Thursday, January 28, 2010
Current Event Week of 1/25
Answer the following questions in your post.
1. A speech can be read, heard or watched. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these methods of delivery for a news audience?
2. What is the State of the Union address?
3. According to the program: What topic was a main focus of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address last night? How did Republicans respond to President Obama's speech?
4. If you had to write a State of the Union address, what topics, other than the economy, would you focus on, and why? What significance, if any, do you think that this speech might have on Barack Obama's presidency? Explain.
5. Did you watch the president's speech last night? If so, what was your impression of it?
6. According to the report: How has the city of Wilmington, Ohio been affected by the U.S. economic recession? What impact, if any, have federal stimulus funds had on the city recently? What does Wilmington's mayor say about how state and federal government has responded to his city's situation?
7. In your opinion, what role, if any, should federal, state and local governments play in helping areas that have fallen on hard economic times?
8. What was the Holocaust? What documents from the Holocaust are now on display in Israel?
9. In your opinion: What might be the significance of putting these documents on display? Why might some people not want these documents to be displayed?
10. What other ways can you think of in which artifacts from the past can be used as lessons for current and future generations?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Current Event week of 1/18
As relief efforts continue after Haiti's devastating earthquake last week, cell phone and text message donations have emerged as the next big thing in charitable giving.
In only six days, the American Red Cross has raised more than $21 million for the Haiti Relief effort through text message donations. Even first lady Michelle Obama is promoting it.
In this video, Tom Bearden reports on how cell phone technology is changing the way that people give.
Answer the following questions in your post:
1. Where is Haiti? What is happening there?
2. Do you have a cell phone? How do you use it? What do you use it for?
3. Why do you think people like sending donations via text message?
4. Would you prefer to donate to Haiti this way? Why or why not?
5. What are the problems that arise with text message donations as discussed in the video?
6. What are some of the other kinds of 21st century technologies or social media networks that might help with the efforts in Haiti. How have sites like Facebook, YouTube or Twitter played a role in the disaster?
7. Have you, your classmates or your family members made contributions to the Haiti relief effort? What are some things that you can do to help?
8. Donating money is only the first step. What are some of the difficulties that can arise in terms of getting people in Haiti access to food, water, shelter and medical care?
In only six days, the American Red Cross has raised more than $21 million for the Haiti Relief effort through text message donations. Even first lady Michelle Obama is promoting it.
In this video, Tom Bearden reports on how cell phone technology is changing the way that people give.
Answer the following questions in your post:
1. Where is Haiti? What is happening there?
2. Do you have a cell phone? How do you use it? What do you use it for?
3. Why do you think people like sending donations via text message?
4. Would you prefer to donate to Haiti this way? Why or why not?
5. What are the problems that arise with text message donations as discussed in the video?
6. What are some of the other kinds of 21st century technologies or social media networks that might help with the efforts in Haiti. How have sites like Facebook, YouTube or Twitter played a role in the disaster?
7. Have you, your classmates or your family members made contributions to the Haiti relief effort? What are some things that you can do to help?
8. Donating money is only the first step. What are some of the difficulties that can arise in terms of getting people in Haiti access to food, water, shelter and medical care?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Current Event Week of 1/11
Richard Proudfit's humanitarian organization, Kids Against Hunger will deliver 40 million meals to children in countries all over the world this year and next year they plan to double production to 80 million meals.
The group was started in the mid 1980s after Richard Proudfit volunteered in Honduras during Hurricane Fifi and saw the destruction it caused. Within a few years he had sold his profitable plastic business and was shipping food around the world to children.
In this the first of several reports on social entrepreneurship, NewsHour correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro shows the entire food distribution process, from small-scale funding with volunteers around the United States, (mostly in churches and community groups), to using United States Coast Guard for shipping.
Answer the following questions in your post:
1. Where are some of the areas of the world where people are hungry?
2. What is an entrepreneur?
3. What do you eat every day? How is it different from what these children eat? Who makes your food?
4.. Why did Richard Proudfit start this meal program? Does he get anything out of running this program? Do you think you would want to start a similar program?
5. Why is such widespread hunger absent in the United States but present in many other countries countries? What are some of the differences between the United States and Haiti?
6. How do you think the hunger problem in Haiti could be solved permanently?
The group was started in the mid 1980s after Richard Proudfit volunteered in Honduras during Hurricane Fifi and saw the destruction it caused. Within a few years he had sold his profitable plastic business and was shipping food around the world to children.
In this the first of several reports on social entrepreneurship, NewsHour correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro shows the entire food distribution process, from small-scale funding with volunteers around the United States, (mostly in churches and community groups), to using United States Coast Guard for shipping.
Answer the following questions in your post:
1. Where are some of the areas of the world where people are hungry?
2. What is an entrepreneur?
3. What do you eat every day? How is it different from what these children eat? Who makes your food?
4.. Why did Richard Proudfit start this meal program? Does he get anything out of running this program? Do you think you would want to start a similar program?
5. Why is such widespread hunger absent in the United States but present in many other countries countries? What are some of the differences between the United States and Haiti?
6. How do you think the hunger problem in Haiti could be solved permanently?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Current Event Week of 1/14 - 1/8
Answer the following questions in your post:
1. Name some new technologies that you use now that did not exist ten years ago.
2. Imagine some new tech for the next 10 years. Identify and describe 2.
3. What do you think about Jaron Lanier saying that the internet should not be so free? Do you agree? Why or why not?
4. How has technology affected your life in the last 10 years?
5. Do you still think there is a digital divide? Use examples to explain your answer.
6. What will robots be doing 10 years from now?
7. What is the relationship between technology and ethics? Which technologies are good and which are bad? What forces drive the direction of new gadgets and inventions?
Due Friday 1/8 @ midnight
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Current Event 12/14 - 12/18
In this video report, NewsHour correspondents fan out and talk to Americans around the country to get reactions to President Obama's new Afghanistan strategy, announced just this week.
After a three-months long review, President Obama outlined his new plan for the U.S. war in Afghanistan, which will deploy an additional 30,000 U.S. soldiers to the war. In another 18 months, the president promised to begin scaling down the presence of American forces in the country.
The NewsHour spoke to Americans from Virginia, Texas, California and other parts of the country to gauge their reactions to the unveiling of President Obama's plans for the Afghan war.
Answer the following questions in your post:
1. Where is Afghanistan? What countries border Afghanistan?
2. What did you think of the assessments made by people in the video? Do you agree with any of them?
3. The U.S. has already been in Afghanistan for eight years and experts believe that the war will only get worse before or if it gets better. What do you think of this assessment? Do you think we should add more troops or pull out?
4. What kinds of factors do you think President Obama considered when he decided whether to send more troops into Afghanistan? Do you think some of those factors are solely political?
5. Many critics of a troop surge in Afghanistan are comparing the situation to Vietnam. What happened in Vietnam? In what ways are the two wars similar? In what ways are they different? Do you think its a fair comparison?
6. Do you know any families in your community who are personally affected by the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq? In what ways could you help them? What kind of support do they need?
After a three-months long review, President Obama outlined his new plan for the U.S. war in Afghanistan, which will deploy an additional 30,000 U.S. soldiers to the war. In another 18 months, the president promised to begin scaling down the presence of American forces in the country.
The NewsHour spoke to Americans from Virginia, Texas, California and other parts of the country to gauge their reactions to the unveiling of President Obama's plans for the Afghan war.
Answer the following questions in your post:
1. Where is Afghanistan? What countries border Afghanistan?
2. What did you think of the assessments made by people in the video? Do you agree with any of them?
3. The U.S. has already been in Afghanistan for eight years and experts believe that the war will only get worse before or if it gets better. What do you think of this assessment? Do you think we should add more troops or pull out?
4. What kinds of factors do you think President Obama considered when he decided whether to send more troops into Afghanistan? Do you think some of those factors are solely political?
5. Many critics of a troop surge in Afghanistan are comparing the situation to Vietnam. What happened in Vietnam? In what ways are the two wars similar? In what ways are they different? Do you think its a fair comparison?
6. Do you know any families in your community who are personally affected by the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq? In what ways could you help them? What kind of support do they need?
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Current Event 12/7 - 12/11
Public broadcasting's nightly television news program, the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, is going through a transition that is happening in newsrooms across the country, as traditional forms of media adapt to new technologies, the Web and 24-hour-a-day access.
The program, which has been on the air for 35 years, is changing its name to the PBS NewsHour, and will continue to maintain the same journalism guidelines that have been integral to the program's success.
The first part of this video looks at the changes to the new show and in the second part of this video, NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer discusses the principles that he believes are central to the integrity of the NewsHour as a news organization.
Answer the following questions in your post:
1. What is journalism?
2. How do you get your news?
3. What is the difference between journalism and entertainment?
4. What kinds of problems are news organizations facing in the 21st century? What are some solutions to those problems?
5. How has the internet changed the way people get news? In what ways has it changed things for the better or the worse?
6. What does journalism mean to you? What do you think makes good journalism?
7. What do you think of "MacNeil-Lehrer journalism" as described by Jim Lehrer at the end of the video? Do you agree or disagree with any of his points?
8. What is the difference between public and commercial media? What are the pressures on news programs that rely on commercial advertisers?
9. Jim Lehrer's final point is that he is "not in the entertainment business." What do you think he means? What do you think about this statement? Why do some news organizations believe that news is part of the entertainment business?
Current Event due Friday 12/11 @ midnight
The program, which has been on the air for 35 years, is changing its name to the PBS NewsHour, and will continue to maintain the same journalism guidelines that have been integral to the program's success.
The first part of this video looks at the changes to the new show and in the second part of this video, NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer discusses the principles that he believes are central to the integrity of the NewsHour as a news organization.
Answer the following questions in your post:
1. What is journalism?
2. How do you get your news?
3. What is the difference between journalism and entertainment?
4. What kinds of problems are news organizations facing in the 21st century? What are some solutions to those problems?
5. How has the internet changed the way people get news? In what ways has it changed things for the better or the worse?
6. What does journalism mean to you? What do you think makes good journalism?
7. What do you think of "MacNeil-Lehrer journalism" as described by Jim Lehrer at the end of the video? Do you agree or disagree with any of his points?
8. What is the difference between public and commercial media? What are the pressures on news programs that rely on commercial advertisers?
9. Jim Lehrer's final point is that he is "not in the entertainment business." What do you think he means? What do you think about this statement? Why do some news organizations believe that news is part of the entertainment business?
Current Event due Friday 12/11 @ midnight
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Current Event 11/30- 12/4
Read the following article about an American born Muslim who works to dispel stereotypes about his religion.
Jihad Turk -- clean-shaven and youthful -- is telling an interfaith audience that the prophet Muhammad traces his lineage to Abraham, the biblical patriarch.
Turk explains to the crowd of mostly Christians and Jews that Muslims also revere Jesus and Moses as prophets, and that Islam cherishes life.
But some in the Pepperdine University audience are skeptical. One man wants to know why so many Muslims are "willing with perfect ease to kill," as he puts it, drawing brief applause.
A woman later needles Turk about what she views as Islam's suppression of women. "You guys really need a good PR firm," she tells him.
Without missing a beat, Turk responds: "If you know of one, let me know."
U.S. Muslims are struggling mightily these days to win over a wary public. In Los Angeles, part of that task falls to the 38-year-old Turk, director of religious affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California, one of the region's most influential mosques.
Earnest and doggedly optimistic, Turk is an unflappable ambassador for an often embattled faith -- a man whose American upbringing gives him a foothold in two sometimes colliding worlds.
The son of an American Methodist mother and a Palestinian Muslim father, Turk was elected homecoming king at his Phoenix high school and took some time off from college to explore his Islamic roots in Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Now, as an emerging leader in local Muslim circles, he spends much of his time patiently trying to spread his message about Islam's peaceful intentions, the importance of tolerance and the ancient thread shared by three monotheistic religions.
Some who encounter Turk commend him for breaking down walls of suspicion. Others doubt that he represents mainstream Muslim belief. Turk acknowledges that it can be difficult to convince skeptics. The recent deadly rampage at Texas' Ft. Hood, allegedly by a Muslim Army major, has made the job even tougher.
"I've come to realize that there is a certain segment of the population that is impervious to what I have to say," Turk said. "But there is . . . usually a good number of people I will get through to."
Turk's childhood helped blend his dual identities.
He attended public schools and played on youth soccer teams (his teammates called him Jay), even as he learned Arabic in Sunday school and attended summer camps for young Muslims. In high school, he made the varsity football and track teams and spent his senior year reading books on Islam in his free time.
Although his parents came from different backgrounds, they reared their five children as Muslims. "It was my personal opinion to raise them in one faith rather than throw mixed signals at them," said his mother, Carol. "I had no objections to the Islamic religion."
Hafez Turk chose what he believed would be a noble name for his son -- Jihad -- long before the word entered the U.S. lexicon as an expression for "holy war," a meaning that Islamic scholars say has been distorted by extremists and the media.
"We do jihad every day in our life -- the struggle to do good," said the father, a refrain frequently repeated by his son.
Turk's parents divorced when he was 17, driven apart to some degree by cultural differences, including disagreements about his mother's work and activities outside the home, she and Turk recalled. The split had a lasting effect on Turk.
"I would listen and feel the pain and hear the point of view of each of my parents," he said. "That experience highlighted to me the importance for cultures to communicate."
The divorce also prompted Turk to explore his faith more deeply. An imam at a Phoenix mosque encouraged the young man to study Arabic and Islam at the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Soon, Turk left Arizona State University for the ancestral land of Muhammad -- a place that he said felt wholly foreign to him, with its ideological fervor, literal interpretation of the Koran and segregation of men and women.
"It was a complete culture shock," Turk said of his two years in the country, recalling how a professor at one point offered him a free plane ticket to Afghanistan to train with mujahedin fighters (he declined).
Turk also spent six months in Iran studying Farsi and Shiite Islam before returning to the U.S. to finish his bachelor's degree in Arabic at UC Berkeley, followed by a master's degree in Islamic law and Arabic at the University of Texas. He started on a doctorate in Islamic studies at UCLA and four years ago began working at the Islamic center on Vermont Avenue. At the mosque, he runs youth programs, leads prayers, delivers sermons and officiates at weddings and funerals.
Leaders at the center said they hired Turk because he embodied their commitments to openness and integrating disparate identities.
"He fit our model," said Maher Hathout, the center's spokesman and one of its elders. "We coined the term, 'Home is not where my grandparents are buried. Home is where my grandchildren are brought up.' "
Other prominent community members see Turk as representative of a new generation of American-born Muslims who can break down stereotypes and more easily explain the Muslim experience to those beyond the walls of their mosques.
"The presence of young Muslims who project a homegrown experience and understanding helps undo the psychological barrier of 'us versus them,' " said Hussam Ayloush, the Southern California executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Turk is good-natured and quick-witted, often sprinkling humor through his crash-course presentations on Islam. During a recent visit to a world religions class at Hollywood's Immaculate Heart High School, he read passages from the Koran about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to demonstrate that Muslims and Christians share the same creation narrative.
Then he tried to teach the roomful of seniors how to deliver the traditional Arabic greeting: "as-salaamu alay-kum" -- peace be upon you. The students stumbled over the words.
"A-salami-and-bacon?" he joked, drawing giggles. "Muslims don't eat bacon."
Turk is a relative newcomer to Muslim leadership circles in Los Angeles. Those interviewed said they welcome his interfaith work, but some objected to his use of the title "imam," a designation they said should be reserved for the most learned Islamic scholars.
Turk is "not qualified to issue legal opinions or give legal advice," said Khaled Abou El Fadl, a UCLA law school professor and Islamic law scholar who was once Turk's graduate school advisor.
Turk said he gives advice on Islamic law or personal matters when asked to do so by members of the Islamic center. As for the title, he said he goes by "imam" only when outside audiences introduce him that way and never uses it in the mosque.
Turk is continually in motion. When he's not at the center, teaching Arabic at UCLA or coaching soccer (he has three young children), he can be found engaged in one of his many interfaith endeavors.
In March, he will help lead a mission to Israel and the West Bank with Jewish, Muslim and Christian representatives, his fourth such trip. The group will visit sites holy to all three faiths. And early next year, another group he co-founded, the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group of Southern California, will begin pairing local churches and mosques in a relationship-building exercise.
Turk's co-leader, the Rev. Gwynne Guibord, an Episcopal priest, said Turk's dual background is a useful tool in his efforts to establish trust.
"Because he was born and reared in this country, I think it's easier for people who are not Muslim to understand him," Guibord said. "He is deeply American and yet he is Muslim."
Yet bridging the two worlds remains a challenge.
The day after the Ft. Hood shootings, Turk hosted at the Islamic center a group of seventh-graders from New West Charter Middle School in West Los Angeles. The students observed midday prayers inside the mosque. Then Turk gave them his abbreviated course on Islam, explaining that Muslims observe five pillars of faith that include daily prayer, fasting during the Ramadan holiday and making the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, which he has done twice.
"Muslims believe in the Torah, the New Testament, the Old Testament and the Koran," Turk told the students.
Then he asked: "My name is Jihad. What does jihad mean?"
One boy answered: "It means to fight."
Turk, responding with the firm but friendly tone of a teacher, offered an alternative. "It means the inner struggle to do the right thing," he said.
duke.helfand@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jihad29-2009nov29,0,7265377,full.story
Answer the following questions in your post.
1. How do people react to Jihad's message? Why do you think this is?
2. How does Turk's background make him a good person to break down stereotypes about Muslims? What has he done to break down stereotypes? How could these actions be helpful in his mission?
3. Imagine you could write Jihad an email about what you have learned about Islam, from his message, or any questions you have. Write a one paragraph email commenting on the article, what you have learned about Islam, your questions about Islam, and asking Jihad about his message.
4. What could Jihad and other Muslims do to break down stereotypes about Islam? What could we as Christians AND Americans do to break down stereotypes about Islam.
Due Friday 12/4 @ midnight
Jihad Turk -- clean-shaven and youthful -- is telling an interfaith audience that the prophet Muhammad traces his lineage to Abraham, the biblical patriarch.
Turk explains to the crowd of mostly Christians and Jews that Muslims also revere Jesus and Moses as prophets, and that Islam cherishes life.
But some in the Pepperdine University audience are skeptical. One man wants to know why so many Muslims are "willing with perfect ease to kill," as he puts it, drawing brief applause.
A woman later needles Turk about what she views as Islam's suppression of women. "You guys really need a good PR firm," she tells him.
Without missing a beat, Turk responds: "If you know of one, let me know."
U.S. Muslims are struggling mightily these days to win over a wary public. In Los Angeles, part of that task falls to the 38-year-old Turk, director of religious affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California, one of the region's most influential mosques.
Earnest and doggedly optimistic, Turk is an unflappable ambassador for an often embattled faith -- a man whose American upbringing gives him a foothold in two sometimes colliding worlds.
The son of an American Methodist mother and a Palestinian Muslim father, Turk was elected homecoming king at his Phoenix high school and took some time off from college to explore his Islamic roots in Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Now, as an emerging leader in local Muslim circles, he spends much of his time patiently trying to spread his message about Islam's peaceful intentions, the importance of tolerance and the ancient thread shared by three monotheistic religions.
Some who encounter Turk commend him for breaking down walls of suspicion. Others doubt that he represents mainstream Muslim belief. Turk acknowledges that it can be difficult to convince skeptics. The recent deadly rampage at Texas' Ft. Hood, allegedly by a Muslim Army major, has made the job even tougher.
"I've come to realize that there is a certain segment of the population that is impervious to what I have to say," Turk said. "But there is . . . usually a good number of people I will get through to."
Turk's childhood helped blend his dual identities.
He attended public schools and played on youth soccer teams (his teammates called him Jay), even as he learned Arabic in Sunday school and attended summer camps for young Muslims. In high school, he made the varsity football and track teams and spent his senior year reading books on Islam in his free time.
Although his parents came from different backgrounds, they reared their five children as Muslims. "It was my personal opinion to raise them in one faith rather than throw mixed signals at them," said his mother, Carol. "I had no objections to the Islamic religion."
Hafez Turk chose what he believed would be a noble name for his son -- Jihad -- long before the word entered the U.S. lexicon as an expression for "holy war," a meaning that Islamic scholars say has been distorted by extremists and the media.
"We do jihad every day in our life -- the struggle to do good," said the father, a refrain frequently repeated by his son.
Turk's parents divorced when he was 17, driven apart to some degree by cultural differences, including disagreements about his mother's work and activities outside the home, she and Turk recalled. The split had a lasting effect on Turk.
"I would listen and feel the pain and hear the point of view of each of my parents," he said. "That experience highlighted to me the importance for cultures to communicate."
The divorce also prompted Turk to explore his faith more deeply. An imam at a Phoenix mosque encouraged the young man to study Arabic and Islam at the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Soon, Turk left Arizona State University for the ancestral land of Muhammad -- a place that he said felt wholly foreign to him, with its ideological fervor, literal interpretation of the Koran and segregation of men and women.
"It was a complete culture shock," Turk said of his two years in the country, recalling how a professor at one point offered him a free plane ticket to Afghanistan to train with mujahedin fighters (he declined).
Turk also spent six months in Iran studying Farsi and Shiite Islam before returning to the U.S. to finish his bachelor's degree in Arabic at UC Berkeley, followed by a master's degree in Islamic law and Arabic at the University of Texas. He started on a doctorate in Islamic studies at UCLA and four years ago began working at the Islamic center on Vermont Avenue. At the mosque, he runs youth programs, leads prayers, delivers sermons and officiates at weddings and funerals.
Leaders at the center said they hired Turk because he embodied their commitments to openness and integrating disparate identities.
"He fit our model," said Maher Hathout, the center's spokesman and one of its elders. "We coined the term, 'Home is not where my grandparents are buried. Home is where my grandchildren are brought up.' "
Other prominent community members see Turk as representative of a new generation of American-born Muslims who can break down stereotypes and more easily explain the Muslim experience to those beyond the walls of their mosques.
"The presence of young Muslims who project a homegrown experience and understanding helps undo the psychological barrier of 'us versus them,' " said Hussam Ayloush, the Southern California executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Turk is good-natured and quick-witted, often sprinkling humor through his crash-course presentations on Islam. During a recent visit to a world religions class at Hollywood's Immaculate Heart High School, he read passages from the Koran about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to demonstrate that Muslims and Christians share the same creation narrative.
Then he tried to teach the roomful of seniors how to deliver the traditional Arabic greeting: "as-salaamu alay-kum" -- peace be upon you. The students stumbled over the words.
"A-salami-and-bacon?" he joked, drawing giggles. "Muslims don't eat bacon."
Turk is a relative newcomer to Muslim leadership circles in Los Angeles. Those interviewed said they welcome his interfaith work, but some objected to his use of the title "imam," a designation they said should be reserved for the most learned Islamic scholars.
Turk is "not qualified to issue legal opinions or give legal advice," said Khaled Abou El Fadl, a UCLA law school professor and Islamic law scholar who was once Turk's graduate school advisor.
Turk said he gives advice on Islamic law or personal matters when asked to do so by members of the Islamic center. As for the title, he said he goes by "imam" only when outside audiences introduce him that way and never uses it in the mosque.
Turk is continually in motion. When he's not at the center, teaching Arabic at UCLA or coaching soccer (he has three young children), he can be found engaged in one of his many interfaith endeavors.
In March, he will help lead a mission to Israel and the West Bank with Jewish, Muslim and Christian representatives, his fourth such trip. The group will visit sites holy to all three faiths. And early next year, another group he co-founded, the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group of Southern California, will begin pairing local churches and mosques in a relationship-building exercise.
Turk's co-leader, the Rev. Gwynne Guibord, an Episcopal priest, said Turk's dual background is a useful tool in his efforts to establish trust.
"Because he was born and reared in this country, I think it's easier for people who are not Muslim to understand him," Guibord said. "He is deeply American and yet he is Muslim."
Yet bridging the two worlds remains a challenge.
The day after the Ft. Hood shootings, Turk hosted at the Islamic center a group of seventh-graders from New West Charter Middle School in West Los Angeles. The students observed midday prayers inside the mosque. Then Turk gave them his abbreviated course on Islam, explaining that Muslims observe five pillars of faith that include daily prayer, fasting during the Ramadan holiday and making the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, which he has done twice.
"Muslims believe in the Torah, the New Testament, the Old Testament and the Koran," Turk told the students.
Then he asked: "My name is Jihad. What does jihad mean?"
One boy answered: "It means to fight."
Turk, responding with the firm but friendly tone of a teacher, offered an alternative. "It means the inner struggle to do the right thing," he said.
duke.helfand@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jihad29-2009nov29,0,7265377,full.story
Answer the following questions in your post.
1. How do people react to Jihad's message? Why do you think this is?
2. How does Turk's background make him a good person to break down stereotypes about Muslims? What has he done to break down stereotypes? How could these actions be helpful in his mission?
3. Imagine you could write Jihad an email about what you have learned about Islam, from his message, or any questions you have. Write a one paragraph email commenting on the article, what you have learned about Islam, your questions about Islam, and asking Jihad about his message.
4. What could Jihad and other Muslims do to break down stereotypes about Islam? What could we as Christians AND Americans do to break down stereotypes about Islam.
Due Friday 12/4 @ midnight
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