Religion is a cultural system of behaviors, practices, world views, ethics, and social organization that relate humanity to an order of existence (Dictionary). With more than 84% of the world affiliating with religion, religion permeates the fabric of our existence by it’s influence on legal systems, nation’s policies, and moral standards (Religion stats). Making up 23% of the world population, the Muslim religion is divided into two sects: Sunni and Shi’a. The separation of the Muslim religion is the longest and largest division in the history of Islam (BBC). Furthermore, the split of religions is exemplified through the characters in The Kite Runner. Amir, the main character and narrator, describes religion as a part of every day life in …show more content…
A Caliph is the chief Muslim civil and religious ruler, regarded as the successor of Muhammad (Dictionary). Abu Bakr was accepted as the Caliph by much of the community, which saw the succession in political and not spiritual terms. Shi’as believed that the Prophet 's son-in-law and cousin, Ali, should be Caliph. They understood that the Prophet had appointed him as the sole interpreter of his legacy, in both political and spiritual terms (Shuster). As time has progressed, Sunni and Shi’a have not only grown apart because of the leadership conflict, but they have separated theologically. The difference of religious rituals and each sect’s interpretation of Islamic law has ultimately not caused hostility between the two sects (BBC). Furthermore, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the Taliban was created. It emerged as a a resistance movement intended to eject the Soviet troops from Afghanistan. The Taliban consisted of Shi’a aggressors who stereotyped and attacked the Sunni Muslims. After the Taliban emerged in power, they created a new system of laws in Afghanistan. Talibans use violence and execution to enforce their beliefs. The system of enforcement further separated the Sunnis and Shi’as (‘Who are the Taliban?’). In today’s world, Sunnis continue to dominate Shi’as. Although both sects live in peace, Shi’a remains inferior, which leads to conflict. Because of the power and wealth imbalance, Shi’as make up the
By definition, Islam is a religion of those who obey the doctrines of the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad, who in the 7th century lived in Arabia, initiated a religious movement that throughout the Middle East was supported by the Arabs. Today, not only in Middle East origins, Islam has adherents, where it is the dominant religion in all countries (Non-Arab, and Arab), but also in other parts of Africa, Asia and, of course, as well as in the United States. Those who are loyal to Islam are called Muslims. The Sunni, Shiite conflict in Iraq started long before the ruling of Saddam Hussein, but when Hussein became Prime Minister of the country the conflict between the two religious sects was taken to a new level. Right when Hussein gained full power, under his control, began years of persecution of the Shiite Muslims in the country. But, before this happened, the conflict was based upon Muhammad and who was to rule after he had died. When Muhammad had died there were many disputes on who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad after his death in 632. Shiites believed that the prophet’s son-in-law, Ali, was to be the successor. Both consider the Koran the word of God. But, devoutness and religious practice distinguish between the two sects. However, Islam teaches that all Islam is equal so Sunni and Shiite sects fight with each other not only because of “hatred” but, also because of religious
It has been generally acknowledged that religious belief is a powerful force in society. Religion has been a major component of human culture since nearly the beginning of man. As we emerged as a high intellect species, we developed many different ideologies to answer some of our unanswerable questions. Since these developments, we continue to evolve as a species and the ideologies we have created evolve with us in our endlessly changing societies. As civilization grows, our different cultures clashed for many different reasons, one of which has been religion. As the human race has developed, its growth gas been accompanied by a large number of recorded genocides and religious wars. As religion grew, the power of religious officials increased immensely. These leaders have led clashes between religions which resulted in mass killings throughout history. With that said, can the negative outweigh the positive effects of religion throughout the course of human history?
Clifford Geertz, in his essay “Religion as a Cultural System”, presents what he considers to be the definition of religion. According to him, religion is about symbols and people use these symbols as a guide for their view of the world and how they should behave in that world. Religion, states Geertz is “a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic” (Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures, page 90). What he is trying to do in this essay is provide the reader with a way of understanding religion by
The ethnic cleansing in Afghanistan significantly decreased the population of Hazaras in attempt to keep the Pashtuns as the vast majority of the population. As the minority and as the Shi’a, the Hazaras are oppressed to this day. In the historical fiction novel, The Kite Runner, one of the protagonists play a major role as the persecuted one during the time of war and tension between the two racial groups of the Hazaras or Shi’a and the Pashtun or Sunni. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses the historical conflicts in Afghanistan to convey the impact of social classes and ethnic tensions on opportunity.
Historically, the Sunnis and the Shi'ites have been at opposite sides of the ethnic/cultural/religious and political fence. Such differences have led to numerous violent encounters between the two groups, with neither group appearing to be willing to make any concessions regarding their differences. This paper will discuss the differences between Shi'ites and Sunnis based on the thesis that these differences are based on conflicting beliefs related to the successor of their Prophet Mohammad.
Back when the religion began and Muhammad had just died, the divide was over who the next caliph should be, but now, it is a struggle over political power. The different views between the different parts of Muslim communities was the start of the separation. The divide escalated from different viewpoints, to violence and extreme prejudice. “The Iraq conflict plays out on several levels between Sunnis and Shiites. First and foremost, it’s about how to share power in a 21st century state”(How the Sunni-Shia Conflict Frames the Current Crisis in Iraq). When the Shiites are in power over a country, the Sunnis are being discriminated and attacked. When the Sunnis are in power over a country, the Shiites are being victimized. “Maliki, a Shiite allied with Iran, became the country’s new leader. Rather than seeking peace between the two groups, critics say he oppressed the Sunnis both inside government and by squashing protests in the street”(How the Sunni-Shia Conflict Frames the Current Crisis in Iraq). Maliki did not try to ease the tensions, but instead, did the exact opposite. If the protesters were Shiites, they would not have been ‘squashed’. The tug-of-war between these two sects over who gains control in government has terminated the other branch of Islam. The political struggle between the Sunni and Shia has come to the point at which the two sects
Philosophy, one of the most open and free studies men or women can explore and master. It’s moral dilemmas and ideals are used extensively across the multi-cultural spectrum to express freedom and redemption to all. One such form of expression, unbounded by ignorance and restrictions, is literature. The author of the book The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini, excellently uses his mastery of the art of literature to express the philosophical ideas of redemption through the uses of imagery, excellent and heart-tugging storytelling, and consistent use of flashbacks. He does so to express that everyone has the inalienable right to redeem themselves and be “good” again, regardless of past hardships.
Today, over eighty-five percent of Muslims are Sunni while less than twenty percent of Muslims are Shiite. Over thousands of years these two groups have been battling over who will be the next caliph. In the recent years this dispute has worsened, causing violent acts to be perpetrated by both sides. Discrimination, political disputes, and oppression have created a chasm between the two groups that will result in further bloodshed before its resolution.
Since the Earth’s inception, humankind has banded together by various abstractions such as language, religion, and art. These abstractions allow us to tangibly define and pass along various concepts. Furthermore, these abstractions make up the characterization of that particular group of individuals, creating what we know as a culture. By definition, culture is “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” (Culture, 2018). There are literally thousands of cultures spanned across the globe. One of these such cultures is that of the country of Afghanistan. Afghanistan is one of the oldest countries in the history of the world, marred by centuries of conflict and decades of war, though
How can the sociological approach to religion help us understand the world in which Martine and Philippa live? The sociological approach to religion is separated into two distinct categories: quantitative methods, and qualitative approaches. I believe that we can better understand Martine and Philippa’s world through qualitative approach. One of the main observations I had was, the relationship between their religion and economic status. The sisters, and the rest of the community looked as if they lived in poverty. The members of the church never seemed to indulge in anything (besides the feast at the end of the film). Overall, the community seemed to be supportive, and were regularly there for each other.
In a world where the crawl of our news feed is overcrowded with stories of corrupting education, poverty and increasing violence - religious discrimination is the man behind the curtain. As an ancient issue accompanying mankind throughout existence, religious discrimination has repeatedly been seen responsible the committing countless human to sins. With differences between people, conflicts form when they do not know how to embrace each other. The differences in people’s religions has made them praise their own religion over others, resulting in many cases of violence and even death ever since the Crusades in 1095 (battle between the Christian and Muslim). The novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, displays the issue of religious
After reading the activity 4.6 and relating it to the concepts in chapter 4 of Heuberger’s book, it is clear that the students’ reaction to the statement of one of their classmates was influenced by the dichotomy culture we live on. It means that “[w]e are likely to accept one side as right and the other as wrong,” right when it consists with our belief system and wrong when it does not (Heuberger 73). We are just the product of multiple influences such as the family, educational institutions, church, clubs, etc. Besides, she was the only student who thought different than the rest of the class.
The Kite Runner is a story about what the people of Afghanistan had and have to go through in everyday life. Afghanistan is a country that is divided between political powers and has religiously idealistic views and beliefs in which results in the creation of poverty, and violence among the people. Afghanistan's culture and traditions is the main basis of the storyline as for the lives of the people who live in Kabul. The Kite runner serves as an eye-opener of a country with such great amount of political disorder. In the Kite runner we see a lot of government, political.
Individuality can not be defined in one definition there are numerous things that make up this word.Being individual is what makes you stand out from the rest of society .You're born with the idea of being your own person. You may rely on your parents at first but as you get older you develop a form of self-reliance. Beliefs, empathy, emotions, backgrounds, and many more things.
What is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action in the form of worship, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. It can be said the Primal religions were in fact not religions. Some may argue Confucianism is not a religion. Others may say Taoism is not a