Author: djgregor

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.

This blog post is about the Social Justice in Islam article

Islam is different than Christianity because Islam deals with all aspects of life, whereas Christianity has been relegated to the private sphere of life. Islam prescribes the principles of social justice and teaches their followers to not neglect their rights on earth in favor of better expectations in Heaven. Islam encourages people to fight for their rights no matter if they are rich or poor. People can’t be certain that in today’s society, this social order of Islam will continue to have the potential for growth. Islam has taught us that we should not put away our social aspect of our faith on the shelf without thinking what we can gain from the Islamic foundation of our society. There is a wide ignorance of the nature of faith though were people try to separate religion from learning and growing. The Islamic summons is to return to our own stored-up resources, to become familiar with their ideas, and to proclaim their value and permanent worth. The social justice in Islam deals with human justice rather than economic justice. This justice embraces all sides of life, all aspects of freedom, and this justice mixes moral and spiritual values we have together. Islam focuses more on forming a unity where our spiritual desires can’t be separated from material necessities. Islam looks at the world and life with the idea of no separation or division between life on earth and on Heaven. This is how Islam is different than Christianity and Communism. Christianity looks at man only from the stand-point of his spiritual desires and seeks to crush down the human instincts in order to encourage those desires. On the other hand Communism looks at man only from the standpoint of his material needs; it looks not only at human nature, but also at the world and at life from a purely material point of view.

Islam makes sure our life is filled with mercy, love, and helping Muslims and non-Muslims. Communism deals with having a society where there is a struggle between classes, where helping others ends up becoming survival of the fittest. Islam is the undying goodness of humanity, while communism is the evil side of our human nature. Islam defines its definition of social justice by acknowledging the basic elements we need to survive and the responsibility individuals and societies have to make sure we are doing everything that is best for each other. The Islamic view of life make the Islamic faith the more powerful religion to provide equity and justice in society, and to establish justice in the whole of the human sphere. Justice in Islam is human equality, whereas communism is an equality of wages.

I really liked this article because of the concept behind Islam defining social justice. It enjoyed reading especially the economic part of social justice and the difference between Islam’s view and the lifestyle of communism. I do think people show live a life of trying to help others in need and live a life of mercy and love. I don’t think people should try so hard to do the right thing if they think that will make people around them believe that they are a good person. People shouldn’t try hard to improve their chances of living a better life in Heaven. I just enjoyed how while reading this, I couldn’t not think of the survival of the fittest concept when reading about the economic part of the article. Especially right now with this pandemic where if you’re poor, you have horrible chances of getting tested and receiving necessary equipment. If you’re in prison or homeless, you’re in a horrible situation right now. Where if you are rich, then you don’t have much to worry about. Overall, I like how Islam focuses on helping others as part of their social justice lifestyle.

This blog is about the Sufism and Rumi articles, along with my favorite Rumi poem given to me.

Here’s why I learned from the Sufism article: Sufism’s practices include the maintenance and visitation to shrines and tombs of deceased saints, Islamic endowments, or waqfs, buildings intended for Sufi practice, and the passing on of the traditions. Sufism, to the Sunni and Shi’I, refers to the inner mystical dimension of Islam. Sufis believe that the universe forms a unified whole, which is bounded by love. Rumi was a pious Muslim during the 13^th century. Rumi is well known for his mystical literature contributions towards Sufism. There is some counter-cultural aspect of Sufism were Sufi mystics lived on the outside of society and rejected petty cultural norms. Sufism has always been an integral part of mainstream Islam. Sufism should be practiced in regards to inner life and within the outward prescriptions for living life in compliance with God’s will. For many Muslims, Sufism allows them to have some type of spiritual enlightenment. Over time, Sufism has been incorporated into other religions within Islam, allowing Sufism to be more flexible towards other Islamic religions.

I really enjoyed this article because I have never heard of Sufism before and was glad to learn something new. I respect the main teaching that Sufis believe in where they think that the universe forms a unified whole, which is bounded by love. I didn’t know that Sufism became blended with other Islam religions over time and thought that was interesting because usually society has many religions for distinction and not for them to have some type of overlap.

Rumi Article: Rumi was a 13^th century mystic poet who circumnavigated the Middle East and helped spread Sufism. Once in Middle East, he became one of the most beloved religious figures in the realm. His reputation and appeal, both across time and in his own, lay in some elusive layering of acute religious knowledge, personal charm and wit, and a capacious spirit that was both deeply human and haloed with otherworldly prescience. Eventually, Shamsuddin of Tabriz showed up and changed Rumi’s approach to religious devotion. Shams was kicked out of Konya by Rumi’s devotees, but Rumi went searching for him. That search became internal when Rumi infused the teachings of Shams’ masaterwork called the “Masnavi” with his spiritual teachings. Rumi preached and lived by a stance of tolerance. He stated that all religions were in pursuit of oneness with God. This didn’t mean that he thought Islam was mixed together with all other monotheistic religions though.

I didn’t mind this article. I respect what Rumi did for the spread of Sufism and didn’t understand how important he was to that religion. After reading some of his poems, I really respect his work because as someone who usually understands what they are reading, I appreciate the hidden meanings behind his poems.

Poem of Rumi: When your love reaches the core, earth-heavals and bright irruptions spew in the air. The universe becomes one spiritual thing, that simple, love mixing with spirit.

I really enjoy this poem because it explains the main theme of Sufism by showing that the universe forms a unified whole, which is bounded by love. People in society are brought together because they want to build relationships, which are created by sharing a type of love towards one another. When people love one another, good things typically happen. The world around us becomes one since there is no anger towards one another. This poem shows the importance it is for one to have love in their life to make life easier and better for the people around us in my opinion.

This post is about the readings from “How to Perform Salah” and the “Haji” articles.

Prior to my first ICR service day, I was invited to a Salah service at the Nur-Allah center to meet the people I would be helping. Coming from a Catholic background growing up, I was interested in seeing how different an Isalmic prayer would be then a general Catholic mass service. I got to participate as much as I could, until the fellow Muslims started speaking Arabic, which then I was told to watch from the back because only people who can speak Arabic can complete the Salah. I didn’t realize how important the Quran is when praying because during a Catholic mass, it’s not mandatory to remember scripture. During the Salah, everyone must recite the beginning chapter of the Quran and any other chapter to complete the Salah. From watching the Salah take place, I was confused as to why everyone was standing up, then sitting down, then standing back up, and this endless cycle never stopped until the end. From the article, I learned that after reciting the Quran, everyone bows in a position called the Rukoo, then stands up saying an Arabic phrase which means “Allah hears those who praise Him”, and then prostrate on the floor saying “Allahu Akbar.” I didn’t realize it when in person, but according to the article, there can be four Salah prayers during one service. Eventually once the last Salah had ended, everyone got up and gave peace and mercy to everyone. It was really interested because I’ve never be a part of a different religious ceremony outside of my religion before. It was also interested to see that all the men pray on one side of the room, while all the women pray on the exact opposite side of the room. Wudu was a term I learned from Sister Carol at the Nur-Allah center when I asked her what does wiping the face with the hands represent. She said that if symbolizes cleansing the face and body to have a clean body and soul before praying.

The next article talks about the steps to complete the last of the five pillars. On the first day, Muslims enter Ihram, which is a pilgrim’s sacred state when crossing the boundaries of Mecca. Once in Mecca, they travel to Mina, which is about a 5 mile journey. Once there, the Muslims spend time praying and focusing on Allah. On the second day, they leave Mina and head towards Arafat. Arafat is where Muhammad’s last sermon took place and is about 9 miles from Mina. This is a special day of the Islamic calendar and many Muslims choose to fast on this day. After sunset, the Muslims travel to Muzdalifah to collect pebbles for the next day’s events. They leave this place just before sunrise. On the third day, this is considered the longest and most dangerous day of the five day pilgrimage. Once they returned to Mina, they throw seven pebbles at the largest of the three columns known as the Jamart, which ritual is called the first rami. This event symbolizes the stoning of the devil. After throwing the pebbles, the Muslims must perform a sacrifice similar to the one that Abraham did when sacrificing his son. The pilgrims sacrifice some animal, usually a sheep, goat, or cow. The men will then shave their hair and remove their ihram clothes. Many will end the day by circling the Kaaba seven times and finish by walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa. The last two days deal with the pilgrims still throwing the pebbles, but this time at all three of the pillars. They spend the next two days in Mina and finish the pilgrimage by returning to Mecca and perform the final circulation of the Kaaba. After reading this article, I didn’t know how much energy is taken into this pilgrimage. They travel to many places over a five day period and pray to Allah most of that time. This is definitely more sacred than anything I’ve ever done as a Catholic. I can see why this is the last pillar and why it only has to be completed once.

After watching the crash course on Islam, the Quran, and the five pillars, I took some notes on what I learned.

Islam: Muslims believed that God sent Muhammad as the final prophet to bring people back to the one true religion, which involved the worship to a single, omnipotent God. Besides the Quran, another important text is the Hadith, which is a collection and sayings of the prophets. The body of laws in Islam is called the Sharia, but not all Muslims follow this body of laws. The people who did follow the Sharia were called Muslims because they submitted to the will of God. These Muslims became a community of believers called the Umma. Muhammad and his following believe in the one God, which upset the Quraysh, the most powerful tribe in Mecca. Muhammad was eventually forced to Medina, which the journey is called the Hijra. Muhammad and his followers returned to Mecca and the Islamic community took back Mecca. Once Muhammad died, the Quran was complete since Muhammad was the last prophet of God. Eventually, with Islam being a powerful religiously and politically, there needed to be a new leader, which ended up being Muhammad’s father in law. Abu Bakr began recording the Quran in writing and helped improve their military. This allowed the Islam community to increase rapidly over northern Africa and western Asia.

Quran: The Quran is very similar as the Bible by mentioning the story of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. However, it’s different based on the written record of the revelations Muhammad received. The Quran is written in the point of view of God, the actual word of God rather than viewpoints from miscellaneous prophets. Themes of the Quran include strict monotheism and the importance of taking care of those less fortunate of you.

Pillars: First pillar is the shahada, also known as the profession of the faith. This pillar acknowledges the one and only God in Islam. Second pillar is the salat, which is the ritual prayer five times a day- dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and late evening. Third is sawm, the month long fast during the month of Ramadan. Muslims can’t eat or drink during daylight hours when participating in the sawm. Fourth is Zakat, aka almsgiving, where non-poor Muslims are required to give a percentage of their income to the poor. Lastly is the Haji, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca, which Muslims must complete once during their life.

It was very interesting to learn about how Islam started given that the main religions in the western hemisphere involve some type of Christianity. It was also cool to learn similarities and differences between the Quran and the Bible. I have heard about the five pillars before this course, but didn’t really understand what that entailed. This video was entertaining to me because I learned a lot of new things.

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.

This post will be about the short story The Chameleon and how I see this story in my daily life.

This is the first short story in Cairo House and it involves the author finally returning to Egypt after leaving her family for France. The author deals with adjusting to her life in Cairo and hopes to achieve her goal of finding her two children. While on the plane, she meets a couple from Minnesota. When talking with them, she was asked where she was from. Truthfully, she told them she was from New Hampshire. She gave this answer in order to avoid conflict because even though her answer was correct, she is Arabic and from Cairo. She thinks about how she has to now adapt to her previous life of living in Egypt, even though at the end, she is very well accustomed to her current surroundings.  When getting of the plane, she is asked if she has a visa, to which she answers with “no” but states she is from Cairo. It is revealed that she is revealed to be related to someone important in Cairo and starts speaking Arabic with this airport worker. After her talk, she notices that her image from the Minnesota couple’s perspective has changed.

This story deals with living with two different lifestyles and trying to not favor one for the other. The main quote states “the true chameleons are the ones who straddle two worlds, segueing smoothly from one to the other, adjusting language and body language, calibrating the range of emotions displayed, trending the tightropes of mannerisms or more.” I can’t understand the difficultly of being a chameleon, but I know especially for people who come to America how difficult it is for them. The problem isn’t necessarily adjusting to their new lifestyle, but being accepted and not being judged by other people. Just because people come from different countries doesn’t mean they have to fully change their lifestyle when living in America. It’s essential to remember one’s roots and express where one originated from. Personally, my best friend at Butler is from Honduras and I see him living with two different lifestyles. Especially when he is home for break, he tells me his life is so much different on campus. We can be talking and there are some phrases that he doesn’t quite understand when I’m referencing something. When we are talking and his parents call him, he can easily switch from English to Spanish, which to me is very impressive. It’s just cool to live with someone who can live with two distinct cultural backgrounds and try to mesh them together and not favor one for the other. This story just reminded me of my roommate, so I feel bad for the author when she has to avoid people judging her differently when learning about her Arabic roots.

Due to being on break and staying on break for an extended period, I have more time to read these short stories rather than postponing them until weeks later. This post will be about The Feast of the Sacrifice from Cairo House.

This story occurs right when the author lands in Cairo. She talks about her most recent happy memory in Cairo before she left for France. She was having trouble sleeping, so she went to her picture book and recalled the story about having the feast when she was nine years old. The feast itself involved three animals: a ram, a sheep, and a lamb. The sacrifice wasn’t allowed to be seen by young children, yet the author was determined to learn more about what actually happened in the ritual. After being put to bed, she left her room to see the ritual. The ritual was in the shed by her house, and she saw the ram getting killed by the cook. She was caught, but she doesn’t really remember what happened. The story ends with her finding out that the cook saw her and started screaming. This resulted in the ritual perhaps failing because nobody young should see the ritual take place. She felt bad for potentially ruining the ritual, which is why her photo she found at the beginning of the story was one of the last good old days.

This story deals with tradition and I really learned a few things. After reading this story, there were many words italicized. I decided to look up what an agha was because I’ve never heard of that word. After looking up that word in terms of an Arabic manner, I found out that agha means “honorable person” in Arabic. Also, I learned how importance certain cultures take tradition and rituals. Personally, my family doesn’t have many traditions to a level as this story does. We have holiday traditions, but nothing compared to this ritual. The last page of the story truly reflects the importance of rituals in the author’s culture. She felt horrible after sneaking in the shed to see the ritual take place. The last line of the story explains that her event as a nine year old still affects her to present day. I didn’t really think how some rituals can impact people in other cultures than the rituals in our society. One last thing, I also liked that analogy of having a picture book like a deck of cards. As we are somewhat trapped in our respected homes, I’ve been looking at old pictures from high school due to boredom. We try to live in the moment like most people should, but it’s always good to reflect on the past memories and how they have impacted us as individuals.

This past Tuesday, we talked about concepts of marriage and homosexuality. This blog will cover my opinion on the question of “what’s the definition of marriage” and my opinion on the short story “The Bridegroom.”

We had a question given to us about marriage by Dr. McGrath and what marriage symbolizes. To me, the meaning of marriage is about finding someone you love and living a life with that person. Some people tend to get married for the sake of getting married, or get married to help them have better socioeconomic benefits. However, I think getting married means growing as a person and learning more about yourself through a person who you love and loves you back. When talking with my small group in class, I remember hearing that getting married is a milestone in life, like it’s expected. I do agree about that in our culture, where people in their twenties have a few important goals-graduating, getting a job, getting married. Marriage is kind of expected for our society, but that doesn’t mean to get married just for the label of husband or wife. Marriage should be about actually loving someone who can make you a better person and someone you actually care about.

We also discussed about The Bridegroom, which focused on homosexuality. Even though the story takes place in the near 1980s, there were many themes that in my opinion, seem to take place in our current society. First of all, the uncle and the factory workers believe that homosexuality is some type of disease. This made me think of the Stonewall Riots in the late 1960s, which helped start the gay liberation movement because homosexuality wasn’t common back then. The people in this story were shocked about how Baowen and his wife haven’t had a child yet after being married for almost a year. The uncle was confused and mad at Baowen for marrying his niece after finiding out that he wasn’t attractive to her. “Homosexuality isn’t a disease, it’s just like being left-handed…” is a great quote because people can’t control their sexual preference, it just happens. This means we as a society shouldn’t judge people on their sexual preference, just like we shouldn’t judge people on their gender, race, religion, political stance, etc. Second of all, reading about how people think electric shock therapy can help seems ridiculous to me. When talking about conversion therapy in class, I felt bad for people who might have had to go through something like that. People shouldn’t change who they are in order to not be looked down upon from people. It’s just sad that people can except others that are apparently “different” from them. It was sad to read that Baowen didn’t want his mother to know the truth or his coworkers to know because he knew he would be treated differently. Just let people be who they are supposed to be, then most of these stupid problems in this world would just go away. This story overall was just sad to read.