The Search for a Subject

Local: 

Toll roads: unfair or democratic?

Overpass construction: Is it really necessary? Is it worth it the cost?

College Tuition: Can I afford its rising costs?

State:

Gay Marriage: Is the law going to pass in MN?

Vikings new stadium: why should I pay for it when I don't even like football. Besides, why should they get anything when they can't even win a game?

National:

Oil Drilling: Problem or solution?

Immigration: Close borders? Persecute illegal immigrants in the country?

Military benefits: Why are we not taking care of our heroes?

I am taking Statics and Comp this semester, and we have not really got into any continued, heated debate. I think this is one of the down side of taking online classes. We lose some of the human element. I sort of miss being in a regular lecture class that involves debates and idea exchange. I have been taking technical classes only for a while and we do not have the opportunity to have such heated debates. There is only so much people can disagree on when it comes to Chemistry, Physics and Math.

A gullible person is one who is too ready to believe what other people say. Therefore, he/she is easily tricked. I thought I was not naive, but after taking the test at museum of hoaxes web cite I learn that I am not that critical of what smart when it comes to evaluating what I see. I miserably failed on the first test (only had 3 right), but improved some on the second test (six right answers). Some of those pictures look very real, but some others are very hard to believe. I thought that the picture of the deer accident was a hoax because I would never imagined that the deer had jumped off an overpass. Another picture that stands out in my mind is the one of the super tall woman not only because she reminded me of the movie “Dude Where Is My Car?”, but also because she was way out of proportion compared to the rest of the picture. She would not’t even fit in one of those cars on the background.

I believe Wikipedia is a good quick source of information, but not very reliable if one is doing an in depth research. The reason why Wikipedia is not a reliable source for a serious research is because it is collaboratively written. In other words, anyone around the world can post or edit an article making it very difficult to verify the writer’s credential. Furthermore, when evaluating a source's credibility, it is a good idea to check if it's a personal page. If so, it may be a good idea to inspect the person behind the article a little more suspiciously. Be especially aware of articles which no one claims liability for its content. Common sense seems to indicate that anybody can place anything on the World Wide Web in no time at all. When evaluating my resources, I try to ask questions such as "is the source a mere personal opinion of the author?" or "Is there a reason I should believe its content more than any other page?" If I don't come across high-quality credentials for a piece of writing, I watch very suspiciously for the documentation of sources.

Picture Source: cryptomundo.com / Posted by: Craig Woolheater on September 1st, 2006

Ethnography Self-Reflection

1.

I conducted an interview with Abdul on our lunch break. I work with several Muslims from different countries and backgrounds, but, despite their differences they're hanging always together. It is an often scene to see them gathering to pray together. They're always facing the same direction, which I later learned they're facing Mecca. They bring some mats which they lay down on the floor where they bow, sit and prostrate. I am not very religious, but I come from a Christian background, and I could not help noticing that they pray very differently than Christians. First of, they read the Qur'an in Arabic. They pray several times through out our shift, which makes me a little mad. I see smokers taking smoke breaks. I see Muslims taking prayer breaks. I should be entitled to taking fresh air breaks or studying sessions breaks. I suggested this to my boss and he told me to get back to work.

2.

I used three sources for my paper. The main one was an interview I conducted with Abdul Muhammad. This is where I got most of my information from. My secondary sources were an article from BBC news by Roger Hardy (Middle East Analyst for BBC news) and a book (Anthology of World Scriptures) by Robert Voorst (a Professor of New Testament Studies at Western Theological Seminary, in Holland, Michigan). I am confident that all my sources are relevant and reliable.

3.

Before a prayer, I noticed that Muslims are wash their hands, arms, face, neck, and feet with water as a ritual of purification. I later learned that where water is not available, the ritual can be performed with sand. All of them were praying facing the same direction. This is because Muslims must pray facing Mecca. I learned that the direction towards Mecca is called quiblah. When several people are praying together, one person acts as the leader. Memorized passages from the Qur’an are recited as Muslims bow, prostrate and sit. 

4.

I was trying to be open minded, but I need to confess that in light of Jihad and negligence to human rights, I had an apprehensive attitude. I am not sure why because I have some good friends that are Muslims, including Abdul. I guess it is a consequence of being bombarded with reports on TV about extremist Muslims that carry out Jihad through out the world. They never report on moderate Muslims that are the vast majority in the world.

5.

I included a lot of language and rituals on my paper, but not so much on artifacts. Perhaps I should mention the kabah, a cube at the center of the great mosque of Mecca. Islam has made a huge contribution to architecture. Islam has also made contribution in other fields such as calligraphy, paintings, glass and ceramics. However, Islamic arts does not focus on the depiction of human figures because the Qur'an considers it a form of idolatry which is a sin against Allah and forbidden.

6.

I learned that the Islam is growing fast though out the world and that not all Muslims are extremest. Many of them are engaged in modernizing Islam so it is more acceptable in western cultures. This is a sensitive issue because puritan Muslims think that this movement violates the commandments of Muhammad. These extremest want to carry out the Jihad and fight for a pure Muslim world.

Islam: Friend of Foe?

Islam originated when Muhammad became convinced that he had received a true message from God. These revelations took place in a time span of about 20 years. They became the Qur'an, believed to be the purest revelation from God.

Muhammad went from being a persecuted prophet to a successful military and political leader. He extended Islam beyond Mecca. After his death Islam continued to to spread. In less then 300 years, Muslims ruled an area about 2 to 3 times the size of the Roman empire.

Muslims call for surrender and submission to the one powerful God who control every aspect of life. The five pillars of Islam define the core religious practices.

A dispute over Muhammad successor led to the split between Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam. The Sunnis form about 85% of all Muslims.

The Sufis embody Islam's mystical elements. Sufis seek a direct experience with God in this life.

Islamic Architecture produced great mosques with their tall towers and huge domes.

Islamic civilization began to to collapse about 500 years ago to in the west, but has experienced a resurgence in more recent times. Conflicting values and social ideals have led to conflicts between Islam and Western Cultures that shape many geopolitical issues today.