Global Islamic Politics

Global Islamic Politics

The Arab Spring

The article here in reviews discusses the issue of how the Arab world is changing toward the better after the number of countries saw their dictator regimes being overthrown. Egypt and Libya are two such examples of the uprising and fight against oppression in the Middle Eastern region. The Arabs seems to have developed a sense of pride and strength after Hosni Mubarak and Gaddafi were removed from power. Prior to these revolutions, the people of Middle Eat were largely viewed as backward and negative. The dictators had long suppressed the people. The view of the Western media has also changed with the revolutions and people are now voicing their support for the people of the countries that have succeeded or are in a state of war against the tyrant regimes. The key issue here that people have now stood up for their right to have a democratic country and let their voices be heard. The negative sentiment against the West have also witnessed changed after prominent Western countries supported the fight against dictators (Quarterly, 2007).

Humanitarianism, Islam and 9/11

It is widely accepted that the attacks of 9/11 were an act of extremism. After the attacks, the world became skeptical of the teachings of Islam and many started believing that Islam is a religion that promotes such actions against followers of other faiths. The truth though could not be any further. The world and the media views Islam and Muslims as enemies of peace. The biggest issue here is that Muslims have done little to shed the image. In stark contrast to the Western image of Islam, there are numerous individuals that have been working toward the betterment of their societies. One such example is that of the Edhi Foundation in Pakistan. Abdul Sattar Edhi runs the foundation that serves people without discrimination. The other side of the coin is Hezbollah, a Shia Islamic organization that has been actively involved in threatening and carrying out attacks on Americans and Westerners. This confusion image of one religion is one of the major reasons behind the image that the West has of Islam and Muslims.

Foundation of Hezbollah

The Lebanese organization of Hezbollah was a result of the attacks that Israel made on Lebanon claiming that Jews had the God-given right to that land. The founders of Hezbollah believe that countries of the First World or the West have long battled each other for influence over the world. This led to the division of alliance between United States and the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Hezbollah believes that the Muslim world has been suffering due to the imperialist nature of the West. They are of the view that the West has, on purpose, divided Muslims so that they could rule the world. As a consequence, Hezbollah has been focused on fighting Israel and the West to 'protect' Islam. But there are those that believe that Hezbollah is looking to gain political influence over the region in order to ...