Culture, Value and Religion Conflicts of the World

ByVanesa Galindo

What is culture?

• Culture is all that has been created such ideas, objects and ways of doing things by a given society for its survival.

• Culture consists of learned ways of acting, feeling and thinking.

• It gives us messages that shape our perceptions, attributions, judgments, and ideas of self and other.

• Cultural groups share: – language, dress, and food customs. – race, ethnicity, or nationality– may arise from generations, socioeconomic class, sexual

orientation, ability and disability, political and religious affiliation, language, and gender.

What are Values?

• Values are those things that really matter to each of us. They are the ideas and beliefs we highly desire and long-last.

• Values are usually justify by the beliefs we cherish.– Ex. Americans value freedom because they belief

in individualism.

What is Religion?

• Religion is a system that includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the individuals experiences of life.

Religion gives:• A basic understanding of life.• Sense of meaning and purpose.• A connection to something superior.

Connections

• There exists differences in culture, values and religion around the world.

• People construct norms and ways of living, their culture, based on the values and beliefs they acquired in their society.

• Conflict around the world arises because people have different perspectives of what is to be fundamental to human existence.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict• The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has transcended

from being a territorial dispute into being a religious conflict between the Muslims and Jews.

• Both sides use their values and beliefs to justify their ownership of the land.

• “Jihad in the way of Allah, for the cause of Allah, can be pursued either with your financial resources or your bodily strength when you go to fight the enemy in the battlefield. So jihad, the highest form, is fighting in the cause of Allah."

– Israr Ahmad

Kashmir Conflict

• Territorial dispute over the northwester most region of South Asia.

• Conflict among different cultural perspectives of the Hindus and Muslims.

• It is also a dispute about acknowledgement, representation, and legitimization of different identities and ways of living, being, and making meaning.

• Religion ideology plays an important role in such conflict.

Darfur Conflict(2003)

• Janjaweed, a militia group consisting of local Arab tribes, wages war against the non-Arab peoples in Darfur.

• The Sudanese government publicly denies support of Janjaweed but allegedly provides arms and assistance.

• An on going genocide because of ethnic and cultural differences.

September 11, 2001• Extreme-Islamists Taliban Group led to deaths of

over 2000+ people.• "For more than seven years the United States has

been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples" –Osama Bin Laden

“Killing in the name of God”

Osama Bin Laden “Letter to America,” begins with a quote from the Qur’an:

“Permission to fight is given to those who are fought against, because they have been wronged and surely, Allah is Able to give them victory.”[Quran 22: 39].

Global Impact• Globalization plays a tremendous role in world

conflicts.• Through globalization culture, values, religion

ideologies clash in a dramatic way that lead to terrorizing consequences such as wars, genocides and terrorism.

• It is impossible to keep a conflict within boundaries, therefore having a global affect.

• Nations use their culture, values and religion to justify policies that affect people on a broad level.

Bibliography• Amanda Fortier. “Culture and Conflict: Introduction.”The Power of Culture.2008. 28 September 2009. <http

://www.powerofculture.nl/en/specials/culture-and-conflict/Introduction>.

• Amnesty International USA. “Crisis in Darfur.” Our Priorities. AmnestyInternationalUSA.org. 30 September 2009. Web. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/darfur/page.do?id=1351050>.

• FlashPoints.info. “Kashmir-Indian vs. Pakistan.” FlashPoints.info. 28 September 2009. <http://www.flashpoints.info/countries-conflicts/Kashmir-India_vs_Pakistan-web/Kashmir-India_vs_briefing.html>.

• Horton, Robin. “A Definition of Religion and its Uses.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 90, No. 2 (Jul. - Dec., 1960), pp. 201-226. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2844344>.

• Johnson, David. “Osama bin Laden Wealthy Saudi exile is a terrorist mastermind.” infoplease.com. 30 September 2009. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/osamabinladen.html>.

• Lopper, Jerry. “What are Values?”.Suite101.com. 10 Aug. 2006. 28 September 2009. <http://personaldevelopment.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_are_values_>

• ProCon.org. “What are the solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?” Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.ProCon.org. 28 September 2009. Web. <http://israelipalestinian.procon.org>.