Islamic Fundamentalism Essay Example for Free

Islamic Fundamentalism Essay 20 March 2007 Introduction On September 11, 2001, the United States of America experienced the worst act of terrorism ever perpetrated on American soil, as major targets in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania were the scenes of the massive slaughter of innocent civilians. From the moment that the first act commenced, the rumor mill flew into overdrive, conveniently blaming the terrorism on â€Å"militant Islamic† people, and implying that this movement had suddenly sprung up out of obscurity to strike at the heart of America like a thief in the night. The reality is much more complex, for fundamentalist Islam has a much longer history, and the threat it continues to pose to Western Democracy, even today, had been growing and mutating for generations prior to 9/11. In this paper, the very definition of fundamentalism at its beginning will be presented, as well as the perversion of it that has led to the challenges and threats the West now has come to bear. Roots of Fundamentalism. To begin, one needs to understand two very different and specific terms: followers of Islam and Islamic Fundamentalists, as the two groups are vastly different, yet both claim legitimacy under the same doctrine. In its purest form, Islam is based upon the ancient teachings of the prophet Muhammad, who was said to have been given the Quran, or holy book of Islam, by God himself, with Muhammad as the messenger and deliverer of the Quran and its teachings to the masses (Davidson). If one were to follow the teachings of Islam in a more traditional sense, as Muhammad is said to have received the word from God, they would be peaceful, obedient servants of God, and Muhammad, thereby enriching their lives, raising solid families and leaving the world a better place than what is was when they were born into it. Eventually, however, political turmoil distorted this message and gave rise to a strain of Islam that is known as Fundamentalism or Extremism, depending upon the source of the material. This interpretation of Islam and the Quran takes the inflexible view that those who do not believe in Islam, and follow the Quran, are characterized as â€Å"Infidels†, and the price of their infidelity to Islam is death. Of course, the Christian ideals of the West make America a convenient target of this sort of massive hatred, but this hatred has also been fueled over the years by America’s defense of other enemies of the fundamentalists/extremists such as the people of Turkey and Israel (Mustikhan). Eventually, the rage of these Islamics would erupt against the US on a large scale, beginning in the 1970s. The Islamic Terrorist is Born It is generally agreed that those who are today termed â€Å"Islamic Terrorists† were first given that moniker by the West in 1979, when the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran was seized by terrorists, taking hundreds of American diplomats and their support staffs hostage in a siege that ultimately lasted 444 days, and brought the United States to the brink of war with Iran. The group of Iranians and assorted others who were in essence the foot soldiers who undertook the plot, led by the extremist leader Ayatollah Khomeini, came to be called Islamic Terrorists (Hoveyda). From there, the stereotype of what a terrorist is, and their potential to wreak havoc on innocent people, began to grow in the minds of the world community. Threats to Western Democracy Due to the widespread presence of Islamic Extremists/Militants, the threat to Western Democracy has become very real, and of course has manifested itself in such tragedies as the Iran Hostage Crisis and 9/11. Given the humble beginnings and admirable teachings that are found in the Quran, and were exhibited by Muhammad and carried down by his disciples, it is a wonderment as to exactly how/why Islam eventually spawned a militant faction which goes against the foundations of the faith itself. In a word, the violent offshoot is the byproduct of fanaticism. Fanatics are those members of the Islamic community who have taken the position that any government, or religion (in their mind, they should be one in the same) that does not practice the teachings of the Quran are the equivalent of parasites that must be eradicated for the good of the human race. The defense of this attitude, and the resultant violence which comes out of the attitude, is due to misinterpretation of the Quran, hence making these individuals worthy of the extremist label. Because the Islamic Extremists have convinced themselves that they are doing the will of God, as laid out in their creative interpretation of the Quran, there quite literally is nothing stopping them from continuing to launch attacks against the Western Democracies, as well as other â€Å"infidels† who hold views and practice lifestyles which are contrary to theirs. One particularly chilling reality of the threat against Western Democracy is the fact that Islamic Extremists, while found in large numbers in some nations more commonly than others, really do not have a nation with borders, do not fly an identifiable flag, or wear a uniform that indicates that they are Islamic Extremists, despite what the leadership of the United States may choose to claim in the present day. Rather, the Extremists have the ability to move freely about the globe and do not have a set territory where organized armies can pursue and battle them. This sort of an invisible threat, not centered in a geographic location but highly organized and well financed as well as armed to the hilt, holds the potential to destroy their enemies, such as the Western Democracies, which are somewhat restrained by physical borders and the need to engage in conventional warfare. Because of this, the paradox is clear- how can an enemy be fought if it cannot be readily seen or tracked? Also, the inability to negotiate with Islamic Extremists closes another avenue of resolving differences and stopping the bloodshed. Conclusion- What is the Future Threat? This paper has shown that Fundamental Islam has the means, mindset, and determination to bring Western Democracy to its knees, as well as the point of annihilation. What this will mean for the future is anyone’s guess but one thing is for sure- without some sort of decisive action against Islamic Fundamentalists, many more innocent lives may be lost, and hard lessons may be learned too late and at too high of a price. Works Cited Davidson, Lawrence. Islamic Fundamentalism. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. Hoveyda, Fereydoun. The Broken Crescent: The Threat of Militant Islamic Fundamentalism. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998. Marin-Guzman, Roberto. Fanaticism: A Major Obstacle in the Muslim Christian Dialogue. the Case of Twentieth Century Islamic Fundamentalism. Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ) 25. 3 (2003): 63+. Mustikhan, Ahmar. The Roots of Islamic Extremism. World and I July 1999: 74.

Otto Von Bismarck :: History People Historical Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hamerow begins his introduction with a defense of the theory that history is determined by the great people of society or The Great Man Theory of history. He goes on to say that â€Å"They are the makers of the world in which we live. Otto Von Bismarck belongs in this Company.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The controversies surrounding his life still go on between historians today. He is portrayed as a destroyer of liberty and also as a compromiser of liberalism. Some see Bismarck as trying to preserve the old order of Europe. Bismarck worked against liberal plans for unification of Germany but stood proudly in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles as the German Empire he helped to create was proclaimed. Bismarck as man and as statesman has been a point of interests for many history scholars’ interpretations. Bismarck’s empire lasted only 20 years after him. Bismarck believed that armed force was necessary in relations among governments – Blood and Iron his methods. Through three successful wars Bismarck united Germany. With the creation of the 2nd German Reich Germany become the strongest nation on the continent. After the union of the German states Bismarck became an outspoken activist for peace on the continent. Bismarck never succumbed to the te mptation of conquest. Bismarck led the German people to empire but is criticized by not training the nation in self-governing. Bismarck never talked about racial supremacy or unlimited conquest. He believed in a balance of power resting upon the existence of strong nation states. Introduction Evaluation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hamerow’s introduction gives a very good foundation of German history and review of his and others thoughts on Bismarck. He sets up very well a good basis for what the rest of the book will be about. He puts out several different areas of consideration on Bismarck that will later be discussed in the book and keeps it interesting. A Country Squire   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At a young age Bismarck was more interested in his estates and farming than in politics. Even in his later years he kept watch over his estate in Vorzin. It was during these years that he learned to know the land and its people well. This knowledge was to aid him later in his political career. Much of his earlier life was spent on his lands and it is from here that he learned to love Germany. He believed later in life that it was country life that made people more practical and city life took away from life.

Buddhism in China and Thailand revision

Buddhism is one of the worlds’ major religious. It was initially founded in North Eastern India based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (Wayman, 1997). Its main teachings are based on perseverance in sufferings and rebirth of its followers. It emphasizes on meditation and thorough follow up of good moral values. Thailand and China are two main countries which are known to be strong followers of Buddhist religion. Buddhism as a religion is practiced in two main practice. These are: Mahayana and Theravada. The two countries, China and Thailand have different practices since China practices Mahayana while Thailand practices Theravada.The main difference between the two practices is that Mahayana emphasizes on Bodhisattva and reincarnation ideas leading to Buddha hood whereas Theravada emphasizes on Arahantaship. However, the two practices have a number of similarities. The two practices accepted Sakyamuni Buddha as their teacher. Sakyamuni was a title given to religious pers on who acted as a teacher in teaching the practices of Buddhism (William, 2005). In Buddhism schools, the four noble truths are exactly the same in both practices. These four noble truths guide Buddhist on areas that they should follow.Also, in this school of Buddhism, the eight fold paths are exactly the same in both Theravada and Mahayana practices. The origin of Paticca-Sumuppada is the same in both Mahayana and Theravada practices. The two practices, Mahayana and Theravada rejected the idea of Supreme Being who created and governed the world. They did not believe in Supreme Being who create and governed the country. Both practices accepted three characteristics of existence which include annica, Dukkha and Anata. These characteristic of existence enabled the two practices to exist in either of these ways (Tamura, 1997).Mahayana and Theravada accepted the three levels of training in Buddhist school. These are Sila, Samadhi and Panna without revealing any difference between the tw o practices. These main similarities evidenced by the two practices have greatly strengthened the unity of Buddhism and they have helped Buddhist religion to grow and have little differences regarding the two practices. This is much strengthened by the fact that the two practices worship the same golden god Buddha the only difference is evidence by their practices.The two countries worshipped in temples but difference came in regarding the practices carried out in those temples (Tamura, 1997). In China, the scripture was carried on the back of a white horse. The white horse which carried the scripture was adopted as the name of the temple. In Thailand, practices in temple were different from those of China since in the first place they did not recognize temple as church, but it was considered to be more than a church, since other practices such as village life serving as schools, orphanage theatre, meeting hall, crematorium, youth clubs, and playgrounds and sometime as market place. Buddhist temples in Thailand have strict dress code similar to those of Christians in west. Men were entitled to wearing long pants and a clean short sleeved shirt while women could wear long pants or skirts but their shoulders should not be exposed. Leather sandals were most preferred in Temple since shoes should be removed during worship (Hattaway, 2004). In China, salvation of one individual generally helped the whole society since they did well to the community through their salvation. In Thailand, those who were saved by Buddhist religion did good deeds like: – Giving money to beggars – releasing caged birds-so that they can be free– Giving food to monks since they were not allowed to have any money. In Thailand, there were two sects of Buddhist monks: – Orange robed-Mahanikai – Red brown robbed- stricters or Thammayutt. This sect eats only one meal per day provided to them by those who want to make merits since they were not allowed to own an ything. In China they had one sect of monks and Sutra, the first Buddhist test in Chinese language provided guidance on the conducts of monks. Buddhist in Thailand was the backbone of Thai culture since more than 90% of Thai populations were strict follower of Buddhist religion.Unlike Thailand, China, Buddhist had to transform them into a system which could fit and exist within Chinese way of life. This was made compactable with ancestors worship (McDermott, 1981). The establishment of Balma-si of the Han marked the beginning of Buddhism in China while in Thailand, for religion to develop it took different forms and adapted to different environment (Pyne, 1997). In Mahayana Buddhism, the universe is occupied by the celestial Buddha, bodhisattva and deities that assists Buddha in his practices.The most popular ones are: Kuan yin, medicine Buddha, laughing Buddha and the green and white Taras. In both practices the purpose of life in Buddhism is to end suffering. According to the teac hings of Buddha, human suffer because they strive to get things which don’t bring everlasting happiness. Theravada has only one surviving school and as many as eighteen survived at one time whereas Mahayana had many surviving school. In Buddhist scripture, Theravada had palicanon/Tripitaka only whereas in Mahayana scriptures, they had those used by Theravada Tripitaka plus many other sutras.In Theravada, they had historical Buddha known as Gautama had past Buddha only whereas in Mahayana they had Gautama. Buddha had Amitabha, medicine Buddha and many other Buddha. Theravada Bodhisattva had maitraya only whereas in Mahayana they had maitreya and Avalekitesvara, Mansjuri, ksitigarbha and Samanthabadra (Morgan, 2003). Therefore, the two countries Thailand and China who practiced Buddhism resulted to increased number of its followers. In these countries, Buddhism gained a lot of support and population which made it to be a major religion in the two countries.Buddhism since then h as remained to be major religions in the two countries. Reference: Robert A. McDermott, 1981, Focus of Buddhism, New York. Paul Hattaway, 2004, People of Buddhist World, Amazon. com, New York. Eileen Tamura, 1997, China Understanding Its Past, Amazon. com, New York Paul William, 2005, Buddhism, Amazon. com, New York Alex Wayman, 1997, Untying the Knot in Buddhism, Princeton: London. Richard K. Pyne, 1997, Buddhism, New York. Kenneth W. Morgan, 2003, Path of Buddha, Europe. Kenneth Keulman, 1993, Critical Moments In Religious History, Europe.

Essay about The Origin of the Game of Basketball - 1391 Words

There are 5 seconds left on the clock in the last quarter, the coach calls a time out. Down by 2, the team has a chance to win the game. The whistle blows and the clock winds down, 5...The ball is passed in†¦4†¦the point guard dribbles around the key†¦3†¦the ball is passed to the shooting guard†¦2†¦the shooting guard passes it back to the point guard†¦1†¦the point guard shoots from behind the 3-point line†¦0. Countless fans across the globe may get thrills while watching an intense minor or professional basketball game, although, few actually know where or how this widely popular sport was created. From this paper, one will acquire information about the origin of the game of basketball, how the game has evolved over time, and basketball as a†¦show more content†¦The boys had no luck, so the YMCA also joined in devising a new form of physical activity. James Naismith, a young instructor at the YMCA, attended a new Psychology class introduced by a Dr. Gulick. In this class, the matter of physical education was frequently discussed. At the meetings of this newly found class, Dr. Gulick introduced the idea of inventing a new game to his colleagues. James Naismith immediately remarked saying â€Å"we can invent a new game that will meet our needs. All that we have to do is to take the factors of our known games and recombine them, and we will have the game we are looking for† (Naismith 33). With this comment, Dr. Gulick ordered his class to try out Naismith’s method and bring a plan for a new game to the next session. Disappointingly, the students were too burdened down with their own schoolwork from other classes, that the idea of creating a new game was postponed for multiple weeks, until Dr. Gulick handed Naismith the task individually. Naismith worked diligently, combining different elements from various sports including Lacrosse, Baseball, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Tennis, and even Squash. Eventually Naismith stated â€Å"I considered a large ball that could be easily handled and which almost anyone could catch and throw with very little practice. I decided that the ballShow MoreRelatedJames Naismith And The Creation Of Basketball1093 Words   |  5 PagesBusiness English 9 October 2017 James Naismith and the Creation of Basketball In 1891, Dr. James Naismith was teaching at a local YMCA when he came up with a game that could be played inside during the Winter (Laughead). The game that Naismith created would later be known worldwide as â€Å"basketball.† This game has greatly influenced the sports industry with fans, players, and professional teams all over the world. 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