Studies on Muslim Religion Carried Forward

The time we spent on the split between the Sunni and the Shiite Muslims will be useful to me as an officer in the fleet because it helped me understand our involvement in their conflict as well as some of the beliefs their culture holds. I have not spent much time studying the history of the Muslim religion outside of what I know about the schism between the Sunni and the Shiite. Simply knowing this difference is insufficient to get a sense of their entire history and to be able to recognize who they support and who they fight with. A critical piece of information to note is that there are radical groups originating from both groups of Muslims which are at work in the same region. There are many Muslim extremist groups which exist in the East, such as Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIL, and Hamas. The Salafi movement unites most of these groups, and some profess alignment with either the Sunni or Shiite branches of the Muslim faith. This is where this knowledge becomes useful to me as an officer. I should be able to differentiate extremist groups based on their affiliations and their extremist ideology. There exist passages in the Quran which can be taken out of context, such as this one:

“O you who believe! When you meet those who disbelieve marching for war, then turn not your backs to them. And whoever shall turn his back to them on that day – unless he turn aside for the sake of fighting or withdraws to a company – then he, indeed, becomes deserving of Allah’s wrath, and his abode is hell; and an evil destination shall it be.”

This passage makes it seem permissible to kill in the name of Allah all those who do not believe, and it is used by extremist groups. It is important to note that while Sunni and Shiite Muslims do have their differences and extremist groups do exist in that region of the world, conflict is not so quickly come upon. Sunni and Shiite’s do not condone violence on their own. The actions and dealings of extremist groups is not easily known to outsiders, as they act so sporadically. The information useful to me is that the majority of Muslims in that region are peaceful and do not align with any extremist groups. Recognizing this fact allows for making acquaintances with peaceful Muslims while not offending them with profiling or stereotyping.

Source

https://www.cfr.org/interactives/sunni-shia-divide#!/sunni-shia-divide

The Quran

Word Count – 408

Religious Conflicts Ancient and Modern

Religion has been a major source of conflict since the beginning of time. People oftentimes define themselves and their values and their beliefs on their religions. Thus, leading to strife when one group disagrees with another group’s religion. I have found many parallels between the struggle that existed during the Crusades between the Christians and the Muslims and the struggles we face today with certain terrorist organizations.

The Crusades were rooted in religious beliefs and people were committed to fighting to the death to defend these beliefs. Both sides believed that their reasons for participating in the Crusades were right and justified. The Muslims believed that they had a right to the Holy Land and that God wanted them to lay claim to it. Their reasons to fight are frequently justified in the Qur’an. For example, It is stated “Say, O ye that reject faith! I worship not that which ye worship… To you be your way, and to me mine” (Sura 109;1,2,6). They believed that all those who did not believe in their customs and beliefs did not belong to reap in their victories, that all unbelievers should be punished. On the other hand, the Christians believed that it was their religious duty to recover these holy grounds and avenge for all the deaths and wrongs caused by the Muslims as stated in the Bible “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth’ (Matthew 5). The Christians believed that they must fight in this Crusade to take back everything that the Muslims took from them including their land and families. Both groups believed they were right in fighting these wars for their own specific reasons. They refused to look past their own individual beliefs and attempt to compromise because they were too focused on achieving absolute power and authority in the region.

Currently, one of America’s main goals is to put an end to terrorist organizations. Many of these extremist organizations that America is fighting have rooted their cause in religion. For example, groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda have both made it their individual goal to control and gain authority over the entire Muslim world. These groups have attempted to erase all traces of western influences and ideas from the region and beyond through the use of extreme measures such as events like the bombing in Brussels and 9/11. Specifically, al-Qaeda believes that religions such as Christianity and Judaism are working to eliminate Islam from the world and have taken this as a personal attack which they believe justifies their decisions and actions. America justifies the actions they take against these extremists groups because their ideals do not align with the ideals held by these groups. They are working to stop the spread of these extremist views in hopes to maintain some peace in the region and throughout the world. America and these groups continue to be at war because both sides believe that their reasons for war are more justified than the others.

Word Count: 506

Matthew 5

Sura 109;1,2,6

Applying Confucianism and Legalism to Leading in the Fleet

Anthony Calvelli

As future officers in the fleet, there are many lessons we can take from the philosophies of the Qin and Han dynasties. Legalism was the official philosophy for the Qin dynasty, who were in power from 221 to 207 BC. The main idea behind legalism was to have a strong leader and strict law code, with the punishment for violating this code being severe. After the fall of the Qin, Confucianism took over as the dominant philosophy for the duration of the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). Confucianism was centered on five key relationships within the jen, or society; this philosophy is much more forgiving than legalism, but still demands mutual respect. While each philosophy has its flaws, certain elements from each of these philosophies should certainly be considered when we are formulating our own unique leadership styles.

In Confucianism, one of the five basic relationships of the jen is that between a ruler and their subject. The officer-enlisted relationship in the military is a modern parallel to this. In The Asians: Their Heritage and Their Destiny, Paul Thomas Welty describes the requirements of the two parties: “The inferior owes loving obedience and loyalty to his superior, and the superior owes loving responsibility to the inferior.” Having this philosophy as a leader in today’s military will take you far. As officers in the fleet, we must expect obedience from our subordinates, but at the same time we must be empathetic and think about how the decisions we make affect those under us. Making decisions without taking into account second and third order effects will lead to cynicism and resentment.

Furthermore, we have a responsibility to give praise where praise is due. In The Analects, Confucius wrote “Don’t worry if people don’t recognize your merits; worry that you may not recognize theirs.” This quote epitomizes what we learn about servant leadership here at USNA. It is important to appreciate the value your people bring to the table and reward their accomplishments appropriately. It should not matter whether your own successes are acknowledged; what matters is that the people working tirelessly under you receive recognition.

While legalism is in many ways much too severe, there are some aspects that we must incorporate as leaders due to the unique nature and organization of the military. In Six Examples of Having It Backwards, Han Feizi wrote “the enlightened ruler […] depends on laws and prohibitions to control the people, not on their sense of decency.” While we need to have a certain level of trust in the people we work with, it is essential in the military to have a set standard and to consistently enforce that standard. This does not mean that as a leader we should not have any faith in our people. Rather, we need a way to deal with an individual who decides to not follow orders, respect the chain of command, etc. If we were to rely simply on trust, the rank structure would fall apart and people could end up questioning their leader’s orders in combat where promptly doing what your superior tells you could mean the difference between life and death.

Word Count (without quotes): 472

Works Cited

Confucius. The Analects. Edited by Michael Nylan. Translated by Simon Leys, W. W. Norton, 2014.

Feizi, Han. “Excerpt From Six Examples of Having It Backwards.” SDA AP World History, sdaworldhistory.edublogs.org/files/2015/08/1-Han-Feizi-Legalism-1dfgeq9.pdf.

Welty, Paul Thomas, The Asians: Their Heritage and Their Destiny. Third edition. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1970.

Lessons from a Warrior Culture

Ancient Sparta is a true representation of a warrior culture. Though the modern warrior does not necessarily face his or her enemy in hand-to-hand combat as the Spartans did, the code and morals of a warrior have not changed. In an excerpt from Steven Pressfield’s, The Warrior Ethos, Pressfield sites a story from ancient Sparta:

A messenger returned to Sparta from a battle. The women clustered around. To one, the messenger said, “Mother, I bring sad news: your son was killed facing the enemy.” The mother said, “He is my son.” “Your other son is alive and unhurt,” said the messenger. “He fled from the enemy.” The mother said, “He is not my son” (Pressfield 1).

The Spartans had a nationwide buy-in to winning wars and emerging victorious from battle. A mentality of this extremity is certainly uncommon in the United States today, however there are some lessons to be learned from such a story. The main takeaway that I got out of this parable is to have a greater fear of failing my country and those who I will lead in the future than failing myself. When taking the oath of office as an officer in the United States Navy or Marine Corps, we swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. This is not to be taken lightly, and as a warrior, we must uphold this oath much like the Spartans trained and fought valiantly to protect their homeland. The Spartans had an extremely intense dedication to their state that was not only visible in their warriors, but in their entire population. Such loyalty to one’s country is not as common in the modern era, and is another lesson that can be learned from the Spartan people of Ancient Greece. In Plutarch’s, Insituta Laconica, Plutarch gives an account of the relationship between youth and their elders: “Moreover, the young men were required not only to respect their own fathers and to be obedient to them, but to have regard for all the older men, to make room for them on the streets, to give up their seats to them, and to keep quiet in their presence” (Plutarch). The Spartans highly valued reverence towards their elders, showing great admiration towards the knowledge and experience that came with age in Spartan society. This piety and respect for elders is something that is often taught in modern society, but is still not as vital to American culture as it was to the Spartans. This respect for age and experience is certainly something that will help me as an officer in the United States Navy and Marine Corps, as having an understanding of the importance of experience in the military is absolutely essential. I will be advised by both superior officers and senior enlisted people who have a great deal of experience to share with me. By respecting their seniority and experience, I will learn and hopefully become a better leader armed with such information. The knowledge of ancient civilizations such as the Spartans will be essential in my development as an officer in the United States Navy or Marine Corps.

522 Words

Bibliography

Plutarch. “Insituta Laconica.” The Ancient Customs of the Spartans, University of Chicago, penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Instituta_Laconica*.html.
Pressfield, Steven. The Warrior Ethos. Black Irish Entertainment, 2011.

The Relevance of History

A military officer’s occupation is to protect the United States, and a vital function of that objective is to know the enemy. Learning about the Arabian Peninsula and the rise of Islam continues to be relevant today, as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant poses a serious threat. From the events of 9/11 to bombings in Brussels, shootings in Orlando, and train attacks in Germany among other acts of terrorism, world security is at stake. Although ISIL represents a radical jihadist sect of Sunni Islam, it is critical to understand their religious tenets and explanation for violence to come to a solution or to predict and preclude patterns of violence. Although jihad is not one of the five Islamic virtues, the Quran states

“When you meet in regular battle those who disbelieve, smite their necks; and, when you have overcome them, by causing great slaughter among them, bind fast the fetters – then afterwards either release them as a favour or by taking ransom – until the war lays down its burdens. That is the ordinance. And if ALLAH had so pleased, HE could have punished them Himself, but HE has willed that HE may try some of you by others. And those who are killed in the way of ALLAH – HE will never render their works vain” (47:5).

Therefore, the radical Muslims have a strict, literal interpretation of the Quran and believe it to be their religious obligation to purge anyone with a different ideology, including fellow Muslims with varying doctrinal beliefs. Further, it is also important to understand the basic tenets of Islam to avoid generalization or profiling. The majority of Muslims do not condone violence and follow a religion similar to Christianity in some aspects. To illustrate, according to Pew Research, “most people in several [Middle Eastern] countries with significant Muslim populations have an unfavorable view of ISIS, including virtually all respondents in Lebanon and ninety four percent in Jordan. Relatively small shares say they see ISIS favorably” (Pew Research). As an officer, acknowledgment of this fact is crucial to leading a unified, diverse team. Approximately six thousand people serving in the United States military identify as Muslim and a prominent portion of the Middle East is Muslim. It is essential in leadership to embrace and understand this diversity to create a team in which everyone has valuable input.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/09/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslims_in_the_United_States_military

Word Count: 409

Learning the Past to Prepare for the Future

Observing the mistakes and successes of the past allows us to more readily prepare for a successful future. The study and analyzation of the rise and fall of ancient civilizations has proven critical to shaping modern cultures and governments into what we see today. Most often, mistakes made today have already been made once before in the past. By studying the past, one can better learn to prepare for the future. As a midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy, it is important to study both the successes and failures of ancient civilizations in order to better prepare ourselves to be officers in the fleet.

Looking at the rule of Emperor Wan-li of the Ming dynasty, many lessons can be learned on the importance of respecting cultural tradition as well as understanding what particular powers should be given to a leader. Emperor Wan-li caused great controversy by breaking the ancient tradition of passing down the title of emperor to his first born son, Changxun. Instead, he designated the son of his concubine to be his next heir. While many members supported the emperor’s decision, others saw it as a violation of ancient tradition and Confucian teachings. Had the emperor gone through with his decision to appoint his concubine’s son as his successor, he would have brought great distrust to his authority as well as instability throughout his empire.

As future naval officers, it is important to understand that cultural tradition and values matter in society, and the decisions we make must respect those traditions. In his teachings, Confucius dictates that “if your promises conform to what is right, you will be able to keep your word. If your manners conform to the ritual, you will be able to keep shame and disgrace at bay” (Confucius 4). It is the job of the officer to uphold the standards and virtues that our nation fights to upkeep and defend. If morals and values are eliminated from our daily tasking, the freedoms we fight to maintain will ultimately collapse. Followers will be less inclined to obey, and officers will lose the respect they have worked so hard to earn.

With knowledge learned from past failures, such as the mistakes made by the emperor, we may hopefully prevent leadership mistakes as officers in the near future. Learning about both the successes and failures of ancient civilizations allows midshipmen to gain a better insight of the world around them. Opening their eyes to ancient beliefs and cultures will ultimately create a better understanding of how civilization has developed into what we see today.

Word Count:429

Works Cited

Confucius, The Analects. Translated by Simon Leys; edited by Michael Nylan. Norton Critical Editions. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014.

Knight, Ansley, Blog Post: First Born or Third?. 30 Oct 2018.

Christian v. Islam

I grew up in a Christian home, and it was not until my attendance at the Naval Academy that I learned about the similarities between Christianity and Islam. While these two monotheist religions follow different scriptures, I was surprised to see how similar they are. These similarities and differences are important to explore because it is possible that Christians and Muslims are praying the same God, just under different names and interpretations. Yahweh, the Christian God, and Allah, the God of Islam, are both transcendent and immanent. The universal God cannot be seen and its existence cannot be understood. No man on earth can explain how God was created, nor can they describe what God is like. However, both religions teach that God is immanent; Yahweh manifests His presence on earth through His Holy Spirit and the Qur’an explains the direct connection that Allah has with its followers. Matthew 18 verse 20 states that “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I [God] am there in their midst.” The bible says that God is present amongst us even if we do not see Him, and similarly, according to Qur’an 50:16, Allah is closer to His people than their jugular vein. He is quick to respond when they call upon His name.

Secondly, both Christians and Muslims recognize their sinful state. Christians recognize their sinful tendencies in result of the original sin of Adam and Eve. In order to approach Yahweh, Christians must acknowledge the work of Jesus and the grace of God will allow believers to be deemed without sin. On the other hand, Muslims believe that their innate purity, acquired at birth, allows them to turn to Allah. However, Miner states, “this innate nature has to be realized through religious education since sin leads to heedlessness and ignorance of Allah” (Miner). Both religions require a level of purity to approach God, the only difference lies in the manner that purity is attained. While Christians become pure through their faith in Christ, Muslims remain pure and wash away their sins by learning the teachings of Allah.

Lastly, some of the symbols and rituals of Christianity and Islam are very similar, and they have the same general goal. Both Christians and Muslims use baptism as a symbol of purification. Christians baptize in order to gain a new life in God through Christ. Similarly, Muslims baptize in order to be ready for communion with God. Both religions sees fasting as a symbol of purity and they use it in order to seek a deeper connection with the universal God.

Islam and Christianity both worship one universal God, under different names. Both scriptures recognize the vulnerability of believers and their ability to sin, and their symbols and rituals are a lot similar. Despite these similarities, what separates Christians and Muslims is Jesus Christ. Christians see Jesus as God himself, while Muslims see him as a great prophet, no different from the other prophets of his time.

Miner, Maureen (01/01/2014). “Spiritual attachment in Islam and Christianity: similarities and differences”. Mental health, religion & culture (1367-4676), 17 (1), p. 79.

Similarities Between Christianity and Islam

Before taking Pre-modern in the West, I had no knowledge of the ideals and fundamentals behind the religion of Islam. I grew up in a Christian home and have a good understanding of the Christian religion and its belief in salvation through Jesus. To my surprise, I learned that the Christian faith and Islam share many similarities that date back to some ancient historical figures.

One of the similarities shared includes their acknowledgment that Jesus lived and that he was a prophet. Despite the belief that Jesus lived, Islam believes that Jesus was never crucified on the cross. The denial of this event countermands the very idea that Jesus died and that his resurrection did not occur. Christianity, however, believes that Jesus died on the cross, was resurrected from the dead, and paid for the sins of mankind so that they may be saved from an eternity in hell. Islam and Christianity consider Jesus a great prophet but identify his divinity differently. For example, Islam finds it blasphemous to recognize Jesus as God, because they believe in only one God, Allah. Christians believe in the holy trinity which is made up in three coequal and coeternal forms in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Another similarity between both religions are the stories told in both the Bible and the Qur’an. Although some of the stories are shared in both books, Christians believe that the Qur’an is not the Word of God, and accept only the Bible as divine. However, the Islam religion believes that the Bible agrees with part of the Qur’an, but do not agree with the belief that Jesus was divine and he is the way to salvation. Islam believes that to be saved, one must fully submit to the will of Allah and that salvation may be granted by his mercy alone.

While both of the religions share some foundational similarities, they differ in the interpretation of specific prominent figures and events. Both of the beliefs are not mutually exclusive but are mere interpretations of different groups of people who were influenced by their way of life and ideals. Fundamentally, they do not agree, but both religions were shaped by events that are captured in both the Qur’an and the Bible. It is important to note that historical events such as the crusades aided in creating a divide between both religions, making the similarities seem like mere coincidences.

By Carlos Gallardo

Word count: 404

Who came first

The First Crusade began with the rallying of the European Christians following the council of Clermont. The council rallied the Europeans around the need to defend Constantinople and the atrocities committed against the Christians in the east. The council ended with the cries of Deus vult, or God will it, but there was no mention of Jerusalem or a further conquest of the holy land. The first crusade was unprepared and only successful because of sheer numbers. The continuation to Jerusalem seems to be a decision of convent circumstance based on the fact that a European army was already mobilized in the region. The Turks fighting against the Christians encroaching toward Jerusalem provided the first major resistance to the incoming crusaders, but also confirmed the idea that Jerusalem was something that needed to be taken back. The Turks who were fighting acted in defense of their homeland but he Christians took their fighting as assurance that the holy city was a sacred place that needed to be protected. This thought is based on the basic and simple human desire to realize a person wants something more because everyone else also wants it.

The church in Rome believed that they had the rights to Jerusalem because they once ruled over it and the spread of Islam must be stopped. This idea of containment quickly spread to the Jewish faith and led to the killings of Jews across the region. The church declared this killing an attempt to convert the “ungodly heathens” who were occupying the Christian holy city. The Pope conveniently forgot that the Jews were ruling over Jerusalem since the time of King David and before their religion had begun. By their logic the Jews should be the rightful owners of the holy city. The Jews were the ones who ruled over Jerusalem when it was declared it a holy city. Without the Jews the Muslims would have no city to attempt to claim and the Christians would have no religion at all. In the Jewish faith Jerusalem is the foundation of their people, it is the place where Abraham, the head of Judaism, nearly sacrificed his son Isaac to God thousands of years before Muhammad or Jesus was born. In the Book of Deuteronomy, a text spoken from God to Moses, it is written that Abraham’s grandson Israel learned that Jerusalem is “the site that the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes, as a place established in His name”. These fundamental pieces of the Jewish faith give the Jews the most right over Jerusalem.

WC:424

Ryan Franco

Blog Post 5: The Meaning Behind Crusade

In medieval terms, the crusades were a series of wars which were based on religious motives. The First Crusade was the Christian effort to recover the Holy Lands as their own. The Second Crusade was launched in Europe by the Catholics as a fight against Islam. It resulted in a large failure for the Crusaders and a massive victory for the Muslims. An article was written in February 2018 referring to the crusades of Billy Graham. Billy Graham was an evangelist who traveled all over the world spreading his beliefs about God. I believe that the way crusade was used in referring to Billy Graham’s evangelistic campaigns are much different from the way that the word is looked at when speaking of the medieval crusades.

When looking at the ancient Crusades, there is a connotation of war and violence in order to achieve the overall goal. In the Second Crusade, the Catholics launched an all-out holy war against the Muslims. This is how people generally look at the term crusade today. It is not looked at as something peaceful due to how the crusades took place in ancient times. The only real similarity between Billy Graham and the ancient crusades were that each of their goals were founded on religious motives. However, they were completely different events from one another. The fight to take the Holy Lands back from the Muslims showed a type of fear or hatred towards Islam. This was not Billy Graham’s view at all. After the September 11th terrorist attacks, Billy Graham actually stopped referring to his actions as crusades in an effort to not upset the people of Islam. While each event was in an effort to push their own religious agenda forward, the two crusades are completely different from one another.

Because of these glaring differences, I don’t think that calling Billy Graham’s actions crusades is an accurate use of the word. The most accurate term that I would use for what he did is an evangelical campaign. Crusades, in my estimation, are fights or conflicts that take place in order to push forward a religious motive. Billy Graham did was not fighting with anyone; he was simply making any effort he could to let everyone know what he believed and persuade them to have the same beliefs. Other than the shared religious correlations, Billy Graham’s campaigns were not similar to the medieval crusades.

Word Count: 400

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/02/21/billy-graham-crusades-how-evangelists-reached-millions/858165001/