Sufism & Its Effects On Islamic Culture Essay Example for Free

Sufism Its Effects On Islamic Culture Essay â€Å"Sufism is the journey and the realization of truth, and a Sufi, is the seeker of truthâ€Å" (Janghda, 144). Therefore, in order to understand the lives of Sufis and their contribution to Islam, one must first comprehend the meaning of Sufism. â€Å"Sufism is the spiritual practice by which one can achieve ultimate spiritual gratification. The term ‘Sufism’ has been derived from various words, such as ‘Safa’ which means ‘pure’ and ‘Saff’ which means high in rank† (All About Religion). All these meanings have one thing in common which is also apparent by the looks of a Sufi, uniqueness. That Sufis do not fit the general perception of a man or woman, they were people who gave up the world’s material belongings and it’s luxuries to explore the inner self. â€Å"One must live in the world, not be of the world†, Jamal ad-Din al-Rumi. Love is the basis of Sufism, like most of the religions of this world and the core objective of Sufism is to find the oneness. A Sufi must realize that God exists everywhere, as the creator and the creation. Tasawwuf is a practice in Sufism in which one purifies oneself by the remembrance and obedience of God. It is the complete detachment from the worldly issues and devoting your mind, body and soul to God. This practice is similar to conventional Islamic practices such as zikr and prayer. Thus to achieve a status of a Sufi, one must go through many levels, such as killing your ego, breaking away from the material wants and loving everything, as all is created by God. Sufism has no boundaries as it a spiritual religion; it seeks truth through divinity and not sections. Instead of mentors or preachers who have learned about religion through people, a Sufi seeks his own answers. There are no value of favoritism and preference, all creations are equal. Sufism is not just a religion, it is a way of thinking and a lifestyle, and thus one must be open-minded, tolerant and humble to start the journey. Without these traits one cannot achieve spiritual enlightenment. â€Å"Therefore, most of the well known Sufis that have passed have known to not conform to the society they reside in, providing knowledge about Islamic mysticism to their people through poems, stories and various texts which are still enchanting and informing people till this day† (Arbery, 15). Farid ud-Din Attar was a similar mystic, born in the city of Nishapur in Iran and also buried in a tomb in Nishapur (The Free Dictionary). Although he lived over centuries ago but some of Attar’s works are still read and appreciated even now. His name Attar, meant herbalist who was also his profession, as he was a well-known medic. He would see hundreds of patients daily, prescribing herbal medicines that he himself prepared to his patients. In his days of youth, he travelled comprehensively through Egypt, Damascus and even performed pilgrimage at Mecca in search for wisdom. After a long journey, Attar came back to his hometown and embarked on his Sufi journey. During this time, Attar wrote tremendous texts but his most well known is Maqamat-e Toyur (The Conference of the Birds). Attar’s ability to look beyond the texts and find a deeper meaning in not just readings but in every daily doings made him a better author and poet, his teachings and poems still are relevant for that alone reason. Attar passed away in old age, even though the details of his death are weary but a traditional tale does narrate the demise of Attar. In this folk tale, Attar had been made a prisoner by the Mongol when they invaded Nishapur. During that time, an unknown person came to the Mongol king and offered a thousand pieces of silver in turn of Attar’s freedom. When Attar heard this, he recommended the king to not take such a ransom, and the king did just that in greed. Later, another man came to the emperor and offered him a bundle of straws in exchange of Attar’s freedom, to which Attar advised the king to take the offer, as that is what he was worth. When the Mongol king heard this, he decapitated Attar in anger (Arbery, 74). The authenticity of this tale is not important but the message it has is very valuable. It shows that a man of such knowledge of religion, mysticism and medicine, thought of himself as only worthy of a bundle of straws rather than thousand pieces of silver. Therefore, a Sufi must be self-less to attain the truth. The truth is that the body of a person is just a shell, in which the soul resides, a soul that mirrors God. Even if you kill the body, which is of no value, the soul will live on forever.

The Role of Intra-party Opposition in National Liberation Movements Ess

The Role of Intra-party Opposition in National Liberation Movements By and large, in the latter half of the twentieth century a regime change has meant the victory of a leftist national liberation movement over an oppressive power; whether the new regime makes good on its stated purpose of delivering justice to its people has not evidenced such a standard pattern, however. While liberation movements such as the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa were able successfully to convert their role as revolutionary â€Å"freedom fighters† into democratic participation in the state (Connell, 9), movements such as Castro’s Cuban Revolution, while accomplishing regime change, failed to deliver a successful state. This paper suggests that lessons can be derived from these cases that apply to the Palestinians’ national liberation movement, in that intra-movement conflict that often appears â€Å"intractable† may in fact be a specific prerequisite for a successful regime change into the hands of the Palestinian Authorit y. Dangling today somewhere between the role of a state and a non-state actor, the Palestinian National Authority (PA) was chartered after the Oslo Accords to fill the governmental role in the would-be state of Palestine. Headed by Yassir Arafat, the PA provides an internationally recognized manifestation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), which became the voice of the Palestinian nationalism movement since Israel’s independence in 1948. The ongoing transition of the PLO from a national liberation movement (and a distinctly non-state actor) to the ruling government party in a Palestinian state has proven difficult due not only to the controversial nature of the issue of a Palestinian state on ... ...nd National Liberation in Latin America : three decades of guerrillas and terrorists 1959-1990. Florida: North-South Center, University of Miami 1991. Rubenberg, Cheryl. The Palestinian Liberation Organization: Its institutional infrastructure. Belmont, MA: Institute of Arab Studies, Inc., 1983. Rubin, Barry. The Transformation of Palestinian Politics: From revolution to state-building. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999. Segal, Jerome M. Creating the Palestinian State. Chicago, Il: Lawrence Hill Books, 1989. Silverburg, Stanford. Palestine and Internatinoal Law: Essays on politics and Economics.Jefferson, NC: 2002. Staten, Clifford. The History of Modern Cuba. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. Younis, Mona. Liberation and Democratization : the South African and Palestinian nationalmovements. Minneapolis, MN : University of Minnesota Press, 2000.

McCarty v. Pheasant Run , Inc.

Summary of CaseMrs. Dula McCarty brought suit against Pheasant Run Inc. for negligence. In 1981, Mrs. McCarty was attacked by a man in her hotel room, beaten and threatened of rape. Mrs. McCarty ultimately fought off her attacker and he fled. The attacker was never identified nor brought to justice. Although Mrs. McCarty did not sustain serious physical injuries, she claimed the incident caused prolonged emotional distress which led to an early retirement. An investigation revealed that a sliding glass door, which was concealed behind curtains, was manipulated and enabled the attacker to gain entry into her hotel room. Mrs. McCarty made multiple claims of negligence against Pheasant Run Inc., including that they should have had better locking devices on the sliding door; more security personnel; the walkway to her sliding door inaccessible from the ground level; better over all procedures for dealing with non guests; posting signs telling guests to keep their doors locked at all time s. Ultimately, the court did not see it Mrs. McCarty’s way. McCarty argued the judge should have granted her motion for judgment notwithstanding the jury’s verdict for the defendant.McCarty did not request the directed verdict on the issue of Pheasant Runs negligence which is a prerequisite to judgment n.o.v. Many accidents are neither the injurer nor the victims fault and therefore there is no liability. The judge advised Mrs. McCarty that the case was not as one sided as she believed it to be. Additionally, following a jury’s verdict, a judge cannot substitute its judgment when the judgment was reasonable (2). Mrs. McCarty did a poor job in proving that Pheasant Run could have prevented her attack with her advised precautions.Mrs. McCarty did not provide information of what it would cost Pheasant Run to equip the hotel rooms with improved locking systems and whether the system would have been impenetrable. She also failed to advise the jury on the additional s ecurity forces she claimed would have made a difference. In regards to the Mrs. McCarty’s sliding door, it was equipped with a lock and an additional safety chain. The safety chain was fastened but the lock was not used. This case  had evidence of negligence but none of strict liability. There were reasonable precautions in place. Elements of Intentional TortTort law enables citizens to seek reimbursement for loss and or suffering from conduct that would be deemed dangerous or unreasonable of others (3). Tort law is non criminal and is dealt with in our civil judicial system. The categories of Tort Law include intentional tort, negligence and strict liability.An intentional tort case is proved by the plaintiff showing that the defendant intentionally injured him/her (1). In a negligence case, the plaintiff shows that the defendant did not act carefully as the law requires and therefore should be liable for any damages to the plaintiff (1). The strict liability cases occur w hen a plaintiff suffers damages even though the defendant acted carefully and with no intent of harm being done to them (1).During a trial the plaintiff will attempt to prove their case by the presentation of evidence to the trier of fact. The evidence usually includes testimony of persons involved; witnesses as well as physical things such as pictures, documentation/records, recordings etc†¦ How a Defense is TriggeredA common defense is that there was a superseding intervening cause which was the cause of the injury to the plaintiff. The plaintiff must then prove that the injury was a result of the tort committed by the defendant and not due to the progression of the prior cause. Another defense, regarding breach of duty, is that a plaintiff must show they have damage that is legally recognized. The plaintiff cannot claim they have suffered but cannot show damages.Proximate cause refers to the plaintiff being able to show that the damage and or injuries they sustained were a r esult of the tort they are suing for. An example would be the plaintiff’s nose was broke as a result of the defendant flailing his elbow’s amongst the crowd. Features in a Negligence ComplaintScenarios where people are injured as a result of an accident occur more frequently than those where people are injured due to malicious behavior. As a result, the law recognizes a duty to conform to a certain standard of conduct for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. If there is a failure to conform which results in an injury, damage or loss, the injured party has a cause of action for negligence. Additionally, a court will utilize several ways to formulate the negligence standard.One of the more famous is the â€Å"Hand Formula† which determines whether the burden of precaution is less than the magnitude of the accident, if it occurs, multiplied by the probability of occurrence. In a negligence case, there are four elements that must be researched for a plaintiff to recover damages.These elements include: 1) did a defendant owe the plaintiff a duty to act in a certain way 2) did the defendant breach the duty by failing to act as well as the duty required 3) did the defendants conduct cause some harm 4) did the defendants conduct harm the plaintiff (1). If any of these elements are found to not be true then no cause of action in negligence is recognized. It is important to note that it is the responsibility of the plaintiff to prove that the defendant was negligent. There are some differences between negligence and other torts. When establishing negligence, the defendant has a â€Å"reasonable person† standard he/she must abide by.Compared to strict liability, a person has the absolute duty to make safe that which is the subject of the lawsuit (3). Negligence per se is another tort which differs from negligence. Regarding negligence per se, an act performed is shown to be in violation of state law or city ordinance. Ma lpractice is a form of negligence which takes form in a different field. It is coined â€Å"professional negligence† (3). A person is required to act as would a reasonably skilled, prudent, competent, and experienced member of their profession.

The Effects Of Hydraulic Fracturing On The United States

There is widespread agreement among most experts that the current energy sources we use in the United States today are in need of a change. How we rely on the fossil fuels of coal and oil is a concern for two main issues: which is the negative impact on the environment and how the U.S. relies on other countries for supplies. This too has created issues on the political standpoint of the situation. This is where hydraulic fracturing comes in to play. Hydraulic Fracturing is a horizontal drilling process by the energy industry that has presented the means to solve both problems. This technology has provided the U.S. access to 100 years’ worth of energy. Natural gas has been located within the country’s borders and thousands of feet below†¦show more content†¦The process of the collection of an underground fluid would not be possible without the use of hydraulic fracturing. In the Shale reserves, located about 5,000 feet underground, suffer an extremely low perm eability rate. Permeability is the measure of how well a fluid flows through an absorbent material at the depth, and within such nonporous rock, the ability of fluids to travel to the well is greatly limited. Fracturing increases the area of the fluid that is exposed to porous materials and thus greatly increases production. The method of fracturing utilizes a few key components which allow for an economical extraction of resources. In the United States; most notably the Marcellus, in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York, and in Texas are said to contain enough natural gas power the country for 110 years. In 2000, shale beds provided 1 percent of America’s natural gas supply. Today, that figure stands at nearly 25 percent. Most of that population increase is due to the growing popularity of hydraulic fracturing. With the enticing specter of energy independence in the balance, some have argued that such efforts to recover gas need to be expanded. While some activists believe that fracking’s potential environment hazards view the process as a serious threat. Water makes up a high percentage of fracking fluid that fluid also flows back up the well, and is stored in open pits until it can be sent to a treatment plant. A variable amount of