Archive for May, 2006
May 31, 2006 at 7:24 am
· Filed under Life as a Muslim, Social Issues
When writing a fictional novel, how much should an author know about a different ethnicity, a different religion that s/he may be trying to portray? Can an author really capture the feelings of an other that s/he may not know about?
On a related note, as Muslims, when writing scripts – for books, for movies – how do we balance portraying what would be considered appropriate to share, according to Islam, and the reality of what exists in Muslim communities? How do we balance showing the positive and negative aspects of our communities, while ensuring that we indicate that our actions as a community are not a reflection of our faith?
Articles of relevance:
John Updike – An Interview – "Terrorist"
'First' Saudi feature film aims high
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May 29, 2006 at 9:26 am
· Filed under Globalization, Social Issues
At what point should the role of different government departments differ from the role of a civil society organization? If both exist for the same purpose, with the same mission, should one be merged with the other? Given that no government anywhere is perfect in terms of what it can achieve, how much should it outsource to private citizens' groups?
Should citizens have direct access to information that may threaten their lives? Especially if the government is not equipped to handle the information?
Articles of relevance:
Private Jihad: How Rita Katz got into the spying business.
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May 26, 2006 at 9:26 am
· Filed under Life as a Muslim, Social Issues
They say "Clothes Maketh the Man." Do they really? Is our choice of clothes a true reflection of who we are?
Modesty is an integral part of the faith of a Muslim. Are the layers of clothing directly proportional to the level of modesty? Should we be judged as to how modest we are based on the layers and types of clothing we wear?
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May 24, 2006 at 8:28 am
· Filed under Life as a Muslim, Relationships
Are you a public person or a private person?* How much of yourself do you share with others? Noting that in different cultural contexts, the answer may be different – generally, what do you think is "too much information" to share with another person? What shoud be considered – of oneself – the public realm, and what should fall under the private realm?
How do the above questions fit into the issue of hayaa, of modesty, in the life of a Muslim? Should a Muslim ever be a public person?
*Note: the question is not regarding being an extrovert or an introvert.
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May 23, 2006 at 7:32 am
· Filed under Globalization, Life as a Muslim, Social Issues
What do you think is the biggest problem facing the world today?
How should you get people involved in addressing it, without allowing the problem to appear too overwhelming? How do we use our interconnectedness to act appropriately in addressing it?
As Muslims, how should we balance prioritizing the needs of our communities as smaller parts of the World, and the problems of the World as a whole? Are they mutually exclusive in terms of how we address them?
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May 22, 2006 at 6:03 am
· Filed under Children, Life as a Muslim, Relationships
Children, from a young age, internalize differences in a variety of ways and how they internalize them significantly shapes how they interact with individuals in the future.
How should a child be taught that differences do exist in this world, and that there is nothing wrong with being different? How should a child be taught to embrace the differences of others, even while the child is learning how he himself may be different from others, and may not necessarily appreciate being different?
Blog posts of relevance:
Picture of God
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May 19, 2006 at 3:20 pm
· Filed under Life as a Muslim, Relationships
Despite how our family and friends know us, there is always a certain image of ourselves that we like to project – especially to strangers. How do you like to ideally show yourself to the world? If meeting someone for the first time – given that, yes, your interaction will largely depend on the background of the individual you meet – what are some of the bigger characteristics of your personality, of yourself, that you would like to project and immediately show?
As a Muslim, how does one capture humility in projecting who one is? How does one do this if there are significant accomplishments and affiliations that strongly shape who one is?
How does one share significant affiliations of oneself in a way that is useful to another individual, but at the same time is done in a humble way?
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May 17, 2006 at 3:12 pm
· Filed under Life as a Muslim, Relationships
When recounting incidences that have majorly affected us as individuals, as communities, as nations, there is often disagreement as to why those incidences took place – and often, conspiracy theories abound.
The first step towards moving forward, and not blaming different "sides," is to engage in dialogue with each other. If you are interested in engagement, in dialogue, in learning from an incident, how do you do so if there is intense disagreement on the reason for the root of a problem?
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May 16, 2006 at 3:03 pm
· Filed under Life as a Muslim
A large part of a liberal arts education is deconstructing what you are taught – constantly questioning and challenging what is being presented to you, and not accepting those ideas at face value.
At what point does one stop deconstructing? At which point is psycho-analysis too much analysis? How do you create a balance of not blindly believing everything you are told and intelligently deconstructing it?
As a Muslim, at which point do you stop looking for a reason in believing in something; at which point do you stop deconstructing it? At which point do you go with your gut instinct and place your trust in Allah (swt)?
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May 15, 2006 at 2:55 pm
· Filed under Life as a Muslim, Social Issues
In the ideal world, the rights of minorities should be protected by the State, and when that is not taking place, at least by the majority in the community.
Given that, often, the State *and* the majority fail to protect the rights of minorities, does this mean that the burden to fight for one's rights falls upon the minority? Is it fair for the State/the majority to expect lobbying/education from the minority?
On a related note, is it the responsibility of the majority in a nation to be fairly educated about minority communities? Or is it more of a responsibility of the minority to inform the majority of its values/belief systems/desires?
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