"Ordinary Muslim Man"

I've found a very fun meme that I wanted to share with you all during our unit on Islam. It's called the Ordinary Muslim Man - here are some examples:

(Here is the link, if you really want more)

I thought these were fun because they juxtapose extremist ideology (which often characterizes depictions of Muslims in the West) with the concerns of ordinary people, be they Muslim or Christian or Hindu. 

Unfortunately, many people from the West are only acquainted with the stereotypes of Muslims. However, over 1.5 billion people identify as Muslims, and they are as complex as people living anywhere else. A 2009 Gallup poll studied the opinions of Muslims living in many different countries, together representing about 90% of the total Muslim population. Some interesting patterns that emerged:

- In contrast to conservative American rhetoric, Muslims do not "hate our freedom": in fact, upwards of 80-90% of Muslims support the idea of free speech. A greater desire for free speech is also evidenced by the continuing protests against totalitarianism in the Arab world. 

- When asked whether a woman should be allowed to work at any job she is qualified for, over 90% of respondents answered that she should. Considering the history of sexual segregation in many Muslim countries, and the portrayal of Islamic cultures in Western media as sexually "backward," this is notable. I should add that this does vary by country: respondents from Iran and Egypt were more likely to answer the above question in the negative. However, during my travels to the United Arab Emirates, I met many ambitious female university students who were actively training for jobs. 

How has the Armstrong's book on the Prophet Muhammad changed your views on Muslims and Islam generally?

Article on Buddhism

An excellent article to close out our unit on Buddhism: Buddha Nature: 5 Tips in Tibetan Buddhism for Opening Your Heart and Mind, by Tsoknyi Rinpoche

An excerpt:

" We've become so used to the potency, frequency and variety of the thoughts and feelings that course through our awareness throughout the day that it's very easy to identify with and as them. This tendency is built into our very language. "I'm angry." "I'm afraid." "I'm happy. "I'm sad." 

We can bring the same kind of attention we brought to our bodies to our thoughts and feelings -- gently noticing them as they arise, abide for a moment and, somewhat to our surprise perhaps, disappear. In so doing, we gently begin to recognize that our thoughts and feelings are only aspects of experience and not the totality. Our identities may be may be influenced by mental and emotional patterns in the subtle body, but we are not those patterns"

Is Religion Relevant?

Recently, a friend of mine (a major in the hard sciences) told me that he thought religion was irrelevant. I laughed a little - of all the things that one can say about religion, good and bad, I didn't think "irrelevant" was...well, a relevant adjective.

Of course, he knew perfectly well what a force religion was in politics, current events, and international relations. But he didn't see why it was relevant in people's lives. After all, science was offering numerous empirical facts on issues that were once the provenance of religion. How could people believe that God had raised someone from the dead? Or spoke the words of a holy book to a man in a cave?

So I said, "Let's undertake a short primer in Buddhism."

This friend has been going through some hard times recently, so I told him to look at what had been giving him grief: longing for the past, for something that's gone and can't return - and maybe shouldn't return. Examine this longing, and at its root you'll find craving and thoughtless desire, which is the ultimate obstacle in Buddhism. Consider this desire you have thoughtfully, and you'll be able to cast it aside. (And, I added, I don't mean to preach to you because I'm no better - where you're stuck in the past, all my focus is on the future. This is no healthier, because the future is just as intangible as the past, and even more subject to cravings and impositions).

He thought about this for a long time. But, he replied, in respect to our discussion, this is just common sense, this isn't religion.

I didn't have an answer for him then, but I've thought of one now. If we posit that religions are characterized by their reliance on faith, and that this reliance makes them irrelevant, let's consider Buddhism. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to achieve the state of nirvana, having moved past all attachments and into a state of bliss. But the Buddha also avoided discussing nirvana, and told his disciples that they would understand the terrain when they arrived there. Doesn't it take faith to think that you can even achieve such a state?

What do people think about the relevance, or irrelevance, of religion on people's personal lives? What aspects of religion are relevant in a beneficial way, and which in a negative way?