A Christians Experience In A Mosque Religion Essay

A Christians Experience In A Mosque Religion Essay I am a Christian by personal faith, genetics and through circumstance of being raised in the church. I have been a Christian so long that any other religion to me is of little concern to me personally. But, I do not say this to be mean because I have many friends of different religions, beliefs and races. Whatever they believe in is fine with me and vice versa. I decided to go to a mosque with my best friend since fourth grade since she is a Muslim. I learned a lot more than I originally thought and this is my journey. Humama and I have been best friends since fourth grade. My family and hers are close despite one being Christian and the other Muslim. To each other we are people, friends, and religion does not define our relationship. I asked Humama to come with me to the mosque downtown on King Street because I would feel more comfortable being with someone who knew what was going on. We decided to go on a Friday, which is their holy day. Before leaving her house in Goose Creek, we performed ritual called a Wudu. It is washing of body parts important to performing formal prayers, called Salah. She said that there is a station at the mosque for it, or they use a sink for it but it would be easier to do it before we left home. She gave me a blue outfit to wear with a matching veil to cover everything from our wrists to our ankles for modesty and respect. On the drive downtown, bundled up in a beautiful outfit completely out of my normal form of dressing, I wondered how I would be greeted and how I would be changed by this. I have walked and drove past the mosque on King Street many times. After living downtown for almost a year, you would have to be blind not to notice it. It sits there on the corner of King and Romney street, quiet and not architecturally designed like the mosques I have seen in pictures. It is simplistic in its design for its purpose. We parked and walked to the mosque and I noticed people of different races entering the mosque which surprised me. There were Blacks, Whites, and many people of Middle Eastern descent. There were young people, old people and all seemed unified in their beliefs of Allah. We entered the mosque and entered a quick prayer to bless the mosque. The prayer had not started yet, so Humama introduced me to other Muslims in the hallway. My anxiety was easing somewhat speaking to others that did not seem to mind I was there, despite being a Christian. Before entering the actual mosque, Humama and I took off our shoes to show another form of respect. Humama and I sat facing Mecca, after speaking for a few minutes to the others, she said we could offer other quick prayers while waiting for the sermon to start. I realized for the first time that the men and women were separated in the mosque. The men were in the front and the women in the back, though we could still see everything. I noticed that there were two rows of chairs and I saw that the handicapped or men of importance sat there. I sat beside Humama thinking, this is kind of unfair having to sit all the way in back and not among the men. In my church you sit anywhere, but I pulled the thought back, to not judge but participate in her faith. To get my mind off it, I thought to myself that I really enjoyed not having my shoes on since I am somewhat bohemian. Humama informed me we were waiting for the Imam, the preacher and leader of the mosque, to come out and preach which is called the Pre-Prayer. She informed that the Imam would usually come out and give a sermon on whatever he wished to or tell a religious story. He would later in the sermon connect the meaning of it to his sermon. I became a little impatient waiting for the Imam to come out, but she reassured me that he would be out shortly. After five more minutes he walked out and reality finally set in that I was completely out of my depth. The Imam, whose actual name is Mohamed Melhem did not look like a preacher to me. He seemed like a regular man yet easy to talk to. He began the sermon by welcoming everyone to the mosque and praising Allah. He was easy to listen to and to understand. He gave a sermon on serving Allah and fasting. That by fasting you gain a closer relationship with Allah. Allah is there for us and there is only one. Prayer should be consistent (they pray five times per day) and that the Quran is there to guide us. He spoke of being a Muslim in the world, that all aspects of being a Muslim should be retained once leaving the mosque. As a Muslim, your ethics and how you stick to them in the world shows how Allah is working through you. I noticed that everyone seemed in awe and took in every word he said. They seemed completely devoted to listening to the Imam speak about this, because by looking at them you could tell some found themselves again by being among peers like themselves. After finishing the sermon, the Adhan or Azan, did a call to prayer. Everyone listened and moved forward face down listening to the Azan pray. After the prayer was finished, some people continued to pray and others got up to socialize. The mosque offered food to us to raise money for the mosque. The food was similar to what I had eaten before at Humamas house and it was delicious. I do not remember the names of the food, but it did not matter at the time. Everyone socialized for about an hour and a half and some continued to speak about Allah, others about school and work. Some people were coming in late having just got off work to come in at the right time to pray. Leaving the mosque, I felt a little different. The peace of praying with others who get along despite your race. The sacredness of leaving the world outside and finding yourself again when entering the mosque. Facing Mecca and everyone praying in one direction and at one time. They all believe the same way and it shows why they have such a strong community. No one is trying to pull away and do their own thing. It made me feel closer to my own God, and that it makes life easier knowing that essentially we all have the same belief in one God, despite the different ways we worship. I gained a closer relationship with my best friend and with my God and that really changed me.

The Arrival Of Blu-Ray Technology :: Technology

Formatting Problems The Arrival of Blu-ray Technology Blu-ray- also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format which was jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). As compared to the current optical disc format such as DVD, this new format allows users to record, rewrite and playback high-definition (HD) video and store large amounts of data. In fact, Blu-ray’s storage capacity is five times more than traditional DVDs, which can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This high storage capability has also allowed additional content and special features such as downloading extras, updating content via the web, and watching live broadcasts of special events. In addition, when combined with the new BD-J interactivity layer, the users’ experience in watching a Blu-ray movie will be greatly enhanced. For instance, while the director explains the shooting of a scene, we are able to view the scene playing in the background simultaneously. Besides storage capacity and interactivity, high-definition is another reason why Blu-ray is better; a blue-violet laser (405nm) has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650nm), hence the laser spot is able to focus with greater precision. Compared to DVDs, which only supports standard-definition (SD), Blu-ray supports HDTV and offers five times more detail in the clarity and sharpness of picture, and as well as better enhancement effects in HD video and audio quality. Besides Blu-ray, HD-DVD is the other new high-density DVD format competing to be the next-generation optical disc format. The HD-DVD format which is supported by NEC, Toshiba, and Sanyo, relies on the blue-laser technology as well. However, as compared, Blu-ray has a much bigger storage capacity and a higher data transfer rate for both video and audio. So do consumers prefer Blu-ray or HD-DVD? According to an independent study conducted by Cymfony (a market influence analytic company) on the new HD video formats and players, between October 1, 2006 and November 23, 2006, there are 46 percent (in a total of 17,664 posts) higher positive discussions about HD-DVD with authors stating being â€Å"impressed with HD-DVD† vs. â€Å"impressed with Blu-ray†. On the other hand, few posts has discussed the high storage capacity and advance interactivity.

Aggression & Biological explanations

The demand to understand aggression over the years has continued to intensify as it remains the central cause for broken families and relationships, societal conflicts and most importantly the major cause of incarceration for people in all age groups.Though some scholars have concluded that biological causes of aggression, the ability to address it by changing things in the environment at different levels of growth and development makes it to be more psychological.However, it is the findings from many scholars that men are more aggressive than women which that has resulted to a more heated debate.   Joel et al (2010) found that women suffered about 65% of the total domestic violence.Aggression is any action or behavior by members of the same community that is intended to instill pain or cause harm to a specified target; for instance murder, domestic violence, manslaughter, and aggravated assault.   It from this consideration that this evaluation intrinsically analyzes aggression and why men are more aggressive compared to women.Biological explanations(a)  Ã‚     Variation in libido levelsAccording to Yvonne et al (2010), an individual’s actions can be traced from his respective genetic constitutions of chemicals that command them.   In this case, aggression arises from stimulation of these chemicals and their relation to respective environments.Biologically, men’s higher levels of aggression can be understood from two different perspectives. First the psychodynamic theory by Sigmund Freud considers behavior as a derivative and motivated by sexual and libido energies.Aggression is therefore a libido representation as exemplified by the Oedipus complex.   With men’s libido being relatively higher compared to women as Rhiannon ands Crisp (2010) explain, their aggressiveness is equally higher.   At childhood level, a boy of about five years develops strong sexual desires to his mother after realization that she is the provider of food.Notably, this innate desire to associate with the mother makes the boy to develop and display aggressive behavior towards the father who is considered an immediate rival. For the girls, they seek to associate more with their fathers from penis envy before they are able to resolve the conflict.   Though Yvonne et al (2010) differ with Society for Neuroscience (2007) on libido extent in causing aggressive behavior, they emphasize that boys often take longer and their aggression is evident from a broader perspective (in school and community) compared to girls.Report by Sigelman and Rider (2008) indicate that boys and girls exhibit aggression in about 10% and 6% of their varied social behaviors respectively.(b)  Ã‚   Evolutionary explanationsBuss (2005) consideration presents aggression as a factor of an individual’s chemical constitution and heredity effects.   Over the years different genes are passed down through generations to facilitate their survival in the commu nity.   Similar to non-human organisms where males fight for mating preferences and food, men equally seek to control their dominance in the community and institutions.Following the male dominance in most of the top executive positions, their aggression is projected at protecting themselves, their progenies and even relatives; an aspect that soon turns into a cycle with only one family or region being in   leadership or management.   Notably, this consideration has however received major criticism as emerging scholars cite environmental factors as the main cause of aggression.Neurotransmitter chemicals differences in men and women determine the levels of aggression in them.   Society for Neuroscience (2007) indicates that serotonin, a major neurotransmitter messenger, in ordinary levels as it mostly happens with women, have a calming effect.   However, men generally have a major deficiency of serotonin which has been linked to greater aggression levels.However, these resul ts appear to contradict previous findings by Garandeau and Cillessen (2006) which indicated that serotonin causes aggression when in higher levels.   . Yvonne et al (2010) findings are further supported by Buss (2005) who indicates that serotonin is used in treating aggressive behavior.Unlike other causes of aggression which appear to be controversial in causing aggression in people, high levels of the testosterone (male sex hormone) in men compared to women is a major cause of their aggressive behavior.Rhiannon ands Crisp (2010) explain that in a jail with males of violent crimes, their levels of testosterone was found to be higher compared to those without criminal record.   Unlike women, men’s testosterone levels easily rise at slightest provocation to make them easily get involved in different crimes.Therefore, though testosterone among men is generally high compared to women, it requires an effective precursor situation for one to be involved in aggression activity.P sychological underpinnings(a)  Ã‚   Social learningIn his view which appears to partially support biological causes of aggression, South and Georgina (2007) postulate that psychological considerations have more weight.   Naturally, people are subjected to differing environments which mould how they react to various situations.According to Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, when people are subjected to aggressive environments, they internalize and latter practice related actions (Hines and Saudino, 2003).   In his experiment with children on aggressive and non-aggressive dolls, Bandura found that related aggression and non-aggressiveness was effectively replicated.   However, why are men more aggressive than women?From a cultural perspective, South and Georgina (2007) argues that men are expected to be handy and therefore often subject themselves to key aggressive events.   For instance, more boys often prefer hostile computer games as girls prefer working with dolls. South and Georgina (2007) adds that as men grow up, they often seek to relate with more aggressive systems as they consider them to be useful in defending themselves and their families.For instance, men will always seek to build up their boy muscles, train in defense skills and also watch hostile media which could easily result to aggression.   As indicated earlier, internalization of these violent actions creates a series of constant feedbacks reflected in their behavior as aggression.

The story of american history essays

The story of american history essays There is one word that each American would agree describes what this country was established for, freedom. If you asked ten people what freedom meant to them you would probably get ten different answers. The founders and original citizens of this country put their lives on the line to become free from a country they felt was unfairly ruling them. Many of these men had bought Africans to use as slaves in their homes and their fields. They were using a double standard. As all men are created equal Africans are not counted in this quote. Patriots saw their slaves as property and not actual people; therefore they were not entitled to the same rights as the colonists. Thomas Jefferson thought that all everyone should have equal rights. This included men, women, and African Americans. As explained in chapter one this ideal was one that was new to the colonists. Their society had always been dependant on the social status of the community and this went against all they had ever known. Although Jefferson himself owned over one hundred slaves he said that the way they were treated was no way for a human to live. During the antebellum era many workers used the term wage slavery to described how they felt about their working conditions. Many individuals worked for their employers for a wage that bareley allowed them to pay for the cost of living much less allowing them have any money to save. They felt that they were receiving an unfair amount of money for their work and they compared this to being a slave. The workers could not afford to quit, but they knew that they would never have enough money to get ahead or make a better life for them of their family. There are two sides to my feelings of the founding fathers that owned slaves. I understand that during this time period that owning slaves was almost a necessity to run a successful plantation. Slaves did all the work inside and outside the home. Witho...

Free Essays on Conflict Theory

Conflict theory sociologists say that society is made up of groups that compete for scarce resources. It established that power and social inequality are main characteristics of society. Karl Marx is the founder of CT. He felt that the key to history is class struggle. Marx theorized that there were only two groups: the bourgeoisie or capitalists that control the means of production and the proletariat or working class who are a mass of exploited laborers. Later CT adherents proposed different class structures. Wright defined four classes (Capitalist, Petty Bourgeoisie, managers and workers). Gilbert & Kahl proposed 6 classes (Capitalist, upper middle, lower middle, working class, working poor, and under class). There are three determining factors in social class: wealth, power and prestige or respect. People generally rank very similar in all three dimensions. Sutherland, a functional perspective sociologist, coined the term â€Å"white collar crime† to describe crimes committed by distinguished and high social status people during the course of their occupation. White-collar crime, also called crimes in the suites, costs the US more than twice that of crime in the streets. It occurs when privileged members of society encounter â€Å"opportunities† to better their financial position and disregard the needs of other members. This is example illustrates white-collar crime perfectly. Edwards used his contacts within his business and political networks to better his personal financial position. C Wright Mills said that â€Å"power† or the ability to enforce your will despite resistance, is in the hands of few. He contradicted the ideology of equality and coined the term â€Å"power elite† to describe the few at the top of US society with the power to make the important decisions. To determine what groups are in conflict, first establish who has the power to enforce their desires on others. A governor could easily be perceived as... Free Essays on Conflict Theory Free Essays on Conflict Theory Conflict theory sociologists say that society is made up of groups that compete for scarce resources. It established that power and social inequality are main characteristics of society. Karl Marx is the founder of CT. He felt that the key to history is class struggle. Marx theorized that there were only two groups: the bourgeoisie or capitalists that control the means of production and the proletariat or working class who are a mass of exploited laborers. Later CT adherents proposed different class structures. Wright defined four classes (Capitalist, Petty Bourgeoisie, managers and workers). Gilbert & Kahl proposed 6 classes (Capitalist, upper middle, lower middle, working class, working poor, and under class). There are three determining factors in social class: wealth, power and prestige or respect. People generally rank very similar in all three dimensions. Sutherland, a functional perspective sociologist, coined the term â€Å"white collar crime† to describe crimes committed by distinguished and high social status people during the course of their occupation. White-collar crime, also called crimes in the suites, costs the US more than twice that of crime in the streets. It occurs when privileged members of society encounter â€Å"opportunities† to better their financial position and disregard the needs of other members. This is example illustrates white-collar crime perfectly. Edwards used his contacts within his business and political networks to better his personal financial position. C Wright Mills said that â€Å"power† or the ability to enforce your will despite resistance, is in the hands of few. He contradicted the ideology of equality and coined the term â€Å"power elite† to describe the few at the top of US society with the power to make the important decisions. To determine what groups are in conflict, first establish who has the power to enforce their desires on others. A governor could easily be perceived as...

My Hurricane Katrina Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

My Hurricane Katrina Experience - Essay Example Finally my family was able to move into our home only in October 2007. My family left New Orleans on August 28, 2005 to live with my uncle in Livonia, Louisiana. We stayed there until the Christmas Break. I attended the Livonia High School for one month, transferred to Catholic High in New Roads, Louisiana. While attending Livonia High School I had a very sad experience of being treated unfairly on the basis of my race. I was even called racist names by some of the fellow students. This was tearing me apart as I had never undergone such a nasty experience. At times, I used to feel very angry and started losing my temper. I felt like fighting with those students. The Peer pressure almost would have resulted in my doing something that I would have surely regretted later. I Prayed to GOD and asked him to control my temper and change the hearts of those who were treating me wrongly. My prayers were answered and after some time those who treated me wrongly became my friends. This was indeed a very frightening, fearful, and furious experience for me.

Supreme Court Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Supreme Court - Assignment Example Relying on the letter of the amendments would therefore be retrogressive and be a threat to justice in the contemporary environment (Exploring Constitutional Conflicts, n.d.). Opinion that the constitution is an outline of regulations from which actual rules should be derived is another justification of the non-originalist perspective to interpretation of the constitution, is valid because of the diverse needs that cannot be outlined and provided for in a legal document, and validates non-originalist theory. Existence of minor variations in phenomena explains this (Schults, 2009). In addition, the legal system allows for independence in judicial decisions if facts of a case justify such independence. Applications of case laws, distinguishing precedents in particular and especially based on difference in facts to a case, explains the need for relativism in interpretation of laws. Based on this acceptable practice in the judicial system, and variation in facts on cases, it becomes a ne cessity for interpretation of the constitution to consider the changes (Antoine, 2008). Interpretation of the second amendment is actually a good example because the current environment, with security personnel, undermines needs for arms as provided for by the amendment. The position for a non-originalist perspective is therefore rational and reliant on contemporary facts. Exploring Constitutional Conflicts. (n.d.). Theories of constitutional interpretation. University of Missouri-Kansas City. Retrieved from: