Month: March 2020

I am disappointed that I will not be able to fulfill my ICR through attendance at the live ESL classes I was helping with through the Washington Township adult learning program. However, I am able to tutor students over the phone instead. Today, I arranged textbook materials for students, prepped a short lesson that I would conduct over the phone, and called a small group of students to conduct a conference call style ESL class. The chapter we covered was about the American flag and the Pledge of Allegiance. The students were more advanced than the class I was placed in before. Two students were in preparation to take the U.S. Citizenship exam.

When I connected with my site to see if there were virtual volunteer opportunities, I was worried about the students’ abilities to receive instruction without being face-to-face. The language barrier is sometimes very difficult to overcome. The nonverbal communication that is possible in-person is impossible to convey over the phone. Sometimes this nonverbal communication as well as the physical benefits of demonstration during teachings helps students overcome misunderstandings and obstacles. However, the students I worked with over the phone were higher level English speakers than the Level 1 and 2 students I worked with at the school. This made conducting the instruction over the phone more manageable. I still needed to speak slowly and repeat myself occasionally, but students understood the lesson most of the time. This demonstrates the progression of learning a language. In the beginning, it is very difficult, and many resources are needed to help learn. However, once some of the major obstacles are overcome, then it becomes easier to learn more of the language and less teaching tools are needed. I was very impressed by the progression the students had made during the lesson. I was impressed by the fact that just a few months ago the students were all in the Level 1 English class. In our lesson, we were able to focus more on conceptual learning than basic vocabulary work. In our discussion about the American flag, students were able to share history and background for the flags of their native countries. This helped me appreciate other cultures and understand how they too are constantly changing. We were able to discuss the pandemic and talk about how different family members were doing with the pandemic issue and how it was being handled in each of the student’s home country. Once again, this helped me understand how the world is connected, but that every culture is unique as well. This holds true for the way each country is handling the pandemic. It is unfortunate that something like COVID-19 is what connects countries across the globe, but it was engaging to have the discussion with students from across the globe about their perceptions and experiences throughout this current issue.

As I mentioned, I was nervous about helping over the phone. I was concerned that my teaching would not be effective over the phone or instruction via the phone would not be a sufficient way to deliver material to English language learners. However, through perseverance and problem-solving, I was able to develop a lesson plan that the students understood and engaged in. We enjoyed discussion about current events as well as practiced important material, which we did effectively in a virtual manner. Although I miss the opportunity of helping in the live Level 1 and 2 English class, I look forward to connecting with the students over the phone next week.

Out of the different readings posted for today, I think that the section on the Hadith really caught my attention and I found a lot of different aspects of it very interesting. I think that there are a lot of good ways that this can be compared to modern and historically information, and the different sources that this information comes from. I also think that the science of the Hadith is a very interesting concept and it really should be talked about more in mainstream education. Starting out with the Hadith in comparison to historical information, the thing that kept coming to my mind was the quote “history is written by the victors.” With the Islamic community discovering various contradictions throughout the Hadith it really got me thinking. Just how much of our history has contradictions in it compared the what people learn in other countries. I feel like it isn’t compared very often and obviously everyone has some bias. Just how much religious and general history has been lost through the ages and destroyed by the victors of certain wars. This can also relate to more modern information. Just how much information is being kept from people in this day and age. Even with so much access to information through the internet, it’s interesting to consider what we could still be missing out on. Most media is very biased and a lot of people get their media from a specific source. This can just lead to more conflict and differing opinions and contradicting facts being fed to people every day. This leads me to my final point on how teaching about the science of the Hadith (more in a general sense) could be very helpful. If more people could learn to be more skeptical of all the different information they’re receiving on a daily basis we could have a much smarter general population. With the rise of social media and “fake news” I think this is a very important topic that needs to be taught starting around middle school at the latest. This is what I got out of the reading of the sections in the Hadith and the general over view of it.

First off, Professor Asma Afsaruddin’s piece greatly challenged my expectations of what Sharia law was, what it encompassed, and how it was created and understood. All my life all I have heard about Sharia law is the fanatical hysteria that accompanies it in most American discussion settings. All I had ever heard about it was that it horribly mistreated women and homosexuals and had horrific punishments for any kind of crime. The debunking of the anti-women sentiment that the term Sharia tends to carry was really eye opening for me. When professor Amsa talked about the Quran granting rights of equal access to knowledge for women and that they must consent before being married was astounding to me as I had never heard of these things before.

Secondly, the second articles made more sense because I read Professor Asma’s piece first. Without her article explaining all of the basics in an easy to understand way I would have been lost reading the other two. I did however do some digging into any terms I did not understand. Dictionary definitions were helpful, and I always do whatever I can to stay off of Wikipedia and find credible sources. On this topic I preferred to find sources that seemed credible, and were also at least somewhat associated with Islam. Sure American/British sources may be credible on the topic, but they can also carry a different skew that I was not looking for on this topic.

After reading the Poetry of Rumi I noticed a similarity of themes that has been shown in a multitude of poems. In most of the poems there are common themes of love and prosperity. This is shown with a series of different metaphors including wine in poems one, three, 9, and 18.

Many of the poems include taking something dark and during it to a better perspective. For example in poem 19 the author mentions alcohol in a negative context using words such as “drunkards”. Later the author talks about broken barrels and a soaked ceiling, painting a picture of disruption in readers minds. The poem ends with the author stating that the glass is still full, creating a deep metaphor. I believed that this was a symbol for light when everything else in life is falling apart.

Poem 23 stood out to me the most. The poem states, “Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading.” I related this to waking up and being quarantined, waiting for the coronavirus outbreak to end. I usually am much lazier at home and do not feel productive. The poem continues by stating, “Let the beauty we love be what we do.” I interpreted this inspiring line as the author claiming that we must make the most out of every situation and pursue what we love even when things are going wrong.

In late February a Malaysian Mosque held a group of Muslims from 30 different countries to pray in unity together. As this practice was supposed to promote glory and prosperity, many suffered due to this gathering in an unexpected way.

One member attending this worship was a carrier of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The member that was the carrier possessed no symptoms at the time but spread it to many others who then possessed symptoms later (Beech).

This reminded me of the the cruise ship incident in Japan. On the Japan cruise ship one person caused a ripple, spreading the virus to other cruisers on the ship. Some who left the ship and their quarantines asymptomatic spread it to others later, causing a multitude of problems.

As a result of the Malaysian Mosque case, around 620 people were tested positive in Malaysia, causing the country to close its borders for a month (Beech). In addition, 73 coronavirus cases were linked to this gathering in Brunei and 10 cases were linked to this in Thailand (Beech). Sadly, three deaths have been linked to the event as well (Beech).

Even though I believe it is hard to remove normal life practices, especially religious practices, it must be done in order to stop the spread of the virus.

India has been hit fairly hard recently with the whole pandemic. It has just been reported in the India Times that the death toll has risen to 10 as “Delhi reporting second death, while the number of coronavirus-positive uses, including casualties, in India, reached 519 on Tuesday”. This was reported by the Union health ministry. However, starting today, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that India will have a 21-day complete lockdown in order to control the spread of coronavirus. This virus continues to affect each country severely.

However, citizens in India are used to their prayer and worship in the comfort of their own homes. They are able to kneel and pray wherever they may be. Throughout my years in intermediate school, I learned that Muslim citizens pray in the direction facing the city of Mecca but specifically their holiest shrine called the Kaaba. It is nice to know that this virus optimistically will not interfere with this sacred worship and prayer.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/coronavirus-india-update-india-corona-virus-cases-latest-news-and-state-wise-coronavirus-in-india/articleshow/74785133.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/coronavirus-in-india-live-updates-pm-modi-to-address-the-nation/liveblog/74783769.cms

“Fake news” has always been a particularly striking statement for me as a journalist. Through my courses at Butler, this topic has come up quite a lot, and many of my classes are guided by the idea of preventing falsehoods. For example, in one class you will receive a zero on a story if a name is misspelled or facts are incorrect. This is done not to punish us, but to prepare us for a career where every word you type must be precise. However, often “fake news” is not news that is incorrect, but simply news that is biased. In the Hadith, Muslims have attempted to root out the falsehoods, but they cannot rule out the bias. Therefore, Muhammad’s behaviors are up for interpretation and disagreement. However, I think the point is not how accurate the Hadith is in terms of what Muhammad did, but rather, what the message is and if it aligns with the religion. I think it says a lot about the Islamic faith that they are able to admit that there were probably falsehoods in the Hadith. That is something that most Christians I know are unwilling to accept about the bible.

This blog is about the short story Sequestration in The Cairo House

This story begins with a flashback to another event in the author’s past. The author just came home to find her parents’ watching President Nasser give a talk, which resulted in being called Revolution Day. The author didn’t understand this at the time, but her parents didn’t have enough money. Sequestration was occurring throughout the next few days where men came over and counted inventory of her family’s possessions. Her family had to fire almost all of their house servants, and even one of the cooks wanted to take a pay-cut to avoid not having a job anymore. The author overheard conversations about what was happening and was finally told the truth from Madame Helene. Her family were in debt and their bank accounts were frozen, resulting in her parents talking about having a divorce. The husband said it was best for his wife to get a divorce because then she would be able to have some property. Eventually, when thinking what would be best for their child, they decided to separate. The end of the story happens with the author, who realized she overslept, was trying to find her father and saw that his bag underneath his bed was missing.

The story is very sad because it involves the changes to the author’s life when her parents are forced to give off their possessions for survival. The author didn’t realize how good of a life she had until everything was taken away. When it was her birthday, she was used to having all of her classmates coming over to celebrate. However, only one person showed up, and it was a family member. She was told the next day by one of her friends that she wanted to show up, but her parents forbid it due to the sequestration. She reflects at the end that all of the possessions her family could still have were for pride, for the good name of the family. The author missed the good old days, and I think this is something we should consider. No matter what background we come from, we should be thankful for what we have. Whether we come from a wealthy or poor, large or small, or any type of family, we should be thankful for everything that can be given to us. Many people don’t have as many opportunities as us Butler students. That’s what I got from this story, to not brag about possessions, but to use what we have to help ourselves be better individuals.

With coronavirus changing our lives over the past few weeks, the amount of social distancing has increased dramatically. With people being told they shouldn’t leave their homes unless for highly important needs, I was thinking about how isolation can impact people mentally and emotionally. But then a new thought came to mind: is religion going to help these isolated people get through these rough times.

From my local area in Kentucky, we shut down Churches roughly a week ago. People haven’t been able to go to mass or their respective church during this time, but that doesn’t prevent them from working on their faith. Churches have been publishing videos online for people to practice their religion even when unable to visit them. My friends and family here in Kentucky have been praying for because they don’t want to get lost in the fear of isolation. Praying is also a good method to relax the mind when dealing with this “new” society we have to live in. Obviously I wouldn’t want this outbreak to have happened, but there is some good that has come out of it. People can pray and be around loved ones during this time of uncertainty.

In terms of an Islamic sense, Saudi Arabia hasn’t been doing too well with this pandemic. The mosques in Mecca and Medina have been shut down from the public during this time. Muslims aren’t allowed to visit the Kaaba, which is very sacred in their religion. From volunteering at the Islamic Sunday school in Indianapolis, I know that prayer is an essential part of their culture. If Mecca is still closed to the public, then those Muslims wouldn’t be able to complete the five pillars of Islam. This virus has greatly influenced their religion, but they can still practice their faith. I’m just curious about the washing of the face portion in their prayer. Since people should avoid contact with others and avoid touching of the face, I wonder how many people still wash their face with their hands. Religion and prayer are an important time in our lives because in isolation, all we can do is hope and pray for the best outcome possible.

On Thursday, we had our first class via zoom, and this was a new change for a lot of students, including myself. We are in a scary time in society where nearly 40% of Americans will get or eventually get the coronavirus. We all were aware that Thursday was going to be our last class of the year, and it was great to see everyone again. I enjoyed, during this class, we reflected on what we’ve done throughout the semester, and what the plan was going to be for the remainder of this course. I am pleased to write more blog posts, as it gives me a chance to write down what I am not only thinking about through this time but more about the readings we are assigned regarding our new topic: India. I am going to enjoy having extra time to improve my writing and other skill sets and definitely hope that every person is staying safe and being smart and cautious. This is indeed a frightening time in our society, and most of the people may not feel or be prepared to wait it out this long, but it’s a great time for people to come together, with social distancing, and beat this out.