Note: If you're looking for the service assignment, look one entry down from this one.
Due: 11/30 (Monday, BY NOON)
We'll discuss your responses in class on 12/ 1, Tuesday.
UC 160.12 - blog assignment for our “Venture
Outside Our Comfort Zone” – visit to the Noor Islamic Cultural Center (Mosque)
in Columbus:
Three Important Questions for You to
Write Your Responses (stress one of the three):
1. 1. Before
your visit to Noor, what were some of your personal attitudes, understandings, and
feelings about Muslims, Islam, Mosques? Were any of your thoughts confirmed by
your visit to Noor; were any of your thoughts changed or refuted by your visit
to Noor?
2. 2. Before
your visit to Noor, were you comfortable with the thought of visiting a Mosque?
How did your experience at the Mosque compare with your feelings before your
went? Did anything at the Mosque surprise you; challenge you; make you feel
even more uncomfortable; make you feel more comfortable?
3. 3. Imagine
you are telling a family member or a friend back home about your experiences at
Ohio Wesleyan so far. You start telling them about our visit to the Mosque, and
they stop you to express their concerns about Muslims. How would you respond?
My own impression was how normal everything seemed. I've been to a lot of churches and cultural centers giving astronomy talks, and the kids seemed like kids at all of them. Those who oppose Islam like to paint places like this as training grounds for terrorists. As the kids chased around with their plates of pizza and french fries, they seemed just like every kid I've ever met.
ReplyDeleteThe treatment of women is more problematic. The isolation of the genders into separate prayer groups struck me as a problem. But then I remembered old Hiram Perkins. We used to have separate men's and women's colleges, as you probably know. When OWU was deciding to mix the sexes on campus and become truly co-educational, one lone voice spoke up against the mixture of the sexes because it would not be conducive to concentration on their studies. That person was Hiram Perkins. Of course, he was right, but it's hard to keep the genders from thinking about each other, more so when they are separated by fiat. We want most what a culture says we cannot have.
I also thought the head covering argument was clever -- but ultimately invalid. The groups he showed images of are throwbacks and generally isolated from the world culture. (The argument seemed to be, if the Amish do it, then so can we.) Besides, a lot of groups have abandoned the head covering. Nuns in most parts of the world do not wear habits. Most Christian churches do not require women to cover their heads, right?
Some aspects of Islam do seem stuck in the Middle Ages, but that might be more of a cultural matter than anything. I noted that when my family was in Egypt, many women made only pro-forma attempts to cover their hair in public, and they were not assailed publicly. On the other hand, my daughter, who is a devout Feminist, decided to follow the custom of covering her hair and body. I can't remember when she and I have been treated so well. People stopped us on the street to compliment us. She was given small gifts in shops (through me -- they wouldn't have offered them to her directly). We were offered tea everywhere we went, even in the shops. In the end, they respected my daughter so much because she respected the culture, and there's something to be said for that, even if you don't much like some aspect of it.
Added later: In other words, we went outside our comfort zone, but decided the best way to do that was to respect and honor those aspects of the culture that were the most outside our comfort zone. We were amply rewarded for the effort. People could see that we were outside, and made every effort to make us feel comfortable.
Delete1. Before I visited to Noor, Muslims, Islam, and Mosques are the essential components of the world culture. Even though there are some Muslims living in my hometown, I seldom had opportunities to talk to them or walk into Mosques. It is still pretty hard for me to understand their belief. But by visiting Noor, I could learn to respect another religion and understand how diversity of culture builds our world.
ReplyDelete2. Before I visited to Noor, I felt excited about the trip because I had never visited a Mosque. Something surprised me was that Muslims in American had their Mosques and they obeyed the rules or principles as Muslims every day. Even though we have Muslims in my hometown city, I did not find any Mosques. So Islam is a small part of religion in my hometown.
3. Indeed, some Muslim countries are not in a peaceful state. I would like to attempt to explain the real Islam to them objectively. Each religion has its own uniqueness and value. Because there is no right or wrong about the religion itself. Besides, I do not think most of my relatives or friends will stop me to express their concern about Muslims.
Dear UC 160 Colleagues: These are the questions I will be using for our discussion today. Please be prepared to fill out this form, and to share your perspectives orally! See you at 3:00 p.m. - Jon
ReplyDeleteUC 160 – Section 12 – Class Discussion/Review
“Your Venture Beyond Your Comfort Zone"
Your Name________________________________
Your Venture (Noor Mosque, Diwali Celebration, other?) ____________________________________________
1. Before your experience with a new and different cultural or religious event, what were some of your personal attitudes, understandings, and feelings about that culture or religion? Were any of your thoughts confirmed by your new experience; were any of your thoughts changed or refuted by your new experience?
2. Before your new experience, were you comfortable with the thought of visiting this location or event? How did your experience compare with your feelings before your went? Did anything at the event surprise you; challenge you; make you feel even more uncomfortable; make you feel more comfortable?
3. Imagine you are telling a family member or a friend back home about your experiences at Ohio Wesleyan so far. You start telling them about your venture beyond your comfort zone, and they stop you to express their concerns about that culture or that religion. How would you respond?
Dear UC 160 Colleagues: These are the questions I will be using for our discussion today. Please be prepared to fill out this form, and to share your perspectives orally! See you at 3:00 p.m. - Jon
ReplyDeleteUC 160 – Section 12 – Class Discussion/Review
“Your Venture Beyond Your Comfort Zone"
Your Name________________________________
Your Venture (Noor Mosque, Diwali Celebration, other?) ____________________________________________
1. Before your experience with a new and different cultural or religious event, what were some of your personal attitudes, understandings, and feelings about that culture or religion? Were any of your thoughts confirmed by your new experience; were any of your thoughts changed or refuted by your new experience?
2. Before your new experience, were you comfortable with the thought of visiting this location or event? How did your experience compare with your feelings before your went? Did anything at the event surprise you; challenge you; make you feel even more uncomfortable; make you feel more comfortable?
3. Imagine you are telling a family member or a friend back home about your experiences at Ohio Wesleyan so far. You start telling them about your venture beyond your comfort zone, and they stop you to express their concerns about that culture or that religion. How would you respond?
Before I visited Noor I did not really know what to expect. I honestly did not have too much understanding of the Muslim religion other than the basic information I learned in my history classes in high school. I did not have any negative feelings or anything of the sort toward Muslims or the Islamic. Personally I have always kept the mantra that if you are nice to me, I will be nice to you. I feel like, although religion and race is often a big part of someone’s life, they are not necessarily the only defining characteristics. By visiting Noor I had my pervious knowledge of the Muslim religion confirmed and expanded upon. Everyone I met there was incredibly nice as well, reconfirming my life mantra that if you are nice to me, I will be nice to you.
ReplyDeleteBefore I visited Noor I would not say I was uncomfortable. I honestly just felt bad that all I had to wear were jeans. I found myself wishing I had other clothing that was usually worn my women in mosques is my only thing. However, theses feeling were erased once I realized how nice and accommodating everyone at the mosque was. It was a really pleasant experience as I discovered more about the Muslim religion. How they treated me made me feel more comfortable being at the mosque. They did not care that I was wearing jeans, they were still willing to share their religion with me.
If a family member or friend from back home stopped me to tell me their concerns about Muslims, I would return the favor and stop them in their tracks. I think it is disgusting how easily people turn against someone just because of their religious affiliation. Like I mentioned earlier, everyone at the mosque was incredibly nice. They were so willing to show us their lifestyle while so many people shun them for their style. Especially in current events Muslims are given a really bad reputation. But it’s hard for to not go back and look at the KKK, a Christian group that caused much pain and committed a lot of terrorist acts right here in America. It frustrates me that people associate Muslim religion with bad things while Christians just happen to mention their own dark times. It’s just like how America condemned Germany for concentration camps yet turned around and put many Asians in internment camps. I think people see their way as the right and only way. Well those kind of people need to get off their high horses and get some sense talked into them. There are extremists in every type of religion or country and people really need to recognize this. So, basically, if someone were to tell me about the so called “dangers” of Muslims I would really have to evaluate my friendship or relationship with them. I would suggest as well that they go and experience a mosque for themselves. Maybe than they could have their eyes opened to what kind and caring people they are.
From Maddie Lancaster:
ReplyDeleteBefore I visited Noor I did not really know what to expect. I honestly did not have too much understanding of the Muslim religion other than the basic information I learned in my history classes in high school. I did not have any negative feelings or anything of the sort toward Muslims or the Islamic. Personally I have always kept the mantra that if you are nice to me, I will be nice to you. I feel like, although religion and race is often a big part of someone’s life, they are not necessarily the only defining characteristics. By visiting Noor I had my pervious knowledge of the Muslim religion confirmed and expanded upon. Everyone I met there was incredibly nice as well, reconfirming my life mantra that if you are nice to me, I will be nice to you.
Before I visited Noor I would not say I was uncomfortable. I honestly just felt bad that all I had to wear were jeans. I found myself wishing I had other clothing that was usually worn my women in mosques is my only thing. However, theses feeling were erased once I realized how nice and accommodating everyone at the mosque was. It was a really pleasant experience as I discovered more about the Muslim religion. How they treated me made me feel more comfortable being at the mosque. They did not care that I was wearing jeans, they were still willing to share their religion with me.
If a family member or friend from back home stopped me to tell me their concerns about Muslims, I would return the favor and stop them in their tracks. I think it is disgusting how easily people turn against someone just because of their religious affiliation. Like I mentioned earlier, everyone at the mosque was incredibly nice. They were so willing to show us their lifestyle while so many people shun them for their style. Especially in current events Muslims are given a really bad reputation. But it’s hard for to not go back and look at the KKK, a Christian group that caused much pain and committed a lot of terrorist acts right here in America. It frustrates me that people associate Muslim religion with bad things while Christians just happen to mention their own dark times. It’s just like how America condemned Germany for concentration camps yet turned around and put many Asians in internment camps. I think people see their way as the right and only way. Well those kind of people need to get off their high horses and get some sense talked into them. There are extremists in every type of religion or country and people really need to recognize this. So, basically, if someone were to tell me about the so called “dangers” of Muslims I would really have to evaluate my friendship or relationship with them. I would suggest as well that they go and experience a mosque for themselves. Maybe than they could have their eyes opened to what kind and caring people they are.
Excellent, comments, Maddie!
DeleteBefore I went to the hebrew temple. I had no idea what the jewish religion was like. Many of my friends were jewish but they had never told me anything more than bat and bar mitzvahs and summer camp. Even with this, I had to preconceptions about it. Since I didn't have any expectations or specific attitudes towards the temple it was hard for anything to change. I was just excited to see the differences between christianity and judaism.
ReplyDeleteBefore I visited the temple I felt very comfortable with the idea. I think a lot of this was due to the fact that many of my friends were jewish. The only thing that made me feel slightly uncomfortable is that the religion is different than christianity. I grew up christian so it was uneasy to hear their opinions.
Many of my friends are very strong christians so this wouldn't be too much of an unusual conversation. I think I would just express that its important to learn about other cultures and religions. Its a part of being a citizen of a diverse world.
I had some knowledge about the religion of Islam. There are a lot of similarities between Christianity and Islam. A couple are the belief of one God, God prophets, Holy Books and Judgment day. These are a few that most people would know. A Muslim is a person who follows the religion of Islam. And a Mosque is similar to a church, the main difference is that they are used by members of different faiths. I could have imagined everything about the Mosque pretty well.
ReplyDeleteBefore I visited the Mosque, I was comfortable to visit it. I have an open mind to most things, and I know most Muslims are welcoming. My feelings before and after the visit were pretty much the same. Nothing really surprised me. I felt kind of the same positive environment between a Christian church and the Mosque. I was comfortable the whole time. I did feel out of place that doesn’t mean I was not welcomed. We are all the same and we are trying to find a purpose in life.
If I were to tell anyone back home about the visit I had to the Mosque, they would not say anything negative and listen to what I have to say. The people I communicate with are not ignorant so they would hear me out, especially since I always have something interesting to say. I am still Christian and that will not change.
I had never been to a Catholic mass before and for me it was very interesting. A lot of my friends from home are Catholic and attend mass often but since I never have, my friend was very surprised when I asked him if it was okay if I went with him. The first thing that I noticed was how each person there was dressed nicely and how there were people at the door who greeted very person that walked in. I was very interested in how a lot of people got there early to socialize with other people from the church that they only saw on Sundays. When the mass started and everybody was standing, I felt awkward because I didn't know the prayer that everybody was doing and then I also felt out of place when they got up t eat the bread and wine. I felt think the whole service was a learning experience for me and when my parents asked me about it I described it as something that i was interested to look more into. I think that my trip to church might not have been the most crazy thing I could have done but it was out of my comfort zone and I felt that I learned a lot about their religion that I would never have known.
ReplyDelete