Iranian Revolution

The Iranian Revolution was unique and typical all at the same time. It has many of the same characteristics as the Russian Revolution of 1917, particularly the problems with the classes and the overbearing government system. In both instances, this was a widely accepted and rejoiced takeover, although there was slightly more doubt by the public in the Russian revolution. What was incredibly unique about the Iranian Revolution was the fact that it was replacing a centuries old Monarchy for a Theocracy. Generally in most modern revolutions, the theocracies are the governmental institutions that are being replaced. Another interesting part of this overthrow was how significantly powerful the Iranian military and government was prior to the revolution. This revolution was necessary according to the people because of the government’s oppressive and corrupt structure. It was a common theory that Iran was being control more by outside Western powers such as the United States and Great Britain, which was leading to the demise of the state. In situations of great tyrannical government policies and a lack of civil liberties and rights to the citizens of the nation, it becomes necessary and evident for a revolution like this to occur.

UN asks Israelis to stop demolishing Palestinian homes.

BC just had an article in reference to the United Nations request that the Israeli government stops demolishing Palestinian homes. The current regulations set up for Palestinians as of now state that they must first obtain a permit to build a house, a permit of which only approximately 50% of Palestinians actually have. Any house built on land without a permit can be legally torn down by the Israeli authorities without hesitation, leaving many thousands of Palestinians homeless. Well why don’t the Palestinians just obtain a permit? The problem with these permits is that they are only given out in particular parts of East Jerusalem, to be exact, only 13%. The UN says that a major problem with the conflict between the two sides it the lack of adequate living for the Palestinian people. The mayor of Jerusalem says that while these permits are heavily affecting the Palestinians, that all citizens of the city, Jews, Christian and Muslims are treated equally and are all equally at risk for having their homes torn down. The mayor also goes on to say that if an illegal structure is built, it must be removed from city property. The problem is it’s not only very expensive to gain these permits but time consuming as well. To demolish homes and leave a vast number of citizens, almost half children, homeless is ethically wrong and not equal treatment of all citizens.

Touba

As a Western society, most American’s have a specific, narrow perception of what women in Middle Eastern societies are like. It is assumed that these women allow themselves to be walked all over and given absolutely no rights. There is also the common misconception that men take complete advantage of these women and treat them poorly, leaving the women with nothing to do about the situation. Just like in American society at the beginning of the twentieth century, social strata’s were evolving within Iran, making it easier for women to involve themselves in society and gain respect for themselves, while also gaining it from others. The main character in this novel, Touba, is a perfect example of what it means to be a woman who is changing with the times and helping herself develop and enter into society with knowledge and respect from men, while still maintaining a sense of traditional behavior.

Touba is a distinct woman during the period of her youth. Not only is she intelligent and well educated, but she is outspoken and self reliant. After some severe family issues that included the loss of her father, she was forced to help her mother run the household and maintain a level of normalcy for the family. Iran during this time period, like many other nations, gave women limited or no rights at all. Women were still considered to be inferior and unable to survive without a male counterpart or be educated to the extent of which men were. Due to this commonly held opinion of women’s need to have a male guide them through life, when Touba’s father died, it was necessary for a male influence to take over the residence for their survival. Completely out of the range of what any woman would do in a Muslim country during this time, Touba took it upon herself to propose marriage to a man, who was not only significantly older than she, but a member of her family. There was no genuine love interest in this marriage, more like a business arrangement. Not much time passed and the marriage ended in divorce. Traditional Islamic beliefs would say that this woman is looked down upon, and that divorce is condemned, but with the slight modernization of Iran, this was not as terrible as it had once been.

To Die in Jerusalem

After watching “To Die in Jerusalem,” it made me really sit back and think of the difference between American culture and citizens and the Palestinian way of life. It’s amazing to think of how completely different in ideology we are. Most American’s would never think to give their life for a cause. Why is this? Are we not passionate enough as a nation, or so spoiled that there is nothing more we care about then ourselves and those close to us? This in no means is defending suicide bombings or the outright murder of innocent civilians but it’s just interesting to think about.
It’s completely amazing to me that people think that their way into heaven or the acceptance by God is somehow tied into killing other human beings. Walking into a supermarket filled with people of all ages, innocence and harmlessness, and setting off a bomb is actually sickening. It would be really interesting to know what is said to these people to get them to commit such intense acts. As an American, it is incredible to think of what it would be like to have to actually worry about whether or not it is too dangerous to go to the grocery store and pick up a few things for dinner for your family. These people who are being killed are being killed in everyday situations that should not require any fear, but due to the situation are inundated with the possibility of actual death.
Although George Bush does not always say the best things, it was really gripping when the documentary had him saying that “…when an 18 year old is induced to be a suicide bomber, the future of the Palestinian people is dying; when she kills a 17 year old Israeli girl, the future of the Israeli people is dying… .” This is completely true and heartbreaking at the same time. To have two groups of people have actual malice towards one another it is striking, but to see a mother cry over her seventeen year old daughter’s death is unimaginable.

Thought this was interesting...

I found this article on BBC news, thought it was pretty interesting…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7919050.stm

It has been announced that Israel has plans to build more settlements in the West Bank region, which includes 73,000 homes. This not only is a significant amount of homes to build for the country that is essentially the size of Rhode Island, but it throws a major fork in the road for Palestine’s efforts so to speak. The Palestinian response to this has been with angry and a stern warning to the Israeli government; if they continue to build on the land that Palestinians think it rightfully theirs, there is no hope for peace anytime soon. This really is a terrifying thought not only for Israel but the rest of the region, and world for that matter. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is dragging the rest of the world down along with them, specifically America. Billions of dollars a year are being given to the Israeli government by America in an attempt to sustain the country’s effort.
When comparing this article to the video shown in class, it really shows how unrealistically biased the video was. It stated that all media outlets were against Palestine in a sense, and that this bias was shown through political rhetoric that was meant to distort the public’s image of the situation. One major example used in that video was that the media referred to settlements as “communities”, so when mention was made that the Palestinians were attacking the settlements; it became a more vicious act because of what a community if portrayed as. Read this article, and you will find that there is no mention of 73,000 “communities” being built, but it is clearly stated that these were Israel settlements.
Peace Now head Yariv Oppenheimer said in a radio interview. "The completion of these projects will make the plan of creating a Palestinian state next to Israel totally unrealistic." According to a housing ministry spokesperson, the plans for these settlements are not set in stone, nothing will definitely happen and there is no guaranty most of these settlements will ever be built.

Zayni Barakat

In general, this book was interesting to read but incredibly difficult to understand. The way the chapters were set up, going from narration to individual perspectives made it hard to differentiate fact from fiction/opinion.
Zayni Barakat was the appointed Market Inspectorship to the Egyptian empire in its last years of freedom from the Ottomans. During Barakat’s time in office he made very sure that things were taken care of precisely as he wanted. There were many reasons why he was chosen for this title, including his fairness to all, strength, and ability to do the right thing at all times. Barakat took his job seriously and wanted the best for his people. The citizens were safe under him and that was well known. His ability to keep any sort of public office while Egypt was in such hard times in any society, past or present, speaks volumes for his ability to perform his duties.
It was more likely that people would see Barakat on an average day than not see him. His ideology was essentially not to trust in what others say, that generally they will not sufficiently do a job, therefore he would do what needed to be done to check up on the people. He made it a point to literally go down to the market everyday and ensure that everything was perfect and maintained the regulations set up by the state. In many cases where leaders are too strict with their policies, people begin to become angry, and these policies don’t actually follow through and work. Barakat had a way of actually implementing policies well, and keeping them working smoothly.
People were had mixed feelings of Barakat, especially those who served around him. A large part of his actual success was due in part by his use of spies. The fact of the matter is, regardless of the unsure feelings about how he ran his position and if he was too overpowering and took on too much responsibility.

The Imperial Harem

There is a common misconception that women in Islamic states were never allowed any sort of power or respect. In actuality, the Harem’s were given a great deal of each, even having the responsibility of running a province.
When most people thinking of a Harem, a completely inaccurate depiction of their status is thought of. Western ideas of Harem’s and what happens there are more like inappropriate fantasies made up by people who had no real idea of what was going on. Realistically, not many people knew what happened in the Harem’s. These women were closed off from the rest of the world, not allowed to leave the grounds of the palace. Although they did have a great deal of power, they were kept away from the public in an attempt to hide them and this sacred position from society.
Traditionally the Sultan would have several Harems’ birth his child and the women who birthed a son first was the one sent to a province and given power. The rest of the women who happened to have his children stayed in the Sultan’s palace and were never allowed to leave. Suleiman was the first Sultan to break this. When he met his wife, a slave girl from Russia, he fell madly in love with her. He began basing his political decisions on her opinion and she actually became one of his top advisors. This disturbed a lot of people and made them very weary of him. Eventually the two of them began having children and ended up having several sons. With this, the diminishment of the Harem system happened.
Not only did the change in the role of women therefore change, but so did the basis of the Ottoman Empire. In taking away the power of these women, brothers began fighting with brothers, and greed along with hostility filled the royal palace. It could be said that one of the fundamental reasons the Ottoman Empire began to crash was due in large part to the fall of the Harem.