Month: April 2020

With my environmental philosophy class being right in the middle of our unit on climate change and global warming, with a lot of the focus on different possible solutions, I have begun to notice a lot of different connections between my environmental philosophy course and some of the different readings that we have gone through in this course over the semester. Today in class as discussed different ways to help prevent and alleviate climate change, the topic of educating people to be more empathetic and altruistic came up. The general idea was if society as a whole was taught to have more empathy for others and be overall more altruistic than maybe we could have more sympathy for our fellow and our planet in general. With this we might be able to turn back the clock on some of the damage we have already done and hopefully prevent more damage from occurring in the future. During this discussion I couldn’t help but think back to our discussions over Confucianism in the first half of the semester. Many of his teachings seemed to be focused on very similar concepts to what we discussed in my philosophy class. After class I revisited some of the Confucian readings and sure enough a lot of it fit together. For example one of my favorite quotes that I think embodies this says, “If you govern them by means of virtue and control them with propriety, they will gain their own sense of shame, and thus correct themselves.” I think that this fits very well with the discussion I had today in my philosophy class. If we were to govern and teach based more on virtue and propriety I certainly think they way we handle climate change and other problems with today’s society would improve greatly. Overall, I just thought this was an interesting comparison that I caught in class today.

I really enjoyed reading the poems Dr. McGrath posted.  Specifically, I liked some of the shorter poems.

Poem 7:

Walk to the well.
Turn as the earth and the moon turn,
circling what they love.
Whatever circles comes from the center.

I believe poems can be interpreted in many different ways based on who the reader is.  For me, this poem spoke to finding your passion.  The line, “whatever circles comes from the center”, is referring to finding that true passion within you. Sometimes in life people from outside your “center” try to influence and push you in different directions.  However, to find what you truly love you must listen to your heart.

Poem 16:

Don’t forget the nut, being so proud of the shell,
The body has its inward ways,

the five senses. They crack open,
and the Friend is revealed.

Crack open the Friend, you become
the All-One.

Sometimes in life it seems tough to be appreciative of the small things.  In this poem it refers to not forgetting the nut, while being so proud of the shell.  In my life, I have often taken small things for granted.  For example, as the senior year winds down with online classes, I started to reflect on my four years at Butler.  I took for granted a lot of the little things, while I enjoyed the big picture aspect of being in college.  It is important to stop and slow down at times to take a moment and appreciate the things you have.

Unfortunately, with everything going on with the coronavirus we were not able to participate in the events planned with the IACA.  However, to still give back to the community and be involved with the IACA we were assigned with three tasks.  First, develop a one page flyer for IACA which I will attach below.  Second, we wrote an essay detailing the impact the coronavirus has had.  Specifically, I talked about the treatment of Chinese Americans and the hardships they have gone through as the virus has worrsened.  Then lastly, we created a 3-minute long PSA about the importance of understanding during these tough times.  Each of the three assignments gave me new insights and information on how people are being affected by this.  For me, my senior year and golf season were cancelled.  However, Chinese Americans who are facing discrimination and hate during these times are dealing with much tougher obstacles than I am.  It reminded me to always keep things in perspective.

[embeddoc url=”http://blogs.butler.edu/ghs208spring2020/files/2020/04/IACA-one-page-flyer.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft”]

The fourth chapter details the battle between Muhammad and Quraysh.  Although Muhammad left Mecca, Quraysh still has not forgotten about him.  Muhammad’s declaration that Yathrib was a sanctuary city was not taken well by Quraysh.  Although it is true that Quraysh are charging toward Yathrib, Muhammad announces that his plans are to stay put and wait for the enemies to come to him.  His plan is to let the Quraysh attack the oasis and then all men will fight them in the streets, while children hurl stones from palm trees.

One part I found interesting was how Muhammad’s followers were skeptical as to his plans.  They were thinking back to the brutal loss they received at Badr a year ago.  They were quoted saying, “Lead us out to our enemies so that they may not think we are too cowardly and weak to face them.”  In the end, after his most trusted advisors were even questioning his plan he decided to face off in a plain a few miles northwest of Yathrib.  This change of mind was very interesting to me as I did not think Muhammad would go back on his initial plan.

In the end, Muhammad and the Quraysh made a truce.  Muhammad eventually marched on the Mecca, but everyone surrendered peacefully.

The beginning of chapter two details the arrival of pilgrimage season.  During these months the Mecca transforms into a crowded city with millions of people traveling to attend.  I really enjoyed how detailed and specific the author was when describing the appearance of the city.  For example, he wrote, “The homes on the outer rings are made of mud and straw: impermanent structures inevitably swept away by the annual floods that inundate this valley.  Closer to the city center, the homes are larger and more permanent, though still made of mud.”  This sentence helped me visualize the city very well and allowed me to relate more to the reading.

Another part of the reading I really was when Aslan talked about the Ka’ba transformed surronding areas into sacred grounds, basically making the city of Mecca a neutral zone. This neautral zone encouraged individuals to use the area as a center for trade.  I found this very interesting as most likely without the Ka’ba most of these trades might not happen.

Lastly, I found the section of the reading where he talks about one of the problem with Mecca was the concentration of wealth.  A few of the ruling families had a large amount of the wealth, which destroyed the “tribal ethic”.  There was no longer any concern for the poor and people no longer believed that the tribe was only as strong as its weakest member.  This to me seems similar to the United States and how the top 1% own up to 40% of the countries wealth.

A new BBC article that came out today showed a photo and reported on a McDonald’s restaurant in Guangzhou banned black people from entering. The thoughts are that they did this because Guangzhou is one of China’s industrial cities sees many African tradespeople come through their city on a daily basis. According to the article, “Guangzhou is a hub for African traders buying and selling goods and is home to one of China’s largest African communities.”. Also, the article thinks that part of the reason this may have happened is, “Tensions have been running high between Africans and local people in the city. Last week, hundreds of Africans in Guangzhou were evicted from hotels and apartments after online rumors that coronavirus was spreading among African people, community leaders told the BBC”. Of course once McDonald’s found out about the incident they temporarily closed that branch. The Chinese government responded by saying, “It said it attached “great importance to some African countries’ concerns and is working promptly to improve” its way of operating.”.

Being kicked out of restaurants is far from the only discrimination that Africans are facing in China however. “Africans in Guangzhou say that they have been facing more than a week of discrimination. Health workers have reportedly gone door-to-door testing Africans for coronavirus, many say regardless of whether they show any symptoms, have traveled, or have been in contact with Covid-19 patients. Community leaders say that hundreds were forced out of their homes and hotel rooms and into quarantine.”. Regardless of what they are doing, where they’ve been or who they’ve been in contact with, they are being removed from their homes, thrown into quarantine, and tested. All over online rumors that coronavirus was moving through African communities.

For our Nur-Allah ICR requirement, David and I were asked to research Mental Health programs for Muslim residents in Indianapolis. As a healthcare student, this obviously peaked my interest. Not only in mental health, but all healthcare surrounding different religious groups has to be closely monitored for the patient’s unique needs.

In order to be culturally competent for Muslim patients–diet, religious events (such as Ramadan which involves fasting,) certain medication restrictions, and dress/privacy must be strictly respected and upheld while trying to maintain the patient’s health. This can be very problematic for healthcare workers, who traditionally try to prioritize the patient’s well-being over all. However, making sure the patient is happy is the most important facet of the healthcare field.

An example of how these two interests can conflict would be in the case of a physically-incompetent/comatose patient. This can be incredibly frustrating for the patient and the family of the patient for many reasons. First, for the devout Muslim, prayer is incredibly important in their day-to-day lives. Not being able to pray (which involves prostration,) is a difficult problem for a healthcare worker to make possible for the patient. Additionally, having a caretaker that is the same gender as the patient is very important for Muslim patients. This is in order to maintain privacy and modesty. The usage of a specific hand in order to feed is also important. The left hand is seen as unclean in Islamic culture, so the healthcare worker needs to make sure they use their right hand for activities such as feeding the patient or administering medication.

Paying attention to these small details for all patients, not just Muslim patients, is incredibly pertinent in order to achieve the utmost level of care possible. All groups of people and individuals have needs and desires that need to be met, and I am proud to be part of a field that can accommodate those needs for so many diverse belief-systems and people.

When I read the paper over The New Renaissance a couple weeks ago it really didn’t stick out to me too much. I thought that the author had some interesting things to say and I especially was interested to see what he had to say about morality and the different virtues of the Muslim community compared to that of more western values. Even with his interesting points I wasn’t too big a fan of his paper at first because he really didn’t seem to accept that both Islamic and Western culture have their faults, but it still had enough interesting views to keep me interested. However, earlier this week in my class on environmental philosophy we discussed climate change in detail, and I saw a very interesting map that showed exactly which areas of the world would be most effected by climate change. Sure enough the middle was one of the top areas that was most likely to be negatively effected by climate change. After seeing this chart, I revisited the paper on The New Renaissance and the first half of it suddenly had a lot more meaning when I read it. In a specific section in the first half of his paper he speaks on the “failure of the west.” In this section he speaks on the failure of the social principles on which western society has been built. He speaks on how we are constantly pushing forward with not much of a care for others, constantly flooding the world with mechanical products. Now that I read that section with climate change in mind it has a lot more meaning to me. Most western countries are causing the vast majority of climate change, yet poorer areas of the world like the Middle East and India will suffer the most for it. Although the author might not have been thinking this exactly while writing his paper, I think that it is an interesting interpretation.

With all of the changes that COVID-19 has brought to our everyday lives, it was inevitable to dismiss that celebrating Easter would look a little different this year. As a Christian, Easter is arguably the biggest celebration within the Church along with Christmas. Throughout learning about Islam this semester, I have noticed many commonalities between my own religion, Christianity, and Islam. I was still surprised however to learn that many Muslims also relate to the purpose and representation that Easter holds.

Frasat Ahmad, an American Muslim, begins his personal account by acknowledging that Muslims don’t technically celebrate Easter. However, Ahmad still sympathizes and relates to the many changes that are happening within the church. Although Muslim’s don’t believe that Jesus is the literal son of God, they do believe that he is a “metaphoric son of God,” as are all prophets within their eyes. Surprisingly, both religions also believe that Christ will appear once again. That being said, Ahmad’s perspective on Christianity in comparison to Islam provided me with a deeper understanding that brings many of the concepts I have learned throughout this semester into full circle. Ahmad’s purpose was primarily to break down judgment and barriers with the hope of directing our focus solely onto the importance of community during this indescribably time. In conclusion to the many connections Ahmad made, he focused in on Matthew 22:39 to drive his point home; “love your neighbor as yourself.” Within this confusing time we are in today, it is important to keep in mind the ways in which we can live with intention. By staying inside and watching church services from the convenience of our homes, we can actually be seen as doing society a greater good. Similarly, Ahmad brings to light one of the many ways in which Islam has been serving those around them as well. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has partnered with the American Red Cross to “combat the severe shortage of blood donations.” Throughout the craziness of today, I find it calming to know that Americans have united together in order to conquer the inevitable.

This article is about Women and Islam

For women, there are multiple societies in the Muslim community which treat them differently. Since Islam spread around many different countries, those countries and their societies had different traditions. In some countries, women are treated with respect and will have a large role in society because that’s what life was like during ancient history. Especially in Egypt, their history involved having female leaders in charge. Some societies in their ancient history were more male-oriented, so women in those Muslim communities are getting the short end of the stick. Women are treated differently not based on the Muslim community, but based on the ancient history of each country.

In Turkey, women have been starting to cover up their heads more often now. This isn’t necessarily all because of their faith and dress code, but to be connected to other Muslims in different countries. The veiling isn’t just for covering the head, but it’s more of a lifestyle they try to live by. Women are supposed to act pure in the eye of the public. It symbolizes their modest behavior and a lifestyle they have to live by because of the stereotypical mannerism they should live by. This result has an effect also on men through their sexual self-control. Men control their sexuality through how the women cover themselves up. This allows women to live their lives in a somewhat cautious environment and this action shows men that they don’t have to rely on men.

The hijab has been a very popular symbol in the Islamic community with multiple meanings. The meaning of the hijab has changed from symbolizing modesty to now just justifying itself as the symbol with no clear meaning. The hijab has no hierarchy over the concept of modesty, so the hijab has different meanings when it comes to identity. The symbol restricts and explains the identity of Islamic women. The hijab is used to identify who is Islamic, but the hijab has no religious meaning itself, so its meaning is based on different interpretations. The hijab is also seen as a symbol of oppression yet also a symbol of liberation. If it’s used to show modesty, then wearing it will be very enforced from people inside and outside the Islamic community. People assume that if they don’t wear the hijab that they can’t fully be Islamic. The idea of using the hijab for identification is being spread across different point of views, so people might assume the hijab is oppressing women for forcing them to wear something to symbolize who they are and their beliefs. The idea of the hijab means many things, some good yet some bad depending on the individual.

I really enjoyed reading this article because I didn’t understand the importance of the hijab in the Islamic community for women. When I think of the hijab, I just think of it like one is wearing a cross around a neck or having a religious tattoo. It’s just something people show off to express their faith and beliefs. However, the hijab is different because it symbolizes much more than one’s religious beliefs. It symbolizes a lifestyle these women try to represent. It defines not just their belief, but who they are as people in terms of behavior and lifestyle. I learned that some things have hidden meanings behind what the general population thinks of certain objects.