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A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds Quiz by Sarah Moi-Thuk-Shung
I would describe Sheik Reda’s place on the social/political spectrum to be “middle of the road,” neither a conservative, nor a liberal but someone who has some ideals of both. Arriving in Brooklyn one year after September 11 from the northeastern part of Egypt, Sheik Reda became more than just an imam, he was a leader who would try to reconcile two cultures with polar ideals. According to the article Mr. Shata, as he is also called, “is neither a firebrand nor a ready advocate of progressive Islam.” Furthermore, the article says that some of the Sheik’s views would offend conservative Muslims and other beliefs would repel American liberals.
Like hundreds of imams living in the United States, Sheik Reda “must unify diverse congregations with often clashing Islamic traditions.” This is a great task, as each individual in the congregation deals with issues on an every day basis that conflicts with the Islamic religion. Mr. Shata explains that Islam is supposed to make a person’s life easier, not harder. This gives further evidence as to why the Sheik loosely interprets the Muslim faith when dealing with the issues of his congregation.
Katherine Vaz post
I am so disappointed that I did not know about Katherine Vaz teaching at Baruch,. That would have been such a great opportunity to read the book, ask questions about it right from the author, and ask the author about some tricks she uses in writing. We had a small chance to ask this writer several questions at the event and next day in class, which was nice.
I read some of her stories and they seemed to me gloomy and sad, as if the writer went through all these difficulties in life herself. In one story, the death of her father was mentioned, and she passed on to the reader a very suppressed, horrible feeling.
Not only is she brilliant at composing the story and telling it to us, but she also knows how to capture the reader. I loved the stylistic devices she uses. She is all about metaphors and similes: for instance, when she writes about the imprisoned mother and son, she describes the mother as very attached to son, hugging him all the time, and she has “hands like ropes,” or “her skin was perfect, soft as an eggplant,” or “eggs smooth as river stones.”
Sometimes she uses two words that do not normally go together, making her own oxymoron: so, in her stories a character can drink a voice, or someone can be scarlet with anger, or the moon can excerpt a round cataract.
This kind of writing is based on the skillfulness of using a word and changing it, so that the reader is stunned, shocked and thus made to remember the author.
I wish Baruch had more opportunities to bring writers like Katherine Vaz so that even those students who miss a space in the class have another great writer to register for.
Protected: Joe Gould’s Secret
Protected: Quiz – Veronica Chavez
Katherine Vaz Post. By Mayara Guimaraes
My life as a writer, Katherine Vaz.
Get Inspired!!!
During her “one and only” semester at Baruch College, writer Katherine Vaz gave the students of a journalism Feature class the privilege of having a private conversation with her. During one hour, Vaz told the class about her personal experiences and her inspiration to write, while giving advice on how to stop a writer’s block.
It all started with a question about the amount of death in her stories. “I think that is really hard to write fiction that doesn’t have issues that connect to loss. But the true theme of most of my stories is how human being find happiness in life, or different ways in which people find happiness, despite the loss they face. Fiction is an exploration of how people find joy and how they connect,” said the author.
Vaz grew up nearby a little town that is known as being the capital of the artichoke. She was surrounded by tumultuous things while growing up, like the Vietnam War, and this influenced her writing. In one of her books, titled “Our Lady of the Artichokes,” Vaz uses many of her memories and experiences to create several of the short stories that composes the book. “When you write fiction you have this germ, that sometimes is real, and it helps you to create a completely fictional story. I see this like instruments on writing fiction stories,” said Vaz.
Friends influenced Vaz by giving her ideas, and some of these ideas have become incredible short stories. “ A friend of mine once said to me, why don’t you write about when you had to ride the bus to go to school? And I did,” said Vaz. Indeed the story, “Taking a Stitch in a Dead Man’s Arm” is the story of a girl who takes the bus to school, and other things like losing her dad, and getting rid of fear. This story’s title was also inspired by one of the author’s father’s memories.
“ Writing fiction really isn’t about writing about personal things. It is good to have a filter when writing because you might not want to expose the life of people you love, or even yours. I have made the decision that what I draw on is not about the personal moments, but the feeling behind them, because that makes it all very much authentic,” said Vaz.
Vaz said she discovered she wanted to be a writer at the age of 12. But things didn’t just come easily after that. She went to college during the 70’s, and even in this “interesting decade” she made the decision to write three hours everyday, while giving herself exercises in order to learn how to write well.
“ I discovered that I wanted to be a writer in a classroom. I remember we had to write sentences with five new words, which we had to learn everyday. And that specific day I wrote a sentence, and I cannot remember what I wrote, but the sentence almost flew away from me. It was such a moment to realize how the sentence just happened, and how easily it happened, and at the moment I just knew that I was going to be a writer,” shared Vaz. “ I spent 3 hours everyday writing. It was just like an exercise I forced myself to do. I don’t think I have anything saved from this time. But I was waiting for that moment I had in the classroom, when I knew who I was. But those hours were very important, I was learning to make sentences.”
Vaz’s stories in the “Our Lady of the Artichokes” collection are also very much connected with her father. He is still alive and is Vaz’s best friend. Being around him seems to have helped shape the writer’s mind.
“ The idea of sitting around in the middle of six kids growing up, and have the ability to do something beautiful without any need of awarding in the end, is a gift that my father had, and it was so important for me to grow up surrounded by that,” said Vaz.
Katherine Vaz also told the students that when she was making a living by selling short stories to magazines she would buy other literary magazines and books because she liked to think that one day someone would be buying her work, too. “It was my way to give it back to the universe,” said Vaz.
(Sharing this conversation with you today, is my way, to give back to the universe because Vaz truly inspired me, and I know many others like me need to know her message.)
Mayara Guimaraes
Response: A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds
A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds was a very interesting read. The author detailed Sheik Reda Shata’s life in a very compelling manner. I would describe Shata’s place on the social and political spectrum as very “middle of the road.”
To begin with, Shata is described in the article as trying to maintain two very different worlds — the American lifestyle and his Muslim faith. In the fourth paragraph, the author displays this struggle perfectly by saying, “A teenage girl wants to know: Is it halal, or lawful, to eat a Big Mac? Can alcohol be served, a waiter wonders, if it is prohibited by the Koran? Is it wrong to take out a mortgage, young Muslim professionals ask, when Islam frowns upon monetary interest?” The three questions mentioned back up the argument that Shata is very “middle of the road.” All of these questions and contradictions come to surface because he is reconciling two different worlds.
This continues to display itself in “Skip 911. Call the Iman,” where Shata describes how many New Yorkers relied on 911 to solve their problems — many of which had no relevance to 911 responders. For example, “One woman called because a relative abroad had threatened to take her inheritance. ‘The officers left and didn’t write anything,’ Mr. Shata said, howling with laughter. ‘There was nothing for them to write.'” The author continues by saying, “To Mr. Shata, the calls made sense. The women’s parents, uncles and brothers — figures of authority in family conflict — were overseas. Instead, they dialed 911, hoping for a substitute. Soon they would lean to call the imam.” This part of the article also displays how Shata is reconciling 2 worlds. Because he understands why the woman in the example would call 911, he can be described as “middle of the road.” He seems to show no harsh judgment on the woman. Instead, he uses his Muslim faith to give him understanding about the situation.
On the social and political spectrum, Shata is in the middle. He cannot be described as strictly a conservative or a liberal. This is because balancing two different worlds displays Shata’s openness to both side.
Quiz
How would you describe his place on the social/political spectrum? Is he a conservative, a liberal, or middle of the road? Back up your description by giving examples from the article.
When I just came to the states, I had so many questions to ask. I either asked my friends or went online. I wish I knew someone like Mr. Shata. Of course, there are many centers that help the immigrants with different issues, but Mr. Shata seems to react to all the problems of the Muslim community in Bay Ridge from another angle.
To my mind, he is conservative, yet he tries to adapt to American lifestyle. It was interesting how he solved the problem of stealing the donated money: he had “the man swear an oath on the Koran.” “Whoever lies while taking an oath on the Koran goes blind afterwards.”
In general his resolutions of the peoples problems seem softer than in Egypt or elsewhere in Muslim world. He says that the oral sex can be performed while in marriage, and on the other hand, it is very hard to get a divorce from him, since he will be responsible for it. The imam lets Muslims eat McDonald’s, “but not bacon cheeseburger.” These are all the examples of the adaptation of a Muslim to an American world. One more thing I liked when the author compared two countries, the US and Egypt, is when he talks about the order: “Americans stood in line. They tended their yards. One could call a police and hear a rap at the door minutes later.” Egypt lacks all this, and it sound so familiar with Russia.
This article is a nice piece describing the liaison of two cultures and two completely different world, where Mr. Shata is a conductor.
Quiz
By: Teresa Roca
How would you describe his place on the social/political spectrum? Is he a conservative, a liberal, or middle of the road? Back up your description by giving examples from the article.
Sheik Reda Shata has a significant presence in the Islamic community of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. His role of helping Muslims adjust to the loose morals of American culture, while staying true to Islamic beliefs and faith is a difficult job that Shata executes well.
“I try to be more of a doctor than a judge,” said Mr. Shata. “A judge sentences. A doctor tries to remedy.”
This quote highlights the duty Shata has to the Islamic community. After calling fellow sheiks in Egypt for advice on how to instruct Muslims in Brooklyn, he discovered that their views did not relate to life in America. He then began to construct his own remedies. His place on the social/political spectrum would be middle of the road. He is able to accomplish the task of helping Muslims relate to American life without dismissing the laws and faith of their culture.
When asked difficult questions such as, is oral sex acceptable? Can one take out a mortgage? Can one eat a Big Mac? Can Muslims take a job selling alcohol or pork? Shata understands how difficult it is to move forward in American life and adapt when restricted to Muslim ideals. He helps his fellow Muslims by giving them restrictions, yet lenience. They can have oral sex, but only when married. They may eat Big Macs, but with no bacon or cheese. They can take jobs serving alcohol or pork, but only if there is no other job available. They can take out mortgages in order to be successful.
The author is able to show the struggles of the imam, while portraying his progress of adapting to American life.
My favorite part of the article is the last quote. “Here you don’t know what will solve a problem,” he said. “It’s about looking for the key.” This quote summarizes the main focus of the article. Shata is a man who doesn’t judge or force his people to follow in his beliefs. Instead, he is a source of understanding and guidance. He may not always know the answer or what may be acceptable to the Islamic culture, but there is always a solution, and he intends to find it everytime.