(Audio) Book log: Crossing the Threshold of Hope, by John Paul the Great

Muslim and American

A recent YouTube.com video entitled I am a Muslim left me with decidedly mixed feelings. The video is of a young man who talks about various stereotypes of Muslims in a straightforward and humorous way. He explains that he doesn't know how to tie a turban, that he does know someone name "Ahmed" and no, it isn't the "Ahmed" in your economics class. He explains that his name is "Mohammad", and that he would return to his home country but he is already in it. (The image dissolves into an American flag.) The video was well-produced and left one feeling that it was a good and very American thing to be a Muslim, and implies that those who are uncomfortable with him and his religion just need to get over it.

All this was great, as far as it went. I am grateful for the freedom of religion we enjoy in America. If a man's faith requires him to set up a prayer mat in a public place, or wash his feet in a bathroom sink (Mohammad mentioned that in the video), he will find no objection from me. But the more I thought about this video, the more I was bothered by all of the things it didn't say.

The video implied that Americans are uncomfortable with Muslims because of the aspects of public practice of their religion that are strange to us. But Americans are not uncomfortable with Muslims because Muslims wear turbans, pray in public on mats, or wash their feet in public restroom sinks. We aren't nervous about having Imams spreading out through an airplane and ordering seat belt extenders because they speak a foreign language or wear robes. We are not disturbed because there is a group fasting through Ramadan or calling others to prayer from a tower.

Americans are set on edge by Muslims because almost all terrorists are Muslim. Muslims, acting in the name of Islam, slaughtered 3,000 innocent people on September 11, 2001. Muslims crowds in Muslim countries cheered these deaths. Muslim parents subsequently made "Osama" one of the most popular names for new-born boys. Muslims, in the name of Islam, attack and kill civilians in Israel and Europe. Muslims, acting in the name of Islam, hack off the heads of bound prisoners and distribute the videos of their crimes to the delight of Muslim populations. Muslims call for the killing of a teacher (and even students) who allowed her class to name a teddy bear "Mohammad". Muslims, when this is pointed out, claim victim status, whine, and demand sensitivity to their feelings and the granting of rights that they would never have in an Islamic country. Many of the most atrocious governments are explicitly Muslim. Muslims commit suicide while murdering defenseless people on a daily basis.

Of course, I know that most Muslims do not do these things. But neither are most Muslims speaking up loudly and clearly against all of these things. The stance of various Muslim advocacy groups seems to be that the only possible way one could come to associate Islam with violence and terror would be through unthinking prejudice.

This is what makes the YouTube video unsettling. What I am really, really wanting to hear from American Muslims is:

• A recognition of the legitimacy of the grievances and concerns that I mentioned;
• A clear statement that rejects such abominations as going against the teaching and practice of Islam.

I want to hear Muslim leaders say things like,

• "The deliberate murder of innocent people (even if they are not Muslim, even if it is for a good cause) is wrong."
• "Suicide bombing is always wrong."
• "The attack on the World Trade Center was wrong and completely against the teachings of Islam."
  

These are the issues that Muslims in America need to deal with. Muslims who can say these things should have no problem participating in American society. Those who can not say these things (or feel they must add a clause beginning with "but..." or "except for..." at the end of any of them) fundamentally reject values that are absolutely essential to our culture and government.

So, to Mohammad and the others behind the YouTube video: If you disagree with what I'm saying, don't be surprised if your video fails to set non-Muslims at ease. If, however, you agree with what I'm saying, please say so---publicly, loudly, repeatedly! Then, you will be welcome to wash your feet in my sink any time.

Book Log: Sprit of Penance---Path to God, By Dom Hubert Van Zeller

I found this to be a very helpful book. I had read it years ago, but was not at a point in my walk with the Lord where I could really process what it said. It used to be that my whole being just recoiled from the subject of penance. I didn't want to go too deeply into it. I think I was just afraid that life would get too hard if I took penance seriously.

Now, I feel I've reached an age where I am starting to really reap all that I've sown in my life. My bad habits are hard to break, and I find them getting in the way of accomplishing what I want in life. I'm overly attached to food and drink. I'm overly attached to video games. I would rather read news and e-mail than work. When I try to go against any of these tendencies they put up quite a fight. I've come to the place where I can appreciate now the need for penance.

The most important lesson I've taken from this book is that the very first area of penance I need to accept is that which God sends to me against my will. This means that the trials, annoyances, and difficulties associated with my state in life are the first things to accept, offer up to God, and ask Him to join to the sufferings Jesus felt on the cross.

It is to be assumed as axiomatic, then, that the trials that God allows us in the nature of human existence are to be preferred before any that we could device for ourselves.
...Among such penances could be numbered the trials that come from one's temperament and training, one's state of life, one's contact with others, one's age and health, and one's surrounding circumstances generally.

This book has helped to inspire a deeper resolve to live my life in complete surrender to God.

Book Log: He Leadeth Me

Fantastic book.

C# Namespaces

Warning: Somewhat serious C# geekage lies just yonder. It is geared towards those of you who are software developers working with C#, especially if you're coming from a few years of Java coding. If this is not you, you're welcome to read on, but you'll probably be bored.

I just went through some pain trying to figure out why ReSharper was telling me that the namespace of a particular class was wrong. The specific error I was getting was "namespace does not correspond to file location". I noticed that the directory name the source file was in did not match the namespace. I liked the namespace, so I decided that once the project was in a somewhat stable state I would go back and clean up the directory structure.

So, once the project was in a somewhat stable state, I cleaned up the directory structure (not a completely trivial task, as I had to coordinate the solution with the project files and keep the revision control system happy), and was surprised to find that ReSharper was still telling me the namespace was wrong. I tried different names. I tried adding dots. I tried removing dots. I tried searching the ReSharper support forums. It was all to no avail. Then I dug through the .cproj file itself, and found that it contained an attribute indicating a root namespace for the assembly.

It then all fell into place: I was treating namespaces just like packages in Java. Although they're close, they're not the same. In Java, the package name must match the directory name. In C#, it appears it just has to match (or be a subspace of) the root namespace for the project.

This is one of those cases where, having Java experience hindered rather than helped my learning of C#. Of course, if the ReSharper error message had mentioned the root namespace rather than file location, that would have been helpful as well. Perhaps the ReSharper developers are coming from a Java background as well. But I can't get too annoyed with them because ReSharper is a fantastic tool.

Book Log: Prgramming C# by Jesse Liberty

I found Programming C# to be exactly what I needed to make the transition from Java to C# and .NET development. Jesse Liberty has a very clear, consistent expository style. He is readable while avoiding excessive cuteness.

The book covers the C# language itself, then shows how to build applications that use the Windows GUI, ADO.NET, web services and the whole .NET framework. Throughout there are warnings and tips directed a programmers coming from Java, C++ and Visual BASIC.

I recommend this book to any software developer moving from another language to C#.

Construction-Paper SCUBA Gear!

Sure, diving equipment made of paper may not last quite as long as other materials. But it is quite a bit cheaper.