Chapter 24 summary: Culture in worlds affairs Forming communities resulted in what we call culture.

While the characteristics of the society or the community, such as language, art, beliefs, traditions are the bases that the culture is built upon, it tells the substance of identity the society has. Between culture and religion: Religion has a major influence in most societies, by transmitting values and a defined way in which a human life should be , Which gives the individuals or the societies a moral core and a spirit they guides the community towards stability . There is a Problem with defining culture is because culture is dynamic and too complex. Between culture and civilization :

*Civilization in Europe has always been connected on the superiority and the intellectual achievements and their nation state models , based on that they defined other civilizations as the other states , and judged them based on their own standards . *today there are a lot of civilizations that are also considers major cultural views such as western, Islamic, and eastern civilizations . Some civilizations are multi cultural so they cant be considered as one cultural power. The importance on culture : *After the end of cold war, the world saw so many changes, the western superiority, the communication revolution as well as globalization, all that required cultural analysis to the major actors in the international system because ; 1) culture offered a simpler and easier understanding of all the aspects of the new era. 2) a way for all the cultures that are now having easier contact to understand each others. * The emergence of the hegemony of the transitional liberalism : Which means an ideology of the market was being reproduced by the powerful constituency of the liberal states, and the international institutions.

The multiculturalism of Globalization: Globalization in itself creates multiculturalism , with it open global contacts between cultures is available and advertising western cultures in eastern ones and vise versa has become very clear nowadays. But even with the mixture of cultures and cultural diffusion that some civilizations is facing. A complete universal culture is somewhat impossible to achieve, because the basic ethnic beliefs and religion are factors that kept living side by side along with the new cultural values and influences.

Counter argument of globalization: The absence of global but theory of the resistance in the new globalized world let to societies back and clinging to their values and religion. Religion acted as a major role player in helping people fining certainty and their roles in this world, which meant they played a big role in politics. With the revival of the religion governments tried to control the public with various methods; either with some policies involving religious beliefs or with the basic beliefs of the religion itself as a tool to control people. With that fundamentalism rose to the scene as a reaction that globalizing and wide spread modernity, and the secular movement. How did fundemanalistis work? A) They tried to find any way possible to interpret their faith and religion in a way that allowed them to use violence when they want to use it. B) They sought to purify society in extreme violent ways Fundamentalism could be found in most of todays major religions. Through all that we can see that fundamentalism is based on extreme xenophobia and is trying to eliminate its fears by violence.

Clash of civilization Is a theory by Samuel Huntington, reflected a new principles and patterns of conflicts that are shaped by cultures and civilizations. Civilizations will determine the powers and politics in the international system. 4 major principles in the international system: 1) The relative decline of the west 2) The rise of the Asian economy, especially chinas possibility to become the greatest power in the history. 3) Revival of Islam and the explosion in its population. 4) The impact of globalization. New cultural reviving was spread on a wide scale, and local loyalties changing their direction to global aspects, National, Socialists ideologies giving a way to more religious oriented ideologies Liberal ideologies might have had a great impact on the western world, but not on the more religious cultures of the eastern world As for Huntington, civilizational politics would be recognized as real only if individuals and the states recognized their cultural concerns. We can find civilizational politics at a centralized model such as the western ones; we can also find them without a center core state such as Islamic civilizations and cultures nowadays. Because of the no center state model in Islamic cultures we might find more reasons to conflicts as we can see how Islamic cultures have a lot of internal conflicts. The micro level of cultural conflicts: The conflicts happens at a local level between groups in the states and these groups are bound to bring their allies into that conflict so the problems are prone to get bigger in the long run . The macro level of conflicts: The conflicts happen mostly between what we call today, the WEST and the REST, and it takes the shape of a general competition between states involved in the conflict. Although Huntingtons theory was continues but it had a problem which was that it didnt mention the cooperation between cultures nor did it mention the effects of such cooperation, but only focused on the conflicts different cultures brings to the international system.

Islam: Conflicts at the civilizational level Islamic revivalism started in the Middle East as a mass movement by the youth of the middle and lower classes. These movements turned Islam into a culture that gave them self worth in a capitalist society that only benefited the upper classes. Islamic Fundamentalism: With the revival of Islam came with the price of militia movements happening across of the middle east, these militias were a tool for Islamist fundamentalists to implement their perception of Islam based on their own basic interpretation on it, their aim is an Islamic state through a total Islamic law, without any influence of the western modernization or liberalism. Examples of Islamic fundamentalism: One of the most known groups in the middle east that are known for their fundamentalism is the Muslim Brotherhood group in Egypt, it was founded in 1928 and spread wide across the middle east in Palestine, Jordan, Syria and some parts of northern Africa. The organization was basically social but involves itself in politics, the social aim of the organization is benevolent and is to help Muslim communities , But when the organization gets involved in politics it also usually involves violent protests against the secular regime of Egypt , they argue that the best political system possible would be an Islamic one . Example of a fundamentalist violent act: Is the 9-11 events: Explanations and reasons that might have led to 9-11: A new wave of what we know as terrorism appeared after the western Islamic alliance that was forged mainly between the west and some Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia , Qatar and Egypt, some Islamists didnt like the so called friendship and considered it a treason to the Islamic nation , and they dedicated money, weapons, and special education to support militias that will fight against the evil west , they came together under the leadership of Osama BinLadin and they created ALQAEDA group. For these groups the main aim was to eliminate the western evil as a way to show their worship to god and their loyalties toward the Islamic nation. Attacks were happening on western buildings in most of KSA and east Africa. But the major attack was designed for USA itself. On the 11th of September 2001 the promise Al-Qaida made to USA has arrived. Two attacks happened the first was on the world trade center buildings in New York and the second was on the American pentagon building in Washington DC, Killing thousands of people.

The Aftermath: The attacks not only resulted in a huge wave of resentment towards Muslims as well as a spreading phenomenon of Islamophobia all over the western world, , new laws were made across all Europe and America to make immigration harder liberal countries becoming less so and the emergence of the so called American war on terrorism. In the media the attack represented the backwardness of Islam and Muslims, and that a war was needed to bring democracy, liberal ideas and liberation in itself for the people in the Islamic countries of the repressed Middle East and all the countries that have the same problem. Bush declared an axis of evil containing Iran, Iraq and North Korea as the evil and leaving KSA with only questions around it. Huntingtons clash of civilization theory rose back to surface and the reason of all conflicts that was happening was the different cultures the axis of evil has and their inability to adapt to the liberal superior civilization in the west and thus the need to eliminate them (basically Muslim fundamentalists) to get rid of all of the conflicts in the international system. The future of Islam in the global age: The Islamic republic of Iran: Was established after the revolution of 1978, they promoted missionary Islam that sought to destroy all sources of evil and corruption on the earth, I.E. USA and Israel, they ignored all the realities of power and the cost was the rise of pragmatists in the republic, the death of Khomeini led to reorganization in the politics and economy policies, the public wanted more freedom, the conservative government had their doubts about it, the Islamic-liberal adaption was rough and grow very slowly, some liberal democratic events were marred with conservative government intervention, such as the elections in 2004 the fairness of the election got covered with the government banning hundreds of opposition from running for office.

The main problem for the Islamist fundamentalists that they were unable to adapt to the pragmatism needed in the political and economic worlds of the 21 st century, and many internal different voices within the same ideology is bound to cause conflicts sooner rather than later if there was no higher central authority governing them By: Maha Abusalim