Read the following "misconceptions" and respond to the following:
1. What strikes you most about what you have read? Please cite specific
passages.
2. Out of all of the "misconceptions" listed by this author, which
one deserves the closest attention? Explain.
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25 comments:
1. It strikes me that some people actually think these things. I don't know how you can go about living your life while stereotyping a race just because of a few peoples actions. This is not right and no one should ever do this. It's not at all fair for the people in that race that have done nothing to be blamed for what other people with their same skin color have done.
2. I think that the first one is definitely by far the worst:
"MISCONCEPTION #1:
Muslims are violent, terrorists and/or extremists."
This is definitely not true. Think about how many people are Islamic and how many are terrorists.
-Chance Bentley
What strikes me the most about what I read was misconception #7, that all muslim men marry four wives. 'Circumstances may warrant the taking of another wife but the right is granted, according to the Quran, only on condition that the husband is scrupulously fair.' I thought this was shocking because I thought this was nearly impossible, because having to take care of one wife is hard enough, but four? 'Polygamy is neither mandatory, nor encouraged, but merely permitted.' Althought it is permitted, I don't understand what woman would want to have to share their husband to other women.
I think the misconception that should be given the closest attention would have to be misconception #1, that Muslims are violent, terrorists and extremists. I think that this is a really common stereotype of Muslims. I think this is because since 9/11, Americans are more cautious. When they see someone who has the same appearance, facial features and wardrobe style of muslims, they automcatically get the impression that they are terrorists. I think this one deserves the most attention because this is a common stereotype, and I don't think they all should have to suffer from the actions of others.
First of all I believe "fighting in the name of god" to be an increadibly hipocritical notion. However in relation to this article; we should not be so quick to judge and seperate these people. It is no different than Christianity, or a number of other religions that have seen bloodshed in the past. We don't concieve a Christian as being dangerious or violent, but what were the Crusades? It is difficult to find a major relion that has not killed and forcibly converted.
In modern day there are religious extremests in America that hold the same religious beliefs as many Christians, but so many would never wish to be associated with them.
People devoted to a religion often loose sight of the original intents of their god. Often the bible or quran or whatever guidlines they follow does not say: disregard other religons, stamp them out, and kill them, It often says be accepting.
But all to often that is forgotten by the blindly faithful. It's easy to think that you are correct and therefore all believing differently must be wrong.
In regards to polygamy, it's not as if there are not polygamists existing in the united states. Just the same, it is not encouraged or widely accepted.
It struck me most when this article spoke of cults, polititians, and religious extremests using the name of Islam for their own gain, to beautify a cruel mission. Anyone can say they are acting or teaching under Islam, but it is up to the itelligent individual to discern true followers from "pseudo-islaming cults"
Not much struck me about this. I knew most of what was said. It doesn't take a genius to realize that all Muslims; 1/6 of the world, are not all violent. I'm sure and I've known Muslims who are some of the most peaceful, kind, respectful people I have ever met. Some of these facts seemed like very exaggerated versions of more simple stereotypes, like #7: All Muslim men marry four wives. I don't think that anyone thinks that every single Muslim male has 4 wives. There would be 400,000,000 Muslim men without spouses if this were the case, which is simply ludicrous. And it was backed up by a half hearted argument as to why that is wrong. One thing that I had a complete misconception on was how many Muslims are not Arab, only 18%. I would have probably guessed over 50%. I knew there must be a lot near India, but that it had spread greatly to Indonesia and Eastern Europe was unbeknonwst to me.
I think that the ones that need the most awknowledgment are 1, 2 and 4. Although I know not all of them are true many Americans I'm sure detest Muslims for these reasons. I think the one I knew least about was #4. I thought the Moors were at least a little bit violent in their conquering of Norhtern Africa and Southern Europe. This website is biased though, and they may have left out details. #2 says that Islam does not oppress woman, which is true, and I believe in that. But the theocratic leaders of some of these countries seem to hold woman in a different regard than the Quran. It may be not as fierce or widespread as our media portrays it, but I believe it still exists. So that bring me to believing that misconception #1 should be changed in the minds of Americans. I do not believe it, but there are a very small percentage of Arab Muslims who do fit this misconception. And that's what Americans are lead to believe are the scariest and most represented faction of Islam. We should be educated, and the media should take the leadership role in showing how most Muslims are not savage or barbaric; but peaceful and kind.
1. What strikes you most about what you have read? Please cite specific
passages.
Actually, they all strike me equally in one way or another. The truth of the matter is, is that it's very much true of how much the media and what we read, and hear affects what we think of people. Especially with the whole issue of war right now, and the whole "Islam" community so to speak. A lot of these misconceptions opened my eyes to what it really is, because on the news we hear bad stuff about them all the time. For instance, there was once a time when I thought that the Islamic community DID opress woman, and they didn't believe in Jesus, etc. But the passage really clarified why people get this stereotype in our head's and I realized you truly don't know about something, unless you read into it. You can't just hear and see things on the T.V and believe it right away.
2. Out of all of the "misconceptions" listed by this author, which
one deserves the closest attention? Explain.
I think all of them deserve close attention, but if I had to choose I would choose Muslims are violent or are terrorists. Because that's obviously a harsh stereotype, and I've seen people on T.V who live in America who are struggling to live a normal lifestyle because people think they don't deserve proper treatment just because they come from middle-eastern countries. I think that people shouldn't be so rude to them, because I'm from a different country as well and if someone was refusing service to me just because of my clothing, heritage, or skin color then I would be just as frustrated too. We should still have a certain amount of respect to one another.
- Hannah Amarila
1.What striked me mostly about this whole sistatuaion is that people automatically think stuff like this about the isalm race. I think that people need to realize that we are all the same, we have all the same body parts, we all do the same things, and we all choose what we thing is right and wrong. Yes, dont mistake what I am saying, all I'm trying to say is that we do the same stuff. We might do it in a different way, but it is all the same down to the bottom. I'm not gunna be a hyprocrit and say I have never juged an isalm or any other race and assumed that they are not like me. But I'm starting to realize the world is a bigger version of high school drama, everybody is always being sterotyped. It comes to show that the wolrd is not getting any stronger with are racism and sterotype problems.
2. Truthfully I don't think that anyone is a bigger probelm. They all get miss juged everday. Maybe one of them sounds a lot worst than the other, but truthfully they all can hurt someone equially. They all need to be looked at equally and realize there all a big issue. You might her one misconception more but that doesn't mean that it's worst.
What struck me most about this article is how many stereotypes there are about Muslims and Islam religion. I don't think that we should be so quick to judge them because they are just following a religion, just like I practice Catholicism. I can understand how people get these ideas; the media plays a strong role in portrayal of these stereotypes, and it has taught people to fear or hate or be against Muslims. I think that some of the misconceptions are rather silly, "as a
man is only allowed at most four wives only if he can fulfill the
stringent conditions" from Misconception #7. Obviously every Muslim man is NOT going to have 4 wives. I don't think that it is accurate that people think this because it would be like saying that here in American, everyone gets married, and then EVERYONE gets divorced.
I think that the first misconception, "Muslims are violent, terrorists and/or extremists," is the one that deserves the most attention. I think that is probably the biggest misconception that a LOT of people believe. I have heard stories and read about people who assume that Muslim men are automatically going to have a bomb in their bag. I was in New York City with a friend once , and we got on a subway, and a Muslim man boarded it behind us. My friend said that she was really uncomfortable because she thought that the man was dangerous. I don't think that we need to assume that all Muslim men are dangerous, because most of them are probably not. I don't think that it is fair that we have made these assumptions about their religion and that is why this misconception should be paid that most attention to.
There were a lot of things about these 10 articles that struck me. The author seemed to only highlight the good things about Muhammed and how he lived his life in regards to his religion. The rules that there are about having the ability to have up to 4 wives also struck me. It is good that they have the restrictions as stated in the article, "only allowed at most four wives only if he can fulfill the
stringent conditions of treating each fairly and providing each with
separate housing etc."
Another thing that I found surprising was the actual amount of Muslims in the world, "Muslim population of the world is around 1.2 billion. 1 out of 5
people in the world."
For me number three had the most surprising information.
I think that number one deserved the most attention. Because they talk about it being a land of peace, and only defending themselves. But it does not mention the fact that people have gone to war in the name of their God. For me the line where it says, "NOWHERE DOES ISLAM ENJOIN THE KILLING OF INNOCENTS." really struck me because that is true. But it doesn't necisarily make a difference. They might not be told to do it, but it is never talked against and it is still happening.
i think that this is not right because not all muslims are dangures they only say that because of wat they have heard... u need to get know some one befor u say stuff bout them............u cant judge a book by its cover... so it goes tha same for people.... u cant judge them for wat they are.,..........
The thing the stood out to me the most was that there is nothing about oppressing woman in the Islamic Law. It says “Islam sees a woman, whether single or married, as an individual in her own right, with the right to own and dispose of her property and earnings.” From what I have heard, it is nothing like that. I think that the whole “10 Misconceptions” is just showing what the actual religion is, but some people don’t follow that exact religion, the ones that beat their wives, do suicide bombing, or are terrorists, no matter how small the percentage of those people are, that is all we hear about. Its equivalent to lets say people in Asia only hearing about every crime that happened in America, only the pedophiles and the rapists and the abusive husbands, and nothing else, so much of this that other people assume/stereotype that all people from America are like that. I think that it is really good that woman have such rights and independence.
I think that one that deserves the most attention is misconception #8 which is basically saying that Muslims aren’t barbaric. This is something that most people think. So this should really change peoples opinions, even in their “bible” it tells them to use their knowledge for good.
1. I didn't think that there was something that shocked me that much. I knew that the top misconceptions about the Islamic faith doesn't best explain all people of the Muslim faith. But one thing that stood out on me is Muslims don't believe in Jesus or any other prophets. Muslims respect and revere Jesus, upon him be peace, and await his
Second Coming. I guess that was a new fact that i learned because i thought they were anit-christ or something but i see that they respect him. That was one thing that struck me in a way but not by a lot.
2. I think that the first misconception of a Muslim is the one that deserves the most attention. I believe that is what most people think of about Muslims and Muslims may get very offended by that the most because of what Osama did. But there are so many Muslims that are against what he did and they are not terrorists and they arent violent! Not ALL Muslims are.
Primarily, it think the first misconception, “Muslims are violent, terrorists and/or extremists”, is the most crucial. The authors message is particularly…swaying when he says “When a gunman attacks a mosque in the name of Judaism, a Catholic IRA guerrilla sets off a bomb in an urban area, or Serbian Orthodox militiamen rape and kill innocent Muslim civilians, these acts are not used to stereotype an entire faith”. The contrast between the way the crimes are interpreted is rather disturbing. I’m not sure what to think about it.
In addition, referring to the discrimination against women attributed to the Islamic faith, the authors statement, “Islam sees a woman, whether single or married, as an individual in her own right, with the right to own and dispose of her property and earnings”, as…surprising. I’m not certain if it’s true, actually, because books I have read comment upon this, and they state that this ‘misconception’ is true. It makes me certainly dubious about the subject, and makes me want to check my sources more carefully.
In addition, the comment from T.W. Arnold, “Had the caliphs chosen to adopt either course of action, they might have swept away Christianity as easily as Ferdinand and Isabella drove Islam out of Spain, or Louis XIV made Protestanism”, is rather surprising. It really inspires the thought that the barbarism we attribute to Islam is far more dominant in western religions.
The other misconceptions I find as minor (except for the four wives, but polygamy isn’t the primary western stereotype on Islam), but these three are, quite frankly, huge. This article really inspires me to read into my stereotypes on Islam, as well as other topics.
1. What strikes you most about what you have read? Please cite specific
passages.
a. Well pretty much all of them struck me because I haven’t heard a lot of these before and it was interesting to see what people stereotype. The one that stood out was Misconception #7 that all Muslim men marry four wives. This one stood out because here we are accustomed to seeing men marry one wife because it should be someone that you care for and want to be with but over there they say that “Polygamy is neither mandatory, nor encouraged, but merely permitted”. So it’s shocking to see that you can have a lot just because you want to.
2. Out of all of the "misconceptions" listed by this author, which
one deserves the closest attention? Explain.
a. I think the one that deserves more attention is Misconception #1 that says all Muslims are violent, terrorist and/or extremists. I think this one is in everyone’s minds. I think this because the media usually only transmits the bad and the horrible when there are nice things out there too. Like the author said “When a gunman attacks a mosque in the name of Judaism, a Catholic IRA guerrilla sets off a bomb in an urban area, or Serbian Orthodox militiamen rape and kill innocent Muslim civilians, these acts are not used to stereotype an entire faith”. I feel that this needs the most attention because we need to learn not to stereotype a certain race, gender, religion etc on what some stupid people have been doing. Its not right.
The most striking thing about this page was that I knew almost all of the stereotypes that were listed on the web page. I don't even watch the news and somehow, this information was planted into my mind.
"The image of the typical Muslim woman wearing the veil..." I've seen things about the middle east in the news once in a while, and the women I see have the veil. I think that they try to make it look worse than it really is for the women.
Besides numbers 1 and 2, number 5 and 6 are pretty bad misconceptions. It's kind of like the Asian:Buddhist stereotype. There's no way that every single person is truly Muslim in Islam. The media makes us think that every Middle Eastern country has no differences between them so we generalize them as Muslims, or terrorists when they really aren't.
-Daniel Kim
Nancy
The one posted on April 5, 2008 at10:58 PM is mine :)
What strikes me most about the reading is how biased and extremely idealistic it is. Sure, not all Islamic people are violent, and I'm not saying that any of them are terrorists, but when it says "NOWHERE DOES ISLAM ENJOIN THE KILLING OF INNOCENTS," it makes it seem as if just because it is written in the Quran, no Muslims are even capable of being violent. And in misconception #9 it says, "the Prophet and his followers were able to return to Mecca." What the author failed to mention was that the reason they were "able" to return was because their prophet, Muhammad, led a conquest with an army against Mecca. But of course he wouldn't have included that essential part of history, because it would have contradicted his statements in misconception #1.
I think that misconception #4, "Islam was spread by the sword and intolerant of other faiths," deserves the most attention, because, in my opinion, it is the most biased. During the life of Muhammad, there were many different religious groups that lived in the same region. Many times that there was conflict between them and his followers, Muhammad led a conquest or went to battle with them (Conquest of Mecca, Conquest of Arabia, Battle of Uhud). Due to these many battles, by the time that Muhammad died, most of the Arabian Peninsula had been converted to Islam.I don't agree with the misconception because although what the author cites in the passage might be true, he again leaves out important parts of Islamic history that contradict him to prove his point.
The writer of the misconceptions has a very one-sided argument, and because of that he loses a lot of credibility. He has great points and he is right that those are common misconceptions, but I feel that if he had chosen to show both sides of the story, and why some of those misconceptions came to be, his argument would have been stronger. I'm not discrediting his misconceptions, just the evidence that he used to back them up.
1) I don't know how anybody can go through living thier lifes while stereotyping a race is being made just because of a few actions that certian people made. I know that i hate it when people make a lot of stereotypes about mexicans. People think that just because your mexican u already know spanish, and that you always eat beans with everything. That statment isn't true for all mexicans.
2)The misconception that deserves the most attention is misconception #1, because it says "Perhaps
this is because religion doesn't dominate everyday life in the West,
whereas Islam is considered a 'way of life' for Muslims and they make
no division between secular and sacred in their lives." well isn't that a stereotype that someone else made?
--Brittany Davis
1) I don't know how anybody can go through living thier lifes while stereotyping a race is being made just because of a few actions that certian people made. I know that i hate it when people make a lot of stereotypes about mexicans. People think that just because your mexican u already know spanish, and that you always eat beans with everything. That statment isn't true for all mexicans.
2)The misconception that deserves the most attention is misconception #1, because it says "Perhaps
this is because religion doesn't dominate everyday life in the West,
whereas Islam is considered a 'way of life' for Muslims and they make
no division between secular and sacred in their lives." well isn't that a stereotype that someone else made?
--Brittany Davis
1. What strikes you most about what you have read? Please cite specific
passages.
I have three things that striked me the most which was MISCONCEPTION #1, #7 & #10
#1 says, "Muslims are violent, terrorists and/or extremists."
that is not true because not all muslims are terrorist because some are innocent and some are ashamed of their race.
#7 says, "All Muslim men marry four wives." It suprised me by the fact that they are relegious and they have more than one wife. Maybe most of them arent that relegious or they are stuck in the A.C. & B.C. times because they had that beofre and they didnt really know better and now they should. Maybe its a tradition but I cant go with having a husband with other women in his life unless im desperate.
#10 says "Muslims don't believe in Jesus or any other prophets." and "Muslims respect and revere Jesus, upon him be peace, and await his
Second Coming. They consider him one of the greatest of God's
messengers to mankind. A Muslim never refers to him simply as
'Jesus', but always adds the phrase 'upon him be peace' (abbreviated
as (u) here)." Ok. im a relegious person as a christian. so...even though i agree that he made a second coming as he reserected from the dead as God's Son. but they dont really get the fact that he's a messanger, he's the Son of God that already knew what was going to happen and wasn't one of theise guys that God chose randomly that has done nothing for God and they spread his words as the "messanger." Jesus is the Son of God and the "messangers" were his (12) disciples that spread his word around. this is just in my opinion and the truth. (Look in Matthew 10:1-42)
2. Out of all of the "misconceptions" listed by this author, which
one deserves the closest attention? Explain.
the first Misconception seemed to be the one that deserves the most attention which goes into sterotypes the most because there are innocent Muslims and some that are against Muslims that have nothing to do with them being terrorists.
1. What strikes you most about what you have read? Please cite specific
passages.
All of them struck me because I haven’t heard about these and they are pretty stereotypical. The one that really struck me was Misconception #7 because it talks about how men have four wives and that is different from what they do here in the United States. In the United States you have on wife and you love here and everything else. But having four wives is pretty weird, but then again that’s how they live. In addition, to the first Misconception, they talk about how all Muslims are violent and terrorist. I don’t think that’s completely true there must me some that aren’t like that.
2. Out of all of the "misconceptions" listed by this author, which
one deserves the closest attention? Explain.
I think that the one that should get some attention should be the first misconception because it talks about how Muslims are terrorist and how they are violent. Just because of the news saying how Muslims have been killing and making bombs go off. But not all of the Muslims are like that; some of them want to be good people. That is why this misconception should be the one that gets the most attention and not to stereotype on race, gender, religion, and other things.
-bart
I've heard all of those stereotypes before but not to this degree, I think they were exaggerated. I've never heard that "all Muslim men marry four wives". It seemed like the article changed misconceptions from 'some Muslims are Arabic' to "All Muslims are Arabic." It seemed like the author really took a side. And he wrote with a closed mind.
I think the misconception that deserves the most attention is the first one. Because peaceful and innocent Muslims are being looked down upon for other people's actions, some are even being killed. I think if anyone is to blame for this misconception it is the media, they are absolutely responsible for this stereotype.
I've known plenty of Muslims who weren't "violent, terrorists and/or extremists."
-Zoe
1. I found this article to be an interesting read. Written by, assumably, someone of Islamic faith, the article strongly opposed rumored misconceptions and put them to rest, citing specific passages out of the Quran as evidence. However, I would note that the article does not recognize and asses situations and events which have led to stereotypical judgments. Of course I realize an individual’s actions do not reflect on an entire community, but I feel to be objective the author could have cited specific actions which have led to the misconceptions.
For example, under misconception number two (Islam oppresses women), the author stated “Both men and women are expected to dress in a way that is modest and dignified”. If the author had discussed how some Muslim women choose to wear Burkhas or Hijabs, but only if they choose to do so, he could have shown how individuals came to their incorrect assumptions, and reinforced his original statement.
2. I think the first misconception, that all Muslims are violent terrorists, should be paid closest attention to. If a handful of people are responsible for a devastating act, too often our rage overshadows our proper judgment, and we make assumptions about individuals like those responsible. Anger, just like fear, is an extremely powerful emotion, one which in the process of hazing critical thinking skills can make individuals jump to ridiculous conclusions, and in the process, incorrectly stereotype far too many people.
Misconceptions like the first one listed by Ahmad foster a society fueled by anger and fear, one which leads to violence and hatred. The fact is our world cannot progress in a state of rage between communities, and therefore individuals who make uninformed assumptions like these are only assuring themselves of a world built on fear.
1)The passage as a whole pretty much struck me. I think that all these stereotypes are just absurd and are mostly common with Americans since 911. Just because there have been terrorists that have come out of the Islamic race doesn’t mean that they are all violent and all want to kill anyone who believes differently then them. I think most people think this way about Islamic people is because they have been swayed by how the media portrays them in the war. Even after reading this article, I have learned certain stereotypes that I thought were trust aren’t.
2)The media is everywhere, so if you are constantly hearing something you are being forced to process it in your brain.
I think every problem is equally as bad. As Nikia said, some sound worse than they other but they are all equally as bad. No matter what they hurt someone. Before you chose to judge someone make sure your doing it accurately and not and a misconception.
SAMSON POSTED THIS ON MONDAY MORNING
What strikes you most about what you have read? Please cite specific
passages.
The whole passage struck me. I never knew any of this, and presumed otherwise. There isn’t really anything I can cite from the entire piece, since everything struck me. Some of the facts that really struck me were that Muslims share the same God, and that not all Muslims were Arab. They struck me because I simply didn’t know. I thought Islam was a religion that only Arabs practiced, and I thought ‘Allah’ was a completely different entity. But hey, you can’t blame me for thinking all of that junk… after all, look at media nowadays, portraying the Middle East as barren wastelands and portraying a stereotypical terrorist as a crazy religion-driven Muslim.
Out of all of the "misconceptions" listed by this author, which
one deserves the closest attention? Explain.
I believe the one that should receive the most attention is that Muslims share the same God as Christians and Catholics do. ‘Allah’ is a name of glory and power. Jesus was revered and known by all, and Mary was the embodiment of purity and faith.
You see, before I read this, I thought Muslims believed in flying golden dragons and dune monsters and thunder gods and stuff. I’m pretty sure there are many people who aren’t so different, either. I guess I was thinking of Egypt. Or maybe watching too much Yu-Gi-Oh was bad for me.
1. The thing that struck me most in this article was how often we really do see these stereotypes. For example the stereotype about islam opressing women, it seems like on the media we always see the women in the veils and so thats what we think. Also the fact that 1 in 5 people in the world are Muslim struck me.
2. Like many of the other people, i think that misconception #1 needs the closest attention because of how the media portrays it, and the fact that it is a worse stereotype then the rest. I think that this could also be why the author put it as misconception #1 because it could be the most important.
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