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Monthly Archives: November 2013
Protected: God’s Love We Deliver… to a Different Borough
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Reconciling two worlds
In the article, “A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds, ” the author begin with a descriptive lead that intrigues the reader into this man on his journey through Brooklyn, the title doesn’t really do much but the lead’s description is very on point. Elliot’s story telling of Sheik Reda Shata is very good in terms of showing the reader the rich history behind his landing in the United States and how his job has forced him to alter everything he knows to fit the needs of muslims in America.
I do feel like if this is a conflict story however, there should be more voices, throughout the reading you are basically stuck with Shata’s view and progression, there are quotes from others, but his voice is the main force of all the arguments in the piece, from his different encounters with situation in his office, all the way to his growing up and being persuaded by his father to not be a judge.
She does however develop conflict, when you think about how some pure muslims might disagree with his analogy that he has to be some sort of bridge in the middle of both worlds. The conflict is not so much that there are two sides, it rises more from the issue of having to alter muslims beliefs and traditions even by a little, just to survive in this new materialistic world that promotes all the things that muslim religion forbids.
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Reconciling 2 Worlds
“A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds” is a feature story that is developed with a descriptive lead. The lead gives a clear picture of the imam, the neighborhood he severs, and the office he operates out of. The writer uses the in depth description as a door way into the conflict Muslim Americans are facing. Andrea Elliott delivers the conflict by dividing the story up into topical sections. Her colorful writing gives the piece life while lending understanding to the reader of the conflicts faced.
The story is mainly from the imam’s point of view with instances of outside voices like the Egyptian law professor at the University of California or the police officer from the 68th precinct. These voices added credibility to what the imam has stated concerning the community and its attempt to uphold it religious beliefs while adapting to the American way of life.
Elliot uses the imam as a catalyst for revealing all of the issues people of Islamic descent face. Small issues such as should one eat a big mac to international issues regarding terrorism are all brought into the story by the imam. The instances where stories of the issues solved by the imam are brought up never give names of the actual people and is the imam telling the story of a situation that took place that he needed to solve. The point of this story is to take the reader inside the life of a Muslim American.
As a result, the sources in this story are all on one side. That side is the one in favor of the imam and the Islamic tradition. Elliot uses analogies from the imam to show the different ideologies of Muslims in America versus Muslims in Egypt. “In Egypt, if a person passes through a red light, that means he’s smart,” he said. “In America, he’s very disrespected.”” Analogies like this are the closes thing to the other side given throughout the story.
A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn
In her brilliantly vivid and descriptive article, Andrea Elliot is allowed access into a world that very few have seen before. It is the personal story of an Imam, Sheik Reda Shata, and his remarkable journey across tim, space, and culture, into a world he was ill-prepared to meet.
The story begins in present day Brooklyn where Mr. Shata works, then abruptly flashes back to Mr. Shata’s beginnings in Kafr al Battikh, perfectly capturing the juxtaposition between the radically different lifestyles. The reader is led through the dramatic voyage from a politically unstable Egypt with poor living conditions to the striking new modern culture of America.
Upon reaching his new mosque in Bay Ridge, Mr. Shata’s popularity soared. Where his religious sermons were censored in Egypt, Mr. Shata now had the freedom to captivate his audience with his authentic charm, confidence, and wisdom. In attaining the position as the new Imam, he also unknowingly took the position as judge, matchmaker, marriage counselor and police, addressing every concern of the local Muslim community. The story, after being supported by a intriguing base, revolved around the type of concerns that were being faced in the new modern culture, so intensely unlike his life back home in Egypt.
The conflict in the story, when finally revealed, revolves around Imam Shata’s internal ‘reconciling of two worlds’: the traditional and rigid culture and laws of his home, and the unprecedented and glaringly controversial issues that face community in the new American culture. In writing the story, Ms. Elliot does not provide many sources, yet ironically, it is Mr. Shata himself that provides the balance of the conflict. On one hand he welcomes the ‘American’ issues with flexibility and creativity, while at the same time strives to remain firmly attached to the religious laws that guide his everyday life.
The article would clearly be classified as feature writing, as seen from the descriptive lede and colorful anecdotes. The author fully developed the story, setting the stage and then working back in time to demonstrate the long journey taken by Mr. Shata. I Also enjoyed the various ‘gold coins’ laid down in the beginning of the article, of the controversial Big Mac and the scare at the hospital.
The story had many moving parts, yet although the Muslim community has been increasingly exposed to the hard-edged modernity of America, the constant throughout is the unwavering support and leadership of Imam Shata, a man desperately trying to balance two very different worlds.
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An Imam Right in the Middle of Conflict
“A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds,” written by Andrea Elliott, tells the microcosmic story of Sheik Reda Shata, an imam originally from Egypt, now leading a mosque in Brooklyn. In reporting Shata’s life story and struggles as an American imam, Elliott sheds light on the macrocosmic issue of what it is like for Muslims all throughout the United States, and how two worlds need “reconciling.”
Elliott’s piece reveals itself to be a feature article in the very first sentence. “The imam begins his trek before dawn, his long robe billowing like a ghost…” Elliott’s rich descriptions and creative passages tell Shata’s story in a unique way. For example, she describes Shata as an “Islamic judge and nursery school principal, a matchmaker and marriage counselor, a 24-hour hot line on all things Islamic.” Descriptive passages like the opening lede and this description of Shata show this is anything but a news story.
Despite Elliott’s strong writing, a reader might think her reporting is lacking, in that Shata’s voice is the main driving force behind this piece. And since this is a conflict story, she should have more people weighing in. However, this is hardly the case. Shata is the conflict in this story. He is one of the few who can see into two worlds—the Muslim religion in America and the stricter Muslim religion originating overseas. His job involves on blending these two worlds and making things work. If an important claim is made by Shata or Elliott, Elliott appropriately backs up the claim with quotes from experts. The voices of another imam, a Muslim activist, a retired police officer, a woman from an anecdotal story, a counselor, and a psychiatrist are all included in this piece, making it very well reported.
Posted in Conflict Story, Uncategorized
Tagged Thomas Seubert
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A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn
In the article, “A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds, ” the writer develops conflict subtly by getting into the world of mosque, imam, and congregation.
The article is a feature and not a news story because of the vision it produces and the background it provides. The writer begins with the “imam begins his trek before dawn” and references an “Egyptian farming village.” The detailed lede brings the leader to a place whereas news stories answer more W’s in the lede. The writer descipes the imam as “boyishly charming between prayers” and that his stories “left his vistors silent, their coffee cold.” This is feature writing language. The writer includes a historical background to frame the characterization of the imam in the section: An Invitation to Islam. A news story could not afford that much background and it would be treated in fewer sentences.
The writer developed conflict by showing details but did not spell out exactly who opposed the imam. She compared the worldliness in the first paragraph of the lede to the R train that rattled “beneath a littered stretch of sidewalk” and the huddled Mexican workers in the second paragraph of the lede. She said that the challenge for the imam was leading a mosque in America. The writer mentioned that the imam had to go from “rigidity” to “flexibility.” She even reveals conflict in the subtle detail of the two words written on the mosque, “one in Arabic and another in English.”
As far as representing sides, it is difficult to really distinguish what the opposing side is for the imam. Is it the psychological issues faced by his congregation? American problems involving business and diet? Is it that people think he is not rigid enough? Perhaps the conflict is that the people struggle and the imam struggles?
Some insight into what the core of the conflict may be is, again, subtle. The writer mentioned that “some of his [Mr. Shata] views would offend conservative Muslims.” The imam said that at times he found his colleagues were too literal in interpreting the Koran. The writer said that the imam “craved greater independence” at one point, showing his personal struggle. The writer was able to get into the nitty gritty of the problems the imam’s struggles, addressed with overwhelming questions about divorce, pornography, and bacon.
I suppose it is best that the conflict is so subtle. It shows that the writer did not intend to advocate for the imam or for the congregation. Instead of praising the imam for being able to handle all of these issues, she laid out all that he had to struggle with.
Conflict of Reconciling 2 Worlds
The writer of this article begins the story with a little background information on Mr. Shata. The writer then explains how Mr. Shata made his way to leading a mosque in New York post 9/11. The conflict of this story is Mr. Shata having to find a way for the members of his mosque to keep the traditions of Islam in a modernized Western society.
The writer of this article provides quotes from sources from both sides of the conflict. Mr. Shata, an Egyptian law professor at the University of California, Mr. Moussa ( Mr. Shata’s predecessor) , a Muslim activist, a retired officer, a wife seeking a divorce and a Palestinian immigrant.
This is not a news story because it is not an article about an event that recently occurred. This is a feature story because it tells the story of an imam and his struggles to merge opposite worlds and find a common ground. The writer ends the story with “Time and again, Mr. Shata’s new country has called for creativity and patience, for a careful negotiation between tradition and modernity.” With this sentence, the writer reminds the reader of the purpose of the article. This is a conflict that Mr. Shata has faced and will continue to face as the members of his mosque modernize and are influenced by Western culture.
A Colorful, Deep Portrait of A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn
Ms. Elliott develops her story through the journey of one man bridging the laws of two different worlds. Though there are many ways in which this story could have been complex, she made Mr. Shata’s journey seem like more of a journey of decision-making.
What I think helped Ms. Elliott develop the conflict in this story was creating the right mix of tension from a variety of sources and anecdotes that add color to a multi-cultural picture. She was keen on detail from the very beginning of the story adding the Mexicans in Bay Ridge, comments from an Egyptian law professor, statistics on the city’s mosques, delineating the McDonald’s conundrum, mentioning the trouble of oral sex, and later pressing into the deeper conflicts of domestic violence and marriage.
The thread that held this conflict story together was the multi-faceted portrait of Mr. Shata as an imam, guidance counselor, lawyer, teacher, and coach all rolled into one and tasked with the challenge of spreading Islam in a Western world. In a post 9/11 context this story gives meaningful insight into the routine and happenings of an inclusive Islamic community.
In a reporter interview with Ms. Elliot on the NYT site, she noted how difficult it was at first to get the mosque to “open its doors” to a photographer and to her questions. Though eventually she made her case, highlighting that in order to get a deeper, truthful portrayal of the community, it is important to study and learn from the imam himself.
Ultimately, I think this conflict story was a product of sharp insight into the most fundamental elements of an Islamic community in the Western world. And the imam is a brilliant element of this community because from this story one can draw the conclusion, that he is the one who holds the community together.
Posted in Commentary and Critiques, Uncategorized
Tagged Kamelia Kilawan
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Assignments for Tuesday, November 26th
Please upload a post on our reading, “A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 World.”
1. How does the writer develop this conflict story? Do we get sources on both sides? What writing strategies are used to make this a feature story –and not a news story?
Also for Tuesday, November 26th:
Discussion of possible ledes and nut grafs for your conflict stories.
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Muslim Leader in Brooklyn
Andrea Elliott does an excellent job profiling the conflicts the Imam Mr. Shata has to deal with on a daily basis, and frames it within multiple larger viewpoints to give the article greater depth. She focuses at first on the Imam’s background in Egypt before coming to the United States, and his economic struggles growing up. This presents the Imam as a humble and learned man, who worked hard to get to where he is now.
There isn’t much of a one on one conflict present in the article, just numerous small conflicts that are brought to the Imam for him to resolve. The article oftentimes presents the point of view of the attendees of the mosque, and the deep emphasis on the background of the islamic religion along with the Imam’s background makes the article more of a feature story than a news story.