Essay on Criminological Theories - 13456 Words

Student Study Guide for Ronald L. Akers and Christine S. Sellers’ Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Applications Fourth Edition Prepared by Eric See Youngstown State University Roxbury Publishing Company Los Angeles, California 1 Student Study Guide by Eric See for Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application , 4th Edition by Ronald L. Akers and Christine S. Sellers Copyright  © 2004 Roxbury Publishing Company, Los Angeles, California. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,†¦show more content†¦Testability. To be valid and ultimately useful, a theory must be able to be subjected to scientific research. Theories may be untestable if they are tautological, propose causes that are not measurable, or are so open-ended that empirical findings can always be re-interpreted to support the theory. Theory. In simple terms, theory is an explanation of something. Theories of Criminal and Deviant Behavior. Theories in this category attempt to explain why an individual commits criminal or deli nquent acts. Theories of Law and Criminal Justice. Theories in this category attempt to explain how laws are made, and how the criminal justice system operates as a whole. Usefulness. This refers to the real world applications that the theory proposes or suggests, and the ability to implement those applications. Key Concepts 1. Theories are useful tools that help us to understand and explain the world around us. In criminology, they help us to understand the workings of the criminal justice system and the actors in the system. 2. Theories suggest the way things are, not the way things ought to be. They are not inherently good or bad; however, they can be used for good or bad purposes. 3. A theory can try to explain crime for a large social unit or area (macro), or it can attempt to explain crime at the individual or smaller unit level (micro). 4. Because we are dealing with human behavior, the social sciences will never be like the hard sciences. In the hard sciences, theShow MoreRe latedDetermining the Cause of Bullying by Using Three Main Criminological Theories906 Words   |  4 Pagesindividual factors that affect bullying. The current study that will be discussed attempts to determine the cause of bullying by using three main criminological theories, which are general theory of crime, differential association theory, and general strain theory. Concentration will be placed on the conclusive data found from the use of general strain theory. Moon, Hwang, and McCluskey (2011) conducted a longitudinal study that consisted of analyzing data from two waves of questionnaires given outRead MorePersonal Criminological Theory890 Words   |  4 PagesPersonal Criminological theory To prevent crime, it is imperative that the law enforcement agencies and scholars examine why people commit crime. A number of theories have emerged and many still continue to be explored in exclusion and in combination to seek the best solutions that can ultimately reduce the types and the levels of crime. One such theory that is still being explored is social disorganization theory. According to this theory peoples tendency to take part in criminal activitiesRead MoreIntegrated Criminological Theories2451 Words   |  10 PagesIntroduction Criminological theories have come a long way from their origins; in ancient times it was believed that crimes were committed by people who were possessed by the devil, or women who practiced the dark art of witchcraft (Lilly, Cullen, Ball, 2011, pg 18). As the theories progressed into modern times, the theorist behind these criminological theories had only focused on one single cause behind criminality. Thanks to the work done by member of the Chicago School many of the new theories were ableRead MoreApplying Criminological Theory to Solve the Murder of Tigger Essay748 Words   |  3 PagesApplying criminological theory to a suspect’s anecdotal evidence can help to distinguish which suspect could be the possible offender. In this certain case, poor Tigger has been murdered and there are 3 possible suspects. Merton’s Anomie Theory will be applied to suspect number 1: Winnie The Pooh. Eysenck’s Theory will be applied to suspect number 2: Piglet and Social Bond T heory will be applied to suspect number 3: Eeyore. Merton’s Anomie theory works around the theory that a society or cultureRead MorePersonal Criminological Theory Paper1142 Words   |  5 PagesPersonal Criminological Theory Paper Criminological Theory 3 February 2012 Personal Criminological Theory Paper Introduction Through out the years Criminologists has conducted a great amount of research and through that research Criminologist has developed different theories in order to better understand and explain criminal behavior. Theories try to help make sense out of many observations that are conducted presenting the facts of the principal that connects and explains the theories. If goodRead MoreThe Contribution Of Criminological Theory2187 Words   |  9 Pages With reference to two or more of the theories covered in this module, critically assess the contribution that criminological theory could make to our understanding of an issue of crime, justice or punishment. The way in which a society criminalises a persons actions has been, and still is, and heavily debated topic. From pre-enlightenment; where by crimes were seen as action against the natural order, to a more modern stance that the notion of crime in itself is socially constructed. CrimeRead MoreCriminological Theory and Burglary1796 Words   |  8 Pagesthe St. Louis area and gaining inside knowledge of these criminals’ daily lives and their crimes. This paper will address anomie and bond theories and how it relates to the offenders in this study and the socialization of these subjects into criminality and the street culture in which they live. Conventional Goals? According to Robert Merton’s anomie theory, people are not born criminals; they conform to the environment in which they live. Conventional means of reaching a goal are often moreRead MoreCriminological Theories Of Juvenile Violence845 Words   |  4 Pagesand other outside factors. Juvenile are in a period in their lives where countless aspects can influence the way they think, act, and even speak. Criminological theories have been created and tested to factor why juveniles partake in crime and why do they tend to be influenced to continuously break the law. Theories like micro, macro, and critical theories assisted in creating a model towards explanation on why there is juvenile violence. According to Bushman et al., â€Å"youth homicide rates are 3 toRead MoreTheories And Rehabilitation Of The Criminological Theory Book By Frank Williams IIi And Marilyn D. Mcshane Essay862 Words   |  4 PagesCriminological theory paper: Ch.14 theories and Rehabilitation Chapter 14 of the Criminological Theory book by Frank Williams III and Marilyn D. McShane is dedicated to Contemporary theories of Process. Contemporary theories of process in this chapter include general strain theory, self-control theory and developmental life course theory. These three theories focus on â€Å"the importance of factors in early life† (Williams McShane 2014 Page 204). I believe the theories that are reviewed in this chapterRead MoreCriminological Theories And Theories Of Criminal Behavior Essay1906 Words   |  8 PagesCriminological Theories Criminological theories (also known as theoretical criminology), according to Schmalleger (2015), is the â€Å"subfield of general criminology that posits explanations of criminal behavior.† (p. 13) There are many theories under this subfield that exist to help people have a better understanding of a criminal s actions as well as put some justification behind them. There are six different schools that fall under criminological theories. These schools are: Classical School, Biological/Biosocial

The Rainmake - Film Review Essays - 1610 Words

John Grisham’s â€Å"The Rainmaker† is the sixth novel to film adaptation and is by far one of the more accomplished. Directed by Francis Ford Copolla, this intriguing courtroom drama reveals the ordeals of a young lawyer and associate entering the realm of unscrupulous money hungry company’s scams. â€Å"They were totally unqualified to try the case of a life time, but every underdog has his day†. To become a â€Å"Rainmaker† is Rudy Baylor’s (Matt Damon) ambition, to try the case of a lifetime and make the â€Å"big bucks† fall from the sky. Passing his bar exam with ease, this idealistic Memphis law school graduate, confidentially enters the eye-opening world of law and injustice in the 90’s. Kick-starting his career in an firm of ambulance chasing†¦show more content†¦Inside houses a cosy kitchen, a scratched wooden table, paisley patterned lounge chairs and Donny-Rays bed, the centre of a simulated hospital room, with the few medical devices the Blacks could rustle up without the aid of insurance. Another setting quite effectively featured is St. Peter’s hospital, housing battered Riker. Entering the dim and gloomy cafeteria, contrasting the brightly lit, disinfected, starched white walls of the hospital rooms and hallways, gives the viewer a peek inside Riker’s world of pain, confusion and poorly administered bandages. The courtroom, where most of the action takes place, is the epitome of law and order. The squeaky clean marble floors and polished wooden beams display the tradition of the courtroom and the importance of all which takes place in this setting. Other settings also lend credit to the film, the tackiness of Bruiser Stone’s office, the peace and beauty represented at the jewellry store where Riker is employed amidst visits to the hospital, and the dark and secretive cinema, where Baylor and Riker share a tender moment. All settings are effectively and appropriately chosen and are very apt in relevance to the storyline of the film. The storyline is one of the most crucial parts of a successful film, though the actors who portray their characters realistically are the absolute essence of the production. â€Å"The Rainmaker† sports a

Strategic Human Resource Management for Knowledge - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theStrategic Human Resource Management for Knowledge. Answer: Introduction Contemporary organizations are having the urgent need of human resource strategy. This is due to the reason that, contemporary organizations are having diverse employees in place with having different requirement and expectations. In addition, in the current scenario, customer service is the key source of gaining competitive advantages in the market (Urbancova, 2013). Thus, the more effectively employees will be managed in the organization, the more probability will be of having effective customer services. Having human resource strategy in the organization will help in having effective employee management. Some benefits of having human resource strategies will be effective recruitment and selection program to get the right employees in right place, motivating and engaging the employees in their workplace in order to provide best possible customer service and providing training to the employees in enhancing their skill sets. Thus, with the help of the human resource strategy in the o rganization, employees will be trained and equipped enough to deal with the organizational challenges (Kramar, 2014). Moreover, the more motivated will be the employees, the less will be the issues related to employees in the organization. It will lead to have positive employer branding in the market, which will further attract more talents. Thus, it can be concluded that human resource strategy is important for the organizations. Organization profile St, John is a charitable trust operating in New Zealand. Currently, they are the being named as the most trusted charity in New Zealand. They are mainly known for their extensive ambulance services across New Zealand along with having first aid kits and health training program (www.stjohn.org.nz, 2018). It was founded in 1885 and currently is having more than 8500 volunteers and 2400 paid and permanent employees. They are also having program of community development and in relation to that, they often organize crowd sourcing programs for donations. St. John is having huge array of products and services. Their core service is the ambulance, which is having access across entire New Zealand. In addition, St. John is also having first aid training programs and sells first aid kits. The first aid training program is being designed according to the needs of the domestic and corporate requirements. First aid kit is their only product. Organizational objectives and its alignment with the HR strategy The key objective of St. John is to provide primary health care service to everyone in New Zealand. Their vision is to have enhanced wellbeing of all the people in New Zealand. Moreover, providing instant and swift service in case of the emergency is also one of their key objectives. In relation to this, the HR strategy of them is being aligned due to have employees ready for the emergency situation in nay point of time (Cania, 2014). The HR strategy is being designed in such way that people will have the skilled and trained helping hand at point of time and in minimal time. In relation to their objectives, HR strategy is being designed in order to maintain the level of morale of the staffs to deal with the emergencies. Reference Cania, L. (2014). The impact of strategic human resource management on organizational performance. Economia. Seria Management, 17(2), 373-383. Kramar, R. (2014). Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human resource management the next approach?. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(8), 1069-1089. Urbancova, H. (2013). Competitive advantage achievement through innovation and knowledge. Journal of Competitiveness, 5(1). www.stjohn.org.nz. (2018). Retrieved 14 March 2018, from https://www.stjohn.org.nz/

The Goal Book Report free essay sample

Actually Alex’s plant has not been profitable for some time and because of that Bill gives an ultimatum to Alex to turn the plant around in 3 months or else the plant will be closed unless there are visible improvements. Due to the limited amount of time given, Alex almost gives up on the plant until Alex remembers his conversation with Jonah, his college physics professor. They happened to come across each other in the airport during Alex’s business trip. During that time, Jonah asked him several question to analyze his company situation. This conversation then leads Jonah asking Alex, â€Å"What is the goal of your manufacturing company? † Although Jonah didn’t give the answer to Alex but eventually Alex get the answer after rethinking their conversation. Alex realizes that the goal of his company or in fact any business is to make money. After finding out the answer, Alex then decide to contact Jonah one more time to consult further about his company. We will write a custom essay sample on The Goal Book Report or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After contacting Jonah, Alex gets three measurements that can determine the success of a business. The three measurements are throughput, or â€Å"the rate at which the system generates money through sales,† inventory, or â€Å"all the money that system has invested in purchasing things which it intends to sell,† and operational expense, or â€Å"all the money the system spends in order to turn inventory into throughput†. Using these measurements, Alex has a basis to determine if his decisions are helping the plant move towards the goal. The goal of the  plant is to make money, which is characterized by increasing throughput and decreasing inventory and operational expense. Alex decided to meet with Jonah in New York in order to fix their plant problem. But once again, Jonah leaves Alex with another question, what does the combination of dependent events and statistical fluctuations have to do with your plant? During the weekend, Alex went to a hiking trip with his son and got stuck as a ‘troop master’. During the hiking, Alex discovers Alex discovers the importance of dependent events in relation to statistical fluctuations. With this discovery, he also found out that the bottleneck’s speed of production is what determines the speed of the other dependents. Hence, inventory moves very slowly because of statistical fluctuations. Back to the plant, Alex with his team begins their search for their plant’s bottlenecks. Then they found one the machine (NCX-10) and the heat treatment as the source plant’s bottlenecks. Alex invites Jonah to visit his plant in order to solve their bottlenecks problem. Jonah define bottleneck as any resource whose capacity is equal to or less than the demand placed upon it and a non-bottleneck is any resource whose capacity is greater than the demand placed on it. With Jonah’s help, Alex and his team able to solve their bottlenecks problem such as perform the quality control testing before going into the bottleneck, do not produce parts for inventory produce only what is in demand, produce smaller batches to increase productivity for the whole process, etc. One thing that they also learn from Jonah is that an hour lost at a bottleneck is an hour lost to the whole system. So, it is important to keep the bottleneck to keep moving all the times. With these changes in Alex’s plant, they are able to increase their production during the second and third month. With the increase of production in their plant, Alex able to save his plant and he also promoted to Bill peach’s position. Regarding his personal life, Alex described as a dedicated and workaholic employee. His dedication to his work posed some family problems: losing time for his wife aside from her not being used to living at his hometown where there is a big difference from the city life his wife is used to. At one point, Julie, Alex’s wife leaves him because she’s tired of arguing and her attempt to save their marriage. However, while Alex tries to save his plant, Alex also does the same thing with his marriage. II. Things I liked about the book What I liked about the book is that the book very informative and it is really easy to read. I think this book will be one of effective way to learn about management. Because it is the most efficient way to understand the challenges involved in the manufacturing processes. Unlike many books that take complicated ideas and oversimplify them so the ideas lose their meaning, this book simplifies ideas in ways that enhance their meaning by making the ideas easier to see and employ. Another thing that I really like from this author is that he able to turn a relatively boring subject for some people to an exciting read. One more thing that I like is the way the author describe the characters in the story. I think many readers can relate to the characters in the book since what happen in the story is also happening in the real world. And the last one is I liked how the author include Alex personal life problem in the story. I think what the author trying to do is to inform his reader that there must be balance between personal life and work life. You have to balance your personal life and work life, because eventually they will flow in and out of each environment. III. Critique of the book I don’t think I have any critique for the book since the book really helps me in understanding how management really works. One thing that I might complain might be some typo errors in the book. IV. Real life example From the book, we can see that the concept that Jonah gave can be apply not only for business problem but also problems that we deal within our daily life. I think we can definitely see it from the book during the hiking trip. I think what we can do is asking ourselves with the question of â€Å"what is my goal in life, work, study and other things that we do? † As a student, I think I can apply some of the concept in my studying. When I took a subject, the first thing that I want to know is what is my goal in taking this subject? After knowing that, if ever I encounter some problem like a probability of failing the subjects, I have to identify the source of my problem. Knowing the source of my problem will make it easier for me to decide how or what can I do in order to fix my problem.

The eNotes Blog Remembering Mary Oliver

Remembering Mary Oliver The beloved American poet Mary Oliver (1935–2019) died today, leaving behind a rich and vast body of literary work. Oliver was arguably the most popular poet of her generation, best known for her poems of the natural world.   Her style is quickly recognizable; at once sublime and grounded, her language conveys sweeping spiritual states through tactile and terrestrial detail. In her signature blend of breathless reverence and plain-spokenness, Oliver carries forward the voices of the American literary past: Emerson and Thoreau, Dickinson and Whitman. Oliver was a gifted prose writer as well, producing volumes of prose poems, such as Blue Pastures, and books of insightful essays, such as Upstream. Her slim, lucid volume on poetics, A Poetry Handbook, should be required reading for any poet or lover of poetry. In remembrance of Mary Oliver, we’ve gathered a handful of her poems that offer a glimpse into her indelible contribution to American literature: Music Lessons Sometimes, in the middle of the lesson, we exchanged places. She would gaze a moment at her hands spread over the keys; then the small house with its knickknacks, its shut windows, its photographs of her sons and the serious husband, vanished as new shapes formed. Sound became music, and music a white scarp for the listener to climb alone. I leaped rock over rock to the top and found myself waiting, transformed, and still she played, her eyes luminous and willful, her pinned hair falling down - forgetting me, the house, the neat green yard, she fled in that lick of flame all tedious bonds: supper, the duties of flesh and home, the knife at the throat, the death in the metronome. *** Oliver turns a memory of piano lessons into a meditation on the transformative power of music as well as the tug of time. In a synesthetic twist, music becomes earth, â€Å"a white / scarp for the listener to climb // alone.† The enjambment before â€Å"alone† is both clever and affecting, as is the poem’s unforgettable final phrase, â€Å"the death in the metronome.† Wild Geese You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -                                                                            over  and over announcing your place in the family of things. *** Like many of Oliver’s best poems, â€Å"Wild Geese†- from Oliver’s volume Dream Work- handles spiritual themes with clarity and directness. Oliver’s speaker confronts the question of belonging, of finding a place for oneself in the vastness of creation. Oliver, ever the poet, offers â€Å"imagination† itself as the key. Morning Glories Blue and dark blue                        Ã‚  rose and deepest rose                                                white and pink they are everywhere in the diligent                           cornfield rising and swaying                                                 in their reliable finery in the little                         fling of their bodies their                                                gear and tackle all caught up in the cornstalks.                        The reaper’s story is the story                                                of endless work of work careful and heavy but the                        reaper cannot                                              separate them out there they are in the story of his life                        bright random useless                                              year after year taken with the serious tons                        weeds without value humorous                                              beautiful weeds. *** â€Å"Morning Glories,† from Oliver’s collection White Pine, beautifully mimics its subject matter. The morning glories, with their tendency to sprawl and entangle themselves, are reflected in Oliver’s lines, which flow ever onward, unhindered by punctuation or line breaks. *** For long-standing lovers of Mary Oliver’s work, today invites us to remember her poems and prose pieces- and the epiphanies and lessons to be found there. For those new to Oliver, hopefully these poems have piqued your curiosity and opened the door to her writings.

Strategically Managing PPC Campaigns in Adwords [PODCAST]

Strategically Managing PPC Campaigns in Adwords [PODCAST] When your potential customers are looking for your product or service, how do you think they find it? Right, they usually start with Google. In order for them to find you, you need to show up in those search results. Have you wondered how to do that? Today, we’re talking to ’s own Rachel Wiinanen, our inbound marketer. She works a lot with AdWords, creating ads that will lead to click-throughs and lead to conversion. Today she’s going to tell us all about targeting the right keywords, writing engaging messaging, and optimizing your landing pages. She’ll also talk to us about what metrics to measure and share her thoughts on budgeting and goal-setting. You won’t want to miss this episode! Some of the highlights of the show include: Rachel’s job description and mission at . Rachel’s strategy for attracting the right audience through AdWords. Thoughts on writing great ad copy that gets clicks, as well as why testing is so important. How Rachel works with landing pages to boost the conversion rate. What Rachel measures when analyzing campaigns: trial acquisition cost, click-through rate, and more. She also talks about how she monitors various metrics. How to determine a budget when it comes to ads. Rachel’s best advice for someone who is new to AdWords and is just getting started. Quotes by Rachel: â€Å"Nothing is perfect, just test away. Test, test, test. There have been tons of times where I didn’t think an ad would perform very well and then outperforms other comparable ads by double.† â€Å"Things are always going to change. You’re always going to want to get more specific, more focused, more precise.† â€Å"My best advice for someone who’s new to AdWords would be don’t be afraid to test new things.†

Assignment III Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

III - Assignment Example By the time of the end of the 19th century, the days of horses were over and around 2 million mustangs were roaming across the North American range. They now became a cash crop. A period known as ‘the great removal’ started and countless mustangs were packed in tin cans and send back to Europe or serve in foreign wars. Passing of Burro Act in 1971 was an important event for animal lovers. The act was passed by efforts of Wild Horse Annie who once witnessed bleeding mustangs carried to slaughterhouse and began a drive to defend them2. It is unfortunate that illegal helicopter roundups are being conducted in present time that defies animal rights. It is true that mustangs often sneak staples from other grazing animals. However, cruelty, such as frightening wild horses with rustling noise, is unacceptable to animal rights activists as they come out to watch hundreds of mustangs being chased by noisy machines. According to Smith, over 100 wild horses had to sacrifice their l ives in Nevada in 2009 during such round ups. According to officials, as wild horses have almost no natural killer, their number has increased excessively. Although claims are made that round ups with their relocation are for the welfare of horses, those who have watched round up operations say it was the most distressing sight they have ever seen during their lifetime3. It is unfortunate that cruel means are employed to safeguard interests when there are other ways to deal with the situation. If wild horses are really a threat to neighboring farms, building fences or other such deterrents can prevent such lands. US as a nation can certainly afford spending dollars on such creative projects that give message of kindness and empathy. It would obviously not cost amount anywhere near the money spend on going to war on Iraq or Afghanistan. On the contrary, such gestures by state authorities together with citizens would make the nation as beholder of strong values. Deanna Stillman, recou nts that that during the 16th century when European explorers were crossing the sea entering the new world, their ships across the equator often faced a situation in which it became stranded when the winds stopped blowing. In order to lighten their ships, horses were thrown overboard. It is believed that about half of the horses expired because of this. The horses that persisted helped in the Spanish conquest of the new land. Interesting to note is the comment by Stillman that horses, unlike explorers, were not newcomers to this land. They had a common DNA link with the horses in this region before the ice age4. Wild horses are not a direct threat to human beings. They may periodically harm in terms of sabotaging farming lands etc., but eliminating mustangs for such reasons is barbaric. One finds it difficult to agree with Peterson, who has herself narrated about bleeding mustangs and then agreeing with the policy of rounding up for better land management5. In US, the approach shoul d no more be Spanish explorers’ opportunistic ways of lightening things by eliminating under provocation6. Let there be resilience on state’s policies by looking beyond economic interests. I would suggest finding every other way of addressing problems raised by mustang population other than eliminating or inflicting cruelty on this vegetarian breed.

Perceived vs. Real Traits.What Would You Do Essay

Perceived vs. Real Traits.What Would You Do - Essay Example As a part of the project, a lot of drawings and diagrams were to be made. We had a team leader who was supposed to assign each member with a particular task of the project. In fact, I am a good painter and I am good in drawing too. However, the job of drawing was given to another student who was well below mediocrity in drawing as the leader could not recognize the skills in me. In addition, the task given to me was to develop a slogan related to the theme of the project; mere literature work I was very poor at. From my appearance, what he could perceive was that I was a good writer, thus I was forced to perform a task that in fact does not suit me. To prevent the issue of perceived traits, it is highly necessary to promote communication, understanding and most importantly, a friendly atmosphere. It is highly necessary to improve the team’s understanding and acceptance of diversity for harmonious functioning of the organization. Heermann (1997) suggests a method named Personal Mandala to let the team members know each other.

A Classic Shakespearean Comedy Essay Example for Free

A Classic Shakespearean Comedy Essay The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at Navy Pier manages to combine an extravagant and lavish, while at the same time still very intimate, theatre setting with professional acting performances in every production shown. However, the production of As You Like on March 5, 2011 perhaps best exemplifies these significant qualities crucial to Shakespeare plays. Directed by, Gary Griffin, the production is able to captivate the entire audience for the complete duration of the play through its brilliant illustration of spectacle as well as strong narration. However, the most significant factor of the production would undeniably be its inclusion of an alliance of narrative, dramatic, and spectacle elements all intertwined in the overall production. Griffin depicts a traditional Shakespearean comedy with the use of vivid set design and perfect actor selection in the production of As You Like It in a way that separates the comedic production from any other previous Shakespeare play I have seen. The production does so by being able to masterfully combine Shakespearean comedic elements with deeper connotations about self-identity and the power of love crucial to all productions of As You Like It. The thematic elements prevalent throughout the production are contemporary in regards to all Shakespearean comedies in that the play revolves around mistaken identity, the many forms of love, and the resolutions of all misunderstandings in the end of the play. However, the way in which Griffin’s overall production is able to enthrall the audience through brilliant acting, audience inclusion, and beautiful theatre design in such a way that the audience isn’t forced to exert much personal imagination makes As You Like It a classic example of an ideal Shakespearean production. The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, the producing theatre for director Gary Griffin’s adaptation of As You Like It, is a professional theatre venue and company located on 800 East Grand Avenue in Navy Pier. The theatre is ornately designed with the intent to transform the audience’s connotation of setting and to make them believe/ give the appearance that they are in an actual Shakespearean Theatre without the use of their imagination. The theatre space used for the production of As You Like It is called Jentes Family Auditorium and features a total of 510 seats on three levels surrounding the courtyard theatre’s â€Å"thrust stage†. This specific theatre was modeled/ designed with inspiration coming directly from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre, evident at first glance, and thus creates an immediate intimate relationship between the actors, stage/ set design, and the entire audience seated around the three sides of the stage. While part of the set is elevated as a â€Å"stage†, the entire area/ space of the theatre is used by the actors throughout the production; when this is incorporated with the fact that no seat is more than thirty feet from the stage, a feeling of intimacy between actors and audience is ever-present. For instance, the audience is engaged into the action of the play immediately by the way in which the stage extends through the middle of the first-floor seating allowing the appearance/ feeling of the actors walking directly out into the middle of the audience members. In an analysis of the overall production of As You Like It it is evident that even though the set, stage, and use of props and vivid images are riveting, the inclusion of an â€Å"all-star ensemble† of some of Chicago’s finest actors is truly the underlying nature in exemplifying the statement that the production is indeed Shakespeare’s â€Å"glorious romantic comedy†. The actors play courtiers, clowns, philosophers, and locals all who are under the classic comedic spell of the trials and conquests of love as the main character, Rosalind, must disguise herself as a boy in order to escape the royal court. The characters, following Rosalind’s lead, venture into the timeless Forest of Arden where Rosalind finds herself trapped by love and mistaken identity in her attempt to teach the man she loves how to win the women of his dreams. A traditional element present in the production of Shakespearean comedies such as As You Like It, is undeniably the inclusion of both a dominant and a secondary major female characters. The significance of the secondary female lead is often determined by the skill of the actress portraying that role. The actress can make the character seem somewhat mysterious and forgettable, as seen by the DePaul student’s portrayal of Hero in Much Ado About Nothing, or she can appear as significant and mesmerizing as the lead female. In Griffin’s production of As You Like It this notion of the importance of ctor/ character portrayals is illuminated. For instance, one of the most memorable characters in the entire play is Cecilia, the secondary female character played by Chaon Cross. Cross is able to depict the comedic character almost perfectly through well-rounded acting and clear knowledge of Shakespearean language. In Cecilia’s character, Cross symbolizes a playful, charming, immensely loyal, witty and charismatic supporting female role. This is apparent in her juxtaposition of speech and comedic body language. Crucial plot and thematic elements of As You Like It are depicted by the actors as well. For instance, the review on human life illustrated by the character Jaques, played by Ross Lehman in this production, is witnessed in  Lehman’s acting skills in his performance as Jaques. He emphasizes the faults and ambitions of life in a funny and touching manner by offering both comedic and emotional moments for the audience throughout the play. There are many other characters in the production that portrayed memorable performances illuminating the underlying themes and comedic elements present in the correct use/ knowledge of Shakespearean language and acting. These actors included:   Kate Fry as Rosalind, Matt Schwader as Orlando, Dennis Kelly as Adam, Phillip James Brannon as Touchstone, Matt DeCaro as Duke Frederick, Kevin Gudahl as Duke Senior, and Elizabeth Ledo as Phoebe. Each character possesses unique and intricately detailed costumes and character traits crucial to the understanding of the overall production. The costumes are vivid with detail and evoke the use of imagination and feeling that the audience is witnessing the action of the play within actual setting of certain scenes (whether the orchard, royal court, or forest). The differences in characters’ personality, social class, and hierarchy alongside other characteristic elements are illuminated through the costumes intricate glamour and detail juxtaposed with a more simplistic but still vibrant use of props and set. In addition to individual actor performances, the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s production of As You Like It signifies the epitome of Shakespeare’s ’â€Å"glorious romantic comedy† through the use of a unique/ one of a kind setting. The set designs present are an attractive and ubstantial visual supplement to the action taking place on stage at every point throughout the progress of the play. This can be perceived in almost every scene of the production but is most notably present in the opening scene, depicting a lush/ vivid apple orchard with minimalistic use of props, as well as the more luxurious forest setting that accompanies it. The scenery presented by lighting, sound, props hanging from the ceiling, and the perception of depth in the stage prominently adds to the attraction and understanding of the production. The lighting and music of the production present in set/ scene changes enhances the plot developments as well as the overall journey and adventure portrayed in the play’s narrative nature. The set design of various different scenes is thus completely believable and enchanting; employing the audience’s complete inclusion into the imaginative world of the production. Alongside the appearance of setting in the various scenes, the intricately detailed costumes are exquisite and add a visually appealing aspect to the performances of the actors. At the same time, the creativity and uniqueness of each character’s costume mandates the audience’s teleportation from the feeling of watching a traditional play to the feeling that they are in fact present in this magical/ timeless world of As You Like It. Overall, As You Like It, a production shown by the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, is a professional and glamorous portrayal of traditional/ contemporary Shakespearean comedy. Every aspect of the theatre and production is employed into the narrative element of the play which makes this adaptation of As You Like It unlike any other theatre experience. For instance, the elaborate theatre space is perfect for setting the mood of seeing a professional Shakespearean production and the way in which the stage is the center of vision no matter where you sit in the audience allows sound to travel in a surreal, surround sound manner only enhances this feeling. The actors’ use/ knowledge of Shakespearean language in conjunction with their use of space (entire theatre used as stage while most of the action is mere inches away from the first row of audience members) makes the production flow well while at the same time enhancing the professional feel of the production as well. In this professional nature of the production nearly every aspect and element of Shakespearean comedy is exemplified. Through Gary Griffin’s production of As You Like It, the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre is able to directly exemplify the notion of ideal Shakespearean plays and why these plays still remain so popular and relevant in our society today even four hundred years later.

The Publishing Career of Isabella Whitney Essay -- Author Writer Isabe

The Publishing Career of Isabella Whitney The English Renaissance was a time of great literature. The world was changing and people were exploring their boundaries. In a time of such opportunity, women were often excluded. For instance, it was very difficult for women to receive education. Even if they did, it was extremely difficult for them to be accepted as writers and nearly impossible to have their work published. Only a small number of women writers succeeded in having their works published because of the many social barriers. One of the few women to overcome these obstacles was Isabella Whitney. She grew up in a middle-class family in Cheshire, England. Little is known about her family except that she was the sister of the Protestant poet Geoffrey Whitney, who wrote Choice of Emblems (Todd). She worked for aristocratic households where she encountered many opportunities to learn, but she was never formally educated (Krontiris). In addition to this self-education, she spent a lot of time reading, which enriched her knowledge. During the Renaissance, it was looked down on when women read anything other than the Bible. People thought that women must have Divine intervention to guide their interpretations of literature; if they did not they were looked at suspiciously (Krontiris). This shows that during the English Renaissance women were viewed as being basically incompetent. They were not thought of as even being capable enough to read something and interpret it for themselves. Knowing this, Whitney had a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to be a successful poet. She tried to avoid criticism in many different ways. For instance, Isabella Whitney was the first professional woman poet in British literatu... ... make a way for themselves. It is strange to think about what the world would be like today if not for women like Isabella Whitney. If not for her, women might still be prohibited from publishing their written works. She and the women who followed in her footsteps created the opening of minds that allowed the possibility of women’s equality to men. I am sure Whitney had no idea the impact she would make not only on literature, but on women, and the world. Works Cited Clark, Danielle. The Politics of Early Modern Women’s Writing. England. Pearson Education Limited, 2001. Krontiris, Tina. Oppositional Voices: Women As Writers and Translators of Literature in the English Renaissance. London. New York: Routledge Publishing, 1992. Todd, Janet. British Women Writers A Critical Reference Guide. Continuum New York: Continuum Publishing Company, 1989. The Publishing Career of Isabella Whitney Essay -- Author Writer Isabe The Publishing Career of Isabella Whitney The English Renaissance was a time of great literature. The world was changing and people were exploring their boundaries. In a time of such opportunity, women were often excluded. For instance, it was very difficult for women to receive education. Even if they did, it was extremely difficult for them to be accepted as writers and nearly impossible to have their work published. Only a small number of women writers succeeded in having their works published because of the many social barriers. One of the few women to overcome these obstacles was Isabella Whitney. She grew up in a middle-class family in Cheshire, England. Little is known about her family except that she was the sister of the Protestant poet Geoffrey Whitney, who wrote Choice of Emblems (Todd). She worked for aristocratic households where she encountered many opportunities to learn, but she was never formally educated (Krontiris). In addition to this self-education, she spent a lot of time reading, which enriched her knowledge. During the Renaissance, it was looked down on when women read anything other than the Bible. People thought that women must have Divine intervention to guide their interpretations of literature; if they did not they were looked at suspiciously (Krontiris). This shows that during the English Renaissance women were viewed as being basically incompetent. They were not thought of as even being capable enough to read something and interpret it for themselves. Knowing this, Whitney had a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to be a successful poet. She tried to avoid criticism in many different ways. For instance, Isabella Whitney was the first professional woman poet in British literatu... ... make a way for themselves. It is strange to think about what the world would be like today if not for women like Isabella Whitney. If not for her, women might still be prohibited from publishing their written works. She and the women who followed in her footsteps created the opening of minds that allowed the possibility of women’s equality to men. I am sure Whitney had no idea the impact she would make not only on literature, but on women, and the world. Works Cited Clark, Danielle. The Politics of Early Modern Women’s Writing. England. Pearson Education Limited, 2001. Krontiris, Tina. Oppositional Voices: Women As Writers and Translators of Literature in the English Renaissance. London. New York: Routledge Publishing, 1992. Todd, Janet. British Women Writers A Critical Reference Guide. Continuum New York: Continuum Publishing Company, 1989.

How does John Steinbeck use language in different ways in “Of mice and men?” Essay

John Steinbeck uses language in different ways throughout the story. It creates imagery and helps you understand the story even better. Also it indicates differences in characters and the setting of the story. Steinbeck uses non-standard English for dialogue. Lennie is portrayed to be a slow childish character; he acts like a child asking George lots of questions about there ‘dream’. Lennie repeats this quite a lot â€Å"George how longs it gonna be till we get the rabbits?† This is Lennies dream to have rabbits, and Steinbeck repeats this dream it’s a kind of rhythm throughout the book. Also Lennie is more of a listener he doesn’t speak much to other characters apart from George unless he has too. He asks George frequently to â€Å"tell† him â€Å"about that place† where they are planning to move to when they have enough money, Lennie listens to George as though he was a parent or guardian and gets excited while George tell him. This gives us the impression that George looks after Lennie and keeps him safe. Steinbeck makes George seem rather parent like. George is a talker, he tells the story of him and Lennie moving away to a place of there own often to Lennie. We get the impression that George sometimes gets rather sick of Lennie as he repeats things and asks George to tell him â€Å"the story† we can see this by â€Å"I jus’ tol’ you, jus’ las’ night† this is wrote in an American way of speaking, he uses imagery as when you read this you say it to yourself in your head and you can imagine the way George is speaking. Also George seems to swear quite a lot and mainly towards Lennie where he calls him a â€Å"crazy bastard† this use of profanity and pronunciation portrays George to be rather uneducated, we can expect this as Steinbeck was a farm labourer for a time. The story was set in the 1930’s black people where very disrespected and used for slaves in these days. Also they wouldn’t be referred to as ‘black people’ it would be much more racial as we can see from what they call Crooks â€Å"nigger†. When crooks addresses Slim he calls him â€Å"Mr slim† none of the other characters address him in this way, this shows us that he has respect for Slim and that he believes Slim is a man of importance rather like the boss. Slim is portrayed to be â€Å"almighty† we get the impression that Slim is looked up to by the other men, they respect him and when they need answers or advice it is usually Slim to whom they turn to. As when Curley and Lennie fight it is Slim who everyone turns to. George asks him â€Å"Slim will we get canned now?† This shows he has power and the men believe he can take authority in situations like this. Steinbeck makes the characters dialogue very brief and it lacks detail they say what is necessary without detail, whereas when Steinbeck is describing a character or a place he uses descriptive language and Standard English, also he uses American dialect for certain words. Throughout the book there is few long sentences he uses short sentences. The way he describes places and characters is very different to the dialogue, he uses imagery in both but in different ways in dialogue he uses the shortening of words and there simple ways to help us imagine, whereas in his exposition he describes things in much detail and uses colours effectively. Also for certain words he uses an American dialect to replace them.

Gangnam Style Speech

If the phrase â€Å"Oppa Gangnam Style† doesn’t mean anything to you yet, you may want to Google it or ask your friends about it, or you’ll be left wondering why everyone is hopping up and down on invisible horses. The combination of catchy riffs and the corny-yet-hip dance moves made the music video by Korean artist Psy (short for â€Å"Psycho†) the most â€Å"liked† YouTube video of all time. Who is this Psy? Where exactly is Gangnam and what is its style? Well, I have all the answers for you.Today, I’d like to share you about Gangnam Style including a man behind Gangnam Style, the meaning of Gangnam Style, and its achievements. First, a man behind gangnam style. Park Jae Sang, known as PSY, is a Korean hip hop artist under YG Entertainment. He debuted in January 2001 with his full-length album titled â€Å"PSY†¦ From the Psycho World! â€Å", for which he later had to pay fine due to accusations saying that the album contains  "inappropriate contents†. Since then PSY has become a controversial artist as his second album was even banned in 2002.However, he gained much fans with his style of music. He is especially popular for his sense of humor. In summer 2012, PSY launched himself into an international stardom through â€Å"Gangnam Style,† the song that he wrote, composed and produced by himself. The term â€Å"Gangnam Style† was listed in Time's weekly vocabulary list as a manner associated with lavish lifestyles in Seoul's Gangnam district. Gangnam is the area where rich and fashionable young people get together. This song describes a guy who wants to be cool and stylish like a typical Gangnam person, but eventually fails.Psy said in an interview that he intended a twisted sense of humor by claiming himself to be â€Å"Gangnam Style† when everything about the song, dance, looks, and the music video is far from being such a high class. â€Å"People who are actually from Gangna m never proclaim that they are—it's only the wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are â€Å"Gangnam Style†Ã¢â‚¬â€so this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying so hard to be something that they're not. † – Psy. Now we know about Psy and Gangnam Style more, right?Third, let’s talk about the achievements of the song and its accompanying music video â€Å"Gangnam Style† was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most â€Å"liked† video in YouTube history and won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The song reached the number one position in more than 30 countries including Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. As if that’s not enough, Psy himself visited the U. N. and taught Gangnam Style dance moves to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Together, they rode invisible horses.According to the United Nations, PSY has become an â€Å"international sensation† through h is song â€Å"Gangnam Style Psy is far from the word â€Å"handsome† but he chose not to have a plastic surgery. He had kind of a tough run to this point. As we all know that Korean music is exceptionally focused on looks, and Psy is not a good looking guy, so he had to work his way to the top. It took him six albums to become a superstar. I admire Psy a lot because he is true to himself. He reminded me of Sebastian's line in The Little Mermaid that â€Å"You got your own style, now let it come through. And remember no matter what, you got to be you. â€Å"

How to Pronounce Mobile

How to Pronounce Mobile How to Pronounce Mobile How to Pronounce Mobile By Maeve Maddox A reader wonders about the American pronunciation of the word mobile: When Americans refer to the thing that all of us carry around as our personal digital appendage, they rhyme it with â€Å"bill.† The rest of the world (i.e., where I live) pronounce it to rhyme it with â€Å"bile.† Im not talking about the adjective â€Å"mobile,† but the noun â€Å"mobile,† short for â€Å"mobile phone.† Does this have to do anything with the gas company which sounds the same? The word mobile functions as both an adjective and as a noun: Adjective The  mobile technology  may be a lot different in terms of the Internet platform, but they basically share a common medium: the Web. - Americans pronounce the adjective mobile to rhyme with noble. Noun Sallie bought a darling Winnie-the-Pooh mobile to hang above the babys bed. - Americans pronounce the noun mobile to rhyme with toe-heel (MOH-beel). The city in Alabama is usually pronounced MOH-beel. Sometimes it is pronounced moh-BEEL. The petroleum company spells its name Mobil and pronounces it MOH-bil. Its progenitor, Mobilgas, was founded in the 1920s; Americans were already pronouncing mobile to rhyme with noble. So, when did those wretched Americans start mispronouncing mobile? They didn’t. British speakers shifted their pronunciation of words ending in -ile from a short vowel sound to a long one. OED lexicographer R. W. Burchfield noted, â€Å"The division didn’t become clear-cut until about 1900.† This is how Charles Elster (The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations) puts it: throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, both British and American speakers pronounced -ile either with a short i (as in pill) or an obscure/silent i (as in fossil). For example, the English elocutionist John Walker, whose Critical Pronouncing Dictionary (1791) had a profound influence on both sides of the Atlantic well into the 19th century, favored the short i in nearly all -ile words, including juvenile, mercantile, and puerile, citing only chamomile, infantile, and reconcile as long i exceptions. In the 20th century, Americans were less consistent in their customary preference than the British were in their newfound preference, and the long i made some inroads in American speech. In regard to the question that prompted this post, Americans call those â€Å"personal digital appendages† neither MOH-biles nor MOH-bils. We call them cell phones. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comparative Forms of Adjectives"Latter," not "Ladder"Dissatisfied vs. Unsatisfied

The Complexity of Compounds

The Complexity of Compounds The Complexity of Compounds The Complexity of Compounds By Mark Nichol A site visitor asked about the correct usage of a word used to describe meetings held in a face-to-face format rather than in a classroom-seating orientation. Is such a gathering a round table, or a roundtable? When describing a piece of furniture with a circular surface, we write â€Å"round table.† But as often occurs when a quotidian term develops a new sense, the treatment changes. Unfortunately, this development is haphazard and inconsistent, partly because we are within the transition zone for much of our vocabulary, and various dictionaries may diverge in their treatment of a specific term. However, the predominant form for the sense of â€Å"face-to-face group meeting† is now roundtable. (But maintain distinctions for various senses: â€Å"King Arthur’s Round Table was literally a round table as well as an assembly of his supporters, at which they not only feasted but also held roundtables.†) This type of evolution occurs often in commercial and organizational contexts. Other open compounds undergoing such a transformation include â€Å"life cycle† (to describe the cyclical nature of products and systems) and â€Å"road map† (in reference to the course an organization takes for itself or for a product or service). However, in the biological sense of â€Å"life cycle† and the literal cartographic sense of â€Å"road map,† these compounds remain open, though that status may change. (See this post, which describes the life cycle of compound words.) Why does this change occur? Humans have a natural tendency to simplify or consolidate things, including language. And in an open system such as language development, it is easy for nonstandard terminology (slang, jargon, and so on) and treatment (abbreviation, contraction, capitalization, spelling, and so on) to take hold and prevail. When writers make assumptions without verification about how compound words are styled- including such transitional forms as by-product and mind-set, styling them byproduct and mindset- those forms replicate virally as others see them in published materials and uncritically employ them. That is the process of evolution by which â€Å"round table† will almost inevitably become roundtable not just in organizational jargon but also in everyday use to describe household furniture, and by which lifecycle and roadmap are likely to someday apply in all connotations, and by which byproduct and mindset will become standard. But the tipping point for these forms has not yet arrived, so continue to refer to reputable sources and observe the â€Å"round table†/roundtable distinction as well as the others noted here. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Rhetorical Devices for Rational WritingTen Yiddish Expressions You Should Know"To Tide You Over"

Problem of free will Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Problem of free will - Essay Example Determinism poses some threats to the concept of free will. The first threat is the ability to choose between alternatives. Acting with free will requires the possibility of alternatives but determinism argues that there is only one possible outcome to an event based on interceding events. The second threat concerns control in shaping events. Free will requires control of an individual’s events through choices. Determinism, on the other hand, holds that past events and the laws of nature provide a casual correlation to the events of an individual and therefore lack control over the events. The problem of free will is to reconcile determinism with free will in a state of with cause and effects where events have a casual chain. To settle this problem, it is necessary to reject some concepts or demonstrate that all the concepts of free will and determinism are consistent (Rauhut 2010). Now that we have established the problem of free will, I will argue that we must reject the concept that free will is not compatible with determinism and endorse compatibilism. This argument will demonstrate that there is a deterministic connection between and individual’s actions and will. This connection enables one to take responsibility for actions such as taking blame or credit. An individual who is free from coercion possess the freedom of action, which is identifiable with free will. This view recognizes the casual chain of events, which relate back to an indefinite time and consistent with the laws of nature and with the design of an omniscient God. Because will is included in the chain of events, individuals have free will. Accordingly, people choose according to their greatest desire, which is guided by their moral nature. In essence, this means that individuals are free to choose but these choices are determined by the condition of the mind and heart. Compatabilism maintains that if there is the choice of

Gucci Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gucci - Essay Example This essay analyzes one of the leading luxury product brands. And the name of it is Gucci. The brand is associated with symbol, name, design etc of a firm that helps a company to distinguish itself from others. The brand name or image is used by the companies for marketing and advertising its products. The positive image of the brand is an important asset of the firm. It helps the company in creating good impression in the mind of targeted customers. A brand is often represented by logo (Batey, 2012). It is protected by secure trademark. A company makes people aware of its products and services by marketing its products through various channels. In the competitive market of fashion industry, Gucci always maintains its strong brand image. This brand is so popular that in spite of its high price, the company has several customers in different parts of the world (Blackburn, 2012). The concerns of the company about its customers and its high quality of products contribute in developing p ositive brand image of Gucci. Gucci is highly conscious about its resonance. The company tries to satisfy its customers and increase their engagement with the brand by providing them complementary gifts with every purchase. The firm provides the facility of same day deliver in New York. The response of the customers to the brand is highlighted in this step. The company got to know the buying behaviour of the customers by understanding their judgement and feelings towards products. Gucci aims to deliver best goods of high quality. The brand position of Gucci is highlighted in this essay.

The Significance of Womens Organizations Group Activities in Essay

The Significance of Womens Organizations Group Activities in Relationship to Their Opposition to the War in Vietnam - Essay Example As well women worked in the war as journalists, flight attendants, and in various church and humanitarian organizations, and the significance of these activities in relationship to the women's opposition and reaction to the war in Vietnam is an issue which is of incredible importance. The aim of this paper is to not only discuss the different organizations and group activities that women were involved in during the Vietnam War but as well the significance of their participation with them overall considering how against the war most women actually were. By doing this, we will be able to come to a much more informed and knowledgeable understanding on the subject matter at hand overall. This is what will be dissertated in the following. The history of women and war is one which has basically been forgotten in comparison to that of man's, however it is important to realize that women have actually always played a part, and in fact, "Between 1962 and 1973, according to Department of Defense statistics, approximately 7,500 women served on active military duty in Vietnam. The Veteran's Administration puts the numbers even higher, at around 11,000. Independent surveys estimate that the number of women, both civilian and non-civilian, working in Vietnam during the war is between 33,000 and 55,000" (Carlson, 2007). However, despite these incredibly large and notable numbers of women in the military, they have had a long and hard road in regards to gaining even remote equality. One of the most notorious organizations that women worked for during the Vietnam War was the Red Cross Organization, and the Red Cross basically maintained three particular and different programs during the Vietnam conflict which were: Service to Military Hospitals (SMH), Service to Military Institutions (SMI), and Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas (SRAO). "SMH provided recreational and casework services to service personnel who were hospitalized and casework services for service personnel who were employed in military hospitals. Women employed in SMI provided primarily clerical services with some individual assistance for obtaining loans if personnel had to return home for a family emergency. SMH and SMI functioned both in the United States and in foreign countries and both in peace and in war. The Red Cross program which was eventually entitled Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas (SRAO) originated in World War II specifically to employ civilian women who wished t o make a contribution to the country during periods of war" (Firestone & Robinson, 1996). When it comes to the issue of the reaction that was felt by women towards the Vietnam War, there are many issues that need to be taken into consideration here as well. In comparison to the percentage of men against the Vietnam War, there were almost double the amount of women who felt negatively towards it, however at the same time the war presented many opportunities for women, and so while they still felt disapprovingly towards the war, there were still then obviously reasons that they also were rather positive towards it, as they were benefitting in different

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