The Islamic Revolution an Example of the Topic History Essays by

The Islamic Revolution The 1978 political turbulence that put an end to the millennium-old monarchy in Iran has become known as the "Iranian Revolution." Officially, it is called the "Islamic Revolution," a notion emphasized by the new sovereigns and their loyal supporters in order to justify the rule of the Shiia clergymen and their Islamic principles. (Bernard Lewis, 2004). Need essay sample on "The Islamic Revolution" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Our Customers Often Tell Us: Who wants to write paper for me? Professional writers recommend: Academic Papers For Sale Cheap Writing Services Write My Essay Online Cheap Custom Writing Service Is It Illegal To Write Papers For Money The "Revolution" replaced the existing political order with a theocracy, a development incongruent with trends prevalent elsewhere in contemporary history wherever there has been a revolution. The incongruency is apparent not merely because a revolution had taken place, but because it had occurred under the leadership of a traditionalist Moslem clergy, who were striving to materialize their long term objective: the establishment of a theocracy. In fact, it is surprising to note that until the early 1970s Iran was undergoing a transition toward a more secular society, with the role of religion diminishing in regard to political affairs. The outspoken revolutionary and reformist opposition forces were mainly secular in their orientation. Their domain of influence was expanding, making them a likely candidate to replace the existing regime. Then, in the 1970s, a renewed Shiia revitalization movement began. This movement gained momentum and penetrated almost every segment of the population. It conquered certain social territories that had been the stronghold of the former secular political groups. Simultaneously, it strengthened and expanded its influence among the lower classes and rural people. This movement even found access to those members of the middle class who were better educated than most other Iranians. It was a great success for the proponents of Islamic rule, for now they had easy access to the group with the most significant political potential in the country--the urban middle class. This stratum included most of Iran's politically hotheaded college students, younger white-collar employees, and young officers in the administration of Iran's growing industrial system. These groups included most of Iran's long-time opponents of the regime, who were thoroughly experienced in radical activities under repressive rule. They were people with the knowledge and skills of political persuasion. It was not, therefore, the size of this stratum that was significant, but its political potential. It became increasingly apparent that a redirection of the national struggle was in the process and that events were moving in favor of Islamic activists. Building upon this movement, different Moslem groups were encouraged to expand their activities, both in political and nonpolitical affairs. Some groups attempted to appeal to all classes with their political objectives and demands for a national uprising against the regime. As the struggle proceeded, during 1977-78, the Shiia groups under Ayatollah Khomeini's leadership managed to unify the major opposition forces over the objective of pushing the Shah out of office. This objective brought nearly all the opposition groups under a single leadership. As a result, the leading clergy who commanded the alliance of the insurgent masses rose to the position of leader of the opposition groups, speaking with a national voice. This promotion was not only political; simultaneously, it imposed the clergy's objectives and preferences upon the people. Such activities at the leadership level were complemented by the entrance into the movement of millions of people who had very little previous political experience. A power was created that could easily crush any resistance, could silence any other alternative suggestions, and was obedient to the clergymen who had established themselves as the leaders of the uprising. The contribution and power of the small, but highly influential, new middle class was becoming insignificant compared to that of the urban lower class and the rural people. These earlier activists found themselves powerless to exert any determining influence upon the new course of social change. The energies that now moved the masses were beyond the control or command of the new middle class. The slogans, for example, during the early wave of the uprising in the winter of 1978, were "Freedom and Independence." By the end of the year, they had become "Freedom, Independence, and the Islamic Republic." The former reflects the earlier phase when secularists were still in the lead, and the latter reflects the time when the clergy leaders and their supporters had become a dominant force. The original political demands, for which the secularists had fought for years and to which they had tried to educate the populace, were fading away in the uproar of escalating revolution. Those demands were overstepped by an Islamic fundamentalist revitalization movement that had attracted millions of newcomers to the realm of revolutionary politics. Ideologically, the secular group found themselves to be like a gust of wind lost in a hurricane. They had helped the genie out of the bottle only to find themselves caught in his vise-like grip. The movement was entering a new phase. (Nikki R. Keddie, 2003). In this phase, the demands of nearly all political forces that did not belong to the clergy-led groups were either removed from the agenda or pushed down on the list. Very little opportunity remained for secular demands, even if they were made by Moslem intellectuals. The revolution of the secular groups and the consequences of the earlier activists' efforts were swallowed up by the Shiia revitalization movement. The immense national power was now invested in a clerical leadership. Millions of devoted Shiia Iranians listened eagerly to these leaders as both political commanders and religious authorities. Millions of others obeyed them, at least as a political leadership. In this way, it was possible for the Shiia activists to elevate Ayatollah Khomeini to a leading position as a personification of the "People's Revolution," as both its spokesman and commander. Thus, a theocracy was born. (Nikki R. Keddie, 2003). The Iranian experience provides valuable data and certain insights into some key theoretical issues in sociology. It could contribute to the sociology of modernization, the sociology of revolutions, and the social study of culture and religion. Since the Iranian Revolution is only a single case and a case that seems to be historically specific, we may be prevented from over generalizing based on Iranian findings. However, the event raises certain issues and addresses certain questions that could shed some light on the shortcomings of existing theories. One such shortcoming is in the area of theories of modernization. Theoretical works on modernization were begun by pioneering sociologists and were later pursued by those in communications. As it had begun with the works of earlier theorists such as Daniel Lerner, modernization was viewed as a process that had great social-psychological consequences. What these attempted to do was trace the consequences for the material modernization of a society in terms of the internal (psychological) changes that take place within the inpidual. They further expanded these concerns in order to learn more about what facilitates or hinders the process of modernization of inpiduals. The Iranian case may suggest a need to look at the facilitators and impedances that are of a class and political nature. The breakdown of the inpidual's internal constraints against modernization, which the existing theorists tend to focus on, is not sufficient to understand both the modernization and counter modernization developments. As the Iranian case clearly shows, modernization is not viewed by the people who are subject to it as a value-free experience. It is understood as favoring certain groups more than others, and therefore becomes a political or even a class-domination process in the eyes of the people. It is this sort of cognitive mapping of modernization that is the key to understanding the cultural and religious revitalization movements that were active in Iran, and may potentially develop in many other Middle Eastern countries. (Christin Marschall, 2003). Similar arguments may be made about the theories of revolution. There exists a tendency for certain social theorists to try to reduce revolutionary events to causal models. Moreover, they tend to focus on monocausal explanations. The fact, as the Iranian Revolution seems to suggest, is that it might be futile to look for a single cause. Rather, one may need to favor a holistic approach. Again, it must be asserted that while none of the causal explanations can probably be rejected, even the monocausal ones, they do seem to only show a glimpse of revolutionary events. This theoretical issue could be raised about the potential sources of change generated by culture. If culture is viewed as a homogeneous medium, as in most cases it is, then it may closely resemble a static entity, a passive one that could not be the source of major social changes. What makes the Iranian culture and Shiiaism a potential ground for the generation of political forces is the dualism that is embedded in it. It is not just a series of justifications, historically formed by the interests of the ruling classes; nor is its content all anti-ruling class sentiments. It is both. The dynamism that could make culture and religion two important sources of change arises from this very fact of dualism. In the case of the Revolution, it was the antiruling class elements of Iranian culture and Shiia Islam that became the seedbed of radicalism that represented itself as revitalization movements. Such movements may well parallel other drives, such as those caused by material and group interests. For certain strata of people, the impetus could quite reasonably be cultural or religious movements, and nothing more. (Bernard Lewis, 2004). Surely, there were and still are many Iranians, acting and sounding as radical as any other "anti-imperialist" and "anti-ruling class" activists, who still sincerely believe that they revolted to vitalize their religion, that Shiia revitalization is indeed a revolutionary act, that the Revolution was definitely for Islam, and that they are ready to sacrifice their lives for that cause. For this category of people, ideologies, motives, supportive sentiments for revolutionary actions, and the ideals for which they have striven all have originated from their religion and culture. (Bernard Lewis, 2004). References: Bernard Lewis (2004). From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East; Oxford University Press Christin Marschall (2003). Iran's Persian Gulf Policy: From Khomeini to Khatami; Routledge Curzon Nikki R. Keddie (2003). Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution; Yale University Press

Free Essays on The Roll Of HRM At FedEx

William R. Tracey, in The Human Resources Glossary defines Human Resources as: â€Å"The people that staff and operate an organization †¦ as contrasted with the financial and material resources of an organization. The organizational function that deals with the people ...† (Heathfeild, M. Susan, 2004) The roll Human Resource Management at FedEx Trade Networks Transport Human Resources effect the total output and quality needed to reach the goals set by the organization. After speaking with my Human resource manager, John Young, he pointed out some of these Human Resource Management Functions: human resource planning, recruitment, and selection; human resource development; compensation and benefits; safety and health; employee and labor relations; and human resource research (Young, John 2004). Human resource planning is the process of reviewing the human resource requirements to ensure that the required numbers of employees, with the required skills, are available when needed. Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals to apply for jobs with the organization. Selection is the process though which the organization chooses, from a group of applicants, those best suited for the open positions and the company. Human resource development helps individuals, groups, and the entire organization become more effective. Compensation and Bene... Free Essays on The Roll Of HRM At FedEx Free Essays on The Roll Of HRM At FedEx William R. Tracey, in The Human Resources Glossary defines Human Resources as: â€Å"The people that staff and operate an organization †¦ as contrasted with the financial and material resources of an organization. The organizational function that deals with the people ...† (Heathfeild, M. Susan, 2004) The roll Human Resource Management at FedEx Trade Networks Transport Human Resources effect the total output and quality needed to reach the goals set by the organization. After speaking with my Human resource manager, John Young, he pointed out some of these Human Resource Management Functions: human resource planning, recruitment, and selection; human resource development; compensation and benefits; safety and health; employee and labor relations; and human resource research (Young, John 2004). Human resource planning is the process of reviewing the human resource requirements to ensure that the required numbers of employees, with the required skills, are available when needed. Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals to apply for jobs with the organization. Selection is the process though which the organization chooses, from a group of applicants, those best suited for the open positions and the company. Human resource development helps individuals, groups, and the entire organization become more effective. Compensation and Bene...

Test the Expert Experiment Using the Sequence Generator Case Study

Test the Expert Experiment Using the Sequence Generator - Case Study Example The use of Random Sequence Generator as a valid randomization method requires maintaining the same conditions like temperature and size when preparing and serving the two samples not to have an effect on the test subject (Sharpe, De Veaux &Velleman, 2014).Independence of Trials Each trial of the experiment must be independent and an outcome of one trial should have no effect on the conclusion of the following trial. This aspect will bring validity to the statistical analysis of the experiment. Measures to influence the legitimacy of the test include running multiple tests with the practice subject to ascertain any faults in the process. The faults may cause poor results or incapacity of the test subject through fatigue or any other way. Rehearsal The rehearsal`s main purpose is to verify, improve or correct the experiment, and provide insight into the research in producing reliable results. The practice subject did not consume any of the samples, and no recommendations were needed to increase the potential of the experiment. The procedures and samples of the experiment were adequate to initiate the test. The critical value of the test statistic is -1.6499, the p-value is 0.005 at an alpha value of 0.05. The experiment has provided sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis as it is observed that H0: π < 0.5 (not an expert) indicating that the subject is statistically significantly considered an expert. Lavender is an expert in differentiating Diet Coke from Coke.

Organizing Religious Landscapes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organizing Religious Landscapes - Essay Example Seeking to bring the analysis into a relevant current day application, the essay will seek to understand the means by which religious landscapes continue to define life, politics, and culture within the counties that comprise central Wisconsin. As a function of seeking to understand such a reality, it will be the hope of this author that such a level of research will help to shed a level of understanding on how and why certain regions have developed and exhibit some of the key indicators of both culture, religion, and politics that they do. Returning to the way in which religious barriers can differentiate a region or define a culture in a different way, one need look no further than the way in which many of the cultural and religious boundaries that exist within Europe have differentiated the entire continent in a way that it would not likely have been differentiated had religious differences not existed in the first place. Whereas the study of geography, anthropology, and sociology leads one to the understanding of how natural barriers and language barriers help to define and distinguish one group from another, religion serves no lesser nor more important purpose in achieving the same level of differentiation among individuals. To see a prime example of how geography can be decided upon religious terms alone, one need look no further than the way in which the British or French colonialists divided much of the world both in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia based upon religious lines. Evidence of this can of course be seen with regards to the creation of Lebanon, the creation of Papua New Guinea as compared to Indonesia, or the way in which African nations had their borders drawn specifically as a means of differentiating between animist, Muslim and/or Christian. However, geography and the means by which it is defined is not always chosen by an outside force. Oftentimes, the means by which geographic representations are determined are more often than not the r esult of domestic decisions and choices made at the lowest levels. This low-level decision making about what defines â€Å"the other† is oftentimes a result of the way in which religion and the practice thereof helps to differentiate one culture with regards to its neighbors. Due to the inherent truth that religion by its very nature seeks to instill a certain personal and group dynamic within the individuals that practice it, it is necessarily a formulary of the way in which culture is defined and comes to shape a given geography. However, it should not be understood that religious differences necessarily leads to the splitting of a nation or a state of war and/or conflict with another group of individuals. Rather, there are many religiously diverse regions within the world that live in more or less social cohesion and harmony. An obvious example of this would be with regards to the United States and many regions within Africa, Western Europe, and elsewhere around the globe. However, merely because a level of conflict does not exist should not be seen as an indication that the existence and adherence to different religions within diverse geographies does not have a

The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst Essay Example for Free

The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst Essay Gaining from the ameliorate of ones disability, makes a person seem self-centered or conceited. The Scarlet Ibis, a short story by James Hurst tells the story of two brothers. Brother tells the story of his actions that contribute to his younger brothers death. Brothers pride is the main reason for Doodles yearly passing. This idea of pride, is a central theme in the story. Pride, a feeling of importance, merit, or superiority, can cause both positive and negative consequences. Moral integrity will destroy the career that took so long to build up. Brothers shame and embarrassment are forces that gave life to Doodle. Because Brother is ashamed of Doodles disability Brother tries to fix Doodle so that he can be pride of his brother. For example, when Brother learns that Doodle will not be able to walk, Brothers pride causes him to teach Doodle to walk. When Doodle said he could not walk, Brother replied, â€Å"Shut up. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to teach you to walk† (Hurst 346-347). Brother teaches Doodle to walk simply because he is embarrassed by his disabled brother. In fact Brother admits, â€Å"All of us must have something to be proud of† (347). Although Brothers reasons are selfish, Doodle is provided with a better life because of Brothers selfish actions. In addition, because Brother is so successful in teaching Doodle to walk, Brother feels even more pride in his accomplishments. Doodle explains, â€Å"I began to believe in my own infallibility† (349). Brother decided to teach Doodle to run, row, swim and climb trees. Certainly, if Doodle were capable of such things; running, rowing, swimming it would give Doodle a richer, fuller life. The same pride that gives Doodle life however, also steals his life. When the brothers go off to Horsehead Landing for a swimming lesson, a storm disrupts their plans. To escape the rain the brothers quickly head for home. Once Doodle slips and falls, Brother recongnizes that Doodle would always be different. Brother thinks, â€Å"He had failed and we both knew it. He would never be like the other boys at school† (352) The idea that Doodle is different continues to shame Brother. In fact, Brother is so ashamed that his actions cause suffering for Doodle. Brother abandons Doodle. Brother remembers, â€Å"The knowledge that Doodle’s and my plans had come to nothing was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened. I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us† (353). At this point, Brothers pride is excessive and causes him to abandons his younger brother. When Brother finally went back he discovered his brother dead. â€Å"He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red† (354). Brother pushes Doodle too far this time. His actions were helpful before where they were encouraging Doodle to have a better life, later they become so excessive Brothers pride pushes Doodle far beyond his capabilities. Brother pushes Doodle to the point that was not in his best interest. His pride causes destruction of his brothers life. A society cannot long exist without this sense of trust in each other, without some standards of truth. Lance Armstrong, a well-know cyclist and Tour de France seven time winner, was using illegal Performance Enhancing Drugs all while claiming honesty and integrity. Millions of fans putting their trust into him, having Armstrong play them like fools. Many children looked up to such an admirable athlete, showing them cheating to win is okay; then repeatedly lying about the actions Armstrong created. Moral integrity is beliefs regarding appropriate behavior in the right conduct. Lance Armstrong moral integrity is ruined. Armstrong thought it was morally acceptable to take Performance Enhancing Drugs while competing in the most prestigious cycling race. Lance Armstrong’s moral integrity ruined his career and also how people see him. Pride can be both a positive and negative force. Brother recognized this duality when he said, â€Å"Pride is a wonderful terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death† (347). Throughout the short story Brother stresses the duality, or the two sides of pride. It could of pushed Brother to do achieve greatness, but it became destructive when his obsession with helping Doodle pushed him to his early death. To have the public eye always watching Armstrong’s life, he should have know his behavior created a horrible moral integrity as a wellrespected celebrity.

Plato Essays -- essays research papers

Socrates' ideal city is described through Plato in his work The Republic, some questions pondered through the text could be; How is this an "ideal" city formed, and is justice in the city relative to that of the human soul? I believe Socrates found the true meaning of justice in the larger atmosphere of the city and applied that concept to the human soul. Socrates describes his idea of an "ideal city" as one that has all the necessary parts to function and to show that justice is truly the harmony between the three stages of the city and soul in the human body. Plato introduces the idea of the happiness. Socrates says, "†¦in establishing our city, we aren’t aiming to make any one group outstanding happy but to make the whole city so, as far as possible " (Plato 420b). I agree that in order to examine one thing that is difficult to comprehend, it is wise to look on a larger scale. In this case, Socrates had to examine the difference of a whole city and other concepts of cities in order to determine justice in the world and inner soul. In order to develop the perfect city Socrates had to develop the other ideas that contribute to the "ideal city", the City of Need, and the City of Luxury in order to develop the Perfect City. I believe Socrates in-depth discovery process for the perfect city is a great philosophical look into the idea of justice. Socrates brought up a subject many men at that time would never have thought about and Plato believed that the idea of justice was worthy of writing a literary work to pass his philosophy on to future generations. Since the crucial elements of justice may be easier to observe on the larger scale like a city than on one individual. The focus for Socrates is a perfect city, because the city will represent human soul, Socrates says; "we'll go on to consider it in the individuals, considering the likeness of the bigger in the idea of the littler?"(Plato 369a). Plato's "ideal city" is really the search for the truth of justice, if Socrates were able to find the relationship between the soul and city in his "ideal city" then he would have the true meaning of justice. We saw from the reading how he came about braking down the city's parts and also that of the soul in order to see the reaction between three different regions which Plato and Socrates descri... ...It is fine if you are the upper class, but the guys at the bottom want to achieve success and rise to the top. That is a reason for the American Revolution and all other revolutions that have spurred from the lower class. No one wants to be content with being at the bottom; everyone wants to be at the top. Plato's ideal city would work if people were content with their god given positions. If there is harmony between the groups, then there is happiness, as we see in the soul and city throughout The Republic. However, in real life people find harmony with themselves when they achieve their goals and live a good life. I agree with that philosophy because I also want to achieve more and I am happy when I achieve my goals. No one is truly happy though because people will always want more. I agree that Plato's idea was great and a well-devised plan which provided the basis for many cities that have flourished in the past. However how could one totally agree with a proposal that is fro m so long ago, it is simply outdated in practice but not theory. We can still strive for inner harmony and harmony within a community and society but we must find that harmony through trials of our own.

Humanism in Renaissance Art

The Renaissance, occurring between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, was a period of great rebirth. Humanism, an important part of the Renaissance, brought about more color, perspective, and realism within the artistic community. A few aspects of humanism include individualism and Greece-Roman influences. Humanist ideals manifested themselves in works of Renaissance art such as Michelangelo Sistine Chapel and his David sculpture, as well as Repeal's School of Athens. Individualism emerged in the works of Michelangelo along with numerous other Italian artists of the time.In Michelangelo Sistine Chapel painting, each of the over one hundred people depicted has its own distinct facial features. Prior to the Renaissance, artists would replicate the same prosaic face onto all of the people in a large group. However, Michelangelo preferred to distinguish every individual figure present. He also ventured so far as to include a depiction of God in the form of he paintings benefactor, Pope Julius II. The characteristics of individualism repeatedly appear in the works of Italian Renaissance artists. The prevalence of humanist ideals is also present through the inclusion of Greek and Roman themes.The statue of David by Michelangelo was a sculpture created between 1501 and 1504 featuring a nude male representing the biblical hero David. Davit's contrasts pose is the Renaissance interpretation of the common Greek theme of a casually standing heroic figure. Another ancient Greece-Roman theme represented in the statue is the idea of a biblical hero depicted as a supreme athletic embodiment. Additionally, Repeal's School of Athens, painted between 1 509 and 1 510, conveys classical Greek and Roman ideals. Aristotle and Plato, well known Greek philosophers, serve as the central focus of the scene.Furthermore, the building portrayed in the painting has the rounded appearance and incorporation of columns used commonly in Romanesque architecture. Also, there are two statue s visible in the background of the painting: one is of the Greek god Apollo, the god of light and cheery, and the second is of the Roman goddess Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. A myriad of Italian artists were influenced by the humanist ideals of the great thinkers. The likes of Michelangelo and Raphael used these principles of the great Renaissance humanists to advance their artwork. Humanism in Renaissance Art By illegible