POST 1

Chapter three, pp. 82-94.

• In this chapter, Atta goes on Hajj. Tell me about that. what is it and what is its significance? What is the Kaaba?
• What can you tell me about pilgrimage in the Christian faith? How does it compare?
• Respond to the chapter in your own way. What do you think the author is telling you?

I’ve been swamped with finals and my work load has tripled due to classes being online… and because I always went to class and actually listened and participated, and never gave you sass (LOL)… I think I should be exempt from this final blog. I really appreciate you as a professor, our conversations in class were actually interesting and meaningful. In high school my writing was never opinionated… my teachers never asked me for my opinion or how i felt. This was the first writing class where I was able to actually write on topics that i found interest in and how topics made me feel. Thank you Prof Black! Stay safe and healthy

POST 1

There is a major debate over this question, is islam a peaceful religion? I want to say that all religions or practices of faith should and come from a place of peace and love for self growth. Islam is the fastest growing religion, so I would think one would choose Islam, not for it’s “violence” but rather for the practice. There is so much debate around this question, in that a lot of what we hear about this religion are the reporting of attacks and terrorist moves that are called in the name of Islam. It is only 7% of muslims who identify as radical extremest. It is this minority that has put a face of violence of for the entirety of Islam. In class we had talked about how the face of this religion is brown, and in our society today there is a stigma for brownness to be associated with violence.

POST 2

Again with the question of whether or not Christianity is a peaceful religion, my answer stays the same… that I believe all religions are based off a place of good heart and are used and practice to improve and self grow. That being said, I was raised in faith o the catholic church. I can say growing up I took a little more time with my faith, mainly because I had no choice as I was always “dragged” to Sunday mass. Now having grown since then I really do appreciate my parents raising us me in faith. My parents gave us the liberty of whether or not we wanted to continue our faith. They had ingrained in us that whether or not our faith was with he Catholic Church or just self reflection, it was important for us to find selflessness in something other than ourselves. that being said I feel as though these two questions trying to instigate and bring out an argument of what is the more peaceful religion. There have been happenings you know like the Crusades, and the molestation scandals to prove this argument otherwise. But like I said in my answer to whether or not Islam is a peaceful religion, that we cannot allow things like this become the face of a religion. putting judgement and stereotyping the entirety of a religion like that does not make one more or less peaceful.

POST 3

“After I broke the news f the coalition air strikes on twitter, I woke to the eyeballs of the world. My Twitter feed exploded. A thousand war junkies had followed me, but this now allowed upwards tenfold, it swelled, bloated, soared. The Americans wished my safety. Their country bombed mine, and here they were, showing concerned more readily than my own people, who were asleep. What irony, I thought…I wasn’t what they wanted, so soon enough, my followers started to flee. They had expected a Brave Activist— ISIS bad! Very bad!—the sort of boy you could feed some freedom-speak and parade on the conference scene. A Hero from this Terrible War. (179-180)

This passage shows Marwan’s growing social media presence . He notes the irony of how the Americans wished him safety while they were the ones bombing them. He became popular with major newspaper companies started following him, however he started to lose his follower-ship as he wasn’t “the brave activist.” I think it is also interesting how much “drama and action” people are looking for. Like war is a big deal and weather or not your constantly being bombed. Personally, as someone who has not experienced a war first hand, it is through history lessons, news articles, and books such as these where I hear and learn about war. I am able to relate to this disconnect the “Americans” have, as they too do not understand what war is truly like. I feel as though I differ in that I do not expect war to be “dramatic or action filled” because I do understand that it is a very scary and surreal thing for those in Syria, and other places of conflict. I think this passage and this chapter is important in that it shows how powerful social media can be, under ISIS rule it was hard for people to speak their minds without being punished but social media gave Marwan a voice. In this passage he realizes that he need to tell his story. This passage almost makes me feel proud of him because I feel like for a lot of the book he would always talks about the people in Raqqa weren’t doing anything while he wasn’t either but now he’s found his purpose he’s is actually able to use what he enjoys doing with purpose, you know writing and storytelling and the internet. I feel like we for people our age social media obviously plays a huge part in our life as at least for me from social media is where I primarily get my news. This also leads me to think about the importance on how reliable our news sources are. A research gateway of the the importance of social media during war time and how media can shape and or reshape conflicts and how social media is its own “battlefield.”

POST 1

Yemen is and has been experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet. For the last five years the Yemen has been experiencing war between two local groups within the country. The war began with the former president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh. It was during the Arab Spring of 2011 where the Yemenis decided to rise up against him. They were able to get him out of power, and it was the vice president Abd-Rabby Moansour Hadi who took power. Saudi Arabia is the home to a group of countries called the Gulf of Cooperation Council. With the riots against Sahleh and this cooperation, Saleh was forced out of power. Even after the power change Yemen was still struggling, so a Shia Muslim minority group, the Houthis rebelled against the government. Saleh’s group and the Houthis were excluded from the Cooperation new government system, so they joined forces and took over the capital of Sanaa. At the hearing of this Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia, and then a coalition of countries around the area tried to return him back home to power. There became an intervention where there were many air strikes attacking Yemen’s innocent civilians in hospitals and cities. The Saudi-Coalition implemented an aid block around Yemen, making nearly impossible for aid and resources to come into the country. The Suadi- Houthis alliance broke in 2017 and however still control Sannaa. Some think it is because they have aid from Iran, who maybe supplying them with weapons.

After researching this issue, I’m just wondering what the solution to solving a humanitarian issue, especially when there are boarder blocks that do not even allow supplies and help to enter. How has or has the US even tried to help aid or come up with solutions?

For my research about the humanitarian C=crisis in Yemen, I used a YouTube video produced by a new source Al Jazeera, owed by the state of Qatar. I did some research on this news source and by the records of source Al Jazeera has grown to be the most dominant news channel that covers “the developing world” (Campbell). There is controversy on this source as another source questions whether “Al Jazeera simply presents the news from a different perspective, or is it a mouthpiece for anti-American propaganda?” (Maass).

Campbell, Deborah. “The Most Trusted Name in News?” Utne, Ogden Publications, Inc, 2010, http://www.utne.com/media/al-jazeera-most-trusted-name-in-news.

Maass, Harold. “Is Al Jazeera a Legitimate News Channel?” Image, The Week, 3 Jan. 2013, theweek.com/articles/469049/al-jazeera-legitimate-news-channel.

Salam, Mohammad, director. Why Is Yemen at War? . Al Jazeera, Taswer Media, 3 Nov. 2019, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJzSwOQMPrI.

POST 2

I did not realize how heavily perpetuated this idea of the bad Arab was in cinema. I understood that in the news and media they are always targeted with this identity however you would think that there would be variation to how these people are depicted and characterized. if you look at race in Hollywood, it is most seen that a white actress or actor would play the common person, protagonist or antagonist, and still seen however not as well represented with Asian American and black actors. This movie showed how with Arab people they are ALWAYS villianized. This idea of their identity is presented to children in movies like Aladdin, a move that depicts these types of people as violent and barbaric. I feel like positive Arab representation is a goal that should not be tough to achieve. However I feel the major challenge maybe to start the conversation. It is hard when the entertainment business is motivated by money. A step towards the right direction would be to break this mold to young children, breaking this cycle and this ongoing system of stereotypes.

POST 3

It’s no doubt that coffee is one of the most favored drinks, out of consensus of my friends and family. For me, it has always been a thing that was you know, “just there.” I know the reason in its popularity, is the need for caffeine.

What is so good about caffeine? Caffeine is a stimulant and in its properties helps our human body to stay awake. Caffeine acts in “preventing the body’s natural ability to be able to rest when it is tired” (Merritt).

I have never been one to drink coffee like most; one of the reasons being was that as standing only 5’2 my mom told me that if I ever drank coffee I would stop growing. It was my 13 year old self, aspiring to play volleyball in college would never consume coffee.

Turns out mom was wrong. There is no evidence that the consumption of coffee will stunt one’s growth. The origins of this myth in unknown, however there have been studies that caffeine has been linked with the reduction of calcium absorption, calcium being an element necessary for strong bones and health. This had caught the attention of many however, this is counteracted by the milk used for creamer in coffee (Van de Walle).

Merritt, Thomas. “The Biology of Coffee, One of the World’s Most Popular Drinks.” The Conversation, Canada Research Chair, 27 Jan. 2020, theconversation.com/the-biology-of-coffee-one-of-the-worlds-most-popular-drinks-129179.

Van de Walle, Gavin. “Does Coffee Really Stunt Your Growth.” Healthline, 31 May 2018, http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/does-coffee-stunt-growth#beneficial-components.

POST 1

This video reports the ban in France for bikinis made for Muslim women, the burkini. The French government has responded to the feedback of this ban in saying that the burkini does not align with the ideas of the French Republic of societal _ , as this type fashion is considered an act of religious extremists which could induce terrorism.

Honestly this ban almost seem hypocritical. The French Republic stands “for social unity” however this ban affects and singles out Muslim women. I feel as though, going beyond just Muslim women, women of any kind of race would always be criticized for more being modest enough, however there is a law allowing for nudity at the beaches, but now are banning Muslim women from covering up and being modest for their religion?

POST 2

This passage starts with a quote from the British general George Macdonugh, as he talks about dividing the goods of a kill even before the object has been killed. The passage I chose was the first few pages of the chapter, as it opens with Lawrence receiving news of the passing of his brother due to battle. The passage then diverts into talk about the chaos of the war and updates over the battles that have happened. Lawrence notes how in the midst of all the chaos and the seen lack of progress, Lawrence still seemed to have hope for Arabia. Because of all the chaos and horror of the war, the idea of the war being all worth it becomes a question, in the aftermath of the loss. Looking at whether or the benefits and the outcomes of the war are positive and worth the death and destruction in order to prevent conflicting countries from fighting a pointless war. I found this interesting because this philosophy for deciding whether a war will be worth fighting for is tough to gage, in that there will be no guarantees for success. Also in that the idea of success is subjective, as in the war could be fought and be pronounced a victory, but the aftermath of the war could be just as damaging as the war itself, whether it be the loss of lives, major city and state destruction, or economic issues.

POST 3

This year’s common text’s main idea is centered around race and the strategies and approaches to how we should talk about this sensitive topic. Despite how “touchy” and difficult this subject may be to talk about, Ijeoma Oluo wants the reader to push their boundaries and comfort level in order to have productive and purposeful conversations. This book is helpful and useful as we have conversations in this class, but in a boarder sense life, as we need to learn how to speak respectfully and knowledgeably about race. The ideas introduced in the book align well with the class philosophy, both trying to help us understand the importance of respect and reflection when discussing and writing about these issues and topics in an academic space.

POST 1

1. My name is Alison Nguyen, but I go by Ali. I use she/her/hers pronouns. I grew up in Bellevue, Washington my whole life. For high school, I went to Holy Names Academy, also located in Capitol Hill. I love Seattle!
2. One of my favorite things to do is make new music playlists. I love listening to new music. Many of my friendships were made by our connection through sharing music. I feel music is a beautiful way that brings people together.
3. In high school I took a world cultures class, and in it we briefly discussed Islamic culture. I hope that from this course I become more culturally aware and understanding of how the media portrayal of the Middle East affects my own views of the culture and people.
4. In the past I used to say that reading and writing have not been my strong suit, however in the past few years I could say that I have definitely worked very hard in trying to improve both my reading and writing skills. Always trying to improve!
5. English is my first language.
6. I have not request as of right now. I am intrigued to what this course has to offer!

POST 2

I learned that T Lawrence of Arabia was a British man who fought for the Arab guerrillas during World War one. Because of his family situation at a young age, a lot of his life was hidden, until his family moved to Oxford for reason that his parents thought it would give their children better opportunity for success. In his early years of college, he had an interest in military history and the architecture of the Middle Ages. He embarked on a journey where he found major interest in travel and the culture of the Middle East. However, before the war he became familiar with the studies of archeology and photography. On his walking tour of Syria, everyone welcomed him and offered him places to stay for dinner and rest. He impressed the people of Arabia in that he did not have the frailness of most Europeans, but he was able to work in scorching heat for longs hours. I think it is interesting how strongly he identified with the people in Arabia, so much so that he adopted their dress. I wonder if anyone during the time question whether or not this was culture appropriation or not? I could tell he is an important historical figure, as he lead many victories for Britain and Arabia during the war. I am impressed by his hard work for creating a name for himself considering his family had to start a new life. From the book, it seems as though he is a smart and charming character. I understand that he traveled East and became fascinated my the region and culture, however I am still a bit confused on how he was able to gain so much popularity and praise by the Arab people. I have much to learn about both Lawrence and the Islamic world.

“T.E. Lawrence.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 June 2019, https://www.biography.com/military-figure/te-lawrence.

POST 3

You know that one dream you’ve had plummeting off a cliff; waking in a pant and a slight break of sweat? Yeah, we’ve all had it. Since I was a kid, I had always been curious of how and why we have dreams, so I decided to do some investigations on the science behind and the significance of dreams.

So what is a dream? According to WebMD, dreams are a series of images and stories that are collected by our subconscious during the phase sleep known as REM. REM, standing for rapid eye movement, or in other words is the state of sleep where your body is in deep slumber. I was once told that we have dreams every night, it is just a matter of whether or not we remember it. For the most part, most dreams are difficult to remember, this is the body’s mechanism to keep our actually memories and our formulated memories (dreams) separate from each other.

I think it is interesting how dreams, are a collection of our memories of stories and senses gathered from our lived experiences, and that our body keeps us from remembering all of our dreams to help us decipher from our dreams and reality. There have been many times I would have a problem that would occupy my subconscious, and creep into my sleep. My dreams would then give scenarios to the consequences of my actions either relieving me of my stress or leave me in more confusion. It is said that “dreams are a window to out subconscious”, and has the possibility to reveal our desires, motivations, thoughts, and fears; some of these things being things that could have lots of power over us. It almost seems as if our subconscious self is preventing us from discovering these deeper things about ourselves, so that our conscious self can discover these things in real life, not in a dream.

DerSarkissian, Carol. “Dreams: Why We Dream, Nightmares, and Lucid Dreams.” WebMD, WebMD, 5 Nov. 2019, https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/dreaming-overview#1.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.