Summer I ONLINE Course Opportunity! “The Role of the Quran in Contemporary Islam”

Registration for Summer classes begins on March 10!

ARST 273 (CRN 30754) will be offered ONLINE by Dr. Ghazi Abuhakema during Summer I.

Course Description: In this course, ARST 273, The Role of the Qur’a and its Place in Contemporary Islam, students are introduced to some of the key ideas and themes of the Quran and its role as the ultimate source of authority for Muslims. The course also examines current, and, in some cases, controversial, issues, and explores how particular Qur’anic passages have been cited and interpreted with respect to these issues.

 

Chinese New Year 2015: Year of the Sheep

This story has been republished from the College Today article.

Originally publised: 17 February 2015 | 1:26 pm
by: Ron Menchaca
Contact: Weishen Wang, professor and chair, Department of Finance, 843.953.0887

Chinese New Year begins Feb. 19, 2015. Originally based on the Chinese lunar-solar calendar, the holiday is celebrated in many Asian countries over several days.

chinese new year

The holiday, also known as Spring Festival, is traditionally celebrated by families coming together to renew ties.

Each Chinese New Year is assigned to one of 12 zodiacal animals, with 2015 being the Year of the Sheep.

“It is a great family time, similar to Christmas here in the USA,” says Weishen Wang, professor and chair of the Department of Finance in the School of Business. “We will have great food, in particular, dumplings, and performance. Usually people put on new and beautiful clothes. Grown-ups give kids lucky money.”

Millions of people will travel from major Chinese cities to celebrate the holiday with their families.

LINK: View a heat map showing the massive amount of travel that occurs during Chinese New Year.

chinese new year

As president for the Chinese Association in Greater Charleston, Wang is helping to organize the association’s Spring Festival. The event takes place Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015, from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the James Island Community Education Center, 1000 Fort Johnson Rd., Charleston.

The event will feature traditional Chinese music, dances and singing followed with a banquet of delicious Chinese foods, door prizes and more. For more information and to pre-register for the event, visit http://www.cagcsc.org/springfestival.html

Association members receive free admission. Admission for non-members is $15, students – $10, children ages 6-12 – $5, children 5 and under – free.

EXPLORE: Study the Chinese language at the College.

 

 

Celebrating the Lunar New Year this Friday (Feb. 13)

This Friday, Feb. 13 the Asian Student Association in collaboration with the Cougar Activities Board will host a Lunar New Year celebration for the Year of the Goat.  The event will take place in the Stern Student Center Ballroom from 7-9pm.  There will be food, fun and entertainment, including a professional magician from Seattle, Washington: Nash Fung.Lunar New Year Flyer 2015

FBI working with TSA, others investigating Arabic tweet tagging Charleston airport

Re-Posted from Live 5 news: http://www.live5news.com/story/27976809/arabic-tweet-tagging-charleston-airport-being-investigated 

Originally Posted: Jan 29, 2015 4:46 PM EST Updated: Jan 30, 2015 5:46 PM EST

By Harve Jacobs

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) –

The FBI confirmed it was working with other law enforcement agencies to investigate a tweet composed apparently in Arabic that tagged the Charleston International Airport and similar tweets that tagged other airports.

“We are aware of that tweet,” FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said Friday from Washington, DC. “We are working together with the TSA and other law enforcement agencies.”

The Transportation Security Agency confirmed on Thursday afternoon that the tweet was being investigated, but that it did not appear to be threatening, a sentiment echoed by the FBI.

“It doesn’t appear that this Twitter posting represents any direct threat,” Bresson said.

An airport spokesman says the airport considers the tweet to be spam and said it was business as usual Thursday at the airport.

The Twitter post, directed toward the airport’s Twitter account, contains foreign characters. When translated from Arabic through the Bing-powered translator on Twitter’s website, the result appears to be mostly gibberish.

“@CHS_Airport I love the good of the whole people and mandersh defect..,” the translated message reads in part.

Similar tweets have been sent to specific airlines over the past couple of weeks, according to TSA spokesman Mark Howell in Atlanta. However, Howell says this is the first instance he has heard of in which a tweet mentions a specific airport.

Bresson said the FBI has monitored similar tweets.

Accompanying the tweet is a YouTube video that appears to have been recorded outdoors next to an open vehicle and features a man who speaks in a foreign language.

When YouTube’s built-in translator attempts to convert it to English, it produces more gibberish.

Dr. Ghazi Abuhakema, the Director of Asian Studies at the College of Charleston described it as a very informal conversation between two Moroccans, and said after listening to the recording, he and other friends concluded the incoherent message did not directly or indirectly include any threats.

The tweet got the attention of the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security, which monitor social media networks for potential threats.

Several planes have been diverted and passengers inconvenienced in recent weeks after threats were made online against airlines and specific flights. The government has been working to identify the people responsible for making those threats.