The Taj Mahal,which is regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world, has been admired by many people but recently it has started a bit of a controversy. A legal case fought by six lawyers in Agra,claims that the famous monument built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife was initially an ancient Hindu temple/shrine. This case was accepted by the Agra Court,which calls for the ownership of the Taj Mahal to be transferred to Hindus as a place of worship,but this plan doesn’t run smoothly with the Muslims who have been using the mausoleum as a religious place, and giving the possession to Hindus will obstruct their religious rituals. Recently in Parliament,Dr Mahesh Sharma(India’s culture minister) stated that he was aware of the rising issue
Hajj is a once-in-a-life time obligation upon Islamic adherents whose health and means permit it. It is an essential part of Muslim faith and practice as it is the fifth pillar of faith, symbolises central concepts of Islam and commemorates the trials of the Prophet Ibrahim. Hajj provides individuals with the opportunity for spiritual rebirth through developing a closer relationship with Allah as well as fulfilling the five pillars of Islam. The global Islamic community are also united through submission to the will and communal worship of their “one God” Allah.
The Ottoman and Mughal empires were two of the greatest and most successful empires to ever form in history. However, they both had some similarities as well as differences. Both empires went through tough periods of time, but at some point they also went through times of growth and prosperity. Although the Ottoman and Mughal Empire both did not force conversions into Islam, the Ottoman’s development relied on their tough military force, while the decline of the Mughal Empire was caused by Aurangzeb’s policy of religious persecution and high taxes.
Ancient Egypt was a golden age in the human history timeline. The incredible wealth, architecture, and religion held a key part in developing modern day society and contributed to the construction of many other eras’s including the Roman Empire and affected the Greek civilisation tremendously (MAAT, 2017). The extravagance of the era echoes throughout history and creates a base of knowledge that many modern day practices follow. Set on the banks of the Nile in Thebes, Karnak Temple is the epiphany of the power the Egyptians possessed. As one of the largest religious temples in the world, Karnak Temple covers around 200 acres of temples, pillars, lakes and gardens. (Discovering Egypt, 2017). This place of worship shows the grip that religion held on civilisation throughout the vast Egyptian empire.
Disputes over land seem to be a catalyst for almost every hostility and war since the dawn of time. The addition of politics and religion into the matter only serves to aggravate an already tense situation. Kashmir knows this all too well. The conflict between Hindus and Muslims seems to be an ever reoccurring battle. This is also evidenced in population battles. Hindus make up the social majority of the population of India by almost eighty percent. Feelings of tension and uneasiness are a natural reaction to being dominated by a majority and are a problem unto itself.
In the Mughal Empire, Hindus had been allowed to build new temples despite the fact the empire had Muslim origins. To further gain the people’s loyalty, Akbar the leader of Mughal Empire eliminated tax on the non Muslims which would attract the Hindus and also the Christians into the empire creating a universal religion which a mix of Islam, Christians and Hindus.. Akbar had also secured the support and the allegiance of the different Hindus who existed in the region through the negotiation of the peace treaties. Akbar had endured that the local governors would be given grants rather than the salaries. Being dependent on the central government for their income, such a strategy helped them develop increased loyalty enhancing military operations of the army and the general government structure in the empire. On the other hand, Ottoman’s emperor enhanced social integration through striking the high levels of peoples’ loyalty (Gingeras 13).
Context and Research Question: In August 2015, after capturing the ancient Roman site of Palmyra, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) spectacularly exploded the remains of the Temple of Bel and the Temple of Baalshamin. They immediately spread the images of their destruction online by creating videos and news reports. ISIL’s acts of destruction mark the largest-scale mass destruction of antiquities by one group since the Second World War (Kulish and Myers 2016), and their videos are extremely effective in disseminating their spectacles outside of the Middle East. Scholars in art history, archaeology, and law consider these acts the destruction of cultural heritage (Harmanşah 2015; Bauer 2015; Brodie 2015; Drasewska 2015; He 2015; Kila 2015). In particular, ISIL’s videos seek to defy Western European ideas about cultural heritage which are often cast as universal (Meskell 2002, 568) and engage a worldwide audience through carefully articulated performances. However, the many Canadian journalists using digital media to protest the destruction and reassert their own humanitarian, cosmopolitan, and civilized heritage values clearly mark the success of this strategy (Manley 2016). In fact, a trend emerged where popular news stories claim that ISIL is destroying the heritage that belongs to all of humanity (Harmanşah 2015, 173). Some scholars dispute the validity of this
The Omar Khadr controversy has been a topic of debate for years. Ever since his capture, Omar Khadr, who was fifteen when captured, has gone through five different institutions. A Canadian who had his rights and freedoms violated, and one of the most influential people of 2017.
Instead of disturbing Americans by constructing a mosque so near to land they believe is sacred, both Muslims and Americans should accommodate one another’s needs and try to reach a compromise. Even some members of the Islamic faith know the consequences will be
The Park51 Islamic Center, also referred to as the Ground Zero Mosque, was “a $100 million Islamic mosque and community center” that was planned to be built two blocks from the site of the 9/11 terrorist attack (Bottum Par.2). The plans for this mosque began in 2009 and sparked numerous protesters to rise up against the idea of its creation. The crowds who protested the building of the Park51 Islamic Center believed that having such an empowering Islamic landmark so close to Ground Zero would be disrespectful toward those who perished on 9/11. The plans for the mosque were eventually turned down in September of 2015 after a long debate. The plans for the mosque should not have been denied because of the violation of the separation of church and state, the violation of the First Amendment, the location of the site, and the confused connection between Muslims and terrorism.
The idea to build a “ground zero mosque & community center near the world trade center site in lower Manhattan” has been pretty much controversial from sometime. Government has tried to keep this matter undercover and that’s why most of the people don’t usually how about the seriousness of this matter as well as how much debate this matter has brought from various politicians and from media as well. This article shows a better way to see the point of view of both sides. As it refers to the people’s reaction and even after so much time, the efforts done to stop these plans are all in vain.
Next, my mother told me this mosque is the biggest one, and the second religious buildings, also it has the tallest minaret in the world. This mosque has a roof made of light steel, and decorated with cedar wood which opens in 3 minutes for bringing fresh air during the summer. Also, this mosque has many chandeliers made in crystal. The location of this mosque is right by the sea overlooking the Atlantic ocean,
My interviewee Tony Khanna, a fellow co-worker, took me to his temple he goes to worship, on a Sunday evening. He took me to the Sri Meenakshi Devasthanam located in Pearland, Texas. The first thing I noticed upon arrival at the temple is the beautiful architectural building design outside. I was in amazement of how beautiful the temple was. I had not seen something so beautiful in quite awhile. The temple is visible from a quite a distance away and has two stunning white towers. When coming up to the temple from the parking lot Tony indicated to me that the temple was established in 1977 and was a replica of a famous temple in India. There was a huge white gate we had to walk through to get to the main temple. Once inside I was greeted by many Hindu's that were quite pleasant and talkative towards this outsider that I was. Before the visit one of my questions to Tony was if Hindu's welcomed outsiders within their temples. He indicated that Hindu's are very open and that I would be welcomed. I was quite surprised for this to be so true. With in the confines of the temple there were many different kinds of symbols that I was not quite familiar with. A couple that I noted was a Diya, Om, and Swastika. There were
As said by Jawaharlal Nehru in a letter dated 20 September 1953, “India is a composite country, composite in many ways, in religion, in customs, in languages, in ways of life”. It is a community which is known for its cultural diversity across the world. With having 29 states and 7 Union territories, India also has 22 different languages and 11 different religions practiced by a diverse group of people. It is a community where holidays and festivals are celebrated on a wide scale, irrespective of caste, and beliefs. Where on one hand the community celebrates Eid ul- Fitr, Bakr- Id, Buddha Jayanti, and Baisakhi, there on the other, it also enthusiastically participates in the festivals like Diwali, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Christmas. Not only the community shares different festivals but also share diverse places of worship. Where on one side there is a Temple and Gurudwara, there on the other is Mosque and Church. This brings an admirable combination of languages, rituals, festivals, cuisines, clothes, and principles in one diverse community, India. The above facts prove the fact that India has a very rich cultural heritage and the diversity in culture has been one of the strengths for development in
In this essay I hope to look at the issues of conflict in South Asia focusing on India and in particular the continuing Hindu-Muslim tensions, and look at possible reasons for the continuing conflict which appears to have escalated since the withdrawal of British Rule from India. Multiple events had shaped the Indian subcontinent with
I decided to visit a Hindu temple because the Hindu religion was the religion that I knew the least about and was interested in. This assignment gave me an opportunity to learn more about this religion and what their worship services and rituals were like. The temple that I went to was called BAPS Shri Swaminaryan Mandir and it was located in Lilburn. As soon as I walked in, I was amazed by the beautiful architectural design of this Temple. It seemed like it took a lot of hard work and dedication to make the place what it is now. While I was at the temple, I watched the Hindus perform an ancient Vedic ritual called the Abhishek, a ritual bathing to honor the murti of their God.