Wednesday 10/27

1) Prayer
2) Opening question: "A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step." How does this apply to your life and what journeys do you expect to make in your life?
3) We watched a video about the Asian community and their social and religious practices.
4) We read an excerpt from Taoist book about Winnie the Pooh learning about the faith.
-Taoists believe that the earth is naturally sweet and free flowing and that there is no need for regiment or seeking refuge from suffering like Confucius and Buddha teachings.
5) We practiced a little bit of Tia Chi to finish up class.

Monday 10/25/10

1. Prayer
2. March for Life forms- due next time
3. Opening: What bothers you? Buddha says that complaining is the human condition
4. Scenes from "The Little Buddha"

• Baby is born
• Life of Buddha- formerly named Siddartha
• He is made king- but he goes to help people out who are suffering. A man died and he witnesses him being burned 
• He learns about suffering and compassion. He questions his Dad and his Dad wants him detained
• Buddha abandons his family
• a snake protects him from the rain- people who witness this become his disciples 
• He says "if you are too tight then you will snap, if you are too loose you will never get anywhere. We need to be in the middle"- people ignore him and he makes a bowl float upstream
• The children are tested under the tree

HW: March for Life forms

Class Notes 10/19

1. Prayer
2. Hanger Review
-- 4th CZ, HM
a) nature or defnition
b) significance/connection
-- look at the pictures in the textbook and create and answer questions relating to the picture.  This is practice for the text next class

 p. 320, 323, 331, 347, 350

HW: TEST THURSDAY (aka next class)

[320] picture of salat (ra'ka, mirab)
a) What is salat?
b) How does salat relate to a Muslim's spirituality?

[323] the Grand Mosque, Mecca (hajj, ka'ba)
a) What does the Ka'ba represent?
b) How is the Ka'ba related to the process of the hajj?

[331] The Qur'an
a) What id the Qur'an?
b) How does the Qur'an influence the dailt life of Muslims?

[347] The Ascent of Muhammad (razul)
a) Who is Muhammad?
b) How does he influence the faith?

[350] Old Woman Teaching Children
a) What is the role of women in the mosque?
b) How did Islam influence the role of women and children?

Class Notes 10/12

Class Notes

The Role of Shari’a in Islam

       Fiqh- Law (criminal or civil law)

       Shari’a- Law (moral and Islamic Law)

       Shari’a is the divine law in Islam

       Drawn from the Qur’an and the Sunna

o   Example of the Prophet Muhammad

       All encompassing- setting forth in detail the practice of Islam

Ethics and Society

       Development of Islam from the period of Muhammad, early Caliphs, and Umayyad period is the “golden age” in Islamic history

       Development of the Caliphate began in 632 to 661 (rightly Guided Caliphs) and provided an ideal period for Muslims- especially the Sunni

       Sunni- 85% of Muslims- selected Abu Bakr- adopted the belief that leadership should be given to the most capable leader

       Shi’a (Shiis)- 15% of Muslims- party of ‘Ali’- opposed that Abu Bakr should become the leader of the Islamic community

       Imam- political and religious figure in Shi’a Islam- Shi’a see Ali as the 1^st Imam- Sunni see imam simply as spiritual leaders

Resurgence of Islam in the World

       Public and Private life- Islam provides a sense of identity and guidance for everyday living

       Prayer and fasting, Islamic forms of dress, and family values

       Iran, Afghanistan, and Sudan tried to establish themselves as Islamic States

       Problem of radical Islamic organizations and their engagement in terrorism

       What is the future of Islam in the 21^st century?

       Islam remains the fastest growing religion in the world

       Expanding the learning and understanding of this major world religion is important

       Islam law, theology, and mysticism shapes 1/6 of the world’s population

       Revitalization of Islam is both a challenge and I threat to Muslim society and the “West”

       Islam shares many important links between Judaism and Christianity

o   Strict monotheism

o   Similar moral value

o   Believes in the accountability of people

Test Format

       Will have 5 questions- pick 4 to actually answer

       Will either have a quote or a picture

       Has 2 parts to each question

       First part make sure you have 3 key points (facts or vocabulary)

       Second part make sure you have 7 key points (facts or vocabulary)

       Answer will always need “what is the nature of…?” and “what is the significance of…?”

       You cannot use the same point twice on the test- once it is an answer it cannot be repeated

Islam Questions

Opener: What's something you repeat over and over & how is it helpful?

1. What's the importance of the Hajj to Muslims?

2. What is Ramadan & what pillar is associated with it?

3. What's the relationship between Allah and Muslims?

4. What's the significance of Yawmuddin?

5. Describe how the 5 pillars are integrated into the lives of Muslims?

6. How's Ihram related to Yawmuddin and the Hajj?

Class notes 10/7

1. Prayer
2. Quiz #4- last one
3. Presentations- Religions of North America

• Inuit- Canada, Alaska, believed in Northern Lights, Spirits they believed animals and plants had souls 
• Naskapi- believed in spirit in living things, reverance for the enivorment, suspended bodies from trees, nomadic, buried their dead facing west
• Powhatan- Jamestown, VA, polytheistic, worshipped fire, lighting, thunder, evil God, used magic
• Cherokee- 7 clans, 7 sacred directions, prayed to spirits 
• Hopi- Southwest, desert climate, worshipped for rain 
• Aztec- Mexico, 12th-15th century, trade, adobe homes, advanced military, agriculture. Had thousands of Gods, rain and sun God, had human sacrifices

4. Work on paper #2- What do Muslims believe about Allah? or what do Muslims believe about humans?

HW: Paper #2 

Class Notes 10/5

1. Prayer
2. Sufism- a branch of Islam; search for a development and personal relationship with God which is opposite to most main stream Muslims.
They are dedicated to a life of prayer and fasting.
3. Video on Sufi Whirling
4. Presentations

• Australia
• Aborigines
• language groups
• clans totem and territory
• no chief
• shared posessions
• Sacred Nature
• Not one invisible God
• numerous ancestral gods
• "oneness with nature"
• reincarnation
• sacrifice for bird
• Moiety
• based on Ancestral beings from creation
• "exogamous"
• Totem
• animal/plant/place related to person or group
• can't eat totem
• Tribes
• Alawa tribe
• est. 1960
• inhabited an area in western/southern Australia
• Kaurna
• Southern Australia
• lived in pangkarra
• circumcision
• Kalkadoon
• Mount Isa
• Beliefs
• Earth and figures are eternal 
• connected tribes with languages
• some groups believe in supreme being
• Dream Time
• time of creation
• spirits came into forms
• ancestor spirits come alive
• passed down by word of mouth
• Aboriginal Deities
• 70 common Spirits
• Creation being
• Ancestral being
• Totemic being
• Rainbow Serpent
• believed to control the water
• Main Rituals
• pray to the land
• Funerals and Initiation ceremonies
• Art is important to culture/religion
• Modern Day Australia
• Christian
• Religious Freedom
• India
• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Gaiyism
• Rivers
• Ganges---> washed away sins, baptism, bathing
• Way of Life
• Dharma
• ethics and duties
• Samsara
• rebirth
• Karma
• right action
• Moksha
• liberation from the cycle of Samsara
• Beliefs
• no unified system
• interchangeable beliefs
• idol worship and reincarnation
• Brahma
• creator
• four heads
• lotus
• no weapon
• Vishnu
• preserver
• golden maize
• lotus
• spinning disk
• white conic shell
• Shiva
• many forms; trident, snakes, 2-sided drum, destroyer of world (good and bad)
• African Religion
• Egypt
• arid, rely on seasons, by the Nile
• Beliefs
• centered on rituals and myths
• early Dynastic period (3000 B.C.) --->unification of Egypt
• polytheistic
• Maat- fixed eternal order of the universe
• Pharaoh- human and devine
• Eastern Africa
• least urbanized
• "horn nations"
• Abdul-Baha wrote letters encouraging a start of religious community
• Southern Africa
• around the Great Lakes and forced East
• believe sun and moon were gods
• 3 main gods: Guab, Gauanab, Haitisi-aibib
• Central Africa
• Congo---> second largest rainforest
• Bantu, a major ethnic group
• most were Christians
• major god is Efile Mukula
• West Africa
• domestication of camel allowed more advancement
• Bantu people and Islam are mentioned in religious history
• Christianity is predominent
• Yoruba people of Nigeria
• Gelede Festival
• All believe in a supreme being

Class Notes 10/01/10

We had a powerpoint on the Jihad, and today we mainly focused on the Lesser Jihad and their influence in the Middle East. We also, learned about the extent of the Arab and Jewish conflict in the Middle East and how the creation of Islam escalated tensions and gave rise to more militant Islam. We also discussed how the interpretation of the Qur’an could have lead to the 9/11 attacks.

We also learned about Malcolm X by watching a few scenes in the movie, starring Denzel Washington. It portrayed how he became a Muslim and came to Allah during his time in prison and how he initially called for separation of races. His reasoning was that until African American’s were able to unite themselves and become cohesive then they couldn’t expect them to get equality among other races. After his pilgrimage to Mecca, he separated from the Nation of Islam and came full circle in the fact that he was more about the unity of all nations and that all should come together.

We were also given time to talk about our IIP’s which are due on Tuesday. This weekend we will finalize our powerpoint and then Monday we will regroup to talk about the last minute things.