Diversity Experience

Diversity Experience

I have always been curious about Islam and the happenings that occur in the Mosque. As such, for that reason, I decided to visit the Mosque and satisfy my curiosity. I went to the Islamic Mosque on 48^th street to experience an evening prayer. At first, I thought I would be prohibited from entering the Holy Mosque, but I was welcomed with open arms by the Imam. I was told to remove my shoes as it is a custom for Muslims. Shortly after removing my shoes, a gentlemen voice came over the sound system conversing something in Arabic. The Imam shared that the announcement was a call to prayer. Many members began entering the Mosque, and since I was there to observe the evening prayer, I sat in the back.

All the men present in the Mosque stood together in a line. The Imam, on the other side, stood in front of them. As stated earlier, this was the evening prayer, and as such, they began with a formal prayer. Notably, the entire service was conducted in Arabic. The Imam led the prayer by singing the opening half of the prayer. The congregation responded by reciting the same chapter of the prayer. After the opening prayer, the members bent at the waist, and the Imam recited another prayer. Shortly after the recital, there was a moment of silence that I later learned was to allow the members to repeat the prayer they had sung. After the silence, everyone bowed prostrate and recited another long line of worship with episodes of silences in between the recital. The process was repeated twice, and then the prayer session ended.

I hail from a Christian family, and since childhood, I have always wondered why there is still a loud announcement at a particular time frame. Besides, this is an excellent example of diversity because Islam is different from Christianity. Therefore, the happenings in church services are unusual in comparison to those in the Mosque. For instance, in Christianity, the focus on prayer is quite different, as there is no time frame to conduct the prayers. In most churches, many followers only visit the holy place on Sunday for the service. This is quite different from Muslim ways as they have scheduled timetables for prayer, and it is followed to the latter. This experience at the Mosque made me acknowledge the differences in how Christians and Muslims worship. As such, I was able to understand why they act in a particular manner. For instance, from the experience, I learned that the announcement is meant to inform Muslims about prayer.

Similarly, the act of removing shoes is a symbol to showcase their respect for the holy place. I was amazed by the Imam’s ability to coordinate the evening prayer. The manner he began the evening prayer indicated that Muslims value and respect order. This is because every person in the congregation understood all the steps needed to fulfill the prayer. I realized this from their manner of response as the Imam recited the prayers. Another aspect that made the experience at the Mosque exceptional was the turnover. The members who showed up in the Mosque for the prayer was a significant number. On that point, I realized that Muslims are dedicated to their religion, and as such, they keep and observe time for prayer.

Indeed, the experience at the Mosque is somewhat similar to things done in regular Christian services. This premise results from the fact that both religions are rooted in prayer. Therefore, followers must pray and worship God. Just as Christians, Muslims believe that prayer brings them close to God, and through it, they can voice their hardships and requests. Just as the Muslims focused during the prayer recitals, so does the Christians when they pray to God. I believe this practice hails from the perception that they are showing respect and love for God. Another similarity identified is that an ordained person leads prayers. In Islam, the Imam leads the prayer recitals while in Christianity, a priest or a pastor oversees the prayers. This falls from the premise that those that hold these positions are second to God in power. Therefore , their prayers are received and fulfilled.

When understanding diversity, it is critical to identify that people are from different backgrounds, and as such, people should respect their beliefs and customs. With this in mind, I believe one way to extend respect for their beliefs is by joining them in their practices. For instance, I choose to join the Muslims in their evening prayer so that I could understand their views. Through these practices, I acknowledge why they conduct their prayers in that manner and the significance of some exercises. Conclusively, I believe that people should learn to live together in harmony, and the only way to achieve this is through learning as well as respecting other beliefs.

Assignment 2

Stephanie Cowers Murder

I believe this video is an excellent example of how police officers force suspects to confess to crimes that they have not done. Sadly, a 12-year old girl is stabbed to death. However, I believe the investigators conducted their interrogation in the wrong way. Consequently, it impacted the psychological state of Stephanie’s older brother.

The video highlights the murder case of Stephanie Crowe, who was stabbed to death. From the video, Stephanie was an outgoing twelve-year-old. She lived with both parents, her older brother ad her younger sister in Escondido. In 1998, Stephanie’s body was found by her grandmother in her room. Police investigated the crime scene and found no forced entry, therefore, there was no intruder. The family was taken to the preset for questioning. Stephanie’s father was the main suspect, and the detectives assumed that he molested her and stabbed Stephanie to death. The hair that was found in Stephanie’s hand made her older brother, Michael, the main suspect of the crime.

Similarly, the autopsy revealed the time which the murder was committed, thus speculating that the act could have been done by a family member. Michael also seemed emotionally composed when the police conducted their investigation. Similarly, the police investigators doubted Michael’s story of events during the evening of Stephanie’s death. Michael confessed that he woke up at 4.30 am and went to the kitchen for some Tylenol before going back to bed.

The police investigators took Michael and his younger sister into protective shelter. They interrogated Michael without a lawyer or the parent’s presence. The interrogations were conducted on four separate circumstances by more than one officer. Throughout the questioning, the police investigators pushed Michael to confess to the murder crime. They used polygraph machines to check if Michael was lying, and apparently, they falsified the results indicating that he had lied. After pressurizing and pushing Michael to confess to the crime, he finally admitted to having killed his sister.

I believe the investigation tactics and interrogations conducted by the police officers had severe implications on his mental capacity. First of all, they take Michael into police custody without the presence of a parent or a lawyer. This is wrong because Michael was a fourteen-year-old, and as such, needed the guidance of a parent. Another way the investigators affected Michael’s mental state was blaming him for a murder that he did not commit. They did not consider that he was emotionally disturbed because he had lost his sister. I believe the police officers played mind games with Michael, which forced him to confess to killing Stephanie. For example, they use a polygraph to test if Michael killed Stephanie and then comment that he lied about knowing who killed his sister. The constant pressure and statements indicating that Michael killed Stephanie coerced his confession.

If Michael exercised his rights, he would have saved himself from being coerced to confess. If Michael called his parents before the questioning, the parents might have been notified of the interrogation. Thus, they would have assigned a lawyer to protect Michael from the fangs of police investigators. This is because the lawyer would have saved Michael from coercion. With the lawyer’s presence, the police investigators may not have coerced Michael to confess to a crime that he had not committed. Michael would have been saved from psychological trauma.