Asian Religions

Asian Religions


In Srinagar there is a famous mosque called Jama Masjid, it is located in Nowhatta. A man called Sultan Sikandar constructed the Jama Masjid Mosque in 1400 AD. Some years down the line, his son called Zainul-Abidin made the mosque quite a bit larger. The mosque is most famous for its Indo-Saracenic architecture, a spectacular garden area and around 370 wooden pillars. The mosque is also known for its peace and quiet, although its surrounded by chaos and noise outside. Every Friday many Muslims come to prayer in the mosque. The mosque has suffered much destruction over the years. Apparently it was burned three times in a fire and was built back up again time after time. Maharaja Pratap Singh was the last ruler to have to reconstruct the mosque.
I think in my picture Muslims have gathered for their weekly prayers on Fridays. They are praying to Allah. Muslims always face east towards Mecca, as it’s their holy centre, if you will. There are pilgrims to Mecca each year, and each person must try to g to one at least once in their life. Muslims rest on their knees and lean forward until their heads touch the floor; they do this each time they pray. The people in my picture are praying, silent and deep in thought. They are calm and relaxed. The Muslims in my picture are praying and on their knees doing so. They seem very committed to their religion, in the sense that they are very religious and pray every Friday. The Mosque is very beautiful; it has a sense of peace about it. The sun is shining though the small windows of the mosque and it adds warmth to the photo. It makes me feel relaxed an tranquil as the people are praying. It's a very nice feeling from a photo!
My impressions are that it is a huge tourist attraction and is very famous. It is a wonderful sight, of what I have seen!! The mosque looks very pretty and is a place of peace. I think that Muslims enjoy visiting it too. The sun is shining brightly through the window, lighting up the room. The carpet of the mosque is sage with red patterns covering it. There are a few Muslims praying, looking very quiet and concentrated. They are all facing East towards Mecca. There are three pillars in the room, spread out evenly. It is a very beautiful picture!! I feel happy that people are taking the time to be religious and enjoy doing their duties. They look happy about being in the mosque and praying to Allah. This is rather removed from what I know, I do not do this! I do not go to mosques or churches. There are no real traditions in my house, however Muslims are showing respect by praying, and there is a mutual respect in my house. I think that by taking part in these activities people hope to be taken care of for the rest of their human lives and have a good after life. I think that by fulfilling their religious duties they assume that they will be safe and have a great life and enjoy it!!

Women in Islam

Women in Islam

Many people think that it is because of the Quran that women aren’t treated fairly. Actually, the Quran states that men and women are equal and they are as important as each other. Islam looks at the importance of each gender. They each have their own responsibilities, they include the women being head of the household and men earning the money to keep the family running. However this does not mean that women cannot have their own jobs! They are encouraged to get their own property and have some sort of education. Because women are self sufficient in Islam they are thought of as a threat to the view of family structure.
The Muslims have had over seven government leaders, such as: Benazir Bhutto- Pakistan, Mame Madior Boye- Senegal, Megawati Sukarnoputri etc.
The awkward relationship between men and women is shown in Islamic texts and the history and culture of Muslim. The Islamic law called Shari states that there are difference in men’s and women’s roles and rights. Countries that are mainly dominated by Islam vary in terms of the rights women have in regards to divorce, marriage, civil rights, legal status, dress code and education.
Many people argue that the difference in value of men and women is because of the Quran. Others think that it’s because of difference in status and responsibilities, yet other people such as liberal Muslims think that it’s because of different interpretations of traditional documents.


EARLY HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Women in Islam now a day and back in time were treated very differently than the men. Also, their life-style and the way that they have been treated were very poor. Women generally had fewer rights under Islamic rule and law than they did under any other certain cultures. Also, if something bad had happen to the husband or in general, something bad had happen to somebody and an Islamic wife wanted to testify, their evidence in court would be worth much less than of what a mans evidence would be. In general, in an Islamic society, the man was more dominant and they would listen to the man more than the women. Also, in the “old” days, women in Islam were not tended to know a lot about business matters because men had all the financial responsibility which means that took and they were in control of the money.





FEMALE EDUCATION

Women played a rather large role in the starting up of many schools. The foundation behind the University of Al Karaouine was Fatima al-Fihri's in 859 A.D. This carried on through to the Ayyubid dynasty in the 12th and 13th century. During this time 160 mosques and madrasahs were built in Damascus. Approximately 26 were funded by women through the Waqf system. The patrons of these institutions were partly made up of women, actually half were.
According to the information from Ibn Asakir who was a Sunni scholar, during the 12th century, women could have an education. There were writings that they could study and women could even earn academic degrees. These would let them become scholars or teachers. Wealthy families who had a good education obviously made sure that their children did too. Education for women was inspired by Muhammad’s wives, they were: Khadijah and Aisha. Khadija was a thriving business woman and Aisha was traditional scholar and military leader. The Hadith, which is what Aisha studied, states that Muhammad complimented the women because of their love of religious information.
It wasn’t the norm for women to be students in proper classes; however it was the norm for them to be a part of informal lectures and study days at mosques, and other places. While, there wasn’t law against female education, many men did not like it. Muhammad was among them, he was shocked and disappointed because of some of the behaviour he saw from women who checked lectures without permission.
Women only made up 1% of the population who were Islamic scholars; this was before the 12th century though. After this, in the 15th century the number of female scholars shot up. According to a biographical dictionary by Al-Sakhawi, there were 1,075 female scholars in the 15th century.

FEMALE EMPLOYMENT

The workers in the Caliphate all had different backgrounds and religions; there were female and male laborers too. Women conducted many different activities and were involved in a wide range of occupations. They worked in the primary sector, which was farming, in the secondary sector, which was construction work, spinning, embroidery etc and the tertiary sector, which was investing, doctoring, nursing, broking, peddling, lending and teaching. Women also held control over a few branches of the textile industry. The textile industry was the biggest and most detailed industry at that time. Women had very few property rights and wage labor was unheard of in Europe. This all changed because of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries.
During the 12th century, Ibn Rushd, who was a well known philosopher and judge, stated that women and men were equal in everything and had the same ability to strive in peace and in war. He used female warriors Arabia, Greece and Africa as examples. Nusaybah Bint k’ab Al Maziniyyah, Aisha, Kahula and Wafeira and Um Umarah were among the most important generals and soldiers who fought in the Muslim conquests and civil wars in early Muslim history.
A rare sight was female staff in hospitals. This was practically unheard of anywhere else, but in medieval Muslim hospitals there were a number of women being employed as nurses. Theses women came from places such as Sudan, which was a sign of a break through. Women physicians were first employed at Muslim hospitals too. The two most famous physicians came from the Banu Zuhr family who served abu Yusuf Ya’qub al- Manur, an Almohad ruler in the 12th century. This was needed due to the separation between male and female patients in Islamic hospitals. Female surgeons were mentioned in Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu’s Imperial Surgery for the first time in the late 25th century.


MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

Many years ago, during the medieval Islamic world the divorce rate was higher than it is today. In 15th century Egypt it was found that at least a third of all women in Egypt and Syria married more than once, sometimes as many as three or even more times. This is in great contrast to the low divorce rates in the modern Middle Eastern Islamic world.


GENDER ROLES

In Islam the role of men and women compliment each other. The men traditionally are the “providers”, they are expected to protect and keep the family financially. The women are expected to be good wives, look after the home, their husband and the children. The role of the mother is looked upon very highly.


FINANCIAL MATTERS

Islam allows women the right to own personal possessions, although they don’t have the same financial obligations as men. There seems to be differences of opinion as to whether or not it is ok for women to work.

FINANCIAL OBGLIATIONS

Women have far less financial responsibility than men. If they own anything of financial value before they marry, they do not need to give that to their new husband. Women also are not expected to spend money on their family out of any previous moneys have acquired before marriage. Both men and women are allowed to be supported if necessary by their families or the state.



INHERITANCE

Inheritance for women who life under a(n) Islamic society get much less, and have much less inheritance because of their lack of finances because the men have all the financial responsibility. Often, a woman’s inheritance is less than that of a man’s. In general, women who live under an Islamic society, only get half of the inheritance that a man would get.

EMPLOYMENT

Women in Islam are allowed to work in Islam, but under some certain conditions. And even if they were allowed to work, they should be in financial need. Or in other words, they should have money to be able to work. Here are some of the conditions that the women have to follow if they want to work: The work that the women do should not violate the law of Islamic law (which means they shouldn’t brake the rules) Ex: They shouldn’t serving alcohol etc…, If the work that the women do requires them to leave there home, the should tell the truth of where there going and what they are going to do, and one of the last conditions they should follow are: the women’s work should not be more important than anything else for example there it should not interfere with there family.


LEGAL CRIMINALS AND MATTERS

If there was a case going on in the court and a woman wanted to testify, two women would be equal to one man. But in other places, they accept women to be on a equal level with men.

WHO MAY BE MARRIED?

According to Islamic law marriage under Islamic law cannot be forced. No age limits have been verified but it is said that women who live in Islam cannot get married under the age of nine. A man can take up t four wives at any given time he wants to, but the wives of man are only allowed one husband. This “doing” is called Polygamy. Polygamy is a Greek word meaning “the practice of multiple marriages”. In other words, it means one person can have more than one person. Men are allowed to do that, not women.




MOVEMENT AND TRAVEL

If a woman wanted to leave the house or go somewhere, she would have to ask her husband if she’s allowed to leave, or she has to have her husband’s permission. They are now debating for women in Islam now having to travel with someone else so that person will have to be with them at all time.




DRESS CODE

In the Islamic culture it is expected that both women and men dress modestly, in other words it would be frowned upon for a female Muslim to walk around in a mini skirt and a low cut blouse. Muslim women are expected to dress in a way that does not draw an unnecessary male attention to them other than their husbands. Some Muslim women (mainly Arab) wear a type of dress which completely covers them, therefore preventing men from seeing them. This is called observing purdah.



WOMEN IN RELIGIOUS LIFE

In Islam, men and women are seen as equal in their relationship to God. In the past it was not usual for women to be allowed to go the mosque to pray. However now a day, women have become increasingly more involved in the mosque, but men and women generally worship separately. Men tend to pray on the ground floor of the mosque, and women on upstairs on the first floor, or sometimes women pray in a separate room. This is because it is felt that men and women should not be distracted with each other while they are praying. Many years ago it was quite common for their to be female religious scholars. There are still opportunities today for women’s religious education, but cultural barriers often hold women back.


WOMEN AND POLOTICS

Muhammad was once supposed to of said that countries with a female ruler would never be successful. There are more opportunities today for women to be involved in political activities. For example, the late Benazir Bhutto, who was the former prime minister of Pakistan, was the first woman to be elected to lead a Muslim state. There are many countries in which Muslims are in the majority and have been lead by women, these include: Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey. Nearly one third of the parliament of Egypt also consists of women. All countries with a Muslim majority allow women to vote.


MODERN DEBATE ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM

Within the Muslim community Islamic feminists have used the doctrine for discussions on women’s rights. Others have argued that existing traditions are permanently set, but other people would also feel that it’s necessary to keep discussing the Islamic traditions.


CONSERVATIVES AND THE ISLAMIST MOVEMENT

Conservatives would not agree that the different laws appertaining to men and women show that men are more valuable than women. They would argue that it is necessary for men and women to have different roles in society, and religious scholars would say that it’s necessary to have different laws for men and women because of the biological differences. Also, because of the different ways that men and women think. There is an example of this with regard to the inheritance law. A woman’s share of any given inheritance is half than that of a man, but at the time of a woman’s marriage a man is supposed to pay something to his wife-to-be. Men are responsible for both their own expenses and their wive’s. Where as women do not have this financial responsibility.


LIBERAL ISLAM, ISLAMIC FEMINISM AND OTHER PROGRESSIVE CRITISISM

Liberal Muslims would like to bring about a more modern form of Islam with regard to women. Islamic feminists have asked for women’s rights and social justice to be included in the Islamic framework. Islamic feminists are trying to emphasize the examples of equality in Islam. Although it’s also been said that women who have been educated in the west, especially feminists, have ignored the problems of Muslim women in order to be “politically correct”.

Anticipation Guided Response- Shabanu!!

1.) It is possible to experience love at first sight
Disagree.
I disagree because you can't tell if you love someone until you get to know them and their personality. You may like the look of someone, but looks can be deceiving and when you talk to them you realise they're not for you. It has happened to a few people, but is very rare! Also the person may not be the prettiest, and you may have written them off your list straight away, but when you speak to them you realise they are a lovely person. That’s not love at first sight!!

2.) Two strangers stuck on an island together could learn to love each other.
Disagree.
It is practically impossible!! Basically it's the same principle as an arranged marriage. You may like spending time with that person after a while, but LOVE them, I don't think so! That person on an island with you could be anyone; you would more than likely have nothing in common. It may have worked for a few people, but personally I would much rather pick someone I had had a chance to speak to and know.

3.) It is a good thing to sacrifice your happiness for other people.
Agree/Disagree.
I agree because they might need to be happy more than you do in the sense that their standard of living could be much lower than yours, and it's nice to give to other people sometimes. However, I also disagree because there should be a healthy balance between giving and taking, and when it's only give, it isn’t very fair on that person. It's slightly unhealthy too, and not normal.
4.) Women in your society are free citizens.
Agree/Disagree.
In England now a days women can do just as much as men, they can vote in elections which was never allowed in the past. They can work, and leave their homes as and when they wish. But, I also disagree because no one is FREE, we all have to abide by laws and all have restrictions in terms of our actions. You never see female football players on television, do you? In politics, there's never really been a female Priminster, except from Margaret Thatcher. Men normally have control in households or even on as large a scale as world leaders. Women are normally left to do the dirty work and look after the child and are restricted by doing so. I think there should be an equal balance of female and male people in everything, jobs and politics and even in households. Everyone should be valued and respected, male or female!!

The Outsiders- My Comments

I enjoyed both the book and the movie because they gave me different imagery but somehow they connected and I liked it.
The book was quite visual and very detailed. It showed Ponboy's thoughts on situations and explanations too. Such situations and when Dally broke down in the hospital after Johnny's death, gave me an image of high drama, sadness and frustration.
After reading the book it was great of Mr.White to allow us to watch the film. As, in most film, unfortunately parts were cut out, but it was still understandable and fluent. Especially after reading the book, scenes such as the rumble between the Greasers and the Soc.s, were great to see in action!
However I thought the ending was a bit dim , it didn't make much sense! At the beginning of the film it showed Ponyboy writing his memoirs, OK, fair enough, but then at the end it showed him writing the exact same words again...! I thought it would have been a lot better and more understandable if, at the end of the film it had Ponyboy finishing his memoirs and have a full stop. But the actual ending of the movie did confuse me slightly.
There were quite a few similarities and differences that made an impact on the story, such a difference was when Ponyboy had a nightmare in Windrixville, but in the book he has a wonderful dream. The nightmare was about his parent's death, it showed the couple happy and then their car getting crushed by a train. Francis Ford Coppola did this to show that the Curtis's parents were dead. I thought it was logical but mean at the same time, as it made Darry's lashing out at Ponyboy a whole lot worse. Then there were differences that had no impact on the story, like, when Tim Shepard arrived at the cinema. During the film Tim turns up and complains about how Dally had slashed his tyres and how he wanted a "word". This seemed slightly out of the blue, and does not happen in the book. There were also similarities between the book and the film that seemed so close to how I pictured it, like when the Soc.s arrive after the film. Cherry took Pony to one side and said "If I see you and school and don't say hi, don't take it personal Pony, OK?", which is exactly what happened in the book. Her face seemed genuinely apologetic in the film, which is how I had pictured it as I was reading. It had the same dialogue and characters and obviously imagery. There was another similarity too, when Dally comes to see Pony and Johnny in Windrixville, as promised. He hands pony a letter from "the President" well actually Sodapop, it reads exactly word for word the same as in the book. The dialogue, imagery, characters and actions were all the same in this scene.
There was one difference, that I didn't mention as I felt it was really important as to have a place of its own. When Dally died, in the book it says he pulls out a fake gun, knowing he will be shot and crumples under a street light. I thought it would just show Dally being surrounded and pulling out a gun and the getting shot once and falling and then some sad music coming on. Whereas in the film, it showed Dally in the distance running and then you heard a gunshot, it was all very blurry. If it wasn't for reading the book I wouldn't have known it was Dally. I thought it was unclear and pathetic for such a dramatized in the book.
Overall I enjoyed both the Outsiders book and the film. Especially as S.E. Hinton wrote this aged only 17. AMAZING!! It's a really good story that was obviously easy for her to write, but it fabulous nonetheless. There should have been an Outsiders 2, that would have been great! I would really like to read more of her books.

Dogs As New Street Sweepers

The Hopper Times


Breaking News:


Dogs are the new street sweepers.



The government has been forced to take action as a huge amount of complaints have come in from the public. Apparently, a source said that the streets of London have been filthy for months, but now it has become unbearable! The problem has been that no one has wanted to do the job, the government said in defence. So, now dogs are being trained to do the duty of sweeping the streets and keep them tidy!! Everyone has said that this is the perfect solution and they seem to be hard workers and definitely are doing the job well!
That's all for now :)

Written by: Charlie

The Soap Show

Episode: Episode 5
Date: Monday 17th September 2007
Time: 10 mins (approx.)
Website: http://www.podcastalley.com/player/player.php?pod_id=46914

Description of the episode by producers: Hear interview with soap stars from UK and Australian soaps like EastEnders, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Neighbours and Home and Away. And we have regular guests from the classic Aussie soaps like Sons and Daughters and Prisoner.

Why I picked this podcast (summary):
I really enjoy watching EasEnders and always listen to any piece of extra gossip or information about it when I can. I have grown up with the show and have developed a strong liking for it! I was really pleased when I found a podcast on EastEnders and other soaps such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale. There are many quick soap updates called " 5 minute soaps" which are just short tales of the recent events that occurred that week. However this episode is roughly 10 minutes and has a lot of information about all different soaps past and present.
In EastEnders the Wicks family was mentioned and their departure. They have been in the soap since 2006 and have been involved in some major story lines such as getting the phsyco character Sean Slater that we all know and love thrown in jail for a crime he didn't commit (for once)! Carly, Deano, Kevin and Shirley were once one happy family until Shirley walked out on her kids when they were toddlers and they have never forgiven her for it. The hatred shown between them all was amazing and obviously very hard to portray as they are all friends off screen. When eventually Deano flipped and smacked an elderly man around the head with a baseball bat he had the cheek to blame it on Sean who obviously has previous records. After a good while Deano was found guilty and sent to prison, he unfortunately found this hard to cope with a changed in more ways than one, he turned into a monster that no one thought he would! His exit along with the rest of the family's is on the BBC I player if you would like to view it, I will not give it away!
Next, onto Coronation Street, David Plait! :O He was such a sweet, boy when he was younger..his sister's wedding really twisted him around, he almost killed his mother for crying out loud!! Recently his character even won the award for 'Best Bad Boy' out of many hopefuls. David, only a teenager, has had many ups and downs in his life...this has turned him into a bitter young man.. I'm scared to think what he will do next!
This episode talked about some past shows and ones to bring back! Crossroads was a favourite contender. It finished in 2003 after many years of success, there were 3 series and unfortunately in the last one the producers tried to change it into something it wasn't and therefore made it rather unpopular.
The subject of having day time soaps came up too, personally I think this would be fantastic because soaps such as EastEnders are on at around 9:30 pm which isn't very good when you need to go to sleep so that you can concentrate at school in the morning! Especially as it has been proven that there are more pupils that watch it than adults. A LOT MORE!! Maybe the viewings might rise as more people would be free to watch it and would stay awake for it. We all love the programme and would hate to miss it because of the timings!
There was talk of introducing other possibles soaps to our screens such as Sunset Beach and Passion. Passions is a bit of a question mark for the UK at the moment because it is all about Witchcraft. Apparently when first viewed not many positive responses came back! Even though actress Juliet Meels is in it!
This was my first experience using podcasts and I have to say thank you to Mr. White for introducing me to it as I really enjoyed listening to the gossip about the soaps old or new news! I will definitely be checking it for updates regularly, and I recommend to any other soap fan to listen to these podcasts for updates, catch-ups or even for fun, they are informative but fun at the same time!! :)

Episode: Episode 3
Date: Tuesday 17th April 2007
Time: Approx 10 mins (jumped at the end so I couldn't see the exact timing :S )
Website: http://www.podcastalley.com/player/player.php?pod_id=46914

Description of the episode by producers: Hear interview with soap stars from UK and Australian soaps like EastEnders, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Neighbours and Home and Away. And we have regular guests from the classic Aussie soaps like Sons and Daughters and Prisoner.

Why I chose this podcast (summary): I absolutely love hearing more and more news about the soaps and actors whenever I can and here was the second part of the Soap Show special produced.
Bernie Nolan was in the line up, as she was being interviewed about her new stage show "Mum's the Word".She has previously starred in The Bill and Brookside, however her new project is something quite different. There was 6 women all mums from Canada that were about to quit their jobs because of the children needing them full time. Bernie and some of the other women started talking about their experiences and made it into a play. She was quoted as saying it is so funny and so real. Ray Quinn was mentioned too, He played her stepson in Brookside but in 2006 was in the X factor final along with Leona Lewis. Bernie said he always had a love for singing even at age 11!
Onto the soaps now and in EastEnders there are weeding bells sounding for Phil and evil, twisted Stella. Also Denise and Kevin have started to plan their wedding, one member of the Wick's family already said that they will not be attending their father's wedding, so most likely will be a classic EastEnder wedding!! But will Phil and Stella's be any different? Gary and Minty fight over Hazel too.
In Emmerdale Diane tries to persuade Andy to change his statement about Billy's "attack". Matthew finds out that Carl and Carry have a past together and will Paddy find love again as he sees a familiar face in college.
In Coronation can the Connor's fatal fall in the factory be covered up?
Also there was an interview with Paul Dorby!
There are 2 new soaps coming onto our screens one in Australia called City Homicide on Channel 7, starring Daniel McPheerson, Arron Peterson, Nadeen Garner, Damien Richardson, and Nonan Hazelhurst from The Sevlans. Apparently there are going to be releases of classic Australian soaps on DVD thanks to Andrew McCardo. In the UK an spurt off of Holby City is starting, called Holby Blue on Tuesday May 8th with Zoe Lucker from Footballer's wives.
Finally Son's and Daughters star Tom Richardson who played David Palmer is starring in All Saints directed by Peter Phelps who was his on screen son, John.
Once again this podcast was exciting and gossip-packed....fantastic!! I will definitely watch many more soon!! :)

Outsiders

1. Sometimes violence is justifiable.
Agree.
Self-defense is acceptable if someone was about to harm you or your family however, it can lead to a chain of violent events that may result in a catastrophe.

3. It's easier to make friends with someone who is a lot like you, then someone who is different.
Disagree
I think that no matter how alike or different someone is to you, you can make friends with them if you try hard enough. Also if they are too much like you it can get boring and frustrating and you may have arguments, like brothers and sisters do. It's always good to have a mixture of people as friends.

4. Loosing a loved can have positive outcomes.
Agree, disagree.
It can put the person who died out of their misery, and end their suffering if they have been ill, which is kinder for them. However for the people left behind like friends and family it's incredibly hard to deal with.