Roots of Prejudice: The Influence that Western Standards of Secularism have on the Perceived (In)compatability of Islam with the Western World

The increase in Muslims entering Western nations in the last few years has sparked a rise in Islamophobia as well as controversy about the role of secularism in the modern nation-state when it is used to justify prejudice and discrimination against Muslims. Most of the literature on Islamophobia focuses on Western Europe. This study examines the relationship between Islamophobia and secularism in the United States. The United States frames secularization as separation of church and state. Analyzing data from the 2011 Pluralism-Immigration-&-Civic-Integration survey that samples 2450 people 18 and older reveals that controlling for age and being Roman Catholic, the more one agrees in the separation of church and state, the more one disagrees that Islam is at odds with American values and culture. Similarly, multiple regression analysis reveals that controlling for age and being Roman Catholic, the more one agrees with the separation of church and state, the more comfortable one is with Muslim women covering their bodies and with a mosque being built near their home. While the multiple regression analysis showed that secular values makes one more comfortable around Muslim women, that does not necessarily match the experiences Muslim women have in the United States. Secularism in the United States is not as prominent as in Western Europe, however, a rethinking of whether the United States supports freedom from religion or freedom of religion, as well as the idea that Islam is incompatible with Western cultures needs to be revisited to prevent discrimination against Muslims

Pinched Lives and Stolen Dreams in Arab Feminist Short Stories

The short fiction of Arab women writers epitomizes their penetrating feminist voices and contributes to our understanding of the diversity of Arab women short-story writing in the second half of the twentieth century. This fiction, which should be read with an open mind and with a nod to the culture and social context in which it is born, cradled and bred, deals with family relations in the Arab world and the ways in which the members of these families show each other love, or perhaps neglect to do so, with social and cultural dominion that emphasizes the collective and downplays the individual, with identity crises, with sexual objectification and with the politics and social/cultural/economic dynamics of gender relations and gendering in the vast Arab world. As evidenced in the selected short stories examined in this paper, Arab women exist in societies which present them with impenetrable boundaries around asserting control over themselves and achieving self-actualization. This dilemma of stifled self-control trumpets a series of dichotomies between which these women are forced to live, straddling inner passions and imposed social obligations, desire and duty as a female. As a result, a population of halved women is produced, women who are neither satisfied nor fulfilled and who are unable to define what satisfaction and fulfillment mean in their own terms. Through reading the lives of Arab women, we come to see the role history and society have given us and a more passionate and meaningful self-fulfilling existence. We come to refuse the silence ingrained in our soul and to reject our fate as discarded women. We come to validate our own deeply-held values and to forge a new future for ourselves, thus creating ourselves anew, a true act of love

Reaching Out to Tribal Communities: Lessons Learned and Approaches to Consider

When transportation safety decision-making is desired, the involvement and engagement with a community is essential. A streamlined delivery of a project or program is more likely to occur when active dialogue and an exchange of ideas occurs in advance and occurs frequently. This is particularly important in tribal communities, who value sustained relationships and represent the focus population of this study. The research team, on six separate occasions, met with local and regional tribal leaders to explore and discuss transportation safety needs within and outside tribal communities, as well as discern the recommended approaches to foster ongoing dialogue about these needs. In all cases these discussions closely correlated with existing research studies or activities; transportation safety and equity is not seen as separate from other tribal foci and community needs. Specific recommendations to consider, in no particular order, included the following: invest respectfully enough time for people to talk; tribes think long-term and consider the impact of any decision from a long-term viewpoint so an iterative process and re-sharing of ideas is critical; the power of decision is in the hands of the tribe and its members; do not lump tribes together as each tribe is sovereign and unique and every community should be expected to think differently; all tribes are unique as is the environmental and social context; to disseminate information widely and iteratively, do so when there is a large group or event; be sure to understand the Tribal governance, decision making, and organizational structure; know who is the tribal Chairman or Chairwoman; and develop an emic and etic understanding of the community

SWITCHGRASS CULTIVATION ON RECLAIMED M INELAND W ITH SOME AMENDMENTS

Reclaimed mining rocks can be potential lands for biofuel feedstock production. Minelands are considered marginal because they often have low organic matter contents and adverse soil physical and chemical characteristics. Establishing perennial grasses such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) on these lands can be an economically viable option to produce cellulosic biomass with the addition of biological agents such as fertilizers, cinder and sewage sludge

O petróglifo das Pedragueiras no concello de Muros

Nova sobre o descubrimento no lugar das Pedragueiras, no concello coruñés de Muros, dun conxunto de gravados de arte rupestre prehistórico ó aire libre, e unha primeira aproximación descritiva do xacemento co obxecto de dar a coñecer esta estación, así como o de insistir na necesidade de protexer estas manifestacións da nosa prehistoria recente incluíndoas no correspondente Catálogo de Bens Culturais do Plan Xeral de Ordenación Municipal, entre outras medidas. Analizáronse os soportes materiais e os motivos representados nelas perseguindo un resultado de carácter fundamentalmente descritivo que sirva de base para estudos posterioresAquest article tracta sobre el descobriment a Pedragueiras, al concello coruñés de Muro, d'un conjunt de gravats d'art rupestre prehistòric a l'aire lliure i una primera aproximació descriptiva del jaciment con l'objectiu de donar a conèixer aquest jaciment, així com d'insistir en la necessitat de protegir aquestes manifestacionsde la nostra prehistòria recent incloent-les al corresponent "Catálogo de Bens Culturais do Plan Xeral de Ordenación Muncipal", entre altres mesure. Analitzant els suports materials i els motius representats en ells perseguint un resultat de caràcter fonamentalment descriptiu que serveix de base per estudisposteriors.Report about the discovery in As Pedragueiras, in Muros, A Coruña, of a set of rock engravings of prehistoric origin in an open space and a first descriptive aproximation of the archaeological site with the objective of introduce it. As well as insist in the need of protect this our nearly prehistoric demonstration by adding in the appropriate "Catálogo de Bens Culturais do Plan Xeral de Ordenación Muncipal", besides others decisions. It been analysed the materials media and the represented motifs in, chasing a result fundamentally projective that it can be used in future researchs

“A Sea Captain in Her Own Right”: Navigating the Feminist Thought of Huda Shaarawi

Huda Shaarawi was one of the first Egyptian women who argued for women’s liberation, starting with education which would lead to full participation in the social and cultural reform and result in social usefulness and in legal and civic equality. A socialist feminist, Shaarawi promoted a successful program for social change not only from within the existing social and political order but also from within the framework of Islam and its value system. She came to be a speaking subject of feminist politics and a feminist living text for the women of her own generation. She was, and still is, a leader of feminist thought who stands as firmly as men do upon the ground of individual freedom and legal justice

Looking for Peace in the National Curricula of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

What values do national curricular statements communicate related to peace, conflict, violence and nonviolence? Schools are places that teach morals and mind-sets—transmission belts—cultural establishments that can contribute to how a student learns (pedagogy) and what a student learns (curriculum). Informed by Curriculum Theory and Peace Education Theory this mixed-method study utilizes directive and summative content analysis to inspect the General Statement, Teachers Guide and Shari’a national curricular statements at the elementary and preparatory level (mandatory education) for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It examines each document for three elements found routinely in peace education (PE): recognition of violence; addressing conflict nonviolently; and, creating the conditions of positive peace. Elementary and preparatory education is compulsory in the KSA and this study found the mandatory education of the KSA has variable content that relates to the three PE elements and that the KSA mandatory curricula only minimally teaches peace