by : Sharon Albert Reading-related (F19)

A Picture of Muhammad

On page 76-79 in Ernst, we learn that Muslims generally consider it inappropriate to depict Muhammad in picture form. Instead, some Muslims would hang artful papers with calligraphy describing the physical appearance of Muhammad from the way his face shines to his eloquent speech (page 77).

The descriptions I read in the book reminded me of a video I saw on YouTube where a Muslim teacher describes what it would be like to meet Muhammad. I discussed this video with my group, and how it is a different picture of devotion from what I would normally expect. If you are interested, it is embedded below. In your opinion, do you think words or pictures are more powerful when it comes to aiding religious devotion? And do you think the answer could vary depending on the person, religion, and/or culture? Lastly, what role, if any, do you think that Arabic plays into the conception of Islam’s religious artifacts?

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by : Sharon Albert REL227-Fall 2019

Muhammad and Justice

“For this philosopher, Muhammad provided a model for justice be treating everyone as he or she deserved, whether it meant appearing as a powerful leader or as a humble, ordinary person” (pg. 84 of Ernst).

According to the quote, based on what Muhammad did not treat everyone the same, but rather adjusted his actions to match the level of respect that he determined said person deserved. Thus, because Muhammad serves as a model for justice, that implies that each Muslim that listens to Muhammad’s teachings has the freedom to use their own judgement about how to treat people. What could the implications of such a policy be?

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by : Sharon Albert Reading-related (F19), REL227-Fall 2019

How Much Do YOU Think Politics Should Be Involved in Religion?

Last week in class, we briefly discussed political involvement within any religious group. In Ernst’s reading, there was a section about how the IRS decides how much money religious groups are given, and they also decide if some religious groups are actually legitimate or not. This completely surprised us because we never before realized what role politics plays in religion. This post will be more so opinionated, rather than factual, because we are interested to see if anyone agrees, disagrees, or can’t decide whether or not they side with the link below. The website gives statistics about what political topics people think religion should/ should not be affiliated with.

http://www.apnorc.org/projects/Pages/The-Role-of-Religion-in-Politics.aspx

In our own opinion, we were surprised at how many people think that we should have religion involvement in political matters. Anything political should not regard one’s own opinion, it should regard what is best for society itself. Religion does not benefit everyone since everyone has different religious beliefs.

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by : Sharon Albert Current Events (F19), REL227-Fall 2019, Uncategorized

Article found on Current Event- Rashida Tlaib

After reading this article, I really am starting to broaden my eyes to try and see through the eyes of an Islamic woman living in America. Since I took the class ‘Islam in America’ with professor Albert last semester, I already gained a great amount of knowledge of Islam in America, but it was hard to actually put the information we got into affect. This is about how a democratic women, Rashida Tlaib became the first Palestinian-american woman to serve in congress. Not only that, but when she had her swearing in ceremony she wore an intricately embroidered floor-length robe, that almost looked like a traditional Islamic dress. The best part is, she wanted to get it out to the world that Islamic women can do anything. She tweeted with the hashtag #Tweetyourthobe” so that women can be empowered to dress how they want and still be successful. The question that pops into my mind is, do you think it is positive or negative that this is a headline on the news? Should it just be normal that a muslim women reach their highest potential?

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/04/682110868/congresswoman-tlaib-inspires-palestinian-americans-with-a-dress-and-a-hashtag

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by : Sharon Albert Reading-related (F19)

Thoughts specifically after reading Ernst and discussing in class

Madi Palat

After learning that Ernst is actually not a follower of the Islamic faith from class discussions, it really gave me a new perspective and respect for Ernst himself. As a scholar and author, it seems that he tends to give readers the “factual” information about the religion, as well as put it into perspective for others who don’t practice themselves. For example, I thought it was interesting when he said “we have to understand the actors, the time, the place and the issues in order to avoid making serious mistakes.” (Ernst 38). This specifically reminded me of when people refer to things they see on the news and just automatically categorize a certain “type” of people in a negative way without any background information about them at all. I think Ernst is trying to highlight that even people, and scholars like himself that don’t specifically follow a practice can still gain insight and knowledge about something or some “type” of people to knowledgeably generate their own thoughts and beliefs. For the class-Do you guys know of any instances where this commonly happens? Or to a certain “type” of people?

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by : salbert@muhlenberg.edu CSf19

Getting at the Important Questions from the Start

Great Islamic Traditions class session today! We were still doing some getting to know each other and hadn’t even really started looking at the reading when students started asking some questions that will be crucial for our work this semester. Who gets to talk about Muslims and Islam? What does it mean for us–non-Muslims and Muslims–to study Islam and Muslims from an “outsider” perspective? How do we ensure that we have access to Muslim perspectives (note the plural!) on Islam while still maintaining as best we can an academic objectivity?

At the same time, as we recognize the diversity in Islam and among Muslims, where do we draw our boundaries, form our definitions, so that we can actually get anywhere and make sense of anything? We need to define what we are going to study at least for ourselves.

We’ll spend a bit more time at the start of next week thinking through some of the big issues that surround studying Islam as a religion. Then we’ll dive into the details a bit more closely, but we’ll keep these broader questions in closer few as we do so. Looking forward to some great explorations!

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by : Sharon Albert Reading-related (F19)

Postmodernism and the “Diehard Fanatics”

In the last paragraph on page 44, Ernst seems to present two extremes… either a religious Muslim or Christian accepts the legitimacy of beliefs contrary to his or her own, or he or she is one of the “diehard fanatics” intent on “suppressing or eliminating everyone who holds a different view.”

In your opinion, is the author correct in assuming that the “postmodern approach” is the only other option to fanaticism and bigotry? Is it inherently intolerant for a Muslim, Christian, or other religious person to assert his or her beliefs and actions are the only correct ones? And is it possible for people of different religions to hold to fundamentalist beliefs and still have a respectful discussion, even with the intent of converting the other?

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