The Issues Of Women In The Middle East - Case Study Example

?Discuss, by giving examples, the reasons for the variations in the treatment of women, their status, and their conditions in Moslem dominated countries of the Middle East.  Women in Middle East are considered to be one of the most prominent issues of treatment of discussion even up to this day. One must realize that women in Middle East have an attitude of imposing strict shariah towards women. However, there is a fine line between religion and culture. This could be perfectly displayed as Saudi Arabia, the monumental place for Islam, forbids women to drive alone. Ironically enough, there is no evidence in Quran and Sunnah that supports this absurd theory. In fact, Islam was one of the first religions to grant voting rights to women. Nonetheless, women are not allowed to hold any political positions in the Middle East. One cannot ignore the fact that women are treated harshly in Middle East due to the egoistic and hostile attitudes of man. This is completely frustrating since Islam appreciates the beauty of women. Women are obligated to cover themselves in order to protect their chastity, which is no doubt essential even to women. However, men are considered to be a superior sex, much abuse is embedded in society unfortunately. Women at times are forced to marry within cultures in arranged marriages. The most heinous crimes that are committed in Middle East consist of the genital mutilation of the females. This sickening acts are illogical and are detrimental to a female’s health. Although that is not the case in every situation, it is a common issue that plagues the society. Moreover, conclusive research indicates that a mass tradition of giving “child brides” to men is initiated daily. These child brides are young girls that are given as “gifts” for popular general and military officials. Furthermore, women are limited towards education, wealth and power. Therefore, without much education, women are forced to depend on men. In addition, a husband can divorce his wife at any possible time. However for women to demand divorce is time consuming and excruciating even though women are granted that right in Islam. In a Saudi trial, the testimony of one man equals that of two women. Again, there are no references in the Shariah that indicate that. If a woman is faced with rape charges, she will be stoned to death. Although this is the same situation for the men also, it does bring concerns about humanitarian issues in general. The women’s inferiority has no doubt been the focal point in all the statutory laws in Middle East. Nonetheless, it is nothing but ignorance towards the distinction between religion and the thirst for power. Discuss the main reasons for the failure of peace process between Palestinians and Israelis.  One of the main conflicts that have been an interesting point of notice throughout history is the Palestine and Israel war. This topic is exclusively special as it is an accumulation of history, modern day politics, culture and religious issues. In essence, the Jews have been persecuted and pushed around for centuries and decades. The downfall of Hitler in World War II was a turning point for the Jews, who found themselves in search of a nation. The roots of the conflict can be found during the 19th century, with a rise in national movements as Zionists and Arab nationalists declared war on each other. The Jews in search for a united nation went back and migrated to “Land of Israel.” This self-determination seemed as a catalyst for future problems and the continue struggle to obtain the possession of the land. The main cause of the conflict can be traced to the dissolvent of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan area. During the 1880s, the Jewish migration was based on the fact of possessing the heritage of being European, not Jewish. Hence, the Europeans felt that migration was to their existence as anti-Jewish riots in Russia were implemented. Thus, the Jews in search of a secured homeland began to arriving in Palestine. As a result, the Arab population became irate as hoards of Jews continued to invade their homeland. To halt the waves of migration, the Ottomans refused to sell land to foreigners. By 1914, the Jewish population in Palestine had accumulated to 60,000, which again made tensions worse between both sides. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the region of Palestine was given to the Jews in the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The Arabs felt threatened to the mass migration of the Jews due to the fact that it risked a huge threat to their national identity. Furthermore, Muslims and Jews have been the prime enemies of one another since the revelation of the Old Testament and the Quran. Clearly, the war has gotten out of hand as both sided continue to use full force against each another. The main reasons that continue to be determined consist of: mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of Jerusalem, and the establishment of the holy land itself. The holy land has a special religious institution that is known as Al-Aqsa Mosque. This place is a religious site for all Abrahamic religions. The Grand Mufti of the Palestine continued to stir this conflict by blackmailing Muslims that the Jews were seeking to rebuild the temple in their holy place. Hence, riots and violence escalated as the Middle East was once again became the target of blood and violence. In an attempt to reconcile both sides, President Clinton met with Arafat and Rabin to reach an agreement to decide the fate for this conflict. The Oslo Accords was a futile attempt by Clinton to establish negotiations as the Arafat rejected the initiative and proposed no counter negotiations. The conflicts have gotten worse as Rabin was assassinated by a radical Jew, who could not fight to obtain land for the Jews along with stopping the terrorism that was so prevalent in Israel. Hopefully, both sides can reach negotiations as the sake of innocent civilians are at stake in this huge issue. Drawing on different explanations given in the course, discuss the main causes of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.  The US invasion of Iraq is again one of the most critical issues that continue to be the focal point even up to this day. The first issue was the fact that Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader at that time, possessed weapons of mass destruction. The Bush administration made it clear post September 11 that they will take every threat seriously in order to hallmark the idea of protecting the secure the liberty for their nation. Hence, it became evident that Iraq was a threat towards world peace as it held weapons of mass destruction. The US suspected that Hussein would give these pricey possessions to Al Qaeda, America’s prime enemy. This was a risk that the US could not afford to take especially post September 11. Conclusive research by the Bush administration indicates that there were strong ties between Al Qaeda and the Iraqi government. One also cannot ignore the fact that the United States of America was having problems internationally with Iran also. Invading and defeating Iraq would make Iran fearful of US dominance. By implementing American military, the United States would position itself to fight Iran headfast for future wars. Another reason that the Bush administration pursued on invading Iraq is due to the violation of human rights that the country suffered under the ruthless dictatorship of Hussein. The people under his tyrant regime had no political power to implement reform and were often persecuted for liberation. Furthermore, Hussein lived in a kingdom of his own by abusing the wealth of the people and utilizing his power to eliminate any threats. By lavishly spending the tax money of his citizens, Hussein’s power was impossible to challenge. Lastly, the US global policy was a key reason for the invasion of the Iraq. Defeating Iraq would serve as a central theme for other nations who threated United States. Establishing Democracy in Iraq would be a huge victory for the United States of America in its quest to bring world order. Also, one cannot argue that the plentiful of oil reserves in Iraq also served as an incentive. It became almost a global strategy to implement the idea of fighting terrorism along with establishing democracy. Discuss the treatment of religion and religious forces by the state in Turkey and Iran in the 20th century and the consequences of such policies for the development of each country. The nation of Turkey is currently classified as an “Islamic state.” However, the concept of freedom of practicing other religions has been quickly declining over the past decades. The constitution grants freedom of religion throughout the nation; however, it has been noted that limitations are put on the Muslims, especially for those who held government positions. Without a doubt, Turkey has a democratic government and strong establishment of secularism. Nonetheless, the Turkish government has snatched religious freedom and violated many civil rights for its citizens. Conclusive research indicates that the 2009 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report placed Turkey on its Watch List' with countries such as Afghanistan, Cuba, the Russian Federation, and Venezuela. According to this report, Jews enjoy the bounties of religious freedom more than anyone else and they are protected by the government. Moreover, they have the liberty to establish and fund their own schools, synagogues, and other institutions. Yet anti-Semitism continues to be an alarming factor as Jews have been victims of ethnic profiling in Turkish media and society. Lastly, Roman Catholics were also victims of social attacks as the Muslim population retaliation for his support of the Danish cartoons. Many individuals express their interest in converting to Islam as many Christians and Jews have in the past. However, the country is strict to impose regulations and creates barriers for individuals as it views this as “Islamic fundamentalism.” Moreover, these individuals face social harassment, which is totally unconstitutional. Furthermore, many officials abused their positions in the name of Islam as they would be inclined to favor a religious group. Many would claim to be the “successor of Muhammad.” Nonetheless, Turkey continued to act in different ways for religious enactment. The secular of power of Islamic authorities was clearly diminished as religious education was eliminated. Turkey’s secularization towards Islam seems illogical as the nation has no front strategy towards implementing any reform. The religious values and beliefs have been slowly declining as the country moves to the 21st century. Drawing on the history of at least two countries in the Middle East, discuss the main causes of the persistence of dictatorship and underdevelopment in the region.  The Middle East through history has been the key point of discussions for the causes of turbulence in international affairs and the impact of the detrimental dictatorships that has plagued the nation. Without a doubt, Iraq is the first nation that has to be discussed is Iraq. Hussein’s rise to power is interesting as Saad Aburish, author of Saddam Hussein, states, “He was from a very poor family, in a village called Al Awja, which is next to the town of Tikrit. As a young boy he had to steal so his family could eat. He stole eggs, and he stole chicken, things like that." Saddam was politically active throughout his career as he propagated for Arab unity and joining the socialist Ba'ath Party. Three years later, he participated in a pointless assassination attempt against the Iraqi Prime Minister General Abdel-Karim Qassem. Ironically enough, Saddam was shot in the leg during the attempt and was forced to leave the country in order to preserve his reputation One cannot refute the fact that Hussein’s rise to dictatorship was due to his leadership ability. As a vice president under Hassan al-Bakr’s regime, Hussein excelled in creating security forces that resolved conflicts between government officials and the military. Furthermore, his influence over the state-owned banks gave him supreme control. Saddam continued to plot his plan and established his authority during the 1970s due to the prosperous economy of oil money he invested within the country. Similar to its neighborhood country, Iran has faced a similar situation with the tyrant rule of dictatorship that continues to be the focal point of its political dilemma. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the current dictator of Iran as he has been ruling for over 5 years, a very short term compared to other leaders. Nonetheless, he was elected ironically by his own nation but continues to rule over the country even with the recent criticism he has faced. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, however, is less of a tyrant than Saddam Hussein. His rise to power clearly can be pointed towards his strong background of being an engineer and professor. In the 2005 election to the presidency, Ahmadinejad did not hold any administrative position and was a undoubtedly unknown in the political sphere. Moreover, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had strong government influence as he was elected Mayor and then later ran as a presidential candidate. He has met with many allegations and controversies yet he continues to impose his strong will of power and control. His run for presidency in his second term was widely criticized as many alleged him for tainting the election. With reference to at least two countries, discuss the interactions between religion and politics and their consequences for democracy, freedom, and equality in the Middle East.  Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest nations in the world that possess the world’s finest resources. However, the country dwells on the issues of shariah too much, which has clearly affected the dynamics of its quest to achieve democracy. The Saudi government imposes hard fast rules that it associated with shariah. Yet, no solid evidence suggests that it consults its Islamic scholars prior to the enactment of these legislations. The country has suppressed the basic rights for its women and has limited them in every aspect. This is detrimental to the country and its future generations as the women in their society will be behind in knowledge and technical skills. Moreover, the focus for the Saudi people just lies on extreme nationalism and egoism. No sincere effort has been made to preach tolerate other cultures, religions, and nations to the younger generation. Since most elites control the power and the wealth in the country, the young generation feeds of nationalism rather than academic education. Furthermore, most of the government runs through Islamic law, the idea of democracy stands little or no chance. The power is in the hands of the elites who are well-off and suppress these opportunities to the lower class. Another nation that has been crippled through this effects of trying to balance politics and religion is Bahrain. Sadly enough, Bahrain has been facing domestic dilemmas as it tries to establish its identity as a Shi'ite or Sunni nation. Due to this illogical conflict, there has been brutal warfare within the country. Sunni and Shi'ite groups continue to target themselves through suicide bombing which has caused alarming death rates of civilians. Moreover, Bahrain’s economy continues to struggle due to this conflict. Clearly the nation is struggling for establishing an identity of a so-called “Muslim nation.” It has been so over engrossed in its agenda to identify its Islamic identify that it has loss the value of human life. Moreover, its economy has been struggling to thrive and no progressive reform movement has been catered towards women and children. Ironically, the Saudi government got involved and sent troops to Bahrain to suppress this revolution. In addition, Bahrain continues to struggle with border issues with Qatar. Since Bahrain is connected to Qatar, a region of Saudi Arabia, tensions continue to mount between both countries. Without a doubt, Sunnis and Shi'ite conflict will continue to grow worse if democracy is not embedded in their political system. Works Cited Johnston, C. (n.d.). Saudi Shi'ite protests simmer as Bahrain conflict rages | Reuters . Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. Retrieved July 28, 2011, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/21/us-saudi-shiites-idUSTRE72K1H220110321 Read More