Jackie’s Comments (group member since Sep 06, 2011)

Jackie’s comments from the MHS AP Language group.

Stacey, I don't think that America has become less accepting of other culture because other cultures make up America. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more immigrants here than people who were born here. I do agree however that people in the US are more careful or cautious when they see someone who is a Mulism in the airport. I have heard of some people who even go as far as refusing to getting on the plane if they see a Muslim passenger on board. But people are going to havetheir thoughts no matter what and sometimes their fear gets the best of them.

And I KNEW THAT HE WAS A cHRISTIAN!!! I'm glad that he converted to Christianity because that's one less terrorist we have to deal with. I know that Saleem came here before the 9/11 attacks but if he converted, why didn't he tell the government or something before the attacks happened?? Maybe he felt bad for his people?? But I'm glad he chose the side that doesn't cause death for thousands of people.

Bia, i agree with your predictions on why he changed...his wife had to have a huge impact in his life for him to see things differently. And there is a saying: show me who your friends are and i'll tell you who you are (or something like that)...and basically I think that he became accustomed with this new American mentality and ended up becoming like them, like us. But he couldn't have changed too much because he still planned the bombing of the World Trade Center.

It's very interesting that you (Bia) brought up the FBI having to "protect" him because he's an ex-terrorist...and it's kind of ironic that the people who should be protecting us from terrorists are helping one. But I know that they're protecting him because he's kind of famous for making people aware of the real terrorist life and probably sold out his fellow terrorist buddies so they're trying to kill him. It makes sense in a way but it's still hard to wrap my head around that.

As I read the rest of this book I remember the last book we read…I’m trying to figure out why he is the way he is. He had a very violent and scary childhood but is this a significant enough excuse for a person to be a terrorist? I think there is something more that we are not being shown…something that just gives them pleasure to making everyone so miserable. I know that he grew up with this mentality of revenge and how some people are inferior to him just because they don’t think the same way or believe in the same God, but people change and I think that after spending so much time in America before blowing it up, he would change and become accustomed to our enlightened way of thinking.
I think it’s really funny how he grew up with people of so many beliefs. In America, we have so many different beliefs but we don’t hate each other…we learn from each other and sometimes people even make up religions by bringing multiple aspects of other religions to create a new one. I can’t even wrap my mind around the fact that people over there grew up so differently than we did. I just can’t understand or imagine my heart ever being “glad for vengeance”. It seems like it takes a whole lot more than a simple decision to be a terrorist…there’s this whole emotional thing that you need to overcome…in some ways these guys that Saleem hangs around are really brilliant. They can overcome their own feelings and emotions in order to accomplish what they actually believe in, in “[their] objective”, their “brotherhood” and in their “way”. Not many of us can do that for the good of humanity, so imagine what good would come out if they devoted all of this energy to praising God in a positive way! Anyways, I don’t really have a lot to say about this chunk of the book besides that I’m really interested in seeing how it all turns out. It seems to me like he converted to Christianity…any thoughts??

His mother is a maniac. Ok, she has her beliefs but why should someone’s blood be used to help “even the most sinful man redeem himself” (11)? And what makes someone an infidel? Basically they’re punishing people because the think that they are unworthy of something greater or they’re worth less than other people. This is kind of like racism but it’s supported by the Muslims.
I don’t know if this is right or maybe people are judged based on the rules that they don’t follow or don’t obey. And his mother was also saying that the overall reason that they die is for them to reach “paradise” (11). So they have to do good things in this life so that when they die, they can live in paradise. No matter how much they suffer now, it’s all going to be worth it in the end because they will be in a perfect place, in heaven. But what kind of god requires its people to kill each other? When I think of God, I don’t think of killing other people or hurting them for my own glory, for my own rewards. God is selfless and I don’t think He would make us fight for our own salvation. So for me, the Muslims are either mistranslating God’s words or they’re giving their lives to another God, one who is the opposite of the Truth.
Moving on to another topic, I wonder how/why he moved to America after planning to destroy it? It’s almost like he came here to see that the mission was completed or something but then got side-tracked and ended up liking the American system of government and stuff like that. And something like this must have happened because in the beginning he was talking about being persecuted or something for encouraging people to fight against radical Islam. Anyways, this book is really good so far!

Just to clarify, I don’t think his wife is a Muslim…in that part he was talking about her “kept [him] going forward with [his] message” (8) against radical Islam. Besides, she’s American, I don’t think she’d be a Muslim because it’s harder for an American to adopt the ways of a Muslim than for a Muslim to move to America and have a life here. Though it’s possible, I don’t think this is the case for this book.
To answer your question, I don’t think I would trust a terrorist either…even though people can change and there are stories of ex-convicts who turned into good people, there might be other motives for that or maybe in the book, he was trying to get close to government officials and take them down “from the inside out” (2). It’s easier for ex-terrorists to turn back to violence because they grew up with that mentality and they find comfort in the “familiar…weight of a gun” (3). It’s possible to change but I probably wouldn’t risk my life trusting them.
In the first couple of pages there is a quote or something about Howard Books…and under it, it says that one of their purposes is to “increase faith in the hearts of growing Christians” and I was wondering if this book is written by an ex-Muslim who turned to Christianity. Does anyone have any thoughts about this? That would be very interesting because then the book wouldn’t be just about the struggles of not committing the actions of a terrorist, it would be about the fight against a person’s natural instincts and beliefs.

"What is the What" was very refreshing to me because I got to open my mind to things I've never thought of before, like the hardships faced by people who come to live in another country and are not treated the way they'd initially expect to be treated. For me, the purpose of this novel was to inform readers on the struggles and experiences that someone from a different country faces and how one might react to certain situations dealing with racism and stereotypes.