Mart Gnosis

More than 30 medieval castles still stand in the southeast area of England as a reminder of the days when The united kingdom was a region divided by dominating families who created formidable fortresses to shield their lands from invaders, both foreign and local. Current castle trips make it easy for visitors to acquire an idea of how crucial these superbly safeguarded complexes are to the rich historical past and culture of Great britain. Discovering the the royal collections of well known aristocrats such as Mary Queen of Scots during guided trips of the Arundel Castle in West Sussex provide tourists a sense of the splendour and elegance that surrounded the British aristocracy in medieval times. The specialist guides tell tales that bring the past to life as they retell popular struggles and stories that are around this interesting castle. At the majestic Guildford Castle, tourists can safely go up to high on top of the Great Tower to see the wide ranging viewpoint that was put to use by the castle’s defenders to see nearing opposing troops. Within are exhibits that let visitors examine designs of the castle as it was initially built in the 1300s. Informative videos describe the function that Guildford Castle performed in British history. The minute the wonderful Herstmonceux castle comes into sight, visitors are impressed by the moat that emphasizes how formidable defenses were required to dissuade invaders when this castle was made in the turbulent times of 15th century England. Though once in ruins, the castle has been magnificently restored and is now house of the Queen’s Bader Institute. Encircling the castle beside the moat are public grounds that echo the Elizabethan time when lands were elegant play grounds for the aristocracy. Right after the turning forest trails that steer towards wood land sculptures that are displayed in the Shakesphere garden, Rose Garden and the Herb Garden present visitors a feeling of how the romance of courtliness was once performed amid these stunning spaces. High atop the famous white cliffs of Kent, the Dover Castle’s breath-taking sights throughout the English channel make it obvious why this historic site has been put to use for centuries to guard the south eastern shores of Britain. Dover Castle was designed by William the Conqueror in 1066 after his success at the Battle of Hastings, yet there are damages surrounding the castle that date back much further, and evidence of advancements through the years. Seeing the many versions of this strategic site, including a hall once referred to as Arthur’s Hall, gives current visitors a taste of Britain’s rich history. When you enter into Hever Castle, the childhood household of Anne Boylen, the homely ambiance is quite different from other southeastern English castles. The exhibits of personal items and copies of the gowns worn by the six wives of Henry the VIII reflects the wealth of 16th century Tudor lifestyle. But the selection of weapons, armor and tools of torture and execution in the Council Chamber talk of a much darker side of life full of high intrigue and real danger that lurked in the medieval courts. Find out more details about some of the numerous Castles in England

Writing about Wahabism and Salafi-Islam, could fill many books. I will however in this article, try to make clear why it is of tremendous importance in our time. Both movements are considered as the origin of Islamic terrorism. A lot of recent Islamic terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, have been inspired by Wahabism.

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703 - 1792 ) was an Arab theologian born in Saudi Arabia and can be considered as the founder of Wahabism. Wahab is considered by many to be a great reformer of Islam, and at the same time as the “father of Islamic terrorism. Iwill not go deeply into his teachings, but expose the teachings of two of his contemporary followers.

Salman bin Fahed al-Auda, in his book “The End of History”, asserts that the solution to Islamic distress , that may bring about the fall of America and the Western world, “exists in one word which is Jihad”. According to al-Auda, the meaning of jihad is much broader than fighting with a sword. Appealing to Muslims throughout the world, he wrote: “We should not simplify this issue and narrow its meaning to a restricted military battle in one of the Islamic regions or even to an all-out war against the West, which is possible and predicted and we assume is arriving… Life as a whole is a battlefield. The weapons are not only the rifle, the bullet, the airplane, the tank, and the cannon. Not at all! Thinking is a weapon, the economy is a weapon, money is a weapon, water is a weapon, planning is a weapon, unity is a weapon, and so there are many types of weapons.” In “The End of History”, al-Auda concluded that the West by itself was already in an advanced state of decay: “The West, and above all the United States, and Western culture, in general are undergoing a historical process that is deterministic. This process leads to its total collapse, sooner or later.” His jihad was intended to accelerate that collapse. During the 1990’s, he was regarded as the most influential preacher in Saudi Arabia and Osama Bin Laden often cites out of his work.

Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, lin his book “Democracy is a Religion”, denies the traditional protection given by Islam to Jews and Christians. For al-Maqdisi, democracy is a prohibited innovation that contradicts Islamic values and embodies a new heretical religion. Its followers are “infidels” and “polytheists,” even if they consider themselves as Jews or Christians by religion. Al-Maqdisi based his claim on the following arguments:
1. “Democracy gives legitimacy to the legislation of the masses or to the despotic regime. It is not the rule of Allah….Allah ordered his Prophet to execute the commands given to him and forbade him to follow the emotions of the nation, the masses, and the people.”
2. “Democracy is the rule of the masses or the rule of paganism, which is conducted according to a constitution and not according Allah’s laws….Democracy has become the mother of laws and is considered by as a holy book. The religion of democracy has no relation to Quranic verses or the Prophet’s way of life and it is not possible to legislate according to them unless they are compatible with the holy book (the constitution).”
3. “Democracy is an outcome of despicable secularism and its illegitimate daughter, since secularism is a heretical school striving to separate religion from state and government.”
Al-Maqdisi concludes: “Democracy is a religion that is not Allah’s religion….It is the rule of paganism…it is a religion which includes other gods in its belief…the people represented in the religion of democracy by its delegates in the parliament…who are actually standing idols and false gods placed in their chapels and their pagan fortresses, namely, their legislative councils. They and their followers rule according to the religion of democracy and the constitution’s laws upon which the government is based, and according to the paragraphs of their legislation….Their master is their God, their big idols who approve or reject legislation. He is their emir, their king, or their president

Wahabism (together with the related Salafi-movement), is not representing the majority of Islam. Actually, it is however the most aggressive teaching and it act as if it represents all Muslims. Many terrorist groupings such as Hamas, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Al Quaida, Abu Sayyaf…,are followers of Wahabism (or Salafi). Enormous quantities of money are funneled through Charity organisations to these terrorist groups. Most of the money is distributed by the Saudi Monarchy. The U.S. has already blocked many of these channels. New ways for financing the radicals, will however always be found.
The only way to stop terrorism is eradicating its roots and these roots are the teachings of Wahabism and the Salafi movement.These intolerant teachings have to be stopped. The House of Saud that has been connected to Wahabism since Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, must with the help of the moderate Muslims, renounce and forbid the Wahabi teachings and if necessary, banish the terror-preaching clergy. This is however an internal Muslim problem. The question is: has the moderate Muslim-world the wil and the strenght to realize this.
Meanwhile, the “West” has no other choice than continue it’s “War on Terror”
http://www.westernfreedom.com

Robert Maegh is a Belgian engineer, born in Germany in 1945. He spent several years in Africa and the Middle East. “A Holy Terror” is his first novel and a sequel can soon be expected. www.westernfreedom.com
degree@skynet.be

Everyone wants to make their mark on the world in some way. We begin to dream about the great things we’d like to accomplish in life when we are in school, where we learn about doctors, astronauts, firemen, police officers, politicians, and scientists. Of course there are many other professions to choose from. The U.S. Government has classified something like 20,000 different jobs that can be performed. Every one of these jobs has supported at least a few people, and some of them have supported hundreds of thousands of people. Take auto manufacturing jobs. The largest industry in America has supported several generations of families in some communities.

Another large industry that has created many thousands of jobs is the airline industry. We operate thousands of commercial jets for our passenger and cargo airline fleets in the United States alone. Those airlines need all types of employees from flight crews (including pilots, engineers, and attendants) to ground crews (maintenance, engineering, inspection, and more). The airlines have huge administrative staffs that handle customer phone calls, ticketing, IT needs, employee resources, and many, many more.

One man who not only made a career in the airline industry but passed through multiple jobs was Nicholas Bredimus. An executive for many years, Bredimus rose to become president of American Airlines’ AMR Travel Services company before eventually going off to start his own software consulting business. As an independent consultant Nicholas Bredimus often spoke with the news media about issues troubling the airline industry.

For example, when people began to notice that one-way tickets cost more than round-trip tickets, Nicholas Bredimus pointed out that the airlines were gambling on people changing their travel plans and having to miss using the return ticket. Through sophisticated analysis of consumer travel patterns the airlines had determined they could make money on round-trip tickets as long as people kept missing their scheduled return flights.

And when airline finances were called into question, experts like Nicholas Bredimus were available to offer insider insights to the news media about why the airlines made the choices they made. It’s not that airlines are necessarily bad companies. The air travel industry has been both competitive and expensive for a long, long time and that is always a formula for revenue stress.

Even science admits that accidents account for many deaths of individuals in a species, evolutionary scientists have established that many traits and hereditary propensities do not equip the individual to hold up to factors in the surroundings in which he lives, such as the struggle for survival that particularly marks the life and death of the animals. Naturally, what may be called bad luck or accident brings forth many deaths of individuals otherwise well suited to survive, but when this phenomenon goes on day by day and year by year, we see that at some point a genetic disposition will begin to emerge.

Herbert Spencer called this phenomenon the “survival of the fittest,” and although the phrase may not be strictly precise in the example of any particular species in any given time period, when we regard that the conflict is going on every year, during the whole duration of each species, we cannot question that overall those which survive are indeed the fittest. The battle is so tough and so persisting that the smallest weakness in any sense organ and any physical imperfection will almost surely, at one time or another, be fatal.

This persistent weeding out of the less fit, in every generation will effect two distinct outcomes, which need to be clearly distinguished. The first of the two is the conservation of each species in the broadest state of adjustment to the circumstances of its existence. As long as these circumstances are unchanged, the issue of natural selection is to maintain each well-adapted species unchanged.

The second of these conditions occurs whenever the environmental conditions change. The most fit individual will adapt more quickly, and the normal process of natural selection will evolve more rapidly, according to the conditions. This process will finally bring about complete adaptation to the new conditions. Some researchers accept pure probability, but assert that the action of natural selection in weeding out the unfit and thus maintaining every species in the highest state of efficiency.

The issue of natural selection and survival of the fittest does not figure largely into the contemporary debate between the proponents of evolution theory, intelligent design theory, and creation theory. In the evolution, intelligent design, creationism debate the subject of natural selection is nearly irrelevant, given that evolution theory and intelligent design theory are in common accord on the issue, while creation theory denies it completely.

The artwork by Michelangelo Adam and God is a symbol of the specialness of man in the eyes of creation theory adherents.