...ISLAM AND BUDDIHSM There are many religions in the world among them we have three broad main religions namely: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Christianity is the most common religion all over the world. Here, I am going to discuss about the Buddhism and Islam. Buddhism is one of the leading world religions in terms of adherents, geographical distribution, and socio-cultural influence. While largely an “Eastern” religion, it is becoming increasingly popular and influential in the Western world. It is a unique world religion in its own right, though it has much in common with Hinduism in that both teach Karma (cause-and-effect ethics), Maya (the illusory nature of the world), and Samsara (the cycle of reincarnation). Buddhists believe that the ultimate goal in life is to achieve “enlightenment” as they perceive it. Buddhists believe that Siddhartha Gautama, who lived about 2,500 years ago in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, experienced a deep realization about life and became enlightened while meditating under a bodhi tree. He became known as "the Buddha" and taught that all human beings contain the seed of enlightenment, a deep understanding about life that can be achieved in a single lifetime Islam was founded in 622 by Mohamed, a prophet of Medina. Its is a faith that was taught by prophets such as Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Noah and Jesus. Mohammed was the last prophet and his role was to formalize and clarify the faith and purify it by removing believes which...
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...Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Thich Nhat Hanh: “Buddhism is already engaged. If it is not, it is not Buddhism.” Walpola Rahula: “Buddhism is based on service to others”…political and social engagement is the “heritage of the bhikkhu” and the essence of Buddhism. Robert Thurman: “The primary Buddhist position on social action is one of total activism, an unswerving commitment to complete self-transformation and complete world-transformation.” Stated in simplest terms, engaged Buddhism means the application of Buddhist teachings to contemporary social problems. Engaged Buddhism is a modern reformist movement. A practitioner is socially engaged “in a nonviolent way, motivated by concern for the welfare of others, and as an expression of one’s own practice of the Buddhist Way” (King Being 5). In this description Sallie B. King invokes the spirit of the Bodhisattva vow: May I attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. According to Ken Jones engaged Buddhism is “an explication of social, economic, and political processes and their ecological implications, derived from a Buddhist diagnosis of the existential human condition” (Kraft New). Jones emphasizes the social theory underlying engaged Buddhism. According to engaged Buddhists the “three poisons” of greed, anger and ignorance apply both to the individual and to “large-scale social and economic forces” (Kraft New); their remediation is therefore the collective concern of society. As the subject...
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...feelings of fear, legend, myths, prayer, rituals, and the application of religious precepts to the conduct of social life. Early modernization theorists viewed religion (with regard to politics) as an obstacle to modernization; Religion undermines socio-economic development; It undermines the development of modern states; They hoped that modernization of the Third World would lead to gradual decline of religion from public life; eventual disappearance of religion; That did not happen; Religion is very much alive; It remains part of politics. Dependency theorists view religion as unimportant; Give it only an occasional footnote in their writings; They blame colonial powers for having used religion to colonize today’s Third World. Political scientists have developed the following nuanced understanding of the relationship between religion, state and modernity they argue that all religions have legitimized the state’s authority at some point in history; in some respects, religious leaders and institutions may inhibit development; they oppose important aspects of social change; de-legitimize the political system; can try to make it look unpopular; they may encourage, facilitate development; modernization can induce the political secularization can induce peaceful co-existence between state (politics) and religion. By saying that “religion has been a resilient force in the Third Word” we mean it has been challenged throughout history and the world; But it remains alive and...
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...Indus Valley Civilization – The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization (3300–1300 BC; mature period 2600–1900 BC) extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia it was one of three early civilizations of the Old World, and of the three the most widespread. It flourished in the basins of the Indus River, one of the major rivers of Asia, and the Ghaggar-Hakra River, which once coursed through northwest India and eastern Pakistan. The Indus Valley Civilization is also known as the Harappan Civilization, after Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated in the 1920s, in what was then the Punjab province of British India, and is now in Pakistan. A uniform culture had developed at settlements spread across nearly 500,000 square miles, including parts of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Baluchistan, Sindh and the Makran coast. It was a highly developed civilization and derived its name from the main river of that region— Indus. |Year |Site |Discovered by | |1920 |Harappa |Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni | |1922 |Mohenjodaro |R. D. Banerjee | |1927 |Sutkagen dor |R. L. Staine ...
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...comment. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is an autonomous agency engaging in multidisciplinary research on the social dimensions of contemporary problems affecting development. Its work is guided by the conviction that, for effective development policies to be formulated, an understanding of the social and political context is crucial. The Institute attempts to provide governments, development agencies, grassroots organizations and scholars with a better understanding of how development policies and processes of economic, social and environmental change affect different social groups. Working through an extensive network of national research centres, UNRISD aims to promote original research and strengthen research capacity in developing countries. Current research themes include: Crisis, Adjustment and Social Change; Socio-Economic and Political Consequences of the International Trade in Illicit Drugs; Environment, Sustainable Development and Social Change; Integrating Gender into Development Policy; Participation and Changes in Property Relations in Communist and Post-Communist Societies; and Political Violence and Social Movements. UNRISD research projects focused on the 1995 World Summit for Social Development included Rethinking Social Development in the 1990s; Economic Restructuring and Social Policy; Ethnic Diversity and Public Policies; Social Integration at the Grassroots: The Urban Dimension; and The Challenge of Rebuilding War-torn...
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...Religious Splits Christianity is the world religion with the greatest number of followers. The name Christian comes from the title given to Jesus of Nazareth – ‘the Christ’ which is a Greek word which means ‘Messiah’. Christianity began in Palestine in the 1st century CE as the claimed fulfillment of God’s promises to the Jews. There are many different types of Christianity practiced; the major division is between Western (itself divided into Roman Catholicism and Protestantism) and Orthodox Christianity. Christianity is a belief system that has had immense cultural and political consequences. Christianity comes from the life and teachings of Jesus (5BCE-30CE approximately), a Palestinian Jew. Worship is undertaken in buildings called churches. Entry in to the Christian Church is via Baptism and is usually undertaken when the person is a baby though denominations such as Baptists wait until the person is old enough to confirm personally their own Christian faith. In denominations where Baptism is the norm for babies, Confirmation is undertaken where the person personally affirms the vows undertaken for them when they were baptized as a baby. Christians believe worshipping in a group is important and this is usually called a service which takes place in a church on a Sunday (Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday). Each denomination worships in a different way. Some may be only slight while others are more noticeable. The most important differences...
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...un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml, accessed 14th March 2014) This essay will show that the rights protected in Article 18 - as with many other Articles of the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) are protected to varying degrees – to not at all, depending on where you live, the level of democracy in your society, culture and lastly; external factors that dominate ordinary democratic processes and because of the forces applied by the geopolitical and economic forces of the day. The essay will show this by illustrating often controversial and disputed examples of violation on religious freedom in France, Saudi Arabia and Burma (Maynamar) and testing the principles of UDHR on those cases whilst also considering the socio-economic and political drivers. Simply defining human rights and its elements can be complex. This is shown in the minor disagreement between the drafters of the UDHR as described later below. This essay will also use the European Convention of Human Rights and UN Resolution 36/55 - UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief as a yard stick to also measure and show religious intolerance in the above cases. Drafting UDHR The end of the Second World War ushered in a period global self-reflection at the horror inflicted on millions of...
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...Religion | Origin of All Things | Nature of God | View of Human Nature | View of Good and Evil | View of “Salvation” | View of After Life | Practices and Rituals | Celebrations and Festivals | Week 2Hinduism and Jainism | The history of Hinduism is unique among the world religions in that it has no founder or date of origin. According to historians, the origin of Hinduism dates back to 5,000 or more years. Jainism dates to the 6th century B.C.E. in India. | The nature of God according to Jainism is state of perfect being. Jainism believes in God not as a creator but as a perfect being. They believe that when the jiva or the soul becomes liberated it lives in a blissful state. God is considered to be Omnipotent and Omnipresent by Hindus. There are more than 200,000 gods and goddesses in the Hindu religion. Some are major deities with major duties such as Shiva, others are of lesser import and are more directly connected with specific duties such as the house or ancestors | In Hinduism, the soul, or atman, is an eternally existing spiritual substance or being and the abiding self that moves from one body to the next at rebirth. In Jainism, the soul is uncreated, eternal and has infinite power and knowledge. It therefore has the inherent potential of divinity (that is, perfectly omnipotent, omniscient and free; not a god). By ridding oneself of the karma that obstructs the soul, one can achieve this liberation (moksa). | Karma is the basic principle within an overarching psycho-cosmology...
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...ON ISLAM and INEQUALITY Introduction Fish (2011) in his book named “Are Muslims Distinctive: A Look at the Evidence.” discusses whether Muslims show any systematic differences on individual and country levels in various issues such as democracy, large scale violence, corruption, tolerance and social inequality. In terms of inequality, Fish compares Muslim and non- Muslim countries in relation to gender and income inequality. As a result of his data analyses he concludes: “On gender based inequality Muslims lag; on income inequality they lead” (Fish, 2011: 228). I consider the finding about income inequality as an unexpected one because in the income inequality literature, religion in general and Islam in specific are not commonly considered as potential determinants. Fish`s proposed causal mechanism makes his study even more suspicious because his references are anecdotal and his reasoning is culturalist. This is why, I decided to investigate his findings deeper and conduct a test on his claims that Muslims are culturally more egalitarian than Christians. The plan of this paper works in the following way: I will start with a literature review and continue with a brief summary of Fish`s data analysis and his major claims about the causal mechanism behind the relationship between Muslim culture and egalitarian state policies. Afterwards, I will continue with my alternative replication of Fish`s regression analysis with a different dataset which measures inequality in an...
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...have a happy family and are residing in Oxford. This happiness does not last long, because Suu Kyi is informed of her mother's illness and she flies back home. Suu Kyi's homecoming becomes a turning point in her life. There she witnessed how the military junta slaughtered demonstrating students. Suu Kyi decides to set up a party and campaigns using Mahatma Gandhi's movement of non-violence. This movement began a long and lonely journey for one of the most courageous leaders of all time – Mother Suu. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Suu Kyi was born in Rangoon, Burma, on Jun 19, 1945. She was educated in Rangoon until the age of 15 and continued her studies at Delhi University when she accompanied her mother to New Delhi. She completed her BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics as at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University, and was elected Honorary Fellow in 1990.From 1969 to 1971, she was the Assistant Secretary, Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, United Nations Secretariat, New York. In 1972, she worked as the Research Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bhutan, and got married to a British scholar Dr. Michael Aris. They both have two sons, Alexander, born in London (1973), and Kim in Oxford in 1977. She studied at the Center of Southeast Asia Studies, Kyoto University, as a...
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...Scientific criticism to Geert Hofstede’s research Cross-cultural issues in European Human Resource Management Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 2 Hofstede’s findings 2 Hofstede’s Framework of Cultures 3 Power Distance (PD) 3 Individualism - Collectivism (IC) 3 Masculinity - Femininity (MF) 4 Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) 4 Long/short term orientation (LTO) 5 Some aspects of Hofstede’s model having provoked scientific criticism 5 Methodological issues 6 Cultural Homogeneity 7 National Divisions 7 Number and bipolarity of dimensions 7 Out-dated concept 8 Political Influences 9 Conclusion 9 References 10 Abstract The high level of multiculturalism in the field of business indicates to raise awareness about cultural understanding. Researches in that line major refer to Greert Hofstede, who analyzes dynamics of cross-cultural groups and organizations. Undoubtedly, his model is as widely cited as criticized, because it is well-known pioneering research of national culture differences and their consequences. In this short paper, I am going to examine Hofstede’s findings and the reason why his work faces criticism. Introduction Culture in business has been of utmost interest for the last two decades, and with increasing national diversity in nowadays business environment, culture itself is regarded as an important dimension. The beginning of a pilot study in that sphere refers to the Dutch social psychologist Greert Hofstede and his...
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...million Indians live below the poverty line. Suppression of religious minorities and its nuclear blasts have made India visible to the world. One of the messages that India sent to the world was that it needs to be reckoned with. The Hindu nationalist leadership on the whole sent this message. While each country needs dignity before others, many ask why such a poverty-ridden country should invest massive amounts in nuclear devices and why it persecutes a Christian religious minority that has made bold attempts to empower the poor of India. Religious Landscape in India Of the one billion people in India, 85 percent are Hindus, 10 percent Muslims, and 2.5 percent Christians. The rest belong to other religious minorities: Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsees and other groups. Though the decennial census classifies 85 percent as Hindus, there is no positive definition of what Hinduism is. Negatively, whoever does not belong to any of the other religious minorities is taken to be a Hindu. British discourse shaped the terminology used in reference to Hinduism. The British in India began by asking the Indians: "Our religion is called Christianity, what is yours?" It was then decided to call India’s religion Hinduism. The British asked, "We have the Bible as our scripture, what is your scripture?" It was decided to consider the Vedas, the Upanishads, etc. as the scriptures of Hinduism. Further the British asked, "We have religious heads like the pope and the bishops, but who are Hinduism’s...
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...stereotype tends to cause alienation from companies doing business in Japan, when in reality their “closed off” and distant behavior is due to misinterpretation through a western lens. Being aware of the religion and history of the Japanese can help to not only better understand their culture, but to also strengthen business relationships and allow for a positive interactions between companies. The following paper will include a cultural analysis observing different dimensions of Japanese culture through Hoftede and Hall’s scales relative to other world cultures. The underlying beliefs, attitudes and values of the Japanese culture relative to that of the Western American culture. As well as their evolved and highly functioning socio-economic and political environment. Communication and openness to change can be compared providing information as to why the Japanese conduct business the way they do. The paper will also discuss the work and business practices of the Japanese. Specifically their work ethics, values, and norms, as well as their preferred management styles, team-work and attitudes toward authority. An analysis of Toyota, a successfully ran Japanese company, will be utilized in providing evidence behind their business practices and will give advice for anyone planning on doing business...
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...IN CONTEMPORARY SOUTHEAST ASIA ISLAMIC STUDIES AND ISLAMIC EDUCATION i ii IN CONTEMPORARY SOUTHEAST ASIA ISLAMIC STUDIES AND ISLAMIC EDUCATION Editors KAMARUZZAMAN BUSTAMAM-AHMAD PATRICK JORY YAYASAN ILMUWAN iii Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-In-Publication Data Islamic studies and Islamic education in contemporary Southeast Asia / editors: Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad, Patrick Jory ISBN 978-983-44372-3-7 (pbk.) 1. Islamic religious education--Southeast Asia. 2. Islam--Education--Southeast Asia. I. Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad. II. Jory, Patrick. 297.77 First Printed 2011 © 2011 Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad & Patrick Jory Publisher: Yayasan Ilmuwan D-0-3A, Setiawangsa Business Suites, Taman Setiawangsa, 54200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means – for example, electronic, photocopy, recording – without prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed review. The opinions expressed in this publication is the personal views of the authors, and do not necessary reflect the opinion of the publisher. Layout and cover design: Font: Font size: Printer: Hafizuldin bin Satar Goudy Old Style 11 pt Gemilang Press Sdn Bhd iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS T his book grew out of a three-day workshop jointly held by the Regional Studies Program, Walailak University, and the Department...
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...The Boxer Uprising (1898-1901), also known as ‘Yi Ho Tuan’ Movement, was a major peasant uprising marked by anti-Manchu and anti-foreign sentiments. In the period after the Opium Wars, the nature of Sino-Western relations had changed, leading to a scramble for concessions. This had exposed the inefficacy of the Manchus. Simultaneously, it had intensified the socio-economic crisis already prevalent in the 19th century. This essay attempts to analyze the causes, nature and impact of the Boxer Movement. Causes 1. A study of the traditional Chinese society and economy is imperative to trace the origins of the Uprising. The Chinese society was strictly compartmentalized by the principles of Confucianism. The society was highly stratified and had a rigid and inflexible hierarchical structure. A unique combination of power, wealth and knowledge defined the gentry or the elite class. The peasantry was the ‘exploited’ class, the taxpayers, who despite the theoretical emphasis on ‘career open to merit’ could rarely attain gentry status. The growing tax burden and exploitation caused discontent among them and though they remained placid, the simmering of discontent was always there. However, peasant uprisings, though a frequent occurrence, were spontaneous and scattered and so easy to suppress. The growing unrest culminated into agitation, and found expression in the Boxer Movement. 2. A series of natural calamities in the late 19th century intensified the discontent...
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