PAKISTAN
I chose to do my research on the customs and lifestyles of Pakistan and their people. It took me quite a while to get in contact with someone who lives there, but once I finally did, I made a friend for life! I was very curious how the Pakistani’s felt about Americans, and if I could get an honest answer from someone there. My friend “Hussain” assured me that although there are extremists, just as there are everywhere, who take their hatred for America, and for any other country that they feel “threatened” by, and use it to destroy innocent peoples lives. For instance, like the suicide bombers that we hear of so often, they would be considered “extremists”. As far as the “common people” as Hussain put it, they understand that our government (meaning President Bush and his administration) is doing what must be done in order to protect the citizens and/or the “common people” of America.
I didn’t have as much time to correspond with Hussain before this research paper was due, as I would have liked too, I look forward to continue learning about the lifestyles and customs there. It’s amazing to learn how different people’s lives are depending on what culture they live in. I had so many questions for Hussain, but I was also afraid that I would overstep my boundaries by asking certain questions, therefore I tried to be very careful in the way I worded things. It’s very easy to tell even through an e-mail that he has a very distinct accent, however, he does speak good English. He told me that he was married and had 3 children. He was born in Sindh, Pakistan, which I later found out that Sindh is a “State” like “Oklahoma”. He got his education and graduated in 1991. (He did not say whether or not that meant high school, or college) He was married in 1994, through an arranged marriage. His parents picked out this young lady for him, and he said that through time, he did learn to love her very much, and that he was grateful to have a “success story”. He did say, however, that his wife was NOT educated, and therefore it was difficult for her to do anything, as far as working, outside the home. She stays home with the children. His oldest son is in the 3rd grade, and the younger two have not yet started school.
This book differs from most ethnographies in that it was not authored by an anthropologist. Fernea originally set out to accompany her husband as he completed research for his doctorate in social anthropology from the University Chicago. Henceforth, Fernea did not enter the field with any specific goals, hypotheses, or particular interests. In many ways, Guests of the Sheik reads as a personal narrative, describing Ferneas struggles integrating into a society that has vastly different expectations and guidelines for women. Fernea recalls the culture shock she first experienced as well as her eagerness to overcome it. Her goals were mainly of a human nature: she wanted to feel a sense of belonging, to have friends, and to establish a life in El Nahra. The first part of Guests of the Sheik largely mimics Fernea's own journey to feeling accepted as it introduces readers to the various groups of women who soon become Fernea's close friends and confidants, most importantly Laila, who will later introduce many aspects of Muslim culture to Fernea. Throughout the book, each chapter emphasizes a different aspect of life as Fernea discovers it, or details an important event. As such, readers experience Ramadan and Eid, two staples of the Muslim culture, Weddings and marriage arrangements, discussions of monogamy and polygamy, the Pilgrimage to Karbala, and many other customs
In the article titled “Pashtana’s Lesson” by Beth Murphy, she records the story of a 15 year-old Afghani girl who has a fiery passion for acquiring knowledge and pursuing education, but old traditions oppress her devotion to study. Pashtana is in the 7th grade at an all girls school which has been rejected by the elders in their community, asked to be torn down, or turned into an all boys school. Her mother strongly enforces studies on her children because she never went to school herself and she doesn’t want her children to end up blind to things in the world like her. In order to support her mother and three younger siblings financially, Pashtana is being forced by her uncle and father to marry her first cousin which is not uncommon, the
The term, “Muslim Extremist” was interpreted wrongfully by Americans. A large amount of people believe every Muslim is an extremist, and that at any moment any Muslim could attack. That is not true, just because your Muslim does not mean you are a terrorist. History does repeat itself, but not in every situation, when it comes down to accusing people it has. People find it easy to blame the problems that arise, on other people.
With the struggle of social stature between two boys; Amir, a Pashtun - Sunni Moslem that is considered of a higher class with seniority, and Hassan, who is looked down upon because he is a Hazara of lower class. Hassan and his father Ali, (a good friend of Baba, Amir’s father) live in a mud shack on Baba’s property together – they are servants for Amir and Baba. Despite the social differences between the boys, and at a time in Afghanistan when bigotry has sparked flame between these two ethnic groups, they still find a way to create what seems to be an everlasting bond with one another. “Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard, and under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba, his was Amir.” (Page 13) Even as children, Amir was always the weaker one; Hassan was always sticking up for him and fighting his battles for him. Even though Amir was educated and Hassan was not, Amir still found ways to be jealous of Hassan at times especially when he corrected him and foun...
Lastly Khaled Hosseini looks at a Afghan family and how its each family members commitment and strong bond is what is essential in ones future/identity. In the novel it was evident that Pari’s relationship with her family, mainly her brother, Abdullah was Pari’s source of unconditional love and it was that very thing that kept Pari connected to her roots which is the very thing that shaped her future/identity. Pari’s uncle was the very reason why Pari was sold in the novel and the cause of Abdullah being stripped from his only family. In the novel the separation of Pari and Abdullah caused sever pain as Abdullah was not just a brother rather he played the mother and father figure for Pari. In the novel the author, Khaled Hosseini uses many
Events that capture the entire world’s attention are few and far between. Fighting wars normally occurs between acknowledged enemies. In the war against terrorism, most notably, the war against Al-Qaeda, the enemy is unknown. One is not the enemy of the United States of America by virtue of one’s ethnic heritage. A Muslim is not a hidden enemy simply because he is Muslim. A Muslim does however become the enemy when he targets the world as a member of Al-Qaeda, the vision of one man. He was an intelligent and educated man who came from wealth and high esteem, who, guided by his faith, through radicalization, exile from homeland, and anti-western sentiments, built the terrorist organization known as Al- Qaeda. His name was Osama bin Laden.
My brother and I have never seen my father’s children from his first wife, we have never spoken, we have never even met. That is my family, too. NARROW INTRODUCTION [Maghan Fatta Kon]. Had this been another family, say one in Mali, the situation would be entirely different.
The terrorist attacks of September 11 led to a lot of pressure from the public to find those responsible and bring them to “justice”. In order to do so, President Bush declared a war on terrorism just a few days after the attacks, but little did he know that this very decision would also bring devastating consequences to many countries. Over time, people have been losing faith in the war and in its purpose. Consequently, countries whose economies have fallen under the Military Industrial Complex have manufactured a societal fear against Muslims and jihadists. As a result, they are now being stigmatized and portrayed as the enemies of democracy, and of the United States in particular. To make matter worse, it has driven western countries to implement many extreme security measures that undermine the democratic principles they are attempting to spread over the world. The war on terrorism has had many negative consequences on modern society, which include a legitimization crisis of democracy, mainly in the U.S, and the manufacturing of moral panics over security risks that have led to the criminalization and stigmatization of the Arab world.
In addition the author firs discussed about the Islamic theory of individual and gender. In this theory the Muhajirin who are the migrants of Uzbekistan used three terms, which are aql, nafs, and fitna and learned these terms in mosques i...
"Life as an Afghan Woman." Trust in Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. .
Genghis Khan with the Mongols under his power, consequently formed most of the westward part of the world into what it is today, and wide spreading throughout nations. Genghis Khan’s role as an intelligent administrator was the most important in shaping the modern world because of his new and improved techniques of enhancing trade routes, expanding the monetary system, and promoting the importance of education and literacy. These new and improved techniques discovered by Genghis Khan, are one of many that are still used throughout the world today.
A United States citizen turning against one’s own government and embracing an ideology to kill another citizen or commit an act of violence is a growing phenomenon commonly known as homegrown terrorism. This transition or radicalization process that transforms an individual into an adversary has intensified since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The problem continues to persist in other parts of the world such as Canada, United Kingdom and even in Saudi Arabia, a Non-Western country. This form of extremism has shown its propensity in the United States since the turn of the century when Muslim extremism had its early beginnings as a venue to support a black separatist movement. Today, the threat emerges more rampantly with the accessibility and excess of information technology; as well as the political and socio-economic environment influencing many spectrums of perception and intent.
Many people today have heard about the Mongolian leader Genghis Khan. We generally see him as a ruthless person who did not care about his people that he ruled. Genghis Khan is mostly known for his brutality and for the fact that he and his army were responsible for killing close to 40 million people. However, in Mongolia he is seen as a hero and the greatest leader they have ever had. Genghis Khan was able to start from having very little and rising in power in order to unite many people and different tribes of Mongolia and to conquer land that the Mongolian people still cherish today.
When my father decided to send me on a trip back home to Pakistan during my senior year of high school I was ecstatic. I could not have been anymore thankful knowing that I would be in the company of people who would accept me. My Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi language speaking skills allowed me to appear as a native Pakistani, but my manners and American way of thinking could not veil the reality any further. Soon enough I had become what I feared most, an “American” to native Pakistanis and an outsider within my own culture. I found myself feeling alone and
I come from a Muslim household influenced by my mother 's traditional, rural Pakistani roots. Each of my sisters entered arranged marriages at the age of 18. While my mother values education for women, she also raised me to appreciate the traditions from which I come; she held to strict standards reinforced by deep-rooted propriety. I struggled to fight for my own education in a community that constantly encouraged me to