Harmonium: Acidic Soil Essay

The poem harmonium examines the relationship of a father and son. I think Armitage has written this poem for parents and children as they would be able to relate to the emotions in the poem. The Author uses the Farrand Chappelette which is a type of Harmonium or small organ to help him reflect the love that he has for his father. In the first stanza the poet talks about the Farrand Chappelette which was â€Å"gathering dust† telling us that it is getting old and it was due to be taken to the skip if Armitage had not wanted it. In the final line of the first stanza Armitage declare that he could have it for a â€Å"song â€Å" an idiom which means that he could have had it very cheap. In the second stanza the poet talks about the sunlight through the glass which could â€Å"beatify saints† in other words bless them and make them more god like and above normal people. Armitage the contrasts this positive statement by saying it had â€Å"aged† the harmoniums case and â€Å"yellowed the fingernails of its keys†. I the last few lines Armitage tells us how the harmonium is played by telling us the organist plays it by continuously pedalling the pedals. In the 3rd stanza the poet talks about the age of the organ and how he and his father had sung there and were good singers. The 4th stanza is the most powerful one as he talks about his father coming to help pick up the harmonium and his father jokes saying that one day he will â€Å"shoulder† his father’s â€Å"dead weight meaning his coffin when he dies. Armitage finds it hard to reply to such a poignant remark because of the emotion of he feels at the thought of his father’s death. I think the poem has a mixture of moods from the first verse to the last and moods that are very contrasting such as the first 2 stanzas are quite happy emotions about how the sun gleams through the glass and the last verse is about the emotions of his father dying. The poet uses many techniques in the poem such as metaphors for example â€Å"fingernails† describing how the sun has ruined the keys of the organ. Also the poet uses personification saying that one of the notes has â€Å"lost its tongue. In the 3rd stanza Armitage uses alliteration twice in the same line, the â€Å"hummed harmonics still struck a chord†. I think this the poet is trying to tell us that the harmonium is close to his heart even though it is old and aged and i think that â€Å"struck a chord† has a double meaning that it also triggered a memory of him singing in church which the verse then goes onto say. I think the message of the poem is that one day your parents will die and the thought of that is not very comforting but remembering the good and bad times can help you get through this. The poem for me is written from the heart and is emotionally very overpowering and the last verse is so powerful that it makes me understand that someone close to me will die one day and I will be too shocked and late to prevent it. When the unfortnate event of acidic soil strike some farms, plants are unable to grow. Using slakes of lime which is a base cancels out the acid in the soil. You need to check the righ amount of acidity in the soil in order to put the same amount of base so that you do not over do it and keep it neutral. This process is called NEUTRALISATION. After the lime is inserted the acidity will fade away and the plants will grow. Farmers add lime, calcium oxide, to soil to help neutralise the soil as most plants grow best in neutral or slightly alkali soil. The lime can cancel out the acidity caused by acid rain. In agriculture, calcium carbonate may be added to acidic soil. The calcium carbonate enters into a neutralization reaction with some of the acid in the soil water, and the soil pH becomes more basic. In farming nitrogen oxide reacts with OH from the rain to form nitric acid which then acidifies the soil making it hard for the plants to grow. The acid stops the growth of the roots therefore the plant cannot absorb enough nutrients which makes the plant grow very slowly and sometimes turn a yellow colour due to the large amounts of acid. N02 + OH = HNO3 This is a huge problem for farmers so they spray calcium carbonate onto the acidic soil to neutralize the soil so that the pants can grow better and faster which is needed for farmers to make a better profit it and the reaction produces produces the calcium nitrate. CaCO3 + HNO3 = Ca(NO3)2 + H2O + CO2 The plants can then use these nitrate ions in the soil and combine them with glucose to make amino acids which the plant the uses for proteins which help it grow and turns the acidic soil into more nutrients for the plant which it needs to grow.

My position with flatworld

In this third era of globalization described by Thomas Friedman, the world has shrank from small to tiny and made it a flat playing field.   It is not about nations and states that compete globally but individuals doing research to create the best software in line with the fiber optic technology and broadband. Suddenly, a person from Los Angeles is talking to his product manufacturer in Cebu, Philippines through video chat and almost in real time. The best news for everyone is that this technology is getting better and more affordable so everyone may have access. The world is breaking barriers so a person who wants to excel in the field of information system and technology must have prudence and cunning to be the best in the field. The existing convention of our system information engineers in the corporate business includes the analyses of operations, inventory, salary, and etcetera. To conquer the field in a more competitive ground, one must be able to look at the world’s convention, its potential and be able to predict. In other words, one has to have foresight. I am currently interested in furthering studies and research in Geographical Information system. â€Å"It is a system for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced to the earth. In the strictest sense, it is a computer system capable of integrating, storing, editing, analyzing, sharing, and displaying geographically-referenced information. In a more generic sense, GIS is a tool that allows users to create interactive queries (user created searches), analyze the spatial information, edit data, maps, and present the results of all these operations† (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_information_system). I believe that the world has to have a bigger layout of the existing environment so one would be able to make a good feasibility study and ultimately a good decision. The competition in this line of project and business is yet scarce, in fact one has to invest so much for a universal GIS to be used anywhere in the world. My vision would be to create a language for the GIS to make it universal. Germany, China and other countries have developed their own GIS yet it would not be understandable or would need a translation for another person in Greece, for example, to read it. Perhaps, this system would get be more valuable for everyone if a Universal Platform GIS will be available to everyone.   I will have to start mapping in the United States territory first, in my own country where I will be able to create a good market and then expand in the real world setting. The more data there is in the GIS system which must include the people, animals and plants (read: the GIS system should not be limited to infrastructures and highways alone) the more it is attractive to the market. The more information, the more the system will be useful for every person in every field. My idea is to use the existing network of Information System schools and universities and create a database of demography, topography, ecosystem, field engineering, infrastructures, highways and even waterways. This information will be mapped in the Universal Platform GIS and create a multi-dimensional overlay that is user-friendly, even a grade-schooler will be able to operate it. Although the main idea is to market it to corporate investors and larger business scales from farming, to food chains, to manufacturers and even foresters, an ordinary person would still be ale to use it in his own car, for example, where it would work like a â€Å"telenav† device (maps out a certain locality based on network provider) but with more overlays. Of course, with the Universal Platform GIS, it will be able to create a customized program which is web-based that a person that would not be so technical would be empowered to use the system without any qualms. In a businessman’s benefit, for example, where he wishes to invest on creating a Mc Donald outlet in the suburbs in India, he would only log-in to my website with his username and password and the needed information on the demographics in a suburb in New Delhi would be available. Information, like the number of potential customers because the target customers of the food outlet would be children, adolescents and young adults, he would know the potential market in the area. He would also be equipped with the average income of the people and the potential market and profit. A good area on where to position the infrastructure would be available upon further research in the area because the database would also include a good topography which is multi-dimensional. Sources of supplies for the product would be available for the customer since a list of businesses in the area and nearest farms are available in the website.   To make this universal platform more friendly, a customer service representative is available 24/7 for any questions that he may need about the area and a person in the locality, who would be very familiar with the area will answer his questions. Another application would be a person in the University of Texas doing his research on a remote area in Africa, he would need information about the number of grasslands, the number of forest lands and the number of desert land in the area. Aside from that, the researcher would also be able to find an updated inventory of the number of flora and fauna in the area because the business of Universal Platform GIS would include a yearly subscription for updates on a specific area. An accurate number of plants and animals would be available for the customer depending on his existing need. My system is connected to any existing credible groups in the area so that an expert would also be available in the area for any specific questions that might need a real person’s answer. So, a real-time expert’s opinion would be available for the university researcher for more precise information. Therefore, information in the research would be exact and much updated. A French person in Guatemala who is trapped in the middle of nowhere who is having an asthma attack would just need to hit an emergency care button on her online Universal Platform GIS and she would be able to see the nearest rescue service in her area. She will be given information on estimated time of arrival of any rescue service as well as she can monitor through her mobile phone screen where the rescue services are already through the artificial intelligence that is incorporated in the system. His anxieties would also be lessened because of the continuous update on his rescue service is also available. A client would feel safe and secure anywhere he would be in the world even if language obviously is a barrier.   The program will be able to transcend from any existing obstacle because it is customized already to the needs and the personality of the person using it. In this line of business ownership, one must be able to maintain the security systems of the software so potential hackers would not be able to bug the system. Since the software is web-based, a pool of experts is also partners in the service to continuously monitor the safekeeping of the information and its management. The system must have a login protocol for authentication so that the information would be protected.   This should also be continuously updated with the systems of each user so that they would also feel secure with the information that they are getting. The future of the Information System in business should be equipped with foresight that should keep all data in any given environment and locality is available for everyone’s use. The startup of the GIS would be very costly; however, the business side of it is endless. To be able to keep the line of business, my next role would be to continuously update the system. The more information there is available, the more appeal it would be for every potential person in the market.   

Car Accident Essay Example for Free (#3)

Car Accident Essay Peter is nice man and a hard worker, but he is careless about his wife and family, his wife Carteria take care all the housework, he has been two month did not go home , he was on a business trip, when he arrived at home, Carteria is not at home , he look at his watch , it is already seven pm, Carteria should be at home with diner really. He makes a phone call to his wife, but no one pick up. He grap a buttle of water sit on sofa turn on the TV wait his wife to come home. he is tired from the work. Eventually he fall in sleep on sofa. When he wake up it already ten am at morning and he realize Carteria has not come home. He start to worry about her, keep calling her but no one pick up the phone. It was never happen befor, he try to find any number relate to Carteria,except her number he can not find anything, all the number are about his work, what is happen to her, he start nerves. He never care about her like that. He just tell himself she is going to be ok, she may just hang out with some friend, and forget about time, because Peter is not with her all the time, maybe she just feel longly sometime. All he has to do just be patience wait. He decide to sit on sofa to release his nerves, at same time he turn on the TV, he peer at photo just on the TV stander, he never know there is a photo. The picture is he and Carteria with lovely smile on the park. A news attract his attention, it is a car accident happen on a few block a way from his home yesterday. â€Å"Oh no no no, not her† Peter say . â€Å"A 42 years old man die in the accident† he shut off the TV and say â€Å"thanks god it is not happen her† he feels so release, he take out photo album and look at it. It remind his good memory with Carteria. He has been long time did not go out with his wife. Now he think about when she come back, he going to have a trip with her. Suddenly the door is open Carteria come back, Peter stand up from sofa and walk to the door, look at her with a happy face, he wants to say happy to see you again, but he does not finish what he say, because Carteria s face looks so sad something bad happen to her and the face can tell she has been cry, the tear still on her eyes. Then Peter just say â€Å"Hi what is happen to you† he does not answer it. She just take off her shoes, â€Å"where have you been ? † Peter say, she does not even look at him and walk straight to the room lock the door. Peter can hear Carteria is crying so hard in the room. Peter has no idear what is going on. He knock the door â€Å"what is happen to you† Peter ask, she does not answer it. Peter sits beside the door, wait when she gets better come out and ask her what happen about her. How long has she cry, peter can not remember Carterian come out ,she still does not talk to peter. She gets in to the car, peter sit beside her. Carteria drive the car. Finally they arrived at a funeral, â€Å"whom funeral is that† say peter. The most of member are his family and friends. When they walk close, Peter shock by the funeral. That is his own funeral, his name on the tombstone. Carteria cry again. Flash back Peter suddenly remember the car accident happen a few blocks a way from his home. It is he on his way go home hit by a car, and Carteria spend all night with him. He does not know she love him so much, but right now he has no chance to love her back. Car Accident. (2016, Dec 14).

Semiotics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Semiotics - Essay Example This analysis presented in the paper concludes the ways in which the advertisement message is portrayed in every aspect. The effectiveness of the message is also analyzed by figuring out the volume of sales before and after the new advertisement presentation. The goal of the advertisement is to attract maximum number of customers. The complete research aims to get the idea that how much sale boost company can get from such advertisements. Body 1 The radical essay of Barthes ‘Rhetoric of the image’ written in 1977 proposed that the images portrays different meanings than words and these can be described in many ways. The images can be communicated in wrong ways sometimes because people get the idea of every phrase or image from their perspective. Reading Barthes approach is about the idea of three layers of the meanings which an advertising image conveys when used with other symbolic representations. The first layer is perceived as the linguistic part from the message whi ch consists of words and text messages. The second layer by the Barthes proposition is the coded iconic message which is connoted message by the organization or the brand which they are signifying or expressing indirectly. The third and last layer described by Barthes is the non-coded iconic message that is delivered by the content of the message which is the directly implied message presented in front of the target market for perceiving the idea of the brand or for creating brand recognition. The basic presentation is perceived by people through the first meaning of the image, context, and the way to hit the target market for making the visual or vision of the brand. The second denotation is used for identification of the actual product that is designed for the target market. Body 2 The same analysis that is conducted by Barthes in 1977 is applied to the DKNY advertisement about perfumes. The same layer formula is also applicable on this advertisement image of the DKNY perfume adve rtisement. Reading The linguistic layer of the theory proposed by Barthes has the most important part of the text that it contains the most prominent words of the text area which are ‘Be Delicious’. These words can be injunction that acts as admonition to the advertisement and also these words can be a way to intimidate the audience to buy the product and use it for making themselves more seductive and appealing. Another motive of these words is to promote the idea that this product of DKNY will make its user ‘delicious’. In combination the message conveys the idea of getting the two way benefit through the purchase of this product, first one is to make this product desirable and second one is to fulfil their need to be delicious. The word delicious can be taken in different senses. The first meaning can be extracted from the word delicious can be the fruit extracts used in the making of the product or another sense of sexual attraction that could be negati vely perceived by the audience (Barthes, 1977). Example/Explain This word delicious makes us look at women as a commodity to be consumed as any other thing that could be delicious. This is also related to the perception of the target audience and other people to create the desire of possession or being possessed by the

Performance Appraisals at Head Office Assignment

Performance Appraisals at Head Office - Assignment Example Before moving into the main aims and objectives of performance appraisals, it is essential to gain a brief idea of performance appraisals. Performance appraisal was started as a simple method to provide income justifications, i.e. to explain if the salary drawn by an individual was justified or not based on their performance (Lawrie, 1990). This was a consideration since the human tendency to judge others work and performance created a lot of problems related to the motivation, ethics, legal ruling etc. at workplaces. To ensure that the appraisal systems were just, lawful, fair and accurate, performance appraisal was introduced. The process was linked to the material outcomes, i.e. if an employee’s performance is to less than ideal then there would be a cut in pay, however if the performance was better than the ideal level set by the supervisor, then there would be a rise in pay. Performance appraisal is a very essential part of employment. There are several reasons for performance appraisals to be conducted. As mentioned earlier, human tendency is to judge how a person is performing at the job and to try to eva luate if the ideal level of performance is met up to (Runion, Brittain, 2006). To understand performance appraisal better it is essential to focus on the elements that are taken care of by performing appraisals. The main aims and objectives of conducting performance appraisals on a regular basis are to assist the employer provide the employee with feedback and advice on how to improve in areas that require correction (Mohrman, et.al., 1989). This is the best way to communicate any strength the employees have and also to discuss the weaknesses and provide possible solutions. Since most of the performance appraisals are very open and it allows employees to rate their supervisors as well. This allows a better understanding and better relationship among the employer and employee. The

Process Control and Improvement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Process Control and Improvement - Assignment Example Several other issues like logistics, scheduling, procurement, raw material handling, human resource management, are also involved in the process and contribute significantly to the efficiency of the system and the final cost and quality of the product. Since these processes are ongoing and cyclic in nature, any company involved in these activities should be able to effectively control these activities in order to boost its performance and business profits. The paper studies the case of Staple Foods, one of the largest foodservice companies in the world and major food caterers in the region. The problems faced by the company in its daily operations and use of process control systems for improvement and efficiency will be the subject of interest in this study. Staple Foods is well known for its assurance to quality services to the clients and its strong focus upon the growth and expansion of its business portfolio. In the food service sector, it is important to maintain efficient opera tions in production and marketing in order to survive and remain competitive in the industry. In order to achieve the targets, the company decided to integrate three plants into one and implement batch process control in its production line. This helped the company to limit the variances that existed in the production line, control the inventories, and increase its profits, (Goldsmith, 1995). 2.0 Company profile The Company – Staple Foods has been the carrier of a number of brands in the food market. The company offers some excellent food products to its customers and is well appreciated for its consistency in its quality standards. The company was formed in the year 1975 and has built a strong tradition of hard work and faith. The company specializes mainly in the oil products, sauces, soups and flavor bases that are marketed under a number of brand names. With more than 7 production units in the region, Staple foods Ltd. are trying hard to make higher margin profits for its elf. 3.0 Existing Production Process Conditions The procedure utilized in the production unit of Staple Foods is relatively complex and multifaceted which is distributed across a number of production units. The main steps that compose the production plan are – The first step consists of a detailed schedule planning done by the managers of Staple foods, in order to reduce the down time for the participant production lines. The scheduling done during this phase is mainly manual in nature. This is followed by the procurement of resources that are required by each production line in an efficient manner. The quantity, quality and time of resource procurement are very important at this point in order to maintain a steady flow of production and product quality. More often, the resources need to be shared by multiple production lines and the managers are required to plan upon this sharing aspect closely so that no shortage problems arise in case. Variability and wastage can be signif icantly eliminated in this operation step. The production takes place in batches or continuously, depending upon the market demands. The last step involved in the production is the cleaning and preparing the line of a new batch of production cycle. 4.0 Process Problems faced by the Management Controlling the processes involved in the p

Analyse relations of power among actors in a supply chain of your Essay

Analyse relations of power among actors in a supply chain of your choice - Essay Example A supply chain involves all processes that receive and fulfill the customer request. The functions of a supply chain include marketing, operation, product development, distribution, customer service and finance. This paper seeks to analyze the relations of power among actors in the Wal-Mart supply chain. The success of a business lies in the management of the actors involved in the supply chain. This results in the achievement of improved value to consumers. The most profound challenge in a supply chain is the challenge of wastage. The Wal-Mart supply chain is committed to deliver exceptional value to customers. The management of the supply chain is committed to constructing an efficient and responsive supply chain by harmonizing the relations of power among the actors within it. The market place develops a competition of supply chains (Sehgal 2011). The strategic approach to the supply chain is to ensure the activities within the players are harmonized. The strategic approach to Wal -Mart supply chain The company has invested in core-competences among the players in the supply chain. Wal-Mart is estimated to have 90, 000 suppliers. About 200 of them are global suppliers e.g. Nestle, Kraft, Unilever and P&G. The actors of the supply chain face competition when passing value to the consumers (Dicker 2005). The companies are expected to deliberate on their role in the Wal-Mart supply chain. ... Wal-Mart supply chain actors have constructed strategies that allow them to remain competitive. Wal-Mart is committed to finding its competitive advantage and outsourcing the non-core competencies. There are several functions done by multiple firms which are linked to the success of the supply chain. The supply chain is developed upon these strategic links (Seifert 2003). However, the fragmentation of the production process for Wal-Mart has increased the pressure for centralized coordination. The firm has an international present and is expanding to new markets. The supply chain must add value to the firm (Fishman 2006). The management of the Wal-Mart supply chain has recognized that the real competition is not between companies within the supply chain. Rather, it is the competition between supply chains (Dicker 2005). Therefore, Wal-Mart pays attention to the quality and competence of the players within the supply chain. The Wal-Mart retailers, suppliers and transporters work to ens ure that the process of chain execution is flawless, smooth to give the firm a competitive advantage. Research indicates that the company that manages its supply chain with excellence wins the largest market share. Importance of power and theory in supply chains Wal-Mart actors Power can be defined as the ability for a company to own and control resources and assets within supply chains and markets to ensure sustainability in accumulation of value and leveraging the other actors. The practitioners in the Wal-Mart supply chain must identify the most appropriate context before executing a plan. The modern business is changing from appropriating value for oneself to a commitment to passing value to the consumers. In Wal-Mart the supply chain commences

Government Control of Sex and Procreation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Government Control of Sex and Procreation - Essay Example erance of potentially damaging sexual crimes and sexual deviance forces upon the government a responsibility to assume some degree of control in the situation. E. Point One: It is the responsibility of governments to protect the individual rights of its citizens, which includes a voluntary exposure by one to another to the HIV virus which is fatal in most cases. If it prosecutes voluntary exposure of all dangerous chemicals to the public, then surely the HIV virus would be no different. Along these lines, everyone should be compelled test for their status as infected or uninfected, and a database will be kept on this information (THT Policy Statement). Point Two: Given the low recidivism rate of sex offenders, it is not out of the question to mandate sexual castration for all convicted of related crimes. It is unlikely that such individuals can be rehabilitated for their deviant behavior, and the only effective means of preventing the extremely damaging and traumatic crimes of child molestation and rape is to enforce law (CSOM Summary). Point Three: Some individuals exhibit extreme irresponsibility in handling their reproductive life. Individuals like Nadia Sulaiman, even while being assisted by government programs, ought not to burden society with the costs of raising children that come from such irresponsibility (Reuters). Jencks, Christopher and Kathryn Edin. Do Poor Women Have a Right to Bear Children? December 1994. February 2009 . D. The problem with allowing government the responsibility of regulating private citizens’ sexual and reproductive affairs is that doing so contradicts everything which is just in the modern world. Forcefully castrating and preventing people from reproducing takes us back to more uncivilized times in which reproductive organs were treated as means to ensuring the public good. Class differences and economics do not provide sufficient

Search and seizure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Search and seizure - Essay Example Thus being free has its boundaries, boundaries that end when it crosses upon the right of another. The law makes it sure that everything in the social arena is kept into place and no person is below or above the system. Hundreds of laws, act, proclamation and amendments were made and approved by man in ill parts of the world so that every citizen must have something to abide by and keep them from the boundaries of crossing over the border of their freedom. With all these laws made and passed; reviews, controversies and intellectual battles took over and continuously takes over to assess and reassess the efficacy, efficiency and necessity of such law. One of the most controversial and argumentative laws ever made is the law of search and seizure. This paper is to state clearly an argument on whether search and seizure and racial profiling should be banned more than accepted in the United States. This paper will discuss briefly and will point out arguments based in the author’s full understanding of the provision of this law. Over the past years the conflicts on power and authority has been a controversy especially with incidences of abuses with the use of authority, most common example are the policemen and other law enforcing authority, in implementing order in the land. Incidences like police brutality, unauthorized search and arrest, illegal collection of evidences and planted evidences to frame up some innocent are just some of the negative feedbacks the society has over the authorities. These feedbacks can also be deemed as the reasons why an argument is posed over the law on search and seizure implementation over United States of America. On whether it is efficient, beneficial and lawful to implement just the way it was planned for or is it unnecessary, unjust and should be stopped and banned. Although it has been made to check on these irregularities on authority misconduct still some flaws have questioned its validity as a law that some people are asking to nullify it. Before going to the issues of why or why not the law on search and seizure should be banned in America, it is proper to discuss on some key notes of the said law. Moreover, search is defined in the provision of the fourth amendment as, looking for evidence or a person involved in a crime by a law enforcement officer in a place where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy while seizure is defined as taking possession of a person or object by a law enforcement officer or agent (Department of Public Safety Law enforcement Academy 2012). Search and seizure is a controversial term of legality. Going through its definition, it implies lawful examination of a person’s property and things by a law enforcement officer although it does not imply specific circumstances but rather connotes that every law enforcer has the authority to go over a person’s things without any chance of refusal because it is what the law states. And provided that something that can be regarded as evidence is seen, the authority as well has the right to seize it for legal prosecution (Department of Public Safety Law enforcement Academy 2012). The conceptual framework of search and seizure is based on good will that is to allow lawful hunt of law breakers by seeking evidences that can be available to prove that these people

Ruby Tuesday’s Code of Conduct Essay Example for Free

Ruby Tuesday’s Code of Conduct Essay For each business due to the human aspect of ethics and the connection to business success corporate leaders take different steps to establish a code of conduct not only for employees but directors and officers of a major company. The code of conduct has different key areas that have significant importance to the business. Ruby Tuesday has specific guidelines that they set for their employees. Preventing harassment and discrimination including race, color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran or marital status, and rudeness towards guests or vendors could result to disciplinary actions including the termination of employment. Having this in the policy shows that the company does care for the rights and respect given to the people that are apart of their company. It provides employees to feel they are given fair treatment. Another key area is inside trading. It is against policy for an employee, officer, or director to profit from material that is nonpublic. Material can include unannounced sales or estimate of sales, unannounced changes in earnings estimates or actual earnings, and changes in management. Any employee, director, or officer withholding any information may not buy or sell any securities or exercise any options to buy securities until 48 hours after material information has been released publicly. With this being included in the policy it is important to establish trust between an employee and the employer. It shows significance to the business that they are all about honesty. They don’t allow information to be leaked early. If a sale was being given at a specific time well it wouldn’t be fair if anybody knew a couple days before or a week before. Employees should prevent the payment of bribes or kickbacks. They are unable to offer, give, solicit, receive, or authorize any bribe or kickback. It’s unacceptable to accept improper inducement payment or gift in connection with Ruby Tuesday. The significance  of preventing the payment of bribes is to not cheat the business out of its sale. If a customer was purchasing something for full price but did not want to pay full price, instead the customer bribed the employee with a really good gift or payment. It would be cheating the company out of its profit for that specific merchandise. Employees are able to eliminate hazards from the workplace and provide a safe and healthy work environment. They are told to dispose of any hazardous material and toxins. Establishing a safe and healthy work area is very important in a business. Not everybody can be comfortable with working around something that isn’t safe to them physically or health wise. It is important that not only employees are safe but customers are as well. There are antitrust laws in business. Employees are never allowed to discuss or make agreements with competitors. These type of discussions can include past, present, or future pricing, pricing policies, bids, discounts, promotions or similar items or conditions regarding sales. Trust is important in business you have to know whether or not your employees can be trusted with top secret information. You wouldn’t want your competition a couple steps ahead of you and knowing all your plans and tactics. Also included in the policy is the proper use of assets. The theft, misuse or waste of any property or services by an employee, officer or director can result in disciplinary actions including termination of your employment. It also can include possible civil and criminal penalties. The proper way of handling property and services are important. If you didn’t follow the safety guidelines of equipment things could go wrong. You could end up damaging the property or getting hurt from not using it properly. Companies’ take steps to ensure that the policy and guidelines are being followed properly. The board of Ruby Tuesday oversees, advises and monitors the performance of the management team. They do this by having frequent meetings discussing the management and the release of the company’s quarterly earnings. The directors are expected to spend time to review and understand the materials being distributed to them in advance of meetings of the Board and of the committees on which they serve. Three ways Ruby Tuesday can engage in socially responsive activities within the community is creating a webpage on a social network. They could also have surveys given out to each customer that walks in. And last but not least a fundraiser they can do to help raise money for either their company benefit or community’s  benefit.

Seven Steps In The Benchmarking Process Business Essay

Seven Steps In The Benchmarking Process Business Essay Benchmarking  is the process of comparing ones business processes and  performance metrics  to industry bests or  best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost. In the process of benchmarking, management identifies the best firms in their industry, or in another industry where similar processes exist, and compare the results and processes of those studied (the targets) to ones own results and processes. In this way, they learn how well the targets perform and, more importantly, the business processes that explain why these firms are successful. Benchmarking is used to measure performance using a specific  indicator  (cost per unit of measure, productivity per unit of measure, cycle time of x per unit of measure or defects per unit of measure) resulting in a metric of performance that is then compared to others. Also referred to as best practice benchmarking or process benchmarking, this process is used in management and particularly strategic management, in which organizations evaluate various aspects of their processes in relation to best practice companies processes, usually within a peer group defined for the purposes of comparison. This then allows organizations to develop plans on how to make improvements or adapt specific best practices, usually with the aim of increasing some aspect of performance. Benchmarking may be a one-off event, but is often treated as a continuous process in which organizations continually seek to improve their practices. BASICS OF BENCHMARKING Indian organizations are becoming world class both in terms of size and performance. Therefore, there is a greater need to become superior in performance consistently. Quality is becoming the hallmark for both products and services. Indian and multinational organizations are increasingly becoming quality conscious and try to deliver high quality products and services to customers. Quality delivery which was the property of General Electric, Ford, General motors, Xerox and ATT had become the buzzword in many corporate circles in India as well. From Software major Infosys to Automobile giant Mahindra are adopting best in class technologies, borrows and adopt best ideas, incubate and implement them as part of their corporate strategy. As individuals do swot analysis, companies have to do swot analysis for their competitive advantage and for long term survival. The external competitive pressure on the system had made its absolutely necessary to benchmark with similar organizations or organizations of different breed. However, benchmarking cannot cure all diseases of the company. Why the companies benchmark? Instead of being inward looking companies, large corporations are more outward looking nowadays. Liberalization and globalization had made the industries very competitive. Equally the transfer and adoption of technologies are more easier nowadays. The other advantage of benchmarking is the lowest cost associated with the process. The companies do not invest sizeable investments in research and development and there is no threat of any sunk cost. The process or practice or technology are readily available and easily be plagiarized. A company that decides to undertake a bench-marking initiative should consider the following questions: When? Why? Who? What? and How? WHEN Benchmarking can be used at any time, but is usually performed in response to needs that arise within a company. According to C.J. McNair and Kathleen H.J. Leibfried in their book  Benchmarking: A Tool for Continuous Improvement,  some potential triggers for the benchmarking process include: quality programs cost reduction/budget process operations improvement efforts management change new operations/new ventures rethinking existing strategies competitive assaults/crises WHY This is the most important question in managements decision to begin the benchmarking process. McNair and Leibfried suggest several reasons why companies may embark upon benchmarking: to signal managements willingness to pursue a philosophy that embraces change in a proactive rather than reactive manner; to establish meaningful goals and performance measures that reflect an external/customer focus, foster quantum leap thinking, and focus on high-payoff opportunities; to create early awareness of competitive disadvantage; and to promote teamwork that is based on competitive need and is driven by concrete data analysis, not intuition or gut feeling. WHO Companies may decide to benchmark internally, against competitors, against industry performance, or against the best of the best. Internal benchmarking is the analysis of existing practice within various departments or divisions of the organization, looking for best performance as well as identifying baseline activities and drivers. Competitive benchmarking looks at a companys direct competitors and evaluates how the company is doing in comparison. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the competition is not only important in plotting a successful strategy, but it can also help prioritize areas of improvement as specific customer expectations are identified. Industry benchmarking is more trend-based and has a much broader scope. It can help establish performance baselines. The best-in-class form of benchmarking examines multiple industries in search of new, innovative practices. It not only provides a broad scope, but also it provides the best opportunities over that range. WHAT Benchmarking can focus on roles, processes, or strategic issues. It can be used to establish the function or mission of an organization. It can also be used to examine existing practices while looking at the organization as a whole to identify practices that support major processes or critical objectives. When focusing on specific processes or activities, the depth of the analysis is a key issue. The analysis can take the form of vertical or horizontal benchmarking. Vertical benchmarking is where the focus is placed on specific departments or functions, while horizontal bench-marking is where the focus is placed on a specific process or activity. Concerning strategic issues, the objective is to identify factors that are of greatest importance to competitive advantage, to define measures of excellence that capture these issues, and to isolate companies that appear to be top performers in these areas. HOW Benchmarking uses different sources of information, including published material, trade meetings, and conversations with industry experts, consultants, customers, and marketing representatives. The emergence of Internet technology has facilitated the bench-marking process. The Internet offers access to a number of databases-like Power-MARQ from the nonprofit American Productivity and Quality Center-containing performance indicators for thousands of different companies. The Internet also enables companies to conduct electronic surveys to collect bench-marking data. How a company benchmarks may depend on available resources, deadlines, and the number of alternative sources of information. ADVANTAGES OF BENCHMARKING Lowering Labor Costs One advantage of benchmarking may be lower labor costs. For example, a small manufacturing company may study how a top competitor uses robots for several basic plant functions. These robots may help the competitor save a significant amount of money on labor costs. Company managers may obtain information on these robotics systems through the competitors website or online articles. They may also identify the company that sold the competitor the robots. Subsequently, the company using benchmarking may call the robot manufacturer to help set up its own system. Improving Product Quality Companies may also use benchmarking to improve product quality. Engineers sometimes purchase leading competitors products. They may then take them apart, study them and determine how the competitors products outlast or outperform others in the industry. Chemical engineers may study food or cleaning products in a similar manner. They can then compare various elements contained in competitive products to their own product line. Subsequently, improvements can be made to product quality. Increasing Sales and Profits A company that uses benchmarking to improve its functions, operations, products and services may enjoy increases in sales and profits. Customers are likely to notice these improvements. The benchmarking company may also promote is improvements through company brochures, its sales reps, magazine and television ads. These efforts are likely to increase sales, especially among core customers. Companies that operate more efficiently due to benchmarking can drastically lower their expenses. These savings can be lead to greater profits. Considerations Some organizations use internal benchmarking to improve performance in different departments. Department managers may study and emulate the best practices of one particular department. These changes may spark improvements among all departments. Internal benchmarking has its limitations, however. The companys top department may not be functioning as efficiently as others in the industry. This means the other departments were not truly benchmarking against the best departments out there. PROCESS OF BENCHMARKING When it comes to Competitive Intelligence, there are a few simple tools that can provide for sophisticated comparisons of business functions between organizations that can help firms benchmark the constituent processes of the company with direct or indirect competitors, allowing a company to gain the upper hand in a marketplace. But, what is the process for setting the metrics, methodologies, milestones and comparisons which might be used to measure the success of a CI/benchmarking function, or the success of a Strategic Planning department as a whole? Benchmarking is best used and described as a framework for strategic planning in that, once elements of study are identified, metrics can be applied to the key success factors (KSFs) of the industry or marketplace and these measures or benchmarks are then used to develop future quality and market initiatives for the firm to enhance its overall competitive position. It is generally considered that there are seven steps to this process, as explained below. However, this analysis of intra- and sometimes inter-industry competitors can form the foundation for future competitor analysis when the emphasis is placed upon the goals and financial capabilities of the competitor. Seven Steps in the Benchmarking Process: 1. Determine which functional areas within your operation are to be benchmarked those that will benefit most from the benchmarking process, based upon the cost, importance and potential of changes following the study. 2. Identify the key factors and variables with which to measure those functions usually in the general form of financial resources and product strategy. 3. Select the best-in-class companies for each area to be benchmarked those companies that perform each function at the lowest cost, with the highest degree of customer satisfaction, etc. Best-in-class companies can be your direct competitors (foreign or domestic), or even companies from a different industry (parallel competitors with replacement or substitute products or services; latent competitors which might backwards- or forwards-integrate into your market; or, out-of-industry firms with whom you do not compete, but which have best-in-class areas to be studied such as FedEx or Wal-Mart in logistics). 4. Measure the performance of the best-in-class companies for each benchmark being considered from sources such as the SEC, companies themselves, articles in the press or trade journals, analysts in the market, credit reports, clients and vendors, trade associations, the government or from interviews with other organizations willing to share their prior research or swap it with you. 5. Measure your own performance for each variable and begin comparing the results in an apples-to-apples format to determine the gap between your firm and the best-in-class examples. Always feel free to estimate results, as exact measures are usually disproportionately difficult to obtain and often do not significantly add value to the study. 6. Specify those programs and actions to meet and surpass the competition based on a plan developed to enhance those areas that show potential for compliment. The firm can choose from a few different approaches from simply trying harder, to emulating the best-in-class, changing the rules of the industry or leapfrogging the competition with innovation or technology from outside the industry. 7. Implement these programs by setting specific improvement targets and deadlines, and by developing a monitoring process to review and update the analysis over time. This will also form the basis for monitoring, revision and recalibration of measurements in future benchmarking studies. DIFFERENT MEASURES OF BENCHMARKING One of benchmarkings cardinal questions is that of what to measure. That depends on the nature of the business. The point is that you cannot chase 50 benchmarks at the same time. One macro benchmark is required which then might be broken down into a series of supporting micro measures. Although it is fine to circulate such a measure, the most worthwhile aspect of the benchmarking process can be the opportunity for people in an organisation to see at first hand how other organisations go about their business. It is the process itself which is valuable; the voyage that is more educational than the reaching of the destination. Nevertheless, measurable performance falls into the three broad areas: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ time; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ cost; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ quality. Time measures should incorporate the process from start to finish. For example, from when a customer places an order to the time of receipt of goods and payment, thereby accounting for total lead time, product development time and productive time. Cost measures are the traditional basis of comparison between firms and, because of this, we are often most comfortable with these measures. Two which can be useful in benchmarking are total process cost per unit of output and return on assets. Quality measures should capture the errors, defects and waste attributable to processes. Some measures which should be used in achieving this include process variability, defects, process yields, customer perceived quality, cost of quality and quality improvement efforts. TYPES OF BENCHMARKING There are a number of different types of benchmarking, as summarised below: Type Description Most Appropriate for the Following Purposes Strategic Benchmarking Where businesses need to improve overall performance by examining the long-term strategies and general approaches that have enabled high-performers to succeed. It involves considering high level aspects such as core competencies, developing new products and services and improving capabilities for dealing with changes in the external environment. Changes resulting from this type of benchmarking may be difficult to implement and take a long time to materialise Re-aligning business strategies that have become inappropriate Performance or Competitive Benchmarking Businesses consider their position in relation to performance characteristics of  key products and services. Benchmarking partners are drawn from the same sector. This type of analysis is often undertaken through trade associations or third parties to protect confidentiality. Assessing relative level of performance in key areas or activities in comparison with others in the same sector and finding ways of closing gaps in performance Process Benchmarking Focuses on improving specific  critical processes and operations. Benchmarking partners are sought from best practice organisations that perform similar work or deliver similar services. Process benchmarking invariably involves producing process maps to facilitate comparison and analysis. This type of benchmarking often results in short term benefits. Achieving improvements in key processes to obtain quick benefits Functional Benchmarking Businesses look to benchmark with partners drawn from different business sectors or areas of activity to find ways of improving similar functions or work processes. This sort of benchmarking can lead to innovation and dramatic improvements. Improving activities or services for which counterparts do not exist. Internal Benchmarking Involves benchmarking businesses or operations from within the same organisation (e.g. business units in different countries). The main advantages of internal benchmarking are that access to sensitive data and information is easier; standardised data is often readily available; and, usually less time and resources are needed. There may be fewer barriers to implementation as practices may be relatively easy to transfer across the same organisation. However, real innovation may be lacking and best in class performance is more likely to be found through external benchmarking. Several business units within the same organisation exemplify good practice and management want to spread this expertise quickly, throughout the organisation External Benchmarking Involves analysing outside organisations that are known to be best in class. External benchmarking provides opportunities of learning from those who are at the leading edge. This type of benchmarking can take up significant time and resource to ensure the comparability of data and information, the credibility of the findings and the development of sound recommendations. Where examples of good practices can be found in other organisations and there is a lack of good practices within internal business units International Benchmarking Best practitioners are identified and analysed elsewhere in the world, perhaps because there are too few benchmarking partners within the same country to produce valid results. Globalisation and advances in information technology are increasing opportunities for international projects. However, these can take more time and resources to set up and implement and the results may need careful analysis due to national differences Where the aim is to achieve world class status or simply because there are insufficientnational businesses against which to benchmark. SUCCESSFUL BENCHMARKING There are several keys to successful benchmarking. Management commitment is one that companies frequently name. Since management from top to bottom is responsible for the continued operation and evaluation of the company, it is imperative that management be committed as a team to using and implementing benchmarking strategies. A strong network of personal contacts as well as having an open mind to ideas is other keys. In order to implement benchmarking at all stages, there must be a well-trained team of people in order for the process to work accurately and efficiently. Based on the information gathered by a well-trained team, there must also be an effort toward continuous improvement. Other keys include a benchmarking process that has historical success, sufficient time and staff, and complete understanding of the processes to be benchmarked. In almost any type of program that a company researches or intends to implement, there must be goals and objectives set for that specific program. Benchmarking is no different. Successful companies determine goals and objectives, focus on them, keep them simple, and follow through on them. As in any program, it is always imperative to gather accurate and consistent information. The data should be understood and able to be defined as well as measured. The data must be able to be interpreted in order to make comparisons with other organizations. Lastly, keys to successful benchmarking include a thorough follow-through process and assistance from consultants with experience in designing and establishing such programs.

Us Vs Japans Education Essay -- Education

Us Vs Japan's Education Education is the foundation of a strong and productive individual as well as being the foundation for a strong and productive country. Any country that keeps its' people uneducated or does not help to educate them cannot hold them entirely responsible for their actions that result from their lack of education. The United States and Japan both feel very strongly about education and that they need to have well educated people. Both of these countries have educational systems that are similar in some ways and yet very different in other ways. Both the similarities and the differences of these two systems give light to how each of these countries go about educating its' people and how much each of these countries value education. The educational system in Japan has not always been the way it is today. In fact it went through the very drastic changes in the end of the eighteen hundreds and then again in middle of the nineteen hundreds; right after World War II. The Meiji government was the first imperial government and it came into power in 1868. This government had a relatively nonrestrictive textbook policy. Then in 1872 it passed the School System Law, but it still did not include a Textbook Compilation Bureau. In the 1880's, there was a surging of nationalistic sentiment among Confucian scholars and this group was led by Motoda (1818-91). Due to this feeling sweeping the country, Mori Arinori (1847-89) became Education Minister and under his leadership state control on what was taught and what was in textbooks tightened. Then there was the Imperial Rescript on Education of 1890. This document had three themes: that the foundation of the nation is Confucian Values, that the role of education is perfect... ...rent ways; ways that pander to the results they want. Bibliography: A. Education in Japan: A Century of Modern Development Ronald A. Anderson, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1975 I think that this is a very good source because it was put out by the U.S. Government. B. Education in Japan: A Source Book Edward R. Beauchamp and Richard Rubinger, Garland Publishing, Inc. New York & London, 1989 This was an excellent source because it was very unbiased and factual C. Dimensions of contemporary Japan: Education and Schooling in Japan Since 1945 Edward R Beauchamp Garland Publishing, Inc. New York & London, 1998 This source is also very good and it is very new, which is always a good thing D. The American School 1642-1993 Joel Spring McGraw-Hill Inc., 1994 This was very strait forward and factual, meaning it is a good source.

A Unique Cult Essays -- Consumerism Economics Economy Essays

A Unique Cult Within the past five years, the stock market has steadily increased due to an abundance of retail and merchandise shopping. Many may wonder, â€Å"why now?† or â€Å"why such an increase in sales?†; the answer to this question is right in front of our nose. The answer is the current consumer culture, consisting of everything we buy- including clothes, food, accessories, cars, and furniture. Pressure from the current consumer culture on the average shopper has never been so strong. Nowadays the only way for a person to feel as though they fit in is by purchasing the latest fashion fad, in order to, in some way, feel connected. Peer pressure and the pressure of advertising are placing the latest crazes in front of our eyes, and it is our job as consumers to purchase them, no matter the cost. The current consumer culture is taking the word â€Å"unique† out of the country by creating false images for teenagers and cities to fulfill. It is also pl acing unwanted pressure on parents and teenagers to cooperate with today’s consumer culture without realizing that the intent of large corporations is only for their own good. The words cult and consumer culture, also known as consumerism, have become prevalent topics in today’s society. The most general and personal definition of the term cult refers to a group of people in which everyone is the same, or has the same goals and dreams. For example, one may think of a cult as the Catholic Church in which every Catholic’s goal is to find salvation. In a less religious and significant stance, a cult is the extreme followers of a television show such as â€Å"Star Trek†. The term consumer culture, dealing with the need for people to purchase and have the latest... ...proving to be monetary gain for their own selfish needs rather than the people which keep them in business. Works Cited: Connor, John. "TV: 'TEENAGE SUICIDE: DON'T TRY IT!'" New York Times. 10 Dec. 1981, sec C. Lexis Nexis. 3 Dec. 2004 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>. Garcia, Michelle. "New York, Brought to You by . . .." Washington Post. 7 Dec. 2003, sec. A03. Lexis Nexis. 20 Nov. 2004 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>. Lasn, Kalle. "The Cult You're In." Culture Jam. New York: Perennial Currents, 2000. Mayer, Caroline. "Nurturing Brand Loyalty." Washington Post. 12 Dec. 2003, sec. F01. Lexis Nexis. 20 Nov. 2004 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>. Moraes, Lisa de. "High-Priced Ads: For Younger Viewers Only." Washington Post. 21 March 2004, sec. N10. Lexis Nexis. 20 Nov. 2004 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>.

To Kill A Mockingbird - Changes in the Characters Thought the Novel :: Kill Mockingbird essays

To Kill A Mockingbird - Changes in the Characters Thought the Novel In the novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" each of the main characters changed quite a bit. Through the experiences each character went through and the natural maturing that occurred in each of them, the characters were altered from the way they were at beginning of the book. The children, Scout and Jem, were the two most dramatically changed characters. However, Scout showed much more change than Jem did because of his mysterious hidden attitude. Scout matured from a helpless and naïve child into a much more experienced and grown-up young lady. As a growing young girl, Scout was learning and experiencing things just like any other child would though growing up. She got older and was able to understand things a lot better as well as being able to apply lessons she had learned in her everyday life. She began to act slightly more grown up in situations such as Aunt Alexandria's dinner party. Scout forgot how much she despised her Aunt and how much she disliked dresses and joined the group of women in their conversations. Despite how she didn't want to "act more like a lady", she played along with her Aunt's "campaign to teach me (Scout) to be a lady" made an exception to please her Aunt and to create some peace between them. Upon hearing the news of Tom's death she concludes "if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I." This shows how Scout was beginning to act more ladylike for her Aunt. Another way Scout changed a lot was in the way she treated Boo Radley. At the beginning of the book Jem, Dill, and herself enjoyed playing "Boo Radley" as a game and tormenting him by trying to have a chance to see him or prove their bravery by touching the house. As time went on, Scout's fears and apprehensions regarding the Radley place slowly disappeared. She mentions how "the Radley Place had ceased to terrify me (her)..." As she matures and is more able to take care of herself, she realizes more and more that Boo Radley is a human being, just like herself.

Expect more, get more

Finding the perfect match online promises to become simpler with the September 21 launching of moreProfiles.com, a website that hopes to become the hub of online dating services. With the help of powerful Web 2.0 software, moreProfiles’ president John Dahl and his associates have created a site that makes it easier for singles to search profiles, upload their own, do side-by-side comparisons—everything necessary find their perfect match. The website enlarges the selection pool by bringing together such major players in the online dating industry as Yahoo Personals, Match, American Singles, Love Happens, and True. moreProfiles.com gives the public free access to the 30 million profiles held separately by each of these dating websites, but all from one central web location. The charm and ingenuity of moreProfiles.com is the simplicity that comes with having to do only One Searchâ„ ¢ and to submit only One Profileâ„ ¢. Previously, singles interested in online dating have found that choosing a dating website often locks them into the relatively stagnant pool of users that belong to that one site. Simultaneously, it has effectively locked them out of several competing sites, any one of which has the potential to contain the one person that could match them completely. moreProfiles’ One Profileâ„ ¢ and One Searchâ„ ¢ solutions propose to remove the guesswork from choosing a dating service, as it brings all the top ones directly to the searcher. Just one search command probes the vaults of several of the most prominent dating websites, giving singles free and complete access to the profiles of millions and making it easier for them to find their match. In addition, the submission of just one profile gets singles’ information out to all the top dating websites, making it easier for matches to find them. Information integration is at the heart of moreProfiles’ mission. The key component of the One Searchâ„ ¢ and One Profileâ„ ¢ aspects of moreProfiles is its meta-search capability that reaches across company lines to bring all relevant information to searchers. It has been Dahl’s concern that singles should not be distracted by decisions about which online dating service to use.   He says, â€Å"The question shouldn't be ‘Which dating website is right for me?’ The question should be ‘Which person is right for me?’† He believes that it should be as simple to search online for a dating partner as it is has been to search for any thing else. In keeping with this, Dahl and his team have used meta-search technology to create a website that integrates all the browsing, searching, and comparison capabilities necessary for making perhaps the most important decision in a person’s life. To moreProfiles and its users, this unique service represents a long-overdue development in online dating services. The president and staff of moreProfiles.com are confident that the site fills a gaping hole in the world of online dating, and are sure that this will become evident in the coming months through an expected influx of singles to the site. Dahl says, â€Å"By offering a way to easily and intuitively browse all the top online dating websites simultaneously, we think a lot more people are going to take advantage of online dating to reach out and find that special someone.†   

Problem of Historical Distortion – Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab

THE PROBLEM OF HISTORICAL DISTORTION: A Survey of Literature on Imam Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab as viewed through the Western slant of history By Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui The Problem of Historical DistortionOf the past fourteen centuries of the Islamic civilization, its thought, its institutions and the personalities who have contributed to its development and glory, stagnation and disintegration, the historical perspective painted by the Judaeo-Christian West has been markedly distinctive from the picture presented by the Muslim scholars, varying from outright hostile and distorted versions to the recent sympathetic (and sometimes empathetic) accounts.History is one of those branches of knowledge that can be used most effectively for the glorification and upliftment of one's own people at the expense of the traditions of others, leading eventually to a subversive imposition of one's own norms, values and way of life as the standard for others. Most, if not all of the people emanatin g from the Judaeo-Christian tradition who have penned their understanding of the Islamic civilization, have been prey to such underlying motives.This is not unique though since the subjective bias and assumptions of the historian in question are an integral part of the writing of history. What becomes remarkable in this case is the effective use of the historical perspective of other people for the exploitation of the same. This becomes manifest then, for example, in the notorious ‘Divide and Rule' policy of the post-renaissance British Empire. The Old Testament Hebraic heritage has a lot to offer in comprehending this attitude and mentality of the Western writer.The Old Testament (in the Bible) was written primarily to identify the ancestry and heritage of the Jews and thereby declare their superiority over all other nations. The other nations mentioned in the Old Testament are merely for the sake of justification of the crimes of the Children of Israel. Likewise, the modern Western writer is not concerned about the absolute and relative truths. He is more concerned about justifying or explaining away the phenomena of other civilizations. Through this he either hopes to dominate over the other civilizations, or to convert them to his own ways.We are well aware that our foregoing remarks are heavily loaded with our own assumptions; but there are certain assumptions, which are derived through the cognitive and perceptive processes using the facts of history as the starting point. Thus, in this case, the assumptions are elevated to the level of derived facts and axioms. To prove our point, we have chosen for this paper a survey of the literature in English produced by the West during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries on the famous and controversial imam Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1789).As a prominent figure in Islamic history, loved by many and hated by many others of the Muslims, he has managed to attract the attention of the Western colonia lists, missionaries, and historians who were neither, right from his own lifetime to the present. Far greater than the Imam himself is the impact of his followers – the Muwa idun or the so-called Wahhabis – on the Western literature about Islam. The schismatic element in the nature of the controversy between the followers of the Imam and other Muslims has held great interest for the very reasons we have outlined above.The analysis will become far more categorical as we proceed with the survey itself. Besides, this analysis can be made much more precise, accurate and to the point if one were to attempt a similar exercise on the survey of the Western literature about the followers of the Imam. In this paper we shall limit ourselves to the Imam only. To begin with, it would be appropriate to narrate the salient features of the Imam's life briefly. Page 2 The Problem of Historical Distortion Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab: A Brief Biography: Coming from a learned family, 1 M u? mmad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab was born in 1115/1703 at `Uyaynah, a small town roughly 30 Km northwest of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. His ancestors had been steeped in the ? anbali tradition, and so was young Mu? ammad's education. As a young man, he left `Uyaynah for further studies. His search for learning took him to Makkah, Madinah and Damascus. He acquired great admiration for Ibn Taymiyah (d. 728/1328) through the shaykh `Abd Allah ibn Ibrahim al-Najdi at Madinah. Madinah also offered him a chance to teach for quite some time. Subsequently, he continued this occupation at the Umayyad mosque of Damascus.His journeys took him east to Basrah as well, where, besides acquiring further knowledge of the traditional sciences, he got the chance of getting acquainted with Shi`i and Sufi circles, their ways and ideas. This period ascertained for him the formulation of a mission in his mind. According to the Lam` al-Shihab, 2 he stayed in Basrah for four years and then moved to Baghdad. There he married a wealthy lady and remained for five years. He next went to Hamadan and then to Isfahan in 1148/1736 to study philosophy and Sufism. His quest for knowledge led him to Cairo and Damascus as well.Upon the settlement of his father in Huraymilah near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab joined him, and it was here that the Imam composed his first work on taw? id, and also gathered disciples. After the death of his father in 1153/1740, he left Huraymilah for `Uyaynah where he spent four years. During his stay there, the governor `Uthman ibn Bishr of the Banu Mu`ammar became his follower. This became a cause for consternation among the powerful Banu Khalid. His preaching against shirk (associating partners with Allah) that was practiced by the masses, and against their moral laxity shook the roots of the society.As a result, the Imam was forced to leave `Uyaynah and seek refuge in Dir`iyah (which is around 10-15 Km from `Uyaynah in the direction of Riyadh), where he found followers among the amir Mu? ammad ibn Sa`ud's brothers and son. Eventually the Amir also supported him. The Amir and the Imam took a bay`ah (an oath of mutual loyalty), â€Å"to strive, by force if necessary, to make the kingdom of God's word prevail†. 3 This was the beginning of the religio-political reality that was to engulf the whole of Najd and its neighbouring territories during the decades to come, first under the amir Mu? mmad ibn Sa`ud (d. 1178/1765), then under his son `Abd al-`Aziz (d. 1218/1803) and his grandson Sa`ud (d. 1229/1814). We leave the story of the Al Sa`ud for other historians to narrate, and return to the man who called for the return to taw? id (God's unity) and a true practice of Islam. Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab continued his role as teacher in the mosque of Dir`iyah, as political counselor of the Amir, and as a preacher writing theological works and extending his da`wah to the neighbouring areas until his death in 1204/1789. 4 Bearing this brief picture of the Imam in mind, we ow turn to his Western biographers and their accounts. â€Å"His grandfather Sulayman b. Mu? ammad had been mufti of the Nadjd. His father `Abd al-Wahhab was kadi at `Uyayna during the emirate of `Abd Allah b. Mu? ammad b. Mu`ammar; he taught ? adith and fikh in the mosques of the town and left several works of ? anbali inspiration, which in part survive†. Laoust, EI2, III:677, col. 2. 2 Abu Hakima, Ahmad A. , ed. , Lam` al-Shihab fi ta’rikh Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab, Beirut, 1967 3 Laoust, EI2, III:678, col. 2. Most of the facts have been taken from this same source. Most historians give the year of death as 1206/1792. See Mu`inuddin A? mad Khan, â€Å"A Diplomat's Report on Wahhabism of Arabia†, Islamic Studies 7 (1968), p. 38, for the argument in favour of 1204/1789 as the correct date. Page 3 1 The Problem of Historical Distortion WESTERN ACCOUNTS ABOUT THE IM M: M. Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815): The first European to mention the Imam in his writings was M. Carsten Niebuhr who visited the peninsula in 1761-1764, that is within four years of the bay`ah taken between the Imam and ibn Sa`ud. He published his reports in German in 1772 and 1778.An abridged English version of his writings appeared first in 1792 entitled Travels Through Arabia and Other Countries in the East. 5 Niebuhr and his companions had embarked upon an ecclesiastical mission to gather some information about this ancient land of Arabia, which had been the cradle of Christianity just as it had been for Judaism and Islam. Many people have noted the false and misleading remarks of Niebuhr with regards to the Imam. In the drama depicted by Niebuhr, there are two important characters in the founding of â€Å"the New Religion of a Part of Nedsjed†, 6 namely one â€Å"Abd ul Wahheb† and his son â€Å"Mahomet†. His description of ibn `Abd al-Wahhab's youth seems to tally with the facts of the Imam's life. Now this â€Å"Abd ul Wahheb†, having founded his religion, converts several Schiechs (i. e. shaykhs) to his faith, and virtually becomes their ruler. He reduces a great part of â€Å"El Ared†, thus seemingly also performing the role of ibn Sa`ud. After the father's death, the son â€Å"Mahomet† takes over the small empire built by his father, sustaining â€Å"the supreme ecclesiastical character in El Ared†. Among his beliefs cited are that â€Å"he considered Mahomet, Jesus Christ, Moses, and many others, respected by the Sunnites in the character of prophets, as merely great men, whose history might be read with improvement; denying that any book had ever been written by divine inspiration, or brought down from the heaven by the angel Gabriel. † 9 Against the beliefs of â€Å"Abd ul Wahheb†, he contrasts the Sunnites as a â€Å"superstitious sect† whose opinions are false, depending on â€Å"their own whimsies† to explain the â€Å" Alcoran†, acknowledging saints â€Å"to whom many absurd miracles are ascribed†, etc. 0 Finally, he concludes that ‘The new religion of Abd ul Wahheb deserves therefore to be regarded as a reformation of Mahometism, reducing it back to its original simplicity†. 11 The inaccuracies of Niebuhr's reporting continued in the Western understanding for many decades as we shall see. Sir Harford Jones Brydges: Far more accurate in his reporting was the civil servant of the colonialist British, Sir Harford Jones Brydges, who sent his first report on the Wahhabis from Baghdad to the British Foreign Office in C. M. Niebuhr, Travels Through Arabia and Other Countries in the East, trans. nto English by Robert Heron, vol. 2, Edinburgh, R. Morrison & Son, 1792. Cf. also Mu`inuddin A? mad Khan, op. cit. , p. 33 and a review of Niebuhr's life in Islamic Culture 7 (1933), pp. 502-505 by V. B. Mehta. 6 Niebuhr, II:130. Note that Nedsjed is Najd. 7 Ibid. , II:131-3. 8 Ibid. , II :133. 9 Ibid. , II:134. 10 Ibid. , II:135. 11 Ibid. , II:135. Page 4 5 The Problem of Historical Distortion 1799, that is within a decade of the death of the Imam. 12 The weakest part of his report is the following anecdote: â€Å"Shaik Ibn Mahamer 13 proud of possessing this new Sectuary gave Moolah Mohammed 14 his own Sister inMarriage and Moolah Mohammed sometime after, under pretense, that his Brother in Law Mahamer perverted Justice and oppressed the Tribe, murdered him with his own hands in the Mosque as he was at prayers meaning thereby, as he declared, to give to the People of Ayenah 15 a proof that his love for Justice was so great, that neither the obligations which he had to, nor alliance he had with Shaik Mahamer could withhold him from punishing even in him that he conceived to be a deviation from it. The People of Ayenah however appear to have had too much good Sense, to esteem as meritorious, so horrible a Transaction, and they obliged Moolah Mohammed, to abandon Aye nah, and he fled to Dereah 16 where he found an Asylum and Protector in Shaik Ibn Soud, the Governor of that place, who also embraced his Doctrines†. 17 Historically we know that `Uthman ibn Mu`ammar died a natural death after the Imam had left for Dir`iyah, and that his expulsion from `Uyaynah was due to the pressures from various parts of that area against his teachings.Other than this error, Brydges' report to his masters in London faithfully depicted the doctrines taught by the Imam. He says, â€Å"The Religion they possess is Mohammedan according to the literal meaning of the Koran, following the Interpretations of Hambelly†. 18 Thirty-five years later, in 1834, Sir Harford Jones Brydges produced a far greater authoritative account of the Muwa idun in his A Brief History of the Wahauby. 19 We shall return to this document after looking at other developments during these thirty-five years. e Sacy: In 1805, we find the Frenchman de Sacy writing in his paper Observati ons sur les Wahhabites that the Muwa idun are â€Å"enemies of Islam†. He considered them to be an offshoot of the Qarmatians. 20 Rousseau: Four years later in 1809, another Frenchman by the name of Rousseau produced two short treatises 21 in which â€Å"it was positively asserted, that the Wahabys have a new religion, and that Mu`inuddin A? mad Khan, op. cit. , pp. 33-46. i. e. `Uthman ibn Mu`ammar, the governor of `Uyaynah. 14 i. e. Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab 15 i. e. `Uyaynah. 16 i. e.Dir`iyah, the first Saudi capital in the eighteenth century. It is now a ruin, lying on the outskirts of present day Riyadh 17 Mu`inuddin A? mad Khan, op. cit. , p. 41. 18 Ibid. , p. 42. By â€Å"Hambelly† he means the ? anbali School of Fiqh. 19 Harford Jones Brydges, An Account of the Transactions of His Majesty's Mission to the Court of Persia in the years 1807-11, to which is appended A Brief History of the Wahauby: London, James Bohn, 1834. 20 M. A. Bari, â€Å"The early Wahha bis, some contemporary assessments†. Proceedings of the 27th International Congress of Orientalists: Ann Arbor, Mich. , 1967.It may be recalled here that the Qarmatians were a 9th – 12th century Isma`ili sect that sprang up in southern `Iraq and al-Hasa'. 21 J. B. L. J. Rousseau, Descriptions du pashalic de Baghdad suivie d'une notice historique sur les Wahabis, et de quelques autres pieces relatives l'histoire et la litterature de l'Orient, Paris, Trouttel et Wurtz, 1809, pp. 125-182. Idem. , â€Å"Notice sur la secte des Wahabis†, Fundgruben des Orients, Vol. I, Wien, 1809, pp. 191-198. 13 12 Page 5 The Problem of Historical Distortion although they acknowledge the Koran, yet they have entirely abolished the pilgrimage to Mekka†. 2 He claimed to derive part of his information from â€Å"le Chapelain de Saoud†. 23 Burckhardt, Brydges, 24 and other later Western writers reprimanded Rousseau for his obvious misinformation, the indignation arising over his claim to an authentic source of information. Corancez: The following year, i. e. in 1810, Corancez published his work in French. 25 Nashshabah says that after Burckhardt, â€Å"the next best Western account of the early history of the Wahhabis is Corancez's Histoire des Wahhabis, depuis leur origine jusqu'a la fin de 1809.Corancez, who was the French consul in Aleppo from 1800 to 1808, carefully checked the information he had been able to gather, and his informants were often first-hand observers; but his account of the life of the founder of the Wahhabi movement is inadequate. He ascribes Wahhabi expansion solely to the weakness and misrule of the Ottomans (whose authority in most of Arabia was at times merely nominal) and ignores the fervour stirred up by (ibn) `Abd al-Wahhab which, combined with the leadership of Mu? ammad ibn Sa`ud, must surely have been the main reason for their astonishing victories†. 6 Vincenzo Maurizi: During the following years, we find the writ ings of another Niebuhrian, 27 an Italian by the name of Vincenzo Maurizi alias Shaik Mansur. He amused his European audience with his History of Seyd Said, Sultan of Muscat in 1819, which also devoted a considerable section to the Muwa idun. Maurizi, in his zeal to discredit the movement, overstepped even the limits of Niebuhr and painted a completely erroneous picture. To give a full flavour of his deliberate misreporting, we quote part of his narrative below. â€Å"About the middle of the last century (i. e. ighteenth century), a man named Abdulwahab, or Abdulvaab, a native of Hellah, or Ellaa, 28 on the banks of the Euphrates, pretended to have a vision, in which a flame appeared to issue from his body and burn to ashes all the neighbouring country; he confided the extraordinary circumstances which had befallen him to a Mullah, or Mulla, and the interpreter of the will of heaven declared that this sign portended the birth of a son, who should become the founder of a new religio n, and perform extraordinary actions. Soon afterwards the wife of Abdulvaab really became pregnant, and bore him a son, who was named Maam? . 29 [footnote in the text reads: This happened about the year 1757. ]. â€Å"The tribe of Neshdee, or Nescede, 30 to which the family belonged, soon imbibed the doctrines which appeared to be sanctioned by divine authority, and Abdulvaab, as general of J. L. Burckhardt, Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys, vol. 2: London, Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1831, p. II:103. 23 Ibid. , p. 103. 24 cf. ibid. , and Brydges, The Wahauby, p. 109,112. 25 L. A. O. de Corancez, Histoire des Wahhabis, depuis leur origine jusqu' la fin de 1809, Paris, Grapelet, 1810. 26 Hisham A.Nashshabah, Islam and Nationalism in the Arab World: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography: Montreal, Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, 1955. Unpublished M. A. thesis. p. 11. 27 About Niebuhr, Maurizi remarks â€Å"where the accurate and indefatigable Niebuhr could aff ord me any assistance, I have not hesitated to avail myself of it, and on the other hand I have occasionally remarked any alterations which have taken place since his days†. 17th page of his â€Å"Preface† to the History of Seyd Said, Sultan of Muscat, 1819. 28 He probably means al-? illah in `Iraq. 29 i. e. Muhammad 30 i. e.Najdi. Page 6 22 The Problem of Historical Distortion an army and prophet of a rising sect, had an opportunity of spreading his political power, and the opinions of the new faith, which he considered himself commissioned to promulgate; while his son accompanied him, and was shown to all as the precious pledge of Almighty approbation towards the Vaabi religion. After Abdulvaabs death Maam? t succeeded in his command, but being blind, was obliged to employ, as his deputy, in all affairs of state except those relating to religion, a person named Abdullazis, 31 an adopted brother of his father's. This minister followed up the victories of the deceased p rophet with the greatest facility. As the first barriers of opposition had been already overthrown, it would be very difficult, and perhaps useless to name all the Seek 32 who resisted in arms the aggrandisement of the Vaabi, or the particular periods of their several conquests; but at the death of the chief last mentioned, 33 almost all the interior of the Arabian peninsula acknowledged their political and religious sway.Abdullazis succeeded to the supreme authority, and greatly extended the limits of their power, having sacked Mecca and Medina and destroyed the tomb of Mahomet, whom he declared to be a deceiver, and not a messenger of heaven; he also penetrated to the gates of Aleppo and Baghdad, massacred a caravan of Persian pilgrims on their route to visit the burial place of Alle, or Eli, 34 at Ellaa, 35 and plundered that depository of the accumulated wealth of ages†. 36 The historical errors are far too many to comment on in detail; but we shall make observations on so me salient distortions.The dichotomy between `Abd al-Wahhab and Mu? ammad ibn `Abd alWahhab is carried on from Niebuhr, but Maurizi goes a step further in proclaiming `Abd al-Wahhab to be a prophet, and giving Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab almost the position of a demi-god. Besides, he transfers the hometown of the family to al-? illah in `Iraq and moves the year of birth of Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab to 1757, the year when he contracted the bay`ah with ibn Sa`ud. The fallacy of a tribe called Najdi, of the existence of `Ali's tomb at al-? illah, of `Abd al-`Aziz being the adopted brother of the Imam's father, etc. eed hardly be commented upon. But the interesting development that must be noted is the so-called declaration by `Abd al-`Aziz of the Prophet Mu? ammad (p) being an impostor. Maurizi elaborates on this and other supposed beliefs of the â€Å"Vaabi† by quoting an answer which he claims to have been given to him by an envoy of Sa`ud ibn `Abd al-`Aziz. It reads: â₠¬Å"We do not differ from other Musaleems, or Muselims (Musselmen) 37 except in thinking that Mahomet arrogated to himself too much authority; and, that the Koran was sent to the earth by the hands of angels, nd not of that man, who has even dared to falsify many of its doctrines; we also consider that the prophets, and especially Maamet iben Abdulvaab were beings like ourselves; and, therefore, not worthy of being addressed in prayer, although deserving of admiration and imitation for their piety and moral conduct†¦ † 38 Obviously, Maurizi could not have known more than a few words or phrases in Arabic, or else he would have rendered the envoy's answer truthfully. Instead, he has imposed hearsay and his own 31 32 Presumably `Abd al-`Aziz ibn Mu? ammad ibn Sa`ud. . e. shaykhs. 33 i. e. Maamet, the son of Abdulva b. 34 i. e. `Ali ibn Abi Talib. 35 i. e. al-? illah in `Iraq. 36 Maurizi, , op. cit. , pp. 36-38. 37 i. e. Muslims. 38 Maurizi, op. cit. , p. 40. Page 7 The Proble m of Historical Distortion assumptions into the mouth of the envoy. His lack of knowledge of Arabic is reflected also in the fact that he misconstrues `Abd Allah ibn Sa`ud, the Sa`udi amir after Sa`ud ibn `Abd al-`Aziz as â€Å"Abdullahazis† (`Abd al-`Aziz). Similarly, in the last passage cited, the envoy must have said â€Å"the prophets, and especially Mu? mmad ibn `Abd Allah were beings like ourselves †¦ † which Maurizi took to mean Maamet iben Abdulvaab. Maurizi's account even disgraces fiction. J. L. Burckhardt: John Lewis Burckhardt was the first to bring a balanced view of the movement to the European audience. The epistle of Brydges in 1799 was not a public document. Thus Burckhardt's Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys published in 1831 was a turning point in the Western understanding of the Imam and his followers. This work goes into fair amount of detail about the movement.Burckhardt dispelled many of the misunderstandings that had been current in the Wes t as a result of the earlier writings. The very first thing he set out to correct was that: â€Å"The doctrines of Abd el Wahab were not those of a new religion; his efforts were directed only to reform abuses in the followers of Islam, and to disseminate the pure faith among Bedouins; who although Muselmans, were equally ignorant of religion, as indifferent about all the duties which it prescribed†. 39 Comparing the Muwa idun to the Ottoman Turks, he says: â€Å"Not a single new precept was to be found in the Wahaby ode. Abd el Wahab took as his sole guide the Koran and the Sunne (or the laws formed upon the traditions of Mohammed); and the only difference between this sect and the orthodox Turks, however improperly so termed, is, that the Wahabys rigidly follow the same laws which the others neglect, or have ceased altogether to observe. To describe, therefore, the Wahaby religion, would be to recapitulate the Muselman faith; and to show in what points this sect differs fr om the Turks, would be to give a list of all the abuses of which the latter are guilty†. 0 One can quote Burckhardt at length to show his positive attitude which led him to a fairly objective analysis of the creed and practice of the Muwa idun, and the reasons why Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab â€Å"was misunderstood both by his friends and his enemies†. 41 The former took offense at his seeming attacks on the Prophet (p) and the latter saw a political threat in his preaching; thus leading to an intentional distortion of the facts. Despite this objectivity in Burckhardt, one cannot but comment on the Western slant of his perception.The usage of words often has a psychological effect on the reader. For instance, Burckhardt, writing about the Imam says that â€Å"being convinced by what he observed during his (b. `Abd al-Wahhab's) travels, that the primitive (emphasis ours) faith of Islam, or Mohammedanism, had become totally corrupted and obscured by abuses,†¦ †Å". 42 The value judgment involved in his use of the word â€Å"primitive† is apparent. The Western notion that the progression of thought and ideas essentially leads to the advancement of civilization is a result of their philosophical heritage.The Islamic notion, that the absolute is derived solely through the process of divine revelation in history and not through cognitive, intuitive or perceptive processes which are bound by the limitations of the human mind, stands markedly in contradistinction to the Western assumptions. Thus, while the 39 40 Burckhardt, op. cit. , II:99. Ibid. , II:112 41 Ibid. , II:99. 42 Ibid. , II:96. Page 8 The Problem of Historical Distortion Muslim (including Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab) would view the life of theProphet as a supreme achievement in the history of man, the Western thinker would regard it as a ‘primitive' stage in the life of man. However, it is remarkable that if one is to compare Burckhardt with the later Orientalists, he was far ahead of his own time in this respect. His value judgements are very limited. Hitti, a century later, echoes the same words that â€Å"he (b. `Abd al-Wahhab) himself determined to purge it (Islam) and restore it to its primitive strictness†. 43 Hitti goes further though in regarding the bay`ah of 1757 as â€Å"another case of marriage between religion and the sword†. 4 The subtle intrusion of value judgements are scattered profusely throughout the writings even of the socalled ‘sympathetic' Western Orientalists like Nicholson, 45 Wilfrid Cantwell Smith (d. 2000), 46 von Grunebaum (1909-1972), 47 and H. A. R. Gibb (d. 1971) 48 not to speak of the others. Andrew Crichton: The next stage in the history of the Western biographies of the Imam was set by Andrew Crichton with his publication of History of Arabia: Ancient and Modern in 1833. This is the first time that we see a Western writer composing a secondary work on the Muwa dun based solely on other Weste rn writings. Having noted Burckhardt's caution against the misconceptions floating around, Crichton relied primarily on Burckhardt, Corancez and Mengin in particular. 49 Since he has nothing original to offer, we turn to his usage of some of the material at hand. For example, after outlining the beliefs and practices of the Muwa idun, he states â€Å"They did not, however, so far outstrip themselves of all superstition as to abolish the ceremonies of ablution and the Meccan pilgrimage, or even those of kissing the black stone and throwing stones at the devil†. 0 To start with, this reveals the author's ignorance about Islam, it's beliefs, practices and rituals. Secondly, it is surprising that the author cannot even conceive of non-Christian rituals that reflect and lead to cleanliness, unity of man, and submission and commitment to God. By calling these rituals â€Å"superstition†, the author has obviously passed a normative judgment that is reflective of the Judaeo-Ch ristian tradition. Sir Harford Jones Brydges re-visited: Chronologically, this brings us once again to Sir Harford Jones Brydges.This worthy civil servant of the colonialist British Empire had little that was new to add to the known facts of the Imam's life as described by Burckhardt. He published his Brief History of the Wahauby, in 1834 after perusal of Burckhardt's work. The only point on which the two disagreed was whether Mu? ammad ibn alWahhab was the father-in-law or the son-in-law of Mu? ammad ibn Sa`ud. Regardless of this dispute, what Brydges has to offer as an interpretation of this relationship between the two is as follows: P. K. Hitti, History of the Arabs: Edinburgh, 1939, 1972, p. 40. Ibid. 45 R. A. Nicholson, Literary History of the Arabs, Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1907, 1969, p. 466. 46 W. C. Smith, Islam in Modern History: N. Y. , Mentor, 1957, pp. 48-51. 47 G. von Grunebaum, â€Å"Attempts at Self-Interpretation in Contemporary Islam†, Islam: Essay s in the nature and growth of a cultural tradition, London, 1955, pp. 185-236. 48 H. A. R. Gibb, Modern Trends in Islam, Chicago, Univ. of Chicago Press, 1947, 1972, pp. 26-32. 49 Andrew Crichton, History of Arabia: Ancient and Modern, vol. 2: Edinburgh, Oliver & Boyd, 1833, p. II:190.See footnote. 50 Ibid. , II:290. 44 43 Page 9 The Problem of Historical Distortion â€Å"†¦ and that in consequence of this connexion, though Abdulwahaub remained the book, Mahommed Ibn Saoud became the sword of the sect†. 51 This is the prelude to what we have been hearing from Orientalists like Hitti and others mentioned earlier. The only difference is that while Brydges was a part of the colonialist establishment and had a political axe to grind, the Orientalists are a part of the neo-colonialist imperialism that breeds Orientalist research. In other respects, i. . those that cover other aspects of the history of the Muwa idun, their administration, etc. , Brydges' book complements the w ork of Burckhardt. W. G. Palgrave: Moving beyond the middle of the nineteenth century, we come to William Gifford Palgrave, a servant of the British crown in India, steeped in the Christian tradition. By his time, the facts of the movement were well known; it was now the time for the growth of interpretation of these facts. Palgrave published two works, namely Eastern and Central Arabia (1866) and Essays on Eastern Questions (1872).Wahhabism had by this time become a great threat to the British Empire in India and elsewhere, and the crown was out to discredit the movement not only in the British public eye, but also among the Muslims residing in the British colonies. The latter purpose was not difficult to achieve due to the existing propaganda against the Muwa idun by the Ottoman Turks. Thus, in true service of British colonialism and displaying his loyalty to the missionary cause, Palgrave tried to paint the movement as a reaction to the pressure of the Christian West.He says â₠¬Å"The great reactionary movement, the ‘Revival', originated where scarce a spark of life had been left, by the too-famous ‘Abd-el-Wahhab, in the land of Nejd, has gradually but surely extended itself over the entire surface and through all the length and depth of Islam; while the ever increasing pressures of the Christian, or, at least, non-Mahometan, West, has intensified the ‘fanatical' tendency, even where it has modified its special direction.For ‘Islam' is a political not less than a religious whole;†¦ † 52 This was a rejoinder to the alarm sounded by W. W. Hunter (who was in Her Majesty's Bengal Civil Service) in his book The Indian Musalmans. 53 By this time, the British had already successfully faced Sayyid A? mad Shahid (d. 1831), Titu Mir and the War of 1857. With these major setbacks, a wave of strong ‘Wahhabi' feelings had swept the Muslims of Bengal and Northern India, hoping to regain their lost position.Therefore, it was essen tial for the British cause to subvert this obvious threat. Apart from the political motivations for his analysis, his Christian missionary zeal and hatred for Islam drove Palgrave to write as follows: â€Å"The Wahhabee reformer formed the design of putting back the hour-hand of Islam to its starting-point; and so far he did well, for that hand was from the first meant to be fixed. Islam is in its essence stationary, and was framed thus to remain.Sterile like its God, lifeless like its first Principle and supreme Original in all that constitutes true life – for life is love, participation, and progress, and of these the Coranic Deity has none – it justly repudiates all change, all advance, all developement. To borrow the forcible words of Lord Houghton, the 51 52 Brydges, The Wahauby, p. 107. W. G. Palgrave, Essays on Eastern Questions: London, MacMillan & Co. , 1872, p. 115. 53 W. W. Hunter, The Indian Musalmans, 1871. Page 10 The Problem of Historical Distortion wri tten book† is there the â€Å"dead man's hand†, stiff and motionless; whatever savours of vitality is by that alone convicted of heresy and defection. â€Å"But Christianity with its living and loving God, Begetter and Begotten, Spirit and Movement, nay more, a Creator made creature, the Maker and the made existing in One, a Divinity communicating itself by uninterrupted gradation and degree from the most intimate union far off to the faintest irradiation, though all that It has made for love and governs in love;†¦ † 54 Mu? mmad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab is the example for him par excellence of the true image of Islam, stagnant against a dynamic Christianity, backward looking against the advancing Christianity, lifeless against the living Christianity, and with a Sterile God against a living and loving Christian God who begets his only begotten Son becoming the Creator and creature, the Maker and the made all in One. Palgrave combined the missionary and the colonia list mentality in a perfect blend that was to reflect in the Orientalist attitude during the century to follow. He becomes the precursor to the likes of Samuel Zwemer, 55 E. Calverley, C. M.Doughty (1843-1926), 56 T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935), 57 and others. We end our analysis with Palgrave. Doubtless, the approach of the Orientalist has improved vastly during this century, as we see in the writings of George Rentz, for example. 58 However, the Orientalists of the latter portion of the nineteenth century, and until recently, those of the twentieth century have faithfully followed the tradition of the likes of Palgrave. CONCLUSION: For the sake of betterment and advancement of the civilization of man, we go back to our opening remarks and question the Western Judaeo-Christian approach towards the civilizations of the East.Rejecting the self-centeredness and particularity practiced by the Judaeo-Christian West, and in order to approximate the Islamic universality, we must shed our feat hers and appreciate the traditions and civilizations of others within their own framework and assumptions. The plurality of this small world, shrunk by the advance of technology, necessitates a renunciation of selfishness and oppression of the weak, at least in intellectual exercises. In the present context, that is of our approach towards history, we are now bound to accept the facts as such and interpret them for the betterment of mankind.It is obvious that personal biases cannot be eliminated in their totality. The basic assumptions must remain. Regardless, this should not lead us to a distortion of facts. Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab served an important purpose to a significant population of mankind, and has also caused grievance to many. In light of this we cannot justify either veneration or denunciation of this man, who devoted his life for a simple cause. W. G. Palgrave, Narrative of a Year's Journey Through Eastern and Central Arabia (1862-63), 2 Vols. : London, MacMillan & Co. , 1866, p. I:372. 5 Samuel M. Zwemer, Arabia the Cradle of Islam and The Mohammedan World of Today: N. Y. , Fleming H. Revell Co. , 1906. 56 Charles Montagu Doughty, Travels in Arabia Deserta: London, N. Y. , 1906. 57 T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom: London, Jonathan Cape, 1926, 1935, 1940 Idem. , Revolt in the Desert: N. Y. , George H. Doran Co. , 1927 58 George Rentz, Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab and the Unitarian Movement in Arabia, Ph. D. Thesis, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Cf. also Idem. , â€Å"Wahhabism and Saudi Arabia† in The Arabian Peninsula: Society and Politics, ed. y Derek Hopwood: London, George Allen Unwin, 1972, pp. 54-66. And Idem. , â€Å"The Wahhabis† in Religion in the Middle East ed. by A. J. Arberry: Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1969, pp. 270- 284. Page 11 54 The Problem of Historical Distortion Instead, his contribution to the development of civilization must be appreciated in its true perspective. The most important c onclusion is the recognition of the distortion of facts, deliberate or otherwise, by the Western colonialists, their functionaries, their missionaries, and the Orientalists who were none of these.Their aims were multifarious. While the colonialists and their functionaries strove to maintain their political supremacy and to keep the Muslim population subdued within the colonies, the missionaries tried their utmost to distort Islam to the extent possible hoping to gain converts. It was often that the aims of the colonialists and the missionaries though seemingly different were in fact the same. Hence, they worked hand in glove throughout and distorted the facts of history to make their own ends meet. Page 12 The Problem of Historical DistortionBIBLIOGRAPHY Abu Hakima, Ahmad A. , ed. , Lam` al-Shihab fi ta’rikh Mu? ammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab, Beirut, 1967 M. A. Bari, Harford Jones Brydges, â€Å"The early Wahhabis, some contemporary assessments†. Proceedings of the 27th Int ernational Congress of Orientalists: Ann Arbor, Mich. , 1967. An Account of the Transactions of His Majesty's Mission to the Court of Persia in the years 1807-11, to which is appended A Brief History of the Wahauby: London, James Bohn, 1834. Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys, vol. 2: London, Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1831, p.II:103. Histoire des Wahhabis, depuis leur origine jusqu'a la fin de 1809, Paris, Grapelet, 1810. 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Thesis, M cGill University, Montreal, Canada. â€Å"Wahhabism and SaudiArabia† in The Arabian Peninsula: Society and Politics, ed. by Derek Hopwood: London, George Allen Unwin, 1972, pp. 54-66 â€Å"The Wahhabis† in Religion in the Middle East ed. by A. J. Arberry: Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1969, pp. 270- 284 Descriptions du pashalic de Baghdad suivie d'une notice historique sur les Wahabis, et de quelques autres pieces relatives a l'histoire et a la litterature de l'Orient, Paris, Trouttel et Wurtz, 1809, pp. 125-182. J. L. Burckhardt, L. A. O. de Corancez, Andrew Crichton, Charles Montagu Doughty, H. A. R. Gibb, G. von Grunebaum, P. K.Hitti, W. W. Hunter, Mu`inuddin A? mad Khan, Henri Laoust, T. E. Lawrence, Idem. , Vincenzo Maurizi, V. B. Mehta, Hisham A. Nashshabah, R. A. Nicholson, C. M. Niebuhr, W. G. Palgrave, W. G. Palgrave, George Rentz, Idem. , Idem. , J. B. L. J. Rousseau, Page 13 The Problem of Historical Distortion Idem. , W. C. Smith, Samuel M. 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