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Mickey Gral Mrs. Bonesho Comparative Cultures 12 December 2013 Islamic Terrorism: Motives and Rational Responses The Middle East is a location rooted in the traditions of many religions, including Islam. Not restricted to Jihadism, Muslims believe that there is one true God and their goal is the promotion of the religion and its ideals. Islamic terrorists seek to achieve this goal often using violence in the name of religion. While terrorism practiced among Islamic organizations such as Al Qaeda is conducted under the influence of passion and zealotry, the acts of terror are perceived by the world as an irrational act of chaos and mental confusion. Given this dichotomy the global community must respond rationally and with a coherent and consistent policy. Body: On August 14, 2007, multiple car bombings in Al-Adnaniyah and Al-Qataniyah in Iraq killed upwards of eight-hundred people (Cave). The operation consisted of four suicide bomb attacks. Behind the attacks of September 11, 2001, this was the second worst act of terrorism in history. It was also the most deadly throughout all of the Iraq War. The apprehension that led up to this deadly car bombing included tension between Sunni Muslims and Yazidis. Sunni Islam, which is the largest branch of Islam, is often referred to as the orthodox and most zealous of all the branches of Islam. The Yazidis, however, are an extremely small minority religion that is located in northern Iraq. While no group has taken responsibility for the act, the United States believes that the terrorist organization Al Qaeda were the perpetrators (Tait). Abu Jassam, regarded to be the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq during the attacks, was killed in 2007 by the United States military (AFP). This attack is an e... ...n Iraq Truck Bombings Is Raised to More Than 500", New York, NY: New York Times. 21 Aug. 2007: Web. "Christmas Attacks in Nigeria by Muslim Sect Kill 39." USAToday.com. USA Today Digital Services, 25 Dec. 2011. Web. Cruickshank, Paul. Al Qaeda: Critical Concepts in Political Science. Milton Park, Abringdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2013. Print Falk, Avner. Islamic Terror: Conscious and Unconscious Motives. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2008. Print. Mshelizza, Ibrahim. "Christians Flee Attacks in Northeast Nigeria." Reuters.com. Reuters, 7 Jan. 2012. Web. Obinna, Ogbonnaya. "Boko Haram Is Battle for 2015, Says Chukwumerije." The Nation Online NG. The Nation, 29 Sept. 2011. Web. â€Å"‘Progress in destruction Syrian Chemical Weapons.† CNN. CNN, 06 Dec. 2013. Web. Tait, Paul. "Al-Qaeda Blamed for Yazidi Carnage." The Scotsman. The Scotsman, 16 Aug. 2007. Web.

Narrative Reflection: A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah Essay

Society can be represented by an onion. There are many layers to both. In society, the center is an individual. It then moves on to family, community, nation, and finally, humankind. Each layer cannot exist without the layers underneath it, just like how an onion cannot be an onion without its many supporting layers. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah shows the layers of society through memories. Beah has experienced these layers through war, and explains each one in his memoir. The first, being himself. When an individual is torn away from his/her parents, moral corruption may be imminent. Once Ishmael and his friends are separated from their families, they are looked down upon by others. They are seen as filthy, useless beings, and that arises many internal conflicts. The separation also leaves a lot of responsibility on the individual. They have to provide for themselves. â€Å"Apart from eating and drinking water and once every other day taking a bath, I spent most of my time fighting myself mentally in order to avoid thinking about†¦ where my family and friends were.†(Beah 52). This quote from the memoir shows how he was experiencing self conflict because of the loss of his family. It shows that separation from one’s family impacts his/her life. Families sacrifice whatever it takes to reunite after being separated. Ishmael traveled across Africa to attempt to reunite with his family. He sacrificed many days and went through a lot of pain to find them. Even his family, while in the village where all the Mattru Jong refugees were staying, kept looking for Ishmael, even if the searches were in vain. â€Å"One man was carrying his dead son. †¦ The father was covered with his son’s blood, and as he ran he kept saying, ‘I will get you to the hospital, my boy, and everything will be fine.’ Perhaps it was necessary that he cling to false hopes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Beah 13) This quote shows that even though the son is dead, the father does all he can to attempt to keep them together. â€Å"I wanted to see my family, even if it meant dying with them† is another example of family sacrifice. Ishmael would rather see his family one last time, and be together one last time, even if it meant that he would give up his life. A community is many families working together to help each other. â€Å"‘In that village there are lots of people from Mattru Jong and the Sierra Rutile mining area. All of you might be able to find your families or news about them’† (Beah 83). When Ishmael Beah and his friends go to a village, the people there help direct them to their families who were staying in the next town over. Communities also help provide food and shelter for their members when it is needed. Nations are multiple communities joined together to help each other or fight together. â€Å"The following morning our nameless host came again with food and a smile on his face that said he was glad that we were doing fine.† (Beah 62) A man from one community helped the boys from a different community. This shows how a nation works. Communities work together to help each other. Even so, not all parts of a nation get along. â€Å"One day, as soon as we had left the forested area of a village we had bypassed, a group of huge, muscular men sprang from the bushes onto the path in front of us. Raising their machetes and hunting rifles, they ordered us to stop. The men were the voluntary guards of their village and had been asked by their chief to bring us back.† (Beah 38). The village that sent the guards to capture the boys weren’t being a helpful community to others; however, each nation has different types communities. Some of them willing to help, while others at tempt to protect only themselves. The final layer of society is humankind. It is exactly like the skin of an onion. It ends the layers in a neat finish and protects them. When turmoil occurs in one nation, other nations provide aid. â€Å"‘You have been great soldiers and you all know that you are part of this brotherhood. I am very proud to have served my country with you boys. But your work here is done, and I must send you off. These men will put you in school and find you another life.’† (Beah 129). The program the boys are sent to is UNICEF, which was established to help rehabilitate child soldiers and try to bring them back to reality. Later in the memoir, Ishmael is also sent to the United States to represent Sierra Leone. He shared with the rest of the United States the horror going on in Africa. Americans helped Ishmael’s nation when it was in need. Ishmael uses these layers of society throughout the entire novel. He starts with an individual, the center of an onion, and moves through all the layers, reaching humankind, or the skin of an onion. These layers build his experiences to the maximum level of emotional appeal, and bring many people together to help others like him.

Analysis Of The Poem Cross By Langston Hughes - 963 Words

The poem Cross by Langston Hughes sensationalizes the battle of being biracial; especially in the mid 1900 s.This poem dramatizes the problems of his ethnic roots, and growing up biracial in a time period and country that primarily sees blacks and whites. In this poem, Hughes is expressing his disappointment of being of both high contrasts however considering the fact that he could never have an honorable place in neither of the two races nor be acknowledged by neither of the two racial classes. Particularly considering the way that African Americans didn t care for the fact that he was not a true black man because half white, this theory came about simply because they felt as though they were betrayed. Whites still looked downward upon him on the grounds that he was half African American and he was not adequate enough to consider himself a true white man. In addition to feeling isolated by both racial classes; white and dark, he doesn t know where he will wind up on the grounds that he s blended/ (biracial) not of completely one race. So that is the place where his perplexity lies, he considers how he will wind up. Affluent like his father or poor like his mother. He is not certain whether he will kick the bucket, a regarded white or a disregarded dark. In the same way as other different blacks in his time, he combat with his character by accusing his guardians for his difficulties and confusion as an adolescent. When he developed, he understood that he was not rightShow MoreRelatedLangston Hughes Theme For English B845 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"Theme for English B† Langston Hughes dramatizes race and self-identity. Hughes is struggling to relate himself to his teacher and everyone around him, so he starts off by telling readers about his background such as his age and where he has lived. â€Å"I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston- Salem† (2). Through the first stanza of the poem we know that Hughes is living through a time where race i s a big issue and not too many African American adolescents are in school like he is. He is learningRead MoreAnalysis Of On The Road By Langston Hughes1570 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"On the Road† Analysis â€Å"On the Road† is a short story written by Langston Hughes whose major themes are of race, religion, and subjective nature of fiction. An influential African-American writer, Hughes was born in 1902 and primarily raised by his maternal grandmother (Meyer 1032). Over the course of his illustrious career he would go on to write poems, novels, short stories, essays, plays, opera librettos, histories, documentaries, anthologies, autobiographies, biographies, children’s booksRead MoreTEFL Assignment Answers23344 Words   |  94 Pagessensitivity to nuance. Because of the symbiotic relationship of all four (4) skills, I suspect that once this student begins to learn more about the lessons of conversational English, her writing may improve in its level of subjectivity and critical analysis. As language and culture are interconnected, I suspect that an increase in understanding of American cultural traits will occur as well. Her knowledge of the grammatical rules is a great foundation. Once she acquires the linguistic traditionsRead MoreChildrens Literature13219 Words   |  53 Pagesand John Locke: Late 1600s 8 3. Beginning of Children’s Literature: Late 1700s 10 4. Fairy and Folk Tales 12 The Golden Age of Children’s Literature: Late 1800s 12 5. Victorian Childrens Literature 16 6. Contemporary Childrens Literature 18 6. Analysis of Harry Potters’ series 21 7. Conclusion 30 8. Summary 31 Children’s Literature Definitions 31 The Ancient World [ancient Rome; 50 BCE to 500 CE] 31 The Middle Ages [500 to 1500 CE] 31 The European Renaissance [1500-1650 CE] 32 The 17th Century