Ashes Of Ham The Muslin Brotherhood

Tensions in the Middle East have been watched from around the world, with increased dread and fear as fervent militant fighting and terror attacks happen more frequently. The strained struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran primarily comes down to two factors – the battle to be the dominant nation in the Middle East, and the fact that two countries represent the regional strongholds of the two leading rival branches of Islam. As journalist M. Kamali wrote, “Analyzing civil society in Muslim countries requires that we recognize Islam not only as a religion, but also as a political theory and the major source of a legitimization of political power.” (1)

Syria and Lebanon are two dramatically different states with a deeply intertwined history. They were both born out of French interventionism following World War 1, and have experienced complex and strained relations ever since. The two nations have both experienced prodigious political turmoil since gaining their independence, with both suffering from civil wars and conflict with their mutual neighbor, Israel. The war and turmoil that has plagued these two countries can be traced back to various competing national interests, as well as a struggle for regional power. The various religious groups in the area have historically formed transnational advocacy networks with the intent of influencing regional politics. These groups have proved to of been a major factor in the history of both nations.

Syria’s civil war is the worst humanitarian crisis of modern time. The “Syrian Civil war Began in March of 2011, between rebel brigades and government force; economy and infrastructure is destroyed” (Library, 2016). “Divisions between secular and religious fighters, and between ethnic groups, continue to complicate the politics of the conflict” (Corps, 2016). Additionally, the Syrian civil war has taken a significant

With a death toll in the hundred of thousands, and millions displaced, the Syrian civil war has become a violent mark on the world’s history. What started as a peaceful protest has spread over five years, has evolved into a war with a tyrannical government, a clashing rebellion, and terrorism fighting either side. But what is it that really fuels the immense amount of violence? It can be narrowed down to four groups that are obvious. The government and the rebels are the forerunners in violence in the war, sure, but they aren’t the only ones. There are the terrorist groups, with skewed views to support the destruction of people and things around them, and in itself the stark difference of the religions and ethnicities of Syria. Who causes

The current view of Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans has been misconstrued by the media leading to extreme contempt towards these groups of people. Most Arab Americans have been generalized as Muslim extremists or refugees, when in fact this is not the case. This paper will explain how these people became a “group of interest”, depict what kind of people make up the Arab American population, parallel refugees and terrorists to expose common misconceptions of Arab-Americans, explain the sects of Muslim religion and its values, and finally conclude with why this matters to the American education system and my own personal reflection on my research.

Published in 2006, prior to Israel’s intervention in Hezbolla controlled Lebanon, An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety offers academics and scholars a window to observe the ever-changing interpretations and practices of one of the largest world religions. Lara Deeb, a cultural anthropologist, seeks to bring to light the ideology and beliefs of a group Shi’i women living in a Beirut community. She reports that their modern approach to Islam allows them to express their individuality and piousness at the same time, without diluting or abandoning the faith which is often looked at as extreme and backwards by the Western World.

Only a month after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 an article appeared in The Guardian that claimed to reveal the identity of “The Man who Inspired bin Laden” (Irwin n.p.) Still reeling from the carnage and destruction, many in the West sought to understand what could have inspired that magnitude of violence. British author Robert Irwin believed he found the answer “not in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan,” or hidden in the biography of Osama bin Laden (Irwin n.p.) but in the works of Egyptian fundamentalist Sayyid Qutb. Generally regarded as one of the most influential Islamic revivalists of the 20th century, and a prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood, he has been described in scholarly publications as the “spiritual father of al-Qaeda” (Hansen and Kainz 57) and his seminal work, Milestones, has more than once been compared to Mein Kampf.

When translated, Hezbollah means “The Party of God.” However, as we examine the history, demographics, agenda, methodology and target choices and affiliation assignments and contributions of Hezbollah, we discover that this organization was established with perhaps one goal in mind and that is to strike fear into the hearts of those that oppose an Islamic state in Lebanon. Therefore, as the self-proclaimed “Party of God,” based on the history of their activities and actions, they appear to be something entirely different.

Since entering politics, AAH has not fulfilled its vow to halt armed resistance, instead continuing to carry out sectarian violence, execute homophobic attacks, slaughter women alleged to be prostitutes, and threaten the “interests” of Western countries participating in strikes in Syria (United Against Nuclear Iran, n.d.). Additionally, AAH has engaged in Syria conflict in order to protect the holy shrine in Syria and to fight against ISIS to keep the Syrian regime Bashar al-Assad in power. Asaib Ahl al-Haq in 2013 and is led by that group's cofounder, Sheikh Akram Kaabi, the militia was an early provider of fighters to Syria and one of the first Iraqi Shiite forces to announce its involvement in battles in the Aleppo area (Smyth, 2015).

Over the past decade, armed conflict has escalated Iraq and Syria; subsequently, violence against women has become prevalent among members of the Islamic State. High-ranking officials have normalized the systematic enslavement of thousands of women and have revitalized the practice of sexual slavery in the region. In her essay, “Redeeming Slavery,” Kecia Ali attributes this phenomenon to the Islamic State’s attempted renewal of religious sentiments; even though she disputes claims that this practice represents a correct interpretation of Islamic beliefs, Ali argues that the widespread normalization of sexual slavery is at least portrayed by leaders as a return to the original beliefs and practices of early Muslim authorities. Jessica Stern, in her essay, “Response to Kecia Ali,” agrees with Ali that religious scholars ought not attempt to judge IS’s actions as Islamic or un-Islamic; however, she fundamentally disagrees about the nature and origin of the militant group’s practice of modern slavery. Stern instead attributes it to political expediency and practicality, emphasizing that the allure of sex serves as an important recruitment tool for the group. Though they disagree about the nature of the Islamic State’s relationship to slavery, Ali and Stern both agree that the attempt to situate IS on a rigid binary of Islamic or un-Islamic is problematic and

The Shia-Sunni divide is the major challenge facing Islamic societies today. It has greatly surpassed the issue of conflict between Muslims and the West, which has been a popular topic for scholars for many years now. Sectarianism can be comprehended as an institutional set of arrangements determining familial, local, regional and even expansive kinds of loyalty and affiliation. Nowadays there is an increase in sectarian conflict and violence which can be attributed to the collapse of authoritarian rule and a struggle for political and economic power. It is also due to the dispute over which version of Islam will impact societies and their leaderships.

As we get farther into the book, I become more intrigued into the events that took place in America in regards to Islam. I never actually knew the broader history behind the enlargement of Islam in the United States. The formation of different Islamic organizations post World War II was very interesting, because it created a society where Muslim immigrants can unite; such as the Nation of Islam and the FIA. I found that the sociological, and political aspects of these religion-based communities and organizations were very relevant to the issues that many Muslims had to deal with. However, some of the organization’s teachings and actions seemed questionable. Also, the book is very difficult to understand as it gets very in depth with fact after fact but not much background information, which makes it hard to follow the points that author, Kambiz GhaneaBassiri is trying to get across. That being said, I would like to focus on the chapter 6 readings, and the author’s style of writing.

Terrorist organizations across the globe have adapted to how the world views them, and are learning how to deter their actions from looking like anything more than political movements. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is a prime example of this, as it has won the opinions of many diplomats and state leaders to believe that ideologies and actions supported by the Brotherhood come up short of what it means to represent terrorism. The struggle to determine whether or not organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood are in fact terrorists arises when they claim that their ideologies are equal and opportunistic for all, and that violence and horrid actions are not representative of the whole group, but the simple act of deterrence does not alter the truth; however hard the group tries to claim ignorance to violence and reverence to peace, when historical evidence and

In addition to opposing the political regime, the rise of fundamentalism in Egypt is due to the fact that ''[C]ertainly Egypt had many problems in the 1980s which might have conceivably strengthened radical Islamic groups'' (Rubin vii). The 1990s witnessed increase of terrorism in Egypt. This is

Author: Asef Bayat Book: Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamist Turn. Publisher: Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007. Hardcover: 320 pages ISBN-10: 0804755949 ISBN-13: 978-0804755948 Key-words: democracy, Egypt, Iran, Islam, Middle East, political history, political theology. Reviewed by: Jacob Greenberg hile other disciplines in the social sciences and humanities have made use of comparative methodologies, History has been slow to join the trend. Most historical analyses investigate a single locale, individual, or neighborhood in order to offer conjectures about larger contexts. This allows the researcher to become well versed