Genesis And Rise Of Islamic Fundamentalism Religion Essay

Genesis And Rise Of Islamic Fundamentalism Religion Essay Introduction Religious fundamentalism is not a new term rather it is as old as the religions itself. The world has seen, felt and suffered due religious fundamentalism in some way or the other since time immemorial. The same is true for Islamic fundamentalism. Islam, however, has off late been more associated with fundamentalism than any other religion in the world. Fundamentalism in Islam is also referred as Islamofascism. The term Islamofascism is included in the New Oxford American Dictionary, defining it as a controversial term equating some modern Islamic movements with the European fascist movements of the early twentieth century. The term is used in this manner by writers like Stephen Schwartz and Christopher Hitchens, to describe Islamist extremists, including terrorist groups such as al Qaeda. William Safire makes particular note of Hitchens as a popularizer of the word, though Hitchens declines credit for coining it.  [1]   Susceptibility of Islam to Fundamentalism Islam is like any other religion; however, it is associated with fundamentalism than any other religion in the world. Fundamentalism in Islam is the result of its origin. It came into being in 500 AD when Christianity and Judaism were in its full blossom. Quran-The Holy Book of Islam is a philosophical yet one of the most exhaustive set of rule imposing strict guidelines for day to day functioning for its followers making Islam more susceptible to fundamentalism. The philosophical roots of Islamic fundamentalism are largely the result of a conscious attempt to revive and restate the theoretical relevance of Islam in the modern world. The word Islam means submission, or the total surrender of oneself to God. Therein lays its strength as well as weakness. Total surrender to God imparts spectacular potency to religious faith wherein no questions are asked regarding its convictions or statute. Equally, it leads to blind following in the interpretations of various diktats as pronounced by the Ulemas or Islamic scholars. The empowerment of Islam, which is believed to be Gods plan for mankind, is sacred and therefore may be (interpreted by some as must be) pursued by any means.  [2]   Reasons for Fundamentalism in Islam Colonialism and Western Dominance. Ever since Islam came into existence, it continued to flourish and was widely accepted in the Middle East, Africa, Central and East Asia. It reached its Zenith by 16th Century. However, in 17th and 18th Century Western Powers, started colonialism towards East resulting in Western cultural dominance over other religions and regions in all spheres of life. Islam too was greatly affected by the imperialistic rule of West and subtle but certain downfall of Islam commenced. The famous Indian poet Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) vividly expressed the commonly held view of the soulless multilayered Western civilization in its varied manifestations of capitalism, communism, secularism, and liberalism, draining Islam of its inherent vitality. This created a feeling of anti-Westernism and nostalgia for the glorious past; which is the major contributory factor for the contemporary fundamentalist movements. Response to Overpowering Pace of Modern Revolutionization. Mr Modernization and technology has been the biggest boon for the society. But with it also came the evils of cultural changes of nuclear family, materialism and degeneration of social values. In Mr Volls opinion Islamic fundamentalism is a direct response to rapid modernization and cultural changes that threaten to dilute Islamic identity by a syncretistic mix with un-Islamic elements. Urbanization, in addition to diminishing social and cultural value has also resulted in high unemployment, steep rise in poverty and sharp inequalities in wealth distribution. These overwhelmingly and rapid economic, social and cultural changes have resulted in an acute sense of dislocation, identity loss, alienation and anomie and are the social-psychological background to the Islamic resurgence. Reaction to Failed Islamic Liberalism. Islam is governed by stringent and strict laws as written in the Holy Koran and its followers are expected to adhere them in in their daily life in totality. It is this facet of Islam which makes it more radical than any other religion in the world. Likewise, Islamic radicalization in part is a reaction to the failure of Islamic liberalism in the late 19th and 20th centuries. While the radicalists fight both with the modernists, who recognize a broad elucidation of Scripture and assume Western ethics, and also the liberals who favor a democratic system of governance on the Western model. Radicalists disapprove these views and look for a come back to the original foundation of Islam, while reapplying them to the modern milieu. Crisis of Frail Authority of Secular Nations and Governments. Another cause is the persistent crisis expressed by the weak legitimacy of the very idea of the nation-state as well as of the existing secular regimes. This crisis is evident in the pervasiveness of autocratic regimes and in the continuing segmentation of society along tribal, ethnic, and religious lines. The political, social, and economic failures of the secular state is seen as an important contributor to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism as a mass-based response demanding radical change. Fundamentalists tend to blame the modern secular nation-state and its Westernized elites for all the ills of society. Defeat of Islamic States Post World War II. Creation of Israel, defeat of Arab nations in 1967 and 1973 in the Arab-Israel Wars, dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 acted as catalysts in the spreading of Islamic fundamentalism. It gave Muslim world a sense of disappointment, disgrace, helplessness, and loss of self-worth. It developed in animosity and hostility against the local administration that botched to react to the need of their societies. It also resulted in the hatred aginst the superpowers which too failed to support the cause of Islamic states and saw in them an oppressor and aggressor. Modern Socio-Political Regimens. Modernization provided access to global education and new socio political equations. Secularism was one such thought that spurred Islamic fundamentalism; one of the reasons for promoting an Islamic awakening. Rise of the religious fundamentalism across various religious cultures was according to Jurgensmeyer (2001), that the radical religious groups rejected the liberal values of secular institutions. This was particularly considered, by the Islamic religious hierarchy, as the main cause of societys decline and loss of religious inspiration. These radicals also, refused to accept boundaries of secular society which keeps religion a private observance and not the public sphere which they thought were contrary to basic Islamiic tenets. Equally, the conservatives sought to restore religion as central to social life. They also saw foreign domination as a symptom of Muslim weakness, and its elimination as the key to Muslim power. Such domination could be a ttacked directly by jihad against foreigners.  [3]   Failure of Modern Institutions. Modernization in many countries did not yield requisite outcome. Modernization in these countries failed for host of reasons to include lack of infrastructure and stable government, illiteracy and wide spread unemployment. The failure of modernization in such state gave enough reason to the conservatives to force the established governments and convince the people to revert back to the basics of Islam and shun secularism and liberalization. Also the western liberal strategists failed to contain the religious overtures in the Islamic states, further bolstering the radicalists to adopt and enforce the fundamentalist Islam in its present form. The failure of liberal governments to revitalize the states gave people the option of reverting back to the Islamic values which if nothing else gave them the false sense of superiority and gave hope to bring back the lost glory to the so believed superior religion. This drew marked religious responses resulting in a spate of Islamic fundamentalist movements. Moreover, the failure of democratic and secular state to deliver further strengthened the case of conservatives giving rise to fundamentalist forces.  [4]   Conclusion At the end of the 20th century Islamic fundamentalists have become active participators in mainstream Muslim society all over the world, led by a new class of modern-educated elites. For many Muslims Islamic revivalism is a social rather than a political movement aimed at implementing a more Islamically oriented society. For most fundamentalists, however, the establishment of an Islamic system does necessitate the creation of an Islamic state, and the mainstream Islamic fundamentalist movements have become major actors within the system while the violent radicals continue to confront the state. The moderates demand participation as equals in the democratic process, while the extremists threaten violence and revolution.

Examining Ethnic Differences in Achievemen Essay

1. The definition of an ethnic group is a group of people of the same race or nationality that share the same cultural norms and values. 2. Three ways in which the education system may encourage separation between children of different ethnic backgrounds are: Labelling and teacher racism, many teachers label their students and studies by interactionist sociologists found out that many teachers labelled black children as disruptive and they didn’t want them in their class. Another reason is the ethnocentric curriculum. Troyna and Williams describe the curriculum in British schools as ethnocentric because it gives priority to white culture and the English language; this causes separation between white pupils and other ethnic pupils. A final reason is the selection and segregation available to schools. David Gillborn argues that marketization has given schools greater scope to select pupils. This puts some ethnic minority pupils at a disadvantage because selection gives more scope for negative stereotypes to influence decisions about school admissions. 3. There are many ways in which factors in children’s home background may lead to differences in achievement levels between ethnic groups. The first way is cultural deprivation; this is split into 3 aspects. The first is intellectual and linguistic skills. Cultural deprivation theorists argue that many children from low-income black families lack intellectual stimulation and enriching experiences. Bereiter and Engelmann consider the language spoken by low-income black American families as inadequate for educational success. The next aspect is attitudes and values. Cultural deprivation theorists say that some black children are socialised into a subculture that instils a fatalistic ‘live for toady’ attitude that does not value education and leaves them unequipped for success. The final aspect of cultural deprivation is family structure and parental support. Daniel Moynihan argues that because many black families are headed by a lone mother, their children are deprived of adequate care because she has to struggle financially in the absence of a male breadwinner. Also Ken Pryce claims that Asians are higher achievers because their cukture is more resistant to racism and gives them a greater sense of self-worth. However, he argues, black Caribbean culture is less cohesive and less resistant to racism. As a result, many balck pupils have low self-esteem and under-achieve. Another reason is Material deprivation and class. According to Flaherty; Pakistani’s and Bangladeshis are over three times more likely than whites to be in the poorest fifth of the population, as a result statistics show that Pakistani and Bangladeshi boys are among the lowest ethnic groups in the country to obtain 5 A-C GCSE’s. A final reason is racism in wider society. David Mason says â€Å" discrimination is a continuing and persistent feature of the experience of Britain’s citizens of minority ethnic origin. † 4. The differences in educational attainment between different groups of pupils have been a major focus of much sociological research. These differences can often be seen to be largely due to different social class, but also gender or ethnicity. Social class is the most significant and dominant factor when looking at these differences, but ethnicity also has a relative impact on educational achievementÃ'Ž Education has a key role to play in eradicating racism and valuing diversity and it a responsibility for all educational establishments, including those with few or no ethnic minority pupils. Promoting racial equality demands a whole school approach and commitment from all those who are involved in the life and work of their school. Racism is linked to the educational achievement of minority ethnic groups, however the connections are complex. Gilborn and Mirza conclude that ‘social class and gender differences are also associated with differences in attainment but neither can account for persistent underlying ethnic inequalities: comparing like with like, African Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils do not enjoy equal opportunities. ’ They also argue that in promoting educational inclusion as a means of raising standards, there is a need ‘for clarity and guidance in translating the commitment to equality and inclusion into policy proposals and practice at the local and school level. Many cultural deprivation theorists see the lack of intellectual and linguistic skills as a major cause of under-achievement. Gordon Bowker identifies their lack of standard English as a major barrier to progress in education and integration into wider society. However the Swann Report found that language was not a major factor in under-achievement. Other cultural deprivation theorists suc as Charles Murray argue that a high rate of lone parenthood and a lack of positive male role models lead to the under-achievement of some minorities. Also Anthony Flew believes that ethnic differences in achievement stem from cultural differences outside the education system, not discrimination within it. However Geoffrey Driver criticises the cultural deprivation theory for ignoring the positive effects of ethnicity on achievement. He shows that the black Caribbean family, far from being dysfunctional, provides girls with positive role models of strong independent wome Driver argues this is why black girls tend to be more successful in education than black boys. Some socilogists that the ethnic differences in education are cause by racism. John Rex shows how racial discrimination leads to social exclusion and how this worsens the poverty faced by ethnic minorities. In housing, for instance, discrimination means that minorities are more likely to be forced into substandard acoomodation than white people of the same class. This creates separation due to the ethnic children not being able to study at home and therefore getting lower grades than the white children who are able to study at home.

Taking a Look at Sex Trafficking - 1704 Words

Sex trafficking has been a problem worldwide for a very long time. It has up until recently been seen as a problem in other countries and not seen as a large problem in the US. Over the last decade though there has been major findings that it is a thriving industry in the US as well. Sex trafficking is defined as, â€Å"A commercial sex act which is induced by force, fraud or coercion in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.†(Raymond, Hughes Gomez, 2001) For this paper I decided to focus on the scope of the sex industry, the victims of the industry and what some hopeful solutions to the problems caused by the sex trade might be. International and United States Sex trafficking. Internationally it is estimated that 700,000 to 2 million women are forced into the sex trafficking industry each year. The US government estimates 50 thousand women and children are trafficked into the US each year primarily from Latin America and countries from the former Soviet Union and Southeast Asia. (Raymond, Hughes Gomez, 2001) Sex trafficking has been industrialized, prostitution has been transformed from illegal, small scale, largely local and socially despised form of abuse of women into a hugely profitable and eitherShow MoreRelatedThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking886 Words   |  4 Pageshuman trafficking? Human trafficking is when a person is abducted from their current situation and mostly likely used for sex slavery. Furthermore, did you know human trafficking increased over the years? (Listener relevance) Although you may not be as aware in your comfortable surroundings, you should always be aware of suspicious vehicles and people. 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Types Of Political Risk Index Essay - 1016 Words

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An indicator with points near to 1 indicates a relatively very low risk indicator, while an indicator with points near to 0 indicates a relatively very high risk indicator. †¢ The most vulnerable and risky indicator of political risks’ sub-indicators is voice and accountability indicator, as points awarded to this indicator were always below 0.5 and hence it is always located in very high risk zone. Prior to 25th of January (from 2006 to 2010), the indicator recorded 0.4 average points and during revolutions period this average points has been dropped to 0.24. Voice and accountability indicator recorded average points 0.33 during the whole considered period (2006-2014) with standard deviation 0.09 points. †¢ In spite thatShow MoreRelatedPolitical Risk948 Words   |  4 PagesPolitical Risk Political risk is a type of risk faced by investors, corporations, and governments. It is a risk that can be understood and managed with reasoned foresight and investment. 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