Vian Dakil, MP in Iraq, begs parliament for aid on behalf the Yazidi situation.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/07/who-yazidi-isis-iraq-religion-ethnicity-mountains

Vian Dakil, MP in Iraq, begs parliament for aid on behalf the Yazidi situation.

week15

In “Arab and Arab American Feminism, Gender, Violence, and Belonging,” the author Rabab Abdulhabi talks about how her parents are originally from Jordan and her being from the United States. Both her parents and her have different point of views about the American Culture and the Arab Culture. For her parents the Arab culture was very important and that is why they imposed the arab culture over to herself and her siblings because they wanted to keep their traditions. But, there were some times were she would disobeyed her parents with little things that it was enough for her parents to believe that she was being rebellions and that she was betraying her culture. In fact, for Abdulhabi parents the american culture was seen as trash culture, degenerate,  morally bankrupt, and sexually depraved. Contrast to the Arab culture that was seen as  morally resepectable, were they valued marriage, family and close relationships. However, Abdulhabi parents noticed that Muslim were begin portray differently in the news and were being call “terrorist” and “dirty arab.” At that point, her parents started to notice how they were treated and decided to assimilate more the American culture. For example, when they went to the store, she notice that they would change their names for something more American like such as John. However, for them their culture was still very important and they tried to keep it that way. 

Week 15

In “Reflections of a Gender Palestinian American Lesbian Mother,” Huda Jadallah talks about how being a Palestinian and a lesbian mother creates some challenges in the society. She mentions that there is a lot of the time where she would be mistaken for an Arab man in the bathrooms and other public settings, because Arab men are being portrayed as the close mind, abusive, sexist and rapist. In fact, she also talks about how her two sons will fight in public and she will be ashamed because people might think that her sons are being taught how to be violent from a young age.In other words, Jadallah talks about how her being Genderqueer sometimes it seems as a sexual predator because she looks like a man and has two kids. That is why, she feels like an outsider and not belonging in her community of family because of her gender, but there is an abuse community that she goes to where she can find herself and has a sense of belonging.

Week 15 Readings

Nadine Naber begins by explaining in the first reading how “Culture” is “Political” and how growing up she always stuck in between the Arab and American values. Although, she was born in San Francisco she was always restricted from participating in school or “american” activities because as she calls it “we” (Arabs) do not do that. Although, being raised in  a middle class suburb lead her and her parents to try and assimilate and befriend the “American kids”. While at the same time constantly pointing out that they are Arab and the others are American. Also having her parent’s constant pressure of what a “good” Arab girl is and what she needs to do/learn. She explains the these pressures lead her to betray her culture and find her own peace. To truly express who she is and try to survive at the same time due to the views that the society in the U.S. hold of Arabs. Overall, she admits that growing up in a cultural divided household led her to cultural loss but encouraged her to make a change within the Arab community and help them be more acceptance of new values.

Huda Jalladah reflects on her life and struggles as an Arab Lesbian Mother. On Gender Nonconformity, the idea of society calling her a “terrorist” and thinking that as soon as she appeared in a room not only devastates her but she knew that came along with being Palestinian and society’s views. Along with being a queer woman, she sees the fear in women once she walks into a public restroom and they mistake her for an Arab man. She goes on to explain that she is also a mother to twin boys and the looks she gets in public when her children are fighting scares her. She does not want people to think that they will grow up to be violent Palestinian men as the media portrays . But she is always being judged through  a parenting lens and a homophobic lens. Even when it came to housing, UC Santa Barbara denied her and her partner form housing because of their sexual preferences. Since they were not married nor was it legal to have children together, they did not allow them to be part of subsidized family housing. Showing how much U.S institutions discriminate people and deny them equal opportunities.  Finally, she concludes by explaining how growing up queer she never truly felt part of the communities she took part of but she learned two things to help her get through it. That one has to be herself, know themselves, and feel good about who they are which will lead to create a family and a sense of belonging  wherever they pursue that.

Crafting an Educated Housewife in Iran

In “Crafting an Educated Housewife in Iran,” the author talks about how the ideal Muslim men are the ideal citizens, they are the ones that are in charge of the nation, while the women are seen as the ones that are in charge of the household. In other words, she discusses how women and men receive an education; however, both genders receive a different education. For example, boys focused on scientific knowledge or known as the second volume, which it had it to do with math, science, poetry and geography. On the other hand, women were going to school to learn how to be a better wife and a better mother. Although, most the young girls would stop going to school at a young age because knowing how to be a good housewife was something “natural” and they didn't need to go to school to know something they are born with. In fact, they also compare the Iranian culture with the European culture and how women re different from each other.

Sexual Ethics and Islam

In “Sexual Ethics and Islam,” the author K. Ali talks about how marriage, money and sex has to do with Islam and how they represent each of these categories in different texts such as the Qur’an and the Hadith. At the beginning of the chapter, K. Ali talks about how marriage obligates the husband to pay his wife a dower or to pay it to the bride’s family; and it seems has legitimate sexual access to his wife. In other words, it seems to have “the vulva’s price,” because it is the compensation that he enjoys about her. On the other hand, Islam also focuses on women and men's sexuality. In fact, Islam is a religion with a positive view of human sexuality, focusing on sexual rights within marriage, and the right to fulfill their pleasures without being obligated. And this goes as well for men. And last, but not least this the author talks about halters; she mentions how Islam does not obligate women to be house a wife or be part of the domestic sphere.

week 15 nadine naber

In this week’s reading, Nadine Naber discusses on the subject of the cultural disputes uprising ever since being a child in San Francisco and having deeply rooted upbringings of her family’s culture. Coming from a strong Arab background, the culture embedded within each family member was brought up whenever they could do something, when they could not, who could belong and who did not. The American and Arab values and differences that Naber had to face were not easy. She did respect her culture’s rules and guidelines, however this was not entirely true at all times. What felt even worse about not listening to her parents was that when breaking the rules there were times she felt as if she was disrespecting her people’s culture. Because this culture revolved around the word, “we.” Naber also endured the struggle of knowing her uncles need to change their names, in order to stop being harassed by Americans. This exemplified how her family had to assimilate into this American culture, however most things they could not necessarily do was part of the American culture. Even then, assimilation was difficult. Orientalism was the struggle she and her people had to face, because, despite following their culture, it brought them to a greater risk of belonging in a new country. The culture that Naber had to face is much more different than what I had to follow compared to us both being American born, yet having two separate cultures. I am not saying one culture is better than the other, but each culture takes time in order to assimilate in a country like this. Nonetheless, this reading was eye opening and relatable in many aspects to individuals with immigrant families.