The Decline Of The Film Industry Essay - 1360 Words

Like other major innovations such as the automobile, electricity, chemicals and the airplane, cinema emerged in most Western countries at the same time. As the fundamental form of industrialized entertainment, it was very pervasive. From the 1910s onwards, each year billions of cinema tickets were sold and consumers who did not regularly consult the cinema became a minority. For examples, in Italy, the film industry was the fourth largest export industry before the First World War, but today hardly significant in international entertainment. In the United States, film was the tenth most profitable industry, and in 1930s France it was the fastest-growing industry, attended by paper and electricity, while in Britain the number of cinema tickets sold rose to almost one billion a year (Bakker 2001b). Despite this economic significance, despite its rapid emergence and growth, despite its pronounced effect on the everyday life of consumers, and despite its importance as an early case of th e industrialization of services, the economic history of the film industry has hardly been examined. First of all, most Western countries started to deregulate their entertainment industries, enabling many more entrepreneurs to enter the business and make far larger investments, for example in circuits of fixed stone theaters. The United States was the first time that with liberalization in the late eighteenth century. Most European countries followed during the nineteenth century. Britain, forShow MoreRelatedMovie Analysis : Film Trends848 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Æ' Film Trends Movie films have been enjoyed across the country for centuries it began with the movie theatres that started to appear in the early 1900s and grew to become the most highly successful entertainment models through the entire 20th century. Having the ability to showcase films in a theatre would display a movie to a wide range of people. Although, most movie theaters in the 19th century only had one screen, limiting audiences choices. In 1963 AMC Theaters opened the first multiple auditoriumsRead MoreThe Effects Of Television And Streaming Services On The Industry1447 Words   |  6 PagesEssay – The future of the Film and Television industry with the effect of pay-tv and streaming services Since the 1950’s the use of new technologies in the Film and Television industry has increased dramatically. From the equipment used to create the moving pictures, the technology we use to view these scenes and the techniques used to capture or produce the animated films and live shots, technology is forever expanding and growing. The Film and Television industry is a major contributor to theRead MoreFilm : The Stage Of Innovation1296 Words   |  6 Pagesstarting in innovation. Film has been around since the 1800s and now, in 2015, it is in its adaptation stage. Like many other markets of media, film peaked when it was making the most money and everyone’s attention was on it and eventually declined when a new media became popular. From being completely new and innovative to repetitive and niche-oriented, the art of film has lasted over 100 years. During the mid to late years of the 19th century, a new form of entertainment emerged. Film entered the stageRead MoreFilm Industry in CIVET Countries1271 Words   |  5 PagesFilm Industry in CIVET Countries Colombia Colombias population, ranked as the third most populated South American country, seems to have a ready audience for the film industry to tap. On the contrary though, the Colombian government has failed to develop an elaborate film industry. One of the major reasons for this is the tendency of the local population preference for foreign Hollywood movies. Although Colombia has had an abundant production of soap operas and documentaries, it is still far fromRead MoreThe Domestic Box Office Gross Receipts Counted1080 Words   |  5 PagesThe domestic box office gross receipts counted of $9.66 billion in movie ticket sales in 2014, a 4.5% retreat from 2012 and 2013. This totals about 1.18 billion movie tickets sold. The top grossing films of the year were Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The LEGO Movie, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Maleficent, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla, and 22 Jump Stree t. Regal Entertainment recent released thatRead MoreThe Western as a Film Genre1449 Words   |  6 PagesFord’s Stagecoach (United Artists) has been hailed as the official Western Classic. Released in 1939 after the lull in production of Westerns caused by the advent of sound and The Great Depression during the mid 1930’s, it is considered one of the key films that helped revived the A-Western in the 1940’s prior to WWII. Stagecoach has the classic Western recipe. The main staple of that recipe in Stagecoach were authentically dressed cowboys and town folk, the dress determined who or what they were; transportationRead MoreThr Brazilian Film Industry1028 Words   |  4 Pagesin power since the cinema is funded through government subsides. Brazilian producers cant hold a candle to the American cinema, not many can, they tried making box offices hits. Last year, in 2013, the top 10 films in Brazil were posted and a Brazilian film was the 3rd American imported fi lms came in the first two. The little victories are important to a country that has such a free- trade market they don’t focus on pushing their own cinema. The early 1980’s were a dark time for Brazil. PresidentRead MoreFilm : The Stage Of Innovation1067 Words   |  5 PagesDuring the mid to late years of the 19th century, a new form of entertainment emerged. Film entered the stage of innovation. New marketing and technological innovations developed for film to become the art it is today. In the 1830s, Joseph Plateau designed the Phenakistoscope. This device had a picture in the middle of a wheel made with mirrors and small openings. When spun, the Phenakistoscope made the picture appear to move. The name changed to Zoetrope in the 1860s and producers advertised theRead MoreKodak And The Digital Vision779 Words   |  4 Pagesform was eliminated. This would begin the decline stage of the industry life cycle. Kodak eventually filed for bankruptcy protection on January 19, 2012 and slowly stopped producing digital cameras, digital picture frames and pocket video cameras (Fisher, 2012). At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2016, Kodak introduced a better version of their 1965 Super 8 camera (Dawood, 2016). Yves Behar designed the new version to combine the film and digital technology into one camera. TheRead MoreKodak And Its Impact On Kodak1508 Words   |  7 Pagesterms of coverage. However, the process of globalization led to an increase in competitors in the market, an aspect that had a negative impact on Kodak as a company. From a technological perspective, Kodak was not willing to make changes even as the industry shifted from analogue to digital and this led to the failure of the company and a declaration of its bankruptcy in 2012. Management Challenges that led to the Failure of Kodak I. Introduction The mention of the word â€Å"Kodak† fills most

Roman Fever and Hills Like White Elephants Essay - 2110 Words

Many times in life things are not as they seem. What may look simple on the surface may be more complicated deeper within. Countless authors of short stories go on a journey to intricately craft the ultimate revelation as well as the subtle clues meant for the readers as they attempt to figure out the complete â€Å"truth† of the story. The various authors of these stories often use different literary techniques to help uncover the revelation their main characters undergo. Through the process of carefully developing their unique characters and through point of view, both Edith Wharton and Ernest Hemingway ultimately convey the significant revelation in the short stories, â€Å"Roman Fever† and â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† respectively. The use of†¦show more content†¦But the aspect of great ambiguity is very much prevalent in â€Å"Roman Fever† as well. Granted, Wharton provides a lot more information for the readers than does Hemingway, but the way the narrator mostly focuses on Mrs. Slade’s thoughts, describing every detail and leaves out a lot from Mrs. Ansley’s, certainly adds a sense of mystery to the story. From the very beginning the readers infer that there is something more to the shy and reserved nature of Mrs. Ansley. Clearly, even though the two are written in different narratives, both stories can be defined as ambiguous. This ambiguity also plays a major role in the development of both stories’ revelations and can ultimately be â€Å"solved† through the careful interpretations of the characters in each story and the use point of view in the stories. In the beginning of Edith Wharton’s â€Å"Roman Fever† the story seems to be simple enough. Two rich socialite friends are on vacation with their daughters in Rome. As the two daughters enjoy their youth by going out, their mothers sit side by side knitting, enjoying the view of the Coliseum, and reminiscing of their ow n teenage years spent in the glorious city of Rome. But as the story unravels, the readers get more insight into the personalities of each character, Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley. As was previously mentioned, the third person omniscient narrator of the story seems to reveal more of Mrs. Slade’s thoughts. It becomes evident through her thoughts that she clearly seesShow MoreRelatedHunters in the Snow2156 Words   |  9 Pagestropical or exotic places with many shiny surfaces. New York City was a big bright place that had everything Paul dreamed about music, arts, and luxurious hotels. New York City was a place where Paul received a sense of belonging. Chapter 5 – â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† 1. The main topic of discussion between the man and the girl is never named. What is the â€Å"awfully simple operation†? Why it is not named? What different attitudes are taken toward it by the man and the girl? Why? The main topic ofRead MoreAlexander the Great Essay13163 Words   |  53 PagesALEXANDER THE GREAT BY: JOHN J. POPOVIC CATEGORY: HISTORY – GREEK HISTORY ALEXANDER THE GREAT ΑÎ »ÃŽ µÃŽ ¾ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ´Ã ÃŽ ¿ÃÆ' ÃŽ  ÃŽ ·ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ »ÃŽ ¹Ãâ‚¬Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€¦ ÃŽÅ"ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ºÃŽ µÃŽ ´ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ½, Alexander the Invincible, later renamed by the Romans, Alexandros Philippou Makedonon, Alexander III the Great of Macedon (356-323 B.C.) PROJECT by John J. Popovic Alexander accomplished greater deeds than any other ruler before or after him. This project is dedicated to the most charismatic and heroic king of all times. 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Madunagu; without their co- operation and courage during a very difficult period this dictionary could not have appeared when it did. No one is better aware than myself of the manyRead MoreThe Ballad of the Sad Cafe46714 Words   |  187 PagesSaturdays the tenants from the near-by farms come in for a day of talk and trade. Otherwise the town is lonesome, sad, and like a place that is far off and estranged from all other places in the world. The nearest train stop is Society City, and the Greyhound and White Bus Lines use the Forks Falls Road which is three miles away. The winters here are short and raw, the summers white with glare and fiery hot. If you walk along the main street on an August afternoon there is nothing whatsoever to doRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. 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[pic] Nico Viergever Independent Management Consulting Professional / Trainer PRINCE2 MSP Another discussion I recently saw on LinkedIn asked a question like: how did we manage to put a man on the moon 30 years ago, while today we can not produce proper software. For me this question shows the real reason for faillure. Most projects focus on producing a rocket (only focus on delivery). Successful projects

Operational Challenges Marine Laboratory - myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Write about theOperational Challenges-Cquest Marine Laboratory Case Study. Answer: Introduction Just like any other managers who may be lacking the ability to make right decisions, CQuest Marine Laboratory managers are unable to decide what is right for their customers as well as for the future of their business. In the modern operation management field, managers face significant problems, and it will be difficult to overcome them if they are not equipped with the right tools and the necessary operation knowledge(Christine Mechling, 2015). Lack of operation knowledge is well evidenced in the case of CQuest Marine Laboratory. Douglas and Amy Patterson are unable to unravel crucial business operations that will improve value to the services they offer to the tourists. Their suggestions, views, and decisions appear to conflict and therefore making it difficult to decide what is right for the company. Cquest Marine Laboratory Operational Problem Overview To solve operations problems, operation managers must have the full understanding of the business flow, technology, operation, the customers and the products(Drake Spinler, 2013). According to Lipman (2014) when operation managers have this in mind they will be able to deal better with different organization groups to improve operations and processes of production. Besides, operation managers should be endowed with the technical skills and knowledge to be able to solve various operational issues. Both Douglas and Amy Patterson lack operations management skills. It is also important to highlight, that CQuest Marine Laboratory managers are dealing with service management, which a big challenge for operation managers especially in a competitive environment. The Cquest Marine Laboratory is facing stiff competition from Cairn Hotel that has ninety-five percent occupancy level. This is a big operational challenge for Marine service provider that anticipates accommodating only ten tourists out of the two hundred and forty tourists who visits their platform daily as per their planned operations. The CQuest Marine Laboratory is also suffering from the global competitive environment. As noted in the case study, the service provider relies on the international tourists. However, the company lacks sound strategies that can enable it to take advantage of the international tourists market. The managers operating the marine are only concerned about how the problems that seem to affect the international tourists without setting laying down plans on which they can capitalize on. In todays business operations management, managers should be fully aware that there is not permanent approach that should be relied upon as the solution to the operation problems(Northouse, 2010). Therefore, they should be situational to solve the problems as they arise. If they are tied to the same approach of solving operational problems they may become rigid and allergic to the business changes that may require a different approach. In the CQuest Marine Laboratory case, managers have relied on doing the same thing throughout without having plans in place to upgrade their services. From the above brief analysis of the CQuest Marine Laboratory, it is evident that the company is suffering from globalization, resource productivity and customer satisfaction, workforce and social trends, economic and environmental and technology operational changes. In the next discussion, this report will explore each operational problem and highlight how it can hamper the dream of CQuest Marine Laboratory company of having maximum tourists at their platform at all times. Globalization It is evident that the world has become a global village. Globalization of services is becoming a big challenge for both domestic and international organizations(Akkermans Van Aken, 2015). The CQuest seems to suffer from the ability to manage international tourists appropriately. Despite that the company knows the right time when the international tourists, especially from Australia and New Zealand, arrive at their platform, they fear that the fluctuations in the ocean will affect their business. This means that the company lacks an appropriate mechanism to manage business operations as result of global changes. The CQuest Marine Laboratory is unable to meet to establish proper measures to woo the international tourists to visit their site. The company wants to go global by maintaining the same competitive advantage of offering quality services at low prices. If the company maintains the same business operations, they are likely to suffer from the ability to satisfy customers. Besides, the globalization problem of the company is further strengthened by the poor cash flow problems that are affecting its operations. The CQuest Marine Laboratory receives tourist fees three months after customers consume their services. To make matters worse, the tourist agent demands forty percent from of the total fees paid. This dilutes the profits of the company as well as ability to go global. The above problems attributable to the globalization problem, has hampered the ability of the CQuest Marine Laboratory ability to develop a right product that can attract the international market. Besides, the company has been unable to identify an international target market that will be interested in their products. Instead, CQuest Marine Laboratory seems to be concerned about the customers of its competitors such as Cairn without having sound mechanisms in place to claim its market share. As noted in an earlier discussion in this paper, for operations managers to successfully manage business operations must understand the unique product that will capture its target market(McFarlane, 2014). However, this not the case for the CQuest Marine Laboratory because it has not had a specific product that can attract international tourist from Australia and New Zealand. Finally, on the problem of globalization, the CQuest Marine Laboratory lacks comprehensive and extensive understanding about their international competitors. The company is only focused on what is happening to the local competitors but not to the other international tourist sites. Bearing in mind that this organization has a unique tourist destination that comprises of science experiments and tourists activities, it stands in a good position to have an international image. This attributable to the uniqueness of it services that are not offered by any other international tourist destination. Therefore, it is high time CQuest Marine Laboratory established itself by applying appropriate business operations practices that will facilitate the promotion of their services not only in the domestic market but also in the international arena. Resource Productivity and Customer Satisfaction The quality business operations management emphasizes on using the available organizational resources productively to meet the customer needs appropriately (Hayes, 2012). The CQuest Marine Laboratory is endowed with funds to help them in adding value to their services to meet the needs of their customers appropriately. However, the managers are confused on how to put the available resources to use to improve the Marine Laboratory business operations. The two managers lack business operations skills on they can invest three million dollars to expand their platform to accommodate more tourists. According to Spector (2010) to satisfy customer needs properly and remain competitive in the market, firms must have the ability to provide their customers with the right high-quality services and goods. The CQuest Marine Laboratory lacks the skills and knowledge to provide high-quality services, at a low price and at the right time. The planned business operations by the Marine managers will create overcrowding in the Marine and push the tourists to enjoy their stay at the platform within a half a day. This plan fails to cater for the needs of the tourists who may be willing to stay a whole day in the park. Again, the transportation arrangement appears to be a major concern that the CQuest Marine Laboratory managers are unable to resolve. The current transportation facility available to offer travel services to tourists seems unreliable. According to the marine managers, the current transportation facility will be unable to meet the company planned business operations. Having a fast transport facility that will be able to make two trips a day is one of the major challenges that hamper the satisfaction of the Marine customers. Besides, the available transportation vessels in the marine platform cannot accommodate the needs of all the 120 tourists at once. The CQuest Marine Laboratory is unable to offer services in the state that is needed by the customer. According to Heizer Render (2009), operation manager should ensure that company products and services meet the standards required by the customers. This is another major challenge facing CQuest Marine Laboratory. The managers can improve service quality through employing right production means. Latamore, (2011) noted that customer satisfaction will be derived by improving productivity that in turn will translate into customer satisfaction. Besides, the employees involved in the production of the services at the marine platform seems to be dissatisfied with the current business operations. One of the employees argues that the marine has lost it scientific identify as it has been turned largely into a tourist site. The current management of the CQuest Marine Laboratory is unable to motivate it, employees, to deliver the best quality as per the customer needs. For example, Dr. Fiona Fullbright, the leader of the scientific put across her team is struggling to maintain the scientific authentic that is the core identity of the marine. Fullbright goes further to note that her team has been turned to be trained to become the swimming seal instead of being engaged in a scientific study that that will contribute understanding the impact of global warming. Operational Sustainability Challenges Operational sustainability emphasizes on the business maintaining the current practices without exposing future resources at risk(Drake Spinler, 2013). Ideally, the operational sustainability encompasses three core pillars, which is economic, environmental and social. Operations managers should be concerned about the outcome of each pillar including how business operations will impact them. For the CQuest Marine Laboratory, there are a few challenges associated with the operational sustainability. Douglas and Amy Patterson are only concerned about adding value to the business services without evaluating the planned business operations will be social, economically, and environmentally supportable. Business operations should be supported by the current and future business environment both in the short run and in the long run (Roth Menor, 2008). However, this appears to be a different situation in CQuest Marine Laboratory. Douglas and Amy Patterson perceives that the current economic condition facing the marine does not support the planned business operations. The company receives payment from the tourist agent three months after their tourists have visited the site. This payment agreement has seen the marine suffer from the cash flow problems. If the same continues, it will be difficult for the marine economic status to support the new planned operations. Secondly, the marine operations lack ecological sustainability. From the ecological standpoint, ecological operational sustainability should emphasize on effective utilization of the available natural resources with no possible signs that they will be depleted(Drake Spinler, 2013). Ecological sustainability looks at the ability of the business to effectively use resources in its production and sales(Minavand Minaei, 2013). The suggestion by Douglas and Amy Patterson to expand the marine platform to create accommodation for the ten tourists may affect the Coral Cay. Additionally, increasing the number of tourists visiting the marine may accelerate the depletion of the available resources making it difficult to undertake the same marine business operations in future. Conclusion This report will conclude that many rampant businesses face rampant operational challenges. The operations of the business do not only focus on producing and selling products but also addressing the interests of all other stakeholders. Businesses operations should also put into considerations their impacts to the environment. If the business positions itself to achieve success, it should make sure that the critical issues are observed to avoid losses and risks associated with the poor business operations planning. The CQuest Marine Laboratory has an opportunity to expand and meet the needs of the tourists satisfactorily. However, its planned operational strategies may lead to the collapse of the whole business. This is why the managers of the CQuest Marine Laboratory needs an operational manager who will help them plan for the anticipated business operation changes. References Akkermans, H. A., Van Aken, J. E. (2015). Problems in Operations Strategy Development: Reconciling Theory with Practice. Achieving Competitive Edge Getting Ahead Through Technology and People, 3-10. Christine, W. M., Mechling, G. (2015). The Importance of Operations Management Problems. The International Journal of Management Service, 27-87. Drake, D. F., Spinler, S. (2013). Sustainable Operations Management: An enduring stream or a passing fancy? Harvard Environmental Economics Program, 13-49. HAYES, R. H. (2012). Challenges Posed To Operations Management By The New Economy." Production and Operations Management, 11(1), 2132. Heizer, J., Render, B. (2009). Principles of Operations Management. London: Prentice Hall. Latamore, G. B. (2011). Reengineering or Perish. The Performance Advantage, 99(1), 1085-1102. Lipman, V. (2014, April 15). Three Very Common Management Problems - And How To Avoid Them. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2014/04/15/3-very-common-management-problems-and-how-to-avoid-them/#b20879038c90 McFarlane, D. A. (2014). The Challenges of Operations Management for Business Managers. International Journal of Operations and Logistics Management, 3(1), 16-29. Minavand, H., Minaei, V. (2013). Project Managers Vs. Operations Managers: A comparison based on the style of leadership. Journal of Business and Management, 12(5), 56-61. Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [. Roth, A. V., Menor, L. J. (2008). Insights into Service Operations Management: A Research Agenda. Production and Operations Management Society, 16(4), 146-164. Spector, B. (2010). Implementing organizational change: Theory into practice. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

Religions Spread Through Conquest (2402 words) Essay Example For Students

Religions Spread Through Conquest (2402 words) Essay Religions Spread Through ConquestWhen studying history, both in a professional and academic sense, we try to make connections between civilizations and time periods. Historians have attempted to discover universal constants of human nature, a bond that forms from continent to continent, human being to human being. Is there a constant quality that all peoples posses, and is reflected in all civilizations? Indeed, it is extremely difficult to make generalizations about centuries of modern history. To say that something is true of all of history is virtually impossible, as a counter-example exists for just about anything that can be said of any group of civilizations. To say that all religions are spread by violence is equally unfair and untrue because contrasted religions has been spread in exceedingly diverse regions of the world, by vastly different cultures. Islam, as a prime example, has been characterized inequitably by historians and the media as a religion of violence. To put i t bluntly, as this article does, Islam was mainly spread through Arab territorial conquests (Sudo, 4). However, upon examination, it is not fair to make the generalization that Islam is a religion of violence, and one notices when looking at world religion on a whole, one finds that Islam was no more violent than any other religion. In fact, not only is Islam not a fundamentally violent philosophy, but we can also see that many other religions normally considered non-violent, such as Christianity or Hinduism, have been spread through bloody conquest. Thus, in searching for a universal constant of history, we ought not fall into the fallacy of abstractions, as Sydney J. Harris keenly puts it, and assume that because of isolated incidents and conflicts of territorial ambitions, that all religions have violent tendencies. Islam has, throughout the centuries, been somewhat a victim of circumstance indeed it has been perceived by many as oppressive and cruel. This belief originated over a thousand years ago, when Islamic peoples first threatened the western world. As they slowly undermined Byzantine authority, Christians became terrified of their presence, resulting in widespread animosity and aversion. Hindus and Buddhists of the South Asian subcontinent lived under Islamic law for hundreds of years (Ahmad, et. al., 186), and eventually, in the twentieth century, split the region into angry factions (Ahmad, et. al., 207). Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, was a great warrior. This invariably lead defeated peoples to believe that he begot a cult of war and violence. Over the centuries, it also has developed the ability to instill a sense of holy purpose onto its believers and soldiers, where they go into a battle of certain death for their faith in the jihad, or holy war. Even today, the jihad is still a potent source of conflict and aversion, as the many of the problems in the Middle East center around the issue of Islamic Fundamentalism and the jihads. Originally, Islam was perceived by western historians as a religion of violence and conquest; by preying on the caravans of the Quraish, weakened them to the point of submission (Mohammed and Islam, 1). In fact, Mohammed was a warrior, aristocrat, and brilliant strategist a stark contrast to many other holy men of history. He was forced to both defend his cities and force submission, as the passage had shown, because of the strong military powers of his religious predecessors and oppressors, the pagans of the Middle East. Islam means submission according to the Islam discussion in class and one might assume that the submission was attained through military and forceful means. In fact, while Mohammed preached peace from 610 to 622 AD, he attracted few converts and was persecuted by the current ruling paganistic regime. After the visions of 622 AD, he realized that his cause was even more urgent than before, and only at that point did he begin to utilize his military skills (Class Discussion). However, despite the more violent nature that his quest took, even after the revelations by Gabriel in 622 AD, by reciting his revelations aloud, Mohammed made many converts, (Mohammed and Islam,1). Mohammed was not a purely violent man, but also a great speaker and demagogue (Mueller, 2). He did not solely attack the pagans of the Middle East, he also attracted a great deal of converts by the truths he spoke. If he could be ruthless, he was more often gentle, kind, generous, magnanimous. He could be Christ-like in his sympathy for the poor (Mueller,2 ). Another non-violent way of spreading Islamic culture was through the merchant system which developed around its new centers of trade and culture in both Mecca and Medina (Ahmad, et. al., 572). People from all around the region would come to those cities to trade, and w ere attracted by the religion. As Islam developed and spread rapidly, its control quickly began to encroach on Byzantine territory where it found diverse groups of people, who resented the foreign control of the flailing western power. The people viewed the Middle Eastern Islamic conquerors as liberators from the oppressive Byzantine Empire, and welcomed both Islamic soldiers and religion. In addition to other non-violent means of conquest, when Muslims actually did militarily gain territory, they allowed other religions to grow around them. They did not force conversion by slaughter in the name of Allah, as Christians often did. The Muslims were tolerant of both foreign religions, peoples, and traders. They welcomed Far Eastern merchants into their territory. In India, while they did militarily gain control of the South Asian subcontinent, they never forced conversion, nor did they enter the territory with a religious intent. Indeed, the reason that the Hindu and Muslim clashes aro se was based on religious differences, which were largely initiated by the Hindus, who viewed their conquerors as heretics not the opposite (Ahmad, et. al., 186). In fact, that page of the text also notes that the first Delhi sultans set up hundreds of schools, hospitals, and other public establishments. The Koran was very tolerant, accepted many beliefs, and was another basis for the peaceful spread of Islam. The Koran, according to The Koran article and class discussions, appealed to the impoverished and the destitute people from all walks of life could embrace the Koran, because it was targeted at them, not at the government-ranking aristocrats that most other religions were centered around, as those religions had been created for the purpose of social control, rather than deep spiritual convictions or for spiritual well-being. The Muslim needs no priest nor intermediary to pray to Allah the only spiritual transmitter to god he needs is prayer Islam does not even require a mo sque or temple for litany. The actual religion of Islam preaches decidedly against violence and speaks out against aggression. The concept of jihad refers to? inner spiritual struggle of Muslims for self control in order to do good (Sudo, 5). Actually, the average Muslim is not violent, nor is he driven by any form of holy conquest. Islam has been unfairly depicted as a religion spread through Jihad and the lure of riches and conquest. But Islam, the most unlikely of candidates, has been, throughout the centuries, a relatively tolerant religion. It has never believed in any form of religious genocide, nor had any inquisitions or messianic crusades, as religions of many other parts of the world did. In fact Akbar I of 1556-1605 AD, the third ruler of the Mughal Empire, took the ultimate steps toward tolerance, by marring a Hindu princess, and allowing Hindus a strong role in the government (Ahmad, et. al., 187). The wars that Islam fought have been rather secular, despite the fact th at their government often was not. However, the same cannot be said of Christian, Hindu, and Aztec government, all which had strong ties to both violence and conquest, and indeed, while often are characterized as non-violent forms of religion (with perhaps the exception of Aztec), are equally as violent as Islam, if not more so. Oedipus Rex Character Analysis EssayTo say that religion on a whole is violent and counter productive would be a massive abstraction and a false one too. In fact, the purpose of this essay is not to denigrate the notion of organized religion, but to clarify the purpose of the Islamic religion, and to dispel the commonly held notion that Islam is solely a cult of violence. Through the ages, religion brought light to literally billions of people. It has inspired artists, scientists, writers and scholars. It was the founding basis of Western Civilization, and our entire society. We cannot deny its overriding role in our history. The purpose of this essay is also not to contrast Islam as good and Christianity as bad. Truly, Islam, when closely examined, is a rather tolerant and non-violent religion it has no history of imperialism, nor has it ever forced the conversion of mass people. Whatever violence it has created, it is at least not any worse than any other religion. In summary, it is not fair to say that religions are fundamentally violent, nor does it do justice the study of history, which indeed proves to us that often religion had a far nobler purpose. Would our world perhaps have been a better place? That question can never be answered We do know, however, that religion was both violent and beneficial to classify it as one or the other would not do it justice. However, we will continue our search for the universal constant, and perhaps the study of religion will someday bring us closer to the truth.