Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
what are the similarities of christianity judaism islam buddhism and hinduism have in common
differences between hinduism, buddhism, judaism , christianity and islam
the rise of islam
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: what are the similarities of christianity judaism islam buddhism and hinduism have in common
Islamic Religion
Islam has been characterized inequitably by historians and the media as a religion of violence. Islam was mainly spread through Arab territorial conquests. Upon examination, it is not fair to make the generalization that Islam is a religion of violence. One can see when looking at world religion on a whole that Islam was no more violent than any other religion. In fact, not only is Islam not a fundamentally violent philosophy, but we can also see that many other religions normally considered "non-violent," such as Christianity or Hinduism, have been spread through bloody conquest. Thus, in searching for a universal constant of history, we should not fall into the "fallacy of abstractions," and assume that because of isolated incidents and conflicts of territorial ambitions, that all religions have violent tendencies.
Throughout the centuries Islam has been a victim of circumstance. It has been perceived by many as oppressive and cruel. This belief originated over a thousand years ago, when Islamic people first threatened the western world. As they slowly undermined Byzantine authority, Christians became terrified of their presence, resulting in widespread animosity and aversion.
Hindus and Buddhists from the South Asian subcontinent lived under Islamic law for hundreds of years. Eventually, in the twentieth century, split the region into angry factions.
Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, was a great warrior. This invariably led defeated people to believe that he begot a cult of war and violence. Over the centuries, it has developed the ability to instill a sense of holy purpose onto its believers and soldiers, where they go into a battle of certain death for their faith in the holy war. The holy war is still a potent source of conflict and aversion, as many of the problems in the Middle East center around the issue of Islamic Fundamentalism and the holy wars.
Originally, Islam was perceived by western historians as a religion of violence and conquest, "by preying on the caravans of the Quraish, Mohammed weakened them to the point of submission” (Anonymous, 1996). In fact, Mohammed was a warrior, aristocrat, and brilliant strategist, a stark contrast to many other holy men of history. He was forced to both defend his cities and force submission. Because of the strong military powers of his religious predecessors and oppresso...
... middle of paper ...
...hile Hinduism remained relatively non-violent throughout the centuries, when the first Muslim invaders appeared and they clashed in both a philosophical and violent sense. Hindu violence returned in the mid-twentieth century, when they finally regained control of India. They smashed a Muslim temple at Ayodhya, and Sikh and Tamil rebel groups rebel against their authority. What is even more notable about Hinduism, is its rigid caste system, in which peoples have set social classes that are totally unchangeable and are products of the religion. The untouchables were considered as low as animals, and forced to do menial work such as sweeping and leather working. They were forced into a life of separatism and the rest of Hindu culture either ignored them completely or hated them. On the other side of the world, in Central America, the Aztec people were powerful warriors, who swept across the Mexican plains, conquering villages and whole peoples. Their religion consisted of brutal human sacrifices of enemy slaves, in fact the sacrifices grew so many in number that they were watching their population decline significantly, which eventually allowed the Spanish invaders to dominate them.
George Mead and Charles Cooley developed symbolic interaction and believed that symbols are in everyday life. Symbolic interaction is the human action and interaction are comprehensible through the exchange of communication or symbols. Humans are represented by acting and social interaction. Symbols are anything that can be specified, referred, or pointed to. For example, a friend, book, or language. Language gives people a way to negotiate meaning through symbols. People identify meaning in speech and acts with others. Symbolic interaction examines that people use symbols, and interpret the meanings of those actions and symbols for themselves and for
Cobb, Paul. "Introduction." Ibn Munqidh, Usama. Book of Contemplation Islam and the Crusades. New York: Penguin Books, 2008. xv-xlii.
Violent Jihad as a struggle against one’s enemies has its root in [these] situations. When the Islamic religion spread over the region, Jihad became a religious tenet and assumed the form of a peaceful, internal struggle to strive for the good and reject the evil in one’s action. Violent, external conflict was never r...
Kephalos defines justice as returning what one has received (Ten Essays, Leo Strauss, page 169). On the other hand, Kaphalos’ son, Polemarchus, states that justice is found in harming one’s enemies and helping ones’ friends (Republic, 332D). The final opinion in the discussion is given by Thrasymachus as he says: “justice is nothing else than the interest of the stronger” (Republic, 338C). However, the lack of knowledge to apply their definitions in reality creates a problem for Socrates. For example, Polemarchos’ view on justice requires a person to be able to distinguish between a friend and an enemy (History of political philosophy, Leo Strauss, 36). Socrates then refutes their definitions of justice and states that it is an advantage to be just and a disadvantage to be unjust. According to Socrates’ philosophy, “a just man will harm no man” and the application of justice becomes an art conjoined with philosophy, the medicine of the soul (History of political philosophy, Leo Strauss, 36). Therefore, the use of philosophy in ruling a city is necessary and the end goal of justice cannot be achieved unless the philosophers
The concept of justice is an extremely vague and an ambiguous subject. Its characterization in the political arena, as well as in personal spheres may differ from person to person, as explored in Plato’s The Republic. The view of justice by Plato is understood by the need for structure and balance, represented by the groupings of the social classes, as well as of the soul; the incessant need for justice highlights the imperfections of humanity and demands balance and an ideal structure for societal convention.
Propaganda produced in the Arab world against the United States and the Western world, alongside the incitement and propaganda aimed against Israel, the Zionist movement and the Jewish people. Among those participating in the anti-American incitement and propaganda are Arab regimes, as well as the media and the education systems throughout the various Arab countries. This mechanism of incitement and propaganda reflects to a large extent the actual "mood" of hostility towards the United States and the entire Western world, prevalent within the Arab and Muslim society. Feelings of hostility are cultivated by terrorism-supporting countries with explicitly anti-American policies, such as Syria and Iran, as well as by Islamic movements, left-wing organizations and various "popular fronts". The more Western-oriented Arab countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan generally tolerate the existence of the incitement and propaganda system, though they at times attempt to limit its impact, lest it should affect their relations with the United States (Ayubi, Nazih, 1999). With the emergence of Islam in the seventh century, conflict immediately emerged between Muslims and Christians. Both religions had periods where its followers were inspired with a mood of hatred and violence (Spencer, H, 1998). Therefore, this hatred led to the rejection of Western civilization, since the West was evil and Westerners were enemies of God. God had enemies and needed human help in order to overthrow them. This was the dualism, which was inherent in Islam. Most people in the United States and more generally in the Western world find it impossible to understand the motives and purposes that drove the perpetrators of these crimes, those who sent them and ...
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote “One man’s justice is another’s injustice.” This statement quite adequately describes the relation between definitions of justice presented by Polemarchus and Thrasymachus in Book I of the Republic. Polemarchus initially asserts that justice is “to give to each what is owed” (Republic 331d), a definition he picked up from Simonides. Then, through the unrelenting questioning of Socrates, Polemarchus’ definition evolves into “doing good to friends and harm to enemies” (Republic 332d), but this definition proves insufficient to Socrates also. Eventually, the two agree “that it is never just to harm anyone” (Republic 335d). This definition is fundamental to the idea of a common good, for harming people according to Socrates, only makes them “worse with respect to human virtue” (Republic 335 C). Polemarchus also allows for the possibility of common good through his insistence on helping friends. To Polemarchus nothing is more important than his circle of friends, and through their benefit he benefits, what makes them happy pleases him.
Islam is portrayed and is commonly accepted as the most violent and largest direct threat to the West. This is a generalization made by most of the West, but it is not particularly the West or the Islamic people’s fault. There is constant turmoil in Islamic countries in the Middle East and these conflicts are what make the news in the West. The only representation in the media that the Islamic nation gets is that of war. Though most Islamic people are not violent, the select few that do participate in terrorist groups give the rest of the Islam nation a bad image.
Socrates and Cephalus begin to have a conversation about the meaning of justice. Cephalus states that justice is man living up to his legal obligations and being honest. Socrates refutes Cephalus with the example that “everyone would surely agree that if a man borrows weapons from a sane friend, and if he goes mad and asks for them back, the friend should not return them, and would not be just if he did” (Plato 5). So speaking the truth and repaying what one borrows is not the definition of justice. Polemarchus argues that being just involves helping friends and causing harm to enemies. This is proven inaccurate when Plato argues that our friends are not always virtuous and the people we view as enemies are not always societies worst people. Thrasymachus argues that justice can be defined as the advantage of the stronger. It is only worth it to be just if it benefits
There are many cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated. Hinduism can be traced to the Indus Valley Civilization that took place in 4000 BC to 2200 BC. India was a land of diverse cultures, religions, races and ethnicities. Hinduism was the unifying umbrella that brought peace to the land. The belief in Ahimsa or non-violence reduced warfare. In Ancient India, the caste system brought about social order but later this system decayed and gave rise to social ills. Many other cultures and invaders of the region influenced the development of Hinduism over the centuries. When the Indo-Europeans invaded India during 1500 to 500 BC, their religion of Vedas also greatly influenced the indigenous beliefs of Hinduism. Over 80% of Indians still practice Hinduism in modern India. The Hindus brought up in Hindu families are so steeped in the various Hindu traditions from infancy that they are totally imbibed into the Hindu religious system. The sages and seers over the ages held a prominent place in the religious beliefs of the region and their teachings of non-violence, unity, prayers and a life of righteousness have greatly influenced Hinduism.
Justice. What is justice? In this world where many people look out only for themselves, justice can be considered the happiness of oneself. But because selfish men do not always decide our standards in society, to find a definition, society should look at the opinions of many. Just as in the modern society to which we live, where everyone feels justice has a different meaning, the society of Plato also struggled with the same problem. In this paper, I will look into the Republic, one of the books of Plato that resides heavily on defining an answer to the meaning of Justice, and try to find an absolute definition. I will also give my opinion on what I personally think justice is.
Many Christians are taught that Islam teaches the worship of a false God; that Islam was and still is spread by force and terror; that all Muslims are Arabs, and that both oppose the policies of the United States and the essentials of democracy. Millions of Christians have been taught for decades that Islam is an intolerant religion, forbidding the free choice and practice of any religion except Islam. By far the great majority of citizens of the West continue to teach, repeat and believe the distortions and prejudices created centuries ago by a European civilization which regarded Islam as the "traditional enemy."
Robinson, B.A. (2002, October 14). Islam: Is it a religion of violence or of peace.
Plato’s interpretation of justice as seen in ‘The Republic’ is a vastly different one when compared to what we and even the philosophers of his own time are accustomed to. Plato would say justice is the act of carrying out one’s duties as he is fitted with. Moreover, if one’s duties require one to lie or commit something else that is not traditionally viewed along with justice; that too is considered just by Plato’s accounts in ‘The Republic.’ I believe Plato’s account of justice, and his likely defense against objections are both clear and logical, thus I will endeavor to argue his views as best as I can.
In the Republic that Plato wrote in 380 before J.C. to give his opinion of the political state and justice, many definitions are given through the character of Socrates, who was Plato's mentor, and through characters inspired of Greek philosophers, generally sophists, as Thrasymachus, and Glaucon, who was Plato's own brother. Definitions are given as outcomes of debates between Socrates and the sophists, during which each character leads at a moment or another, until a stronger argument, usually asserted by Socrates, close the discussion. In this way, Plato explores a range of different points of view and aspects of the meaning of justice. It appears that they are four definitions of justice given by Cephalus, Thrasymachus, Socrates himself, Glaucon and Adeimantus.