The Rise of Islamism in the 20th Century Essay Example for Free

The Rise of Islamism in the 20th Century Essay Islamism is by now a powerful force. It runs governments in Iran, Sudan, and Afghanistan. It is an important force of opposition in Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and the Palestinian authority. The paper at hand is going to analyze what conditions and events allowed for the rise of Islamism as an ideology in the later 20th century? The first part is going to introduce the concept of eurocentrism. Following this, Kemalism and its effect on Islamism is going to be discussed. In the last part of the paper post-modernism and Khomeini and their role in the rise of Islamism are highlighted. EUROCENTRISM Eurocentrism can be described as a phenomenon establishing the West as the center of the world by equating it with modernity and as a result make it the destiny of the world to become westernized, since this is equal with being modern. This development is based on the idea that the West knows best (Sayyid, 127). This concept has its historical roots in European colonialism and imperialism. The discourse of eurocentrism is one of the major strands with which the network of western global power is held together (p. 129), since it provides them with a sense of nity and power, which serves as legitimacy for claiming to be the center of the world. Opposition that wants to resist this hegemonic order, can do so only in the terms of that hegemony. This leads to another assumption of eurocentrism: there is nothing outside the Western project. (p. 135) KEMALISM After the post-colonial order and the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Muslim world was dominated by Kemalist discours es. Influenced by eurocentrism, Kemals vision was to mimic the European way of building and reigning a nation to become like the West and as a result become modern and reach political efficacy (Sayyid 155). This aim to become like the West resulted in major changes in Turkey and other countries being influenced by the Kemalist discourse. Before being abolished by the Kemalist regime, the caliphate constituted the nodal point, around which the Muslim unity and identity was built. At the same time it was the centre of the Muslim political structure, attaching Islam as a master signifier to the state. (p. 57) Abolishing the caliphate separated the link between state and Islam. The goal of Kemalism was to disconnect Islam from the state to be able to establish a hegemonic discourse without having to integrate Islam. Being aware of the fact that the Kemalist government could not neglect Islam altogether, since the possibility of using it to mobilize support still existed, Kemal tried to tie it in into his discourse. Acts like the abolishment of the caliphate and putting all educational institutions under direct state control to avoid Islamic concepts being taught, sought to distance and even exclude Islam from the Kemalist Turkey. (pp. 63-64) The effect of Kemalism on the role of Islam was different than expected. Instead of depoliticize Islam the policies of the Kemalist reactivated it. By removing it from the centre of their construction of political order, they politicized it. Unsettling it and disseminating it into the general culture made it available for reinscription. The rise of Islamism was enabled through the possibility to articulate it into a counter-hegemonic discourse. (pp. 72-73) Additionally, the social crisis, in which the discourse of Kemalism was in, was severe enough to make Kemalism appear unstable and Islamism, because at this time seeming to be the only discourse that was structured in an otherwise unstable environment, could emerge as opposition to Kemalism. It provided Muslim societies with social order and stability. Nevertheless, the existence of Islam alone cannot account for Islamism, since it is not a reflection of the religion, but it becomes a political discourse that makes use of Islam to undermine the Kemalist regime. Islamism makes use of the availability of Islam and increases its availability at the same time. Through this relationship a two-way process evolves in which Islam and Islamism are organized around each other. (p. 2) The most important task for Islamism was to establish Islamism as a counter-hegemonic discourse through the construction of order to be able to rule in opposition to Kemalism. Hence, overall the emergence of Islamism was equally dependent on the availability of Islamism and the erosion of Kemalism. (p. 77) The new hegemony of Islamism was only able to emerge because the old one began to unravel. Reasons for the failure were among others that the project of Kemalism failed to constitute all social rela tions and was not able to make all subjects within the Kemalist regimes fully internalize this discourse. It was not evenly represented in all Muslim societies and was therefore not able to impose it totally. (p. 85) This incompleteness of the discourse resulted in the politicization of Islam, which at the same time was also based on the inability of the Kemalists to make their picture of Islam as the backward, superstitious and traditional discourse seem natural. (p. 86). On top the Kemalist regime had difficulties to suppress existence of an Islamist opposition. All together these factors weakened the Kemalists hold as a hegemonic discourse. The only emergent counter hegemonic discourse readily available to substitute the crumbling anciens regime appeared to be Islamism, despite its uneven presence. (p. 86) POST-MODERNISM Around the 1970s, after the decline of Kemalism, the situation began to change. It became possible to articulate political demands using a vocabulary centered on Islam, without any attempt to associate Islam with the West (Sayyid 155). This period, called post-modernism, constitutes a critique of modernity, which tries to abolish the view of the West and modernity being synonyms. It aimed at breaking the substitutability of the West and modern. Decentring the West meant the weakening of this constructed western identity. If the West ceased to exist as an unified entity, it could not provide the unity to constitute modernity. (p. 110) Post-modernism did not see the West as continuing to be the nodal point of the discourse of modernity and decentred the West. (p. 110) This post-modern mind-set further spurred the emergence of Islamism, since it was only able to exist in a world in which there was suspicion of a western meta-discourse (p. 18). This possibility of rejection of westernization depended on the recognition that there was no historical necessity of the western hegemony; and after two world wars, decolonization and the decline of Kemalism there was enough support for this assumption. Only in a context in which it was possible to disarticulate and re-articulate the relationship between the West and universalism in a way that it was no longer seen as the center and equal to modernity, could Islamism emerge. (p. 128)

Children and Nature in Poetry

Children and Nature in Poetry In numerous poems during the romantic period the themes are centered on children and nature. The themes are not just about children alone and not just nature but the two subjects together. This is to suggest that children and nature are connected, the two subjects are one. Poets during the romanticism era use the childhood period as sort of a looking glass into nature and its true aspects which seems to get lost once adulthood is reached. The poems in the romantic era are all about trying to regain that innocence that special bond that a child seems to be able to share with nature. Samuel Coleridges poem Frost at Midnight is set in the winter season with him describing his feelings about his infant baby. Coleridge realizes how special his child is and how his child is able to share a connection with nature. A connection, that Coleridge believes that he was deprived of For I was reared/ in the great city, pent mid cloisters dim, and saw naught lovely but the sky and stars(Coleridge 51-53). Coleridge here claims that because he was raised within the city he never was able to create that special bond with nature. Due to this fact he uses his child now as sort of that medium into understanding nature, since he himself lost that time of innocence to the city. Coleridge is pained by his bringing up in the city life and throughout the poem is rejoicing that his child instead will be able to grow in nature. But thou, my babe! Shalt wander like a breeze/ by lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags/ of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds.(Coleridge 54-56). The line Shalt wander like a breeze suggest that Coleridge believes that child and nature are one. The child will actually become a part of nature, a breeze and shall wander in nature by the lakes and sandy shores. Coleridge by the end of his poem is still hopeful for his child. That even when his child is grown, will still remember that humans and nature are one, he claims that God will help him maintain this status. Great universal Teacher! He shall mould/ thy spirit, and by giving make it ask. Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee.(Coleridge 63-65). Coleridge uses the child in this poem to show that children and nature are one. Through this poem the audience is meant to see that humans and nature are not separate entities but together they act as one single unit. Unfortunately as we leave childhood and begin our journey into adulthood we seem to lose that view of nature and ourselves and begin to see nature separately. Looking next at Wordsworth poem Ode Intimations of immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood Wordsworth also agrees with the Coleridge idea, that children are able to connect with nature. The only difference between the two is that Wordsworth believes that as every child is born, they immediately share a connection with nature and with heaven, that they are born with this connection. Coleridge on the other hand believes that this connection, yes, occurs during the innocent time of childhood but is not one that is guaranteed. For Coleridge this connection must be made, you are not born with it, for he himself says he never had the chance to connect with nature the way his child is able to. Wordsworth in this poem wants the audience to wake up! To see that we have lost our way and have been sleeping, he wants us to return to the mindset of a child There was a to,me when meadow, grove, and stream,/ the earth, and every common sight,/ to me did seem/ appareled in celestial light,/ the glory and the freshness of a dream.(Wordsworth 1-5). Children are the ones who are able to see nature for what is truly is. Heaven lies about is in our infancy!(Wordsworth 66). Unfortunately Wordsworth loses this way of seeing and thinking to the world as he begins to grow. It is not now as it hath been of yore; / turn wheresorer I may/ by night or day,/ the thinks which I have seen I not can see no more. (Wordsworth 5-9). Here Wordsworth is sadden that although he tries to see what he once was able to, he can not. Wordsworth believes that losing this mentality is inevitable. Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; Shades of the prison house begin to close/ upon the growing boy.(Wordsworth 58, 67-68). Wordsworth is sadden by this thought that we lose our innocence appreciation for the natural world. Yet he is reminded that he can still be happy for he still has the child and his memories to help connect to nature. Wordsworth uses his experiences and a child to keep him connected and Coleridge uses his infant to keep him connected. This is what it means when Child is the father of man. Of course the child can not care for the man, but still the child has something to offer. Just as a father offers protection and care for a child, the child offers the mindset and lens into the natural world. The child is a reminder that nature and humanity are one; they are intertwined with one another.

Impact of AirAsia on Indias Economy

Impact of AirAsia on Indias Economy Summary: AirAsia is the world’s best low cost airline which is Malaysian based. This group operates scheduled international domestic flights in 22 countries and around 100 destinations. AirAsia expanded its operations in India in 2012, in joint venture with TataSons. Since Indian government allow an FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) of 49% in Airlines, the company hold 49% stake with TataSons having 30% and Telstra Tradeplace’s Arun Bhatia acquiring 21% stake. AirAsia has decided to invest 30 million dollars to 50 million dollars to start up the airline in India. The company in 2013, as a promotional tool to penetrate into the Indian market, has announced booking of 2 million seats from some of south Indian cities (like Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Tiruchirapalli) to south east destination like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur etc with a very low coat ranging from Rs 3300 to Rs5500. The company has a standard practice to open booking of seats a few months in advance at nominal price and then increasing them as the day passes to come up to ten times near the flight day. This is to assure filling of certain percentage of seats with low fare and then going to highest level. This practice reduces the gap between demand and supply as only little number of seats go vacant. The offer of the company is quite different from Tiger Airways, which provided 10 seats on every flight for Rs 2700 to Singapore from Banglore, Hydrabad, Kochi, Chennai, Tiruchirapalli and Thiruvananthapuram. Fares offered by the company on different routes are shown below: . (Source: Economic Times, 2013) The company is specially targeting the upper middle class customers, travelling by train, competing in budget carrier space which is dominated by SpiceJet and IndiGo. However, gaining a profitable position would be quite challenging for the company in the Indian market which is already incurring huge losses in spite of recent discount on fares offers of existing Airline Company. It has incurred a combined loss of $400 million to $450 million in the quarter of July to September. Another challenges are high fuel prices in the international market, stiff competition, high operating cost and political opposition, regulatory pressure and uncertainty in India as Indian Aviation Industry was opened to foreign investors recently. Competition: The company will face strict competition on route of Kolkata from SpiceJet, Jet Airways, IndiGo and Air India which combines offer 56 flights on weekly basis (Rai, 2013). The competition will get fiercer on Bangalore where 101 weekly services are offered by the stated four. Structure of Indian Aviation market: Since the Airline industry is an oligopolistic market structure with few big players, the fare cutting move of AirAsia company will definitely copied by other firms to remain in the competition, as it is one of the basic feature of oligopolistic market that fare cutting or increasing move by one is followed by other sooner or later. This will create a fare war among the companies, benefit of which can be reaped by customers. The company has taken this step as low cost airline companies have predicted to have greater potential in Asian countries like India whose population is above one million and the population of middle class is growing day by day which proves to be a huge market potential for the company to grow. (Upadhyay, 2013) According to the regulation of Indian Government, a foreign company can enter to Indian Airline sector with 49% stake only in the form of FDI, the regulation normally need a carrier to have domestically operated for at least 5 years with twenty aircraft fleets before starting its operations internationally (Singhal, 2013). Therefore on this basis international market opportunities for the company will concentrate on those routes where highest traffic volume already exists. Company’s step to reduce operating cost and gaining economies of scale: The company will focus on South India which is a tourist attracting area and an unaltered and underserviced market by other airline companies. The company will not operate to Mumbai and Delhi airports as these airports charges high Airport Development charge. Also Mumbai has extremely high air congestion leading to time consuming landing of aircrafts. In this way company would be able to avoid high navigation landing charge and aircraft parking charge The company has benchmarked its base fare against Indian Railways tickets and prices only Rs 1000 more than rail fare which will attract rail consumers to switch over to airlines, increasing company’s revenue. For keeping low operating cost, the company have planned to have a lean staff structure initially targeting up to 80- 100 employees per aircraft. Whereas competitors of the company presently have a ratio ranging from 102 to 185 employees per aircraft. Company also offer point to point service and uniform fleet for operational savings and provide internet sales of tickets for overhead savings. Upcoming opportunity for the company: On the basis of macroeconomic metric based on the population of city, Surat (Gujrat), Patna (Bihar) and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), which are largest Tier 2 cities of India, are not connected to Chennai. Surat has a population of around 4 million, Patna has 1.6 million populations Bhopal has 1.8 people living there. (Balasubramanyam, 2013) Therefore AirAsia India can also plan to consider its services to these cities to meet up the potential demand. Benefit to Indian Economy: India will get benefit in the following ways: Increased revenue for government in the form of taxes. Since it is a Foreign Direct Investment, Indian economy will get benefitted through infrastructural development by the company, increased employment opportunities for Indian people as company will hire people to provide its services. Since the company is offering low fare tickets to customers, other firms will also follow the move, offering better opportunities for customers to avail airline services at low cost. AirAsia’s move will break the status quo in pricing policy, commercial and marketing strategy of Airline companies in India as presently Indian Airline companies lack innovation in pricing their services due to which about twenty percent of the seats go on empty in most of the flights. Overall this move of the company is good for economy as well as customers as it will allow maximum customer to avail airline services and create ripple effect. Also Indian market has potential as its size is expected to grow in next 10 years from sixty million passengers to around 450 million passengers which is also a good news for the company References Balasubramanyam, K., (2013), Sky wars, [Article], Available: http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/airasia-tieup-with-tatas-impact-india-aviation-sector/1/192745.html [Accessed 1 May 2014] Rai, S., (2013), Why AirAsias Entry Is Good For Indias Aviation Sector, [Article], Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/saritharai/2013/07/11/why-airasias-entry-is-good-for-indias-aviation-sector/ [Accessed 1 May 2014] Singhal, M., (2013), An airline for the people, [Article], Available: http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/air-asia-to-enter-india-aviation-sector/1/197970.html [Accessed 30 April 2014] Upadhyay, A., (2013), AirAsia offers two million cheap tickets to South East Asian cities, [Article], Available: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-04-02/news/38218326_1_siegtraund-teh-airasia-group-chief-commercial-officer[Accessed 1 May 2013]

Quetzalcoatl: Man Or Myth? :: essays research papers

The Legend of Quetzalcoatl: Man or Myth? From the beginning of the Toltec reign in Central Mexico, the deity Quetzalcoatl has been a central figure in the religion and culture of Mexico. This is undisputed. What can be disputed, however, is Quetzalcoatl’s legitimacy as an historical figure. The deity Quetzalcoatl, or the â€Å"plumed serpent† is inseparable from the man Ce Acatl Topitlzin Quetzalcoatl, known to be a famous leader in pre-historical Mexican myth. The dissection becomes more difficult still as the Spanish friars introduced Christianity and in an attempt to assimilate the Indians, created a parallel between Indian deity Quetzalcoatl and the Catholic figure St. Thomas. In doing so, the priests hoped to incorporate Indian culture and religion into Christianity. In the process, however, they changed and damaged the pre-Christian notions of the god. What information we have now of Quetzalcoatl must be recognized as flawed over the centuries, and we must take this into account when trying to examine th e historical origins of one of the three figures. However, with cautious examination, we can separate these three figures and determine each one’s traits independent of the others’. To understand the mythical figure Quetzalcoatl, the first of the trinity to emerge, one must look further in to the religious belief of the pre-Columbian peoples. In the Classical period, Quetzalcoatl represented a sort of binary opposition between earth and heaven, visible in his name, quetzalli, or â€Å"precious green feather†, and coatl, the â€Å"serpent.† â€Å"Precious green feather,† according to Enrique Florescano, referred to a bird, which in the Classical period symbolized the heavens. Coatl, the serpent, symbolized earth, and so the mythical creature Quetzalcoatl was a link between the two, present before the Toltec civilization began, and gave birth to the image of twins, one of life, fertility and order (the bird) and the other representing the fatality of death (the serpent) . Yet the link between the immortal and the mortal was further construed by the Classical Period Indians than even the symbolism of the bird and serpent. The binary oppositions within day and night, also the Morning Star and the Evening Star became entangled within the earliest surviving myths of Quetzalcoatl. There is a fine line between the religious and the mythological in Pre-Columbian Mexico. While Quetzalcoatl began as a symbolic interpretation to link life and death, or the gods and humans, his purpose soon extended to an intercessor between the two, symbolic in the ball court game which he is attributed with founding .

Networks And Connectivity :: essays research papers

Networks and Connectivity Trying to give a definition to the term COMMUNICATIONS we can say that “Communications is the dispatch of a message from one point to another and the confirmation of the complete , right and conceivable receiving of the message by the authorized addressee'; . As we can see from the history there was a huge try to achieve the communication between people . The signals of smoke , the sounds of the drum , the fire were some of the basic ways for the transfer of a message in a era years ago . But these ways of communication was neither accurate nor has the certainty of the success . Also the transfer speed of the information was small , the size of the information tiny and the security of the communication was almost absence . The need for networks appears for the first time when Graham Bell set in use the telephone . He was talking with a friend of his with a single line , but later when he wanted to talk to another friend of his he needed to use another line to connect his phone and the phone of his friend . So imagine that he has X friends , he would need X(X-1)/2 lines and X-1 phones , that was impossible so the need of networks come up . The network first developed for the need of the voice communication but after the appearance of data communications need the same network was used . From the time that electricity and electronics had developed there was rapidly changes at the section of the communications . After the decade of the 1950 the computers started developing , and the communications started playing an important role in peoples life . Also the evolution of the voice communication has created an extensive telephone network which today covers a very large part of the planet , and computers have taken advantage of that network in a great rate so as to satisfy their needs for data communication . Terms Talking about our days , when we are referring to the term computer connectivity we have a complex of hardware , software and physical appliance, and we mean the way and how computers can communicate and share common sources with the use of an intelligent or common network . With the term Data Communication we mean the exchange of information under the form of data between Data Terminal Equipment .

Labyrinth of Suffering

â€Å"How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering? † I believe suffering is something ones self is born with. When we give our first steps in this world we soon realize there is struggle and the struggle is ever lasting in ones life. Alaska Young was brought down with the suffering in her life. The labyrinth of her life dragged her down and the question of escaping the labryitnh would not leave her mind. She broke. Alaska got out of her labyrinth â€Å"straight and fast. † Maybe getting out of the labyrinth of suffering is forgiveness just like pudge believes.If one holds on to hatred and pain then it grows and it eats away your every whim. Pudge needed to answer this question not only for his class assement but he needed to answer it for himself. He knows as well as I do that Alaska is gone forever and he may never know why or how she died. Pudge knows that to get out of his labyrinth of suffereing he needs to forgive Alaska. He needs to forgive her to be a ble to continue mazing through the labrynth of his life. Pudge needs to forgive her to get to happiness.The answer to this question lingers in my mind,will I get out of this labryith of suffering? I am not sure at all. I know there is always a smile in darkness, and I can forgive and forget just as Pudge forgives Alaska. Maybe even after death there will still be the labryitnh of suffering. Or maybe after death the suffering ends. The first steps we give in death are probably not a struggle at all. Unlike Alaska I don’t want to find the answer just yet. I rather linger on it and learn or wonder. I will not find a way out â€Å"straight and fast. At some point in life â€Å"Everyone†¦gets dragged out to sea by the undertow†¦we are all going. † In other words, at some point in time we know we are going to die/suffer or someone we love and care for is going to die, how do we deal with this knowledge? Right now Miles’ answer is to believe in an afterlife, however Miles becomes enlightened and he changes his outlook on surviving the Labyrinth. Something similar to a parable/riddle is then introduced in the novel after Miles makes his inital decision about surviving the Labyrinth.The parable is: Banzan â€Å"Was walking through the market one day when he overheard someone ask a butcher for his best piece of meat. The butcher answered, â€Å"Everything in my shop is the best. You cannot find a piece of meat that is not the best. † Upon hearing this, Banzan realized that there is no best and no worst, that those judgments have no real meaning because there is only what is, and poof he reached enlightenment. † How does this relate to the central question of surviving the labyrinth of suffering?Well Alaska spent her life after her mom’s death thinking about the best and worst times in her life constantly. This parable is directly related to when Alaska suggested that they play the â€Å"Best Day/Worst Day† game when out camping with her friends. There she shares the worst day of her life that has overshadowed everything she did thereafter. The world religions teacher then introduces a zen belief that â€Å"Everything that comes together falls apart. † In other words death will happen†¦Ã¢â‚¬ we are all going†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦it is inevitable†¦therefore suffering will only cease when we stopped wishing things would not fall apart.Alaska could not do this and so she did not survive. She could not survive. The problem is not life but how much emphasis we put on disappointment, pain, and laying blame while trying to hold ourselves together; creating a sense of hopelessness. Miles then becomes truly enlightened when he realizes that the only way to survive the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive. When Alaska’s mother died she blamed and could not forgive herself for something that was out of her control and this is what caused her to self-destruct.Similarly, Miles blamed h imself for the death of Alaska as he felt he should have stopped her from getting in her car drunk†¦if only he had stopped her! This thought haunted him but then he realized: â€Å"She forgave us, and that we had to forgive to survive in the labyrinth. There were so many of us who would have to live with things done and things left undone that day. Things that did not go right, things that seemed okay at the time because we could not see the future. If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions.But we can’t know better until knowing better is useless. † So I ask again: What is the best way to go about being a person? What are the rules of this game, and how might we best play it? How do we survive as oppsed to escape the labyrinth of suffering? According to Miles it is to forgive. Stop beating yourself up for elements of your life that are outside of your control such as death. Forgive yourself and others for the unf ortunate things that happen in life and accept what is.

Why Online Shopping Is Making a Trend?

It seems everyone loves online deals, online discounts, online coupons and more! Millions of people are patiently browsing the web in search for the best online deals of the day and the best online discount websites. A realization settled in me then that in tough economic times, people become wiser. That somehow propelled consumers to browse for the best deals on the web. Life is now highly digitalized! Thus, online shopping and online coupon are now very popular and certainly a trend for years to come.Moms, budget enthusiasts, frugal people or shall I say wise consumers just can’t resist the convenience online coupons and online deals can offer. You can’t blame shoppers to find the best deals and eye-popping discount prices to maximize savings by going through the best online deal websites. Take ShopAtHome for instance, it provides online shoppers the best deals, best products with the best price with just a few clicks.The most amazing part of it, is its cash back prog ram where you can get as much as 50 percent of the price credited to your account which enable you to buy more needed items. Now who wouldn’t love deep discounts made possible by ShopAtHome and other online discount websites? Through them you can freely access catalogs, do comparison shopping, cash-back, exclusive daily deals from online retailers. Plus free shipping is recently a trend too.Coupons decline for almost a couple of decades and has just come back on track in 2009 which also mark the first year of coupon boom. Sometimes, things happen for a reason. The significant shift of the consumers shopping trend is undoubtedly caused by the the current economic status. People now opt to use the internet to find the hottest deals, online discounts, online coupons which also provide shoppers the best place to buy, how they buy and take advantage of promotions.