Kibbles, Bits and Blankets Against Domestic Violence

I am a Co-Chair/Right-Hand Man of the Public Relations Committee for our Service Project against Domestic Violence. I have also taken on the position of Kennel Coordinator. And although I'm not quite sure what those duties entail, I am sure I will have the chance of organizing all donations being made for the pets at the shelter. I will do my best to keep things as organized as possible and to keep the number of donations to a maximum. On our agenda for the Public Relations committee, we have decided to advertise using the Paisano, which has already been put into motion, and we are creating a Facebook group for the project. We will also post flyers and posters as the big day approaches. Kleesy Nies and I will be working side-by-side in creating the posters, as I have quite a creative side. (haha) I was also planning on personally delivering the letters from Dr. Guy to certain pet stores in our area asking for donations. I will also be calling places like PetSmart to ask for donations through the phone as well. I really want this project to be a success and will do my best to ensure that this goal is accomplished.

The Muslim Faith

In Islam, there is one God, that God going by "Allah" in the religion's tongue. The Word of God has been presented to man by a succession of prophets, the greatest of whom are Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed. A Muslim's declaration of faith states, "There is no god but God, and Muhammed is his prophet."Islam translates to submission and peace, and a Muslim is one who submits to the will of God. Only those who submit to the will of God by living according to the precepts set forth in the Koran are true Muslims. The Koran is the Word of God as revealed to the prophet Muhammed. Muhammed was the last prophet and final source of God's word. In Islam, that which is forbidden is a sin, but there are other reasons for not doing it as well. A Muslim must conduct himself with dignity and honor, so as not to bring dishonor on the religion of God. Muslims are thought of as being Puritanical, since they abhor sin on several levels. They pray five times a day. Every person is a brother or a sister and is loved by God. Sex outside marriage is forbidden, as well as stealing. Alcohol and drugs are considered unclean. Pork is forbidden because it is a dirty animal that eats filth. A Muslim values learning and scholarship, and studies the Word of God all his life. They encourage their children to learn as much as they can and to do well in school. Race and ethnic origin are unimportant. They, as Muslims, have five obligations towards their religion, also know as the Five Pillars of Islam:1)Saying the creed several times every day. "There is no god by Allah, and Muhammed is the messenger of Allah." 2)Daily Prayer-Prayers must say tis at five specified times of each day (dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall). Before this, Muslims must cleanse themselves and then face towards Mecca to offer their prayers. 3) Giving of Alms. To give money as gifts to the poor of the community. 4) Fasting during the month of Ramadan during daylight hours. 5)Pilgrimage- Travel to Mecca once in a Muslim's lifetime to be performed during a special month. There are a number of practices expected during the pilgrimage, in which the pilgrim venerates the sacred shrines of Islam. Some other aspects Muslim's have faith in is the Unity of God, Angels, prophets, books of revelation, afterlife and destiny.

The Islam religion was founded by Muhammed in the seventh century. In 622 he founded the first Islamic state, a theocracy in Medina, a city in western Saudi Arabia located north of Mecca. There are two branches of the religion he founded, the Sunnis and Shi'ites. Both types of Muslims share the basic Islamic beliefs and articles of faith. The real difference is when they are asked where Islam originally stemmed from. After Muhammad the Prophet died, the Muslims were left in confusion about who would precede him. One group (Sunnis) believed that the new Muslim leader should be elected from a pool of capable conservatives. As a result of this, one of Muhamad's close friends was chosen and thus became the first caliph of the Muslim territory, Abu Bakr. The Sunni branch believes that the first four of Muhammed's successors rightfully took his place as the leaders of Muslims. They recognize the heirs of the four caliphs as legitimate religious leaders. These heirs ruled continuously in the Arab world until the break-up of the Ottoman Empire following the end of WWI. 

The other group that differed in this stance of appointment was outraged, the Shi'ites. They believed that the torch should have been handed down by blood to someone in Muhammad's family and today, their heritage can be traced back to Muhammad's daughter, Fatima.

In 931, the Twelfth Imam disappeared. This was a seminal event in the history of Shi'ite Muslims. Shi'ites, who are concentrated in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, had suffered the loss of divinely guided political leadership at the time of the Imam's disappearance. Not until the ascendancy of Ayatollah Rudollah Khomeini in 1978 did they believe that they had once again begun to live under the authority of a legitimate religious figure. Another difference has to do with the Mahdi, "the rightly-guided one" whose role is to bring a just global caliphate into being. The major difference is that for the Shi'ites, he has already been here, and will return from hiding; for Sunnis he has yet to emerge into history. The Sunnis believed in capability and the Shi'ites believed in blood when handing down political power and is still used today in Muslim nations.

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was born in Arabia in 1703 and died in 1792. He was an Islamic theologian and founder of the Wahhabi movement. Educated in Medina, he spent several years teaching in Iraq and Iran. He reacted against what he perceived as the extremism of various sects of Sufism, setting out his ideas in the Book of Unity (1736). He stressed a conservative observation of Islam, rejecting polytheism and condemning reverence of saints and the decoration of mosques. He views were controversial; eventually he settled in Nejd, where in alliance with Ibn Sa'ud, his teachings found favor and grew dominant.

Blog 3-The Maritime Revolution

The Baroque Period began sometime in the 16^th Century and spanned well into the 18^th Century. The word “baroque” roughly translates to something elaborate, with many details. One of the largest supporters in this artistic revolution was the Roman Catholic Church. It began in Italy with Catholic architecture, sculpture, and painting. It eventually spread throughout Europe and then to the rest of the world. Other significant supporters of baroque were monarchies and nobility, as it was quite expensive. It was a sign of power, control and importance. The main goal in the baroque style was to draw visitors to certain destinations, while invoking enthusiastic emotions that would further draw the onlooker into the subject matter. For example, Gianlorenzo Bernini was the architect in building Saint Peter’s Basilica. His goal, along with that of the Catholic Church, was to draw in Christians and increase the number of people converting to Christianity because of this glorious cathedral. 

The Catholic Counter-Reformation supported baroque in an attempt to attract masses away from Protestantism, as well as other religions. Renewed patronage of the visual arts and architecture was a key feature of this propaganda campaign, and let to grander, more theatrical styles in both areas. There was a widening series of colonnades in approach to the cathedral, conveying the impression to visitors that they were being embraced by the arms of the Catholic Church. Some famous painters of baroque were Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velasquez, Francisco Zurbaran and Nicolas Poussin.

Other styles of art in the Baroque Period included theatre, literature, philosophy, and a little later on, music. In theatre, Mannerisms (i.e. Shakespeare’s tragedies) were superseded by opera. Literature and philosophy developed new values, such as metaphor and allegory. The Baroque Period gave birth to many of the most widely praised musicians in all of the world’s history. Some of these legends were Antonio Vivaldi, J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel. Although not many similarities were able to be made between the music of the baroque and other styles in the baroque, one may most definitely recognize the love of ornamentation that flows from the music of this period. The baroque gave birth to new musical forms such as the concerto and sinfonia. And sonatas, cantatas and oratorios flourished. Perhaps the biggest success of the baroque was the birth of opera, which was stumbled upon by experimentation of the Florentine Camerata, creators of monody, who attempted to recreate the theatrical arts of the Ancient Greeks.

The Baroque Period was reflective of the Maritime Revolution in that it was a way of persuading people to return to their religious roots and traditional ways. The Maritime Revolution was a great time of exploration, commerce, colonization and religious conflict between many progressing countries around the world. Civilizations wanted to find gold/wealth, spread the belief of their God, and receive glory for being successful at the first two. Major technological advances and environmental changes made the standard of living and traveling much easier. The Indian Ocean was a central point in this revolution, as it gave civilizations the opportunity to travel more efficiently by water, while offering close destinations for trade and settlement. However, language issues, supply shortages, weather, religious calendars, monetary systems and different motivations caused many problems for those using the seas. The exploration of the new world offered Europe and surrounding countries new ways of living with entirely new food items. But while the discovery of the Americas was a great gain, it led to some Europeans questioning their original religious views, as the Bible indicated humans weren’t supposed to have already been inhabiting the Americas. Another factor that led to the decrease of Christianity was the Ottoman Empire. They conquered other countries and forced people to convert to Islamic Religion. Increasing numbers of people that learned how to read led to different interpretations of the Bible other than the interpretation preached by the Roman Catholic Church. The Latin Church began to split in religious unity, as a separate Roman Catholic Orthodox formed. Martin Luther’s questioning of indulgences and Calvin’s notion of “predestination” encouraged people to stray from the Roman Catholic Church. The pillar of Christianity began to crumble throughout Europe. Something had to be done to increase the number of Christians, and moreover, Roman Catholics, once again. Europe needed to be re-united against the Ottoman Empire. What better way to draw people back into their religion than to build magnificently massive Cathedrals throughout Europe? This is what led the start of the Baroque Period as we know it. And that explains how that Baroque period was reflective of the Maritime Revolution.