Week 3--Religion

This week was full of information in class. The topic of the week was religion. I always enjoy this topic because it is a prime time for people to have a civilized discussion about their differences, beliefs, and views.It is also interesting to talk about our views as a Western society.


Mary touched on Western Muslims and Western society. I think this really came out more in our discussion as class played out throughout the evening. The discussion of Osama Bin Laden and how he can be so powerful and why he doesn't feel bad was an excellent example. We have different beliefs here in the United States than many others. Even the way our country is ran is different. (Now, I won't get on my soap box here of us pushing our ideals on other countries, of this will be a very long blog. I will just say, that I think we need to mind our own business at times!) I think I would use the term autocrat with Bin Laden, he has unlimited power. His family is very split. Most do not approve of what he does. The book I was talking about last night was Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia by Carmen Bin Laden. It shows a very different view because she is from a country in Europe (which one escapes me right now) and she married Osama's brother. Throughout the book she talks about her cultural struggles and gender roles. It is a real eye opener.


Back to the guest speaker--Mary was phenomenal. She shared so much and was so open to answer any questions. I liked how she explained in great detail who Mohammed is and how the Qur'an is acknowledged. Her comparisons to Christianity really helped me understand some of the details she talked about such as the difference between Islam and Muslim. Another part that really made me think was when a student (I think Kara) asked what Muslims think of people being inquisitive about the culture. Fear is a great way to describe that, but I had never thought about it like that before. Another great difference is impurity is not sin. I think the difference between what I will label as "Western Women" and "Muslim Women" is fascinating. I know that I would probably take offense to some of the customs if I came from the USA. However, I enjoyed hearing about why the women who are Muslim believe the things they do.


I'm not going to lie, I am a little disappointed that we weren't able to watch Sister Wives. I think it would open your eyes to some different ways of life. Maybe if we have time later in the semester, we will bring it out again. However when I started talking about it, I thought it was interesting that right away the misconception of Mormon and polygamy came up. Apparently we still haven't been able to break down some of the stereotypes and misconceptions that some people still have. Great conversation that stemmed from that though. I enjoyed listening to why you think people believe the misconceptions. It is also interesting how polygamy has such a negative view here and in other countries they still have polygamous families in order to survive. (Then again, that is our Western view coming into play!)


The discussion about other religions (and fraternity) were interesting. We were not able to dive as deep as I would have liked just because of lack of time. When I took this class (many moons ago), we had to write a paper about an interview that we conducted with someone who practiced a different religion. It was interesting. I don't think I truly appreciated it until I got to graduate school. However, I think sometimes we overlook the religions that are right in front of our faces like Lutheran and Catholic. Also, I think I might have given you the wrong detail about the mosque in Ross. It was the first one in the USA. I found another blog about a woman who is from Minot who visited it. There are pictures of it (You might want to check it out http://30mosques.com/2010/09/day-22-ross-north-dakota-a-leap-in-time/).


I also enjoyed the brief discussion on the Free Masons. I have some strong views on this subject, but what frightened me the most is that what people seem to know about cultures (religions, skin color, etc) comes from our popular culture (like the movie National Treasure). This does not surprise me, but what does is that people just take what the movie shows to be the truth and then do not research to try to find out the truth or more details. If nothing else, I hope this class makes you more curious and willing to search for answers rather than just believing what the TV tells you!


I am excited for next week. 2 guest speakers, a conversation about what you found out about your family, and talking about work and leadership (and culture of course). Remember, respect, tolerate and accept! Until next week...