John Rith

Civic Engagement
Humanities 1100
9:00 MWF

Pre-Reflection:
I cannot honestly think of what to expect. From what we discussed in class and what little
I have read about the professor I know that he is Muslim and coming from North Carolina. I am
curious to see what he has to say about the religion in regards to what we discussed in class even
though it was rather brief. I wonder what points he will cover about the religion as a whole and
whether or not he will address the number of media related incidences that have been tied to the
religion. I have only seen the titles of his books and am not sure of what conclusions to draw
from that reading. I believe that he will be very contemporary with his topics and discussion as
he addresses the student body. Since it is an election year, I wonder if he will talk about the
political arena. From the title of the lecture, Islamophobia it is possible that there will be
discussion about Donald Trump and I look forward to hearing his feelings on the candidate. Over
all I think it would a very enlightening experience to hear what he has to say, not only as a
Muslim but as an American from the south and his take and perspective on everything that is
happening in the world; from the politics, to immigration, and the perception of Islam as a
whole.
What event did you choose for this activity? (Include place, date, time, activity, etc.) With
whom did you speak and what did you learn from them? What does civic engagement
mean to you? How did this assignment help you to be civically engaged? Did you enjoy this
experience? Would you do it again? Why or why not? How did it relate specifically to the
course?
I chose to attend the lecture America and Islam: Peace and Justice in an Age of ISIS and
Islamophobia" by Omid Safi. I was held Monday April 4, 2016 in the Oak room on SLCC
campus. It was mentioned in class and had sparked interest with me and a few fellow students.
Omid Safi is a professor of Asian and Middle Eastern study at Duke University, and presented on
the current state in which Islam is viewed by the American world.
There were many things that were discussed by Safi but the overall topic would be,
American relations towards Muslim majority countries. Safi is very American and pro-American
but his lecture criticizes American foreign policy. It was very eye opening and informative about
the topics he discussed. He opened with a harsh reality and talked about three of his students who
were targeted and executed due to the simple fact that they were Muslim. He wanted to
emphasize the harsh reality of the world we live in and how this American minority group is
treated. One of the first points that he discussed, that I was unaware of, was the relationship in
which America has had since its birth. He stated that of the American slaves that were brought
over from West Africa; roughly 15%-25% of these individuals were Muslim. That Malcolm X,
who was one of the major voices in the civil rights movement, was Muslim also and that even
Thomas Jefferson studied the Koran as well as Arabic. The historical content of Muslims is not

something that I ever learned while I was attending school as a child. There was not a lot of
religious topics but the concept of American being a Christian country and Manifest Destiny
were always concepts that I was aware of; there was never a mentioned of Islam in the
discussion of the founding fathers. Safi also discussed Martin Luther King Jr. and the importance
of April 4th. King Jr. was assassinated on that day nearly fifty years ago. Safi spoke about how
King Jr. was against the war and how by the time of his assassination he had alienated 57% of all
blacks as well as 72% of Americans in general for what he said against Vietnam. King Jr. was a
minister and could not condone war for whatever reason. Safi also gave some interesting historic
lessons about the 1953 CIA coup of Mohammed Mossadegh of Iran. When it came down to it, it
was about oil; which also seems to be the reason of so many wars. Safi is a tree hugging
socialist as he puts it; that hates war more than anything else because, When bombs drop,
children die.
Over all I enjoyed this lecture. I believe that everything you hear you must take with a
grain of salt but Safi had some very valid arguments and points that were very enlightening to
hear and understand. This assignment was a wonderful opportunity to being civically engaged
and to be more aware of what the current states of affairs are with the world as a whole. This
being an election year and so much discussion about Syrian refugees, it is always better to have
an understanding of the conversation and debates of the candidates and where all the animosity
stems from. I believe that being civically engaged means that you know what is going on in the
world around you and that you are doing something about it; regardless of what side of the ring
you are on, it is important that you know who is in the fight. I would more than happily attend
another engagement such as this, even though some things were hard to hear or see, knowledge
and information cannot be cherry picked.
This lecture relates so thoroughly to a number of topics in class. I did not foresee the tie
in with the civil rights movement. As I had written in my museum paper in regards to The
Problem We All Live With, the civil rights movement still has reverberating effects on the world
in which we live to today. The issues from that time period are still prevalent today. There is still
much animosity and unwarranted hate for another group of people. The reading material can be
related to what we see happening today in our society. As Safi puts it, people are not seen as
human but are classified by their skin color or religious beliefs. We live in an America that
spends its money in the arms race and militarizing its police, while at the same time we look
historically at marches and sit-ins that were met with police dogs and water cannons. It seems
that it is just a historic escalation of action in regards to the minority parties of this modern and
progressive country.
On a happier note, we are human. Safi talks of immigrants and how they, like us have
basic wants for their children. They want food in their childrens bellies, as well as a roof over
their heads, and clothes to keep them warm. Is not that what we all want? Is not the pursuit of
Happiness and the Good Life what we all yearn and hope for? Despite the hate that we seem to
carry for each other, can we not at least agree in humanity?

Prompt 2:
Coming into this assignment there was a lot of critical analysis of the information that
was being presented that had to be taken with an unbiased opinion. Safi offered a lot historical
facts and details which are not up for disputation but also interjected a heavy amount of emotion
and personal opinion. He did it forthright knowing so and it was a key element to be able to
identify and separate the two concepts to be able to understand the content of the material on a
wholly observant level. My thinking had to change to take everything with a grain of salt. When
Safi launched in to his political campaigns and stance on the election, I had to be able to stop and
see where he was coming from. Fact and historical events can be agreed upon because they are
what they are but I had to retreat into observational biasness when we entered this realm in his
discussion. This was because his political views aligned with a candidates view but not mirrors
theirs. I had to see that it was Safis personality that was coming into play and no longer
historical events. The assignment evolved just as my thinking did. I did not know what to think
when going into the lecture and coming out of it I had to be able to present the information in
such a way that showed analysis and understanding. I did not think the lecture was going to go
into the depth of the 1950s and the CIA coup but upon understanding that I had to figure out
how to write my understanding of what he was explaining; not the information but the reason he
chose to share that information.
The lecture was insightful and was able to give a lot of ideas to write on but presenting
his point unbiasedly is more difficult. Safi is very passionate with reason for being so, but
passion can lead to emotion and emotion can have its prejudices. I need to better present his
lecture in a fluid manner and from an observational perspective better.