DISCUSSION BOARD REPLY

Directions: In 200-300 words each you must reply to both of the classmates post below. Be sure to label each reply so that I know which one you are addressing. Please note that "I like what you said," "That's a good point," and "I disagree with your point" do not count as complete replies in and of themselves. Rather, stating why you liked or disliked the comment, adding additional thoughts or ideas to the original point, and/or providing alternative ideas or thoughts when you disagree will count as a reply. You are expected to be courteous in any disagreement with a classmate. Thus, personal attacks or calling an idea "stupid" or another derogatory remarks are not acceptable, and your grade will reflect such behavior. The specific amount of points deducted will be left to the discretion of the instructor. Be sure to cite and reference all sources. Graduate quality work is expected to be free from spelling and grammatical errors, written according to the most current APA formatting guidelines, and adhere to the specific assignment instructions that are provided.

Demetra (Post1):

Watching the presentations were very interesting. It is amazing how we can come up with conclusions about various cultures based on what we see on television and on social media. I must admit that I was guilty of stereotyping others that did not believe in what I did. For example, whenever I would travel by plane and a person of Arabic decent would board, I would instantly get nervous and feel frightened for my life. How sad was that? It differs very little from what some cultures would do when they seen a young black man (that appears to be a thug) approaching them. The natural reaction would be (and is depicted heavily on television) to clinch your purse or walk away quickly. It amazes me often times to know that society can truly destroy our beliefs and ways of thinking.

There were a few things in the presentations that I found surprising. Rheam stated that people think that all Muslims are Arabs. I used to think that years ago. I am not sure why I thought this. However, whenever I would see someone in church that looked out of place, I would wonder why they were there. Of course all are welcome in the house of the Lord but I was so confused. I did not think that Muslims could enter into a regular church. Let me explain a little further. Growing up, my family was Jehovah Witnesses. We were not allowed to enter into a "regular" church. So when funerals came around, if they were held in any other place besides the actual funeral home, we were not to go. This explains my way of thinking.

Another point that I found interesting was that Muslims think that the Christian Bible is corrupt and has false beliefs. This one is hard for me to stomach. As a child, I have always known and lived by the Christian Bible. Is that not the Bible of all Bibles? T his confuses me a bit. Though I can understand how some would think that what they have been taught is what is right and the others are false. How can or do you convince someone that what they have been taught is not accurate would be an appropriate question for me to ask myself and others. There is no true way of answering this. Therefore, how can we say that one Bible is better or more accurate than the others that are floating around out there?

The presentations provided during this week speak about the Qur'an stating that it says nothing about violence. But when we hear news reports, it is always said that terrorists have killed because their God or Leader has told them too and that they follow the Qur'an. Jesus, when I tell you that this too confuses me. I am not sure what is in that book but it would interesting to read so that I can form my own conclusions.

I like that Rheam gives advice to counselors at the end so that they (we) can better assist those we may come into contact with from other cultures. She says that we should study their belief systems and be aware of what is going on in their lives. This is true of any culture. Counselors must have a good deal of insight on their student/client so that they are aiding them by giving them the support they need to be successful. She also says to watch internal reactions to understand their client or student as well.

References:

Liberty University (2010). The Middle East, Muslims, and Christians. [Video]. Retrieved from https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_255025_1&content_id=_9976662_1

Melinda (Post2):

There are several themes that stood out during the presentations such as fully understanding the Arab and Muslim culture, the way Muslims view Christians and vice versa, and the stereotyping involved. It is important to understand and know what Arabs are in order to understand their culture. Arabs are persons who have ancestral ties to the Saudi Arabian peninsula and have historically practiced Islam (Hays and Erford, 2010). Muslims are adherents of the religion of Islam (Hays and Erford, 2010). It is important to also note that not all Arabs are Muslim.

Dr. Garzon spoke with Rhema, who is from Jordan and considers herself Jordanian and a Christian. She is considered a minority in Jordan but 97% of the residents are Muslim. It is a large misconnection that all Arabs are Muslim. She said being a Christian in Jordan has had both negative and positive experiences. She said depending on how people view, depends on the experience. She said Muslims view Christians as having false beliefs and are seen negatively. She did say that if they give Christians a chance, they are typically nice. She said Muslims largely think so negatively about Christians due to what they see in the media and in Hollywood films.
There is a lot of stereotyping surrounding Christians and Muslims. Rhema said she tries to live a Christ like life and has helped several come to Christ by her way of life and has helped change some of the false beliefs surrounding Christianity in Jordan. Christians and Americans tend to view Muslims as terrorists especially since September 11st. This is not true. Terrorists are a group of people not one person or one religion. Muslims are all humans like Christians, Jewish, etc. In the United States, the media seems to feature Arab-American and Muslims consistently in a negative light. The portrayal of these negative images takes place by creating an image of Islam with terrorism, violence, extremism and hatred toward America (Gerhauser, 2014). A change in the general American public's understanding of the Arab ethnicity, Islamic religiosity, and terrorism, as a political act of violence, requires citizens to interact with these individuals or learn about these cultures to better understand them (Gerhauser, 2014).

As counselors, it is important for us to know our internal reactions and feelings in regards to other cultures. We must also take the take and opportunity to get to know people from other cultures and know where people come from. For example, Rhema stated that in Jordan, they are very family oriented and have strong tribal identity. They have this large extended family.

We must respect others and love them. Especially if we are Christians, it is not for us to judge others, but to be accepting and welcoming. It is important to not judge a person due to preconceived notions or stereotypes about people from different cultures. We would not want to be treated that way and we should not treat others that way. I knew I needed to learn more about other cultures, specifically Middle Eastern cultures, and this video helped reiterate this. As counselors, we must be constantly learning and part of that is learning about other cultures so that we can be culturally competent and able to help people from different backgrounds.

Dr. Garzon explained that most Muslims are good people who do not support terrorism and that only makes up a small population that do. Understanding that only a small few people are extreme terrorists is important to understand. To fully understand radical extremists, you must understand the historical religious roots and break the stereotypical assumptions of what a terrorist is perceived to be like (Garzon, 2011). We must also note that not all Muslims are extremists or the same. There are some fighting the same fight against terrorism as we are.

A question I would like to know is whether or not Rhema or her family has ever been practicing Muslims. If they were, why did they decide to become Christians and when?

References:

Garzon, F. (2011). Islam, terrorism, and counseling. Liberty University.

Gerhauser, P. T. (2014). Framing Arab-Americans and Muslims in U.S. media. Sociological Viewpoints, 30(1), 7-35. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1707097888?accountid=12085
Hays, D. G., & Erford, B. T. (2010). Developing multicultural counseling competence: A systems approach. New York, NY: Pearson.

Liberty University (2010). The Middle East, Muslims, and Christians. [Video]. Retrieved from https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_255025_1&content_id=_9976662_1.