Cultural experience - Essay Example

?Creative Reflective Essay New Cultural Experience Australia stands out as one of the most diverse countries in the world. A recent report commissioned by AMP ranked Australia as the second most multicultural country in the world, just behind table leader Luxembourg (Griffiths 2010). The report also indicated that a majority of immigrants in the country hailed from countries such as the United Kingdom, China, and New Zealand. Today, Australia appears like a new country in another land, thanks to the diversity of the country. The Australia multicultural policy has promoted the country’s shared values and cultural traditions (Hugo 2005, p. 9). In addition, it allows people from other countries who chose to call Australia their home the right to share and practice their cultural traditions and languages free from discrimination or interference from the government. Almost one quarter of Australian population, (4 million people) speak other languages other than English (Griffiths 2010). The country also allows the freedom of religion. For instance, when one drives along the streets of Sidney, he or she is amazed to see mosques at different locations in the city. Al-Zahra Mosque is one among the many mosques in the country that a friend of mine once attended to learn of the Islamic mode of prayers. The Mosque is located in Australia’s capital Sydney and acts as a place of worship for the Muslim faithful (Jamal and Chandab 2005, p.6). The friend of mine reveals that the Mosque’s environment was so amazing that one could easily tell by far that the place is indeed a Muslim territory. This is evident right from the structure of the mosque, as he could easily see a tall tower, commonly referred to as the Minaret. The Minaret is standing tall on the building with loudspeakers attached to it. The loud speakers, he was told are used to announce to the muslin faithful of the beginning of the service. It was also through interaction with the congregants that he realized that, in Islam refer to God as Allah. He also asserted that he was so amazed to learn that Muslims do not believe in the existence of Jesus Christ and the Christians do. Instead, they believe in the existence of Prophet Muhammad. The friend also revealed that the environment looked peculiar from that of a church. As a result, other members of the congregation could easily single him out from the rest. This is because, whereas he was dressed in full black suite, which was quite different from the way the Muslim faithful were dressed. For instance, most men were dressed in white robes, while their female counterparts were mostly dressed in black robes, according to the friend of mine. He was also amazed by the fact that most women wore robes, which covered their faces making it difficult to different the women. He even kept wondering how these women were breathing in those robes. It was also interesting for him to learn that before entering the Mosque, every member of the congregation is required to remove the shoes since the mosque is considered a holy place. This look peculiar to him since he did not anticipate being subjected to removal of shoes. In addition, just outside the entrance of the mosque is a special place designated for leg, mouth, neck, face, nose, and hand washing before anyone can be allowed to proceed to the service. The friend reveals that the inside wall of the Mosque is beautifully decorated with Islamic artifacts made of different symbols and Arabic writings. He also noted that, unlike Christians who pray in a single room, Islam does not allow such mixing. Instead, the Muslim men and women have different rooms for prayers. However, prayers are conducted by a single Imam who direct prayers from the men’s room using a loud speaker fixed in other rooms as well to enable women to follow the service and imitate what the imam says. The friend was also flabbergasted to learn that the building had very few chairs, as the entire Mosque is just a hall with a carpet laid on the floor. As such, congregants sit on the floor on carpets and not seats. However, the Mosque has few seats in the Mosque, reserved for the old and the disabled who are not able to sit on the floor. The friend also noticed a certain pattern of prayers in the Mosque, where the congregation is required to face towards what Muslims call qibla was. However, he failed to ask why people have to face this wall during prayers. The Imams, on the other hand, faces what is called mihrab when leading the service (Saeed 2003, p. 19). The mihrab is uniquely designed to reflect the sound of the Imam backwards to the members of the congregation thereby making his voice audible. In fact, the mihrab is beautifully decorated with several patterns consisting of Islamic traditional calligraphies written in Arabic. The friend also noticed that, inside the Mosque is a Quran, which is the Scripture that the Imams uses during prayers. Usually the Imam reads the Quran and preaches based on the message obtained from it. The Quran is considered holy by the Muslims and is based on the Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (Asmar 2001, p. 41). In fact, it is here that he learnt that Muslims does not believe in the existence of Jesus, as Christian do, rather, they believe in the existence of Prophet Mohammed. It was also peculiar for him to learn that there was no singing in the Mosque for the entire service, something, which baffled him a lot. b. My Friend’s attendance of the Muslim prayer service was considered an out-group. This is because he was considered a non-believer in the Islamic faith. For instance, he was not able to do what they were doing during the service. This made him look very unique in their midst. Even though the members of the congregation considered him as an out-group, the chief Kadhi did welcomed him and even tried to persuade him to change his faith from Christianity to Islam. Personal Stereotypes I have held towards Muslims Australia is one of the countries that embrace different religious faith among its people. However, like many other people in the country, I have always perceived Muslims as violent people. I began holding this view since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States that killed more than 3,200 people. The al-Qaida terrorist group whose leader was Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the attacks. Osama and the al-Qaeda all subscribe to the Islamic faith. In fact, after the attacks, he called upon the Muslims all over the world to fight the U.S. and its allies. In fact, Australia has also been a target of terrorism, whose masterminds subscribe to Islamic faith. However, my negative stereotype against the Islam totally changed after attending an Islamic Mosque. In this regard, I realized that Islam as a religion is not as violent as I had earlier stereotyped it. In fact, I realized that tagging Islam as a violent religion is not only derogative, but also comes from ignorant thinking and lack of information about the religion. This is because I realized that Islam as a religion advocates for peace and condemn killing of fighting one another. As a result, I have come to understand that Islam and Christianity both stands for peace, therefore, the stereotype of Islam as a violent religion should not exist anymore. Application of Contract Theory The contact I had with the Muslim faithful during a service at the Al-Zahra Mosque in Sydney had taught me a lot about the Islamic faith. This encounter, particularly, conforms to the four change processes of the intergroup contract. The first theory of contact holds that learning about the intergroup is a major way that intergroup contact has impact. According to the theory, when learning new things helps in corrective negative views of the out-group, contract ought to reduce prejudice (Pettigrew 1998, p. 66). This is exactly what happened after my encounter with the Muslims. This is because after learning their faith and teaching, I came to realize that Islam stands for peace and not violence, as I earlier stereotyped them. In this regard, the contact has helped in reducing the prejudice I had towards the Muslims who subscribe to the Islamic religion. The second process of contract theory is based on behaviour change. This theory holds the behaviour change is the pioneer of attitude change (Pettigrew 1998, p. 66). This is true of the contact that I had with the members of the Muslim community. This is because the behaviour change played a major role in influencing my attitude change towards members of the Muslim community. The third process of contract theory emotion is vital in intergroup contact. It also postulates that during initial encounter between groups are marred by anxiety that is capable of sparking negative reactions (Pettigrew 1998, p. 66). However, as the contact continues to exist, the anxiety developed reduces when positive relationship is developed. This is also true of my contact with the Muslims. Initially there was a lot of anxiety, since I did not know how they would react towards me. However, after the encounter, we developed good mutual relationship, thus reducing the anxiety and tension between the Muslims and myself. Finally, the intergroup appraisal helped me in knowing more about Islamic religion and its teaching. In fact, I realized that there is no much difference between Islam and Christianity. Both Christians and Muslims serve God. The only eminent difference is that whereas Christians believe in the existence of Jesus Christ, the Muslims believe in the existence of Prophet Muhammad. A photo of Al-Zahra Mosque in Sydney 2. National culture self-awareness Australia is one of the most diverse countries in the world. Australia ranks the second most multicultural country in the world after Luxembourg. According to the latest census report, more than a quarter of the country’s population is made up of immigrants from different parts of the world such as the U.K., China, and New Zealand. This is after the findings showed that, out of the 23 million Australians, about 25.6% are immigrants from foreign countries (Lopez 2000, p. 9). However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the native Australians whose dominant culture is practiced in Australia. According to the Australian laws, all Australians are at liberty to express their beliefs and cultures and to participate actively in the country’s affairs. However, the natives express the dominant Australian culture, which comprises of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In fact, even though the laws of the country embrace other the expression of overseas cultures, it is also determined to preserve the native cultures (Welch 2006, p. 156). In this regard, one of the most dominant cultural values for the Australian people pertains to the language spoken. In this regard, English has remained the dominant language for the people of Australia since its colonization (Clyne 2005, p. 29). The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and many immigrants in Australia speak this language. Therefore, a typical Australian is easily identified by their colourful vocabulary, phonetic system, accent, and slang. The flag is also a dominant cultural symbol of Australia. Australia reportedly adopted a dark blue flag with the British Union Jack inscribed in the upper left corner. The flag also has seven-pointed white commonwealth star just below the Union Jack. On the right of the flag are five white stars that represent the Southern Cross constellation. In the flag emblem of the flag is a picture of a kangaroo. The Australia people preserve their cultures through the flag for national consciousness. As such, most offices of Australians have the national flag as a symbol of patriotism and cultural heritage. Australia is also predominantly Christian nation. Jupp (2001, p.14) indicates that about 64% of Australians are Christians. However, other religions also exist in the country, including Islam, Buddhism, and atheists that make the country multicultural. Therefore, a typical Australian is likely to identify with Christianity as his or her religion. Sports are also a dominant culture in Australia. In fact, most Australians are sport mad. They like playing and watching sports. In fact, Australia ranks among the top cricketing nations in the world. The same also applies in rugby where Australia also ranks among the top nations. This culture has seen Australia excel in elite level Sports Tournaments, notes Clyne (1991, p.98). Clothing is also play an important role in Australian culture. Even though the clothing that Australians reflect high degree of diversity, Australians are expected to wear certain clothing in their workplace. Iredale (1997, p.21) reveals that most work places have dress standards. For instance, those working in offices are expected to put on suites, as opposed to casual clothes. Australians are also people who are down to the earth and do not always give an impression that they are better than others are. They also value authenticity and sincerity. In addition, Australians prefer people who are humble, modest, and self-deprecating. Further, they tend to hide their academic and professional achievements by downplaying their successes. This may make someone who does not understand them to think that they are not focused. Australians also place a lot of value on building relationships (Kalantzis 1990, p.4). This is probably attributed to the small size of his or her country that might require getting along with everyone in society. This dominant cultural aspect is important for business negotiation since establishing a relationship with an Australian is very easy. Stereotype about Aboriginal Australians As an Aboriginal Australian, we have often been stereotypes as being primitive and nomadic (Korff 2012). It is true that the Aboriginal Australians are nomadic, which is part of the preservation of the cultural heritage. However, the stereotype is not true to generalize that all Aboriginal Australians are primitive. This is because there are so many Aboriginal Australians who are professionals and holds respected leadership positions in country, noted Castles et al. (1992, p. 3). Ways in which my culture exhibits ethnocentrism or parochialism The Aboriginal Australians often show ethnocentrism in their interaction with other races, ethnic communities, and religions. The Aboriginal Australians believe that Australia belongs to them, therefore, should be accorded respect by other minority ethnic, religious and races in the country. In this regard, the Aboriginal Australians see themselves to be superior to other members of society, notes Tavan (2005, p.97). In fact, the ethnocentric believe of the Aboriginal Australians have often being cited to threaten the peaceful co-existence between the Aboriginal Australians and other immigrants in the country. This is because it has resulted in racial abuse and prejudice to other communities. Cultural paradoxes The cultural paradox with the dominant cultural values of Aboriginal Australians has been cited in the area of their belief on health. Several studies conducted in the past have shown that poor health and wellbeing of Australian aboriginals (Tavan 2005, p. 11). Even though this is the reality, the aboriginals have refuted the claim saying that they are satisfied with their life. The reason for this paradox comes from the fact that the Aboriginal Australians use their own methods for meaning wellbeing and health. According to the Aboriginal, wellbeing is seen in the context of social, economic, cultural, and natural environment. For instance, the Aboriginal Australians believe that cultural heritage and connection to land, family, kinship, and community are important aspects of wellbeing (Commonwealth of Australia, 1994, p.8). In other words, the Aboriginal Australians believe that the community plays an important role in the health and wellbeing of the individual who form the community. In conclusion, Australia is one of the most diverse countries in the world. As a result, it is very important for managers to understand the importance of cultural diversity in the workplace. The understanding of the dominant cultural values of the Australians is important for managers since it enables them make sound decisions that take into consideration their cultural values. Above all, as a manager, it is very important to embrace all cultural diversity, since the success of any business largely depends on team effort, regardless of cultural background. References Asmar, C 2001, ‘Muslim students in Australian universities’. In A. Saeed & S. Abkarzadeh (Eds), Muslim Communities in Australia. UNSW Press, Sydney, Australia. Castles, S., Cope, B., Kalantzis, M., & Morrissey, M 1992, Mistaken Identity: Multiculturalism and the Demise of Nationalism in Australia. Cengage, London, UK. Clyne, M 1991, "Monolingualism, Multilingualism, and the Australian Nation." In Australian National Identity, Price, C.A. Clyne, M 2005, Australia’s Language Potential. 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University Press, Melbourne. Pettigrew, T. F 1998, Intergroup contact theory. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 49: 65-85. Saeed, A 2003, Islam in Australia. Allen & Unwin, Sydney, Australia. Tavan, G 2005, The long slow death of white Australia. Scribe, Melbourne. Welch, A. (1996), ‘The politics of cultural interaction: multicultural education in Australia’. In A. Welch (ed.), Australian Education. Reform or Crisis? (pp. 105–131). Allen & Unwin, Sydney, Australia. Welch, A 2006, Cultural Difference and Identity (chapt. 7). Pp. 155-187. Read More