Islam in Europe

It’s interesting that all the articles that I find on the internet have something to do with Islam in Europe. As the Muslim population in Europe grows, and it’s estimated that by the midcentury one in five Europeans will be Muslims, Europeans are concerned about how the Islamic and Western values will shape Europe and how compatible are the two. The center stage in this debate is France, the home of the largest Muslim community on the continent. Here the process of defining Euro-Islam is unfolding around questions as concrete as the right to wear head scarves and as abstract as the meaning of citizenship, secularism and extremism. France mainly uses legal system to influence the direction of Islam within its borders, but the government officals are not sure that the legal system is the ultimate challenge.

Re: Women in islam…

I’m very sorry that you have such a poor understanding of the status of women in Islam. I must say, though, that I was not surprised because many people are under the impression that you are; therefore, what better time to clear up these misconceptions than in an intro to Islam course? Islam gave women rights far long ago before any other civilization even came close to it.  She was allowed to retain property in HER name; she was given political rites (and yes, even allowed to be elected into official positions); she was given rites OVER her husband (just as a husband has rites over his wife), and more (inheritance rites, dowry, etc.). regarding the veil, this is by no means subjecting the women to degradation. if you look into the concept behind it, it protects women and uplifts them and allows them to be seen as intellects rather than objects of beauty. wearing it in the ‘intense heat’ is not so difficult, just as it is not difficult to fast from dawn until sunset for 30 days straight in ramadan. its all about your mental strength and desire to please God. lastly, Muslim women are allowed to discuss their opinions and are not subjected to male-dominance. i would just like to close with a narration of the Prophet Muhammad regarding treatment of wives by their husbands: “The most perfect believers are the best in conduct and best of you are those who are best to their wives.” it’s an uplifting and pure religion, not a supressive/oppressive one.

Rite of shaving the head

When I was reading the chapter “A Clear Victory” I found the whole part about how Muhammad had told all of the Muslims that went with him for the “Lesser Pilgrimage” to both sacrifice their camels that they had brought for that purpose, and also to shave their heads. The sacrifice seemed to make sense to me, that it had to be performed within sacred territory, but I was unaware that something such as shaving the head needed to be done on sacred territory as well. What stood out the most was how some men decided to just cut only pieces of their hair instead of shaving it. I tried to look up the rite of shaving the head, and all that I found was that it is part of the pilgrimage, although I am still not sure of the significance. Does that mean that Muslim men are not to shave their head except for when they perform a pilgrimage? If anyone knows either of those answers, I would be interested to know.

I was just thinking about how many Americans, including the presidential candiates, want to slowly but surely wean ourselves off of foreign oil and rely on alternative energy.  Now I’m all for this, but I was just thinking that if we do this, how will the middle east react, especially those that realy on oil for economic support.  Do you really think that we’ll be so gung ho about finding alternative fuels? Or, is this just a lot of talk coming from the candidates who know that our ties with the middle east my get worse if we lose allies that give us oil?

Women in Islam…

For a while now, I have been wondering what Islam says about women. From what I have learned just through casual observation and things people say, women are treated very poorly. They have to cover themselves at all times, even in the intensive heat; they have to obey men in all ways; and, perhaps the most oppressive thing in to do in my mind, they cannot express their ideas or beliefs. Now, again, this is from not doing much research into the religion or questioning many people, but I still want to know what exactly Islam says about the subjugation of women to men. If it was by the woman’s choice to abide by these rules and traditions, I would have no problem with it. My real concern is whether or not the women of Islam actually have a choice about following this religion or not.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

I am from the Cleveland area and today on the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s (Cleveland newspaper) website their was an article about a woman named Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who recently accepted an award for her journalism. It was a big deal that she was even there because her life is constantly being threaten by Muslims. She was born in Kenya but lived in Saudi Arabia for a period in her life. She was subject to female genital cutting and was forced into several marriages. Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.  She is a very interesting person that if you get the time you should read about her life. She is heavily involved with the Muslim community, so I thought everyone should get to know a little about her. This fact pretty much sums up how radical she is…

In the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant of April 8, 2006 she proposed the special screening of any Muslim applying for any job for possible links with terrorist groups.

Readings

I don’t know about everyone else, but I have really enjoyed the readings about Muhammed thusfar. I won’t lie, I am a little bit behind, but never-the-less I am really liking it. The only confusing bit is all of the names and how they all seem to look the same to me. But I like how the book takes its time and really explains the begginings of the Prophets life and how Islam spread and the persecution it faced. I hope that all of our readings are this interesting and understandable.

2 weeks down, 2 to go

so Ramadan is quickly approaching its half-way mark. in the upcoming nights there are going to be special events that take place. one being Itikaaf. this is the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad and it is when one stays in the mosque during the last 10 days/nights of Ramadan and focuses completely on God, in terms of worship and remembrance.  also, during one of the odd nights in the last ten nights (21,23,25,27, or 29) there is a night called Lailatul Qadr, translating to ‘night of power’. it is said that the angels descend and that this one night is better than one thousand months. not only that, but according to a hadith (narrated by Abu Harayra), the Prophet (S) said “Anyone who stays awake for the Night Of Power with belief and for the pleasure of Allah, all his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Bukhari and Muslim).

7 years…

I was eleven years old.  I was with my mom at the allergist getting a shot.  We found out from the doctor, she was crying and my mom was sobbing.  She knew what was happening and the impact it would have on her.  Then she took me to school (which I think is funny, most people got picked up from school and I got taken to school. Even though I lived 20 min from Niagara Falls, a supposed ‘target.’) And I was the only child in my class who really understood what was happening. That, in itself was horrifying.  My mom was raised in Northern New Jersey, so I grew up visiting NYC very often. I had been in the World Trade Center a couple of times and we walked by it frequently.  My mom had a bunch of friends who worked there.  She was totally thrown back and I was with her when she found out.  Later that day, when they were talking about who could have done it, I remember thinking that it was just impossible that anyone could consciously commit such a horrific action.  Then some kids at school started saying ‘It’s all the Muslims fault.’  At the time, the only Muslims I had ever seen were when we went to NYC or to visit my Nonnie. I could not understand how the nice lady my Nonnie worked with could be connected with such a terrible event. But I decided that she didn’t. There is no way possible for an entire religion or an entire ethnicity to be connected to one event. There are too many people. As an eleven year old, I argued with other kids about who was to blame for the 9/11 attacks.

And I was more connected to those attacks than anyone else I knew. My grandpa works three blocks from ground zero. My mom had a lot of friends who worked in the twin towers. Most got out safely. But my mom lost four friends that day.

Interesting find

So I did as much of you do i’m sure, I went to google and typed in ‘Muslim’. After looking through different websites I didn’t find anything that seemed interesting enough to write about, so I went to the images. After many pages one picture stood out to me. The picture had nothing to do with Islam. It was only a name with a funny little picture, so I clicked on it. What I found was very interesting. It was a blog/article about a tribe of Muslims in Southern Iraq that accepts transgender lifestyles. This was such a surprise to me. I have never heard of such a group of people, especially in Iraq! They call themselves the Mustarjil. The article says that women can live as men, they can marry women, and they fight in wars, they get all the special treatment and respect that muslim men do, and people born male can live out there lifes as women, receiving the same treatment as muslim women.  

In the book The Marsh Arabs by Wilfred Thesiger, the author offers many accounts of his time with this group of people and the equality that all the members shared with each other.