The Civilian and the Savage The existence of the civilized is directly reliant on the existence of the barbaric. Concepts of refinement and order can only exist when presented in opposition to savagery, but what defines the civilized? What is the difference between the citizen and the caveman? In the 10th century Islamic Empire, there was a plethora of distinguishing factors that marked the chasm between the dignified Muslims and the beast like “others”. The record of the Bulgharid envoy Ibn Fadlan’s journey from Baghdad to the land of the Saqaliba people, near the Itil River in modern day Russia, offers insight into how Muslims defined themselves in opposition to the multitude of people in their empire. Ibn Fadlan creates a detailed description of the way of life …show more content…
In other words, to the Muslim world an unclean person was an uncivilized person. This is especially true in the case of the Rus. Ibn Fadlan describes how these people are not only filthy, but how their practice of washing their face before dinner with a wash basin full of the spit, hair, and mucus of the men who first used the bowl was utterly disgusting (47). The importance of grooming habits does not end at the level of personal hygiene, but rather it extends to exactly how one gets clean. When Ibn Fadlan describes the Saqaliba people, he records that they have a mixed sex bath house. While he does explain that men and women do not engage in intercourse in the bath house, it is hard to imagine that a religion that advocates the veiling of women to promote modesty would be highly tolerant of a bath house where women were exposed to men fully. Modesty was one of the key features of a civilized society in the Islamic Empire, and the mixed bathing houses of the Saqaliba quickly isolated them from any identification of a civilized tribe. The same issue of modesty is addressed in how men and women dress in these tribes. Returning shortly to the Ghuzz Turks, Ibn Fadlan’s discomfort
Two of the most powerful powers in the post-classical period were the Arabian and Byzantine empires. Each had different political, religious, and economic differences that defined their respective cultures, and managing to create vast empires that greatly rivaled each other.
Guy Sajer’s The Forgotten Soldier is a work notable not only for its vivid and uncompromising account of his experience as a member of the Wehrmacht in World War II, but also for its subtle and incisive commentary about the very nature of war itself. What is perhaps most intriguing about Sajer’s novel is his treatment of the supposedly “universal” virtues present within war such as professionalism, patriotism, camaraderie, and self-sacrifice. Sajer introduces a break between how war is thought about in the abstract and how it has actually been conducted historically.
Throughout history, war has been the catalyst that has compelled otherwise-ordinary people to discard, at least for its duration, their longstanding beliefs about the immorality of killing their fellow human beings. In sum, during periods of war, people’s views about killing others are fundamentally transformed from abhorrence to glorification due in large part to the decisions that are made by their political leaders. In this regard, McMahan points out that, “As soon as conditions arise to which the word ‘war’ can be applied, our scruples vanish and killing people no longer seems a horrifying crime but becomes instead a glorious achievement” (vii). Therefore, McMahan argues that the transformation of mainstream views about the morality of killing during times of war are misguided and flawed since they have been based on the traditional view that different moral principles somehow apply in these circumstances. This traditional view about a just war presupposes the morality of the decision to go to war on the part of political leaders in the first place and the need to suspend traditional views about the morality of killing based on this
In the novel All quiet on the western front by Erich Maria Remarque one of the major themes he illustrates is the effects of war on a soldier 's humanity. Paul the protagonist is a German soldier who is forced into war with his comrades that go through dehumanizing violence. War is a very horrid situation that causes soldiers like Paul to lose their innocence by stripping them from happiness and joy in life. The symbols Remarque uses to enhance this theme is Paul 's books and the potato pancakes to depict the great scar war has seared on him taking all his connections to life. Through these symbols they deepen the theme by visually depicting war’s impact on Paul. Paul’s books represent the shadow war that is casted upon Paul and his loss of innocence. This symbol helps the theme by depicting how the war locked his heart to old values by taking his innocence. The last symbol that helps the theme are the potato pancakes. The potato pancakes symbolize love and sacrifice by Paul’s mother that reveal Paul emotional state damaged by the war with his lack of happiness and gratitude.
Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel All Quiet on the Western Front is based on World War I; it portrays themes involving suffering, comradeship, chance and dehumanization. The novel is narrated by Paul, a young soldier in the German military, who fights on the western front during The Great War. Like many German soldiers, Paul and his fellow friends join the war after listening to the patriotic language of the older generation and particularly Kantorek, a high school history teacher. After being exposed to unbelievable scenes on the front, Paul and his fellow friends realize that war is not as glorifying and heroic as the older generation has made it sound. Paul and his co-soldiers continuously see horrors of war leading them to become hardened, robot-like objects with one goal: the will to survive.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, no one imagined that the next great world power would emerge from Saudi Arabia. Especially, because ancient empires thought that the land was worthless but they didn’t know that it had great trade routes. Trade brought them in connection with other civilizations and that’s how the city of Mecca, located in Saudi Arabia became known. The city of Mecca was a mix of religious beliefs, they used to worship many gods and had their own rituals. The world of Islam took place in Mecca where Muhammad was born in 570 CE. He became known as “the Prophet,” he was meant to be God’s final prophet. The main two groups of Islam are the Shia and Sunni; which they were created after Muhammad’s death. The Islam religion as
Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 1991. Print.
Rahman, Fazlur. Islam & Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1982. Print.
Lewis, Bernard. The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years. New York: Scribner,
Savagery tightens its grip over the country, as the youngest of men are forced to mobilize, and take action against the impending enemy; Willard and the crew arrive at an outpost by helicopter, where other men are seen to be preparing for the war on the ground below them. Hansen mentions how Coppola’s focus is very evident in scenes like these; this scene doesn’t simply display men gearing up for combat, but also “undercuts referential illusionism, resists the “previous experience effect” of conventional narrative” (Hansen). Upon arrival, they take a patrol boat, and embark on what will be an arduous mission. As Willard and his crew descend via helicopter to the outpost, a long shot of the ground below them is given, with other helicopters
Much of past civilizations have endured many failures and triumphs throughout their existence. In the third century, there were many civilizations that started to flourish. One of these civilizations that started to expand was the Byzantine civilization. The Byzantine civilization, also regarded as Byzantium, was part of the Roman Empire which was divided in 395 AD. Byzantium had shared the same attitude, as the Roman Empire, toward exercising its authority over its citizens and throughout its empire. The Islamic civilization had started thrive in the fifth century. The Islamic civilization was unified together as unison by Islam and it has expanded its civilization throughout parts of Europe through jihad. Because of their expansions throughout parts of Europe, they shared various similarities which include their political system, social structure, and economy.
The Impact of War on Civilians 1. Sources A and B do both agree on people's reaction to the food situation. Source B is slightly more exaggerated that people were very badly affected and gives the impression that the reaction was greater than Source A makes out. Source A only mentions that some foods were uncommon to have sine the rationing was introduced but it was not extreme whereas source B implies that civilians had very little to eat and were on the verge of starving, this would lead them to react a lot worst to the food crisis. I know this because source A says: 'No one has had any cheese for a long time, butter is very hard to get and even margarine is not to be had.'
In this book , Esposito provides a succinct, up-to-date survey of the Islamic experience, an introduction to the faith, belief, and practice of Islam from its origins to its contemporary resurgence. He traces the emergence and development of this dynamic faith and its impact on world history and politics. He discusses the formation of Islamic belief and practice (law, theology, philosophy, and mysticism), chronicling the struggle of Muslims to define and adhere to their Islamic way of life. Equally important is the essential information Esposito provides on the contemporary world of Islam, from Muslim responses to the challenges of colonialism and modernization to the reassertion of Islam in politics and society.
Kenneth Jost. 2005. “Understanding Islam.” Annual Editions: Anthropology 11/12, 34th Edition. Elvio Angeloni. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Islamic Civilization has been built over the course of over 1300 years. Unlike many other civilization, its rise and spread can be attributed entirely to converts to Islam. It started as a religious movement but has become a historical entity, body of knowledge and a physical presence throughout the world. It is not same as an Islamic community, which can exist in a small neighborhood or spread across an entire geographical region. It is not the “Islamic world” which is current construct or label that is used to simplify a complex demographic. It is a world civilization that defies convenient labels or stereotypes. It is concrete, and stands in defiance against what Bauman calls