists commit acts with these ideas in mind, they are not martyrs. The terrorists are just the same as the "selfish Westerners and infidels," if not much much worse.

Ramadan:
I wanted to write about Ramadan because it such an important part in many Muslims' lives, even those who are not very devote. In one of the handouts, the writer explains how she was perplexed after finding out that her meeting was not at 11 am, but rather 11 pm. During Ramadan, this is how the lives of many Muslims work. It seems odd to a Westerner to stop everything during the day for a month because there is fasting going on but in reality, after sunset Muslim homes and cities all over the world come alive with the scent of dates and limeade while at least 20 people gather in small areas to laugh, pray, and enjoy together. Ramadan and Eid are some of the most beautiful traditions in Islam. The handout also mentioned how the restaurants groan under the stress of so many people gathering together at the same time for the same meal. I thought this was very interesting because even in the U.S, this happens. Going to places like Jackson Heights in New York City or Edison, New Jersey during Ramadan is about as close to going to the other side of the world as you can get. Right before sunset, the streets are alive with neon lights inviting hungry people into their restaurants or clothing stores for Eid shopping and then as soon as the prayer call is heard, the rush to find seats at the nearest restaurant begins. If you're lucky to even find a place to sit on the floor of these restaurants, consider yourself lucky. Ramadan is a time to unite, laugh, pray, and remind ourselves of all the people who are not as fortunate as we are to be able to have 3 square meals a day. In one handout with Quran passages, it says that no one should go to be bed with their stomachs full while their neighbor starves. Like the handout on Ramadan mentioned, during this time Muslims give to the poor and fast to remind themselves of the pain that the poor endure. At the end of month, a huge 3 days of festivals being called Eid. During this time, we give the largest zakat that we can afford to give and meet in early morning at large mosques (or in the U.S, gyms and convention centers) to pray together. People are in their new clothes, smiles on their faces, hugs going around, prayers mats being shared. It's all a part of Islam, a side that many people rarely get to experience.

[Leigh]

I found it surprising that before Islam women's rights were actually worse, in fact when Islam was created, Muslim women actually had the best rights of the era. They were even able to own land before European women, despite what I had previously thought. Also, I never knew Mohammed was such an advocate for women. I really enjoyed the passage in one of the handouts that talked about how when one of his wives ran off with a man to look for something, he trusted her and even put laws in place to protect women like her from being murdered because of a rumor.

After reading the handouts, I feel I have a much better understanding of jihad. I think the inner jihad is a very noble concept. I believe people practicing any religion can relate to the struggle within yourself to resist temptation and be faithful to God. As far as martyrdom goes, I was moderately surprised to find out that many Muslims do not support the 9/11 suicide bombers, and actually think they go against Islamic values. I think the fact that Osama bin Laden and other extremists continually misinterpret the Koran is not only wrong from an American viewpoint, but also from a Muslim viewpoint.

I think the most interesting part of the handouts was the discussion about polygamy. First of all, I find it ridiculous that many women cover themselves in burquas and hijabs their whole lives to remain pure for one man, yet that man can have multiple wives. That unfairness really has no place in today's society. Some Muslims claim that polygamy was really made undesireable for men, due to regulations such as the fact that they must treat all their wives equally, it really hasn't been stopped. I doubt their is any man that treats all of his wives exactly the same, and even then his wife would be better off being a mans only wife.

[Ben Cohen]

Women
The treatment of Muslim women is interesting. Many Westerners would
consider them to not have equal rights, but almost all of this
treatment is justified through the Koran. The covering up of women
seems to take away their individuality, but many of the Muslim women
consider it necessary to protect them from men besides their husband.
I feel that the covering up of women should not be considered bad
because it is part of their culture and provides a sense of security
and eases pressure off of women to please all men. In Western society
many women feel they have to dress certain ways if they want to fit
in, but covering up provides an option for women to not be socially
judged (at least within Muslim societies) for what they wear. Overall
covering up is more beneficial for women in becoming a socially
respectably person.

Jihad
The concept of Jihad provides a sense of fulfillment to many Muslims.
Inner jihad specifically has been abused by many Muslims. The Koran
calls for no killing of any noncombatants, women, and children, but
the martyrs (suicide bombers) have been killing anyone who goes
against Islam. In the case of ISraelis martyrs see them all as
"soldiers" because they are occupying Palestinian territory. This is
how they are justifying the killing Jewish women, children, and
innocent civilians. To me the martyrs are taking advantage of
interpretation the Koran, and are not following the rules that the
Koran puts in place. They are being ignorant and do not deserve any
"reward" the Koran says martyrs should get.

Banking
The most interesting subject to me was Islamic banking. Islamic banks
are not allowed to give out loans due to rules in the Koran. To take
place of loans the banks get more involved in businesses sometimes
buying stocks, becoming middlemen, and helping the businesses they
invest in. As we all know loans are a big part of the bad economy in
the US and seem to be a way banks can take chances to make money
without taking responsibility. Islamic banking is a safer more ethical
way to bank and ensures better success for businesses involved with it
than loans. It will be interesting to see how much more Islamic
banking grows and whether it succeeds. It could potentially become the
new way to bank.

On Feb 23, 8:04 am, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"
<kenneth.sk...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Connor]

Women

The explanation for the treatment of women made me understand and view their argument as must more justifiable. It was interesting to see that the covering of women is done mostly for their respect. Although many from the West view that the covering of women is cruel and demeaning, it seemed like most women who decided to cover themselves do it without being forced to do so. I think that the most important thing is that women should have the choice to cover themselves and if they don't want to then they should not feel obligated to do so. I think that is the common Western view, but I think most people think that most women are forced to cover themselves. It was really interesting to see this from an Islamic viewpoint. I think that a positive repercussion would be that women would be less sexualized by the culture, which would give them a legitimate voice. In the handouts, it mentioned that the Koran limited the amount of wives to four. Today that would seem like a ridiculous amount, but back in the 6th century it was actually a liberal position. Although they seem and are unjust by today's standards, the Koran put forth a basic framework for legal proceedings surrounding women, which was not in place before. Overall, I thought that the handouts provided insight and context for the treatment of women in Islamic countries. 

Martyrdom 

The reasoning behind Islamic martyrdom was something that was incredibly interesting to me. The concepts of inner and outer Jihad were totally new to me. It was interesting to see that the less important teaching was put more emphasis on by fundamentalists. It seemed as if a lot of different things all came together to form the modern anti-western terrorism. The anger at western countries seemed to allow organizations like Al-Quaeda to pick concepts from Islamic texts out of context in order to justify terrorism, which was the only way to fight against a much stronger country. The concept of helplessness, outlined in the handout "Why some strap on bombs", showed how when people are put under restrictive conditions with no way of escape, they can resort to extremist positions. 

Other

The most interesting thing I read about was the general history of Islam. Is interesting to see the similarities with Christianity and Judaism. I found that the creation of the religion happened around 1500 years ago really interesting. It is different from Christianity in the sense that there is a logical progression of events that happened to form and convert many people to Islam. I contrasted this to Christianity, which did not gain a substantial following until 300 years after Jesus's death, whereas Islam grew large while Muhammed was alive. Another thing that I found interesting was the division between Sunni's and Shiites. I found this especially interesting because it was a huge division for the religion and it happened very soon after it's creation. Compare this to Christianity, where the protestant reformation did not happen for hundreds of years after Christianity's creation. Overall, I found the history of the religion very insightful.

[Melissa Lee]

Women
I thought it was interesting that through “purdah”, certain cultural
norms are continued as more of an obligation than a choice. However,
through some articles I found the emphasizing of the forms of self-
expression and the ability to send a message through the personal
choices of how a woman would wear a veil, depending on the
circumstances and how conservative a woman would want to portray
herself as. Also, it was interesting that the veiling may also serve
as rebellion against authority, especially for younger people. It is
unfortunate, however that veiling cannot protect women from unjust
punishment and treatment they could very likely face daily, as it is
meant to protect them from men’s attraction. In Saudi Arabia, a
women’s committee planned to lobby for driving rights, holding the
risk of the highly common punishment. One case that was particularly
upsetting was one where a Saudi woman who had been raped had been
criminalized because she was involved with a man in a car, that wasn’t
her husband, and even after prison will face the fear of her brother
avenging the “dishonor” to the family. This case included the factor
the complementary role in a family as well as the factor of
restrictions regarding being seen with men of no relation. The cruel
consequences for what may be called “crimes”, though not necessarily
the fault of a woman, display cases where conformity is not favorable.
But escaping the harsh policies may challenge the Koran, as it states

women have “the same right as is exercised over them, though the men

have a rank above them” (2:228) This has made it more difficult.

Martyrdom
I had never known the true historical reasoning for jihad, whether
internal or external. History surrounding Muhammad is always
referenced in Islam and plays a significant part in values and
philosophies. Understanding the story of how Sunnis and Shiites fought
over who would be successor to Muhammad, and then Ali, and how the
process would go made me think about the magnitude of the sectarian
disagreement, as it is very much alive today. In the Israeli-
Palestinian (Arab) conflict, suicide bombings have been associated not
with complete pressure, but also have been connected to patterns of
psychologically traumatizing violence imminent in the area. Also,
families appreciate the many martyrs, as their acts are a form of
sacrifice that may bring honor and the “pure” death would lead to
spiritual “paradise”. However, young child martyrs have concerned the
West, as Western countries tend to not be as accustomed to the
culture.

I also thought it was interesting how the rise of fundamentalism is
recognized by different nations. As one article portrays the religion
and politics, whether it is the separation of church and state or the
involvement of clerics in government, have varied through history and
continue to vary currently by the environment of location. A couple
authors of the articles have called on the moderate Islamists to take
a larger role in closing gaps made by fundamentalism, especially anti-
western or anti-American stances taken by extremists. Because they
have cultural relations to Islamists, yet are less devout, they have
been quiet in the disagreement. The 9/11 terrorist attacks towards the
US and the Western “imperialistic” history in the Middle East are
arguments both sides may hold against each other, and understandings
of each other are still in the process, as cultural differences tend
to be strong.

On Feb 23, 8:04 am, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"
<kenneth.sk...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Allie Martin]

Women:
I thought the clothing was the most interesting thing about Islamic
women. I think that hijabs and burqas are so unique and the reasoning
behind them isn't totally religious. It's amazing that something that
symbolized wealth way back when is now a sign of piety. In both cases
the coverings demand respect, which is almost parallel to the west;
girls who wear more conservative clothing do get more respect than
girls who wear close to notheing. But I never new that it was also a
cultural thing, not just toally religious, because it's usually
associated with Islam. I also like how when the US kicked the Taliban
out of Afghanistan, they all realized that burqas weren't necessarily
forced upon women, they were a choice.

Jihad/Martyrdom:
Martrydom was interesting, but I think it can be blamed for some of
the extremism. It's one of the beliefs that can be, and has been taken
the wrong way. The concept of dying for your religion makes sense,
when your religion is threatened, but terrorist the majority people in
the western world would die for their religion, especially without
fear. Jiahd was another term that was a great concept, until
extremists gave everybody the wrong idea about it. Inner jihad is the
struggle within oneself between doing what's right and wrong, while
outer jihad was a way to protect Islam, but the Koran also says
literally do to others exactly what they did to you which I thought
was interesting seeing how extremist don't really acknowledge that.

Other:
I thought that it was cool how there were a good number of handouts
about ex-Muslims who now criticize the religion, and most of them were
women. I think that that highlighted the fact that some girls would
rather not be forced into an arranged marriage and want to be western.
It also showed that even though not all women want to move to the US,
not all of them want to get married at 14 and hsit at home for the
rest of their lives. Another cool article was about the French Imam
who was so moderate that French Muslims were turning their back on
them. But at the same time he was very good at interpreting how
westerners think when they see a women in a burqa for the first time.
He also understood how the media does give the wrong impression some
times and recognized that radicalism was all the west is exposed too.

[Josh Klag]

These handouts helped me understand women's place in Islamic culture,
as well as the abuses of women's rights. The Koran passages shown were
much more vague than I expected, and it was easy to see why there is
so much controversy. The Koran simply states that women must hide
their beauty and put a "veil across their bosom". This makes me
realize that the specific veiling and clothing customs are more of a
product of culture than of a direct response to the text of the Koran.
Additionally, the Koran also said that women are very important and
must be protected by men. Then, when I read about the widespread abuse
of women, it seems as if these men are abusing this passage, taking it
to mean that women are subhuman and men are entitled to a higher
status.

The concept of "Jihad", it seems, is also abused by extremist Muslims.
The handouts portray Jihad as a much less malicious ideal, sometimes
simply representing someone's struggle to find inner peace. However, I
must also criticize the wording of the Koran somewhat for the
resulting violence. In this section, the holy text is somewhat
contradictory; first it says that violence is absolutely unacceptable,
then it goes on to state that if Muslims are harmed somehow by their
neighbors, they are permitted to reciprocate with an act of equal
magnitude. The interpretation of this passage, I believe, may lead to
some of the "Jihad" violence today.

A particular topic I found of interest in the handouts was the role of
moderate Muslims in quelling Extremist activities. More specifically,
I was surprised by how much this demographic was criticized for not
speaking up about their more fervent kin. And after reading about
this, I wholeheartedly agree. While there were also handouts about
spectacular individuals who criticize Islam, I still don't get the
sense that the hundreds of millions of moderate Muslims in the world
are doing their best to speak out against offenses carried out in the
name of Islam. Although they obviously do not support these things,
many sit back as bystanders and do not put forth an effort to dissolve
the current Islamic crises.

[Quincy Shuda]

Women:
The thing that I found most interesting about the various handouts on
women was how diverse of a topic it seems to be, depending on whose
point of view you are reading from. The responses of the authors on
the treatment of women went from despising it and wishing to change
it, to appreciating it and loving it as a part of culture. One author
wrote about how she was trying to speak out against Islam in a book
called Caged Virginity, while other handouts talked about how wearing
veils made women comfortable and content, feeling like they are part
of a group as well as giving them an individual identity. Although
they’re concealing their faces and bodies, they could feel more in
touch with themselves and Allah. It also interested me how variation
could be seen among different countries, based on the degree of
Islamic values found in that country. The different types of purdah,
which were interesting to see (I didn’t know there was more than one,
and I assumed they were all “burkas”), are optional or required by law
if you are in certain countries. This differentiation was also shown
in punishment of women. In some countries, harsh treatments such as
amputation and stoning to death were common practices, whereas in
others, detaining the women was more common. Overall, I was shocked to
see the reactions of different women and other commentators to the
treatment of the women. Being a westerner, I would never think that
wearing a dark, formless covering in the middle of a hot place would
be enjoyable, so it really gave me some perspective once again on how
vastly the cultures differ between the US and the Middle East.

Jihad/Martyrdom:
Jihad was a concept that I had learned about a bit last year when we
studied the holy wars, the Crusades. But these handouts really gave me
a new understanding of what jihad means to each individual who
undergoes it. The story about the 13-year old boy who was killed
really struck me. One part, in which the author describes the mourning
of the family, showed how although they were sad, they were
congratulated by others and very happy in a sense that they knew the
boy would be taken to the greatest of all heaven’s. On the back of the
handout, the cartoon was very sadly true. The way I look at it as a
westerner, many children are growing up at a time like this, hearing
about suicide bombings going on all over the world and hearing the
glory that comes along with it. To me, it’s sad to see all these
people running towards something, throwing their lives at it, only to
possibly fall into the ditch that they hoped, as they were told, would
be eternal paradise. Although lesser jihad includes self-defense, the
greater jihad, giving in to no temptation, is what I found
interesting. I’m absolutely not saying that people shouldn’t strive to
be pure and good for God or whatever greater good they believe in (if
any), because that is certainly an amazing goal. But I’m not sure
exactly how realistic and relevant it is. I personally believe in
everything, in moderation. Kids need a chance to be kids, which may
mean having fun that is frowned upon. I think attempting a personal
jihad would be close to impossible for the vast majority of people I
know. But it would without a doubt, cleanse a person and with that, a
society.

Other (relation to other religions):
Most people I know (who haven’t taken Global Issues) would probably
say that they think of Islam and being Muslim as a religion and
culture in its own league, unlike Christianity and Judaism, two common
religions here at Radnor. But after taking a closer look, the
religions aren’t that much different. I actually found many
interesting similarities, as well as some interesting differences. The
fact that holidays are now becoming more of an excuse to celebrate,
losing much of the religious value, as one handout said about Ramadan,
sounds a lot like many of the holidays we are familiar with. Coming
from a mixed family, I celebrate Jewish holidays with my mom’s side,
and Catholic holidays with my dad’s side. But most of these
celebrations aren’t spiritual at all...they’re more about coming
together and having fun as a family. Also, one handout compared the 5
Pillars of Islam to the 10 Commandments which I found really to be a
cool comparison that I never considered before. One difference I found
interesting was that in Islamic praying, there is not priest of any
sort leading the prayer, which happens 5 times a day. It’s shocking
that Muslims can come up with their own prayers that are meaningful
and fulfilling to them, without the guidance we see in most churches.
When comparing the value of God in the Middle East to in the West and
in Islam rather than other religions, one handout stood out to me. The
author was writing about drug use in other cultures and how as some
people turn to drugs, others turn to God. There was a line saying that
opium is the God to many, which I found to be very powerfully
upsetting. It really makes you think twice before you judge Islam as
bring strict and overpowering: is it any more sensible to give your
life to drugs than it is to give it to a greater power?

[Sarah M]

Women
I found it interesting that Islamic women take pride in veiling
themselves with chadors and hijabs, and see it as a way to represent
their religion instead of letting it restrict them. It is hard to make
a statement that fits every Muslim country, but most women respect
others' choice to dress themselves by following the purdah or wearing
other Western clothing. What Muslim women do not enjoy is the
enforcement by law of veiling themselves. This is because it is a
reminder of how their will is subordinate to that of men, who society
still views as superior. The Koran says women have "the same right as
is exercised over them, thought the men have a rank above
them" (2:228). The statement in itself is a contradiction, and can be
very frustrating to women. It is important that they are given the
freedom to dress themselves as they choose, as this is symbolic of how
their control over themselves and their rights can and will change for
the better.

Jihad/Martyrdom
I discovered that those most likely to become suicide bombers and
martyrs for the Islamic cause are those who have had the most exposure
to the actions of their oppressors. For example, many Palestinian
suicide bombers are those who have lived under Israeli occupation
their entire lives, and have therefore been traumatized by the
violence and brutality. But due to the years of submission they
experienced, they feel powerless to stop the injustice. By ending
their life to further their cause jihadists believe this endows them
with a sense of purpose and control that they have never experienced
before.

Personal Interest
I found it interesting that Bin Laden, Ahmadinejad, and other radical
Islamists are not enemies of Christianity; rather, they celebrate
Christianity. They believe the West has strayed so far from
Christianity into the materialistic ways of secularism that they are
unable to have religious tolerance for Islam. However, the West denies
this, and says they are wholly supportive of Muslim governments as
long as they do not pose a threat to American security. I wonder which
of the arguments is most truthful.

[Jeremy Rhome]

Women:
What I found most interesting about women in all of these handouts was
the treatment of women during the time of the Prophet Mohammed.
Mohammed's Islamic beliefs actually were an improvement on woman's
rights compared to the treatment of women by the pagans. One article
said the pagans treated women like property and war booty. However
Mohammed and Muslim beliefs gave the woman of the time a right to
property, education, and inheritance. This was interesting because in
class we learned about the perspectives that one looks at other
cultures. So during that time Islam was considered very liberal in
its policy towards woman but now it is the opposite.

Martyrdom/Jihad
I learned that in Islam those who die for their religion are closest
to god in their after life. For example, a Palestinian whose brother
got killed by an Israeli soldier did not grieve but rather rejoiced
because he knew that his brother would be closest to god. Also the
concept of martydom is deeply ingrained into the Muslim ideology.
Suunis believe that they will be rewarded by dying for their
religion. This reward will come in the form of 72 virgins/white
raisins (which are very different from one another...). For shiites,
the creation of their sect revolves around martydom. This also brings
up the idea of radicalism. In the Koran it says only to fight in self
defense and not to be the aggressor. However this is far from what
most Americans interpret from the news. The perception of martydom by
Americans ultimately comes down to education rather than the media
focus on radical Muslims.

Other:
The article about Bin Laden and his hatred for America was drastically
different from my previous thoughts. The article said that Bin
Laden's hatred for America was due to that it was so secular;
America's secularity he thought pushed it into the intolerance of
Islam. Bin Laden spewed much hate towards people he described as
infidels. Before I read this article I thought that he was referring
to everyone that was not Muslim. However in reality he was referring
to pagans. Osama Bin Laden actually accepted Christianity and Judaism
as legitimate and previous religions that Islam is an improvement to.
This shocked me because it changed all my previous thoughts about Bin
Laden.

[Michael Wong]

1. (Treatment of Women)

Throughout our class discussion we mainly spoke about how women's traditional dress in Islamic society is a reflection of the expectations Islam and the Koran place on women.  However, the handouts not only discuss the veiling of women but instead the social opportunities and protections Islam offered its followers in a time when women's rights could not be violated by a religion as they barely existed at all.  The article "History of Islam" describes the origin of head scarves and coverings that began with Muhammad's wives who were active members of society serving as advisors, nurses, and even helping in battles.  Their sucess and right to be known was the precursor to being veiled as not to attract too much attention.  Never was the initial intention of coverings to diminish women's role in society and relegate them to a home... Instead it offered a degree of privacy.  This is not to say however that women are entirely equal by Islamic standards to men as is explained in the article "Islam's internal war" as the Koran explicitly states men's superiority, whether this justifies the restriction of rights to education and mobilization as a true function of Islam is up for debate, however it is hard to deny the separation between sexes that the Koran outlines.  The overwhelming consensus of the articles concludes that Islam is not inherently restrictive for women, instead cultural norms and tradition have shaped much of the abuses we see.  Islam specifically appears no more or less violent or barbaric than other scripture claiming holiness but when practiced witha  fundamentalist outlook anything can be corrupted.  It's women's convictions as the perpetrators of sex crimes that pinpoints fundamentalist twists on Islam.  The Koran is clear to say men are the bearers of lust and women are to protect themselves (hence coverings) yet when a women is raped or even engages in sexual misconduct it is less the man's fault than her's.  This logic makes little sense to me and, yet again, is the result of corrupted paternal society's interpretation.     

2. (Jihad/Martyrdom)

Most fascinating here to me was how objectified death is in some Islamic culture, to us it is an ultimate ending a saddening occurrence- very few pressures would ask us to look at a death in any different way.  However, the willingness to "sacrifice" oneself and accept glory for death is acceptable and appreciated in some cultures.  This quiet undertone as a justification for violent action motivates much of what we see today as insane acts of terror,  Instead they can be objectified as 1. answering a call to duty and 2. fulfilling a norm/ honoring one's family.  If  Jihad is not strictly motivated by religious ideals but also by a societal acceptance then perhaps it is not fair for us to write Jihad off as a completely insane idea because, culturally, we cannot fairly judge. As is explained in the article about the thirteen-year-old bomber and his family (brother and mother) both wanted to express sorrow as the authors explained...because as we must remember they are human... but were also encouraged and reassured by the fact he died a martyr.        

3. (interesting topic: modern vs. fundamentalist clash)

The "war" between liberal Muslims and conservative Muslims discussed in many packets about Islamic community responses to voilent action in then name of Islam draws some parallels to the same religious skew in Christianity.  In both circumstances there is a divergence of believers who wish to fix all evils by returning to the Koran's heyday and those which yearn to see integration of Islam into more aspects of modern life without conflicting major modern establishment, however; the growth of the followers on either the conservative/liberal side appears to be increasing in opposite ways between Christianity/Judaism and Islam.  As Christians continually embraces modern practices/ideals and fundamentalism weans Islamic youth might be part of a resurgence towards fundamentalism and are.  The two's religious evolution differs yet agin when it comes to interpretations, mant insist the liberal Islam we see today is a more accurate picture of the practice 1,400 years ago and that fundamentalists are the real corruptors of Islam because their interpretation often relies more on cultural queues than on the Koran.  This is conversely related to Christians who believe that liberal practice of Christianity is the corruptor. Both sides would like to label the other as wrong, but the direction of growth is fascinating where fundamental Islamic values are beating out modern influence in the modern day.           

[Zoe Bermudez]

Treatment of Women
In the case of these handouts, when it came to women, most of them focused on their clothing and how a woman must present herself to society. What really gets me is that upon investigation, we see that Muslim women actually have a legitimate, justified reason for covering up and STILL Western cultures see them as being repressed. I don't think most of the women mind the head scarfs or long robes; in fact, I'm sure the majority of them would be horrified if they couldn't wear their veils anymore. These pieces of clothing are a huge part of the Middle Eastern culture; it simply can't disappear overnight. There are too many ties to their importance! The privacy for women against the greedy eyes of men, the respect to themselves and families, and the modesty are big ones. Especially the modesty. Muslims believe in humbling oneself before Allah, so for women it means respecting their god and showing their modesty in society. Actually to some Muslims, it is a disgrace for a woman not to cover herself. In the poem by a Muslim girl, it states that Westerns are naked and therefore filthy. Veiling themselves might bring them dignity in their culture. In some countries, veils are not required but many young women are choosing for it to make a comeback. What many Westerners don't realize is that women covering up isn't a bad thing to them and I think we need to respect that. If the women don't want it to be a law, eventually they will make it that way.

Justification of Martyrdom
The article that talked about the Palestinian suicide bombers really caught my attention mainly because it stated that the personal background checks showed that the istishhadi are actually not outcasts in society nor do they suffer from any mental illness. In our society, you would HAVE to be mentally ill to kill yourself and even more so to kill others in the process. Instead, their justification was that they have personal histories with the 'state terror' at the hand of the Israelis. It seems to give them a purpose and almost a control over their emotions. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, blowing up yourself is automatically justified as revenge for the other side's violence. I thought this was a kind of an interesting way to view killing yourself and it sort of gives me a window of the reasoning behind all the suicide bombings in the Middle East.

Morality of Islam
In Islam, one of the major goals for the religion is to help others, especially those who are suffering. In fact, it's so important to Muslims that it's one of the Five Pillars of their faith. This mean that Islam shares some values with Christianity and Judaism which is a bit interesting. I also think that this puts the culture a bit in a state of controversy. On the one hand, the religion endorses patience, truthfulness, steadfastness, etc. but on the other hand, some Muslim extremists are ending their lives just so they can kill their enemies in greater numbers and more efficiently. I just thought it was bizarre that this religion would so stronger promote respect but at the same time have some who cant respect their own lives or the lives of innocent people.

[Ashley Gubernick]

Women
These handouts focussed a great deal on the what women wear as well as
their rights concerning divorce and rape. It is very interesting
learning what the women wear because growing up not educated on the
matter I always thought Islamic women wore the headpieces, but I did
not realize that some countries ban this and I certainly never knew
there were different types. In Indonesia the rich and "good" girls
wear hijabs; however, in Tunisia hijabs are banned. In Egypt most
women wear niqabs, but in Malaysia the niqab is forbidden. The
clothing differences that reoccurred throughout the articles was
fascinating. I think it is so much more meaningful that the Islamic
women wear these articles of clothing with a purpose. In America the
clothing we wear has no deeper meaning than the fact the person
wearing it thought it was cute, but there is significance behind the
chador, niqab, hijab, and burqa. As far as women's rights go, I was
horrified to read stories of women raped then punished for being
guilty of "zina" (fortification) and loss of virginity in courts. A
man can tell the woman he wants a divorce, but a woman must have a
reason and witnesses. These rules make it so much easier for men to
get away with grotesque acts towards women.

Justification
Something that really stood out to me concerning justification of
jihad was that to Islamic people the 9/11 attackers were not real
muslims. Exposed to the 9/11 attack as kindergartner, I have grown up
associating 9/11 with Muslims. I also grew up with a Muslim best
friend in elementary school, so I have always been conflicted between
the two ideas and the stereotype. I think this cleared a lot of
confusion because it shows that terrorists can be Muslim or Islamic,
but Muslim people are not always terrorists. The Koran states that
any self-defense used in warfare must be the same as the attacker, so
that it is fair. This was interesting because when I think of jihad
and this cleansing to become pure it does not always seem as though
the struggling person acted fairly. Inner jihad, such as suicide
bombers or holy war fighters, sometimes act as extremists, and that
goes beyond self-defense. This being said, the idea of purification
and cleansing is a common religious practice. Jews clean their slate
between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur just like a Muslim would by
preforming jihad or martyrdom. Though the action of jihad and
martyrdom does not quite make sense to me, the reasoning behind it is
something I think many people of different religions can relate to.

Personal Interest
I was surprised to find out that out of the top 4 countries with the
most Muslims (Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh), only
Pakistan has an Arabic majority. I think naturally not being educated
about Islam I assumed Muslim and Arabic were almost synonyms, but
clearly that is not the case. I was not too surprised to find out
50/192 countries have a Muslim majority because even though Judaism
and Christianity are very popular in America I knew Islamic practice
has a majority in some of the larger countries like India. These
handouts did a good job of putting in perspective the majorities in
different countries. Hearing a number of Muslims in a country can
sometimes go in one ear and out the other but by giving a percentage
and comparing this to other countries it gave me an idea of how the
229million Muslims in Indonesia might affect the culture.

On Feb 23, 8:04 am, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"
<kenneth.sk...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Claire Kirby]

Women
A theme that clearly stuck out of these handouts was women, and how women are treated far differently than men are. First, women don't uphold many civil rights that men do. For one thing, women are not allowed to drive, and they always need to have their skin covered, which has even passed as laws in the past. The most commonly known fact about Muslim women is the clothing they wear. Whether its a hijab, burqa, niqab, or chador, Muslim women do not show skin as Westerners do. Long, full-length black robes that cover their hair and faces are appropriate public attire-but normal clothing is typically worn in private. This is contradictory, seeing as how in the Koran and when the Koran was written by Muhammed, he was proposed to by a woman whom he married for 26 years thereafter. I realized how women had started with rights and had eventually lost them as European culture sunk in and women weren't fairly treated there.

Martyrdom/Jihad
The word jihad has two different meanings it is commonly associated with. The first-and more common in the Western cultures - is that Jihad refers to suicide bombing attacks and terrorism. Jihad is, in actuality, the struggles of Muslims. Because of the common misconception, these handouts essentially taught me a whole new meaning of the word jihad, different from what I originally thought before we started this unit in class. Another meaning, is "holy war". This shows the way the Muslim people are really conservative in their religion and are so strongly seeking Allah that they might choose to fight in honor of religious rights. It astonished me to find out that there are alot of people who would be willing to risk everything they have-even death- for their religion.

Personal Interest
I was really interested by the poem about the veils women wear, and how the poem showed how women choose to wear the garb and feel uncomfortable when not wearing that. It's interesting to think about the comparison between a typical American teenager and a typical Muslim teenager and the differences between how they act, what they wear, and what they do. Muslim girls seem to be much more conservative in general, especially with religion and clothing. I wonder what it would be like to be on the other side of things and see what their lives are like in their perspective, to take a walk in their shoes.

[Maureen McDermott]

Women:
While looking at the handout about the different types of clothing
that women wear, it was really interesting seeing the stances of many
of the different Arab countries on women's dress. Veiling yourself is
mandatory in some countries, optional in others, and some even frown
upon it. That makes me wonder if women's dress is more of a cultural
thing rather than a religious one, or if it just has to do with how
extreme the governments of said countries are, and how literally they
take the Koran. I view women's dress through the eyes of Islam as
something that is very justified. I can completely understand why the
religion would want women to be covered up, and if that was the
culture I was brought up in, I could see myself willingly doing that.
The thing that bugs me about the women's rights in Islam isn't
necessarily how they are or are not forced to dress, but how they are
treated. I get the gist that they are treated in a more condescending
manor by men and the government. They are said to equal half a man,
which is something that really bothers me. In many places women don't
have the same rights that men do, and they're just looked at in a
completely different light. I do understand that the culture is
completely different then ours is here, but being a girl myself, it
upsets me that women seem to be undervalued in society.

Martyrdom/Jihad
The concept of martyrdom, and its justification in the Koran was one
that I found extremely interesting. Jihadists use the justification
that by engaging in such acts they are 'purifying' their society/
religion of people of different faiths and beliefs. It is not
necessarily the concept of jihad that is bad, but more so the
execution of it. Many martyrs take it way to far and start killing
innocent civilians, which the Koran explicitly states not to do. I
think it's a tricky for Westerners, including myself, to grasp the
concept of what these radical jihadists do. I mean they go out and
they kill people in the name of their faith; which is typically one
that promotes peace and acceptance. And not only that, but they are
often praised for it. They are looked at as a nobel person for
sacrificing themselves for their faiths.

Other:
I don't really consider myself to be a religious person, but religion
is something that fascinates me, and something that I love to learn
about. So I really enjoyed the handout about the history of Muhammed
and Islam, and just how Islam spread and became a very popular and
well perceived religion. It was interesting how, initially, this
concept of a religion with only one god that Muhammed was preaching
about was almost disgraceful. All the polytheists totally dismissed
Muhammed's beliefs and the religion that he was trying to spread. They
turned against him, and, at one point, Muhammed was almost
assassinated. It's sort of ironic in the sense that believing in only
one god was such a strange and intolerable concept to most people, but
today the most widespread and prosperous religions are monotheistic
and all stemmed from the beliefs the Muhammed preached so long ago.

On Feb 23, 8:04 am, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"
<kenneth.sk...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Drew Vollmer]

Women:
The most obvious and prominent issue addressed in the copious amounts
of articles was the practice of purdah. Some may consider it an
ancient tradition, which is partly true, seeing as its origins date
back to pre-Islamic times. Furthermore, many western people seem to
associate this veiling with oppression against the women, when the
reality is that it is all just a cultural phenomenon. The stark
difference between these two cultures is a two-way street too. While
we as Americans may originally think of purdah as a symbol of
inequality and violation of women, Muslim women see westerners as the
true violators, believing that "The West in naked/ and a filthy way/
Where woman is a doll/For a man to play"("Hijab"). Furthermore, other
beliefs regarding women, such as polygamy and women being worth half a
man, are quite different compared to the life I'm used to. These
practices did have their justifications. For example, polygamy being
associated with the shortage of men during war time. However, these
justifications don't seem to have as much relevance. Although many
Muslim women are rather comfortable and used to their culture, as they
were born into it, there does appear to be a bumpy road as far as
maintaining these practices. With democracy on the rise, many Muslim
women have taken a stand on certain issues, such as Saudi women
protesting laws prohibiting them from driving. It is one of the
greatest questions of our time, how will democracy and Islamic law
find a way to coexist?

Martyrdom:
Martyrdom is yet another topic of Islam that is often represented
wrongly by Western nations. Many get the stereotype that all Muslims
are terrorists. The fortunate relaity is that these extremists are
only a tiny fraction of followers of Islam. Furthermore, these are not
employed by governments, but very often do it under their own will.
Suicide bombings are very popular in areas such as Palestine, where
Muslims are oppressed by Israeli occupation. Living a life of
humiliation and harrasment, many see no hope for a better future. In
response, they go suicidal. But unlike other suicides, bombing allows
these men and women to "go out with a bang" per say. It gives them a
sense of purpose, meaning, and significance in their final moments.
They have done their part to fight against the infidels. Certain
aspects of Islam, particularly the idea of jihad, has been
misinterpreted by some Muslims, and thus, they use this as further
justification for this martyrdom. By partaking in suicidal attacks,
they believe that they will be granted purity, and a happy afterlife.
The real truth though is that only a minuscule percentage of Muslims
actually partake in these bombings, but all followers are stereotyped
as believing in the practice as well.

Conflict With Other Civilizations:
One topic that I was particularly interested in was the extensive
amount of conflict Islamic societies have had with other nations and
ideals. One theory of Samuel Huntington suggested that the world can
be divided into 7 basic civilizations, one of which being Islamic
nations. Furthermore, he suggest that Islamic civilizations tend to
have the greatest conflicts with others. Muslim Chechnya, former
Yugoslavia, Kashmir, Israel-Palestine, Xinjiang, the list of war zones
goes on and on. Part of this may have to do with the Muslim world's
intercontinental position. Being the crossroad of the world, it
incorporates both Western ideals and Eastern ideals, making it very
conflicting in nature. Islam really does have "bloody borders".
Starngely enough, the most recent enemy of Islam is has been atheism.
Many get the misconception that Muslim extremists are fighting against
Christians and Jews over religion, but as said by Osama bin Laden
himself, Islam respects Judaism and Christianity "Without
distinguishing among them". The real fight is against the faithless,
materialistic societies such as Europe and America. I simply found it
interesting how conflict has almost always been a part of Islam, as
shown through both history and recent news as well.

On Feb 23, 8:04 am, "Ken Sklar (Radnor High School)"
<kenneth.sk...@rtsd.org> wrote:

[Colin Castro]

Women

 

The selection of handouts had many articles pertaining to the women. The first few articles I read examined the women's dress in Muslim Countries. Some countries like Bosnia and Turkey have greater options in their dress code, but countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia enforce very strict dress codes. The burqa, chador, hijab and niqab all are forms of women headdress that are enforced in the region. Unsuprisingly, the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan enforce the burqa's. The burqas are the worst of the headdresses, as no part of the women is visible, and she can only view her surroundings through a screened fabric. I feel like the burqa's eye covering is a symbol of the strange views and visions the Taliban have about women. Other articles chronicled common misconceptions about the Islamic faith. Because of backward dictatorships, and societies in the region we have grown to view Islam as a religion that takes away the rights of women. In actually the Koran stresses the importance of women's education, marriage and happiness. This is very sad, because one current tragedy in Islam is the treatment of women in marriage. Islam's holy book made no claims that men had the capability to divorce a spouse at a whim, when for women divorce is practically illegal and most certainly dishonorable.

 

Jihad/Martyrdom

 

This selection of handouts delved into many subjects of martyrdom. The subject that engrossed me was the percieved glory that accompanies martyrdom, for example a teenage boy was killed by Israeli troops. Even though his family was going through an immense grieving process they were still routinely graduated for the accomplishment of their son, who'd be leaving for an eternity in heaven. Another handout I read debunked the common misconception of Jihad. Many times we associate Jihad with a suicide bomber, or some sort of troubling terrorism. However, these handouts showed me that Jihad is commonly an inner-struggle for someone who's working to find their inner strength or inner purity. The idea that Jihad is associated with terrorism is pretty ridiculous when passages of the Koran condemn the killing of any innocent people and basically condemn violence as a whole.

 

Religion Comparisons

 

I found multiple handouts that kind of compared religions that greatly interested me. Specifically, there was an article about another Western misconception being the relation between fundamentalists. A lot of western media portrays the most fundamental Muslims to be crazy, and be anti-Christianity and anti-Judaism. While most fundamentalists are different thinkers, many of the Muslims fundamentalists actually encourage monotheistic religions like Christianity and Judaism. I also learned that many Muslims don't hate the western religions, but they hate the Western lack of commitment to our monotheisms. I also found it interesting to read about Abraham, and Ishmael and Issac, and how they were supposedly the fathers of races, and religions that are so very prominent today.

[Erica F]

Women
The Islamic treatment of women has always interested me, as it is very
different from that of the Western treatment of women. First off, it
seems that clothing is a hot topic throughout these handouts-I found
learning about the different types of Islamic dress to be intriguing,
as well as the policies in various countries concerning them. Several
countries make women wear chadors, niqabs, hijabs or burqas, while
others politely ask women to remove them. The one thing that confuses
me about women's dress, however, is why men don't dress the same way.
If women cover up out of respect for themselves and their husbands,
why shouldn't their husbands reciprocate? This brings me to the
equality of women and men; I was horrified by the lack of protection
for women in certain cultures. The idea of a woman being raped, then
stoned to death for adultery is just indescribably unjust. I found
Shefain's post to be enlightening on the differences between culture
and religion, so I understand that women aren't treated like this in
every Islamic country. That being said, it shouldn't be allowed
anywhere! Nobody deserves to be treated so poorly.

Martyrdom
This concept of being a better person, of cleansing oneself and
helping others is a potentially positive one. It has good intentions
and is something everyone tries to achieve- even in the West people
try (but don't always succeed) to do good deeds, to change themselves
for the better, and to help others. The problem comes when people
misinterpret this concept. The article about the little boy who's
brother threw rocks at an Israeli soldier and got shot in
reciprocation is a prime example. He was mourned, and congratulated at
the same time, and his little brother wished to die in the same
fashion, so that he would die in honor. The idea of raising children
to essentially go on suicide missions is grotesque in my opinion. It's
like raising a pig for slaughter. So many people die this way, and
it's unfortunate that they don't have the opportunity to live their
life.

Other
I found the handout about the Lebanese woman who now resides in
America to be both interesting and infuriating. This woman has
travelled the world and learned about several different cultures, and
lives both in Lebanon and America. I read this article with an open
mind, intrigued by the life of someone with so many different cultural
influences. What ticked me off, though, was the fact that she
completely criticized the West. Not only did she partially grow up
here, but she went to an American university, and holds a job in
Washington D.C. If the majority of her life has been lived in America,
why can't she cut it some slack? This is her home, yet she hates it?

[Quincy Shuda]

Hi Mr. Sklar! Sorry I'm just posting this now... I didn't realize I
had a pasta party for swimming!