He was a father of four, married to an American wife Kathy and owned a successful painting and contracting firm. The story introduces their every day lives and explains Zeitoun’s passion for his work and the welfare of others like his own employees. I instantly became fond of him because not only was he a modest husband and father he was also a kind person that you’d be lucky to have as a neighbor. At first the family was a little concerned about the storm yet as soon as it began looking more serious the mother and four kids did evacuate and flee first to a crowded house of relatives and then west to Pheonix. She begs Zeitoun to come with them.…
It can inspire students to fight for change, against discriminatory acts, in society. Zeitoun powerfully demonstrates its purpose of Islamophobia in the government, regardless of his the man’s…
The “Muslim World” is a region, rocked by conflict, with a complex history. The boundaries of said Muslim World are ambiguously defined and it is shrouded in numerous preconceived notions by different cultures. Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary is account of the Islamic World through Islamic eyes. Ansary takes the reader through the progression of Islam which is a faith that has both spiritual and political aspects. Although Ansary focuses mainly on the political progression of the Muslim state, he gives adequate attention to the fundamental societal and cultural changes that shaped Islamic Civilization.…
In the First Amendment, “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise” (Foner A-38). After 9/11, the police tapped into broader powers of surveillance and interrogation, many antagonizing the Muslim community (Egger 212,213). During his time in jail, Zeitoun develops a conflict between his religion and his “adopted country” (Egger 255). He starts to inquire the real reason why he’s in jail, “he was being held without contact, charges, bail or tail”, knowing that the United State government can seize a Muslim man or women “without ever having to charge him [or her] with a crime” (Egger 255). Later on, Zeitoun finds out “[speculation] on possible terrorist exploitation of a high category hurricane” was many authorities mindset regardless of how little the possibility was, at the time they believe arresting Zeitoun because he was Muslim was maintaining the law and order (Egger 308).…
Muslim American Women Muslim women in America are constantly reminded of their intersectionality on a daily basis. They are marginalized due to their gender, religion, ethnicity, and in addition, Africa-American, Muslim women are also subjected to racism. These Muslim African-Americans are often torn between “relating to their religious brothers and sisters or to their ethnic peers” (Ahmed). Muslim women must also deal with the public’s perception, which often views them as extremists (Mogahed). This erroneous perspective is propagated by the media’s coverage of terrorism and the Muslim religion (Halimah).…
Do you think people are being over judged? There was an interesting story on the news recently when Ahmed Mohamed built a clock for a science project and the science teacher took the wrong impression of it. The project resembled a bomb by all of the wires in a box, the teacher called the police. "I built a clock to impress my teacher but when I showed it to her, she thought it was a threat to her,” Mohamed said sadly. The profiling of other nationalities has gotten to the extreme.…
This book made me wish that I had magical powers like the Djinni or the Demdji. It made me wish I had the power to control fire, shapeshift, or create illusions. This book made me realize that in the future I will need to make tough decisions in my life. I will need to be mature enough and wise enough in order to make the best decisions for myself, similar to how Amani had to evaluate the situation to make the best decision for herself during a difficult time.…
Recently, Zeitoun, the novel students read before taking AP Lang and Comp, has been surrounded by controversy. The main character of the novel, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, has recently been sentenced to 4 years in prison on the account of stalking his ex-wife Kathy. Zeitoun was also accused of attempted murder of Kathy and ordering a hit on her from prison. But in this novel Zeitoun, Mr. and Mrs. Zeitoun were portrayed as the perfect American couple that were hardworking and honest. Zeitoun was especially exaggerated as an amazing person, being depicted as a loving father and husband with tremendous integrity.…
The Message and the Islamic Community One of the biggest questions currently being asked about Islam is the question of how Islam should be understood in modern times. Moustapha Akkad’s film The Message attempts to answer that question by showing the resilience and devotion in the community that formed itself around Muhammad and the revelation of the Qur’an. Despite all of the obstacles they ran into, nothing could sway them from their belief in the Qur’an and Muhammad. This belief allowed them to form a community that is admirable it its virtues, and formidable in its strengths.…
In remembering his life as a child Omar too recalls the marital passage many young girls underwent. When Omar thinks of a Zanzibari woman he imagines one who is “feeble”, thus connotative of being weak in strength, powerless and fragile against the forces of custom and religion which dictate their position in society. Women in Muslim society are therefore portrayed as devoiced and powerless, disappearing into non-existence “until they reappeared years later as brides and mothers” (146). R.W Connell (1987) considers power as a social construct in which individual deviations from the norm “are deeply embedded in power inequalities and ideologies of male supremacy” (Connell, 107). Thus, as a consequence of this severe gender inequality experienced in such communities, women like key female character Asha, Latif’s mother, often seek alternative modes empowerment, adopting what Connell (1987) terms as ‘emphasised…
Religion is a major part of people’s lives all around the world today. Religion means something different to each individual. Whether it’s an escape from reality, a reason to live, or simply the feeling of belonging to a community, religion has a significant influence over people and their actions. The Muslims in the Middle East are especially impressive when it comes to their devotion to Allah.…
The book leads readers to question and deeply think about how Islamic culture and religion…
Homework Assignment 3 The religion of Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. However, there are still misconceptions about the Islamic faith and its followers. This goes back to the theory of worldviews. That the lack of information on a topic can have negative effects on how someone interprets the world around them.…
Child Beggars in Senegal As people become more conscious of what is going on in other countries, some revelations can be shocking like in West Africa. For example, in Senegal, children are forced to beg but everything they earn is taken away by Quranic schools’ teachers. These child beggars live in horrible living conditions. There are some laws to help them out, but they still have a long way to come to actually have freedom.…
However, the recent mass migrations of Muslims toward western countries and the growth of Muslim population in America and Western Europe have opened a new and dynamic phase regarding the current engagements between Islam and modernity because we have witnessed the emergence of new type of Muslim intellectuals and their new significant approaches to reform Islamic socio-political thought in the western settings (Chehab and Whitaker 2014; Kersten 2011). The representation of Western Muslim reformers is a complex and diverse phenomenon mainly consisting of a number of Muslim American and some Western European academics and scholars with different reform discourse, agendas and priorities. Their common denominator is the idea that various aspects of the inherited pre-modern Islamic tradition, especially aspects of Islamic law, with respect to its underlying worldview assumptions, episteme, and various methodologies underpinning this body of knowledge, are not adequately equipped or need serious reform/rethinking in meeting the many challenges of Muslims are facing in modern societies, especially in the context of Muslim majority communities in non-Muslim societies (Duderija 2014; Kersten 2011; Rahman…