Author: Seamus Donahue

Today in class when we were discussing the Islamic Society of North America it really got me thinking about my experience of different Muslim communities. As I am from Plainfield, Indiana I know a fair amount about the Islamic Society of North America and I drive by it almost every time that I’m out and about. I’ve visited at least once and I know several people from my high school who were Muslim and commonly attended the prayer services held there. However, Plainfield is a prominently white suburban area and I think this definitely influences the types of families that attend there. Many of the Muslim families in Plainfield are upper class and even though they’re Muslim, they’re still very similar to many of the conservative Christians in Plainfield. However, this is completely different from the Al-Fajr mosque where I volunteer for my ICR. As this is a lower income area the type of people who attend are much different from the Muslims in Plainfield. The people at all Al-Fajr are all very friendly and welcoming and they’re very humble. This is a bit different from Plainfield where the Muslims act more like a typical christian. However, both areas also have their similarities. Both are very tightly woven communities and it seems like everybody knows each other. I think it’s important to realize that most Muslim communities have their differences, but many of them also have their fundamental similarities.

Even though my ICR is through the Al-Fajr Muslim Center, I’ve noticed plenty of similarities to the current unit on China. I think that a lot of the readings that we’ve been doing for class have had a big focus on cultural differences and focus a lot on people experiencing and adapting to these cultural differences. As I was born and raised in Plainfield, Indiana, I obviously haven’t had many opportunities to experience other cultures. However, within Al-Fajr not only do I get to experience the overall differences of the Muslim community, but I  even get to experience differences within the Muslim community itself. Over my past several visits to Al-Fajr I’ve gotten to attend multiple prayer services, meet lots of new people, and be able to help and connect with the community. I’ve met older more traditional Muslims, and I’ve met younger more liberal Muslims who have all had different ideas and experiences to share with me. It’s been a great experience so far, but it was still a big culture shock at first and I think this where it relates to a lot of the Ha Jin readings. In many of his stories the characters are experiencing cultural differences, whether it is in or out of China. They all have to adapt to these new cultures and I think that’s what I’ve been doing during my time volunteering. I’m excited to start the unit on Islam as I think it will only enrich my experience and help me get more out of it.

After reading An Official Reply, I noticed that there were some similarities between learning a foreign language in China and learning a foreign language here in the U.S. I think that the throughout Zhao’s letter we can see that he goes through a lot of similar problems that any normal American college student would go through while trying to learn a foreign language, and Professor Fang reminds me of some of my own foreign language teacher throughout the years, although strictly in the sense of teaching style. Seeing Zhao instantly be discouraged and want to give up on learning English is something that I think a lot of people learning a foreign language might go through. I can relate to this as when I initially started taking German I was overwhelmed by how the workload looked. However, much With Zhao and his professor there was positive encouragement to help him along the way. Like Fang said no one really has a natural talent for foreign languages, but you learn them through hard work and endurance. I also noticed another similarity closer to the end of the story during Fang’s lecture in the U.S. After Fang’s lecture when Zhao and the other colleague where taking questions from the audience his English became noticeably worse and he struggled to understand and respond to the questions. I also experience this problem during my German oral assignments. I might think I’m fully prepared but trying to comprehend and respond on the spot makes things a lot more difficult. Although there were many other cultural differences in this story I though it was neat to be able to pick up this similarity between how people learn and struggle to learn foreign languages.

After reading the short story Flame, and the discussions we had in class and in our small groups I think one thing in particular stood out to me. Out of all the points and themes in this story I thought the relationship between Nimei and her mother, and the cultural contrast between the relationship with most Americans and their parents really caught my attention. With Nimei clearly choosing obedience to her parents over the man she was in love with, it was obvious where her priories lied. Even though she came to regret her choice later, at the time I think she was confident in her choice and in her loyalty to her mother, and even in a way to her town. However, I think that situation would have played out a lot differently if it were happening to an American family, and it also made me question what I would do in that situation. Although I think it is normally an important American value to respect and honor your parents, it’s definitely not as important as it is in Chinese society. In most cases in the U.S. people marry completely based off of love, or maybe some economic reasons in different cases. And although that makes the choice sound completely independent, I think our parents still play a large role in who we marry. After all they raised us for years, and we all most likely share some of their preferences and they strongly effect most decisions we make. So  at a first glance I thought that this was a very strong cultural difference, but reflecting on it further I really think Chinese and American culture aren’t all too different in this aspect.

When going through the poems on pages 40 through 80 I think that this one stuck out to me the most, and I thought it had some very interesting relations to the government and the state of our nation today. I thought that the first half of the poem especially stood out. The poem is a very simple one, but I think its very important one for people to read. It starts being giving good traits that certain people should strive to have. It says the accomplished person is not aggressive, the god soldier is not hot tempered, the best conqueror does not engage the enemy, the most effective leader takes the lowest place. I think that this is a great couple of lines for anyone in a position of authority to read. This especially relates to many of the actions taking place throughout our government and different positions of authority. I think that the good soldier can be taken into consideration not just be soldiers, but especially by most police. Obviously the most effective leader needs to be seen by most people in government, but I think its a good mind set for anyone to have. All of these relate a lot to the question posed in class today on whether Confucianism or Taoism is more relevant today, as I think a lot of the passages in this book are still very much relatable today.