Religion and the Syrian Civil War

Religion played a minor but important role in the conflict in Syria. A United Nations report released in late 2012 said that the conflict was becoming â€Å"overtly sectarian† in some parts of the country, with Syria’s various religious communities finding themselves on the opposite sides of the fight between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and Syria’s fractured opposition. Growing Religious Divide At its core, the civil war in Syria is not a religious conflict. The dividing line is one’s loyalty to Assad’s government. However, some religious communities tend to be more supportive of the regime than others, fueling mutual suspicion and religious intolerance in many parts of the country. Syria is an Arab country with a Kurdish and Armenian minority. In term of religious identity, most of the Arab majority belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, with several Muslim minority groups associated with Shiite Islam. Christians from different denominations represent a smaller percentage of the population. The emergence among anti-government rebels of hard-line Sunni Islamist militias fighting for an Islamic state has alienated the minorities. Outside interference from  Shiite Iran, Islamic State militants who seek to include  Syria as part of their widespread caliphate and Sunni Saudi Arabia  makes matters worse, feeding into the wider Sunni-Shiite tension in the Middle East. Alawites   President Assad belongs to the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam that is specific to Syria (with small population pockets in Lebanon). The Assad family has been in power since 1970 (Bashar al-Assads father, Hafez al-Assad, served as president from 1971 until his death in 2000), and although it presided over a secular regime, many Syrians think Alawites have enjoyed privileged access to top government jobs and business opportunities. After the outbreak of the anti-government uprising in 2011, the vast majority of Alawites rallied behind the Assad regime, fearful of discrimination if the Sunni majority came to power. Most of the top rank in Assads army and intelligence services are Alawites, making the Alawite community as a whole closely identified with the government camp in the civil war. However, a group of religious Alawite leaders claimed independence from Assad recently, begging the question of whether the Alawite community is itself splintering in its support of Assad. Sunni Muslim Arabs A majority of Syrians are Sunni Arabs, but they are politically divided. True, most of the fighters in rebel opposition groups under the  Free Syrian Army  umbrella come from the Sunni provincial heartlands, and many Sunni Islamists don’t consider Alawites to be real Muslims. The armed confrontation between largely Sunni rebels and the Alawite-led government troops at one point led some observers to see Syria’s civil war as a conflict between Sunnis and Alawites. But, it’s not that simple. Most of the regular government soldiers fighting the rebels are Sunni recruits (though thousands have defected to various opposition groups), and Sunnis hold leading positions in the government, the bureaucracy, the ruling Baath Party and the business community. Some businessmen and middle-class Sunnis support the regime because they want to protect their material interests. Many others are simply scared by Islamist groups within the rebel movements and don’t trust the opposition. In any case, the bedrock of support from sections of the Sunni community has been key to Assad’s survival. Christians The Arab Christian minority in Syria at one time enjoyed relative security under Assad, integrated by the regime’s secular nationalist ideology. Many Christians fear that this politically repressive but religiously tolerant dictatorship will be replaced by a Sunni Islamist regime that will discriminate against minorities, pointing to the prosecution of Iraqi Christians by Islamist extremists after the fall of Saddam Hussein. This led to the Christian establishment: the merchants, top bureaucrats, and religious leaders, to support the government or at least distance themselves from what they saw as a Sunni uprising in 2011. And although there are many Christians in the ranks of the political opposition, such as the Syrian National Coalition, and among the pro-democracy youth activists, some rebel groups now consider all Christians to be collaborators with the regime. Christian leaders, meanwhile, are now faced with the moral obligation to speak out against Assads extreme violence and atrocities against all Syrian citizens regardless of their faith. The Druze Ismailis The Druze and the Ismailis are two distinct Muslim minorities believed to have developed out of the Shiite branch of Islam. Not unlike other minorities, The Druze and Ismailis fear that the regime’s potential downfall will give way to chaos and religious persecution. The reluctance of their leaders to join the opposition has often been interpreted as tacit support for Assad, but that isnt the case. These minorities are caught between extremist groups like the Islamic State, Assads military and opposition forces in what one Middle East analyst, Karim Bitar, from the think tank IRIS calls the tragic dilemma of religious minorities. Twelver Shiites While most Shiites in Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon belong to the mainstream Twelver branch, this principal form of Shiite Islam is only a tiny minority in Syria, concentrated in parts of the capital city of Damascus. However, their numbers swelled after 2003 with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees during the Sunni-Shiite civil war in that country. Twelver Shiites fear a radical Islamist takeover of Syria and largely support the Assad regime. With Syria’s ongoing descent into conflict, some Shiites moved back to Iraq. Others organized militias to defend their neighborhoods from Sunni rebels, adding yet another layer to the fragmentation of Syria’s religious society.

Personality Assessment of Jackie Robinson Essay - 1355 Words

Personality Assessment of Jackie Robinson Every individual in our society is different; each person is known or described differently from one another. The Big Five Factors: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, are thought to describe and outline personality in all cultures and language families. They characterize the differences in humankind and can be used to predict or explain job performance. Jackie Robinson was a man who I would describe as having a strong and persevering personality. He grew up at a time when racial tensions were at their worst, and yet, managed to succeed and follow through with everything he faced. At times he was forced to suck it up, although†¦show more content†¦with guts enough not to fight back (78). Robinson demonstrated the opposite of impulsiveness in almost all of his actions. Over time, he had learned how to exercise self-control -- to answer insults, violence, and injustice with silence -- and had learned how to earn th e respect of (his) teammates (81). Jackie Robinsons score for extraversion was a 78, meaning that although he was extraverted, at times he demonstrated some introverted traits. Although he was a friendly individual, Robinson, in many situations, was forced to keep to himself. In addition, he liked to take it easy whenever possible, gearing up for whatever was to come his way. He also, however, had some extraverted traits, including the fact that from the time he started school, he was always active, whether it be in sports, or working with the First African American Bank or the NAACP. He was a true leader with the First African American Bank and the NAACP, speaking in front of many people, and being aggressive enough to accomplish what was needed. Robinson constantly demonstrated attempts to be gregarious and to be recognized by others. Although he remembers standing alone at first base -- the only black man on the field, he fought hard to become just another guy. Jackie Robin son never quit because things went the wrong way. If anything, hardships forced him to work harder at succeeding. When he went on into the business world, he always strove to learn as muchShow MoreRelatedHbr When Your Core Business Is Dying74686 Words   |  299 Pageslarger discussion about the company’s system for uncovering misconduct. How should the company strengthen that system – and what roles should the board and management play? Commentators include Stephen R. Hardis, Hal Shear, Mary Rowe, and Jackson W. Robinson. 132 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Social responsibility and global competitiveness are all well and good, readers say, but not if they emerge from companies that are simultaneously corrupting the political process. 111 138 EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES 144Read MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pagesendorsement by bodies such as the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK. The impact of NICE decisions on cost-effectiveness reverberates well beyond the UK, as countries have begun to collaborate internationally in their value assessments. Switching to generics is one way to save costs. Computers can print prescriptions in generic rather than branded form, enabling pharmacists to substitute the cheap generic version of the drug. Payers are increasingly effective in establishing generic

India and the Life of Jethi Essay Example For Students

India and the Life of Jethi Essay The birth of a girl child ‘Jethi’ was not a happy moment for the family. Her grandparents and father were very disappointed by her birth and they absolutely hated her because they were expecting a boy. Only her mother loved her because she had seen the same things in her childhood. She made every possible attempt to take time for her daughter and feed her. But, her mother-in-law made her busier in her work so that she could not make time for Jethi. Even if Jethi was crying, no one made any attempt to see what she required and why was she crying. It was only after her mother had completed her work that she could feed her and gave her time. This excessive love given to Jethi was not bearable for her father and she would beat her mother without any reason. So, the life of Jethi’s mother is a highlight of the life of a woman in the 19th century. As she grew up and became about 3 years old, she started running about and also talks a bit in her childish manner. Whenever his father would play with her brother, she would run to her father to express her love for him, but he would scold her instead and tell her to go away. Her grandmother would push her back whenever Jethi even came closer to her. Jethi would feel extremely hurt and cry for a very long time without receiving any sort of consolation from anyone. The small child, even after receiving such an improper behaviour from had a lot of love and respect for her family. By, the age of 7, Jethi was forced to help her mother around in the family chores and learn how to cook food, clean the house and serve the members of the family as it would help her to adjust to the needs of her in-laws after her marriage. She had to get up at 5am in the morning, complete all the tiring works and go to bed at about 12 AM at night. She was not allowed to sleep in between the daytime. She was made to work very hard and when she questioned her parents on this, they would tell her that she would lead a tougher life after marriage, which would install a fear into her minds regarding marriage. At the age of 12, Jethi was married to a 33 year old man who was a father of 3 and whose wife had passed away. She was not aware of what was happening in her life. All the while she had to cover her face. She had to follow the religious customs and traditions that were prevalent during marriage. She didn’t even see the face of the person with whom she was married. Since, her parents were poor and had the burden of her 6 brothers and sisters, they married her to the person because of which they didn’t have to pay dowry. Suddenly from a 12 year old little girl, she became the mother of 3 children. After marriage, her life had become worse than before. She had to work hard alone in performing the household works. Get up early, work hard to fulfil the demands of her in-laws, have food after everyone has, take care of 3 children, and sleep late at night after everyone in the house has slept; this was the daily life of a tender age of 12 years. As time passed by, she turned 18. But, time had become worse and worse. She was already the mother of 3 and now she was the mother of 3 more. She had to face the criticism of giving birth to two daughters out of 3 children; she had no option but to keep quiet. She had the same love and affection for all the three children but she had to keep to the differences present in the society between boys and girls. In her house, the boys were given more rights than the girls and she had to quietly watch everything going on. Life had planned many more challenges for her. .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 , .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 .postImageUrl , .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 , .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4:hover , .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4:visited , .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4:active { border:0!important; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4:active , .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4 .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u670923a3c677abba219f4c1230c28db4:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Road Not Taken Vs. Mother To Son EssayHer husband expired when she was only 20. At this small age, she was made a widow. A widow is considered to be the most impure thing in Hindu culture. She has to wear just a white saree without any jewellery and ornaments. She was not supposed to attend any sort of cultural or religious or any sort of function. She has to sleep on the floor on a mat, things that she eats is also restricted to very little, she has to depend on someone else for her children’s needs, she had to compromise on everything because she was dependent on someone else. She could not fulfil her own needs. Jethi had to face the similar consequences. Her life had become very miserable. Jethi’s parents were unwilling to accept her back as they thought that she will bring her bad fate to their house also. Jethi very often thought of committing suicide but she had the responsibility of 6 children. After many years, when her children were getting married, she could not attend the functions or perform any sort of task.

The Convergence of the Twain Essay Example

The Convergence of the Twain Paper In April 1912, the RMS Titanic sank, with the loss of 1,517 passengers. In the weeks that followed, numerous responses to the disaster were published, one of which was Hardys The Convergence of the Twain. The poem portrays a view of the disaster relating to the complex relationship between the two dominant forces of man and nature, and the understatedly devastating consequences of the consummation of mans hubristically flawed ambitions with the enduringly relentless power of the Spinner of the Years. The challenge of public poetry also alters the ways in which Hardys literary techniques of theme, structure; form and imagery combine to form the verse that went out to the grieving masses of 1912. In terms of theme, The Convergence of the Twain follows the story of the Titanics sinking, as well as exploring another side of the disaster, away from the predictable hysteria and grief. One of the main themes is that of juxtaposition, and the idea of the conflict, or consummation between the eternal verities. Ideas surrounding this theme include And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she, referring to the contrasts between life and death, and with the capitalisation in Pride of Life, elevating mans ambitions to those on a par with the omnipotence of the higher verities, of Time and Fate, of The Immanent Will and The Spinner of the Years. This juxtaposition in premise between the desires, actions and feelings of man against the unflinching rigour of the eternal verities is also one of the enduring themes of the poem, as it is in many of Hardys more confessional works of verse. We will write a custom essay sample on The Convergence of the Twain specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Convergence of the Twain specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Convergence of the Twain specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Reflections of this include the idea of Times unflinching rigour reducing a person to one phantom figure in At Castle Boterel, and the intimate and confirmatory lyric of Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me being reduced to the bitter indictment of And the woman, calling through the passage of time in The Voice. This suggests that Hardy keeps his main stylistic themes consistent, and applies them to differing events more in terms of scale, or levels of contrast, rather than changing the actual content of the themes. The form and structure of The Convergence of the Twain is very much unlike many of Hardys poems, a possible response to the scale of his commitment to write publically or perhaps simply an exploration of form to try and convey his own views, slightly antithetical in themselves, on the disaster. The poem is divided into eleven heroic triplets, self containing the stanzas with the rhyme scheme, and leaving the poem in an isometric form- possibly highlighting the impersonality of Hardys view on the events. Furthermore, these structurally static, contained triplets do not possess the natural speech rhythms caused by the heavy use of caesurae and changes in line length that exist of many of his more personal poems. This process of technique enacting meaning leads to poems like The Voice and Neutral Tones possessing a much deeper, heartfelt message as a result of the effervescent lines, Saying that now you are not as you were and the heavily accented pauses that convey effect and depth- Thus I; faltering forward/Leaves around me falling. This contrast in personal poetry having a more heartfelt feel and the public having a more stagnant, artificially composed nature suggests the impersonality of the public against the deeply confessional verse of the personal, and the lack of pronouns and simple lack of recognition of the dead in The Convergence of the Twain in contrast to the consistent I and You in the personal works adds to this feeling. A further comment that can be made on the form of structure of The Convergence of the Twain is the way that tense is portrayed in the poem, and how this contributes to its effect as well as how it contrasts or identifies with Hardys confessional work. The The Convergence of the Twain has a clear division between tense, and furthermore, this division is also key to the narration of events and the dynamic aspects of the narrative. Stanzas I-V are written entirely in the present tense, as Hardy describes the current situation of The Titanic- Steel chambers, late the pyres/Of her salamandrine fires/Cold currents thrid, and turn to tidal lyres- the ship itself is passive against the metaphor of the music of the tidal lyre sweeping over it, and the cold currents that employ the neologism of thrid to explain the meaning of their power over the once pristine ship. This passive stasis of the poem could highlight Hardys indifference to the loss of those who are described as the opulent, or the simple fact that the ship is now at the bottom of the ocean, at the mercy of the greater forces that Hardy discusses and references with such vigour in stanzas VI-XI. In stanza VI, the tense changes upon the heavily accentuated caesura of Well:, and Hardy proceeds to actively describe the events that contributed to the Titanics downfall- The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything/Prepared a sinister mate, exemplifies this through the stanza wide enjambment highlighting the unstoppable nature of the Will, and the stirs and urges adding to dynamism of the poem. This idea of a clear definition between tense is one that occurs much more sparsely in works of a direct importance to Hardy, as his verse of this type often blurs the boundaries between tense to highlight the distinction, or lack of distinction in his memories and the contrast and confusion between the past and present. Examples of this include lines in The Voice, Saying that now you are not as you were, and the recounting of a memory through present description in At Castle Boterel, Myself and a girlish form benighted/In dry March weather.