Carpet-Weavers Morocco - Journal Assignment Essay Example for Free

Carpet-Weavers Morocco Journal Assignment Essay Im sure that all of you have at least heard of, if not seen the famous carpets of Morocco. You must have also heard things like, What fine craftsmanship!, What fabulous designs and prints!, What a work of art! or What fine skill!, from people who purchase these carpets for huge sums of money for the various purposes such as praying, decoration etc. But have you ever taken a moment to think, of the origin of these carpets, of the person who sits up day and night weaving these carpets which are sold for thousands, but what does he get out of this and so on, well if not, then Im sure that after reading this, all these questions will be answered. In case you didnt know, Morocco is a relatively poor country and most of the carpets woven there, are all hand-made and are woven by children, children like me who are forced to weave due to unfortunate circumstances. Like me there are hundreds of others who have to live the same unfortunate lives for the same reasons. Let me give you a brief outline of what it is like to be a carpet weaver. Firstly, you have to wake up at five in the morning and get dressed. Everybody is allowed is five minutes in the showers, which is just about enough because the water is ice cold and it takes you just that long to g et used to the temperature of the water. After that, we have a so-called breakfast, if thats what you would call it, which is absolutely tasteless and seems stale. After that, we immediately get to work and start weaving. Thread by thread and knot by knot, we have to be really careful and focused, and should there be any mistake, we can hope not to see the sun for a couple of days, at minimum that is! We have to work constantly until ten at night, when we quickly eat dinner, which is just as bad as breakfast, if not worse and then go to sleep, hoping that tomorrow will be a better day and we will be freed from this life of misery, but then, every morning, it starts all over again, the same torture, the same shouting voices of the slave drivers and the same miserable life. You might wonder, what may lead one to have to live such a life at such a small age, the answer lies deep within our backgrounds and circumstances. Ive been weaving ever since I was seven years old, till today, when Im thirteen. Before this, I used to live with my family, we werent so rich but we were surviving. There were six of us, me, my two brothers, my sister and my parents. All of us used to go to a small school in the nearby village. My mother was a vegetable seller and my father was a drunkard who had a small job at a toothpaste factory. Then one day, due to excessive intake of alcohol, he passed away. His death really didnt make much of a difference, as he was no good anyway, but still, we were slightly affected financially. Then one day, a rich merchant came to our village, and started offering all the children jobs and promised that he would pay us huge sums of money, if we worked at his factory. Without thinking twice, I took the job and I was taken away to a far away place to work at his factories. Had I known what lay ahead, I would have never gone with him, but at the time, we needed money and I felt that this was the best opportunity. We were immediately taken away to a deserted and remote area where there was no way of contacting anyone. We were told to do as he said, and our families would be kept happy. I never the money that had been promised, instead, all I got was a gloomy place to work, eat and sleep, the merchant kept on telling me that he was sending my family the promised money, but after knowing the reality of this place, I doubt my family ever saw a fraction of what was promised, and I also doubt that they are alive right now. As you clearly saw, I was tricked into working here and once I was in, there was no way out; I had no choice but to work at the factory, because the merchant said that there was no place to go from here and if anyone tried, they would be killed. The first of my days here were very hard, when I first started learning how to weave, I made many mistakes, but quickly learnt and became perfect. Everyday here is like hell, maybe worse. How I long to outside and play like a normal child. I want to go to school and learn and become someone and do good for humanity, but instead, my life is wasted here, weaving carpets forever. I feel pity for the younger children who have just arrived. They all seem really scared as they are very young and have no idea of whats going on and what their lives are about to become. We have to toil hard and work till late at night and finish at least three carpets in five days, or else we dont get dinner. You have to really focus all your attention into the weaving and sometimes we get so lost into the weaving, that we lose track of time; its as if, were in another world, much different from this one and that helps to focus more and eases the pain a bit. When weaving, you have to be very careful, for just the slightest mistake could ruin the entire carpet. I feel I have become like a pale shadow of my former self, before, I was carefree and happy with my family, but now, I feel scared and I am uncertain about my future; I dont know what will happen to me after the merchant finds no use of me, or will I spend my entire life here just sitting and weaving? There are hundreds of unanswered questions and queries in my mind and Im sure that most of us feel the same way as me scared and uncertain. Everyday is a struggle and every minute is torture. We arent allowed to talk or stop working and if we do, the slave drivers shout at us and sometimes even whip us and theres nothing we can do, for we have no choice as nobody knows of the merchants tyranny and more importantly, nobody cares. At night, when I lie down on the hard and cold floor and try to sleep, I pray and hope that tomorrow will be something else, something better, but it never happens, everyday is the same, hell. I sometimes wonder, the cruel merchant exploits lots of children every week and brings them here and makes them weave carpets. He then sells them for thousands, while all we get are a few scraps in the name of food. He commits such horrible sins and yet enjoys his riches and lives lavishly, while we have toil and struggle; I ask myself, What have we done to have to suffer such a life of suffering and misery? Why wont God answer our prayers? Where is he? Why does the merchant enjoy his life to the fullest extent? Is this the justice of God? Has evil truly oppressed good? Why?, Why?. But, I soon realize that there is no point in asking these meaningless questions, because the merchant will still get richer, while we suffer. I feel that the government should do something about this and so should the people who buy these carpets for thousands, they should think of us and how we are suffering. The merchant is exploiting us and using us as an unpaid workforce; he is abusing our rights and we are suffering. He has to be stopped from his exploitation at any cost because this way millions of children are separated from their families and are sent to far away lands to live a life worse than hell. The so-called Human Rights Organization, should do something to free us from this prison. But then again, I doubt that anything will happen. Some people might set out to do some investigations, but they will probably give up or be bribed by the extremely rich merchant, a case will be filed and will keep on circling the government departments and will soon be forgotten underneath a huge pile of papers, while we will continue to live in this hell

Intellectual Traditions In Islam Religion Essay

Intellectual Traditions In Islam Religion Essay Islam after the death of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) spread far and wide and was accepted by different people of different languages, culture and lands. Hence it became enriched by the intellectual contribution of many individuals and communities in various diverse fields of learning such as philosophy, literature, law, theology, arts, mysticism and natural science. Thus, Islam was elaborated in a multitude of forms and interpretations and by the 1oth century, it completely flourished as a civilization To discuss the significance of these issues, a seminar entitled INTELLECTUAL TRADITIONS IN ISLAM was organized by the institute of Ismaili studies at the Mellor centre, Churchill College, university of Cambridge during 14-20 august 1994. This book contains the edited and reviewed versions of the papers presented at the seminar excluding Professors M. Mahdi, M. Arkoun and A Sachedinas contributions. The report is an overview of all the essays presented in this book excluding the essay Some Observations on the Religious Intellectual Milieu of Safawid Iran by John Cooper and Present Day Islam Between its Tradition and Globalization by Mohammed Arkoun. It discusses all the key points and topics addressed by different authors in their respective essays. ABOUT THE BOOK (SUMMARY) The concepts and the key points described in the book are discussed below with respect to each chapter: 1. Introduction The introduction is the key note address which was presented at the seminar by Dr. Aziz Esmail. He in his essay explores the key concepts of Intellectual Life, Tradition and Islam. He raises many questions about concept of an intellectual life. He asks about the designation and position of an intellectual in the society. He asks whether the intellectual thoughts and the intellectual themselves are very distantly placed from the society. He further confronts the readers by asking questions such as what is the place of intellect in ones persona. What is the relationship of intellect with feelings, character and most importantly with the faith of a person? He further explores the role of intellectual life in the development of personality and character and in the making of identity of a person. He asks what is the relation of intellect in our daily lives. What is its relation to ones relationship with God? How does it effect the relation of an individual with its society? Does the intellect enable any participation in the society or does it retards it? He confronts the readers with such questions and enables them to think, to review and to divulge in his thoughts. Furthermore, he deals with the concept of tradition and traditionalism. He defines the relationship of old age and youth with tradition. He says that the old age identifies with the past whereas the youth has a relationship of dependence of defiance with the past. He identifies the different models of schooling which provide the basis of relationship of an individual with his traditions. The author explains that the tradition becomes an object of anxiety and attention when it ceases to work not when it is actually at work. He says that you cant find the idea of traditionalism or tradition in traditional societies. He explains that the main confronting question facing the people today is that in this world which is characterized by a pluralism of tradition which tradition one should uphold? The other question is what is the future of any traditions in such a rapidly changing world? When the author talks about Islam he asks the meaning of Islam. He also asks what is the relationship of past and present in Islam. The author describes the challenge of relativism in todays world. Relativism says that all doctrines, ideas and values can be explained by reference to time and place. But if all ideas and values are thus explained, ones confidence in upholding a single culture or tradition is shattered. The author says that today the culture is becoming a supermarket of ideas, values and doctrines where one chooses according to taste not according to objective essence. It the past, community came first and the individuals second, today, the scenario is opposite. Today, in such a pluralistic world, there is a need of a genuine mutual appreciation between faiths. The author says that engagement with other faiths doesnt mean to surrender, for criticism too is a form of engagement. How Islamic theology may engage with the modern world without becoming a prisoner of the mode rn understanding of modernity is one of the major challenges facing Islamic thought today? 2. Intellectual Life in the First Four Centuries of Islam by Hugh Kennedy: The author in his essay surveys the intellectual life of the Muslims in the first four centuries of Islam. He also describes the development of the intellectual life in this era. He explains that the first main issue that confronted the Muslims after the death of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was that of the leadership of the community. People raised many questions such as who should lead the community. How they should be chosen and what powers they should enjoy? There were two different groups of people who had two different view points. One group believed that the leadership should be inherited by the Ahl al-Bayt (family of the Prophet). The other idea that found favor was that of a tribal Sheikh. The early Islamic intellectuals faced a very important issue that how they were going to preserve and record the utterances and deeds of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) and his companions, secondly, they faced the issue of explanation of Quran Sunna to the new Muslims who were Non-Arabs. Consequently, a whole series of sciences developed in order to solve these problems. These sciences include grammar, genealogy, poetry and history and were known as the Islamic sciences. Grammar was a part of such sciences. It became the essential constituent of all the intellectual activities as it was vital to understand the basis of religion. Science of genealogy also found its way in the minds of the Muslims intellectuals. It was used to establish relations between different tribes and people. To understand the Quran completely, it was equally important to learn the language and thoughts of the Prophets contemporaries. So, poetry of pre-Islamic Arab and the early days of Islam became a very important part of the Muslim Intellectual life. History was another aspect of systematization of learning. Historical writing came into form just due to the need to record the life of the Prophet (P.B.U.H) and the events of the Islamic conquests. The non-Islamic sciences that Muslims were concerned with were medicine, philosophy, astrology and astronomy. All these sciences were brought into the Islamic tradition by translations made from Greek language in the 9th century. The Muslims in the early era of Islam pursued only those sciences that they thought were practically useful for them. Philosophy was studied by Muslims because it was required for analysis of arguments and logic study of medicine was required for obvious reasons. Astronomy and astrology were regarded as practical sciences by Muslims because many of them believed in the influence of planets on peoples lives. The author highlights that in the early intellectual life of Islam certain subjects were studied because they were perceived to be useful and there was no structure of intellectual life for there did not exists any academic profession. Thus, in the first four centuries of Islam, there was no institutional frame work for intellectual life; people who were engaged in such activities lived on their private income. Overall, the Muslims in the four centuries of Islam were pre-occupied by Islamic sciences which developed from just being recordings of the early days of Islam to becoming immensely rich intellectual work. 3. Scientific and Philosophical Enquiry Achievements and reactions in Muslims history by Oliver Leaman: The author in his essay describes the development of scientific philosophical enquiry in the Muslim history. The author says that after the death of Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H), the Islamic empire expanded and extended to the various parts of Middle East where a variety of civilization were established for a very long time. The new Muslim rulers came into contact with people who had very sophisticated ideas about theology, medicine, astronomy and mathematics. Now they had to decide whether to reject this kind of learning or to study it. They chose to study it and learn from it and as a result a pluralistic society of different cultures and religious was formed There were basically two reasons for using the discoveries and theories which were present in the Middle East at that time. One was the need to argue and debate with the people of other religions and to persuade them to become Muslims. It was necessary to use the methodologies of the older religious to defend Islam and to prove to people what improvements Islam has brought. The other rational for using science and philosophy of existing cultures was a practical one. When the Muslims came to Syria, Iraq and later on Persia, they found out that those people had a high standard of living. They were relatively more educated and healthy. They had better management skills. The Muslims wanted to learn how they achieved this state of affairs. This resulted in a great deal of interest in early Islamic world for philosophical, scientific and medical discoveries which were all around them. The author further explains that these new communities had a bulk of philosophical works especially those of Aristotle and Plato. Philosophy is all about the ability to debate, to argue. There was a great demand by the people for philosophical material with which they could persuade others about the validity of their point of views. The philosophical literature was widely read in the first few centuries of Islam and great evidence of scientific work is also found. The author further explains that to the positive approach of the philosophers, thinkers and intellectuals towards ancient philosophy and science, the ulama had a different approach. They thought that if the Muslim intellectuals were forming a philosophy based on the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle then they were developing a philosophy based on pagan thought. They thought that Islam in itself contains the solutions of all the problems faced by the people. They argued that we need not approach ancient Greek philosophy for solutions of our problems. But the philosophers thought that if something is good or true there is no harm in incorporating it in our daily lives. The author says that the questions that arose as a result of all this debate were: how much is it acceptable for one to borrow from a culture that is not ones own? How far could Muslims incorporate secular knowledge in their own culture and still maintain their culture? The above mentioned debate was a dispute about who would sort out the theoretical problems of the Islamic world. Would it be the philosophers inspired by the Greek science and philosophy, or would it be the ulama and the fuqaha, the traditional Islamic scholars and jurists? 4. The Rational Tradition in Islam by Muhsin Mahdi: I would like to focus on the historical perspectives of the rational tradition in Islam. The author points out in the start of his essay that whenever in history Muslims including scientists, philosophers and mystics tried to express themselves, they had to use reason. The author traces back the history of rationalism from the age of enlightenment and the French revolution in European culture and history in the 17th and 18th centuries. It happened that some learned encyclopaedists started destructive rationalism by trying to get rid of religion and religious ideas, thoughts and prejudices. They wanted to establish a society that is purely based on reason. The author asks a question: how the rational tradition arose in Islam in the first place? He replies by saying that it arose after the death of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) when Islam and Muslims faced the crisis of leadership. The question: who has the claim to rule Muslim religious community after the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)? Is it by the prophets designation of an imam or is it by election? The origin of Islamic religious thought and theology is based on this question. And, thus, begins the whole process of rationalism in Islam. Within the tradition and knowledge that came in from other cultures and societies to Muslims, the concept or idea of Neoplatonism also found its way. Neoplatonism is the theory that speaks of god as something that is hard to understand, that is above and beyond reason. Thus, Neoplatonism provided the revealed religions with a support. It taught them that the divinity is active; its not just a mind it is something that acts and causes things to be. Now as the rationalist ideas began to develop, the contradictions between the rationalists and the fundamentalists began. One illustration of rationalism in Islam was Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Razi, the physician who opposed all forms of human authority in matters of religious knowledge, even that of the prophet. He completely opposed prophecy and criticized religion. He proposed that organized religion was a device used by the evil men to establish their rule over mankind and that it leads to violence, conflicts and wars. The whole idea of extreme rationalism is to get rid of all religions and to form a society based purely on reason. But no tradition ever thought of a society completely based on reason. One can make justifications about prophecy, revelations and religious transactions. The author here states his point of view that the only way that a society can be held together and the only way that people can be encouraged to pursue virtues and avoid vices which may not always be in their rational interests is by a divine law and through a doctrine of reward and punishment hereafter. In Islam two kinds of rationalist traditions are found. One is that of Averroes (Ibn Rushd) who believed in acquiring rational knowledge to find a way to the divine. He believed that as one perfects it to its limits, then he has a vision of what is beyond it. The other tradition is that of Ibn al-Arabi who believed in practicing and learning from people and experiences to find the way to the divine. 5. The Limits of Islamic Orthodoxy by Norman Calder: Norman Calder in his essay firstly explains that in this essay he wants to discover the outside limits of Islamic Orthodoxy with respect to the Sunni Islam. The author defines the terms Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy. Orthodoxy means the right teachings whereas Orthopraxy means the right practice. According to the author, the Sunni Islam is a religion of Orthodoxy. The author describes that one of the places where the right teachings of Islam can be found are those books which are called Aqida or Aqaid in Arabic meaning creed. These books set out the agenda of beliefs that represent being a Muslim. The author gives the example of Christianity, that in the first five centuries of Christianity, they faced a debate about what it was you had to believe to be a Christian and they decided a creed under the authority of a council and the pope. But there is no such source of authority in Islam. There is no such council and there is no such creed that is found in which all the Muslims believe. According to the author one thing found common in all the creeds is the components of the Shahadat i.e. the belief that God is one and Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is the messenger of God. The author further explains that there are five possible forms of religions beliefs including scripture, community, gnosis, reasons and charisma. Some people claim that the way towards the knowledge of God is through scripture i.e. Gods revelation others claim that Gods self-revelation to man is through a community that has been chosen by God and in which correct belief is preserved. A third group claims that way towards knowledge of God is through gnosis i.e. mystic knowledge, experience or just mysticism. A fourth group claims that way towards understanding God is by using reason or by being rational. Finally, there are communities that believe that God has appointed throughout the generations one particular person to express His message, they are also claim that this particular person has the knowledge of God. All great religious traditions of the world including Hinduism, Islam Christianity have all fine elements described above. The author classifies different groups of believers according to the above mentioned forms. Within Islam, the Twelve Shia the Ismaili Shia are the communities which lay stress on charisma as the most important form of achieving knowledge of God. There are two sets of people in Islam which lay great stress on reason as the means of achieving knowledge of God. One group is represented by philosophers like Al-Farabi and Avicenna i.e. Ibn Sina. The other group is the Mutazila which are rejected by the Sunnis because they claim that they overstress the role of reason. The group representing gnosis or mysticism in Islam is the Sufis. According to the author, the Sunnis are the group that lie somewhere between scripture and community. The author further explains that the Sunnis have formed intellectual writing traditions, there literature to which they refer as the expression to their understanding of their relationship to God and His Prophet (P.B.U.H). This list of literary genres is as follows: Qisas Al Anbiya, Sirat Al-Nabi, Quran, Hadith, fiqh, Kalam, Tafsir and Sharh Al Hadith. At intellectual level, the limits of orthodoxy are represented by the contents of the set of books defined above. 6. Intellectual Life Among the Ismaili: An Overview by Farhad Daftary: The author firstly explains the history and beliefs of Ismailis. He says that the Ismailis maintain that the Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) has appointed his cousin and son-in-law- Ali b. Abi Talib as his successor and that this designation or nass has been made divine command. They also believe that there is a permanent need of a spiritual leader with a particular Kind of knowledge (ILM) for guidance of mankind. They believe that after the death of Prophet, only Ali and succeeding imams possessed the required ILM and religious authority which enables them to act as the sole authority for interpreting the Islamic revelation. Thus, this doctrine of imamate forms the foundation of all the teachings and literary works of the Ismaili Shi is. The early Ismailis developed a cyclical history of revelation and a cosmological doctrine. These two concepts became the main components of theology. These two doctrines also explain the great appeal and popular success of the early Ismailis Dawa (the guiding mission led by teachers known as dais or missionaries. The establishment of the Fatimid state in 909 in North Africa proved to be a mile stone for the success of dawa. The Fatimid period is often known as the Golden Era of Ismailism. After the acquisition of the Fatimid state, the Fatimid Caliph-Imams didnt abandon their dawa activities aiming to extend their rule over the entire Muslim Umma, they retained their dawa and network of dais, operating both within and outside Fatimid states. Special institution was setup for the training of dais and instruction of ordinary Ismailis. The dais who were educated as theologians, themselves were the scholars and authors of Ismaili community. They produced great literary works on theology, law, philosophy and exoteric and esoteric subjects. In Egypt, the Fatimids created major libraries in Cairo, which grew into a centre of art, culture, Islamic and natural science. The Dais themselves were trained in jurisprudence and were acquired with knowledge of Hadith and other religious sciences as well as the languages and cultures of regions in which they operated despite being the sole representative of the Ismaili Dawa it Seems that very little is written by Ismaili authors on Dais who acted as missionaries, teachers and judges for the Ismailis of their community outside the Fatimid dominion. The high yearn for learning in Ismailis led them to conduct Majalis i.e. Lectures or teaching sessions for public. In 1005 Fatimid Caliph-Imam Al-Hakim (996-1021) formed an institution of learning known as Dar al-ilm, the house of knowledge or Dar al-Hikma in a section of Fatimid palace in Cairo. A multitude of religious and non- religious sciences were taught at Dar al-ilm which was equipped with a major library. Many Dais received training in Dar al-ilm. In the Fatimid period, the Ismaili law was codified by Al-Qadi Al-Numan under the guidance of the Fatimid Caliph-Imam Al-Muizz. His compilation the Daaim-al-Islam (The Pillars of Islam) served as the official legal code of the Fatimid state, Al-Qadi Al-Numan, on Fridays after the mid-day prayers conducted public sessions in Cairo at the mosques of Al-Azhar, Amr Al-Hakim, to explain the legal doctrines of the Ismailis jurisprudence to Ismailis. Much of the literary work and chronicles of Ismailis perished as a result of the Ayyubids harassment of Ismailis. These libraries were also destroyed and hence much of the literary work was also perished. After the persecution of Ismailis by Ayyubids in the Fatimid states, Hassan Sabbah founded the Nizari state in the fortress of Alamut in northern Persia. Hassan Sabbah was a learned theologian and he established an impress library at Alamut. Other major Nizari Fortresses in Persia Syria were also equipped with a signification collection of books, documents and scientific instruments. The Nizari Ismailis of the Alamut period used to compile chronicles in which events of the Nizari states were recorded accordingly. But most of these official chronicles preserved at Alamut and other Nizari fortresses perished in the Mongol attacks of 1256 or later on. After the invasion of Mongols in 1256, the Nizaris how began to observe taqiyya for extended period. Until the end of the 17th century, the Nizari Dawa met with particular success in Central Asia India. In the Central Asian tradition, the authentic works of Nasir Khusraw occupy a prominent role. Central Asian Nizaris have also preserved a bulk of Persian Nizari literature produced during the Alamut period in later times. The Syrian Nizaris have also formed another literary tradition based on Arabic, in which local ideas as well as Fatimid Ismaili thought found expression. The Nizari Khojas of the Indian sub-continent developed a distinctive tradition known as Satpanth or true path which is expressed in their hymn like Ginans written in different South Asian languages and later on recorded in the Khojki Script in Sindh by the Khoja community. These Ginans were written by Pirs or Dais to increase their appeal of message. The author acknowledges Ismailis as a community with the doctrine of Imamate as their central teaching. He successfully traces back the Ismaili literary traditions in his work. 7. Nasir Khusraw: Fatimid Intellectual by Alice C. Hansberger: The author Alice C Hunsberger in her essay focuses on the great Fatimid thinker and intellectual Nasir Khusraw. Nasir Khusraw who lived primarily in Khurasan in the 11th Century was an eminent Persian philosopher, writer and poet. He was a successful preacher of the Ismaili faith in Central Asia renown for his poetic teachings. He was so successful in preaching among people that those of other Islamic school turned viciously against him and he had to spend his last 15 or 20 year in exile in Yumgan in Badakhshan under the protection of a local Ismaili Prince. The author in her remarkable essay sheds light on his personality and his teachings. She narrates the story of an eagle from one of his poems. The essence of the story is that human beings have it all in them that carries them to the sky and brings them to the dust. The author is found to be saying that Nasir khusraw is far away from being a mystic and neither he is an ascetic rather he preaches his readers to become the best human beings they can by being fully in this world and using it for achieving self-perfection. Nasir Khusraw is the only philosophical writer of his era to have written all his writings in Persian language. He leaves us with three different genres of writing: a prose memoir of his travels, the safarnama, and his poetry gathered in his diwan and a no. of philosophical works in which he lays out the doctrines of Ismailism. His famous edited and published books include: Gushayish wa Rahayish, Jamial-Hikmatayn, Khwan al-Ikhwan, Shish Fasl, RawshanaI-nama, Wajh-i-din and Zad al-Musafirin. Nasir Khusraw earned his title Hakim through his broad training in philosophy and other sciences including finance and mathematics. In his writing, Nasir Khusraw shows a certain honesty and directness. He talks his hopes. His prose and poetry is so admired by people because it is plain and complex. Around his fortieth birthday Nasir Khusraw underwent a spiritual reawakening and left his privileged life in the royal Saljuq court and set out for a journey which was much esoteric rather than exoteric. The authors sheds light on a very important concept from Nasir Khusraws teachings that one must be in this world in order to achieve the higher world. He explains in his teachings the need of physical world for a life of faith because according to him it is the physical world that holds the tools for learning true wisdom, namely reason (or intellect and knowledge i.e. aql and ilm). Nasir Khusraw gets irritated by people who are ignorant. He compares them to all sorts of animals including donkeys, asses and noisy birds. In his book Wajh-i-Din Nasir Khusraw explains that animals act without knowledge, while angels know without acting. But it is human beings who must combine both action and knowledge. For Nasir Khusraw, intellect leads a believer to proper faith and strengthens his faith. The other concept that Nasir stresses in his teachings is the observance of the sharia. He criticizes people that they must observe sharia. He compares the observance of sharia with taking medicine when we are sick. Although we may not like the medicine but we have to do in order to heal our body. Similarly, the Prophet (P.B.U.H) is the physician and the medicine he brings to heal our souls is the sharia. Nasir Khusraw stresses that it is through the body that ones soul can be perfected by carrying out sharia. Since man is responsible for his actions, the effects of his actions are transferred to his soul leading ultimately to the purification or perfection of mans soul by observing the sharia. The author gives a great overview of the teachings of Nasir Khusraw in her essay. 8. Reason and Mystical Experience in Sufism by Annemarie Schimmel: The author in her essay sheds light on the concept of love, intellect, reason and experience in mysticism and in religion. She sheds light on different concepts by using references of Maulana Rumi and Iqbal. She starts her essay with some verses by Maulana Rumi and Iqbal in which they both in their own words point out the difference between intellect and love. According to them, intellect first ponders over things whereas love just jumps into the hearts of the matter without thinking of the consequences. Intellect is necessary to give us information i.e. Khabar whereas love gives us the direct vision i.e. nazar, The author quotes the story of a moth and a burning candle which Al-Hallaj has written in his Arabic book, Kitab al-Tawasin in which the moth is not satisfied with the sight and feeling, it want to burn itself and led to a new higher life. The Sufis present the idea of die before you die. The Sufis desire for Nazar i.e. the true experience that comes from love. The author also describes in the analysis of intellect and love, two other modes of perception, dhikr and fikr. Fikr literally meaning thought is necessary to understand the creations of this world. And dhikr literally meaning the constant remembrance of god is supposed to polish human heart and make it shine like a mirror. These two modes of thinking of fikr, intellectual thinking and of dhikr remembering god with love are always used together. Iqbal presents another idea about the intellect that as it makes to think and ponder over things it creates new idols every moment. But again in his poetry he tells us that these idols of intellect bow to love. The author highlights another aspect of mysticism that is expressing the love in words. She quotes Rumi as saying that when the pen comes to write the word love, its break into pieces. The pen breaks when it comes to write about love but the same pen has written a bulk of books and poetry about this very love. It is a paradox in literature that the mystics who stressed that ones who wrote numerous books. The mystics have been found to say that whatever they write is not by their intellectual powers it is all waridat things that come to the mystics. These literary works are produced even by illiterate people and when you read them if it looks as if it has been crafted with much intellectual effort. We have the examples of such writers such as Ibn al-Arabi and khwaja Mir Dard who claim that they didnt even think of it. These mystical writings have been opposed by Ulama and many scholars as dangerous and poison for untutored minds. The traditional saying finds its way here that: think about the work of god and the qualities of god, but do not think of gods essence. Again Iqbal quotes in his works that Quran also invites to seek signs in the horizons of this world and in ourselves. Thus, the author concludes by saying that intellectual activities are not to be excluded from the way of Sufis or the Muslims. The idea of looking at signs and pondering over them may be of great help to understand religion in a better context. At the end she quotes a verse by Rumi that I quote here: when you make a house for your chicken, a camel does not fit into it. And she concludes that intellect is a chicken and love is a camel- a great, proud and beautiful camel. 10. Woman, Half-the-Man? The Crisis of Male Epistemology in Islamic Jurisprudence by Abdulaziz Sachedina: The author introduces the readers to the sharia, the Islamic sacred law and the two spheres of human activity: those actions that relate humanity to god categorizaed as Ibadat (literally acts of honouring god, technically god-human relationships), and those actions that relate humans to fellow humans categorized as Muamalat (literally transactions, technically inter-human relationships ). According to the author the area of inter-human relationships demands rethinking and reinterpretation of the normative sources like the Quran and the sunna, under changed social conditions. One area particularly in inter-human relationships which is retarded in progress by interpretation by Muslim jurists is the personal status of muslim women. The madrasa tradition of learning in Islam has disregarded female voices in emerging issues of women and human rights. The redefinition of status of a muslim woman is a major issue that confronts the Muslim jurists in todays modern world. Muslim womens participation in legal-ethical matters where situational aspects can be best determined by women themselves only, is very essential. Without their participation in such discussions, womens rights will always depend on the patriarchal society. The author further discusses the male jurists and their female related rulings. He narrates his exp

Comparison of Business Practices in the US and China

Comparison of Business Practices in the US and China Diverse cultures of US and China Culture rules nigh on every particular phase of your life and like many, you are completely unacquainted of this. If inquired, you would define culture as architecture or language, music, visual arts, literature and you wouldnt be wrong. Nevertheless you wouldnt be completely right either. The United States of America is one of the multi ethnical, multi racial and multi cultural countries in the world. It has a highly diverse culture which has helped in forming its unique values. This diversity in culture can also be distinguished geographically where certain groups in different geographical locations have formulated a unique culture among themselves which is quite contrastingly diverse from mainstream American culture. They are Asian-American, Afro-American and Hispanic cultures. China can be listed as a country that has a very rich culture, certain aspects of which dates back to the ancient civilizations 5000 years back. This has been passed down from generation to generation thus preserving its identity and richness. It can be stated that it’s unique, diverse and yet harmoniously blended culture is a priceless asset to the world. The business practices of China and US The world of international business as we all know consists of people from different real and virtual work places in countries. Therefore it is important to know about a countries culture in order to adapt to it and be successful. Culture is complex and multi dimensional, to understand its basic nature we need to consider the Elements of culture. â€Å"Language† the key to culture transmits information. The Americans have commonly around 15 languages. Their main languages are English, Spanish and Indo European. Chinese have over 90 languages with 8 main languages where Mandarin is commonly used. A low context culture’s communication is precise and direct. But in terms of High context culture a lot of terms and facts that go unsaid. Practically Americans tend to communicate directly while the Chinese communicate indirectly, which eventually turns out to be a frustrating situation for Americans as they are quite unsure of what the Chinese expect. This is so while the Chinese feel unsettled by their direct approach. There are over 15000 â€Å"religions† in the world. China is a multi religious country which comprises mainly of three religions such as Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. They believe that this world is an illusion and that everything is temporary. Also, that all living things including human beings constantly go through a process of life and death. They also believe in reincarnation. Somehow on the other hand, America comprises mainly of Christian believers and the minorities of around 6% belong to other religions. There are also those who don’t practice in any religion. Every country has their â€Å"values and attitudes† that distinguish them from others. There are different sets of attitudes towards time and future. In US time is important and is equivalent to money while China’s attitudes differ from that. They believe that time is required to make important decisions and look out for long term relationships with their business partners. This creates a contrast affecting their business transactions. â€Å"Customs† too are related to international business. US is physically isolated from all countries except Canada and Mexico. This has contributed to the isolation and the lack of concern towards the rest of the world unless they are threatened by another country or state. China however is connected to many other Asian countries and tends to be interdependent and concerned other nations. Americans have their food eaten using the folk and spoon while the Chinese use chopsticks. Americans tend to shake hands, hug, kiss on the cheek, gesture with one’s hands and use the first names while speaking to adults. Chinese however tend to bow or nod and use fewer gestures as possible. These extreme diversities could be no challenge if each country respects each other’s culture. We live in a technologically advanced global age. So its fairly obvious that international businesses take place among various countries. So how do people understand and communicate among each other? How do people understand their cultures respectively? Its rather difficult. But International businesses are taking place among each and every country due to the wide spread technological and demographical advancement of the societies living on earth. So to understand better and improve the standard of living, people should firstly understand the framework of assessing various cultures. These values are explained as Dimensions of culture by psychologist Dr Geert Hofstede. He further went on to explain that this cultural dimension consists of 5 principles. Power distance Individualism/ collectivism Masculinity/ femininity Uncertainty avoidance Long term/short term orientation Dr. Hofstede found many similarities and differences among these 5 dimensions. And he elaborated that, Building connections with people from around the world is just one dimension of cultural diversity. And therefore we should need to factor it into motivating people, structuring business related projects and developing strategy. USA and China we find similarities and differences with regard to these 5 dimensions. So for simplicity we could explain the dimensions, in a line graph between both China and the United States. Comparison between China and USA in regard to the 5 dimensions of Hofstedes values The buying behavior of consumers Buyer behavior refers to the decision making process and acts of the buyer in purchasing a particular good or a service. The buyer behavior regarding a product may change with the type of culture existing in a country. However the steps in the consumer decision making process remains the same and thus can be used as a suitable instrument in analyzing the behavior of consumers in two countries that are culturally contrasting. Figure 1 consumer decision making process In China, the key cultural drivers of purchasing decision making are philosophies such as Confucianism and Taoism as well as the collectivist nature of society. China being collectivists in nature gives much consideration to the voice of the public as well as ‘face’ (Mianzi) and ‘relationship’ (Guanxi) issues. In the USA, individualism plays an important role in all consumer decisions as well as religion, race and geographic location. China US Need recognition and problem awareness Both Confucianism and Taoism focus on family values. Chinese individuals have a deep sense of immediate family bindings. In every family unit, the elders are greatly respected. At the same time youngsters are also given importance and prioritized for being the ‘roots’ of generation continuation. As a result, when recognizing the needs of family, the needs of their children are given more importance. Ex: education needs of children are considered crucial in Chinese households as well as children’s healthcare products. As a developed western country, individualism tends to be the key ingredient that drives buying decisions. Individuals are encouraged to trust their personal judgment and thus when recognizing needs, individual needs are given more preference rather than collective needs. Information search In China, the buyers prefer word of mouth information to other sources. This aspect is related to collectivism. Buyers want to ‘be the same’ as others in their respective group so that they will be accepted. Acceptance is a vital factor for them. Due to this, they inquire from their friends, acquaintances or relatives regarding a certain product. This is how conformity of a product is decided. In mainstream culture of US, buyers receive information mainly through digital networks due to the various advancements available in electronic medias and the flexibility of US individuals to adapt to new technology. Meanwhile in varied sub cultures located across geographic boundaries traditional means are also used in getting informed regarding a certain product. Evaluation of alternatives In terms of public reputation (Mianzi) issues, Chinese individuals wish to put up a good ‘face’ for the others in their respective group to show their wealth and certain other factors. This issue distinctively promotes purchase of luxury products. But it has been also found out that there is more involvement in evaluation of alternatives when purchasing a product for social value rather than for private consumption. Americans usually do not bargain in front of a store owner. The social environment could affect the consumer behaviour in America. For example they would prefer eating corn flakes and ham instead of rice. Americans tend to seek goods with variety and have impulse purchases. This is so because they live a faster life than of Asian countries. Post purchase evaluation Buyers usually show concern post purchase and feel that an alternative would have been preferable. In this case, brand switching occurs the next time which the customer purchases. But, if they receive the social recognition intended for which they originally bought the product or receive a positive feedback from the society, the brand switching decision would not necessarily be taken. Americans usually would try something new when purchasing the next time. However if they are fully satisfied with a product they shall preferably buy it the next time as well. But their decision is rather unpredictable. Future economic development of China and US In 1978, china was one of the poorest countries in the world. Their real per capita GDP in China was one-fourth of US real per capita GDP. Since then every year China was able to grow at 8% every year. As a result they are now one-fifth of the US level and at the same level as Brazil. China was under the communist rule since the revolution in 1949. After the leadership in 1978 china moved away from the central planning and government oriented policies towards a more decentralized economy. China is now a market economy making it a strong role for development of the state. The United States were always a market economy and the economy represents very small roles played by the government. When focusing on the employment rates and wages of the Chinese labour force it is relatively cheaper in a global context. This could lead China to being one of the strongest economic forces of the future and it could also be a significant factor for many international businesses. In china it is believed that work-life is about integration and harmony within work forces. A balanced work life and family life is not a significant aspect in China. Chinese employees do not interact socially but are more domestic oriented. US employees on the other hand are more work oriented. But it also differs according to their social class. For Example the lower level employees work seven extra hours a week which is equivalent to an average day’s work. The Chinese employment relationship strongly influences the work place to be â€Å"family like† while US prefers to have a professional working environment. The concept â€Å"work hard play hard† applies directly to the US work forc e. China has the largest population in the world being 1.357 billion as at 2013 where as the US population only counts to 316.1 million as at 2013. Firstly, internal migrants have supplied abundant labour to the Chinese economy. Secondly a large number of Chinese are 60 years or older and Finally, Chinese families have only one child based on their three decade old policy. These factors will in future represent a crisis since these effects are hard to reverse back. The US population mostly consists of senior citizens. That is, 13% of the population are more than 65 years old and is expected to increase to 20% by 2050. Also the population of young people is expected to rise in contrast to China. Since 2002 US is the largest economy in the world. China achieved a rapid growth in 2010 where it became the second largest economy, beating Japan. Since then US and China are the competitive nations of the world. The predictions of future economic rates as at 2019 are that the US GDP would be 22.1 trillion dollars compared to China with 14.8 trillion dollars. US is more service oriented where as China has a balance between Service and Industries The Unemployment Rate in China as reported by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the people’s republic of china has remained unchanged being 4.10 percent in the third quarter of 2014. Compared to China, even though the rate of unemployment in USA is high â€Å"6.2%†; USA has achieved a drastic drop in its unemployment rate compared to its figures in the last five years, Which is a highly favorable for its economic growth in the future. However, china has not made any measures to address their rate of unemployment.   Chinese still poses less prospective than Americans to Say They Live Comfortably:Superficially at odds with the countrys growth and sense of economic positivity, the Chinese have not grown more likely to feel they can live comfortably on their current income over the past six years. In 2012, 58% said they were able to get by on their current earnings, an amount that has remained relatively fixed. About a third (32%) is finding it verydifficult to earn just enough money to live on, and this rate has similarly continued basically constant. This would seem to suggest that economic progress has not yet directly translated into a more monetarily secure population, or, on the other hand, that as the Chinese sense wealthier, they find themselves attaining new requirements. And, one in 10 Chinese claim that they are living comfortably on their current revenue, a percentage that has shown no growth over time. Americans continue to maintain a much better average than the Chinese regarding their individual revenues. A plurality (38%) in 2012 said they were living comfortably on their current revenue; additional 34% said they were getting along. A quarter of Americans have found it very difficult to live with their current income. Although they are greater than the Chinese on this metric, Americans opinions of their capability to live a comfortable life have been affected by the recession. They are a reduced amount to be expected now than in 2007 to feel they can live comfortably on their present-day income and more probably to feel it is challenging to live on it. Reference List Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Cross-Cultural Skills from Mind Tools. 2014.Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Cross-Cultural Skills from Mind Tools. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm. [Accessed 22nd October 2014]. Journal of Communication Volume 48, Issue 4 December 1998 Wiley Online Library. 2014. Journal of Communication Volume 48, Issue 4 December 1998 Wiley Online Library. [ONLINE] Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcom.1998.48.issue-4/issuetoc. [Accessed 22nd October 2014]. Chinese Culture, China Culture Center, Facts, Ancient Custom and Tradition. 2014. Chinese Culture, China Culture Center, Facts, Ancient Custom and Tradition. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/. [Accessed 25thOctober 2014]. Chinese Traditions and Culture. 2014.Chinese Traditions and Culture. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.chinese-traditions-and-culture.com/. [Accessed 27th October 2014] Lesson in American Culture and American Values. 2014. Lesson in American Culture and American Values. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.internationalstudentguidetotheusa.com/articles/culture.htm. [Accessed 28th October 2014]. Need Recognition. 2014. Need Recognition. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/consumer-marketing-4/consumer-decision-process-40/need-recognition-200-4088/. [Accessed 1st November 2014]. Opinion Briefing: U.S. vs. China Strengths and Weaknesses . 2014. Opinion Briefing: U.S. vs. China Strengths and Weaknesses . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.gallup.com/poll/162965/opinion-briefing-china-strengths-weaknesses.aspx. [Accessed 2nd November 2014]. China has the worlds fastest growth in living standards China.org.cn. 2014. China has the worlds fastest growth in living standards China.org.cn. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/2013-10/24/content_30391004.htm. [Accessed 2nd November 2014]. China’s Population Destiny: The Looming Crisis | Brookings Institution . 2014. China’s Population Destiny: The Looming Crisis | Brookings Institution . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2010/09/china-population-wang. [Accessed 2nd November 2014]. The Changing Demographics of America | 40th Anniversary | Smithsonian. 2014. The Changing Demographics of America | 40th Anniversary | Smithsonian. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/40th-anniversary/the-changing-demographics-of-america-538284/?no-ist. [Accessed 2nd November 2014]. Journal of Consumer Psychology | Vol 12, Iss 2, Pgs 69-176, (2002) | ScienceDirect.com. 2014.Journal of Consumer Psychology | Vol 12, Iss 2, Pgs 69-176, (2002) | ScienceDirect.com. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10577408/12/2. [Accessed 2nd November 2014]

thomas cole Essay -- essays research papers fc

Thomas Cole Painting landscapes was very important during the 19th century. Thomas Cole was one of the most important figures in landscape painting in the United States. He went to many places searching for nature, which he painted to show the unmatchable beauty nature creates. His works of art helped people see and take pride in their great land, which was called America. Cole’s works were often made people feel like they needed to go out in nature and discover the inspiring world of mother earth. Thomas Cole, born on February 1, 1801 in Lancashire, England, found himself at fourteen working as a textile printer and wood engraver in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Cole returned to his parents in 1819 in Ohio; this is were he learned how to oil paint and how to use different kinds of oil painting techniques under the supervision of a portrait painter, Stein. Cole was very impressed and impacted by the landscapes of the â€Å"new world† and how magnificent they were compared to where he came from, which was England. Cole found that art came naturally to him and eventually taught himself how to observe nature and still life. He started by illustrating American trees, plants, animals, and even Native Americans. With his sketches of nature he made several different paintings including his famous â€Å"The Course of Empire†, â€Å"The wood chopper†, and â€Å"The Oxbow.† In early 1826, Thomas Cole was most famous for being the creator of the National Academy of Design. As the founder, Cole was urged by fans to paint American scenery, but Cole desired to create a landscape painting that could express moral and religious meanings. He painted and painted and then in 1836 he married and settled in Catskill, New York to Maria Bartow. In Catskill he made a beautiful landscape painting of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River. He is said to have made a big impact on artists like Frederick Church and Albert Bierstadt. Sadly, Cole died early of a disease on February 11, 1848. But his life wasn’t fruitless, he helped lead the first school of landscape called the Hudson River School into the making; were many more leading artists came. Thomas Dougherty, Asher Brown Durand, Albert Bierstadt, and others came from the Hudson River School and they all became romantic realists and painted about the American country sides. These realists joined detail panoramic images with moral insights, which ... ...ce with some trees shot out on the nearside of the painting. The image is painted as if the viewers are taken in a moment of time. The artist can’t be seen at a first glance because he is greatly tiny in the picture, but he is in the image. It seems that Cole tries to get the viewer to see beyond their field of vision to see nature’s colors, lights, and artistry. The storm can be seen as humans who will eventually wipeout the wild and replace it with its own possessions. Thomas Cole is one of the best realists out there. He made Americans and non-Americans see beauty in nature, opportunities, possibilities, and a future in America. He didn’t only inspire a nation, but he also inspired many artists to reach their goals in the art world. Cole was a brilliant, talented artist, and did a mighty fine job in effecting the art world. Works Cited The Hudson River School: American Landscape Artists. New York: Smithmark Publishers, 1996. http://faculty.evansville.edu/ Lucie-Smith, Edward. American Realism. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994. Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Rev. ed. Vol.2. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995. 973-974. Yaeger, Bert D.

Multiple Themes of One Hundred Years of Solitude :: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Multiple Themes of One Hundred Years of Solitude      How the theme of the novel is developed and enhanced by plot, character and setting.      This novel seems to have multiple themes. One important theme is that every action causes a reaction, and one person’s doing can result in something unpredicted. Similarly, it also seems to say that fate is bound to happen, no matter what is done to try to change it. In this novel, when Jose Arcadio Buendia marries his cousin Ursula, they are cursed to have a child with the tail of a pig. I believe that this is just a way of saying that they are destined for downfall and failure. They are afraid and tired of people whispering and pointing, so after Jose kills a townsman, they decide to retreat into the jungles of South America. With the help of other settlers, they found their own little town, named Macondo, in hope of escaping the wrath of fate.   Their family lives through one hundred years in this manner, before their destiny is fulfilled.   This novel is about how a family is able to survive, for a time, in solitude. So, it is appropriate that the setting is a newly settled village, which is deep in the jungle, away from the world that has condemned them. One Hundred Years of Solitude is an almost magical story where the past, present and future seem to merge into one. It tells the story of a family, rather than an individual, and how two people’s mistake results in their descendant’s downfall. If the setting was in an urban environment, the story would have made no sense, or at least lost a bit of its effect. Instead, these people start from scratch and build up their own civilization. Over the course of a century, civil wars occur, along with tragedies, angels appearing, and family members losing their sanity.     The novel is written in decades, with each one exploring a main character and with the other characters lives, the book tangles itself up, until everything blends together, to return to the book’s beginning, as Macondo continues towards its inevitable self-destruction.

Life and Debt Response

Life and Debt Response Paper Taylor Sun 9/29/2011 St. John's University Globalization has been a controversial topic for decades followed by the industrialization. The debate of whether it is positive or negative for the human race has caused much divergence, consequently leading to vast conflicts between different cultures, nations, and peoples. Although globalization brought convenience to the lives of a few on a daily basis in the industrialized countries, it also brought about world power monopolies controlling the trade system, exploitation of workers in developing countries, and victimizing the societies that are unable to self sustain. In the 21st century, signs of globalization are everywhere, in both industrialized and developing countries. When you take a sip into that freshly picked coconut brought home from a local supermarket, do you think of the farmers in Malaysia that had grown the tree, the Japanese operated shipping company that had flown the cargo to the United States, or the American manufacture company that had packaged the delicious fruit, and had delivered it to the supermarket near you for your convenience? Or, every time you get ready and put on your brand new sneakers that you had just purchased from a department store; do you think of the shoelaces made in Mexico, sowed together in the sweatshops in China, and the British founded brand that designed your sneakers? My guess is no. We as the privileged ones do not recognize these traces of globalization anymore in our everyday lives, because we are so accustomed to the way of life made possible by globalization. However, the less fortunate ones in the other parts of the world struggle everyday to make ends meet without enjoying the benefits of globalization, but rather they are the majority that are sacrificed in the process of making the lives of a few effortless and comfortable. Before viewing the film â€Å"Life and Debt,† like most people, I had never really thought about the pros and cons of globalization either, but after watching this documentary, I was stunned at how globalization can affect people’s lives in such a negative way. In the film, large corporations and organizations such as the World Trade Organization and the World Bank act as antagonists for the Jamaican economy and its people. Take World Bank for example: idealistically, debt assistance would be given to the low profits countries by the World Bank. It is countries like Jamaica that the World Bank should have a fundamental position to engage in recreation by working with governments, and guaranteeing a strong authority and control. If these programs are not carried out, attracting overseas and domestic investment would be more complicated and difficult; therefore, globalization would descend on itself. But is that really the case? According to the documentary, Jamaica currently owes more than $4. 5 billion to the IMF, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and many other leading loan companies in the world. The significant advance that these loans have set out to accomplish has not yet, and probably never would deliver its purpose. In the film, the World Bank has been portrayed as a deceiving and misleading world power, dominating the world economy with almost absolute control. Because Jamaica needed the loan so urgently from the lending agencies, that the agencies were able to negotiate a â€Å"mutually beneficial† relationship with the Jamaican government. Jamaica had no choice but to settle and come to terms with the new deal that the World Bank has offered. The deal was of high interest, too high of an interest to be paid off by just relying on the Jamaican economy’s exchanges. It is also of low wages for workers in hope to increase the employment rate, too low of wages to make ends meet for these workers. This almost forces the Jamaican government to turn to foreign trades to barely attain its income. This situation also gave opportunities to the large companies to exploit the workers with less than minimum wages. If the people are in poverty struggling to put food on the table, how can there be peace and prosperity? Poverty and violence almost always come in pairs. Efficient legal systems and a healthy financial system are crucial to the success of a nation and its economy. If Jamaica doesn’t get out of the debt crisis somehow, it can never advance into a prosperous nation. The World Trade Organization plays another key role in this phenomenon that is not only taking place in Jamaica, but also occurring in many other countries in development. It has almost become a global government in the sense of regulating the entire world’s trading systems, controlling the wealth travelling in and out of countries. In order for the Jamaicans to change this system of invisible power over their now independent country, Jamaica must earn the majority of the vote in the World Trade Organization to gain permission to alter the balance of the trading system. The majority of the votes are held in European nations whom are benefiting from the devastating situation of the Jamaicans. The percentage of votes each country hold are determined by the impact and size of its economy. The United States being the largest economy in the world holds as many as 17% of entire world’s votes, making it the single largest vote holder. Japan comes in second, followed by Germany being third. This is going to be a never ending cycle that the Jamaicans won’t ever be able to get out of without some kind of policy change or outside assistance. With this situation, Jamaica became a nation forever cast in the shadows of debt. Without denying its contributions, globalization has brought the world better access to goods that were not even imaginable before its existence. It brought competition to the market therefore decreasing the price for consumers. It gave numerous opportunities for business to flourish and brought wealth and prosperity to many nations. It is the beginning form of a new world order for humanity to progress and advance as a single subject. As we all know, no plan is perfect. In the process of executing this ideal of globalization, many nations are sabotaged as well. Poverty, violence, corruption, unemployment, large disparity between the rich and poor, and underdevelopment of education and health care systems are the defects of globalization just to name a few. Although injustice and inequality almost come hand in hand with the practice of globalization, but can we really abolish it at once? From a morality stand point, globalization is no different from owning slaves in the sense of forcing less privileged people from developing countries to work for large monopolies, with disproportionate wages for the workers in contrast to the profit that these ompanies generate. But I believe from the standpoint of the advancement of the human civilization, globalization is inevitable. Without globalization, the human race cannot advance as a whole; therefore, slowing down the development process of humanity. We might not think of this matter this way, but globalization has only been in the existence of the entire human history for a very brief period; thus , the structure of this global system has not yet fully organized itself to prevent any defects in its practice. A perfect example is the more micro Chinese economy in terms of the macro globalization. As we all know, China has been one of the fastest growing countries in terms of finance and economy. There were many loopholes within the government regulations for businesses in comparison to already developed nations such as the United States and Great Britain in the past years, providing opportunities to cheat the system; resulting in a generation of overnight millionaires. With the realization of this situation, there have been changes made to prevent this from happening any further. If one nation is able to adapt and adjust its system to improved and recover from the flaws, why can’t the World Trade Organization change its ways to come up with a better arrangement and structure to eliminate the injustice and immoralities? Globalization has brought many things to the table for everyone, both negative and positive. We human beings need to focus more on the macro result of globalization rather than the relatively micro side effects of this phenomenon. I believe with the passing of time and the recognition and understanding of the issues of this matter, we will be able to modify and progress our ways to recover and prevent future occurrences of the problems we face today. Globalization will not always be what we know of it in today’s society. In time, it will eliminate its flaws and achieve its ultimate goal of uniting people of different backgrounds, cultures, and nations into one group of people working towards a better tomorrow.

Movie Critique revised

One of the most important issues and concerns facing our country today, and throughout history, is racism. Many books and films have been written and developed that deal with the harsh and realistic subject of racism in America today and how it affects American society and people from all walks of life, and no film has done so in such a broad way as Crash. This film follows the stories of multiple characters in Los Angeles, all of whom deal with one aspect of racism or another. For example, there is a police officer who is racist against blacks because of his father, a district attorney and his wife that deal with racism after two black men carjack them one night, and a black man whose brother is involved in gang violence. Each storyline dramatizes one aspect of racism or another, and how different people react to it, and the reasons behind racism in our country. Crash is a well-made film that is valuable for our society because it isn’t afraid to ask very serious and harsh questions about the way we view each other, the reasons behind racism in American society, and questions how far we’ve come as a society as it concerns racism. Crash is an interesting look at how Americans view each other based upon race, even when we do not mean to or are not able to truly see our own deeply rooted assumptions about people based upon the way they look. In one scene in the movie, two young black men are walking down the street philosophizing about how wrong it is that people automatically fear them because they perceive their race and not who they really are. We, the audience, immediately agree with their ideas and begin to feel sorry for them because of the pressures they face in society; however, the scene quickly turns to violence when they pull out guns and carjack a young politician and his wife, who had been eying them suspiciously because of their race. In this instance, the assumptions of the two white people were correct because these young men were carjackers, throwing a whole new aspect of racism and society’s fears into the mix. This scene says a lot about our society and how people make assumptions about each other based upon race, but also is harshly honest about the statistics involving black, inner-city young men in Los Angeles and how many fall into a life of crime. The reasons for this are also delved into in this film, with scenes showing the harshness of ghetto life and the poverty that some live in, with broken families and prejudice. In the film, Detective Graham Waters, and African-American, feels ashamed by his family, who consists of a mother who is addicted to drugs and a brother who is living a life of crime. This film also tackles the issue of why racism develops in our society and how those who has racist beliefs become that way. In one storyline that is developing a police officer is racist, and we see that he has been raised by a racist father, who is now dying of cancer. Throughout the film we find ourselves feeling contempt for these characters because of their personal opinions about race, but at the end the police officer has to go to an insurance company to ask for medical help for his dying father and speaks to an African-American woman at the agency. Knowing about his prejudice, she immediately denies his father any help, leading the son to explain about his how his father had always employed minorities but when minority owned businesses began to get preference, his company could not survive. The son’s bitterness about race seems to have stemmed from his father’s problems. We begin to understand the circumstances surrounding the development of racism in these characters, and feel torn between our understanding and our dislike of racism. Another instance is seen with the young couple that has been carjacked. The woman becomes frightened of African-Americans, and indeed all minorities, because of the two men who pointed a gun at her; yet, in the end she realizes that the kindest person to her is her Hispanic maid. While we do not believe in racism, this film does not make it so easy to choose who is right and who is wrong because it develops all aspects of the people’s experiences. The main purpose of this film seems to be to raise questions about how far we as a society have come in terms of racism and whether or not we’ve overcome this issue in our country. The many different storylines that are taking place throughout the film begs us to look deeper into racism and how it affects everyone in America, especially in large diverse cities like Los Angeles where many different races and ethnicities live side by side. We also see racism between and towards other ethnicities: the hatred that the Persian storeowner has for the Hispanic locksmith, the bigotry shown by one of the black carjackers towards the â€Å"Chinamen† that are being smuggled in the van he takes, and the projections of the district attorney’s wife onto the Hispanic locksmith, Daniel. The one storyline that develops throughout the film that is the finale of the film revolves around a young rookie police officer who picks up an African-American man who is hitchhiking. Throughout the film he has been the one who tries desperately to not be prejudiced and to see everyone equally, but at the end his own inner fears cause him to misinterpret the young man and shoot him out of fear. Officer Hanson thinks that the young man is going to pull a gun on him, but instead pulls out a figure of Saint Christopher. If the man had not been black, the rookie officer would not have had the instinct to fear him; however, both of these characters throughout the film were the least prejudiced of all of the characters. This idea becomes interesting as an important aspect of this film because it is almost a metaphor of the United States and how we are trying desperately to not admit that racism is a problem but in the end, it really is. This is the most important theme of this film because it is the one that is closest to the reality of life in the United States and how racism plays a role in society. Throughout the film Crash there are many instances where we see racism portrayed in a realistic and harsh way, proving to us that racism is very much an issue that is haunting the American people even today. The magic of this film is that it really brings the issue of racism away from just being black or white, bringing to light the gray area that exists. We as Americans are torn between our understanding of certain reasons for racism versus disappointment that there is still racism existing in our society. This film is very entertaining because of the strong cast and the different storylines that all come together into a very informative, thoughtful way, but also enlightening as it achieves its goal of affecting the audience and their beliefs about racism in our society.