Hello Class,
The topic I would like to discuss is about Islamic life, I was able to relate to this course content very well and was excited that it was a part of our learning curriculum. Islamic life is about rules that we apply in our daily lives and relationships. In the Islamic community, the rules come from the Quran and the reports of the Prophet Muhammad. In Islam, they are very stern with their rules of Alcohol, drugs, etc. In the Islamic mindset, life was given to you by Allah which is also another term for God and also that death was also given by Allah. Therefore, to gain a place in heaven you must abide by these rules. In Islam, you are also known as a Muslim. This means that we worship one God and be compliant with Allah’s rules. There are also different types of Muslims such as Sunnis and Shia’s. The Sunni Muslims believe the practices of Prophet Muhammad and the Shia Muslims do not follow Prophet Muhammad they follow Prophet Ali. This is their main difference. The thing that many people don’t know is that Christians and Catholics have a lot of common rules as Muslims. To me, religion has been something interesting, however, not something I deeply practice. I believe that if we do good and be good in this life and we will go wherever we belong.
Nowadays when someone asks about me about what religion I am, I deal with the misconceptions of being a terrorist. It all started right after 8th grade when 9/11 happened. After that day the Muslims have been placed unfair stereotypes. I have met a lot of co-workers who lie about their religion because they are terrified of how they will be treated. I have experienced this at work, however, because I know I am not consumed with religion and just living my day to day life, I don’t let anyone irritate me. “Many people have a stereotype of Muslims as terrorists. This stereotype is untrue. The religion of Islam teaches peace and tolerance just like most other religions around the world. The problem is that many people’s exposure to Islam came on September 11, 2001, in New York City.” (Canvas). I completely agree that Muslims promote peace and patience. The problem is that many are not allowed to express this because society is so closed off from the terrorist attacks that “so-called Muslims” do on innocent civilians. “The researchers found that Muslims perceive significant bias against them. Seventy-five percent of respondents said there’s “a lot” of discrimination against Muslims in the U.S. Sixty percent of Muslims—and 68 percent of Muslim women—said media coverage of Muslims is unfair. And when respondents were asked about the most important problems facing U.S. Muslims today, the most popular answers included “discrimination, racism, [and] prejudice,” “Muslims [being] viewed as terrorists,” (Green, 2017).
At KPMG being that it’s such a diverse corporation, I am allowed to express my culture and share my experience with my colleagues. I host EID lunch parties which is a Holiday to celebrate the last day of Ramadan (fasting). Each Muslim member of the group brings in a traditional dish for everyone to try and we decorate with balloons and EID decorations to set the vibes. On my father’s first death anniversary I brought in a tray of baklava sweets and sent out an email blast asking everyone to enjoy something sweet in honor of my father. This is what being a good Muslim is someone kind, giving, sharing, and willing to co-exist with other religions. This proves that we are not bad people and do not deserve to be generalized for people who claim they are Muslim when in reality they are not.
References
Green, E. (2017, August 10). How Much Discrimination Do Muslims Face in America? Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/american-muslims-trump/534879/
Canvas: Islamic Life. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977855
edk5153 says
References
University, P. S. (2020, March). Lesson 05: Learning and Change in a Global Setting. Retrieved from Social Learning: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977843
edk5153 says
I enjoyed reading your post and I am happy to hear that your current workplace lets you feel comfortable as a Muslim. Most employed people spend the majority of their days at work and it would be a bummer to know that you are at risk of constantly being subjected to such negativity because of ignorance and misunderstanding. I personally live in a country where 50 percent of the population is Muslim and the other half is Christian and I am so proud to talk about how peaceful we are. I never grew up being taught that Muslims re dangerous or potential terrorists. Sadly enough even though I am thousands of miles away from the United States, growing up on American TV shows and media did influence me to start thinking that Islam was indeed a threat. Even though half of my friends and environment were Muslim, my mind automatically started relating events of terrorism to Islam. This just goes to show how much the media can be a powerful tool in overriding cultures and beliefs that a person has grown up with. When I moved to the United States I learned about critical thinking and it helped me become more aware and change my perspective on Islam. I understood that there is so much misinformation about Islam among many other things. I also understood how the media has played a big role in spreading this misinformation about the Islamic religion and Islamic cultures
Deysha Lee says
I loved how you covered this topic. The topic on terrorism and religion can be a hard topic to cover, but I feel you covered both very well along with explaining about Islamic life. A lot of people don’t understand what Islam is truly about and their religious practices are. I can honestly say that I am not very familiar with their way of life and their religious beliefs, but I also never assumed that Muslims were terrorist. I try to look at everyone with different backgrounds and beliefs and learn something from them and learn to appreciate other cultures. I believe we can learn a lot from all cultures and if everyone could learn about other cultures then we could learn to appreciate them instead of discriminating against something we have no idea about. In the topic of social learning in lesson five, it states we learn by watching others. If we taught children from a young age and introduced them to social learning with different cultures, we could possibly create a new generation that are less discriminatory, raciest and prejudice.
I grew up being told I was a Christian. As I got older, I started to not look towards religion. Instead of using religion to help me make choices on what I thought was right or wrong, I use my conscience and my best judgment to try to be the best person I can be. I believe everyone is entitled to their own religious beliefs and I agree that a lot of religions have a lot of things in common, but people don’t want to learn about other religions because they feel that their religion is the right one and everyone else is wrong. I also believe this is how a lot of people feel towards culture as well. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I believe is also best to learn to accept other people for who they are and how they were raised.
Thank you for such a great post and hopefully a lot of other people can learn about Islamic life like I did.
References
University, P. S. (2020, March). Lesson 05: Learning and Change in a Global Setting. Retrieved from Social Learning: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977843
Deysha Lee says
I loved how you covered this topic. The topic on terrorism and religion can be a hard topic to cover, but I feel you covered both very well along with explaining about Islamic life. A lot of people don’t understand what Islam is truly about and their religious practices are. I can honestly say that I am not very familiar with their way of life and their religious beliefs, but I also never assumed that Muslims were terrorist. I try to look at everyone with different backgrounds and beliefs and learn something from them and learn to appreciate other cultures. I believe we can learn a lot from all cultures and if everyone could learn about other cultures then we could learn to appreciate them instead of discriminating against something we have no idea about. In the topic of social learning in lesson five, it states we learn by watching others. If we taught children from a young age and introduced them to social learning with different cultures, we could possibly create a new generation that are less discriminatory, raciest and prejudice.
I grew up being told I was a Christian. As I got older, I started to not look towards religion. Instead of using religion to help me make choices on what I thought was right or wrong, I use my conscience and my best judgment to try to be the best person I can be. I believe everyone is entitled to their own religious beliefs and I agree that a lot of religions have a lot of things in common, but people don’t want to learn about other religions because they feel that their religion is the right one and everyone else is wrong. I also believe this is how a lot of people feel towards culture as well. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I believe is also best to learn to accept other people for who they are and how they were raised.
Thank you for such a great post and hopefully a lot of other people can learn about Islamic life like I did.
References
University, P. S. (2020, March). Lesson 05: Learning and Change in a Global Setting. Retrieved from Social Learning: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977843
Khary Kyle says
I liked reading your post. It was rich in concepts we have explored in our course. The three topics that stood out the most to me were first impressions, social acceptability of lying, and cultural values.
In the first article, Shankar Vedantam (Researchers Examine Whether First Impressions are Lasting 2016) discusses the impact and importance of first impressions. He confirms what many in society already know: one never gets a second chance to make a first impression. Supported by a study in which he shows his test subjects pictures of individual people and asks them for their opinions about those people simply based on what they see. More than a month later, he introduces these subjects to the individuals in the photos and observes their interactions. He noticed that, though there was no recollection of having seen the photographs of these persons before, their behavior towards them was in line with their initial reactions. In other words, if they believed that the person would be unpleasant or undesirable, then they were not warm or receptive towards them and their actions brought about the response consistent with what they deemed the other person to be like. Within the study, they also asked if after seeing the picture and developing a first impression if they believe that impression would change after meeting him in person. While some indicated they believed their impression would change upon the first encounter, the vast majority of impressions did not change. This study I believe explains the behavior of Americans toward Muslims in the post-9/11 era. The author states that prior to 9/11 most Americans paid little attention and knew virtually nothing about Islam. However, this attack along with countless others since 9/11 has served as the first impression of Islam for most Americans. And as the article states, first impressions determine the relationship between parties going forward. While persons practicing Islam have existed within our nation for generations, it seems that national attention has only surfaced as a result of the attack of September 11, 2001. Perhaps the lack of knowledge of Islam and its followers were the result of a lack of motivation on the part of Americans to get to know those who are not like us in some way.
In an article written by Allison Kornet (The Truth About Lying 1997), she examines not only the reasons people lie but also the conflict that exists between the values with which parents raise their children and the social acceptability of lying in everyday life. In your blog, you discuss knowing coworkers who lied about their faith in order to preserve their social standing within a corporate environment. Allison Kornet examines the frequency of lies, the magnitude of lies, the relationship dynamics of telling lies, and, to a lesser degree, the reasons people lie. As it relates to your article, these people are clearly lying because they wish not to be associated with radical Islamists resulting in persecution and ostracization by their peers for their religious beliefs. I found this interesting because since our youth in our society we have been raised to believe that lying is wrong. However, as adults lying seems to be not as wrong and acceptable in some social situations. It seems to be acceptable to lie to avoid awkward situations or hurting the feelings of a loved one.
The pressure to lie indicates the value society places on social acceptability. Hofstede states that American culture is individualistic in nature. However, it seems that this is true only within certain conditions. Here we see people presented with the opportunity to be individuals in spite of what others around them may think; however, social acceptance seems to be higher esteemed than individualism in this case.
References
Vedantam, Shankar (2016). Researchers Examine Whether First Impressions Are Lasting. (NPR) Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2016/12/22/506550304/researchers-examine-whether-first-impressions-are-lasting. Last accessed 12 March 2020.
Kornet, Allison. (1997). The Truth About Lying. (Psychology Today). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/199705/the-truth-about-lying