Islam, Terrorism, Jihad and Media
A bomb goes off in a marketplace in Tel Aviv. A suicide bomber launches himself in a bus full of people in the street of Baghdad. Foreign tourists get massacred at a holiday resort in Nairobi, Kenya. This can go on and on. We all have heard this kind of pathetic news in the media. These kinds of incidents are widely known as Islamic terrorism according to the western media. All such incidents have come to be identified with the religion of Islam. Such incidents from past and present have undoubtedly affected Muslims worldwide and more so in the West. Any Muslim, who wants to practice his/her religion and expresses the pious desire to live under the umbrella of Islam, is labeled a fundamentalist or extremist. However, are such beliefs and opinions about Islam really justified?
A couple of things we all have to remember: Islam is not an Arab religion, it’s a religion of 1.2 billions of people worldwide. Not all of them are involved with terrorism. One of the many shortcomings that have arisen in the West is judging Islam by the conduct of a minority of its people. By doing this, segments of western society have deliberately portrays the desperate actions of many Muslims, and have given it the name of Islam. Such behavior is clearly not objective and seeks to distort the reality of Islam. For if such a thing was done - judge a religion by the conduct of its people - then Muslim too could say that all Christianity is about child molesting and homosexuality whilst Hinduism was all about looting and breaking up mosques. Generalizing in such a manner is not seen as being objective, yet we find that the Western world is foremost in propagating this outlook on Islam. So what is real Islam? How does one dispel the myths, which have been created and spread so viciously? The only way one can examine Islam is to simply examine its belief system, the Qur'an and Sunnah, not on Osama Bin Laden’s activities. This is the way to find the truth about what Islam says about terror, terrorism and terrorists. Anybody who is sincerely searching for the truth will do it no other way.
The very name Islam comes from the Arabic root word 'salama' that means peace. Islam is a religion that is based upon achieving peace through the submission to the will of Allah (God). Thus, by this very simple linguistic definition, one can ascertain as to what the ...
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...of Islam. Yet a media that seeks to cover the truth of this religion never portrays such facts. A number of years ago, when the Oklahoma City bomb went off, the media portrayed that it was done by the Muslim Terrorist. A headline in one of the newspapers, with a picture of a fire fighter holding a dead child in his arms, the headline read: "In The Name of Islam" Time has of course proven that this bigoted assumption was incorrect, as Timothy McVeigh, a right wing radical faced the death penalty for the crime. Likewise the bombs that went off in the Paris metro in 1995 were also blamed on Muslim fanatics. It has now emerged that the Algerian secret service whom having routinely bribed many European journalists and MPs, were actually behind it.
I believe we all are human beings, and we should not expose our hatred to certain religious group because of their religious background. All religion teaches us good things; we should collectively fight against evil forces that ignite the hatred amongst religious groups.
Sources
Dr. Khalifa, Rashed Phd. “English Translation of Quran”.
Ibrahim I. A. “ A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understand Islam.”
http://www.submission.org/quran
CeCe Bell wrote a graphic novel about a young girl who becomes deaf. In this novel, she addresses the issue of differences and disability. Other articles and books that address the same controversy are The for Hearing People Only textbook, the Mastering ASL textbook, and the article Disability and Difference: Balancing Social and Physical Constructions. Disability and difference is a big issue today, the Deaf especially.
For instance, a number of new regulations have been imposed on the Salish people including the prohibition of some traditional dances, changes in acceptable disciplinary practices, and even limitations on celebration durations. (McNickle 203-206). In a similar fashion, a traditional practice in which Native Americans would admit to their transgressions rather openly and would repay those they wronged or receive judicial punishment for their actions was replaced by a new system which called for the private confessing of sins, somewhat solitary repentance, and attempts to dodge the attention of law enforcement officials (McNickle 49-52, 207). While transgressors avoided the court of law, Native American children avoided the schooling that was commissioned upon them by the newly instituted system of rules and regulations (McNickle 245-246, 278). Native American cultural restriction was further instigated by personal prejudice (McNickle 292). The Salish people were often labeled as undesirable (McNickle 34) and rowdy (McNickle 263) by those most involved in the institution and execution of American Indian
The Student Life recently published an article, “On the Distortion of Islam and the Muslim World,” in which the author, Taylor Schmitt, rejects the use of the name ISIS since this “gang of fools is neither Islamic nor a state.” Not only does the author state that Islam is not to blame for the cruelties committed in its name, but he goes on to say that ISIS is not an Islamic group at all, a statement which is totally false.
Islam is portrayed and is commonly accepted as the most violent and largest direct threat to the West. This is a generalization made by most of the West, but it is not particularly the West or the Islamic people’s fault. There is constant turmoil in Islamic countries in the Middle East and these conflicts are what make the news in the West. The only representation in the media that the Islamic nation gets is that of war. Though most Islamic people are not violent, the select few that do participate in terrorist groups give the rest of the Islam nation a bad image.
Culture, as define by Giddens, is a “pattern of shared attitudes, beliefs, self-definitions, norms, roles, and values that can occur among those who speak a particular language, or live in a defined geographical region.” (Giddens, 2013, p. 29) When constructing a nursing care plan it is important to understand the patients’ cultural background to fully understand how to care for them. Depending on what culture the individual identifies with, will direct the nurse to which nursing interventions need implemented in regards to certain aspects of care including health care practices and beliefs, how the patient views developmental and family roles, how communication occurs between patient and provider and possibly if that patient has any health
Islam in America has historically been misunderstood, and this is due to the misconception of culture and religion as well as lack of education and incorrect portrayal in the media, which gives a skewed idea of Islam. Especially in the United States, Islam has been seen as the “terrorist religion” or a religion for the extremists and a religion in which freedom is not an option. Among the countless misconceptions, the basis of stereotypes by Americans is due to the mix up between religion and culture. Furthermore, the media only fuels fire to these misunderstandings and lack of factual information about Islam causing Americans to lash out on American Muslims without reason.
Muslims have been facing propaganda by media of the western world since many decades. Western media spreads any negative incident in which Muslims are involved very quickly. Many people have developed such an understanding due to this stigmatization that they normally think of terrorism, violence and other extreme things when they hear about Islam and Muslims. One major incident behind such stigmatization is the 9/11 attacks on America.
...edical history and I was able to have a relationship with my family and not have the added stress of not knowing where I come from. I did not experience any disadvantages from being adopted however, when I looked at the stages one goes through as they get older I can apply them to my life. I feel I may have skipped some stages , but I did question why my mother could not get off the drugs to be able to take care of me and my siblings, however I know it’s not personal because she did not raise any of my siblings. Adoption is something that one is fortune to be loved and to be picked by a family, however I think it is important to be aware of the physical, cognitive and emotional aspects of adopting someone. Overall, I know that I will encounter and adopted student and to be able to have a teacher who was adopted will only help me build a relationship with that child.
...at little voice in my head, got to me. I started to feel unsure about myself, I would talk down to myself. To the point where I would have some sort of mental breakdown. When this happened, I went to the people who I knew loved and cared for me. I would get their words implanted in my head of them saying that I can do it, that I am a beautiful person, that I should not second guess myself. In these circumstances, this is where I felt like I did not know who I was. I questioned my identity of who I am as a person. Even though I have been living for eighteen years, I still do not know my true self. I will keep questioning myself, I will keep feeling a some sort of abandonment, and trust issues for the longest time. These psychological effects will not leave my mind for a long time. But at least that who I am, I finally found a part of me that is not a mystery anymore.
Nursing cultural congruence is when we adapt to another’s beliefs, values and lifestyle in order to provide that individual or group better care (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). In order for a nurse to have cultural congruence, they must have some type of knowledge of the various cultural traditions and respect those cultures. By understanding the way a culture factor influences nursing care, we are able to improve our teachings, improve understanding and provide overall better care for a healthier outcome for our patients. An example of this could be having a staff member that is bilingual or teaching materials written in a different
Have you ever wondered what your parents look like or if they are thinking of you? Adoption can have that effect on children. What is adoption? Adoption is the process of providing parents with children and children with families when birth parents are unwilling or unable to care for their offspring. Adoption can make a child feel abandon, unloved, and have low self-esteem.
There are cultures that have very different views on things such as family dynamics and health care than what I’m used to. For example, there are some cultures that do not believe in seeking healthcare when they are ill or receiving medications or blood if needed. However, my family always believed in taking us to the doctor and taking medications when we were ill. There are also some cultures that have very large families that they are very close to however I always had a small close-knit family. I am able to see how these different scenarios could affect the nursing care provided by assuming that other people and families have the same beliefs that my family had growing up. However, this is why it is important to ask questions and do research about a particular culture before making assumptions. I also believe it is very important to avoid assuming that all cultures are the same just because they are of a certain culture or ethnicity. Beliefs and rituals can differ amongst people of the same community. Therefore, it is essential to get to know your patients and have an understanding of their beliefs as an
to do one job and not to make decisions that management should be making. In
After 9/11 has induced negative attitudes towards Muslim peoples who tend to be strongly associated with any act of terrorism. The media has played a colossal role in developing such negative association wherein it constantly portrays Muslim people in combination with violent terrorist acts. It does so in a way that they both go hand-and-hand. In other words, it has made it as though the Islamic religion is synonymous with terrorism. The media has perpetuated Muslim stereotypes over the years that followed the 9/11 incident. Because of this, society has developed, and still has developed, this prejudiced mindset about the Islamic religion and the Muslim communities around the world. People immediately assume that any violent act being depicted through the media is the direct result of Muslims. They automatically generate this idea that the act was performed by a Muslim terrorist even when they were not involved whatsoever. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Islamic religion and its Muslim adherents are at the top of societies’ agenda just waiting for the evidence to be generated so that they can then safely blame them for such world affairs. Again, this has led to the attack on the Islamic religion itself wherein people have come to postulate Islam as an act of oppression, violence and hatred towards non-Muslims. Anti-Muslim sentiments and campaigns have resulted from such misinformation the media has been generating and feeding its viewers.
Characteristics can be as diverse as ethnic background, language spoken, gender status, physical appearance, race, and religion to name a few. Migration from various countries is creating a diverse population with different cultures and languages within the United States. Due to these cultural differences and lack of knowledge, disparities are increasing. Studies have shown that both language barriers and lack of cultural customs can hinder the services provided to the patient by the healthcare worker (Renzaho, Romios, Crock, & Sonderlund, 2013). This study provided a positive outcome when communication and cultural mutual understanding took place and patients had a more positive health outcome. It is very important that nurses are diversified in various cultures in order to better care for our patients. According to Mareno and Hart (2014), cultural competency has become one of the core values being taught in nursing programs. Their study showed that the perceived level of cultural awareness and skills among the nurses provided was low. Awareness and knowledge levels increased with higher education. It was highly recommended that self-awareness exercises be incorporated into the nursing course and continued to be addressed during the remaining curriculum until