Assignment 8

HTY 110HA Module 8 AVP Script Title: Muslim Americans Screen 1 Screen Title: No title Screen Content: Picture: American Muslims. 2012. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 23 May 2014. Narrator: Welcome to this presentation discussing Muslim Americans. Who are Muslim Americans and what does a Muslim American look like? How many of the people shown in this image would likely be victims of profiling at an airport? Screen 2 Screen Title: No title Screen Content: Picture: Dao, Gina J. Ethnic Composition of American Muslims, According to the CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations, Washington D.C. 2009. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 23 May 2014. Narrator: As this pie graph illustrates, there are more African American than Arabic Muslims in the United States. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not possible to discern who is Muslim and who is not simply by looking at a person. Screen 3 Screen Title: No title Screen Content: Picture: Islamic Symbol, Green Gradation. n.d. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 23 May 2014. Narrator: In addition to misconceptions about what Muslims look like, there are many misconceptions about the Islamic faith. The term “Islam” refers to a faith. The people who practice this faith are called “Muslims.” Let’s take a very brief look at Islam and some of the terms and beliefs associated with this religion.

Screen 4 Screen Title: No title Screen Content: Picture: Einstein, Norman. Locator Map of Mecca, in Western Saudi Arabia. 2007. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 23 May 2014. Narrator: The Islamic faith was founded in the year 622 AD by the Prophet Muhammad in the cities of Mecca and Medina in what is now Saudi Arabia. Just as the Christian faith is based on Judaism, so the Islamic faith is based on both Judaism and Christianity. As such, there are many similar features shared by all three of these faiths including a belief in one supreme and all-powerful being, reverence for Abraham and Moses, a similar creation story, recognition of Jerusalem as a holy place, and much, much more. Screen 5 Screen Title: No title Screen Content: Picture: The Five Pillars of Islam. 2014. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 23 May 2014. Narrator: There are five Pillars (or beliefs) that are central to the Islamic faith. First is Faith. Muslims must recognize that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet. Second is Prayer: The faithful must pray five times each day facing Mecca. Third is Alms giving. The faithful give to the poor and back to Allah. Fourth is Fasting. Muslims must fast during Ramadan. Fifth is the Pilgrimage. All Muslims who are able must journey to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, and also to Medina if possible. Screen 6 Screen Title: No title

Screen Content: “To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth; when He decreeth a matter, He saith to it: ‘Be’; and it is.” (Qur'an 2: 117) Picture: A Copy of the Qur'an Opened for Reading. 2005. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 23 May 2014. Narrator: The holy book for Islam is called the Qur’an. Its message and its wording are very similar to that found in the Jewish scripture that Christians refer to as the Old Testament. The central message of Islam is not one of war and hate as many would like Americans to believe. So why is Islam viewed by some as a faith of violence? Screen 7 Screen Title: No title Screen Content: Picture: Federal Bureau of Investigations. Photo of Eric Robert Rudolph, Who Was an FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive. C. 1998. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 23 May 2014. Narrator: Religious extremists of all faiths garner a lot of attention from the news media because they perform extreme or radical actions in the name of religion. Consider Eric Rudolph, a Christian extremist who firebombed two abortion clinics and a lesbian nightclub in the name of God. Also consider Shelley Shannon, a Christian extremist who, in 1993, shot an abortion doctor in both arms outside of his clinic. There are many more such instances of violence performed in the name of Christianity. Do most Christians agree that doctors who perform abortions should be shot? Would most Christians think it is OK to bomb an abortion clinic? Extremists, by definition, do not represent the average person. They have extreme ideas and often employ extreme tactics. Screen 8 Screen Title: No title Screen Content: Picture depicting an American Muslim family Narrator: This is true in regard to Islamic extremists. Their actions do not represent the thoughts and beliefs of the mass of Muslims in America and throughout the world.

Like other Americans, Muslims are living their day-to-day lives and have the same hopes and fears as everyone else. Screen 9 Screen Title: No title Screen Content: Picture depicting Muslim woman draped in the US flag Narrator: After 9/11, the United States had to decide how it was going to treat its Muslim population. While some government officials acted quickly to assure Muslims that they were welcome and would not be targeted, some government agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, have sometimes relied on the unreliable technique of profiling to identify Muslim extremists. Overall, though, the story of Muslims in America might be one of the most important examples of how a pluralist society can make room for people of all faiths and belief systems. Even after the events of 9/11 and the panic that followed, Muslims continue to be allowed to come to this country to make lives for themselves and their families as well as to work and to study. Screen 10 Screen Title: No title Screen Content: Picture: Geographer. Statue of Liberty Embellished by Golden Sunset. 2002. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 23 May 2014. Narrator: This is an appropriate note on which to end this course. As we have seen in every module, despite the promise represented by the Statue of Liberty, America does not have a very good record of welcoming everyone and treating everyone equally. However, what makes America special is that many people in America have never stopped demanding that America live up to the ideals of freedom and equal treatment set forth in its Constitution. As each decade passes, this country inches closer to truly being a place where all people‒no matter where they were born or what race they are or what religion they practice‒are genuinely welcome. Screen 11 End of presentation