Blog 2 (1-25-12)

Response to article I found that had to do with religion:

First of all, I think that talking about leadership and talking about religion are slightly similar. I feel that most people have their own definitions of leaders, just like people have their own definitions of religion. People can create various definitions of a leader, and people can take their religion and interpret their religion however they want. When we talk about leadership and government in class there are of course controversies because everyone has their own opinions. However, the government isn't particularly personal to people and an individual won't get offended as easily. When talking about religion, it is significantly more personal because everyone has their own religion which is a part of them, and there is more opportunity and room for offense and contradictions. 

Egypt’s first democratically elected parliament and the chaos that came along with it, partly had to do with religion. The Muslim Brotherhood is a group which is identified as “the fountainhead of Islamist ideologies around the world.” (New York Times) In that group a man by the name of Saad El Katatni was elected as a speaker/president for the election. Katatni’s victory was extremely important and admired in the history of the Muslim Brotherhood because it was a major accomplishment and an extremely exciting victory for the community. In Katatni’s speech he uses “we” instead of “I” because the Muslim Brotherhood is one unified group. Their way of governing will be affected and influenced by their religion because they are a religious group with Islamic motivations and ideas, and their entire community is Islamic meaning that is something they each have in common, so when tough decisions arise, they can always turn to their religion for an answers. When celebrating success and triumphs, or when challenges or difficulties in leading arise, the Muslim Brotherhood can again rely on religion. I feel that this Islamist group partly had a victory because they are so strong and so united by their religion. Whereas a group with mixed religion and mixed diversity would be ideal in some situations and beneficial, in this case an all Muslim derived and rooted group resulted in positive outcomes. I think that from a perspective of NOT the Muslim Brotherhood itself, there will definitely be some problems and questions about their authority and power. I think that people will often ponder authority versus religion and how the two are supposed to be integrated. I think that an all Muslim group will lead to protestors who believe that they are governing way too much depending and influenced by religion. But there will also be those who agree with all their beliefs, and even some people in between.  These Islamists promise to focus on the real goal of reaching democracy in Egypt and not just a battle of religion, but lets see how that plays out… As much as we want religion to link each and everyone of us, because there are so many different religions, people have become enemies. During revolts regarding this election, people and families were killed by extremists. There will always be people who believe something different than you, and that is something everyone needs to accept, which is not easy. The election of the Parliament's new president did not goes as smoothly as hoped and anticipated, due to religion and how that shapes our existence in the world, however Katatni, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood was elected!