Mourning Customs

In class on Thursday, we talked a bit about mourning customs in Islam. One tradition involved widows and childless mothers who wail and pull out their hair when they lose a loved one. I wanted to find out more of their customs.

http://www.seaservices.com/Muslim.htm

Here is an interesting one:

622. The dead body should be laid in the grave on its right side so that the face remains towards the Qibla.

The bodies are buried deep enough so animals cannot sniff them out, and can only be buried in graveyards.
I thought it was interesting that the bodies have to be laid a specific way. In Islam, it is always important to be facing the right direction.  Just before death, it is recommended that the dying use their final words to reflect on their devotion to Allah.

In class, we talked about the benefits of having a mourning process in other religions as well. In Judaism, the mourners are allowed one year to mourn, and at the end, celebrate. By going through a process of mourning, people can grieve easier. In our culture, there is no one right way to mourn. Sometimes we feel like bawling our eyes out, and other times we feel like our emotions aren't responding how they should.
By having a process, we can act our what were feeling and it can help us process our experiences. Through acting, we can sometimes force ourselves to believe it.

In this area, many generations were living in the same household, and as Prof. Silliman said, these people have witnessed death multiple times before witnessing their own. That was another thing that got me thinking...how many of us have the privilege of dying somewhere were comfortable. The majority of deaths occur in hospitals, nursing homes or other facilities. Other deaths occur through accidents and crime scenes.
At the time of death, we are experiencing our final moments on Earth in our current form, so why not be somewhere enjoyable?
To all the House fans, *spoiler* think back to last weeks episode about Wilson. He begged not to be taken to a hospital. He wanted the his cancer treatment to be given by House at his home. He didn't want to be surrounded by people to pity him, but wanted to die with dignity.
Dying is a part of life, and it is up to you how you handle it. Enjoy every minute you have.

RE: Grapes or Virgins? Maybe both...

This is a response to Rachel's post about a mistranslation when reading the Qu'ran. In some cases, the word is said to mean 72 virgins await to satisfy a man, and in other cases, it means 72 grapes will satisfy. Rachel asked her cousin what he thought. See more here...
http://butisthechocolatereallygone.blogspot.com/2012/04/grapesor-virgins-maybe-both.html


When this was first brought up in class, I was totally taken back! Virgins could be mistranslated for grapes...really? I did some quick research on Google, and there's actually a lot of commentary about it!
The experts are leaning more towards the translation to mean grapes, but the word is mistranslated between languages.
in Aramaic, the word "hur" means "white grape/raisin," and in Arabic, "houri" means virgin.

Whatever it is is described as being full grown and swelling, which could be referring to a woman's chest, or the fruit itself.

But, I was thinking...this was a culture who often disposed of their babies if they were female. I always believed that heaven was a place for resting souls, so if the children were disposed of after birth, they would certainly be virgins, and given time, they become the desirable women. It's all just a theory, though.

To me, the translation leads to very different things, but I can see how each would be desirable for an Islamic man.
If your cousin ever gets a chance to see the word in context and can clarify, do let me know though! I'm intrigued.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2004/08/06/2003181944

RE: Where have all the prophets gone?

This is a response to Adam's post about our culture needing a prophet, and not another false promise from the government. It's been a while since God has chosen a prophet, but I wonder if maybe there is one out there, but no one is listening...

http://adamtsblogspot.blogspot.com/

I was wondering the same thing the other day!...I feel like prophets are nothing but a part of the past. As Muhammad said, Islam is not meant for everyone, each man has his own religion. Each religion, intentional or not, was created by a prophet or a savior, and assisted the people with whatever they needed. Jesus helped the people accept members of their community and taught them to stick up for themselves. Buddha and Sri Krishna help others to see that we are all one in the same, and to always be calm and seek a higher state of being.
And here we are now, with so many problems and not so many solutions. I think the problem is that while a lot of problems are being talked about, there is less listening and helping each other. It's so easy to complain, but quite another to be selfless and do something about it. The Occupy movement is a great example of trying to change things. The people congregate and share their ideas, and listen to one another. It drew attention, and as a result there was a huge interest for a while.
I'm not sure where the prophets are, but I think it would be just as helpful if we shared our enlightened ideas with one another. We all have ideas, but they're no good in a room full of noise where no one is listening.

Responses...

Here are two responses, both dealing with the topic of Americans assuming everyone in the Middle East is Muslim. It's amazing that Islam, one of the world's most influential and popular religions can be so misinterpreted.

The first blog comment is on Adam Tobin's page. He is concerned about the education of America's youth, and Lauren and Avery being up some important points as well.
http://adamtsblogspot.blogspot.com/2012/04/western-bias.html?showComment=1335638217075#c3557154246815860861
Wow...I never thought of it like that. It is one thing to be sheltered from the truth, but something worse to be led astray from real intentions. Many of the guys from my high school joined the military for reasons similar to ideas that everyone in the Middle East are, "evil fanatics who want to bomb America until no one there is alive."
Do you think that keeping America's youth ignorant helps the economy? (may be true, but it's not right at all.)




My second blog comment appears on Sebastian's blog. He talks about one of his favorite artists, Lupe Fiaso, and how his music was inspired by Muhammad. Many of his songs are about his faith.
http://swaldron1.blogspot.com/2012/04/muhammad-walks.html#comment-form

This is pretty cool. I've heard of Lupe Fiasco, but I've never listened to his music. Like you said, it's really cool that main-stream rap artists rap about religion like this.
I wanted to learn more about the holy war, or Jihad. Many people in our Western World are unaware of what Jihad really is. Like Prof. Silliman said, the holy war is an internal struggle to surrender to Allah. He compared it to the Dhammapada and the battle on the field of Dharma. There are those who take this holy war to be a literal translation, meaning slaughtering of those who are non-Muslim, but the majority of Muslims are advocates for peace.

This may be a bit of a stretch, but the chorus from Words I Never Said, "it's so loud inside my head, with words I should have said," reminded me of Muhammad and his visions. He was scared and afraid he was being possessed by a demon, but he was brave and was able to withstand the torment. He listened to the words of the angel and became a messenger of God. There wasn't much Muhammad could do to change the terrible living conditions, but by accepting to become the prophet, he was able to spread the message of God and give the people hope.
"I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence."
Keeping quiet and doing nothing about it is worse than freely allowing the violence to continue. Muhammad tried to make a difference in any way that he could.

Worse than death...

In class on Tuesday, we talked about the importance of remembering.

This was a culture with low literacy rates, so most stories were told orally. The stories sounded repetitive, like music, to ensure they were remembered. Arabia needed ways to remember what was important to them.

Today, we have planners, calendars, reminders to help us remember dates and appointments. Many of us are literate, and can write things down. We have photos of friends from birthdays and special occasions. For our friends whom we've lost, we create collages and tell stories of the good old times.

In Arabia, they had little to no external means of remembrance. If someone died, their memory only lived as long as those remaining still remembered.  Remembering was so important, and to be forgotten was a terrible thing to be.

In Karen Armstrong's book, she notes that hell is not like the angry fires of hell in Christian beliefs. This place is full of sorrow. In this place, the fierce licks of the flames of anger are as equally painful as being forgotten.

This conversation reminded me of one of my favorite characters, Freya (of final fantasy IX). Freya is a dragoon of Burmecia searching for her loved one. When she finds him, she is heartbroken to realize he remembers nothing about her. She falls to her knees, and says "to be forgotten is worse than death." 

Imagine a world without photos to cherish. A world without a way to recall advice or words of a loved one. A place where we only have our memories. When we no longer have those, what do we have left?

RE: Koran by Heart

This is a response to Lauren Feeney's post about the Koran By Heart. She posted some photos from her trip to Egypt and all she learned about the Muslim culture.
http://feeney05.blogspot.com/2012/04/koran-by-heart.html?showComment=1335066820155#c7452019202842729039




Wow that is awesome you actually traveled to Egypt!
I remember when I learned about Islam for the first time in 8th grade, it seemed very interesting. I'm excited about this unit so I can refresh my memory. 
The thing I found most interesting was that several times a day, they had to wash their hands and feet. I remember thinking that people who live in the desert with so much sand must have trouble staying clean. But that is not true.
And that is very cool, the open sky lit area in the mosque. That reminds me of my church which holds outdoor services each summer. It's so nice to be outside and closer to nature, I wish all masses could be held outdoors. It's interesting that this is kind of a universal idea.

Meat- sacrifice or dinner?

In class on Tuesday, we talked about how animals are viewed in Islam.
Some people are upset when they hear about animal sacrifices in the name of God, or Allah.
How terrible to do to an innocent animal, right?
And then we talked about how we Americans are in no position to judge others.

Think of everything we do to animals. Think of our slaughter houses. Think of all the grocery stores with meat cases. Even better, check out this link.... (not for the queasy)
McDonalds http://www.mccruelty.com/

This organization is trying to eliminate suffering of animals in the slaughter house. It is not possible to shut down slaughter houses. Animals consume other animals, and always have, that's not going to change.

But what we can do is try to treat the animals without cruelty or abuse.
I'm not sure, due to the mass numbers of animals killed for consumption each day, if that's really possible though.

According to this blog, http://animaldeathcount.blogspot.com/
" 62 billion animals died to feed Americans in 2010.
Over a lifetime, this amounts to 16,000 animals per meat eater."


In comparison, we are in no position to judge those who sacrifice a goat every once in a while.
(Although, do note that in the Middle East, they consume skinless meat as well. I'm aware that they slaughter animals for consumption as well, but no where near the scale of America. The purpose of this post is to reiterate that we all slaughter animals for different reasons: religion, meal, animal products, fur, etc.)
My advice is to be like the Buddha and minimize the amount of suffering you are responsible for.

In the mean time, check out some Middle Eastern etiquette!
http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/mideast.htm