Improving Health and Wellness in Students Essay

Rising consumerism is a problem that has a profound effect on children today.   Children and adults watch television and are inundated with commercials that urge viewers to buy the latest technological gadgets that replace outdoor activities and exercise.   As well, the latest candy, ice cream, and other unhealthy products are cast in between cartoons that capture children’s attentions and their parents are pressured to please their children and buy them material objects to satisfy them rather than engaging them in healthy activities and studying much of the time. Many parents are working and have little time to spend with their kids, sitting in front of the television together or encouraging kids to quietly play with their gadgets (play stations, computers, and others), so parents can relax may become the norm.   To make up for this lack of involvement many parents guiltily give in to children’s whims and buy them candy and unhealthy food, to save time â€Å"fast-food† replaces a healthy dinner and that much needed time at the dinner table to interact and be involved in their children’s lives. An efficient school program would not only target the youth, but their parents, as well then.   â€Å"Operation Pause the PlayStation† will be aimed at educating parents and children separately on issues involving obesity and other unhealthy behaviors.   It is probable that parents of children, who are not obese, will be less receptive and unlikely to come to these after-school classes. But, it is postulated this involvement program will be less receptive if it were labeled as a program for â€Å"troubled kids†.   Therefore this program will have the contingency that children will not be able to pass to the next grade level unless parents attend (this is fitting as the program should be implemented at the end of the school year before children have summer break and may be more sedentary and involved in unhealthy activities without the benefit of healthy school lunches and physical education). Therefore, parents and children should attend at least three classes that tackle these problems.   Class one should tackle the â€Å"McDonaldization of Society† and demonstrate that busy working families do not mean to do their children harm when settling for fast food, but that fast food is unhealthy and can lead to obesity and/or unhealthy learned behaviors that will follow children into adulthood. â€Å"Giving in† to children and buying them unhealthy food to fill the void that is left from lack of quality time, should also be addressed.   Most importantly, the lack of parental involvement in school activities due to rushed lifestyles should be addressed.   This class will be a sort of forum, as well, not meant to single out any parent, but an opportunity for parents facing the same kinds of strain to network with one another and see that they can be part of a healthy solution. Class two should encompass the overuse of technical gadgets (including television) that interfere with healthy activity.   Teachers of these classes that can be taken from high school level health classes and may choose films or other forms of media that deal with these issues to show that, in a sense, these parents and their families are â€Å"victims† of consumerism. Outside of class, more and more children are watching more and more TV, to the point that they are watching approximately 40,000 TV commercials annually. (The CEO of Prism Communication notes, â€Å"They aren’t children as much as what I like to call ‘evolving consumers’† (Heiner, 2006). Deconstructing these facts that lead to sedentary and possibly unhealthy behaviors in children from a larger, systemic base will, also, help parents to realize that they are not being singled out, but instead part of a consumer culture that demands this type of behavior. While the parents are involved in the first two classes, high school level physical education and health teachers should teach the children about food pyramid and what different foods do to help the body grow and be strong.   They should, also, focus on different exercise techniques that are fun and help to keep children in shape.   The two courses should help children to begin to think beyond McDonald’s and PlayStation and the children will take what they learn and teach their parents. This is what class three should be revolving around, a fun and light-hearted end to the requirement.   Here students will tech their parents what they have learned as far as healthy eating and a better overall lifestyle.   The parents will, most likely, appreciate that their children are making an effort to improve their lifestyles and will continue where the classes left off.   Additionally, there should be representatives from various summer camps and programs that are inexpensive , so that even children in poverty could attend.   The YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, and other organizations should promote what they have to offer at this time and, hopefully the summer will serve as a break from studies, but a beginning to more healthy behavior. In conclusion, problems with obesity and unhealthy behavior are systemic.   We live in a consumer culture that causes both the old and young to sometimes believe that having â€Å"things† is essential.   Hurried lifestyles, as well, from long work hours, and especially in single-parent households may lead to turning to â€Å"fast food† and a lesser interest in school activities.   Competing with friends to have the most up-to-date technology may lead to parents having pressure put on them to provide these unnecessary gadgets and relaxing may start to take the form of television watching or other technological time.   These problems are not unique to any one group, but all parents and all children are at risk.   â€Å"Operation Pause the Playstation†, should help change attitudes on this. References Heiner, R. (2006).   Social Problems: An Introduction to Critical Constructionism.   New York: Oxford University Press. Insidehighered.com.   Advanced Placement Still Ascending.   (2007). Retrieved February 18, 2007 from       http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/02/07/ap.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leone, Peter & Drakeford, William.   Alternative Education: From a â€Å"Last Chance† to a Proactive Mode. (1999).   Reprinted with permission of The Clearing House: Volume 3, Number 2, November/December 1999: The Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation. Published by Heldref Publications, 1319 18th St. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036-1802. Copyright 19.   Retrieved February 18, 2007 from http://www.edjj.org/Publications/pub_06_13_00_1.html. Payne, R.   (1996).   A Framework for Understanding Poverty.   p. 59.   Highlands: aha! Process, Inc.   

The Strengths and Weakness of the key Methods of concepts of Usability

The method used in any form of media analysis is crucial to the outcome of the particular piece of research. This can be applied to any scientifically based source of analysis. This also includes the social sciences. In relation to the study of computer systems, this also applies as computer systems are ultimately utilised by human agents. This has meant that the human-computer interaction inherent to computer systems are now undeniably twinned with the social sciences and humanities. Therefore, the relationship between methodologies and outcomes also applies to any analysis based upon computer use and development.For this essay, the particular concept based upon human-computer interfacing to be scrutinised was that of usability. Like most other concepts in the human sciences, the concept of usability has its own particular methodological components and tools. The particular methodological tools relating to usability chosen for this analysis were the qualitative measurements used in focus groups, interview techniques and the concept of usability itself. As usability is essentially a cognitively focused concept then the data used in the analysis of usability is primarily qualitative.This means that to measure usability, feedback is usually qualified in terms of empirical rather than positivist data as it is based upon experience. This is why the empirical methods of the focus group and interview technique that pertain to the social sciences are used and were to be addressed in this essay. The main conceptual components of usability were outlined by its forefather Jacob Neilson, who stated that a heuristic analysis of interactive experiences could be judged on the basis of their success to ascertain as to whether a computer system was good or bad.This means that we must first of all look at the strengths and weaknesses of usability before we critique them. However, we must also identify the components before we begin the analysis. As we have already suggested, us ability is not a quantitative term relating to any fixed data outcome. This means that to identify the key conceptual components in the analysis of usability, we must clearly define what they are. Further, Neilson also states that the key components of usability are essential to any analysis.It is from this overview of the concept of usability that we will turn to an analysis highlighting its strengths and weaknesses in methodological approach. The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Key Methods and Concepts of Usability It is clear that there is a relationship between computer systems and the construction of human social systems. The computer is become an essential component in advanced technological cultures. In many ways it has become the dominant tool of communication now that it has implemented the formerly distinct mediums of television and text.In relation to the computer as a social medium, it is its interactive nature that separates it from other mediums. This can be seen as be ing realised as early as the 1970s, in an age before interactive communication had actualised. For example, the notion of the hypertext put forward by seminal thinker and post modern philosopher Jean Baudrillard highlights the way in which interactivity constructs not only social relations with each other, but also the sensual relationship that we have individually with the computer interface.In one crucial extract, Baudrillard states that the relationship with the interface is one: ‘Based on contact, a sensory mimicry and a tactile mysticism, basically ecology in its entirety, comes to be grafted on to this universe of operational simulation, multi-stimulation and multi response. ’ (Baudrillard, 1976, p. 9) It is from the realisation in the extract that contemporary theorists and experts in the field of human-computer relations have developed the concept of usability.This is essentially the yardstick by which the connectivity between the computer system and human cogni tive functioning can be devised and then measured in terms of its success. In essence, it is part of the interactive feedback produced by the human through their experience that determines whether the interactive process in any particular experience is successful or not. This measurement can therefore be referred to as its usability. Basing his approach on this philosophical realisation, Jacob Neilson devised a way in which this interactive process could be qualitatively measured.This includes the methodologies associated with empirically based social science, including focus groups and interview techniques. To utilise these factors in the potential success, or successful construction of web design, Neilson outlined ten primary factors. These were developed as part of a heuristic system. These factors include: ‘1. Visibility of system status, 2. Match between system and the real world, 3. User control and freedom, 4. Consistency and standards, 5. Error prevention, 6. Recogniti on rather than recall, 7.Flexibility and efficiency of use, 8. Aesthetic and minimalist design, 9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors, 10. Help and documentation’ (Neilson, 1994) By developing a system based upon these key factors, Neilson created a rigid conceptual model for successful user-face design, implementing the functional principles of human contact with the computer interface. This heuristic formulation has had success in both developing web design and measuring the interactivity of the design.For instance, it‘s methodology has been found to be able to identify ‘major usability problems’ (CHFCS, 1992). Further, by implementing this measuring tool based upon empirical feedback, such as in the case of the focus group and interview technique, the success of identifying and treating any problems in the functioning of a problematic web site have a ‘higher probability of being found in a heuristic evaluation’ (CHFCS, 1 992). The strength of using such methodologies is that they arrive at experience driven results that indicate problems relating to cognition.Further, this allows the problems associated with web design to be identified in relation to usability when utilised in terms of feedback. Essentially, the qualitative data can be measured in relation to the themes indicated by Neilson that have a known cognitive effect in the experience of interaction. This is further exemplified in the rationale on Neilson’s own web site devoted to the heuristic analysis of computer systems. The site follows the principles of the design, whilst explaining the way in which to utilise the principles of usability.The extent to which Neilson demonstrates the use of these principles and validates the evidence that can be used is revealed in a number of examples that have achieved success through usability. This is highlighted in the extract which states that: ‘Rapid Application Development (RAD) proce sses such as Agile, Scrum, and the like, simultaneously pose an opportunity and a threat to achieving a quality user experience. It all depends on how it's handled. The standard methodologies as described in books don't work in practice, if you care about the usability of your products.But small modifications work wonders’ (Useit. com, 2009) This notion of adaptability is another strength of the methodology as it recognises the need for human feedback in a thematic and conceptual format. Furthermore, it reveals the diverse nature in which feedback can be drawn before being applied to the core conditions laid out in the heuristic principles. Rather than using quantitative data or rigid data referring to hypotheses, the data is given in a thematic sense highlighting the individual’s experience with the site and the cognitive problems that may have occurred in the process.The key heuristic principles then allow for problem identification and adjustments made in a bid to e nhance the experience of usability. In essence, the measurements are set for a versatile analysis of computer systems in relation to interactivity. This can utilise a wide range of empirical and qualitative methodologies. However, the methodologies will not simply address the likes and dislikes of the individuals, but also relate their experience to the cognitive disparity between human and computer.Contrastingly, the weaknesses in this approach and its methodologies can be seen in a return to the philosophical underpinnings of usability and the significance of the immersive experience. Rather than there being any problem with the methodologies used in relation to the heuristic principles, it is in the conceptual basis of usability itself that we see the greatest amount of criticism being applied. This is primarily because the notion of usability is founded upon one key principle indicated by Baudrillard at the rejection of the other.Essentially, although Neilson outlines interactiv ity and marries this to the concept of human cognition with a degree of success, it is conceptually focused upon functioning. That is to say, that the immersion of the user experience is only measured in terms of how the interface functions and its success in that outcome. Further, this success is only relative to the user’s cognitive functioning. By basing his principles and outcomes on cognitive functioning, he denies any aesthetic or intellectual action made by the user in relation to the experience.For example, the lack of aesthetic design can be evidenced in relation to his own web site. This is because it takes a functional approach at the expense of any aesthetic. However, the aesthetic experience to functioning can not be overlooked in the experience of the user. The irony here is that while Neilson may be dismissing aesthetics in his design, his consumers i. e. the users of his site are nevertheless subject to an aesthetic experience. While being functional in terms of usability, the site is aesthetically detrimental to the experience of the user.In this sense, it would appear that Neilson is simply rejecting the role and significance of aesthetic experience from the experience of interfacing. The other major criticism of usability and the methodologies that it utilises is in relation to the extent of interactivity that the heuristic principles allow for. Essentially, with such a simple form of processing information, then the role of interactivity is lost in the experience. That is to say that the computer system is simply conforming to the will of the user rather than engaging with them.This denies the validity of the interactive process to some degree in terms of immersion. For example, Sherry Tuckle denotes the significance of interactivity in the construct of the self. Essentially, she suggests that the chances of immersion within the web site are better increased by a degree of socialised feedback that can be sensually registered in terms of another intelligent entity, rather than coded responses (Turkle, 1997). The suggestion here is that the more diverse the computer can respond in terms of immediate sensual feedback, the greater the chances of immersion become.In relation to designs based upon a purely functioning information source, the experience becomes that of an entity wishing to ascertain information as if the computer itself. This is quite a contrast to the actual human experience that is found in the process of interaction. With this notion of seeking information we can see another criticism. Rather than being subject to the experience of a user world based upon multi-stimulus, the user is driven by a purpose to collect information through a cognitively mutual function.While this perhaps serves well as the provision of a service based upon receiving or extracting information, it denies the process of immersion and interactivity that may instil or insight a relationship between the user and the web site. T his oversight is highlighted well in Neilson’s claims that ‘evolution did not intend humans to navigate in 3D space’ (Molich & Neilson, 1990). What is indicative of oversight in this idea is that humans already inhabit a 3D space in the real world. Essentially, the notion of the interactive experience is one that negates the actual experience.This means that the experiences being utilised by the methodologies are overlooked and reinterpreted to arrive at the web sites success in providing a service based upon function. This emphasises Neilson’s dualistic belief that there is a cyber-reality based upon function and a real-reality that bears no relation. This is contradictory in that it goes against the principles of hyper-reality outlined by Baudrillard and many other theorists and critics who highlight the way in which computer systems interact to create a virtual world based upon our own real world.Conclusion We can see from this essay that Neilsonâ€℠¢s notion of usability is immensely significant in relation to the computer medium and how it is used. It has a good and practical methodological component borrowed from the social sciences, based upon the cognitive relationship between humans and computers. It is a good approach that utilises experience and addresses the cognitive relationship between user and web site. However, at a more intricate level, it rejects the aesthetic experience from the design that constitutes much of the potential for immersion.In this, it rejects or denies the very essence of any engaged human experience and replaces it with outcomes. Further, it supports the notion of a dualism between that of user reality and actual reality, which denies any notion of virtual reality. Essentially, the experience of the interactive process is supported by usability in its utilisation of the methodologies of the social sciences, yet denies it in its reduction of the user experience to that of a static functionally di rected process based upon stimulus and response.Although it has borrowed from Baudrillard and hypertext to great effect, it has negated the principles of a multi-faceted aesthetic activity and denied much of the sensual and tactile experience that immersion involves. Bibliography Baudrillard, J. , (1976) Symbolic Exchange and Death Taken from: The Order of Simulacra (1993) London: Sage. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. , (1992) Finding usability problems through heuristic evaluation Monterey, California, United States, p.373 – 380 Molich, R, & Nielsen, J. , (1990) Improving a human-computer dialogue, Communications of the ACM, v. 33 n. 3, p. 338-348 Nielsen, J. (1994). Heuristic evaluation. In Nielsen, J. , and Mack, R. L. (Eds. ), Usability Inspection Methods, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. Turkle, S. , (1994) Constructions and Reconstructions of Self in Virtual Reality: Playing in the MUDs. † Mind, Culture, and Activity: An International Journal 1, no. 3 : 158-167. Useit. com (2009) Taken from: www. useit. com.

Pathophysiology Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Pathophysiology - Case Study Example As the discussion outlines the changes in cardiac enzyme levels include the elevated troponin I, elevated myoglobin, elevated CPK and cardiac troponin T. However, cardiac troponin T, and I are the most common marker of myocardial injuries due to their high specificities and sensitivities for diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. The most common pathophysiologic precipitating event s of ACS are plague rapture, hypertension, chest discomforts and pains that spreads to the left arm and lower jaws. The chest pains are usually associated with sweating and nausea. The other precipitating events can include anemia, acute thrombosis that is induced by rapture and an unstable angina. Bradycardias or excessive slow heart rate and tachycardias (excessive faster heart rate) may also precipitate the ACS. This study discusses that the rationale includes administering of reperfusion therapy either with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), thrombolytic therapy or bypass surgery in the failure of the two methods. However, pre-hospital thrombolysis (PHT) is more preferred than percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) due to the time factor. Consequently, all STEMI patients on COX-2 inhibitors except aspirin is to discontinue their use due to increased mortality risk, heart failure, hypertension, reinfarction and myocardial rupture related to their use. Additionally, IV Beta Blockers should be given during the first 24 hours. The use of morphine and nitroglycerin in managing ischemic chest pains is because morphine helps in reducing the discomfort as a pain reliever while nitroglycerin temporarily opens the arteries thus, enhancing the flow of blood to and from the heart.

Continuos quality improvement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Continuos quality improvement - Essay Example Lack of information among patient is a leading cause of hostility to treatment or noncooperation. Thus, this is a problem that hinders quality healthcare. Upon defining the problem, I would collect the relevant data that would show this problem and hence support the need for patient education. Analysis of the collected data would show the current performance of the program (The National Learning Consortium, 2013). By so doing, CQI initiative would identify the main causes of the problem. Data analysis forms a basis for improvement. Improvement should be made if the results show low-quality indicators. A CQI process should identify the root causes of a problem and the alternative changes that can improve the process. About patient education, data may show that lack of information about treatment and aspects such as pain may lead to hostility to treatment among patients. After determining the necessary changes, control measures should be instituted. Control measures involve close monitoring of the initiative to ensure that it delivers the required objectives. In the end, the CQI initiate would be successful. The National Learning Consortium. (2013). Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Strategies to Optimize your Practice. Retrieved from

Critiquing Historical Analysis of Classmate - Subject- Atomic Bomb Assignment

Critiquing Historical Analysis of Classmate - Subject- Atomic Bomb - Assignment Example The reviewer claims that the idea of the atomic bomb came to existence during WWII. This was after President Roosevelt suggested that it was only through it that the nation would achieve victory against its enemies (Truman, 2014). According to the reviewer, the atomic bomb incident is still controversial to date. This is evident by the large number of Non-western as well as European historians who are still trying to analyze the atomic bomb issue. Since this is a historiography, the reviewer starts of by defining the term. According to studies, the term historiography normally refers to the analyzing of the history behind the history of an event. The reviewer organized the work in a chronological order, hence making it easy to comprehend the entire topic. This is because after stating that she would analyze the work of four historians, in the following paragraphs, she talks of different authors in relation to their perceptions as far as the issue of the atomic bomb is concerned. First, the reviewer talks about Kayoko Yoshida’s article, From Atomic Fragments to Memories of the Trinity Bomb: A Bridge of Oral History over the Pacific. Kayoko, apart from exploring the meaning behind trans-media, he also analyses the transnational collaborations behind the atomic bomb (Yoshida, 2003). In a move to get firsthand information concerning the issue of the atomic bomb, apart from interviewing documentary makers, he also involves his students; this was in a move to get different perceptions on how the Japanese community viewed the atomic bomb issue. The reason as to why Kayako involves a number of sources in his analysis is due t o the perception that historians ought to have solid evidence in order to support their claims. In his article, apart from addressing a filmmaker whose objective is to relive the history, he also claims that many Japanese students in the current generation have no clue whatsoever on the reason behind the

Retail Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Retail Marketing - Case Study Example "We want to be the best clothing retailer in the United Kingdom. We strive to exceed our customers' expectations, for our customer is our king. Our stores are well situated and easy to reach. The environment is to be treated with care. We sell fashionable clothes of excellent quality and price. Our employees are our treasure. Our goals are double-digit sales growth and satisfaction of our shareholders in the long run." Next Retail Limited has 383 stores in the UK and Ireland and also 1 in Denmark as in January 2006. Apart from these Retail Stores Next also has 80 franchise stores overseas, operated by eight franchise partners. Next franchise stores are spread across 14 countries namely: Bahrain, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Iceland, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malta, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic and United Arab Emirates. Next products can also be ordered online by the help of Next Directory which is their mail order and internet shopping service. Orders can be delivered to customers' homes or to a store of their choice for collection. Next Directory has approximately 1,905,000 active customers showing an increase of 14.8% from the previous year. NEXT operates through five divisions: NEXT Retail operates the high street shops through more than 330 stores covering the UK and Ireland; NEXT Directory is the mail order division which also contain the e-commerce platform; NEXT Overseas operates retail outlets in the United States, Asia, Continental Europe, and the Middle East through franchise agreements; Ventura runs the financial services division. Other activities include telecommunications software services and property management. Other Departments of NEXT include: Next Distribution Limited is Next's warehousing and distribution service. It is responsible for maintaining the appropriate inventory levels in its warehouses and provide distribution services their designated stores on as and when needed basis. Next First Retail Finance Limited - operates a funded credit business for a limited number of stores and mail order customers. Next Financial Service Limited - provides support services to the business operations of Next Retail Limited. It does not offer any consumer credit. Next Sourcing Limited (NSL) - a sourcing company working exclusively to design, source, buy and merchandise Next branded products. It employs over 1,000 people in China, Hong Kong, India, Romania, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkey. NSL also owns and operates a garment factory in Sri Lanka which manufactures exclusively for Next Retail Limited and employs a further 2,000 people. NEXT Retail accounted for

Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Human Rights - Essay Example The UDHR first sentence recognizes the inherent dignity and the rights of the human family and this shows that by genocide, the human rights are being violated (Snarr & Michael, 36). In the first article of the UDHR I says that all human being are born free and equal in dignity and rights. In case of a genocide the right explained in this article is violated since the lives of the people are taken which is against the article. All people are supposed to be free to live in any part of the world provided they have the legal documents that are needed to be at that specific part. Alienating some people by the basis of their race, ethnicity or religion. Some of the famous genocide cases include the Rwanda genocide in 1994 which culminated as a result of ethnic differences between two communities. The Holocaust was also one of the factors that led to the setting up of the UDHR. In conclusion, the UDHR has been significant in safeguarding the rights of the people against atrocities such as genocide, human trafficking and female genital mutilation. This has been implanted as a result of the articles set in its statutes well elaborated in the text book cited. By following the rules set in its article it has been possible to prosecute and file legal suits against those people especially political leaders who have been active in castigating hatred among different communities which can lead to similar genocide cases such as the one in

Final Exam for Organization Research and Theory Term Paper

Final Exam for Organization Research and Theory - Term Paper Example A computer technology firm has experienced tremendous growth owing to the effective leadership of an efficient top management team. However, it has also witnessed a huge turnover of scientists as well as researchers. The company can be stated to be in maturity stage of the organizational life cycle which signifies that it is functioning in an effective manner which enables it to generate higher profits. At this stage, the management of the firm generally remains the same and there is less delegation of authority or power. The firm at this stage is more focused on developing the efficiency in its business operations. This stage exists as long as the firm is generating profit. The firm is mainly concerned about analyzing as well as managing the costs of the products. The management structure of the firm tends to be more bureaucratic and there is less emphasis on brining in new innovations in the organizational process. In this stage, profit is maximized for its growth as well as the se rvices which are provided by the firm. The growth of the firm is for the result of better collaboration as well as team work along with enhanced leadership by the top management (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2010). The firm after gaining drastic growth in the maturity stage may tend to proceed towards the decline stage for inefficient performance as well as bureaucratic nature of the management. These factors primarily result in crisis for delayed decision making process as well as slow performance. The performance of the firm can decrease or decline and there can also be a lack of innovativeness. The firm also suffered a huge number of turnovers of employees which declined its performance. The workforce of the firm has decreased which results in reduced market share as well as it reduces the competency of the firm. The management at this stage needs to take up certain measures immediately in order to recover from the crisis (Practical Management, 2012). The crisis which is suffered by the firm may be recovered at the revival stage of the organizational life cycle. The revival stage may occur at the maturity or decline stage for recovering the firm from the crisis which is hampering its growth. The firm should take innovative decisions and the bureaucratic nature of management should be minimized for retaining the growth of the firm. The workforce of the firm should be engaged in the decision making process. The management should devise methods for encouraging as well as developing trust among the employees for enhanced performance of the firm. The issues should be analyzed and steps or measures should be taken for lowering turnover of key employees of the organization such as scientists and researchers as they significantly contribute towards ensuring innovativeness in the products and services of the firm. The employees should be provided with better working atmosphere as well as culture for effective performance of employees with reduced turnover. The aspect of providing rewards and recognitions to deserving employees including the scientists as well as researchers can be started by the organization to ascertain that they are motivated to remain in the organization and provide their best. All these measures will assist the firm to resolve the prevailing crisis and to retain its best workforce which in turn would facilitate the company to ensure long-term profitability and sustainability (Products Arts, 2012). Question 6 a) A Mechanistic Structure A mechanistic

Description of pictures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Description of pictures - Essay Example There is a beautiful bunch of budding flowers in the left corner of the picture and they are also placed on the woman’s side. These flowers symbolise love. On the right side of the picture is a vase containing maize cobs. Apparently, these cobs have been placed on the side where the husband is and these may symbolise farming. One striking thing in the picture is that it can be noted that the sun is rising in the distant horizon and it seems to be rising in the hearts of the man and the women. The rising sun in the hearts of the man and husband is a ray of hope that all be well for them since it looks like they are silently praying for their kid. The picture is colourfully designed and it is placed on a wall since there is also a white paper stuck on the wall on its right side. Picture 2 Picture two above shows two people, a man and a woman riding fat horses. The man is riding on horse that is whitish in colour while the woman is riding on a horse with equally the same colour b ut is dotted. These two people seem to be riding in the opposite direction since the picture only depicts their backs. They are both wearing brown hats and the woman’s hat seems to be decorated two items which look like flowers. The two people in the picture are both wearing jerseys. ... The landscape is brown in colour which implies that it is an arid place that does not have any vegetation. The background colour in the picture as well as the colour of the sky is orange which may be caused by the rising sun. It seems that these people are riding opposite the direction of the rising sun. Picture 3 Picture three above shows a large body of water that looks like an ocean. The water stretches beyond the reach of the sky and this site is very common when one is standing at the edge of the sea. The eye cannot see beyond the horizon of the ocean. The colour of the water is green and it seems that there are plants of different colours floating on top of the water. Some of the plants are green while some of them are blue. A closer look at the picture shows that it is moving in ripples of turbulent waves. This situation usually happens when the weather conditions are windy such that there are waves in the sea. The other interesting thing about the picture is that it is not co mprised of any solid physical feature like mountains which shows that it was meant to depict a site of an ocean. In most cases, water in the ocean is not stable especially in windy conditions. The plants in the ocean usually float on top of the water and in most cases, they beautify the sea. The picture is colourfully designed such that it requires special attention in order to figure out what it represents. Picture 4 In picture three above, it seems that there people. Two of them are wearing similar clothes which are brown in colour and they seem to be wearing black belts. One interesting thing about this picture is that the two men seem to be sprawling on the ground and they are agonising in pain.

Summary on Review of Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary on Review of Literature - Essay Example Even with their limited resources, they do not only produce more jobs but are also more innovative than large firms. Chia (2009) undoubtedly reckoned that Singapore’s SMEs play an important role in the country as they are a critical pillar to Singapores economy, employing 60 per cent of the workforce. There are about 160,000 SMEs, hiring 1.7 million workers and contributing 40% non-oil foreign exchange to Singapore’s GDP (MTI 2009; Shin and Soh 2009). The major problems Singapore SMEs face as a result of the recession include loss of revenues that happens because their sales volumes have drastically been reduced as they could not export many of their products to overseas; insufficient capital to fund some of their operations due to the restrain on lending from banks and other lending institutions as the financial crisis bit harder; a drop in production as industries attempt to cut cost by firing some of their workers (OECD & APEC 2008, pp.103-104). Barton (2009) found out that Asian sub-continent might have found itself in this recession mess because of its over-dependence on Western economy, coming from the crisis spearheaded by the sudden demise of Lehman Brothers and other giants Western financial powerhouses. This condition, according to Holland et al (2009) has caused contraction or shrinking of Asian economies. Even as a leader in private banking, Schuman and Chowdhury (2009) found out that all past efforts have meant little in the face of the current downturn. It is as a result of this that Singapore Government realized that prompt actions must be taken in order to salvage its SMEs while maintaining overall economy growth in the country (Chia 2009; Asia Monitor, 2009). While the recent global recession is receding (Economic Survey of Singapore Second Quarter 2009, 2009), declining GDP, competitiveness, new world order, soaring unemployment rate and long-term job losses are always the most politicized and demoralizing fa ctor which

Romeo and Juliet Play Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet Play Essay How does Shakespeare present two or three of the older generation and their roles in the play’s tragic conclusion? Romeo and Juliet is a play set in Renaissance Verona with a tragic conclusion of the two young lovers, Romeo and Juliet, dying. The whole play is about the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets and how their children, Romeo and Juliet, have to pay the price for their actions and hatred to each other. As a result, the older generation play key roles in the play’s tragic conclusion due to their actions and decisions. Juliet’s death in particular is influenced by her parents’ and the Nurse’s betrayal to her and their lack of understanding in her. These characters also influence Romeo’s death and other individuals of the older generation like, Friar Lawrence and the Prince contribute to the play’s tragic conclusion. The influences of Romeo’s and Juliet’s parents play a major part in the play’s tragic conclusion. We know this because in the prologue it says their ‘ancient grudge’ and their ‘rage’ will cause Romeo’s and Juliet’s deaths which will be the only way to ‘bury their parents’ strife’. Shakespeare emphasises the importance of the parents’ roles in the play’s tragic conclusion by using sonnet form and iambic pentameter in the prologue. The prologue implies that the parents play a major part in the play’s tragic conclusion because it shows that their ‘ancient grudge’ creates Romeo’s and Juliet’s doomed fate and the use of the sonnet form and iambic pentameter emphasises their importance. Among the parents, Capulet plays a key role in the play’s tragic conclusion, in Juliet’s death in particular. In Act 1 Scene 5, Tybalt recognizes Romeo’s voic e as a Montague and wants to ‘strike him dead’ but Capulet orders him to do nothing ‘Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone’. He keeps a peaceful attitude to Romeo’s uninvited presence and prevents Tybalt from starting a brawl. This suggests that if he hadn’t stopped Tybalt, it would have prevented Romeo and Juliet from meeting but his desire to appear as a good host to keep a good reputation stops him from doing so. Shakespeare shows Capulet’s desire to appear as a good host by using consecutive short sentences conveying contrasting emotions ‘Be quiet, orMore light, more light! For shame! Ill make you quiet. What, cheerly, my hearts!’ This implies that even when Tybalt wants to strike Romeo dead, he still talks to his guests in between his conversation with Tybalt, showing that he cares about his reputation a lot. Thus, Capulet contributes to Juliet’s death by letting Romeo meet Juliet because he cares about his reputation so he stops Tybalt from creating a scene in front of his guests. If he hadn’t stopped Tybalt, he could have prevented Romeo and Juliet meeting, therefore preventing the play’s tragic conclusion. Also, Capulet contributes to the play’s tragic conclusion because he agrees to Paris’s request of Juliet’s hand in marriage. In Act 3 Scene 4, after Tybalt dies, Paris askes for the second time for Juliet’s hand in marriage. Capulet agrees, not thinking about whether Juliet would actually want to be married to Paris and saying that she will do it, ‘she shall be married’. Also, he displays a sense of urgency and haste in getting Juliet married to Paris. Shakespeare portrays this in his dialogue where Capulet asks questions but doesn’t let Paris answer and carries on ‘Will you be ready? Do you like this haste?’ This is reminiscent of the first time Paris askes for Juliet’s hand in marriage in Act 1 Scene 2 because his response was that Juliet is too young and that he should ‘let two more summers wither in their pride’ and that his ‘my will to consent is but a part’ because Juliet should agree too. From this response it indicates that he contradicts himself because instead of waiting two more years, he accepts his request and he agrees without Juliet’s consent saying that Juliet will do exactly as he wishes. His contradiction implies that yet again he’s thinking about his reputation and social status or that from Tybalt’s sudden death, he’s remembered how easily young people die in Renaissance Verona, hence his decision for Juliet to marry Paris as soon as possible. Either way, it shows that due to his single-mindedness and selfishness, he forgets about Juliet’s consent and agrees to the decision which evidently leads to her death. Furthermore, Capulet’s reaction to Juliet rejecting his plan for her to marry Paris contributes to the play’s tragic conclusion. In Act 3 Scene 5, Lady Capulet tells Juliet about Capulet’s plan for her to marry Paris. Juliet rejects this decision, saying ‘I will not marry yet; and when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo’. When Capulet learns of Juliet’s determination to defy him he becomes enraged and displays anger that even Lady Capulet, who agrees with Capulet’s decision, thinks that his anger is too much ‘you are too hot’. Shakespeare depicts this anger through the use of blasphemous language ‘Gods bread! It makes me mad’. This implies that Capulet is so angry that he even swears at God. Also, his anger is depicted through the use of animal language, calling Juliet a ‘green-sickness carrion’ and a ‘tallow face’ and how he lists what he’s done solely for Juliet having an effect of exaggeration ‘day, night, hour, tide, time, work, play, alone, in company, still my care hath been to have her matchd’. To add, Capulet’s anger is conveyed from the use of rhetorical/illogical questions and how he mimics Juliet ‘Ill not wed; I cannot love, I am too young; I pray you, pardon me.’ Capulet’s excessive anger suggests that he thinks Juliet is ungrateful for not wanting to marry his choice of groom for her and that he’s angry because calling off the wedding would cause him embarrassment and loss of the political power the marriage would have brought him. Capulet’s angry reaction to Juliet’s defiance contributes to the play’s tragic conclusion because he also ends up offending the Nurse calling her a ‘mumbling fool’ and a ‘gossip’s bowl’ which influences the Nurses change of attitude towards Romeo that makes Juliet go to Friar Lawrence wanting to kill herself rather than to marry Paris. Also, Capulet contributes to the play’s tragic conclusion by not supporting Juliet’s pleas for the marriage to be delayed a year and by yet again thinking about his reputation because if Juliet doesn’t agree it will cause him embarrassment and loss of the political power the marriage would have brought him. Another parent that influences the play’s tragic conclusion, in particular Juliet’s death is Lady Capulet. In Act 1 Scene 3, Lady Capulet introduces the idea of marrying Paris to Juliet. She describes him through metaphor ‘precious book of love’ th at ‘lacks a cover’. This implies that she thinks that Juliet can be the ‘gold clasp’ to complete the ‘unbound lover’. Through this imagery, it shows her attitude to the role of women in marriage; the wife is just a book cover or a decoration. Her view of a woman’s role in marriage is shown in her own relationship with Capulet where Capulet clearly dominates over her. This is typical in Renaissance Verona because during that time society was male-dominated. However, this is different in Romeo and Juliet’s relationship where there is equality to both genders. Also, she influences the play’s tragic conclusion in Act 3 Scene 5 by not fulfilling her role as Juliet’s mother. After Capulet’s reaction to Juliet refusing to marry Paris, saying that he will disown her, Juliet turns to her mother for comfort and for help. However, instead she says ‘talk not to me, for I’ll not speak a word. Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee’. Shakespeare uses iambic pentameter to make Lady Capulet’s words sound like spell-like, that they have an important and big impact. This suggests that Lady Capulet contributes to Juliet’s death by not fulfilling her role as her mother, instead she betrays her with her words of rejection with added impact from the use of iambic pentameter. An individual from the older generation that influences the play’s tragic conclusion is the Nurse. Throughout the play, the Nurse plays a loyal and mother-like role to Juliet and is always supportive to her decisions. However in Act 3 Scene 5, the Nurse has a change of heart. ‘I think you are happy in this second match’ she says, saying that she speaks from the heart and ‘from my soul too’. Juliet is outraged with the Nurse’s change of heart because it’s like a betrayal. In the Nurse’s last line before she exits she says ‘Marry, I will; and this is wisely done’. Shakespeare yet again uses iambic pentameter to make the Nurse’s betrayal to Juliet have a big impact. This suggests that the Nurse contributes to Juliet’s death because Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter in her rejection shows the significant impact it has on Juliet. Also, it implies that the Nurse doesn’t understand that Juliets love for Romeo is the real or that she doesnt want to lose Juliet to an uncertain future with Romeo or that she gives up so praises Paris helplessly. Thus, the Nurse is presented as person who doesn’t like inconvenience, only encourages when the situation is convenient and her response to the inconvenience in this scene contributes to the play’s tragic conclusion because she betrays Juliet.

The Relationship Between Terrorism and Religion

The Relationship Between Terrorism and Religion RELIGIOUS TERRORISM IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN ISLAM AND TERRORISM Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.† George W. Bush Address to the US after hijack attacks on the US World Trade Centre and Pentagon, September 11, 2001 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1. When the terrorists attacked the United States on the morning of September 11, 2001, they set in motion a sequence of events that demonstrated unequivocally the power and influence ofterrorism. Less than two hours of unimaginable violence by nineteen terrorists led to repercussions felt around the world. â€Å"Beyond the death and destruction that the terrorists caused more than 3,000 people were killed in the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They also inflicted a deep psychological wound upon United States and the rest of the world†.[1] 2. Although the United States had experienced major terrorist attacks on its soil in the past, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the September 11 attacks were beyond most peoples worst nightmare. Hijacked planes crashing into U.S. landmarks and live television coverage of the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsing images that will likely be etched in ones mind forever. 3. The tragedy of September 11, 2001, has revealed the roots of deep planetary contradictions that threaten the world community and indeed life itself on planet Earth. This act of unprecedented terror against thousands of innocent people ought, at last, to start humanity thinking about the stark incompatibility of modern achievements in the areas of scientific knowledge, human rights, and the establishment of human moral standards with ideological, nationalistic, or religiousfanaticism in any form. 4. Lately, most of the terrorismseems to be about Islam, and it all seems to be the same. By all accounts the specter of jihadism looms large. Even if we suspend the belief for a moment and simply cast aside all those terrorist groups that clearly have nothing at all to do with the Islamic religionthe Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the FARC in Colombia and the IRA in Ireland (to name but a few)we are still left with a slew of seemingly similar groups all motivated by and distorting Islam to suit their own ends[2]. The anatomy of propaganda 5. The document found in a suitcase belonging to leading September 11, 2001, terrorist Muhammed Atta further strengthens this belief. The suitcase document is reproduced below and analysed in the ensuing paragraph: â€Å"Pray during the previous night. Remember God frequently and with complete serenity. Visualize how you will respond if you get into trouble. Read verses of the Quran into your hands and rub them over your luggage, knife, and all your papers. Check your weapons, perform ablution before you leave your apartment, and remember God constantly while riding to the airport. Take courage and remember the rewards which God has promised for the martyrs†. [3] 6. The suitcase document is remarkable for four reasons. First, it embodies a classic ascetical strategy for applying formulaic principles to intended actions. Second, it shares much in common with repetitive techniques for self-hypnosis. Third, it bears a striking resemblance to mainstream traditions such as Catholicism in ascetical manuals like The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola or The Rule of St. Benedict that says, keep death daily before ones eyes. Whether or not such manuals threaten human freedom depends, of course, on the various contexts in which they have been presented. If in the wrong hands they can function as formulas and meditations both for indoctrination and for fighting holy wars. Fourth, the document from the suitcase directly connectsreligiousformulas and meditations with intentions to perpetrate mass murder. Practical checklists of objectives, terrifying in magnitude, are interwoven withreligiousstatements and then repeated and applied as mantras o f self-indoctrination. Religion — The Terrorists Best Weapon 7. Whileterrorism even in the form of suicide attacks is not an Islamic phenomenon by definition, it cannot be ignored that the lions share of terrorist acts and the most devastating of them in recent years have been perpetrated in the name of Islam. This fact has sparked a fundamental debate both in the West and within the Muslim world regarding the link between these acts and the teachings of Islam. Most Western analysts are hesitant to identify such acts with the bona fide teachings of one of the worlds great religions and prefer to view them as a perversion of a religion that is essentially peace-loving and tolerant. Western leaders such as George W. Bush and Tony Blair have reiterated time and again that the war againstterrorismhas nothing to do with Islam. It is a war against evil[4]. 8. Modern International Islamistterrorismis a natural offshoot of twentieth-century Islamic fundamentalism. The Islamic Movement emerged in the Arab world and British-ruled India as a response to the dismal state of Muslim society in those countries: social injustice, rejection of traditional mores, acceptance of foreign domination and culture. It perceives the malaise of modern Muslim societies as having strayed from the straight path (as-sirat al-mustaqim) and the solution to all ills in a return to the original mores of Islam. The problems addressed may be social or political: inequality, corruption, and oppression. But in traditional Islamand certainly in the worldview of the Islamic fundamentalistthere is no separation between the political and thereligious. Islam is, in essence, both religion and regime (din wa-dawla) and no area of human activity is outside its remit. Be the nature of the problem as it may, Islam is the solution.[5] 9. The role of religion of Islam needs closer examination since the majority of terrorists of contemporary times are practising the religion of Islam. One of the enduring questions is what religion of Islam has to do with this. Put simply, does religion of Islam cause terrorism? Could these violent acts be the fault of religion—the result of a dark strain of religious thinking that leads to absolutism and violence? Is religion the problem or the victim? 10. When one looks outside ones faith it is easier to blame religion. In the current climate of Muslim political violence, a significant sector of the American and European public assumes that Islam is part of the problem. The implication of this point of view is the unfortunate notion that the whole of Islam has supported acts of terrorism. 11. Most Muslims refused to believe that fellow members of their faith could have been responsible for anything as atrocious as they September 11 attacks—and hence the popular conspiracy theory in the Muslim world that somehow Israeli secret police had plotted the terrible deed. 12. Recently, however, â€Å"Islam† and â€Å"fundamentalism† are tied together so frequently in public conversation that the term has become a way of condemning all of Islam as a deviant branch of religion. But even in this case the use of the term â€Å"fundamentalism† allows for the defenders of other religions to take comfort in the notion that their kind of non-fundamentalist religion is exempt from violence or other extreme forms of public behaviour.[6] CHAPTER II METHODOLOGY Statement of Problem 1. Terrorism has been a persistent feature of warfare and the international security environment for centuries. The magnitude and impact of terrorism has not remained consistent but rather has ebbed and flowed over the course of time. Today terrorism has emerged as one of the most significant international and regional security issues. 2. The terror attacks of Sep 11 have brought about a lasting change in the way contemporary society perceives the religion of Islam. The perception of the people all across the globe has been that Islam is source of violence. Scope 3. Islam is a vast religion and consists of various facets. The dissertation would aim to study the historical perspective of terrorism, conceptualise terrorism and then determine how religion is used as a motivator for terrorism before studying the Quranic interpretations associated with the violence and finally aim to answer the question â€Å"Is there a link between Terrorism and Islam†. 4. The scope does not cover the causes and motivators of terrorism like cultural conflict, globalisation, and economic disparity e.t.c. but is limited to investigate the general belief that Islam is associated with the terrorism. Methods of Data Collection 5. Data for this research has been collected from the following sources: (a) Books, journals, periodicals and studies on the subject. (b) Authenticated information from selected web sites. 6. A bibliography of the books, periodicals and web sites referred to is appended at the end of text. Organisation Of The Dissertation 7. Topic is intended to be dealt in the sequence enumerated below: (a) Introduction (b) Methodology (c) The Genesis of Terrorism A historical perspective. (d) Conceptualising terrorism Definitions. (e) How religion is used as a motivator for terrorism. (f) Interpretations of Quran and Terrorism. (g) Conclusion Is there a link between Islam and terrorism? CHAPTER III THE GENESIS OF TERRORISM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Introduction 1. Terrorism is as old as the human civilization and the use of violence has been integral to the human beings in the entire process of evolution. This chapter aims at tracing the genesis of terrorism to arrive at the roots of contemporary terrorism. 1st -14th Century AD[7] 2. Zealots of Judea. The earliest known organization that exhibited aspects of a modern terrorist organization was the Zealots of Judea. Known to the Romans as sicarii, or dagger-men, they carried on an underground campaign of assassination of Roman occupation forces, as well as any Jews they felt had collaborated with the Romans. Eventually, the Zealot revolt became open, and they were finally besieged and committed mass suicide at Masada fortress. 3. The Assassins. The Assassins were the next group to show recognisable characteristics of terrorism, as we know it today. A breakaway faction of Shia Islam called the Nizari Ismalis adopted the tactic of assassination of enemy leaders because the cults limited manpower prevented open combat. Their leader, Hassam-I Sabbah, based the cult in the mountains of Northern Iran. Their tactic of sending a lone assassin to successfully kill a key enemy leader at the certain sacrifice of his own life (the killers waited next to their victims to be killed or captured) inspired fearful awe in their enemies. 4. The Zealots of Judea and the Assassins were forerunners of modern terrorists in aspects of motivation, organisation, targeting, and goals. Although both were ultimate failures, the fact that they are remembered hundreds of years later, demonstrates the deep psychological impact they caused. 14th -18th Century 5. The period between 14th and 18th century was of relative calm. From the time of the Assassins (late 13th century) to the1700s, terror and barbarism were widely used in warfare and conflict, but key ingredients for terrorism were lacking. Until the rise of the modern nation state after the Treaty of Westphalia[8] in 1648, the sort of central authority and cohesive society that terrorism attempts to influence barely existed. 6. Communications were inadequate and controlled, and the causes that might inspire terrorism (religious schism, insurrection, ethnic strife) typically led to open warfare. By the time kingdoms and principalities became nations, they had sufficient means to enforce their authority and suppress activities such as terrorism. 7. The French Revolution. The French Revolution provided the first uses of the words Terrorist and Terrorism. Use of the word terrorism began in 1795 in reference to the Reign of Terror initiated by the Revolutionary government. The agents of the Committee of Public Safety and the National Convention that enforced the policies of The Terror were referred to as Terrorists. The French Revolution provided an example to future states in oppressing their populations. It also inspired a reaction by royalists and other opponents of the Revolution who employed terrorist tactics such as assassination and intimidation in resistance to the Revolutionary agents. The Parisian mobs played a critical role at key points before, during, and after the Revolution. Such extra-legal activities as killing prominent officials and aristocrats in gruesome spectacles started long before the guillotine was first used. The 19th Century 8. Narodnya Volya. The terrorist group from this period that serves as a model in many ways for what was to come was the Russian Narodnya Volya (Peoples Will). They differed in some ways from modern terrorists, especially in that they would sometimes call off attacks that might endanger individuals other than their intended target. Other than this, they showed many of the traits of terrorism for the first time. These traits included clandestine tactics, cellular organisation, impatience and inability for the task of organising the constituents they claim to represent and a tendency to increase the level of violence as pressures on the group mount. Internationalisation of Terrorism 9. Modern Terrorism. The age of modern terrorism might be said to have begun in 1968 when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked an El Al airliner en route from Tel Aviv to Rome. While hijackings of airliners had occurred before, this was the first time that the nationality of the carrier (Israeli) and its symbolic value was a specific operational aim. Also a first was the deliberate use of the passengers as hostages for demands made publicly against the Israeli government. The combination of these unique events, added to the international scope of the operation, gained significant media attention. The founder of PFLP, Dr. George Habash observed that the level of coverage was tremendously greater than battles with Israeli soldiers in their previous area of operations. At least the world is talking about us now.[9] 10. Cooperation. Another aspect of this internationalisation is the cooperation between extremist organizations in conducting terrorist operations. Cooperative training between Palestinian groups and European radicals started as early as 1970, and joint operations between the PFLP and the Japanese Red Army (JRA) began in 1974. Since then international terrorist cooperation in training, operations, and support has continued to grow, and continues to this day. Motives range from the ideological, such as the 1980s alliance of the Western European Marxist-oriented groups, to financial, as when the IRA exported its expertise in bomb making as far afield as Colombia[10]. Current State of Terrorism 11. The roots of todays terrorism began to grow in 1990s. The largest act of international terrorism occurred on September 11, 2001 in set of coordinated attacks on the United States of America where Islamic terrorists hijacked civilian airliners and used them to attack the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. After September 11, it is very easy to be nostalgic about the 1990s. In fact, the post Cold War decade was a very chaotic period. Americans were absorbed by domestic issues and lulled by the fact that the Cold War was over[11]. Summary 12. There were two great forces at work through the 1990s. First, there were the forces of integration, including global economic growth, cross-border development, the communications revolution and the spreading of democracy. The power of these forces was captured in the popular phrase, â€Å"The End of History.† Thats what seemed to be happening after the fall of the Berlin Wall and all of the other great events that were affecting world history. But there was also a second set of equally powerful forces—the forces of disintegration—including religious and ethnic conflict, an ever-widening North-South gap, religious fundamentalism (Islamic and otherwise) and terrorism. The power of these forces was captured in the phrase, the â€Å"Clash of Civilizations.† While I disagree with the ultimate conclusion of Samuel Huntington, the author of that phrase, that the clash is inevitable, Huntingtons words nonetheless capture the import of the forces that were prod ucing post-Cold War conflicts CHAPTER IV CONCEPTUALISING TERRORISM 1. A few terms that are important to the study of violence in Islam are: terrorism, religious terrorism and Islamic terrorism. A discussion of these terms will permit a comprehensive analysis on the way in which the use of violence sanctioned by the Quran and its interpretations amounts to Islamic terrorism. Terrorism 2. Terrorism is a non-political act of aggression in which the extent of violence used is â€Å"outside the realm of normative behavior[12]†. Terrorists use or threaten to use this violence against combatants and non-combatants to achieve political, social, economical or religious change within a given community. These reforms appeal to the terrorists and do not represent popular opinion of the society from which terrorism arises and â€Å"terrorists are no respecters of borders[13]†. 3. Thus Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir says that â€Å"there are no well defined or internationally accepted criteria to designate †¦an organization as ‘terrorist. However the UN Security Council has, on occasion, adopted resolutions putting in place specific sanctions and measures against individual countries or†¦certain terrorist organizations[14]†. 4. According to Kofi Annan the Ex Secretary General of the United Nations, the manifestations of terrorism are limitless. The â€Å"only common denominator among different variants of terrorism is the calculated use of deadly violence against civilians[15]†. 5. Terrorists are those who violate the â€Å"right to life, liberty and security[16]† vested in each civilian by the UNs Universal Declaration of Human Rights Resolution: 217 A (III). Thus the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom defines terrorism as a movement in which terrorists â€Å"directly challenge the authority of democratically elected governments to manage their countrys affairs peacefully, according to the rule of law and internationally accepted fundamentals of human rights[17]†, to satisfy their own liking. Religious Terrorism 6. Religious terrorism occurs when the use of terrorism is systematized by an ideological and fanatical interpretation of a religious text. Religious terrorist groups functioning in the absence of this pretext, create â€Å"junk terrorism[18]†. 7. According to Charles Kimball, religious terrorism functions on the basis of five essential principles. These are: means justify the end, holy war, blind obedience, absolute truth claims and the ideal times. Kimball explains that ‘truth claims are essential points in a religion â€Å"at which divergent interpretations arise[19]†. Extreme interpretations of ‘truth claims provoke the ideology upon which religious terrorism is based. However the â€Å"authentic religious truth claims are never as inflexible and exclusive as zealous adherents insist[20]†. The staunch ‘truth claims professed by religious terrorists, allow them to use â€Å"religious structures and doctrines†¦almost like weapons[21]† for their movement. 8. In the process, â€Å"religious convictions that become locked into absolute truths can easily lead people to see themselves as Gods agents. People so emboldened are capable of violent and destructive behaviour in the name of religion[22]†. This conviction creates fanatical interpretations and ideologies that give rise to religious terrorism. Nancy Connors Biggos[23], states that foreign observers are unfamiliar with the extreme interpretations of religious terrorists. Thus scholars often dismiss the rhetoric of religious terrorism as one that is devoid of any strategic motivation. This creates a dearth of quantifiable data that can be used to assess religious terrorism. However Biggo explains that the lack of understanding or data cannot dismiss the fact that religious terrorism is systematized by extreme interpretations of a religious text. Therefore Wener Ruf, states, â€Å"where God was pronounced dead all notions of morality have been turned into nihilism[24]†. Islamic Terrorism 9. Islamic terrorism is a movement in which the violence caused by terrorism is derived from and used to preserve extreme interpretations of the Quran, in an Islamic community. An in-depth discussion of the how Islamic terrorism is invoked from the Quran, will be discussed in a separate chapter. However, preliminarily speaking Islamic terrorism exists where there is â€Å"a controversy over sacred space[25]†or a Kuranic tenet has been violated. Participants of this movement call for â€Å"unquestioned devotion †¦ and blind obedience[26]† to the word of God in order to ameliorate un-Islamic conditions. 9. Islamic terrorism is itself a controversial phrase, although its usage is widespread throughout the English-speaking world. Ordinary Muslims who have nothing to do with terrorism find it reprehensible because it forces upon them a label simply because they, too, are believers of Islam. In fact, the common Muslim believes that you are making him a racial hate target by using the word Islam with terrorism. Bernard Lewisbelieves that the phrase Islamic terrorism is apt, because although Islam, as a religion is not particularly conducive to terrorism or even tolerant of terrorism. In his own words: â€Å"Islam has had an essentially political character from its very foundation to the present day. An intimate association between religion and politics, between power and cult, marks a principal distinction between Islam and other religions. In traditional Islam and therefore also in resurgent fundamentalist Islam, God is the sole source of sovereignty. God is the head of the state. The state is Gods state. The army is Gods army. The treasury is Gods treasury, and the enemy, of course, is Gods enemy.† CHAPTER V RELIGION AS A MOTIVATOR FOR TERRORISM One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter.[27] 1. Introduction. The dynamics whereby religion becomes a motivator for terrorism is complex but highly understandable. What terrorists groups using this dynamic have begun to understand is that most ordinary citizens are not highly interested in politics nor dedicated to working for social change. Many ordinary citizens are however interested in religion as it relates to their personal lives and morals and because of this they can be emotionally manipulated when they learn of social injustices particularly if they view them through the lens of religious rhetoric. This is specifically true in todays world of instantaneous news coverage where it is possible to whip up political and religious outrage over events that are seen to be bordering on religious threshold. This is certainly true in the case of al Qaeda and its loosely affiliated groups within what is now commonly referred to as the global salafi jihadist movement[28]. 2. Religious Brainwash. Following the Afghan war in which Islamic peoples from many nations came together to successfully throw out the Russian â€Å"infidel†, Osama bin Laden and similar groups have successfully managed to continue to widen their global appeal by showcasing social injustices against Muslims. This helps to create within a wide group of otherwise less connected Muslim ethnic groups identification with the victims and with each other as a caring and responsive community for their â€Å"Muslim brothers.† Typically, these groups make use of the human rights abuses occurring within the Israeli/Palestinian and Russian/Chechen conflicts and now also include the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. 3. The making of a Terrorist. While instantaneous and repetitive satellite coverage of worldwide events is enough to show injustices and to even create identification with victims sharing similar ethnic or religious backgrounds it is not sufficiently enough to fuel terrorism. However, with the addition of religious rhetoric it is transformed into a potent mix. This transformation is achieved via the following means:- (a) Great Moral Wrong. First the event is presented as a great moral wrong, a threat to religious morality or purity and as one that must be corrected. The message, which is crafted for unhappy persons, social outcasts or those who are already suffering from religious guilt, is framed as one of good and evil and the listener is admonished to be on the side of good. (b) Mind of God. The second tactic in which religion is used to motivate terrorism is convincing the person that it is possible to know the mind of God. For this purpose scriptures are used, and misused, to clearly identify the social wrongs as evil, immoral or impure. Once identified as threats to morality, this tactic is used to take it a step further with additional scriptures that are used to justify violence in order to destroy the evil. In this way religion is co-opted as the means to morally justify violence in the pursuit of social change. While the world debated about the first strike in the Iraq War (to be carried out by the U.S., Great Britain and their coalition forces), moralists all over the world debated about the doctrine of â€Å"just wars†, thereby holding forth about the â€Å"mind of God† on these matters. (c) Overcoming Guilt. Thirdly, because nearly all religions hold human life as sacred and forbid murder the scriptures are used to break down these prohibitions against taking innocent human lives. Islamic rhetoric for example refers to the infidels, nonbelievers, defiled, impure, outsiders, and sinners. In this manner the intended terrorist act in ways that take innocent human lives without suffering guilt for having done so. (d) Common Cause Fourthly, by using religion as a motivator the terrorist group creates a sense of cohesion and belonging to a higher cause. They prey upon individuals who are alienated and disenfranchised. When these individuals find a cause to belong to, especially when it espouses religious rhetoric of brotherhood, love and hope for the future life they can become powerfully motivated to act in behalf of the group simply for the sense of identity.[29] (e) Heroic Martyrdom. The One of the ultimate uses of religion to motivate terrorism is to hold forth a view of the afterlife, promising rewards in the hereafter for sacrificing oneself in the here and now. This is a particularly potent tactic used with those who feel guilty about their actions in this life and uncertain of their standing with God, and with those marginal members of society who suddenly find themselves centered in a group with a purpose. The Muslim interpretation of afterlife while dying for jihad states that the â€Å"Prophet will be waiting to welcome the martyr with thousands of virgins lined up for his pleasure†. Referring to afterlife one martyr also states, â€Å"I will have God welcome me with open arms. I will be a true hero in the sky.†[30] 4. Between the two recent wars in Chechnya (1994-96 and 1999) similar means were used to convince vulnerable Chechen individuals to sign on the â€Å"new Chechen jihad† which began making use of suicide terrorism in 2000. During this time period terrorist sponsored schools used were opened in the capital Grozny which recruited young boys and girls who lost their fathers in the Russian/Chechen conflicts promising their widowed mothers a good education for their sons and daughters. Unknown to their families these vulnerable young students were indoctrinated into militant Islamic ideas foreign to Chechen experiences of Sufi Islam and some became convinced that the price of belonging to higher glory is to be willing to sacrifice oneself for the group. In the words of a hostage who conversed with one of the Chechen terrorists :- â€Å"He explained to me that while his greatest dream was to continue his education and go to university and that while he wished to live, even more important for him was to die a martyr. He had become totally convinced that martyrdom was his highest calling in life†.[31] 5. Conclusion. Religion has always been used as a means of constructing social justice, expiating wrongdoing or â€Å"sins†, and of modulating emotional states. These means however can also be used to manipulate vulnerable individuals into taking social actions that they might otherwise never have considered or consented to take part in. For instance a colleague in Chechnya reports that the children who attended terrorist based schools were taught to rock and chant repeating Koranic verses that invoke jihad, ideas that their masters consider important to instil. This practice can easily make use of inducing a suggestive hypnotic state; a light trance in which susceptible children who have already reason to want to avenge a murdered parent might be induced to do so. People interacting with such persons mentioned that â€Å"these young terrorists were â€Å"brainwashed†, rocking, singing and praying often, and readily embracing death†.[32] CHAPTER VI QURANIC INTERPRETATIONS AND TERRORISM 1. Approximately fourteen hundred years ago, Prophet Muhammad, the last in the line of the prophets of Islam, received revelation from God known as the Quran, which is the Final Testament. He came with a message of peace and reconciliation, mercy and compassion. Yet, ever since the beginning of the call of Islam, its image and that of Muslims has been subject to distortion, misconceptions, and misinterpretations. This chapter aims at establishing the link between Quran and the distortions in its interpretation which has manifested itself in the form of jihad or the holy-war. Quran and Sanction of Violence 2. The Quran permits violence as an act of defence waged to protect the Shariat in an Islamic community. The Shariat can be explained as a system of ordinances outlined in the Quran and Hadis[33] through which â€Å"God lays down for mankind the rules of conduct[34]†. The Shariat is the â€Å"guidance for all walks of life individual and social, material and moral, economic and political, legal and cultural, national and international[35]†. 3. Muslims are advised to closely follow the Shariat to acquire the well being that God has envisioned for the Islamic community. Preservation of the Shariat is an â€Å"obligation of every able-bodied individual[36]†. â€Å"Oppression, despotism, injustice and criminal abuse of power[37]† of the Shariat by Muslims or non-Muslims[38], must be punished. Quran and Jihad 4. The Quran identifies three main kinds of Jihad that can be used for the punishment of oppression and injustice. These are: internal[39], external[40] and inter-communal[41]. The Quran permits the use of violence as an optional method for all three forms of Jihad but it limits the use of violence in ‘internal[42] and ‘external Jihad. It expands on its doctrine of Jihad and violence, mainly in the context of ‘inter-communal conflicts. In these cases, Muslims can individually determine the nature and extent of Jihad based on the ‘freedom of interpretations, and the geopolitical conditions in which the conflict arises. However the most essential prerequisite in the Qurans discourse on violence is that, forc The Relationship Between Terrorism and Religion The Relationship Between Terrorism and Religion RELIGIOUS TERRORISM IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN ISLAM AND TERRORISM Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.† George W. Bush Address to the US after hijack attacks on the US World Trade Centre and Pentagon, September 11, 2001 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1. When the terrorists attacked the United States on the morning of September 11, 2001, they set in motion a sequence of events that demonstrated unequivocally the power and influence ofterrorism. Less than two hours of unimaginable violence by nineteen terrorists led to repercussions felt around the world. â€Å"Beyond the death and destruction that the terrorists caused more than 3,000 people were killed in the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They also inflicted a deep psychological wound upon United States and the rest of the world†.[1] 2. Although the United States had experienced major terrorist attacks on its soil in the past, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the September 11 attacks were beyond most peoples worst nightmare. Hijacked planes crashing into U.S. landmarks and live television coverage of the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsing images that will likely be etched in ones mind forever. 3. The tragedy of September 11, 2001, has revealed the roots of deep planetary contradictions that threaten the world community and indeed life itself on planet Earth. This act of unprecedented terror against thousands of innocent people ought, at last, to start humanity thinking about the stark incompatibility of modern achievements in the areas of scientific knowledge, human rights, and the establishment of human moral standards with ideological, nationalistic, or religiousfanaticism in any form. 4. Lately, most of the terrorismseems to be about Islam, and it all seems to be the same. By all accounts the specter of jihadism looms large. Even if we suspend the belief for a moment and simply cast aside all those terrorist groups that clearly have nothing at all to do with the Islamic religionthe Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the FARC in Colombia and the IRA in Ireland (to name but a few)we are still left with a slew of seemingly similar groups all motivated by and distorting Islam to suit their own ends[2]. The anatomy of propaganda 5. The document found in a suitcase belonging to leading September 11, 2001, terrorist Muhammed Atta further strengthens this belief. The suitcase document is reproduced below and analysed in the ensuing paragraph: â€Å"Pray during the previous night. Remember God frequently and with complete serenity. Visualize how you will respond if you get into trouble. Read verses of the Quran into your hands and rub them over your luggage, knife, and all your papers. Check your weapons, perform ablution before you leave your apartment, and remember God constantly while riding to the airport. Take courage and remember the rewards which God has promised for the martyrs†. [3] 6. The suitcase document is remarkable for four reasons. First, it embodies a classic ascetical strategy for applying formulaic principles to intended actions. Second, it shares much in common with repetitive techniques for self-hypnosis. Third, it bears a striking resemblance to mainstream traditions such as Catholicism in ascetical manuals like The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola or The Rule of St. Benedict that says, keep death daily before ones eyes. Whether or not such manuals threaten human freedom depends, of course, on the various contexts in which they have been presented. If in the wrong hands they can function as formulas and meditations both for indoctrination and for fighting holy wars. Fourth, the document from the suitcase directly connectsreligiousformulas and meditations with intentions to perpetrate mass murder. Practical checklists of objectives, terrifying in magnitude, are interwoven withreligiousstatements and then repeated and applied as mantras o f self-indoctrination. Religion — The Terrorists Best Weapon 7. Whileterrorism even in the form of suicide attacks is not an Islamic phenomenon by definition, it cannot be ignored that the lions share of terrorist acts and the most devastating of them in recent years have been perpetrated in the name of Islam. This fact has sparked a fundamental debate both in the West and within the Muslim world regarding the link between these acts and the teachings of Islam. Most Western analysts are hesitant to identify such acts with the bona fide teachings of one of the worlds great religions and prefer to view them as a perversion of a religion that is essentially peace-loving and tolerant. Western leaders such as George W. Bush and Tony Blair have reiterated time and again that the war againstterrorismhas nothing to do with Islam. It is a war against evil[4]. 8. Modern International Islamistterrorismis a natural offshoot of twentieth-century Islamic fundamentalism. The Islamic Movement emerged in the Arab world and British-ruled India as a response to the dismal state of Muslim society in those countries: social injustice, rejection of traditional mores, acceptance of foreign domination and culture. It perceives the malaise of modern Muslim societies as having strayed from the straight path (as-sirat al-mustaqim) and the solution to all ills in a return to the original mores of Islam. The problems addressed may be social or political: inequality, corruption, and oppression. But in traditional Islamand certainly in the worldview of the Islamic fundamentalistthere is no separation between the political and thereligious. Islam is, in essence, both religion and regime (din wa-dawla) and no area of human activity is outside its remit. Be the nature of the problem as it may, Islam is the solution.[5] 9. The role of religion of Islam needs closer examination since the majority of terrorists of contemporary times are practising the religion of Islam. One of the enduring questions is what religion of Islam has to do with this. Put simply, does religion of Islam cause terrorism? Could these violent acts be the fault of religion—the result of a dark strain of religious thinking that leads to absolutism and violence? Is religion the problem or the victim? 10. When one looks outside ones faith it is easier to blame religion. In the current climate of Muslim political violence, a significant sector of the American and European public assumes that Islam is part of the problem. The implication of this point of view is the unfortunate notion that the whole of Islam has supported acts of terrorism. 11. Most Muslims refused to believe that fellow members of their faith could have been responsible for anything as atrocious as they September 11 attacks—and hence the popular conspiracy theory in the Muslim world that somehow Israeli secret police had plotted the terrible deed. 12. Recently, however, â€Å"Islam† and â€Å"fundamentalism† are tied together so frequently in public conversation that the term has become a way of condemning all of Islam as a deviant branch of religion. But even in this case the use of the term â€Å"fundamentalism† allows for the defenders of other religions to take comfort in the notion that their kind of non-fundamentalist religion is exempt from violence or other extreme forms of public behaviour.[6] CHAPTER II METHODOLOGY Statement of Problem 1. Terrorism has been a persistent feature of warfare and the international security environment for centuries. The magnitude and impact of terrorism has not remained consistent but rather has ebbed and flowed over the course of time. Today terrorism has emerged as one of the most significant international and regional security issues. 2. The terror attacks of Sep 11 have brought about a lasting change in the way contemporary society perceives the religion of Islam. The perception of the people all across the globe has been that Islam is source of violence. Scope 3. Islam is a vast religion and consists of various facets. The dissertation would aim to study the historical perspective of terrorism, conceptualise terrorism and then determine how religion is used as a motivator for terrorism before studying the Quranic interpretations associated with the violence and finally aim to answer the question â€Å"Is there a link between Terrorism and Islam†. 4. The scope does not cover the causes and motivators of terrorism like cultural conflict, globalisation, and economic disparity e.t.c. but is limited to investigate the general belief that Islam is associated with the terrorism. Methods of Data Collection 5. Data for this research has been collected from the following sources: (a) Books, journals, periodicals and studies on the subject. (b) Authenticated information from selected web sites. 6. A bibliography of the books, periodicals and web sites referred to is appended at the end of text. Organisation Of The Dissertation 7. Topic is intended to be dealt in the sequence enumerated below: (a) Introduction (b) Methodology (c) The Genesis of Terrorism A historical perspective. (d) Conceptualising terrorism Definitions. (e) How religion is used as a motivator for terrorism. (f) Interpretations of Quran and Terrorism. (g) Conclusion Is there a link between Islam and terrorism? CHAPTER III THE GENESIS OF TERRORISM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Introduction 1. Terrorism is as old as the human civilization and the use of violence has been integral to the human beings in the entire process of evolution. This chapter aims at tracing the genesis of terrorism to arrive at the roots of contemporary terrorism. 1st -14th Century AD[7] 2. Zealots of Judea. The earliest known organization that exhibited aspects of a modern terrorist organization was the Zealots of Judea. Known to the Romans as sicarii, or dagger-men, they carried on an underground campaign of assassination of Roman occupation forces, as well as any Jews they felt had collaborated with the Romans. Eventually, the Zealot revolt became open, and they were finally besieged and committed mass suicide at Masada fortress. 3. The Assassins. The Assassins were the next group to show recognisable characteristics of terrorism, as we know it today. A breakaway faction of Shia Islam called the Nizari Ismalis adopted the tactic of assassination of enemy leaders because the cults limited manpower prevented open combat. Their leader, Hassam-I Sabbah, based the cult in the mountains of Northern Iran. Their tactic of sending a lone assassin to successfully kill a key enemy leader at the certain sacrifice of his own life (the killers waited next to their victims to be killed or captured) inspired fearful awe in their enemies. 4. The Zealots of Judea and the Assassins were forerunners of modern terrorists in aspects of motivation, organisation, targeting, and goals. Although both were ultimate failures, the fact that they are remembered hundreds of years later, demonstrates the deep psychological impact they caused. 14th -18th Century 5. The period between 14th and 18th century was of relative calm. From the time of the Assassins (late 13th century) to the1700s, terror and barbarism were widely used in warfare and conflict, but key ingredients for terrorism were lacking. Until the rise of the modern nation state after the Treaty of Westphalia[8] in 1648, the sort of central authority and cohesive society that terrorism attempts to influence barely existed. 6. Communications were inadequate and controlled, and the causes that might inspire terrorism (religious schism, insurrection, ethnic strife) typically led to open warfare. By the time kingdoms and principalities became nations, they had sufficient means to enforce their authority and suppress activities such as terrorism. 7. The French Revolution. The French Revolution provided the first uses of the words Terrorist and Terrorism. Use of the word terrorism began in 1795 in reference to the Reign of Terror initiated by the Revolutionary government. The agents of the Committee of Public Safety and the National Convention that enforced the policies of The Terror were referred to as Terrorists. The French Revolution provided an example to future states in oppressing their populations. It also inspired a reaction by royalists and other opponents of the Revolution who employed terrorist tactics such as assassination and intimidation in resistance to the Revolutionary agents. The Parisian mobs played a critical role at key points before, during, and after the Revolution. Such extra-legal activities as killing prominent officials and aristocrats in gruesome spectacles started long before the guillotine was first used. The 19th Century 8. Narodnya Volya. The terrorist group from this period that serves as a model in many ways for what was to come was the Russian Narodnya Volya (Peoples Will). They differed in some ways from modern terrorists, especially in that they would sometimes call off attacks that might endanger individuals other than their intended target. Other than this, they showed many of the traits of terrorism for the first time. These traits included clandestine tactics, cellular organisation, impatience and inability for the task of organising the constituents they claim to represent and a tendency to increase the level of violence as pressures on the group mount. Internationalisation of Terrorism 9. Modern Terrorism. The age of modern terrorism might be said to have begun in 1968 when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked an El Al airliner en route from Tel Aviv to Rome. While hijackings of airliners had occurred before, this was the first time that the nationality of the carrier (Israeli) and its symbolic value was a specific operational aim. Also a first was the deliberate use of the passengers as hostages for demands made publicly against the Israeli government. The combination of these unique events, added to the international scope of the operation, gained significant media attention. The founder of PFLP, Dr. George Habash observed that the level of coverage was tremendously greater than battles with Israeli soldiers in their previous area of operations. At least the world is talking about us now.[9] 10. Cooperation. Another aspect of this internationalisation is the cooperation between extremist organizations in conducting terrorist operations. Cooperative training between Palestinian groups and European radicals started as early as 1970, and joint operations between the PFLP and the Japanese Red Army (JRA) began in 1974. Since then international terrorist cooperation in training, operations, and support has continued to grow, and continues to this day. Motives range from the ideological, such as the 1980s alliance of the Western European Marxist-oriented groups, to financial, as when the IRA exported its expertise in bomb making as far afield as Colombia[10]. Current State of Terrorism 11. The roots of todays terrorism began to grow in 1990s. The largest act of international terrorism occurred on September 11, 2001 in set of coordinated attacks on the United States of America where Islamic terrorists hijacked civilian airliners and used them to attack the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. After September 11, it is very easy to be nostalgic about the 1990s. In fact, the post Cold War decade was a very chaotic period. Americans were absorbed by domestic issues and lulled by the fact that the Cold War was over[11]. Summary 12. There were two great forces at work through the 1990s. First, there were the forces of integration, including global economic growth, cross-border development, the communications revolution and the spreading of democracy. The power of these forces was captured in the popular phrase, â€Å"The End of History.† Thats what seemed to be happening after the fall of the Berlin Wall and all of the other great events that were affecting world history. But there was also a second set of equally powerful forces—the forces of disintegration—including religious and ethnic conflict, an ever-widening North-South gap, religious fundamentalism (Islamic and otherwise) and terrorism. The power of these forces was captured in the phrase, the â€Å"Clash of Civilizations.† While I disagree with the ultimate conclusion of Samuel Huntington, the author of that phrase, that the clash is inevitable, Huntingtons words nonetheless capture the import of the forces that were prod ucing post-Cold War conflicts CHAPTER IV CONCEPTUALISING TERRORISM 1. A few terms that are important to the study of violence in Islam are: terrorism, religious terrorism and Islamic terrorism. A discussion of these terms will permit a comprehensive analysis on the way in which the use of violence sanctioned by the Quran and its interpretations amounts to Islamic terrorism. Terrorism 2. Terrorism is a non-political act of aggression in which the extent of violence used is â€Å"outside the realm of normative behavior[12]†. Terrorists use or threaten to use this violence against combatants and non-combatants to achieve political, social, economical or religious change within a given community. These reforms appeal to the terrorists and do not represent popular opinion of the society from which terrorism arises and â€Å"terrorists are no respecters of borders[13]†. 3. Thus Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir says that â€Å"there are no well defined or internationally accepted criteria to designate †¦an organization as ‘terrorist. However the UN Security Council has, on occasion, adopted resolutions putting in place specific sanctions and measures against individual countries or†¦certain terrorist organizations[14]†. 4. According to Kofi Annan the Ex Secretary General of the United Nations, the manifestations of terrorism are limitless. The â€Å"only common denominator among different variants of terrorism is the calculated use of deadly violence against civilians[15]†. 5. Terrorists are those who violate the â€Å"right to life, liberty and security[16]† vested in each civilian by the UNs Universal Declaration of Human Rights Resolution: 217 A (III). Thus the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom defines terrorism as a movement in which terrorists â€Å"directly challenge the authority of democratically elected governments to manage their countrys affairs peacefully, according to the rule of law and internationally accepted fundamentals of human rights[17]†, to satisfy their own liking. Religious Terrorism 6. Religious terrorism occurs when the use of terrorism is systematized by an ideological and fanatical interpretation of a religious text. Religious terrorist groups functioning in the absence of this pretext, create â€Å"junk terrorism[18]†. 7. According to Charles Kimball, religious terrorism functions on the basis of five essential principles. These are: means justify the end, holy war, blind obedience, absolute truth claims and the ideal times. Kimball explains that ‘truth claims are essential points in a religion â€Å"at which divergent interpretations arise[19]†. Extreme interpretations of ‘truth claims provoke the ideology upon which religious terrorism is based. However the â€Å"authentic religious truth claims are never as inflexible and exclusive as zealous adherents insist[20]†. The staunch ‘truth claims professed by religious terrorists, allow them to use â€Å"religious structures and doctrines†¦almost like weapons[21]† for their movement. 8. In the process, â€Å"religious convictions that become locked into absolute truths can easily lead people to see themselves as Gods agents. People so emboldened are capable of violent and destructive behaviour in the name of religion[22]†. This conviction creates fanatical interpretations and ideologies that give rise to religious terrorism. Nancy Connors Biggos[23], states that foreign observers are unfamiliar with the extreme interpretations of religious terrorists. Thus scholars often dismiss the rhetoric of religious terrorism as one that is devoid of any strategic motivation. This creates a dearth of quantifiable data that can be used to assess religious terrorism. However Biggo explains that the lack of understanding or data cannot dismiss the fact that religious terrorism is systematized by extreme interpretations of a religious text. Therefore Wener Ruf, states, â€Å"where God was pronounced dead all notions of morality have been turned into nihilism[24]†. Islamic Terrorism 9. Islamic terrorism is a movement in which the violence caused by terrorism is derived from and used to preserve extreme interpretations of the Quran, in an Islamic community. An in-depth discussion of the how Islamic terrorism is invoked from the Quran, will be discussed in a separate chapter. However, preliminarily speaking Islamic terrorism exists where there is â€Å"a controversy over sacred space[25]†or a Kuranic tenet has been violated. Participants of this movement call for â€Å"unquestioned devotion †¦ and blind obedience[26]† to the word of God in order to ameliorate un-Islamic conditions. 9. Islamic terrorism is itself a controversial phrase, although its usage is widespread throughout the English-speaking world. Ordinary Muslims who have nothing to do with terrorism find it reprehensible because it forces upon them a label simply because they, too, are believers of Islam. In fact, the common Muslim believes that you are making him a racial hate target by using the word Islam with terrorism. Bernard Lewisbelieves that the phrase Islamic terrorism is apt, because although Islam, as a religion is not particularly conducive to terrorism or even tolerant of terrorism. In his own words: â€Å"Islam has had an essentially political character from its very foundation to the present day. An intimate association between religion and politics, between power and cult, marks a principal distinction between Islam and other religions. In traditional Islam and therefore also in resurgent fundamentalist Islam, God is the sole source of sovereignty. God is the head of the state. The state is Gods state. The army is Gods army. The treasury is Gods treasury, and the enemy, of course, is Gods enemy.† CHAPTER V RELIGION AS A MOTIVATOR FOR TERRORISM One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter.[27] 1. Introduction. The dynamics whereby religion becomes a motivator for terrorism is complex but highly understandable. What terrorists groups using this dynamic have begun to understand is that most ordinary citizens are not highly interested in politics nor dedicated to working for social change. Many ordinary citizens are however interested in religion as it relates to their personal lives and morals and because of this they can be emotionally manipulated when they learn of social injustices particularly if they view them through the lens of religious rhetoric. This is specifically true in todays world of instantaneous news coverage where it is possible to whip up political and religious outrage over events that are seen to be bordering on religious threshold. This is certainly true in the case of al Qaeda and its loosely affiliated groups within what is now commonly referred to as the global salafi jihadist movement[28]. 2. Religious Brainwash. Following the Afghan war in which Islamic peoples from many nations came together to successfully throw out the Russian â€Å"infidel†, Osama bin Laden and similar groups have successfully managed to continue to widen their global appeal by showcasing social injustices against Muslims. This helps to create within a wide group of otherwise less connected Muslim ethnic groups identification with the victims and with each other as a caring and responsive community for their â€Å"Muslim brothers.† Typically, these groups make use of the human rights abuses occurring within the Israeli/Palestinian and Russian/Chechen conflicts and now also include the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. 3. The making of a Terrorist. While instantaneous and repetitive satellite coverage of worldwide events is enough to show injustices and to even create identification with victims sharing similar ethnic or religious backgrounds it is not sufficiently enough to fuel terrorism. However, with the addition of religious rhetoric it is transformed into a potent mix. This transformation is achieved via the following means:- (a) Great Moral Wrong. First the event is presented as a great moral wrong, a threat to religious morality or purity and as one that must be corrected. The message, which is crafted for unhappy persons, social outcasts or those who are already suffering from religious guilt, is framed as one of good and evil and the listener is admonished to be on the side of good. (b) Mind of God. The second tactic in which religion is used to motivate terrorism is convincing the person that it is possible to know the mind of God. For this purpose scriptures are used, and misused, to clearly identify the social wrongs as evil, immoral or impure. Once identified as threats to morality, this tactic is used to take it a step further with additional scriptures that are used to justify violence in order to destroy the evil. In this way religion is co-opted as the means to morally justify violence in the pursuit of social change. While the world debated about the first strike in the Iraq War (to be carried out by the U.S., Great Britain and their coalition forces), moralists all over the world debated about the doctrine of â€Å"just wars†, thereby holding forth about the â€Å"mind of God† on these matters. (c) Overcoming Guilt. Thirdly, because nearly all religions hold human life as sacred and forbid murder the scriptures are used to break down these prohibitions against taking innocent human lives. Islamic rhetoric for example refers to the infidels, nonbelievers, defiled, impure, outsiders, and sinners. In this manner the intended terrorist act in ways that take innocent human lives without suffering guilt for having done so. (d) Common Cause Fourthly, by using religion as a motivator the terrorist group creates a sense of cohesion and belonging to a higher cause. They prey upon individuals who are alienated and disenfranchised. When these individuals find a cause to belong to, especially when it espouses religious rhetoric of brotherhood, love and hope for the future life they can become powerfully motivated to act in behalf of the group simply for the sense of identity.[29] (e) Heroic Martyrdom. The One of the ultimate uses of religion to motivate terrorism is to hold forth a view of the afterlife, promising rewards in the hereafter for sacrificing oneself in the here and now. This is a particularly potent tactic used with those who feel guilty about their actions in this life and uncertain of their standing with God, and with those marginal members of society who suddenly find themselves centered in a group with a purpose. The Muslim interpretation of afterlife while dying for jihad states that the â€Å"Prophet will be waiting to welcome the martyr with thousands of virgins lined up for his pleasure†. Referring to afterlife one martyr also states, â€Å"I will have God welcome me with open arms. I will be a true hero in the sky.†[30] 4. Between the two recent wars in Chechnya (1994-96 and 1999) similar means were used to convince vulnerable Chechen individuals to sign on the â€Å"new Chechen jihad† which began making use of suicide terrorism in 2000. During this time period terrorist sponsored schools used were opened in the capital Grozny which recruited young boys and girls who lost their fathers in the Russian/Chechen conflicts promising their widowed mothers a good education for their sons and daughters. Unknown to their families these vulnerable young students were indoctrinated into militant Islamic ideas foreign to Chechen experiences of Sufi Islam and some became convinced that the price of belonging to higher glory is to be willing to sacrifice oneself for the group. In the words of a hostage who conversed with one of the Chechen terrorists :- â€Å"He explained to me that while his greatest dream was to continue his education and go to university and that while he wished to live, even more important for him was to die a martyr. He had become totally convinced that martyrdom was his highest calling in life†.[31] 5. Conclusion. Religion has always been used as a means of constructing social justice, expiating wrongdoing or â€Å"sins†, and of modulating emotional states. These means however can also be used to manipulate vulnerable individuals into taking social actions that they might otherwise never have considered or consented to take part in. For instance a colleague in Chechnya reports that the children who attended terrorist based schools were taught to rock and chant repeating Koranic verses that invoke jihad, ideas that their masters consider important to instil. This practice can easily make use of inducing a suggestive hypnotic state; a light trance in which susceptible children who have already reason to want to avenge a murdered parent might be induced to do so. People interacting with such persons mentioned that â€Å"these young terrorists were â€Å"brainwashed†, rocking, singing and praying often, and readily embracing death†.[32] CHAPTER VI QURANIC INTERPRETATIONS AND TERRORISM 1. Approximately fourteen hundred years ago, Prophet Muhammad, the last in the line of the prophets of Islam, received revelation from God known as the Quran, which is the Final Testament. He came with a message of peace and reconciliation, mercy and compassion. Yet, ever since the beginning of the call of Islam, its image and that of Muslims has been subject to distortion, misconceptions, and misinterpretations. This chapter aims at establishing the link between Quran and the distortions in its interpretation which has manifested itself in the form of jihad or the holy-war. Quran and Sanction of Violence 2. The Quran permits violence as an act of defence waged to protect the Shariat in an Islamic community. The Shariat can be explained as a system of ordinances outlined in the Quran and Hadis[33] through which â€Å"God lays down for mankind the rules of conduct[34]†. The Shariat is the â€Å"guidance for all walks of life individual and social, material and moral, economic and political, legal and cultural, national and international[35]†. 3. Muslims are advised to closely follow the Shariat to acquire the well being that God has envisioned for the Islamic community. Preservation of the Shariat is an â€Å"obligation of every able-bodied individual[36]†. â€Å"Oppression, despotism, injustice and criminal abuse of power[37]† of the Shariat by Muslims or non-Muslims[38], must be punished. Quran and Jihad 4. The Quran identifies three main kinds of Jihad that can be used for the punishment of oppression and injustice. These are: internal[39], external[40] and inter-communal[41]. The Quran permits the use of violence as an optional method for all three forms of Jihad but it limits the use of violence in ‘internal[42] and ‘external Jihad. It expands on its doctrine of Jihad and violence, mainly in the context of ‘inter-communal conflicts. In these cases, Muslims can individually determine the nature and extent of Jihad based on the ‘freedom of interpretations, and the geopolitical conditions in which the conflict arises. However the most essential prerequisite in the Qurans discourse on violence is that, forc