Posted on 03/24/2003 6:03:52 PM PST by syriacus
In light of a public awakening and newfound interest in the fastest growing religion around the globe — Islam — UC Davis’ Introduction to Islam class hit a record-high class size, with over 80 students enrolled this quarter in the typically small class. Curiously, over half of these students are Muslim.According to lecturer Kathleen O’Connor, who has taught this and other Islamic study courses for the past four years, Muslim students take the class “to get a broader understanding of their culture.
“Non-practicing Muslims want to know where they come from. Practicing Muslims want to get information on their roots,” said O’Connor.
“I didn’t know anything about the history of my faith,” said first-year student Sana Ali when asked why she was taking a secular class about her religion. “I think that’s what makes it even more interesting.”
O’Connor said the average Muslim knows what they learn about Islam from their family and religious authorities. Many are unaware of the biographical aspects of Islam.
“It’s a mutual learning relationship,” O’Connor said. “I teach them about the history and background of their faith, which they don’t know a lot about, and they teach me about the day-to-day life within the faith, which I can’t know as well as they do.”
There are many issues to be tackled when teaching a secular class on a topic as sensitive and personally important as religion, said O’Connor.
Many Muslims who take secular classes expect their faith to be attacked and strongly try to rebut any perceived insults against Islam.
“There are always those who feel that they are defending the faith,” said O’Connor. “I have to be careful as an unbeliever. I still say the hard stuff, but I have to do it in a way without causing too much offense.
“There’s a weird sort of unspoken code against nonbelievers studying Islam,” she continued. “I got this handicap with students [by] being an nonbeliever.”
This has been a particular problem in O’Connor’s class, especially when introducing inherently controversial topics such as the place of minority sects and traditions within Islam.
According to O’Connor, modern Muslims are so used to having their faith insulted by Western culture, stereotypes and traditional approaches to religious studies that they try to present a unified front before those outside of their faith.
“Some of the students keep quiet of their opinions because they don’t want to show diversity within the religion, because to some of them diversity tends to suggest disunity and weakness,” said O’Connor.
She said she attempts to combat this tendency by spending as much time dealing with minority groups within Islam as on the mainstream sect.
“It’s like a minefield, you have to deal with all these concepts at once,” O’Connor said. “I’ve learned it’s just better to bring all the ambiguities into the public for discussion.”
One student in the Islam class who wished to remain anonymous said that O’Connor “is teaching the class through her eyes” and that “she emphasizes stuff that she feels is important.”
Another anonymous Muslim student said, “We know better what to concentrate on.” He continued, “We learned from when we were born, [O’Connor] learned it later.”
Still, many students are supportive of O’Connor and her approach to teaching Islam.
One female Sufi Muslim student who wished to remain anonymous stated, “I like how she spends time on all the different forms of Islam.” She continued, “I don’t follow the majority religion, and I appreciate the fact that she realizes that there’s more to Islam than just the Sunni tradition.”
According to O’Connor, many Muslim students go on to take more classes on Islam from her.
“As long as my Islamic students keep returning, I know I’m doing something right,” she said. Yet, there are those individuals who would prefer to learn from a teacher who is Muslim. One of the anonymous students noted that although he would prefer to learn from a believer, O’Connor is fairly knowledgeable on Islam.
O’Connor said she sees her distance from the culture as a strong point because bringing diversity to the class and trying to encourage a multiplicity of opinions is one of the central goals of the Islamic class.
“The nonbeliever can see the pattern without overlaying it with a theological direction,” she said. “Seeing the pattern can help people put their religion in the world community of religions. It isn’t a better or worse way of seeing things, it’s just different.”
Prior to her term at UCD O’Connor’s courses, which include Quran, Islam in America and Introduction to Islam, were not taught here.
Currently, O’Connor is considering leaving the university next year due to disputes with the administration regarding her teaching status.
Yet, at least one class on Islam will likely be featured next year, according to O’Connor. The course, to be taught by history professor Barbara Metcalf, will focus on Islam in South Asia.
However, classes on the Quran and mainstream Islam may be suspended if neither O’Connor or a replacement teaches them
Apparenlty Kathleen doesn't understand the term "secular".
I think it would be useful for someone to obtain the class list and fax it to the FBI each semester. There is little difference between this class and an Al Queda training camp.
60. Introduction to Islam (4) Lecture/discussion—4 hours. Introduction to topics at core of Islamic tradition including Muhammad,the Qur’an, Islamic law, Sufism and sects as well as to selected topics including Islamic revival.—III. (III.)65C. Scriptures of Islam (4) Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Examination of the scriptures (in translation) of Islam, with attention to its role as literature, as religious iconography, and as devotion. Scriptural interpretation and methods and institutions of scriptural learning. Not offered every year. GE credit: ArtHum, Div, Wrt.—III
65D. Beliefs of Islam (2) Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Introduction to why the Jews must be pushed into the Sea. Examination of the methodologies of drowning the infidels in their own blood.65F. Tactics of Islam (2) Lecture/discussion—3 hours; field work. Practical application of Islamic belief. Students learn the proper techinques for blowing up schoolbuses, cafés, women, and children.
Setting it straight: A story on page B1 Thursday about the Hillel House arson incorrectly identified three organizations at the University of California, Davis, as recognized Palestinian groups. The Muslim Student Association, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Arab Youth Association include members from a variety of backgrounds.By Terri Hardy, Bee Staff Writer
Local and federal authorities are investigating an arson attack at the Hillel House early Wednesday, as officials of the organization for Jewish students at UC Davis said they had warned police of trouble a day earlier.
Hillel officials questioned why police failed to act on the warnings Tuesday that the house, across the street from the campus, had been targeted.
Investigators determined that vandals torched an Israeli flag hanging from the northeast corner of the house, setting the roof on fire. A plate glass window in front of the house also was shattered. No one was injured.
Local police are investigating the arson as a hate crime; FBI and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents are investigating it as a federal crime because Hillel House sometimes is used as a house of worship.
On Tuesday, Hillel officials alerted the city and campus police departments about possible trouble, but no action was taken, said Raphael Moore, Hillel board president.
"The response today was very good," Moore said Wednesday. "But obviously we wish there had been a better response yesterday. We had the names of students who were planning this. Theoretically, if the police or the FBI had those names they could have stopped this."
Moore said Hillel received a tip from Jewish students in another city who reported overhearing other students discussing plans to vandalize the Davis Hillel. They said Palestinian students, from Davis and elsewhere, planned the attack, Moore said.
Hillel officials turned over the names of the students to investigators. Police said they had not determined suspects in the case.
UC Davis has three recognized Palestinian groups: the Muslim Student Association, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Arab Youth Association. Calls made to 14 leaders of those student organizations were not returned.
Lt. Don Brooks, a spokesman for the Davis Police Department, said Hillel left a message about the potential attack on an officer's answering machine. It was not retrieved because the officer was ill.
UC Davis police said they received a call from Hillel Damron, the group's executive director, Tuesday afternoon. It said: "We may have some trouble with some Palestinian students." But Sgt. Joyce Souza didn't retrieve the call from her answering machine until 5 p.m., campus police said. "She decided to wait until the morning to call," said Paul Pfotenhauer, police spokesman.
Davis police were called to the Hillel House about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday after a neighbor was awakened by her dog and then ran outside to find that the tiny white house down the street was ablaze.
The fire was limited to a small portion of the roof. The house was unoccupied.
Vandals left no message at the scene, police said.
"I don't think the intent was to harm anybody. The intent was to make a political statement," Damron said.
But the burning of an Israeli flag and window smashing at the Hillel House stunned members of the Sacramento-area Jewish community, still shaken by three 1999 synagogue arsons.
"Any hate crime is reprehensible and intolerable," said Skip Rosenbloom, president of the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region.
"It may be minor damage, but in the big scheme of things this is a big offense to the ATF and the FBI," said Randy Haight, a special agent with the ATF.
Haight and FBI agents did not officially declare the arson a hate crime, but termed it an arson at a place of worship, which is a federal offense. Davis police, however, classified the arson as a hate crime, using the lower state standard for such an offense.
The Hillel House, in the 300 block of A Street, is an off-campus meeting place for Jewish students from both UC Davis and California State University, Sacramento. Moore said the house sponsors roughly 500 events a year that range from free Tuesday lunches to forums on Israeli politics.
"This is a classic hate crime and we will not accept it in our community," said Ken Wagstaff, Davis mayor. "The values of Davis are about inclusion and welcoming everybody." Carol Wall, vice chancellor for student affairs, said in a written statement that the university will offer counseling to students in distress because of the arson.
"We are alarmed at the incidents that target groups in our community such as the fall incident involving violence against Asian students and the tensions related to the recent ASUCD election," Wall said.
Both the university and Hillel had previously planned anti-violence, unity events this month.
By late afternoon Wednesday, the police tape had been removed from around the Hillel House and a new Israeli flag was flying from the house.
Sana Ali went from being a freshmen who knew nothing about the history of her faith to becoming a sophomore co-President of the Muslim Students' Association at UCD (if this is the same Sana Ali).
Sana Ali, a sophomore and co-president of MSA [Muslim Students Association], said she was amazed by the turnout and that she thought the questions were “wonderful” since they showed interest in knowing the truth about Muslims. “I’m sure a lot of people walked out of here with more knowledge regarding Ramadan and Islam,” Ali said.
You did such a good job at writing the course descriptions that you had me thinking, at first, that they were from the catalog.
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