Bin Laden has become the spectre haunting the West, the architect not just of 9/11 but of a worldwide assault on Western values and way of life. It is a myth that has helped fuel wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, destabilize Pakistan, reinforce autocracies in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and elsewhere, and erode rights and liberties, from the imposition of draconian domestic anti-terror laws to the obscenity of extraordinary rendition to the international affront that is Guantanamo Bay. Bin Laden’s legacy has not simply been the murderous ideology he has promoted or the wanton slaughter he has unleashed. It has also been the undermining in the West of those very values that the ‘war on terror’ supposedly seeks to defend. The real challenge to bin Laden and al-Qaeda, and its medieval, terror-laden theology, has come not from the West’s war on terror but from the Arab Spring, from the revolts that have shaken the region from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen to Syria.
The Muslims had established their rule which the Christians saw as a direct threat to their religious interests and ideology. Therefore, the Europeans believed that by invading Jerusalem they would accomplish their religious goals which was to put back Jerusalem under their control. The Crusades had negative effects on the Muslims because they were depicted as savages and heathens, and this also made them become more angry and fierce towards Europeans and non Muslims. It would have been difficult for them to convert other people if they viewed them as savages and heathens. Usmah Ibn Munqidh (1175) noted “he cannot but glorify Allah and sanctify him, for he sees them as animals possessing the virtues of courage and fighting, but nothing else; just as animals have only the virtues of strength and carrying loads.” Muslim rule was very prosperous in Spain and the Middle East, but the Roman Catholic Church could not accept the fact that Jerusalem was being ruled by non Christians.The Muslims had the suspicion that Europeans wanted to colonize their territories and to take away their possessions and resources.
Jihad is supposed to be an internal struggle however; people often confuse it with an external struggle in which they use violence for dominance. “Despite the fact that Jihad is not supposed to include aggressive warfare, this has occurred. Jihad means to counter such threats and assert the predominance of Islam.” Intercollegiate Review; Spring2002, Vol. 37 Issue 2, p24-32, 9p Just and Unjust War in the Terrorist Age. Many people consider Jihad to be a movement which causes a problem in the Muslim community because of the misinterpretation of the religious beliefs.
Certainly these changes were massive, quite abrupt and differed drastically from the norm; however that does not necessarily make them bad. Except, that is how they are viewed by many historians today. The historian N.Reeves believes Akhenaten was unsuccessful, but more in his religion reforms. 'For ordinary folk, there is little doubt that Akhenaten's actions as king over time inflicted the greatest misery: the people were confused by the man's religious vision, frightened by the ruthless manner in which it was imposed and quite likely appalled by his personal behaviour.' Reeves believe that the changes would have confusing and scary for the common people.
There was a period where the aggressive and hostile papacy came into conflict with empires and monarchs that led to the East-West Schism of 1054. The papacy made strides to gain its independence from secular rulers. This was helped by the fact that the church was marshalling for the use of armed forces by Christians. The result of this was very intense and led to the increase in Christian piety and the interest of taking the Palestine from Muslims using the notion of “Just War”. The core of this school of thought was that non-Christians needed not to be forced to accept the religion or should they be physically humiliated for having a different faith apart from Christianity.
“The worldwide outbreak of revolution against colonialism and imperialism, the entrenchment of totalitarian states, menace of war, overpopulation, international disorder, and super technology” (177) all these things too were contributing factors to the decline of the nation. All of these things shattered our view of the perfect world but we chose to respond to these
It can be agreed that the popularity of the rebellions and the slow reaction of the government made it possible for them to pose some challenge to the monarch and state. However, the lack of efficient leadership, causes and locations of the rebellions limited the amount of challenge posed. The protests in the sixteenth century could pose a dangerous challenge to the monarch and the state in the years 1536-69 because of their popularity. The rebellions, especially the Pilgrimage of Grace, involved a wide variety of people who shared similar grievances. Like Source W says: ‘the Pilgrimage of Grace mustered enough support to take
This conformity derives from the constant fear of alienation from a society which finds itself on the edge of a vast continent. Such fear within this conformist society makes it difficult for the authorities to admit that the claims made by the girls are fraudulent as to do this would defy the actions taken by those in authority. Those in authority understand that to go back on their actions not only makes the law appear fragile to those within Salem, but also directly challenges their power by appearing weak and indecisive. One of the most notable aspects of the play is the introduction of the spiritual and legal leaders within Salem as the ‘emergency’ they believe exists in their town develops. For the religious leaders, their introduction is caused by their desire to act upon their religious principles to target the problem.
Life during the first crusade was miserable and evil. Political considerations were also very important. The first crusade was a great example for the other crusades, but the others didn’t follow the same path. They also gave Christians an opportunity to vent their anger against Jerusalem’s
The rigid and apprehensive nature of the society encourages conflict as it denies the individuals the opportunity for legitimately voicing and enunciating ones true self. The political, religious and personal conflict between the characters comes from their deeply held fears and one rightly wonders just how religious some characters are. This “hellfire and brimstone” version of Christianity is so twisted as to summon full hearty terror. Like in many other instances it is barely recognizable,