How Islamaphobia Affects Us All (and Me in Particular) as Illustrated by the Mosque at Ground Zero

Happy Thanksgiving.  Before the big meal (my portions will be large and vegetarian), I want to get onto my blog something I started writing yesterday on what is referred to as The Mosque at Ground Zero, The Islamic Cultural Center, The Cordoba Project, Park 51, and the Islamic Community Center.  That's going to be my focus for an essay I'm writing for the Art and Architecture part of Intro to Islam to make up for assignments I missed around the time of Mom's death.  Now the question is, What will my thesis be?  I'm thinking that it might be Islamophobia affects the lives of non-Muslims as illustrated by responses to the building of an Islamic Center in Lower Manhattan.  I will illustrate with my personal experiences, specifically how it caused me to change my sabbatical focus from sustainability issues to the Middle East.  Here's the beginning:

            “Have you heard about the mosque they want to build at Ground Zero?” a friend asked me  on August 4, 2010.  She went on to tell me how insensitive and provocative she thought that was, and when I asked her why, she said, “Well, they killed three thousand innocent people.  And the man who’s in charge is always saying he hates America.”

            I didn’t know what she was talking about, and it turns out, neither did she. 

            I was in New York three days later, and my friend sent me a follow-up message with a link to Pat Condell, “a Brit who often speaks his mind about the rise of Islam in the West.”  This piece “took on” the building of the Mosque at Ground Zero. 

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/pat-condell-on-ground-zero-mosque-is-it-possible-to-be-astonished-but-not-surprised.html

            I watched the video on a screen underneath the heading Jihad Watch.  It was vitriolic.  The friend who sent it to me is one of the kindest, warmest people I know.  The idea that she could watch this and pass it on as something reasonable startled me.  I sent the link to my son, whose computer I was using while he was working downtown in Manhattan.  I’d already told him about my friend's earlier comments about Ground Zero.  He sent me a link to The New Yorker’s refutation of the fear-mongers’ message.

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2010/08/16/100816taco_talk_hertzberg

            This article was part of The Talk of the Town and entitled "Zero Grounds" as in there are zero grounds for all the fear about the building of the mosque at Ground Zero.  Hertzberg said, "Well, for a start, it won't be at Ground Zero.  It'll be on Park Place, two blocks north of the World Trade Center site (from which it won't be visible), in a neighborhood ajumble with restaurants, shops, (electronics, porn, you name it), churches, office cubes, and the rest of the New York mishmash."  So there went one of the fears.  It wasn't a monument to terrorism towering and taunting at Ground Zero.  What about the information that the man in charge is always saying he hates America?  Feisal Abdul Rauf turns out to be the author of a book called What's Right with Islam Is What's Right with America, and he doesn't mean Far Right.  Hertzberg reports that Rauf is the vice-chair of Interfaith Center of New York.  Hertzberg quoted him from an article in The Daily News as saying, "My colleagues and I are the anti-terrorists."  He denounces terrorism in general and denounced the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in a lengthy statement.  He was chosen by the FBI to conduct sensitivity training for FBI agents and police officers.  His wife Daisy Khan runs American Society for Muslim Advancement, which she co-founded with Rauf, and promotes "cultural and religious harmony through interfaith collaboration, youth and women's empowerment, and arts and cultural exchange."

            So those were the facts, but I decided to see for myself, so I took the subway to the site and looked around.  What I saw was hardly remarkable.  How could people feel so threatened?  Was it just a lack of information or was in an ingrained fear of The Other?  I think it's both.  But it concerned me so much that I changed the focus of my study sabbatical from Sustainability Issues to the Middle East with the idea that I would see what my school, City College of San Francisco, offers and I'd also adapt what I learned to use it with my ESL students.    This led to my taking Demystifying the Middle East, Politics and Government of the Middle East, Intro to Islam, Comparative Religions, and--just so the Board of Directors would know I was still part of mainstream USA--Western Culture and Values.  Before I stick to the chronology of my experience and insights, I'd like to say that just this past week, in Western Culture and Values, we looked at the Song of Roland, which totally distorts both history and Islam.  As is clear from Robert Harrison’s introduction in his 1970 translation, it has the French fighting the King Marsilla Caliph of Saragossa, who, being a Muslim, “does not love God,  but worships Mohammad and Apollo."  This is absolutely Apolling (pun, Spelling Check) because the basic tenet of Islam is "There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his prophet."  In our Comparative Religion class as well as in Intro to Islam, we've learned that this is stating that Mohammad is ONLY his prophet.  He's an important prophet, yes.  He's the most important prophet, too.  But Mohammad is NOT God, and it's a sin in Islam, (a shirk—idolatry or polytheism)  to worship him.  Only God, one God, is to be worshipped.  How could it be that the writers of Song of Roland (passed on through oral tradition before being written around the 1098) didn't know this?  After all, the Muslims knew back in the 600’s that the Jews and Christians were "people of the book," those who believed in one God, and Muslims respected them accordingly.  So why does the Song of Roland get Islam so wrong?  Was this intentional mis-representation to rouse the killer instinct in the French?  Think about it.  It was put into written form around 1098, and the First Crusade was between 1096 and 1099, with the capture of  Jerusalem by the Christians. To be continued...

Guidelines for essays Saint Augustine

          I’m taking a break from my essay on Saint Augustine for Comparative Religions.  The instructor spent half of the class period on Friday giving us guidelines on what not to do.  He also gave us a handout that has a section on diction, saying that slang and casual spoken phrases aren’t appropriate for academic writing but that we should also avoid trying to make our writing “sound smart” by using pretentious words.  To avoid:

Beginning a sentence with “Well…”

Using the word “basically”

Slang of any kind

“etc.”—if you have more items for your list, he says, list them.  If not, end the list.

Instead of “oftentimes,” simply use “often.”

“literally”==He begs, "please stop using this incorrectly in speech as well.  It’s an epidemic."

Do not use “would be” when “is” suffices.

Use an ellipsis only when omitting material from a quote.

He also showed us how to cite a source in our body paragraph:

Janie’s relationship with natural phenomena is shown by her close identification with a pear tree (Hurston 11).

So here’s my first sentence: 

Well, after literally sleeping with Saint Augustine for two weeks, I see that oftentimes being a saint doesn’t mean being a goody-goody, a bore, etc., so I have decided that my thesis would be basically  that this is… one cool dude!  I never thought I’d fall in love with a saint, but that—as God is my witness (God)-- is what happened to me.

            On my page for sources, I’ll have God.

Mom's Travels with Kathy

My birthday wish was that Kathy would make a list of all the places they'd gone together.  I thought that would bring back good memories for Kathy, and I'd like to re-trace those trips!

1. Paris, England, & Ireland 1973 They went with Suzy and Kathy's mother Helen.  I joined them from Madrid, and I think maybe Suzy did, too--or did she leave Spain ahead of me?  Yes, I think that's what happened.
2.  Paris, Amsterdam, & Algeria 1976. They visited me in Medea, Algeria.
3.  Puerto Rico & St. Johns Virgin Isles 1979
4.  Germany, Austria, & Italy 1980
5.  Road trip across the U.S. 1982 from Pleasant Hill, CA to Quebec, driving & camping with 2 dogs  Stops to see Missy and family and Dana, Herman, Erik and Karl.
6.  Southwest USA--driving trip 1983  Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado & Utah--backpacking in the Grand Canyon--Canyon of the Nava Supi (?)
7.  England & Wales 1984
8.  Boston, Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine--Bike trip in New Hampshire 1988
9.  Portland, Ore., Seattle, Washington. & Jasper & Nanff, British Columbia Driving Trip 1989
10.  Puerto Vallarto, Mexico 1989--rented condo on beach
11.  Amsterdam & Belgium--1990  Bike trip across Holland
12.  Paris & Normandy--Elder hostel 1997  Impressionist art
13.  Alaska Cruise--Elder hostel 1999
14  Arkansas-mountain Music 2000
Elder Hostel
15.  Scotland Land, People & Clans Elder hostel 2001
16.  Florida--Disney World 2002
17  Delta-Mississippi River Cruise 2003
New Orleans Elder hostel
18  New York--Elder Hostel  2004  All bourroughs
19.  Cruise--Russian & Scandanavia 2005 Elder hostel
20  Cruise to Mexico 2007
21  Cruise to Hawaii 2008  (Bio suite)

In another blog, I'll tell Kathy's story about the cruise to Hawaii.
By the way, Kathy says the Elder Hostel is now called Road Scholar!

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

I’ve just finished writing thank you notes—such a nice way to begin the day—and since I annotated the Berkeley Square collage for Tom Miyako, I thought I’d do it here too:

The CD Tom prepared with versions of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” sung by Sinatra, Bobby Darin, and even Chita Rivera is hanging from a tree (like a branch, not a body, I—who grew up in a racist South—hasten to add).  I’ve taken Mom and Kathy out of the Aegis garden and put them on a bench in Berkeley Square, London, where we can see my mom pointing up at clouds, at CDs growing from trees, and sheet music for the song she wanted to sing there on her 90^th birthday.  Over  a cupcake lit on her birthday, we can see her singing friend Ethel and other friends Nan (there for her every Wednesday) and Shirley (someone she met at work with whom she formed a book club), who is leaning against a tree.  Kathy and Jonathan are toasting to Mom on her 90^th birthday, and the dog Sammy is looking at a picture of Mom.

The globe represents Mom’s love of travel and her belief most of her life of the sentiment sung by Louis Armstrong at the Oak Park Hill Chapel’s web site

http://www.oakparkhillschapel.com/obits/obituary.php?id=118882

“What a wonderful world!”  Kathy granted my birthday wish by giving me a list of all the places they’d traveled together—an amazing assortment of places that I’ll share tomorrow!

Augustine of Hippoe

I'm now back from a wonderful outing with Suzy and Kathy.  I know that for some people "outing" means hiking in the mountains, but for me it's a visit to Ella's Restaurant on Presidio near California followed by Bonnie Weiss' presentation on Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, 1910-1965--wonderful.  Kathy also granted my birthday gift wish of a list of all the places she and Mom traveled together, but that I'll save for another day.
 Now I've got to do my homework:  A rough draft on Saint Augustine for my Comparative Religion class. 

I've kept kind of a log on this, so I'll give you that first.

November 5, 2011

Bought and downloaded “Saint Augustine” as written about by Robert Collin and narrated (read) by Charleton Heston (Moses!) for a Great Philosophers series.  I started listening while strolling on the treadmill in the morning, and it found it very engaging.  I was especially interested in his connection with the Manicheans.  I took Saint Augustine to bed with me the way people do with a good book but on my iPod, whispering into my ear as I fell asleep.  I got up and looked up the word Manichean.

 

November 7, 2011 

Bought and downloaded Audible.com's Confessions by Saint Augustine himself, though the translation isn’t identified.  His passages about his mother are hilarious!  His adoring her and avoiding her at the same time  (so he can carry on in un-Catholic ways) really presents an interesting conflict. 

             

Went to Green Apple and picked up “Confessions.”  They’d put three on hold for me, and I didn’t know which one to choose, so I chose the one with the lowest price.  It says “The Modern English Version” and it has a foreword by Warren W. Wiersbe.  I looked up Wiersbe, expecting him to be a Catholic priest, and found out that he was trained as a Baptist pastor and has written 50 books in the “Be” series:  Be Real, Be Rich, Be Obedient, Be Mature, Be Joyful

Tuesday, Nov. 8—Signed in at St. Cecilia’s Collin Hall to vote.  Asked the precinct worker (name-labeled Richard) if he were Catholic, and when he said yes, I asked him if he could identify Saint Augustine for me.  I wanted to see how someone growing up with him would sum him up.  He said, "He was the doctor of the Catholic Church, and during the Hippie Movement he was often quoted because he said, "Love, and do what you will," which was what the Hippies wanted to do."  He then added, "I think he felt that if people really loved one another, they wouldn't want to hurt them." 

Wed., Nov. 9  Read Warren W. Wiersbe's forward to Confessions and read over a descriptions of the books his confessions are divided into.  I don’t like the way the book is organized because the chapters don’t correspond to the books.  Also, it’s hidden that this is an abridged version.  Abridged should be printed on the front cover.  I wanted a modern translation, but I wanted the whole thing.  We had a quiz on Islam, and even though I’d read the chapter, my focus on Augustine caused me to be unsure about shirk and a word that begins with K.

Friday, November 11  Dennis (Hendrickson) mentioned City of God today and said he'd read and loved the whole thing, but I'm not going to be able to read or listen to that, too.   

Saturday, November 12:  Since Jim, before being in Grease in Chicago and NYC--and even before being in the Peace Corps--had been in Brothers and was still a practicing Catholic or at least a believing one, I sent him the following message:

I’m writing a paper on St. Augustine.  The rough draft along with an outline is due on Monday.  We’re supposed to have at least two sources outside of our book, e-cheat,  and Wikipedia.  I’ve actually been listening  to St. Augustine’s Confessions (on Audible—no direct line) and about him, also on Audible, as read by Charleton Heston.  (Moses on Saint Augustine!  Imagine that.)  But I’d like to quote YOU.  What would you like to say?

                Yours in Christ (as you used to write),

                Tina

To me, the most interesting idea regarding St. Augustine is the fact that he lived a life of such debauchery and wantonness for most of his youth, and then renounced all that for a life of contemplation and thought.  Josef Conrad, on the other hand, led a rough and troubled youth as a merchant seaman in the Pacific, saw all kinds of evil and danger, and then mined that for forty years of writing books about troubled youth and dangerous men and women.  I think I would choose the latter method and wonder if St. Augustine missed the excitement of his glory days.  His mother, St. Helena, was also a decided problem for a reprobate; she was constantly weeping and rending her garments over his behavior, like some angry Irish mother wailing about the fact that her son didn't become a priest.  Maybe it is still too soon to decide whether St. Augustine made the right choice...  
                Jim 


I've also written to Line Fapiano Folaumoaloa, since he's the only Catholic priest I know.  Wait!  I know Ulysses d'Aquila.  

St. Augustine -- well he's so much a part of the everyday thinking of the Church, in every theological curriculum that, almost like St. Paul, you can't imagine Christianity without him.  The Confessions is a wonderful book, probably the first real autobiography ever written, the first book in which a person actually analyzed his psychological workings as well as the trajectory of his thinking on God.  And St. Monica, his mom, is at the center of the story, praying for her boy like mothers do.  It's been too long since I've read City of God to say anything intelligent about it; I do have other works all marked up and underlined from classes at the seminary.  Anyway, I think almost any literate reader would want to turn at least to the Confessions; there must be something about a book remaining in print -- in many editions, even paperback, for what?, fifteen centuries.   That's got to be some recommendation!  Ulysses

Now I need to start writing my thesis and outline.  Oh, and we're supposed to say how this essay is going to be better than our first.

Thesis Statement:  An overview of Saint Augustine needs to describe his very human youthful days and conflicts, his flirtation with the heretical sect Manicheans, his relationship with his mother Monnica, his return to the Roman Catholic Church, and his influence on the Roman Catholic Church.

Youth

            He was born 354 CE in Hippo, now Algeria (though one of my references says "What is now Tunisia").

            His father wasn't religious, but his mother made up for that. 

            He had a love affair with love and his common-law wife, with whom he had a son.

           

Manicheans

 A combination of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism, Manichean gets its name from the Persian prophet Mani, who lived  between. 216–276 CE.  The Manichean religion taught that salvation came from gaining knowledge.

          

            It appealed to Augustine because of it's appeal to reason and its belief that we are not sinners; there is something within us--not ourselves-- that sins.

           

Relationship with mother

           His mother was deeply religious and determined that Saint Augustine would be too.  He respected her but spent his youth trying to escape her. 

Outline to be returned to early tomorrow morning--

Return to the Roman Catholic Church

            He returned to the Roman Catholic Church (which he called Catolica) after a revelation came to him in a garden in Milan, where he was reading  

Influence on the Roman Catholic Church

How My Paper Will Be Better

            I will use fewer exclamation points and cite more clearly.  I am keeping a little log on how I’m getting my information, too.  It’s not very academic, but it’s interesting.