Media and Muslim Women

Muslim Women, Media and Social Media

I recently attended a lecture with my aunt and was truly impressed with the moderate approach Islam is starting to take. As a communication consultant myself with a vested interest in Islam from both mystical and practical level, I felt that light should be shed on two areas by posing very practical questions: 

Is it the cakes fault you are bulimic ?

The usage of basic animal instinct (sex) to attract someone is due to the lack of ability to attract a partner by means of elevated consciousness, healthy self esteem, patience, and true value of what matters between men and women.

If we look at the essence of the problem its a lack of healthy connection to God, which leads to ever more destructive tendencies. The idea is to support women and men to integrate and have an independent connection to God in order to build healthy relationships with the inner self, the community and untimely to God.

Hence, it is important to encourage all elements that fall under the sex banner which is attraction, compassion, tolerance, love, mercy and family. Looking at sex from a healthy perspective embraces the unity amongst men and women, increases healthy dynamics with children, and builds constructive healthy societies.

Condemning women sexuality  reinforces the masculine, suppressing the feminine and making women resent themselves further more reinforcing negative tendencies and lack of connection to God.

Is smoking cannabis bad for you?

Cannabis is both a poison and a cure, depending on who your consumer is it can help you through the pain of cancer or it can be an excuse to leave your stressful life and achieve “nothing” in this world or hereafter. 

Same applies to social media and everything in life. As Hadith narrated in Boukari says “ Ina al aamal bil niyat” Its the intention and mindset that effects the outcome. 

Hence, the encouragement for our women in the community to use social media in a wise and constructive way by increasing the desire to share and learn positive message, is the healthy approach that scholars should take. Condemning social media and women in media in general also reinforces the problem by increased suppression.

This was written to aid the growth of the feminine is a healthy manner to build more stable nurturing societies as a whole.

By Jana Sharaf

Public affairs, Philosopher, and Founder of "NOON EVE"

Zimbardo

“People speak sometimes about the "bestial" cruelty of man, but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beasts, no animal could ever be so cruel as a man, so artfully, so artistically cruel.”  Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted by psychologist professor Philip Zimbardo and colleagues. Aimed to investigate the development of norms and the effects of roles, labels, and social expectations in a simulated prison environment. The experiment was supposed to last two weeks but was ended abruptly just six days later, after a string of mental breakdowns, an outbreak of sadism and a hunger strike.

The research team placed newspaper advertisements in the Palo Alto Times and The Stanford Daily offering $15/day to male college students for a study on the psychology of imprisonment: 24 students, predominantly white, middle-class, were chosen: 12 to role play prisoners and 12 to role play guards. These students had no prior record of criminal arrests, medical conditions, or psychological disorders.

The local Palo Alto police department conducted surprise arrests at the home of “prisoners”. Students were handcuffed, searched, read their rights, and driven in a squad car to the police station for booking and fingerprinting and were charged with robbery.

The guards were given only a brief orientation telling them to maintain law and order, avoid physical violence, and prevent prisoner escapes. They were provided with wooden batons in order to establish their status, clothing similar to that of an actual prison guard and mirrored sunglasses to prevent eye contact.  Prisoners wore uncomfortable ill-fitting smocks and stocking caps, as well as a chain around one ankle. Guards were instructed to call prisoners by their assigned numbers, sewn on their uniforms, instead of by name.

As mentioned by Prof Zimbardo, "the first day they came there it was a little prison set up in a basement with fake cell doors and by the second day it was a real prison created in the minds of each prisoner, each guard and also of the staff". The simulation became so real, and the guards became so abusive, that the experiment had to be shut down after only 6 days rather than the two weeks planned. "Suddenly, the whole dynamic changed as they believed they were dealing with dangerous prisoners, and at that point it was no longer an experiment," said Prof Zimbardo.

Abusive guard behavior appears to have been triggered by features of the situation rather than by the personality of guards. Zimbardo argued that both prisoner and guards had internalized their roles. None of them were forced to behave in certain ways and were free to withdraw from the experiment at any time. However, none of the guards left the experiment earlier, while half of the prisoners were released early due to severe emotional or cognitive reactions.

Results of the experiment suggest that the situation, rather than individual personalities, caused the participant’s behavior.

"The study is the classic demonstration o

f the power of situations and systems to overwhelm good intentions of participants and transform ordinary, normal young men into sadistic guards or for those playing prisoners to have emotional breakdowns," said Prof Zimbardo.

Zimbardo offers psychological interpretation of how ordinary people sometimes commit unexpected acts and what are the possible ways of preventing it. He argues that moral behavior can be cultivated in early life by rewarding positive behavior.

He highlights some ideas that we can bring into our own lives and those of our children.

He also gives a set of general advice of how to become more influence savvy.

If we consider some of these general psychological principles, we can accentuate the good and eliminate the negatives in our lives.  At the end of the day, regardless of our ethnical, social or religious background, “Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is” (Albert Camus).

Dr. Anastasia Burelomova
Counseling Psychologist