Weekly Report 1

It seems as though the lines between “good guys” and “bad guys” are becoming further blurred as the civil war in Syria rages on. The BBC reports that this civil war began in March of 2011 between the government of Basar al Assad and the rebels who would like to see Assad's leadership come to an end. Also, amid all of this fighting between these groups is the rise of the so called “Islamic State” (IS), who the rebels and the Syrian government now both find themselves fighting, as well as each other. The same article from the BBC (December 2015) also reports that due to "close ties" with the Syrian government, Russia has begun bombing areas of Syria in resistance to both the rebels and now IS. This article from the BBC was published as a means to get one caught up on the latest happenings of the Syrian Civil war and the events surrounding it, and furthermore, it was published specifically for children. It offers video reports on each of the themes discussed and offers advice for those young people upset by such news.

Deutsche Welle however, recently reported that Russia has no intention of stopping its attacks on Syria. Like all great ministries of propaganda, Russia has begun releasing videos to their news stations depicting brave Russian soldiers in the fight against terrorism. Deutsche Welle says that, “It feels like 90 percent of the best airtime is filled with Syria coverage. Most reports show Russian airstrikes, but no critical questions are asked; people just cheer frenetically. To Russians sitting on a couch in front of the television, this war is a media war: entertainment.” While it is true that all governments throughout the history of war and media seemed to have engaged in similar “white-washing” of war, there are certain events which Russia still does not account for. One such event that is mentioned in this report is the shelling of hospitals and schools. While Russia does not claim responsibility for these events, Deutsche Welle reported previously of the eyewitness accounts of those working for Doctors without borders. Perhaps someone should explain to the Russian government that engaging innocents in conflict is not ever heroic.

While refugees fleeing this madness find their way into surrounding nations and Europe, the United States seems to remain relatively inactive to offer aid. They have stated that they have removed the aid once offered to rebels so that the equipment given does not fall into the wrong hands but other than this; there is great hesitancy to offer help. Hopefully we will follow our responsibility to help those pushed out of their homelands due to this crisis. Surely if Germany can take in over 1,000,000 refugees, we can manage something.

Sources Cited:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/16979186

http://www.dw.com/en/russia-to-continue-bombing-syria/a-19052660

Reflection 1

            I am certain that the majority of Americans are able to remember where they were when they received the news that the World Trade Center had fallen on September 11, 2001. I was at lunch in the cafeteria of Middletown Middle School when an announcement came over the loud speaker saying that all of the Schools in Frederick County were to be placed under “lockdown” for security reasons. What this meant was unknown to us and would remain so until we arrived home and were able to speak with our parents. I remember coming home and placing my backpack down in the living room, and looking at the stunned faces of my parents sitting in front of the television, watching smoke roll from the skyline of New York City.

            Up until that time, I had had no experience with Islam or Arab culture and I would wager that many of my classmates and their families hadn’t either. What we were not able to realize at that moment was that the information and images of this culture that we were about to receive, wouldn’t be accurate of Arab culture or the religion of Islam. It seems that whenever an offence is committed against a nation, the sometimes-ugly face of nationalism is revealed in the quest to find a villain whom we can demonize. Clearly, we hadn’t learned from the similar mistakes in our history (such as the United State’s placing Japanese Americans in internment camps, etc.) but rather repeated this action: pinning the blame for our one of our greatest tragedies on one cultural group whom we associated with Islam.

            Since that time, Islamaphobia has been on the rise and shows no signs of slowing. Indeed now, a conservative presidential front-runner seems to be gaining popularity by spreading a xenophobic message, demonizing Muslims. Since the start of what was often called the Iraq War, a message has been conveyed saying that America is waging a war in defense of Judeo-Christian values, thus uniting Christian Americans in a religious struggle against “the enemy”. This denied Americans of the knowledge that not only are Muslims the brothers and sisters of Christianity, but Arabs are our brothers and sisters in humanity.

            I would like to use the information in this class in order gain a stronger understanding of Arab culture and Islamic culture. I feel as though education is the first line of defense against toxic ideologies such as xenophobia and racism. I have some experience studying Islam due to my personal interest in world religions but I am looking forward to learning the finer details of the culture. Also, among the things I have learned is that it was Arab scholars who preserved the writings of the Greek philosophers who began Western philosophical discourse. In my attempt to find out more about the rich history of philosophy, it seems right that I should pay homage to these thinkers while finding other ways in which Arab culture has contributed to the world as I know it. Perhaps if more people were to understand the daily lives of other cultures they might be apt to understand that we are all simply members of the human race, who have similar hopes, dreams and fears. The chief Rabbi of Great Britain, Jonathan Sacks says that he feels as though God has placed human beings of different races and cultures on this planet so that we may know one another. I am inclined to agree with such a beautiful idea.