Islamic Fundamentalism Essay Example for Free

Islamic Fundamentalism Essay Introduction: The term â€Å"Islamic Fundamentalism† refers to one of those Islamic movements in the Middle East, North Africa or South and East Asia with a goal to establish an Islamic government in the area of their struggle. Islamism and Islamic Extremism are other synonyms of Islamic Fundamentalism. The rise of Islamic Fundamentalism can be traced back to the 20th Century when different movements emerged with the goal of the revival of Islamic Political presence in the global scenario. It was initially in response to the colonialism and imperialism of the West. Most of the Muslim intellectuals regarded Western dominion of their lands as unfair. The alleged the Western Nations as looting and robbing their resources and wealth. The modern Islamists consider the global economical and political system as tools to perpetuate Western domination on the world. That’s why they appose and despise it. This paper will discuss whether the Islamic Fundamentalism is a threat to the modern civilization or not. Islamic Fundamentalism a Growing Threat: The feeling to revive the Islamic values among the daily life is a common feeling in the Muslim communities of the world. Thus in this way Islamic Fundamentalism is not a harmful or an aggressive phenomenon. There are also large numbers of Muslims who think that the western political and economical systems are not compatible with their social and religious norms. These people want to establish an Islamic political and economical system as an alternative to the Western Democracy and Capitalism. These are also divided into two categories. The mainstream of Islamists is determined to work according to the current rules and regulations of their respective societies. They do not violently appose political pluralism participate in the democratic process and recognize the interests and rights of the minorities. They do not disregard the presence of a market economy either. The Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt and Jordan and the Islamic Salvation Front of Algeria before it was deprived from its electoral victory and forced to take arms lie in this category. (Millward, 1993) In the second category of the Islamist lie those who have a revolutionary and radical notion of establishing an Islamic State. They completely disregard the existing system in their societies and are eager to overthrow it with force and military struggle. They have no recognition of the market economy and they despise any form of political pluralism, and minority rights. Alqaida, The Palestinian Hamas and Egyptian Islamic Jihad lie in this category. (Millward, 1993) Because they consider the modern political system under the jurisdiction of the United Nations a way to perpetuate Western dominion, they despise it and deem it as an opponent and hostile force. Because their long-term goal is to develop an alternate global political system they have intended to destroy the existing supporting powers of the current system. These were the intentions behind the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Because the radical Islamic Movements deem the U. S. has the most powerful supporter of maintaining the status quo they made their first offensive against her. The more will be the support for democracy and capitalism the earlier it will become the target. U.K and Spain are other examples of some rigorous supporters of the democracy and capitalism which, sustained brutal assaults from radical Islamists. Conclusion: Radical Islamic Fundamentalism is indeed a threat to the modern world, but they have their limitations. The radical Muslims are a small faction of the Islamic Mainstream. Though recent events like American led invasion on Iraq has sparked angered among the Muslim youths, the failure of the secular elite leadership of the Islamic world is responsible for turning their eyes to the radicalists. If the World Leader did not take serious measures to pacify the Muslim masses the â€Å"Green Peril† will become deadly truth. References: Bukay, David (2003). Cultural Fallacies in Understanding Islamic Fundamentalism and Palestinian Radicalism, Jerusalem Summit , Retreived from the World Wide Web on April 19th 2007, http://www. jerusalemsummit. org/eng/full. php? id=23speaker=72summit=32 Millward. Wm. (1993). The Rising Tide of Islamic Fundamentalism, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, retrieved from the World Wide Web on April 18th 2007, http://www. csis-scrs. gc. ca/en/publications/commentary/com30. asp.

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Health Care Models Analysis A 26 year old white female presented to her physician’s office complaining of chronic abdominal pain. The pain appeared to be more intense 30 minutes after eating. The patient reported no unusual bowel activity. The patient had a normal body temperature and blood pressure. The patient was of normal weight and height for her age and body structure. The patient underwent an abdominal ultrasound, Hepatobiliary Scan, Upper GI, Small Bowel Series, and an Upper and Lower Endoscopy. The lower endoscopy study revealed abnormal mucosal patterns and was suggestive of Celiac disease. The patient was then tested for Celiac disease and the results were positive. Celiac disease is the inflammation of the small bowel, particularly the upper small bowel resulting from a gluten sensitivity. The inflammation may lead to malabsorption of key nutrients such as iron, folic acid, calcium, and fat soluble vitamins. Symptoms can range from abdominal discomfort to diarrhea. In patients with the malabsorption issue, anemia or osteoporosis may be manifest. The main medi...

The pieces in the sacred vocal music section, showing how they reflect different ways or writing for church music

The works in the sacred vocal music section are all written for the Christian religion, some designed to be sung as part of a church service, others have been inspired by religion but are intended to be sung in a concert hall. The works are taken from a wide range of musical styles from Renaissance to Modern. The works I will be analysing are: â€Å"O Wilhelme, pastor bone† (Tavener), â€Å"In ecclesiis† (Gabrieli), Cantata No.48, movements 1-4 (Bach), â€Å"Quoniam tu solus† (Haydn), â€Å"Locus iste† (Bruckner), Symphony of psalms, movement 3 (Stravinsky) and â€Å"The lamb† (Tavener). Tavener's â€Å"O Wilhelme, pastor bone† is written for an all male choir, the top two parts sung by boy trebles. Tavener uses a syllabic setting of the text until the last phrase in which he uses a melisma in the upper parts. This is a renaissance piece so there are no dynamics marked. The piece has been constructed so that the 5 parts do not sing at once. This question and answer technique between the upper and lower parts is known as antiphony and can work well when performed in a church is the different parts of the choir are in different parts of the church to give an echo effect. It also means Tavener can wait until bar 10 before showing off his 5 part harmony. Tavener uses a range of textures, with polyphony at the beginning but then a contrasting homophonic texture later when the parts coincide in rhythm and Tavener makes his piece rhythmically interesting by using ties over the bar line. He also uses devices such as imitation and suspensions and false relation to make the harmonies more interesting too. I believe this piece could work well both in church and concert hall as it is fairly short but interesting enough to use in a concert. Next is â€Å"In ecclesiis† By Gabrieli, another renaissance piece written in Latin. It has a rondo structure built around the central sinfonia and the alleluia as the refrain. It is again for all male voices with the distinct counter-tenor voice on top. Gabrieli uses techniques very much recognised at 16th century, such as the combination of solo voices, choir and instrument supported by a continuo, as well as the ostinato bass figure and various types of sequence. There is interesting use of harmonies (for example juxtaposing chords when everyone sings together) and the echo from the church would create a discreet kind of dissonance which is why this piece would be better suited as part of a church service rather than a concert piece. The change in time signatures, contrasting rhythms and sections suggest a slightly more contemporary feel to this piece. Cantata No.48 by Bach is split into four movements that we will be looking at. A cantata is an extended piece of music for one or more voices with an accompaniment. We see two operatic forms- the recitative and aria- as well as two chorales. This piece has been constructed so that the biblical text is in the first movement (a chorale) so that the sentiments are relevant to the congregation and therefore the anonymous texts of the recit and the aria are given to soloists. Movement 1 has a ritornello which is repeated in the first 12 bars. The chorale melody is adapted by the trumpet and oboes which are playing in canon and around this the choir sings the text in a succession of entries, imitating each others parts. The main section ends with a hemiola, a device often found in triple time baroque music. The organist improvises on chords given in the figured bass. Movement 2 has a completely different feel, the text flows at a faster pace reflecting speech and it modulates quickly throughout a number of keys. Some techniques used here are detached melodic fragments which highlight dramatic expression, angular melodic lines, dissonance and modulation. Movement 3 is a chorale played by instruments as well as a four-part choir. Bach uses chromatic harmonisation here and the texture is mainly homophonic. Movement 4 is an aria accompanied by figured bass. He makes sure that the other solo instrument (the oboe) doesn't play whilst the singer is singing. Haydn's â€Å"Quoniam tu solus† is made up of a variety of vocal textures including imitation, fugues, Homophonic and antiphonal textures. The harmony is fairly simple, based around the tonic and dominant chords. Haydn uses short repetitive sequences and suspensions particularly in the top part. I would think that this piece is too short for a concert so it fits in well with a church service with the biblical text clear. Locus Iste is written by Austrian composer Bruckner. It is a motet to sacred Latin text for an unaccompanied choir. It is a piece performed widely in churches and it is relatively easy for choirs to sing. It contains a mixture of conservative and romantic elements although on face it looks as if it could be renaissance as it's a four-part choir with no big dramatic passages. However some of the techniques used by Bruckner clearly aren't 16th century, for instance the harmony (the tonality from C major to B major), the chromatic sequence leading back to C and the fairly extreme dynamics (ff and pp). The piece has a homophonic texture. At the end, there is a pause for dramatic effect and the basses drop out at bar 21 meaning the root of the chord is gone. This piece is better performed in church services and out of context I don't think it would be as effective. The symphony of psalms, movement 3 by Stravinsky is the longest piece we have studied and for this reason I think this piece would work well as a concert piece and as Stravinsky famously said â€Å"It is not a symphony in which I have included psalms to be sung, it is the singing of the psalms that I am symphonising†. Some may say however that the music gets in the way of the understanding of the actual text. The sheer size of the orchestra he uses would make it impractical to be performed within a church service. He chose to use most of the instruments you would find in a full orchestra within, plus a four- part all male choir. In interestingly he doesn't use clarinets, he uses many high and many low pitch sounding instruments and uses the choir to fill in the middle harmonies. Stravinsky uses a variety or timbres and textures within the piece and avoids word painting to set the text on a deeper level. Stravinsky uses a wide range of dynamic contrasts and is very specific wit h them (e.g. bar 24). The movement ends with the return of the alleluia chorus one last time and finishes in the plain C major triad. The final piece is John Tavener's â€Å"the lamb†. This piece is a sacred song written for four-part choir, the words set to an 18th century poem by William Blake making it suitable for performance in church services as the anthem. There is no time signature, however some bars have a 4/4 feel to them. The opening bar is monophonic using only 4 notes giving the expression on innocence. He uses this opening to construct the rest of the piece, inverting the melody in the soprano part. He also uses a retrograde of bar 3 in bar 4. Tavener uses slow free rhythms that avoid regular patterns, and essentially combines diatonic writing and modality with just one bar of melody. To conclude, all these sacred vocal pieces are very different and some would suit being performed in a concert hall more than a church. All the composers use various techniques to write for the church such as antiphony which is a very effective device when used in church.

Timing is Critical in Life and Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet

Timing is critical in life. Being filled with haste can bring success or downfall. For example, making an important decision, like who people marry can end up causing hurt in the long run by regretting decisions or not wanting what their choice was. In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet briefly meet at a Capulet party, quickly fall madly in love, and then promptly learn of each other’s identities; however, they also grasp that they are enemies. Romeo and Juliet experience surprisingly quick events that might not be conceivable in a short amount of time; they get married after only knowing each other for a few days, and then, without thinking carefully, they commit suicide for each other. Their careless love for each other is detrimental to many other important people in their lives, like Lord and Lady Montague and Capulet, including themselves. The accelerated time scheme leads to death because RJ make the hasty decision to get married, Tybalt a nd Mercutio die after a reckless fight, and Lady Montague and Paris suffer a needless death as a result of the deaths of the two lovers. The two are enemies and the marriage could quite possibly end in disaster. When Romeo and Juliet decide to get married, it is very contentious because the Capulets and Montagues bitterly hate each other and have been fighting for a very long time. When on her balcony, Juliet is vowing her love for Romeo, but doesn’t know that Romeo is listening. She is talking aboutShow MoreRelatedSex and Violence in Romeo and Juliet1844 Words   |  8 Pagestoo sweet to be substantial,† are the soft words uttered from star-crossed lovers caught in the chaotic instability that permeates Franco Zeffirilli’s Romeo and Juliet (1968), Baz Lurman’s Romeo + Juliet (1996), and John Madden’s Shakespear and Love (1998). Although there are significant differences in each movie’s portrayal of Juliet and her Romeo, they accurately depi ct Freud’s ideas concerning love and human tendencies. In â€Å"The Einstein-Freud Correspondence,† Freud explains that in nature, violenceRead MoreAnalysis Of William Shakespeare s Macbeth 1149 Words   |  5 PagesLimon AP Lang Per. 5 23 November 2015 Biographical Summary Despite being a world-renown playwright, William Shakespeare remains to this very day a man with a past shrouded in mystery. Very few documents provide historians insight on his personal life. In fact, the record of Shakespeare in his earliest years is limited to a mere baptismal record that reveals his birth date to be around April 26, 1564. Fifty-two years later from that day, Shakespeare would be interred at Trinity Church. Born nearRead MoreA Very Brief Biography of William Shakespeare1609 Words   |  6 Pagesplaywright, poet, and actor from the British Literature. He contributed his whole life writing some of the finest and well known plays and poems that are still highly valued in the present literary world. Shakespeare’s conventional themes for most of his plays and poems are about universal matters such as love, jealousy, and beauty which were common focus during the Renaissance era. During this period, Shakespeare’s poems, Sonnet 29 and Sonnet 130, demonstra tes his views and morals regarding love