United States-Centric Views Comparison
ETH 125
Axia College
Instructor: James Rivera
April 3, 2010
Comparison
There was just one descriptor in both categories section of my appendix. My friend had no descriptors in the both category. A few descriptors were left out on both of our appendixes because we felt that they did not fit in either category. He did admit that the omission of the descriptors was more of a reflection of his personal beliefs than what he felt the average American believes. Other than those differences, the descriptors we included in the Christian beliefs category and the Muslim/Arab beliefs category as the average American beliefs matched up. The chart, however, does not reflect my personal feelings. How long after 9/11 was it before the average American would consider that all Afghanis were not suicide bombers in disguise, sent by the Taliban? The paranoia people felt about anyone from that region of the world was created largely by the media coverage.
Many Muslims make excellent neighbors who take care of their homes, as do Christians. Christians are peaceable and try to help those in need. It is my personal belief that Muslims and Arabs are the same as Christian’s when it comes to wanting to help people in need. I feel this is human nature and whether you are Muslin, Arab or Christian many feel this way. These situations that people feel are good or bad could fit either Muslims or Christians.
It is my belief that most Americans believe that Muslims and Arabs are sexist and violent is untrue. Those seem to me to be traits possible of any religious fanatic, regardless of his or her religion. I feel that almost all of the items on the list should have been located in the “both” category. I do believe that one item on the list of descriptors that is true for the Muslim faith is that they are guided by the Qur’an. One descriptor that I feel is true of the...