How are Muslims and Americans similar? They're People

I watch the news and hear the American side of the stories, both of which portray Muslims as a collective. However, Muslims are people. In a recent presentation in the University of Northern Colorado’s Mind 182 class, one Saudi student spoke of a story where his older brother found out that he had been ditching school to play soccer. This is a classic example of a personality trait. The student loved soccer and did not think of school as important. It is hard to forget how many American college students have experienced the same desire to ditch school when, as the semester progresses, it gets easier to find a parking spot on campus and attending classmates become fewer. Another presentation led a female Saudi student to say that her dream was to make education for students with special needs better in her country. There are a volume of people who want to make education better for students in the United States. A recent delegate assembly of the Colorado Education Association is such an example. I tell you, Americans, Muslims are not much unlike from us. The difference is that they live in a dissimilar environment. Their surroundings are more regulated, something that has led to few women having political rights. However, what is often missed in the news is the fact that there are a few women that are speaking in Arab and Middle Eastern politics. One such example is the fact that Kuwaiti government has Dr. Modi Abdul Aziz Hamoud, the Minister of Education and the Minister of Higher Education. Looking at her image above, she is pictured just like US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Neither woman is wearing a hijab. They are both wearing professional clothing that is fitting for government positions. Ultimately, both look very similar but are in parts of the world where ideologies are opposite when it comes to women. However, they are not much different as they are both serving their governments.
This evening I watched one of my economics classmates smoking a cigarette. I yelled his name out the window and he smiled. I said good luck on the final and he understood what I was saying. The first time I met him, I was open to meeting him, but ultimately had my concerns and skepticisms. He was friendly to me and it changed what I thought of him. I remember asking what language he spoke. He said he spoke both Arabic and French. I never imagined that an Arab would speak French. He was communicating to me in English. The first time I met my coworker at the ticket office it was similar. I found out that he spoke English and French. However, I had no skepticism or concerns about him. The only difference between my coworker and classmate is that my classmate looked and sounded like he was from the Middle East. My classmate still has emotions, like smiling and feeling good that I remembered his name, just as my coworker has emotions when it comes to areas of his life. They are both students at the University of the Northern Colorado and in the eyes of the student body they are equally important.
The purpose of knowing whether someone is similar is that it gives us the ability to connect. It is like the new Pepsi commercial at the movie theater, and below, that is designed to make the world a better place. After everyone has shuffled around the cards that say what is important to them, the person at the top of the screen pours a Pepsi. The Pepsi is a symbol of connection because everyone can see the Pepsi that is being poured. They are a connection and just like Pepsi is trying to make the world better, we have to make the world better. The Mind 182 class referenced above is an example of positive diplomacy. As students, we are asked to sit down with each other and with students through the Soliya Connect Program. Within class and through Soliya we are interacting with students from the Middle East. We ask questions, they ask questions, and we all start to formulate researched ideas about each other through discussion. When I asked the Saudi woman who came into our class if women were killed for being out in public without men, she was surprised. She was clear to say that what the media portrays as Saudi Arabia is not real. I have also had the ability to support this with fact, such as hearing from other Soliya students that are not from Saudi Arabia who have similar experiences with the people that are in Saudi Arabia. I am able to see that there are women in the Kuwaiti government. Ultimately, what I am learning is that there is more truth to what people of the countries in the Middle East say about their country than what the people in our country say about their country. This is the same as if they were talking about my country. It is better to ask the person who lives and breathes from the culture than the person that truly has had no experience.

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Bodies are People

Re: Wave of Fatal Bombings Widens Fissures in Iraq (April 24, 2010)

To the Editor:
This article of Steven Lee Myers and Duraid Adnan, demonstrates the frustrations in media reporting. The most disturbing is the way in which the article addresses people who have died. Their body parts are objectified as if they are furniture pieces left in the debris. One article discussed that “At least seven explosions spread carnage in neighborhoods across Baghdad…” The reality is that seven bomb explosions killed people. The article also said that “The force of the blasts severed bodies and charred more than a dozen cars nearby.” Bodies are elevated at the same level as cars. These bodies are people. Even if one wants to look at the religious sense that the bodies no longer have spirits, it is still important to realize that these bodies represent the people that were loved and who are painfully missed. Emotion is important when discussing people. They are not objects in the street. The objectification of people represents the political take on the conflict between the moderates and the extremists. The extremists say that they are going to take bombs to kill people. Than the moderates say they are going to take guns to punish the bombs. It is a mixed message. Instead it is important to stop and to brainstorm ways that moderates and extremists can solve problems without tearing apart the lives of their fellow human beings. Such solutions could be to discuss similarities and differences between the goals of the moderates. This does not seem bad when violence is no longer a driving force.

What is the Iranian Agenda

Re: “Protest Leader Ends Silence, Defying Tehran With a Meeting” (April 9,2010)

To the Editor:

Nazila Fathi, gives a one sided view, describing much detail about Moussavi and only mentioning Amanidenejad once. It is likely that the Iranian elections were rigged. The fact that the author briefly mentions Amanadinejad means that the author has favoritism towards Moussavi. However, the violence that broke out after the election results, shows that many favored Moussavi over Amanadinejad. Usually, it would be best to support ones leader as the leader is the representative of what the people voted. However, this does not seem to be the case for Iran, as it is likely that the elections were fraudulent. If Amanadinejad were the winner, their probably would not be the violence that the author describes. Ultimately this is a biased article, however. This means that it is hard to know who is the right candidate. In the eyes of Americans, it seems to be the person that is most cooperative with the U.S. government. The factors that play into Amanadinaejad’s strength as a leader is what are his intentions. One way to test this question is to ask what he is trying to accomplish with his agenda.

Operation World Freedom through Non-Violence

Re: “6 Afghan Troops Die in Friendly Fire” (April 3, 2010)

To the Editor:

Why do you justify violence? The firing upon by the Germans was a result of paranoia and war. It was neither the fault of the Germans nor the Afghans. However, it is the fault that war was chosen as the way to settle our worldly disputes. In “To Die in Jerusalem,” the result of hatred and war is evident. The Palestinian teen was justified in doing something about the oppression of her people, but she did not bring peace through a suicide bombing. It does not make sense to fight with the very weapon one is trying to destroy.

The “friendly fire” was the result of constant fighting, and a previous, horrific event between the Germans and the Taliban earlier in the day. War is a reality of our world that has been going on since the beginning of recorded history. Nevertheless, it is time to stop tradition and bring peace. Peace would have saved the lives of the 6 Afghan soldiers and the lives of the Palestinian and the Israeli teens. Peace would have ended the Afghanistan-United States conflict shortly after it began, with no casualties. Peace is not found in the barrel of a torpedo launcher or M-16. It is found through open-mindedness and education. It is found through being willing to get rid of hatred and say, “I love you,” no matter how much is known about the person or what one feels about him or her. It is time for peaceful solutions.

The image above is from the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington D.C. (http://www.embassyofafghanistan.org/december2007newsletter.html)

Bereavement has no sides

Re: “Netanyahu And Obama Will Talk on Tuesday” (March 22, 2010)

To the Editor:

No grandmother should lose their grandson in a battle because, ultimately death has no sides when it comes to the pain it delivers. Bereavement on all sides, no matter if we see the persons as good or bad, is debilitating. The picture above, from the New York Times, shows Noura Qawariq holding her deceased grandson. Her eyes show the pain that she feels. We see a picture, seeing her face, without feeling her pain in our inner core. Think of your most possessed memory. Now, imagine someone has taken that memory from you. Qawariq's heart dropped, too. In this case, not only was Qawariq’s memory making stopped, but all future hopes were stolen. This is an emotional idea to consider. The reasons for her grandson’s death are not necessarily the fault of the Israelis, the Palestinians, or the United States, when looking at the whole picture. It is that humankind has missed the point of the holy land. It is not the land itself that is important, it is the fact that anyone should be able to grow in their fath. This is what is important about Jerusalem. Land is just land. It is not fragile because it cannot die. Humans can die. Hearts can break, but it is only faith and love that make such heartaches worthy. Isabel Keshner’s article expresses that Israel and Palestine are considering peace talks. However, they are not considering peace until everyone agrees that war in Israel/ Palestine will be over. Peace will only be granted when both sides can embrace each other's differences. Until then, it’s just another push on the timer in a worldwide, violent game of chess.

Israeljerusalemstine: Palestine, Israel, and Jerusalem as three separate countries

Re: “Palestinians Hold to Plan for New Talks” (March 11, 2010)

Ethan Bronner describes the basic pushes and pulls of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. The classic example being that the Israelis want to build houses in a place that the Palestinians want for their capital, East Jerusalem. However, these are both states whose major religions focus on doing God’s work. Many Muslims believe that anyone who believes in God should be respected while many Jews believe that love is a part of God’s work. However, both groups focus so much on Jerusalem, the holy land, that they lose sight of the humans that are Jews and Muslims. Israel should be divided into two states, with everything north of Israel being one state and everything south being another state. Than the Palestinians and the Israelis each have their own land. Palestinians and Israelis need to agree in making Jerusalem its own city-nation, like the Vatican. Elections can take place, and either religion may not be a factor in politics or religions can play a role like political parties. Then neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians own Jerusalem. This also means that Jerusalem will be more accessible to all people around the world. Bronner hints that the Palestinians want peace and it seems like the Israelis are willing, but neither side is enthusiastic to being flexible enough to allow peace to prosper.

An Inconsistent Constant

Re: In Marja, a Vice President Speaks With Warmth, but Reaps Cool (Tuesday, March 2, 2010)

To the Editor:

War: It is the institution that leads to confusion for most people. Leaders speak peacefully about violence. Countries pull together to break countries apart. Alissa J. Rubin demonstrates the idea of negations in the time of conflict as she speaks about the logistics during Afghani Vice President Karim Khaili’s visit to Marja in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. First of all, Khalili is speaking in a language, Dari, which most in his audience cannot understand. It is a language of the Hazra when most of Khalili’s audience is Pushtun. Without an interpreter, as the article describes, the message is sent to the soldiers and not to the average Afghani citizen. This may be a strategy on Khalili’s part, but a poor decision. Consistency comes in communication and when few are hearing the message there is no reliability. However, there is always some consistency in a goulash-like situation. In the Afghani war it is the Taliban, which seems to be the root of all the Afghani problems. Vice President Khalili’s people, the Hazra, are being persecuted by the Taliban. The Taliban are Pushtuns, the very people to who the vice president is speaking. However, not all Pushtuns are Taliban; even this constant intermingles into the irregularity of the conflict. In Michael Muhammad Knight's Journey to the End of Islam, such an idea is described. He demonstrates how a peaceful group pushes and prods to get to the peaceful and holy Ka'ba. It is possible that this inconsistency is human nature, an ambition to fulfill one's life-long desires. Possibly, Khalili is trying to bring peace with overexerted ambition.

No Sweet in Violence

Re: “Violent Attacks in Iraq Leave at Least 23 Dead, Including 9 Children” (February 23, 2010)

To the Editor:

In Marc Santora’s article about the random killings around Iraq, little information is given about with whom the gunmen were connected. These seem to be random because “Authorities detected no discernible pattern to the violence…” Emotion is a key in this article. The title describes the number of children included in the death toll. Santora also describes that many of the victims were beheaded. Finally, there is disconnected emotion from the gunmen as we cannot see their eyes in the picture above the article. Therefore, we cannot see their complete outward identity. An interesting part of the article is some of the words that the author uses. He uses the word reminiscent which is often used as a word to think of sweet memories of long ago, such as to reminisce about an old romance. However, there is nothing sweet about what the author is describing. The conflicts during the “…bloodletting between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq…” is not a distant memory. The author himself describes that it happened only a few years ago. The true emotions invoked by Santora are the fact that there is no end in sight for the Iraqis…yet.

Dejavu on Women's Rights

Re: Iranians Protest Bill On Rights Of Women (February 18, 2010)

To the Editor:
Nazila Fathi's article "Iranians Protest Bill..." suggest problems occuring in Iran that are similar to those experienced in the United States nearly thirty years ago. In Cathy Guisewhites comic strip, "Cathy", women's rights in America is a struggle. In her earliest five or ten comics, Guisewhite's character is timid. As she gets more developed as a cartoon, her becomes strong and even attends some Women's rights meetings. Michael Muhammad Knight descrbes women's rights in his book, Journey to the End of Islam (2009) where there are certain mosques that Knight is allowed to attend that his girlfriend is not allowed to attend. The strangest part of this is that these are American mosques. Meaning, the issues of Women's rights in the United States is not over. Unequal pay for women in positions of equal status and skill is another example. The need for women to become masculine in order to achieve positions of leadership as opposed to preserving their femininity is another example. Therefore, the issues that are going on in Iran are just a harsher reality of what is still an unfortunate problem in the United States.

LTE 4: Democracy for Democratizing

To the Editor:
In a recent article by Mark Landler, “Iran Policy Now More in Sync With Clinton’s Views,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is struggling to calm the conflict in Iran. However, what she needs to ask Iran for us is: What does Iran need and want? In Michael Muhammad Knight’s book, Journey to the End of Islam, Knight refers to a Pakistani man who believed that the only way Pakistan would survive is if the Americans took control of it. The question to ask is if this is what the Iranians want. In 2003, we forgot to ask Iraq this question. We blamed Iraq for having nuclear weapons. We ended up being wrong. Now, we are finding ourselves in a similar situation and we need to do something different. The finger pointing will no longer work. Though there are summits, and discussions, even negotiations, they are still with people that have a political edge. Each Iraqi or group of Iraqis will have a diversity of views, which will diminish the political edge. We believe as a democracy that politicians should be the representatives of the people. If we want to democratize the world, why do we not use this same strategy? Ask the questions, ask the right people, and then make a statement.

LTE 2: Of Fighting Fire with Baking Soda

To the Editor:

In “Even Where Pakistan Law Exists, Taliban Find a Porous Border” by Souad Mekhennet and Richard A. Oppel, Jr, the real security problems in the conflicts against Afghanistan are identified. Though there have been recent problems such as the Xmas bomber who attempted to bomb an airplane flying from the Netherlands to Detroit, Michigan, the United States has worked strenuously to heighten security. As one who lives within the American borders I am grateful. However, Americans are not attempting to heighten security where it matters. The article suggests that there has been little done to place pressure on Afghani and Pakistani officials to evaluate border commanders.

The article lists many problems without mentioning what solutions should be taken. Our own government is based on checks and balances and I feel this should be implemented in Afghanistan and Pakistan to minimize corruption, corruption that the article deciphers is part of the Afghanistan border enforcement commander Colonel Abdul Raziq’s paycheck. However, this does not mean we should implement democracy, just checks and balances. It is important to stop fighting fire with fire and instead use baking soda.

On Al Baker's "Terror Trial Outside Manhattan? Possible But Unlikely"

To the editor:

In Al Baker’s article, “Terror Trial Outside Manhattan? Possible But Unlikely,” on January 22, 2010, residence worried about the trial being held in Manhattan. Baker suggested that enhanced security round 1 Police Plaza was a cause of great concern. However, many residents might be worried about the potential degradation that holding a trial against terrorists would create for their community. According to NYC’s list of demographics (http://www.nyc.gov/html/acs/downloads/pdf/cd_snapshots/manhattan_cd4_chelsea_clinton.pdf), forty-four percent of Manhattan’s residences in 2008 earned $75,000 or more, while only thirty-two percent earned $34,999 and less. Many Manhattan residents enjoy the limited social generosities that come with having money. I would like to ask Manhattan people their reasons for not wanting the trials in Manhattan. Whether it is because the trials risk heightened security or because of racial disparity, the residence should voice out their reasons. Julie Menin, Chairwoman for the Community Board 1, stated her opinion in Al Baker’s article, “Bloomberg Wants Terror Trial Moved” (January 27, 2010), by asking “Why on earth would we have the trial in the heart of the financial district when it has already been attacked twice by terrorists and when our country is on the verge of trying to recover from the economic recession?” However, I cannot comprehend how holding the trial in lower Manhattan could ruin the economy nor do I understand how holding the trials in Manhattan would be more painful to the victims of September 11th. I would speculate that the victims will get justice.