• One of the consequences and aftermath of September 11 terrorist attacks is by the early 21st century many have concluded that Islam and Muslims are unreceptive and hostile to Westernization through its values, perspectives, practices and institutions. Huntington’s theory about civilizations and their inevitable clash was under the spotlight again and the rhetoric about the crusades brought back to life by the two supposedly clashing civilizations.
• The essay will try to refute the belief that a Clash of Civilizations is indeed an accurate description of the modern conflicts between Islam and the West. This will be achieved through examining the post-Cold War relationship between the West and the Islamic world up till now, highlighting
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• Huntington’s clash of civilizations hypothesis has many facets; according to him new patterns of conflict will occur along the boundaries of different cultures and forms of cohesion will be found within the cultural borders. The dominant source of conflict will shift from the clash of ideologies during the Cold War period (liberal democracy vs. communism) to the clash between nations and groups of different civilizations and cultures after the end of the Cold War.
• Central weaknesses of the thesis, according to critical theorists and scholars, is that:
It deals with civilizations as monolithic and internally
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The Western hegemony and the so-called Muslim rage against Western civilization.
• The terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the war on terror: the revival of Huntington’s clash rhetoric through the Bush doctrine and the wakeup call, Al-Qaeda’s jihad against the new crusaders and the invasion of Iraq.
• The rise of the Islamic State and how its atrocities are perceived in the Islamic and the Arab world. The radicalization of new elements within Islamic jihadist and radical groups coupled with the vacuum created after the deposition of Saddam Hussein, has indeed contributed in disrupting the region and in setting the basis for a new wave of international terrorism
• Arab Spring: the socioeconomic and political reasons for the uprising. Did Islamists and radical Islam hijack the Arab Spring? How the rising differed from one Arab country to another and what is the role of the Western powers? The development of the United States strategy in the Middle East and how is perceived. What is expected to happen
Throughout the book Farber emerges peculiar counterparts to the current terrorism crisis. Farber goes on to demonstrate how politicians unsuccessfully did not understand the anger of the Islamic fundamentalists towards the United States. Americans as a whole had no concern to the threats of the terrorist group. Farber’s “Taken Hostage”, is an enlightenment of history for America's first engagement with terrorism and Islamic fundamentalist. Farber states, “While November 4th, 1979, marked the beginning of the crisis for America, Iranians (at least those who cheered on the takeover) saw it differently; they would choose other days to mark the beginning of all that
He states, “For an empathetic understanding of the present generation of Muslims one has to recognize that most of them do not accept Western critics’ radical reinterpretations of some parts of Muslim history” (Shepard, 5). Wilson had begun to understand this after countless times of her husband denying the Western depictions of Islam. He states “I can’t believe you’re going to teach American history…. This is exactly the kind of Western cultural takeover Egypt is turning a blind eye on” (Wilson, 40).
It was written on the occasion that the US government is modifying its strategy of supporting rebels in Syria. Tara was able to review the timeline of strategies that were implemented in reaction to the Syrian dilemma and how the US intervention turned out. The audience for
To some people, this article would be considered as balanced and unbiased. Hence the author was successful in presenting his points. His choice of words was neutral and peaceful, his suggestions were presented without verbally insulting civilizations. His research scope solemnly depends
Lee Breece Mrs. Nowotarski AP World 5 October 2014 The Islamic empires have persisted in the way that their populations are influenced by and follows the customs of Islam which shaped their social and moral codes. However, the Islamic world changed over time as it expanded and encountered areas beyond its cultural territories and improved its trade and education system. As the centuries passed in the Islamic world from 632 to 1258 C.E., it can be concluded that the changes and continuities of the Islamic empires are due to their religion, trade systems, political organizations, and its education systems.
Following the attacks of the World Trade Center the September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush pronounced a speech standing ''enemies of freedom committed an act of war'', claiming they, the American citizens, were facing a ''war on terror'', and ''the only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where it grows'' (President George W. Bush, address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American people, September 20, 2001). Therefore, in order to justify their action, a global military campaign in the Middle-East, the American government ''has to persuade society that such an undertaking is necessary, desirable and achievable'' (Jackson:1). According to R. Jackson, little attention had been given to the role of language and discourse in the construction of the ''war on terrorism'' (Jackson: vi), hence this book plays an important role in addressing the issue of the official language of counter-terrorism.
With the break out of World War I in Europe, the Sheikh-ul-Islam declared a Jihad against the following countries; Britain, France, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro.1 The call for Jihad was directed to all Muslims around the world to stand up against their Christian temporal rulers.2 In 1914, there were 270 million Muslims around the world with only 30 million being governed by Muslims and the rest governed by other predominantly Christian nations.3 Even with the threat of “the fire of hell”, the call for Jihad was not as successful as expected. Strachan writes, “Islam was universal in its appeal, while nationalism was particular. ”.4 Muslims remained divided and did not fall under one calling for Jihad and many remained loyal to their temporal rulers.
Osama Bin Laden (OBL), an arch-terrorist and founder of the Al-Qaeda, was assassinated on May, 2011 in a covert US operation (Kitfield, 2013). By the time of his death, Osama had been linked to several terrorist activities including the September, 11 attacks that killed nearly 3000 people (Michaels, 2012). It was hoped that his death would dismantle or cripple the Al-Qaeda, a terrorist network formed and led by OBL. Three years down the line it is still not clear whether OBL’s death crippled, dismantled or strengthened the terror network. This essay intends to discuss the discourse and assessments that have evolved three years after his death to explain its impact on Al-Qaeda.
It was just another regular working day in New York City, when an American Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Centre, soon followed by a United Airlines flight crashing into the south tower. The devastation was not just limited to New York. A third plane flew into a wing of the Pentagon, right outside Washington DC, while another crashed at a field in Pennsylvania. America was witnessing its most dreadful attack. The death of more than 3000 people had left the country scarred for years to come.
The book deals with the history of Islam and provides arguments over the liberal interpretation of the religion. The book puts the blame on the Western imperialism and the self-serving misinterpretations of Islamic law by the past scholars for the controversies which are taking place within Islam. The work by Reza Aslan challenges the clash of civilizations. The book
Many view the Western Powers as innocent in this conflict, however this article states otherwise. It is valuable because one person/country’s opinion should not count more than another’s. • Limitations – This source is opinionated, one-sided and biased against the Western Powers as it is written from the perspective of a person intentionally questioning the norm. It states radical opinions as facts. This secondary source is not reliable because it could be based on speculation and twisting of facts as there is a lack of evidence.
George W. Bush viewed Afghanistan and Iraq as unwinnable. Indeed, Afghanistan is the longest war in Ameri-ca’s history. Barack Obama further scaled back expectations, pointedly ruling out a World War II-like “victo-ry” (a word he feels uncomfortable using). We have reached a new normal: clouding our daily lives is the per-sistent threat of jihadist attacks. And, for fear of incurring the wrath of Islamists, many newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses (such as Yale University Press and Random House) engage in self-censorship.
Following the 9-11 attacks, on September 17th 2001, President George. W.Bush confirmed to America and the watching world Osama Bin Laden the,dictator and ruler of the terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda was the plotting mastermind behind these vicious attacks. The President made a history defining speech on November 10, 2001, declaring a Global “War on Terror”, which in turn highlights the overall large scale significance of 9-11, and furthermore highlighting the renewed stance and direction US Domestic and Foreign Policy was taking as well as an unprecedented Presidential phase within US Politics and Government, in the wake of these terror attacks. Furthermore the significance of 9-11 was evidenced in Bush’s speech in which he articulated, “we
This course of action similarly enhances tension between idealistic Muslims who continue to stay devoted to their religion, and hence find a means to project that through radicalized courses of actions. The product of conflict is danger to entirety of the group involved, and hence it is best to find sympathy and solidarity between the oppressed and
Our academic disciplines, journals, movies, and our whole cultural system is highly affected by the inevitability of the conflict between 'Islam ' and 'West ' (Adib-Moghaddam, 2011). This " clash regime" is a cultural artifact which is positioned in different strata of society because it is made up by a system of interdependent discourses that disperse into society and form a powerful 'clash mentality (Adib-Moghadam, 2011, p.5). This clash regime has constituted a main part of today 's national and international political culture (Adiv-Moghaddam, 2011, p.5). Therefore, European culture gained its own strength and identity by setting itself off against the Orient (Said, 1978). According to Macfie (2002), one of the convictions that is widely held in orientalism is the belief that Islam unlike other religions, is inherently violent its followers believe in the doctrine of Holy War or Jihad.