by Kenneth Mills
Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion
by Kenneth Mills
Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion
Muslim
extremists have been dangerously at odds with the United States since
the 1970s.
They have opposed America's
support of the nation of Israel and the presence of American soldiers
near Islamic holy sites in the Middle East. They have injured and
killed American civilians through hijackings, airport bombings,
embassy bombings, kidnappings, and suicide bombings. The attack on
the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001 was the most horrific
attack in terms of overall loss of life. The United States is in a
quandary on how to best respond to Muslim extremists, and the Muslim
world as a whole. The anger and mistrust between the West and the
Muslim world is deep rooted and complex. There are no quick fixes to
the tension.
You and your cooperative group are a team of hand-selected advisors to the President of the United States. He needs your help in developing a policy toward the Muslim extremists and the Muslim world as a whole. Your research and conclusions will help to shape America's response to terrorism and the religion of Islam.
As
advisors to the President you have several duties to complete in
order to give your accurate and intelligent recommendations. Since
this is a complex situation, it must be approached from several
social science perspectives: political science, economics, geography,
and sociology. Each of you is an expert in one of these social
sciences. Be sure to evenly divide up the work and decide who will be
the Political Scientist, who will be the Economist, who will be the
Geographer, and who will be the Sociologist. Use the resources in the
Resources section to study and analyze the issues in more detail.
Before each of you writes his policy position paper to the President,
you must clearly answer the following questions.
What are some of the different forms of government in the Muslim world and how do they function?
How do the concepts of supply and demand appear in the Muslim world?
What is the historical significance of the boundaries and regions of the Middle East?
Describe the culture of many of the Muslims in the Middle East and the causes of cultural variation between Muslims in different countries.
Are most Muslims violent and a threat to the security of the United States?
Does the religion of Islam promote violence?
How are Christianity and Islam similar?
How are Christianity and Islam different?
Which resources are in abundance in Saudi Arabia?
Which resources are the most scarce in Saudi Arabia?
How do most Muslims travel around in the Middle East?
Why do most Muslims want to visit the city of Mecca before they die?
How does a typical family in Saudi Arabia function?
How are students trained in a typical Islamic school in the Middle East?
http://www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/index.shtml
http://www.islamonline.net/english/index.shtml
http://www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/
World History: Connections to Today.
Not Without My Daughter Video
The Siege Video
You
and your cooperative team must complete the task by following several
steps. Remember, the overall problem involves how the United States
should respond to Muslim extremists, and to the Islamic world as a
whole.
ADVISOR ROLES:
Political Scientist: your perspective focuses on government, the military, power, politics, and citizen responsibility.
Economist: your perspective focuses on scarcity, opportunity cost, economic systems, supply, demand, competition, and productivity.
Geographer: your perspective focuses on the location and place of key sites, human-environment interaction, the movement of people, and the importance of regions in the Middle East.
Sociologist: your perspective focuses on culture, socialization, social interaction, social institutions, and social issues.
Has strong understanding of the complex issues Has moderate understanding of the complex issues Has weak understanding of the complex issues Has well defined problem statement Has short and simple problem statement Has weak and unclear problem statement Examines and uses information from most of the
sources Examines and uses information from some of the
sources Examines few of the sources Clearly expresses social science concepts Mildly expresses social science concepts Expresses few social science concepts Clearly expresses position from assigned advisor role Partially clear in expressing position from assigned
role Unclear or mixed advisor role Has strong supports for positions held Has moderately strong supports for positions held Has weak or no supports for positions held Well thought out policy position to the complex
problem Partially thought out policy position to the complex
problem Weak policy position to the complex problem Fewer than 3 spelling errors in the two pages Between 3 and 5 spelling errors More than 5 spelling errors Fewer than 3 grammatical errors in the two pages Between 3 and 5 grammatical errors More than 5 grammatical errors Fewer than 3 punctuation errors in the two pages Between 3 and 5 punctuation errors More than 5 punctuation errors
You
have come far in your understanding of Muslim extremism, Islam, and
social science. The issues you researched and analyzed are at the
forefront of American consciousness. Because of the recent acts of
terrorism, the lives of Americans have changed. Airline travel is
viewed with more suspicion than ever before. Our government needs to
develop intelligent and comprehensive policies toward terrorism that
protect American citizens and apprehend Islamic extremists. Be
careful not to stereotype all Muslims as terrorists. Also, be careful
not to buy into the recent "politically correct" statement that Islam
and Christianity are the same. As events in the Middle East continue
to unfold, be a discerning and well-read social scientist so that you
can develop an accurate picture of the world and your place in it. Be
prepared to share your policy position with your instructor and
classmates in a class discussion format.
