Objective 1.2
What
is the focus of the article?
The
focus of the article is to explain the importance of the Hijab and what women
think of wearing the veil. Also, why some women wear it and why some
don't; and how they felt different once they stopped wearing the veil.
What
are the women's general thoughts and feelings on the Hijab?
Some
quotes from women on their opinion that show how not all women are accepting of
it are, "She says that Islam teaches modesty — but wearing the hijab is
taking it a step too far.” "I've done my research, and I don't feel its
foundation is from Islam," she says. "I think it comes from Arab
culture." Women that wear the Hijab think that it is mechanical and a
little over-the-top when it comes to concealment.
Objective 1.3
To what extent do rules on dress reflect on or inform
communal identity?
Islam has strong requirement and rules to as how individuals should dress for
both the male and female sex. In Islam the
dress code is taught to help guide Muslims through a spiritual and modest life
style. On the Contrary, in modern Islam, the specifics of the dress code have
become more focused towards women in order to deter the eyes of men and promote
modesty for women.
Certain types of clothing such as the Hijab and the full body black robes worn
by Muslim women create a type communal identity not only for women, but also
for outside societies. In today’s world, women are creating differing opinions
about whether or not they should wear these types of clothing. Some women in
Islam are feeling that the dress code requirements that are almost mandatory
for them are being to strictly enforced by their surrounding community rather
than the women feeling enforced by their religion to follow the dress code. Many
women are beginning to question whether they need to dress to code when it is
not a direct rule from their religion but more enforced by the people
surrounding them. One major cause pushing women to wear things like the Hijab
is the fear of not being accepted by their community around them.
Also, the rules on dress in Islam for women are designed to reflect the modesty
of women and hide their femininity of their body. However this has actually
made many women feel as though the traditional dress has not shown their
modesty. The modesty that is to be shown by wearing the long, black robes have
been altered by the looks many women receive in the western world as many
people view the Islamic dress code as abnormal, creating a bad stereotype on
the women that follow it.
This
has lead to not creating a communal identity for the whole religion of Islam.
The Islamic dress code does help create communal identity within heavily Muslim
populated areas. This is because the majority of women in these areas do follow
the dress code. However many women in these non heavily Muslim populated areas
do not follow the dress code, which shows how there is not a communal identity
within the whole religion, which is not necessarily a bad thing because
religions have to evolve along with the world and society.
Objective 1.4
Part 1: Origins
·
1.3 million Muslims are Shia
·
Shia are minority
·
Concentrated in Iran and southern Iraq
·
Oil in Iraq and Iran
·
Shiites are dominant over the oil
·
The split occurred after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in
the year 632
·
Shia believed that leadership should stay within the family of
the prophet
·
Sunnis believed that leadership should fall to the person who
was deemed by the elite of the community
·
Shia call their leaders imam with Ali being the first and
Hussein the third
·
Sunnis believe that some of the Shia are attributing divine
qualities to the imams, and this is a great sin because it is associating human
beings with the divinity
·
Shiites are looking for the coming of the Messiah.
Part 2: Mideast Turmoil/Rise of Shiites
·
Shiites of Iraq and Lebanon were ruled by Sunni Ottoman sultans.
·
The Shiites of Arabia were under the authority of Sunni tribal
leaders.
·
Pahlavi changed the name of the state to Iran and set about
creating a secular government, much to the dismay of some of the Shiite clergy.
·
Khomeini's revolution had a powerful influence in Lebanon
·
The powerful influence came after Israel mounted an invasion in
1982 to eliminate Lebanon as a base for guerilla attacks on the Liberation
group of Palestine
·
Most Sunni rejected the Iranian revolution as a model for their
own societies
Part 3: Sunni Reaction
·
The minority branch of Islam known as Shi'ism first became
widely known in the U.S. and established the modern world's first Islamic
State.
·
The revolutionaries
believed they could export their Islamic revolution throughout the Middle East
and beyond.
·
They encountered resistance from the Arab states led by Sunnis
·
Sunni is Islam's majority branch
·
Resistance between Sunni and Shi’ism would be both subtle and
violent
·
Their objective was to overthrow of secular governments and
establishments of Islamic states,
·
Were highly against Shi'ism.
·
President Ronald Reagan sent U.S. troops to Lebanon as part of a
peacekeeping force
·
President Reagan soon reversed himself and pulled U.S. troops
out of Lebanon, leaving the divided nation to another six years of war
·
The invasion of Iraq in 2003 unleashed forces of Muslim sectarianism
unseen in the Middle East
Part 4: Iraq War Deepens the Divide
·
The United States invasion of Iraq began on March 20th, 2003.
·
Thought the war would be over quickly, and that Iraq would
return to peace
·
The U.S. claimed that Iran was responsible for much of the
violence in Iraq
·
Shiite clerics led movements, advocating parliamentary rule and
just governance in the Middle East
·
Clerics took the lead because there's hardly any form of secular
civil society in the country today that can act as the nucleus of an Iraqi
political system
·
Shiite clerics in Iraq worked hard to pursue their own model of
government
·
Shia never governed a modern Arab state.
·
They were in control in Persian Iran, but the Sunnis led most
Arab states in the Middle East
Part 5: US Policies and the Shia-Sunni Conflict
·
The sectarian conflict between Shia and Sunni deepened
·
U.S. aims changed as conflict deepened
·
U.S. view of some Shiite forces in the Middle East is overtly
hostile
Objective 1.5
Sufi
Islam is more the mystical sect of Islam. Many Sufi's believe that Sufism is
full of "good" Muslims. Its literal meaning is the journey of the
slave to the king. A Sufi is someone who is a traveler on "the" path.
While they appear to be walking on the ground, they are actually walking on the
land of their heart and making a journey through their heart. Most Sufi's do
not believe that life ends in death. Some say that Sufism has no real
connection to Islam.
Objective 1.6
Salafism
is an ideology that suggests that Islam has strayed from its roots. Salafists
call for the restoration of authentic Islam as expressed by an adherence to its
original teachings and texts. Salafists who embrace the jihad, felt that
violence and terrorism were justified to realize their political objectives.
The origins of Salafi jhadism can be traced to the Muslims Brotherhood, a
seminal organization for Islamic terrorism. It was founded in Egypt in 1928 and
had the goal of creating an Islamic state. Many Salafists blame Judaism and
Christianity for Muslims losing their way because they believe that these
religion themselves have strayed form God's true path. Believers may deviate
form strict Muslim practices in order to blend in and avoid detection while plotting
attacks.
Objective 1.7
To what extent do all sects within Islam have ideals linked
to the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet Mohammad and how are they similar
and different?
Objective 1.8
1.
Hadd crimes are: Unlawful sexual intercourse, false accusation of
unlawful sexual intercourse, wine drinking, theft, and highway robbery.
The punishments for these crimes are: flogging, stoning, amputation,
exile, or execution-punishments get significant media attention when they
occur.
2.
Criminal law is the most controversial because Sharial law is different
than criminal law which can cause conflict.
3.
Vigilante Justice still occurs even if it is not recorded. However,
the problem is the families will honor kill the family member who brings
dishonor to the family, without letting the law handle the problem.
4.
Sharia law is the older traditions based on the Quran that describe
punishment of unlawful actions. Secularism is the laws that are deemed suitable from the
eyes of a westerner. The discussion in the article is whether or not these two
opposing viewpoints can coexist.
5.
Sharia was incorporated into three different political systems. The
systems are: Dual Legal System, Government under God, and
Completely secular. In a Dual Legal System muslims can choose if
they want to follow the rules of secularism or sharia. In Government
under God, in countries where Islam is the official religion, sharia is
declared to be a source, or the source of the laws. In a Completely
Secular brach, Muslim countries where the government is declared to be secular
in the constitution have islamic parties that run for office, and occasionally
Sharia influences some local customs.
6.
I do not believe that sharia and democracy can coexist, because they two
have extremely different views and if a compromise was needed than it would no
longer be considered democracy or sharia.
7.
Sharia has a large impact on modern economics, esoecially in the
banking industry. Sharia law impacts who and what you can get loans for.
