Muslim women do not receive equal treatment with men Essay

Some westerners think Muslim women do not receive equal treatment with men. In fact, the aim of Islam is quite the opposite.’ Examine and comment on this claim in the context of a multicultural society. Why is it that western consciousness perceives Islam in such deeply flawed terms? Why are negative images of Islam more prevalent than any others? Why is it still acceptable to say things about Muslims that would simply be deemed unacceptable of Jews, Christians, or Buddhists? That years of inter-faith dialogue have done little to advance a better understanding of the Islamic faith in the western world is an indication of how profoundly entrenched in the West misrepresentations and vulgar stereotypes of Islam are. The western society generally views itself as the source of women’s liberation, and feminists seem to have an obligation to broaden their rights to the eastern oppressed women. West sees the veil as a stumbling block and feels if they were to remove it would it would gain freedom for these women. These views have misunderstood the status of women in Islam and have been publicized in the media. Britain regards itself as giving equal rights to men and women Although in Britain latest studies have shown that men are paid more than women to carry out the same task. Surveys have shown that employers would rather employ men than women with the same qualifications. There are hardly any women politicians in comparison to men but Muslim women like Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh, have ruled over 300 hundred million Muslims in the 1990s and now is currently being ruled by another women. Benazir Bhutto had been the president of Pakistan. There has essentially never been a female president in the United States till this present time. The extent of a religion’s efficiency depends on what resolution to controversial issues like that of women is presented. Islam has provided the most practical outline of social organization, according to the natural and physical capabilities of both men and women. However other civilisations and faiths prior to Islam dealt with this matter as well, Aristotle and many other Greek philosophers argued that women were not fully human and this view was accepted in the catholic churches. St Thomas Aquinas another philosopher later put forward his view of the earlier Greek philosopher proposing that women were the traps of Satan. Every evil caused in humanity was likely from them. This idea was accepted throughout the middle ages. Men were the only ones who had rights before the law they could buy, sell and own a property. Up to this present time male Jews still recite,† Blessed art thou our lord, our God king of the universe that I was not born a female†(Alan Unterman, Jews: their Religious beliefs and practices,1981, page 140). Also in Judaism, the Talmud states â€Å"Woe to the man whose children are female† (Ibid, Page 133) In pre Islamic Arabia women were treated like commodities, object desire that were bought and sold like cattle. Some of them were even made to dance naked in the vicinity of the Kaaba during annual festivals. In those times a man could have as many wives as he desired and women were inherited if widowed from father to son. Arabs used to bury their female children alive at birth, and treat women as mere chattels and objects of sexual pleasure possessing no rights or position whatsoever, these teachings of the Noble Qur’an were revolutionary. Unlike other religions, which regarded women as being possessed of inherent sin and wickedness and men as being possessed of inherent virtue and nobility, Islam regards men and women as being of the same essence created from a single soul. The Qur’an declares: O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should you treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the dowry you have given them – except when they have become guilty of open lewdness. On the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If you take a dislike to them, it may be that you dislike something and Allah will bring about through it a great deal of good. (4:19) O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate, and from this pair scattered (like seeds) countless men and women. Reverence Allah, through whom you demand your mutual (rights), and reverence the wombs (that bore you); for Allah ever watches over you. (4:1) Spiritually men and women are equal. They are created out of identical spiritual material. (According to some old Christian’s thinkers) so therefore if women are sinful so are the men because they are identical. In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men and women as far as their relationship to Allah is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct. The Qur’an says: And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women. (2:226) The Qur’an, in addressing the believers, often uses the expression,’ believing men and women’ to emphasize the equality of men and women in regard to their respective duties, rights, virtues and merits. It says: For Muslim men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward. (33:35) Enter into Paradise, you and your wives, with delight. (43:70) Who so does that which is right, and believes, whether male or female, him or her will We quicken to happy life. (16:97) The Qur’an admonishes those men who oppress or ill-treat women: The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) said, â€Å"Women are the twin halves of men.† The Qur’an emphasizes the essential unity of men and women in a most beautiful simile: They (your wives) are your garment and you are a garment for them. (2:187) the ideal relationship between husband and wife is graphically described in the above verse. Just as a garment hides our nakedness, so do husband and wife, by entering into the relationship of marriage, secure each other’s chastity. The garment gives comfort to the body; so does the husband find comfort in his wife’s company and she in his. â€Å"The garment is the grace, the beauty, the embellishment of the body, so too are wives to their husbands as their husbands are to them.† Islam does not consider woman â€Å"an instrument of the Devil†, but rather the Qur’an calls her musanat – a fortress against Satan because a good woman, by marrying a man, helps him keep to the path of rectitude in his life. It is for this reason that marriage was considered by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a most virtuous act. He said: â€Å"When a man marries, he has completed one half of his religion.† He enjoined matrimony on Muslims by saying: â€Å"Marriage is part of my way and whoever keeps away from my way is not from me (i.e. is not my follower).† The Qur’an has given the raison d’à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tre of marriage in the following words: And among His signs is this that He has created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them; and He has put love and mercy between you. Verily in that are signs for those who reflect. (30:21) The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was full of praise for virtuous and chaste women. He said: â€Å"The world and all things in the world are precious but the most precious thing in the world is a virtuous woman. He once told the future khalif, ‘Umar: â€Å"Shall I not inform you about the best treasure a man can hoard? It is a virtuous wife who pleases him whenever he looks towards her, and who guards herself when he is absent from her.† On other occasions the Prophet said: â€Å"The best property a man can have is a remembering tongue (about Allah), a grateful heart and a believing wife who helps him in his faith.† And again: â€Å"The world, the whole of it, is a commodity and the best of the commodities of the world is a virtuous wife.† The Prophet (peace be upon him) was most emphatic in enjoining upon Muslims to be kind to their women when he delivered his famous khutba on the Mount of Mercy at Arafat in the presence of one hundred and twenty-four thousand of his Companions who had gathered there for the Hajj al-Wada (Farewell Pilgrimage). In it he ordered those present, and through them all those Muslims who were to come later, to be respectful and kind towards women. He said: â€Å"Fear Allah regarding women. Verily you have married them with the trust of Allah, and made their bodies lawful with the word of Allah. You have got (rights) over them, and they have got (rights) over you in respect of their food and clothing according to your means.† â€Å"One who makes efforts (to help) the widow or a poor person is like a mujahid (warrior) in the path of Allah, or like one who stands up for prayers in the night and fasts in the day.† These aspects were much emphasized by the Prophet (peace be upon him). He exhorted men to marry women of piety and women to be faithful to their husbands and kind to their children. He said: â€Å"Among my followers the best of men are those who are best to their wives, and the best of women are those who are best to their husbands. To each of such women is set down a reward equivalent to the reward of a thousand martyrs. Among my followers, again, the best of women are those who assist their husbands in their work, and love them dearly for everything, Islam, as a religion recognizes men’s and women’s role as different but, however it certainly does not regard them as superior or inferior than one or the other. Both roles are as important as each other. Islam has been designed to be flexible enough to be interpreted in a variety of ways to cover a variety of cultures, times, contexts, individual personalities. both men and women should dress (in public) in a manner that will de-accentuate their sexuality1. The Surah an-Nur says: Tell the believing men to lower their eyes and guard their private parts†¦ Tell the believing women to lower their eyes, guard their private parts and not display their charms except what is apparent outwardly†¦ (an-Nur 24:30-31). O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters, as well as all (other) believing women, that they should draw over themselves some of their outer garments (when in public): this will be more conducive to their being recognized (as decent women) and not annoyed. But (withal,) God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace! (al-Ahzab 33:59, Asad transl.) The spirit of this ayat is to dress in a manner that will signal ‘unavailability’. The reason why another ayat (an-Nur 24:60) is crucial in gaining a broad overview of the Qur’anic concept of appropriate dress is that it implies that women should wear in public more than what they would wear in private, in front of their ‘intimates’ – their families. So this leads to three basic ‘points’ in considering how to dress: a) the universal idea of de-sexualized dress b) the time and context specific concept of being identifiable as a Muslim c) that before she reaches old age (and preferably after) a Muslim woman should wear more in public than she would privately in front of family. As long as these three injunctions are met, there is a wide range of options open to the Muslim woman depending on the context of the society in which she lives and moves in public. Today, Muslim women’s dress has been politicized and carries with it many conflicting symbols and meanings; perhaps the most visible is the use of head covering as a confrontation against western colonialism. Muslim woman has to have the right and freedom to choose how she interprets her dress code. This fundamental acknowledgement of her instinctive ability to choose (or not) the path of Allah (swt) is more important than any type of specifics about what constitutes hijab (or appropriate covering of the body). Without this freedom to interpret Islam to the best of her ability (a part of which, of course, is seeking the informed opinions of knowledgeable Muslims in order to educate herself) she is not living up to her potential as a human being, and that is more fundamental than what clothes are being worn. As the Qur’an says: There is no compulsion in matter of faith. Distinct is the way of guidance now from error†¦ (Al-Baqarah 2:256, A.Ali translation) The queen of her house’, is the position a true believer is expected to give his wife. In contrast to these enlightened teachings of Islam in respect of women, Western talk of women’s liberation or emancipation is actually a disguised form of exploitation of her body, deprivation of her honor, and degradation of her soul! Islam has given the highest position to women on earth, while Europe and the west were wallowing in the dregs of degradation and savagery. Islam had accorded women a position of honour, respect, safety and love, which has not yet been matched to this day, let alone being superseded and excelled. When questioned about status one must consider Muslim women’s rights in the field of finance. A Muslim woman has the right to full ownership and disposal of wealth at will. This right was granted to her about 1423 years ago whilst Britain, women didn’t have this right untill1860s. Her father if she was unmarried must provide for a Muslim woman or by her husband if married; however rich she may be, she is not responsible for domestic expenses. This is one of many privileges given to women. The Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, ‘The searching of knowledge is incumbent for every Muslim (male and female).Women should pursue their education as far as it is possible. One of the main aims of acquiring knowledge in Islam is to become Allah-conscious. In the history of Islam there were women who were narrators of Hadith, mystics, scholars, writers, poets and teachers, in their own right. They utilized their knowledge within certain precepts of Islam. The west has fabricated many myths that Muslim women are not allowed to work. These myths have no basis in Islamic law. It is natural in Islamic societies for there to be a female doctors and teachers. However, she is not required to participate in trade, vocation or professions unless necessary. A woman must receive her husband’s approval in order to work, because he may feel that her work will cause her to neglect her matrimonial duties and care of the children Muslim women just like the men are prohibited from taking on jobs that sell her femininity to make money (dancing, prostitution, modeling etc) even if her husband doesn’t mind. Apart from those jobs that are prohibited in Islam all others are lawful. A women is entitled to equal pay of equal work of equal value, this concept was established by Islam centuries ago. Although a woman can inherit from her father, children and husbands when before Islam she could not inherit at all, the rate of her inheritance is half that of a man. In order to requisite this apparent unfairness, Islam gives women many privileges e.g. dowry which is obligatory and is her own. Quran says: â€Å"And give women their dowries as a free gift† (4:4) A woman has the right to choose who she marries and shouldn’t be forced to marry anyone with out her wish. She can even have her marriage annulled in a court of law if she can prove that her parents/guardians went ahead with it against her will. Yet there is a resounding silence when the issue being raised is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), honor killings, forced marriages, the unequal application of hadd punishments on women, or the denial of education to girls and women. All of these wrongs are perpetrated on women in the name of Islam. Genital mutilation for females is not allowed in Islam? Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him clearly prohibited mutilation or maiming of the body. While it is true that many of these violations occur across cultural and religious boundaries, the only action often taken by conservative Muslims is a condemnation of the action because it is â€Å"cultural† and not Islamic. Meanwhile, women continue to be murdered and little girls continue to be mutilated. Polygamy is a misunderstood phenomenon that is more a remedial law in Islam than anything else, used only if necessary. Monotheism is a norm in Muslim societies past and present, and one must remember that prior to Islam, men could have as many wives as they desired. so much that many women were deserted for long periods of time. The verse in the quran that legitimates polygamy was revealed after the battle of uhud, when many widows and orphans were left without care. Hence at the time polygamy was the answer. Although in some extreme circumstances e.g.when the wife is a barren, seriously ill, and mentally unstable or has a bad character. In these cases a man can marry again if he feels the presence of the second wife will benefit the wife, the children or him. However Islam insist that the man treat both wives equally in every aspect possible.The quran says: If you fear that you will not be able to deal justly with orphans, marry women of your choice , two or three or four; but if you fear that you will not be able to deal justly with them, then only one† (4:3) Islam recognizes that marriages are sacred and are a civil contract between husband and wife which should work or be dismantled if it ceases to do so. Although Islam permits divorce the prophet (pbuh) says: â€Å"Of all the things that Islam has permitted, divorce is the most hated by Allah†. This shows divorce shouldn’t be taken lightly. Divorce is a right mainly available to men (although a woman can demand to have it in a marriage contract). As well When Islam discusses the deficiencies of women; it is neither insulting them nor belittling them. Some men, unfortunately, do precisely that when they quote the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that women â€Å"have a deficiency in their intellect and their religion†. They take these words out of context as a means of oppressing women and putting them down. The Prophet (peace be upon him) meant something quite different. He said: â€Å"I have never seen among those who have a deficiency in their intellect and their religion anyone more capable than women of swaying the intellect of the most determined of men.† He is actually asserting here the power of women to influence men and sway their opinion. This is one of the distinctions that women, in their natures, have. He then went on to define precisely what he meant by these deficiencies. In the remainder of the hadà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½th, some women asked him: â€Å"O Messenger of Allah, what is this deficiency in our intelligence and religion?† He replied: â€Å"Isn’t it that a woman’s testimony as a witness is half of the testimony of man?† They said: â€Å"Yes.† He said: â€Å"This, then, is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn’t it true that when she is in her menses, she leaves off prayers and fasting?† They said: â€Å"Yes.† He said: â€Å"This is the deficiency in her religion.† Therefore to every male witness there need to be two female witnesses also because of their lack of knowledge and experience women are not preferred to be positioned as judges in Islam. There is no specific directive of the Shari`ah that prohibits a woman from leading prayers. Therefore, we cannot say that Islam prohibits a woman from leading prayers. The matter actually relates to the general practice of the Prophet (pbuh), which was subsequently followed by the Muslim leaders that followed the Prophet (pbuh). This practice of the Prophet (pbuh) as well as the Muslim leaders, who followed him, subsequently became a part of the social traditions of the Muslims. Thus, it is not a directive of the Shari`ah, but a part of the Muslim cultural tradition that men, rather than women should lead prayers. This gender-based distinction, it seems, has its basis on a few important facts. For instance, although the Prophet (pbuh) encouraged Muslim women to come to the mosques to offer their obligatory prayers with the congregation, yet it was not as strong a directive for them, as it was for the Muslim men. The nature and the variance of the Prophet (pbuh)’s directive has generally resulted in a lower number of Muslim women being present in mosques, as compared to men. In many places, women are not even seen (even in lower numbers) in mosques. Thus, especially when the over whelming majority of people present in mosques consists of men, it was natural that a man was appointed as the Imam to lead the prayers. Moreover, because the Imam holds a central position in the mosque and naturally becomes the center of attention for all those who are present, it seemed a better decision that a man, rather than a woman, be appointed for this position. We obviously do not have any control over the thoughts and emotions of all those present in the mosque. Thus, to keep the minds clear of any sexual thoughts, especially in the mosques, it was felt more appropriate to appoint a man as the Imam. These are a few of the points that have played a role in the general acceptance of this socio-cultural tradition among the Muslims. The matter, as I have stated earlier does not pertain to any prohibition of the Shari`ah. â€Å"Women are very capable of taking on any job previously monopolized by men,† said Ms Hindi, a former English literature student at a college in Mecca, her home town. Women not allowed to drive cars in Saudi Arabia because of the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia was made official only in 1990 after 47 women demonstrated against what was then a customary law by driving a convoy of cars in Riyadh. They were arrested and detained until male relatives signed undertakings that they would not violate the ban again. The ban was made official by a fatwa issued by the Council of Senior Ulama (religious scholars). â€Å"Women driving leads too many evils . . . included among these is her mixing with men without her being on her guard,† the fatwa said. â€Å"O Messenger of Allah, who is the person who has the greatest right on me with regards to kindness and attention?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your father.† In another tradition, the Prophet advised a believer not to join the war against the Quraish in defense of Islam, but to look after his mother, saying that his service to his mother would be a cause of his salvation. Mu’awiyah, the son of Jahimah, reported that Jahimah came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, † Messenger of Allah! I want to join the fighting (in the path of Allah) and I have come to seek your advice.† He said, â€Å"Then remains in your mother’s service, because Paradise is under her feet.† The Prophet’s followers accepted his teachings and brought about a revolution in their social attitude towards women. They no longer considered women as mere chattels, but as an integral part of society. For the first time women were given the right to have a share in inheritance. In the new social climate, women rediscovered themselves and became highly active members of society rendering useful service during the wars which the pagan Arabs forced on the emerging Muslim umma. They carried provisions for the soldiers, nursed them, and even fought alongside them if it was necessary. It became a common sight to see women helping their husbands in the fields, carrying on trade and business independently, and going out of their homes to satisfy their needs. â€Å"Among my followers the best of men are those who are best to their wives, and the best of women are those who are best to their husbands. To each of such women is set down a reward equivalent to the reward of a thousand martyrs. Among my followers, again, the best of women are those who assist their husbands in their work, and love them dearly for everything, save what is a transgression of Allah’s laws.† The Shari’ah regards women as the spiritual and intellectual equals of men. The Shari’ah requires a man, as head of the family, to consult with his family and then to have the final say in decisions concerning it. In doing so he must not abuse his prerogative to cause any injury to his wife. The word of the Prophet (peace be upon him), ‘the queen of her house’, and this is the position a true believer is expected to give his wife. In contrast to these enlightened teachings of Islam in respect of women, Western talk of women’s liberation or emancipation is actually a disguised form of exploitation of her body, deprivation of her honour, and degradation of her soul! Manji is lesbian and has adamantly argued that the condemnation of homosexuality by most strains of traditional Islam is at odds with Qur’anic doctrine that â€Å"Allah makes excellent everything which He creates.† Her partner is Michelle Douglas, a Canadian activist. Manji has been a vocal critic of orthodox Islam, especially that treatment of women by some Muslims. She does not wear a headscarf or chador whereas most traditional Muslim women do observe the hijab. She has criticized the Palestinian leadership and the opinions of some Muslims about Israel. WOMEN IN THE QUR’AN AND THE SUNNAH Prof. Abdur Rahman I. Doi Professor and Director, Center for Islamic Legal Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaira, Nigeria. In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men and women as far as their relationship to Allah is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct. The Qur’an says: And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women. (2:226) The Qur’an, in addressing the believers, often uses the expression,’ believing men and women’ to emphasize the equality of men and women in regard to their respective duties, rights, virtues and merits. It says: For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward. (33:35) Enter into Paradise, you and your wives, with delight. (43:70) Who so does that which is right, and believes, whether male or female, him or her will We quicken to happy life. (16:97) The Qur’an admonishes those men who oppress or ill-treat women: The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) said, â€Å"Women are the twin halves of men.† The Qur’an emphasizes the essential unity of men and women in a most beautiful simile: They (your wives) are your garment and you are a garment for them. (2:187) Just as a garment hides our nakedness, so do husband and wife, by entering into the relationship of marriage, secure each other’s chastity. The garment gives comfort to the body; so does the husband find comfort in his wife’s company and she in his. â€Å"The garment is the grace, the beauty, the embellishment of the body, so too are wives to their husbands as their husbands are to them.† Islam does not consider woman â€Å"an instrument of the Devil†, but rather the Qur’an calls her muhsana – a fortress against Satan because a good woman, by marrying a man, helps him keep to the path of rectitude in his life. It is for this reason that marriage was considered by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a most virtuous act. He said: â€Å"When a man marries, he has completed one half of his religion.† He enjoined matrimony on Muslims by saying: â€Å"Marriage is part of my way and whoever keeps away from my way is not from me (i.e. is not my follower).† The Qur’an has given the raison d’à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tre of marriage in the following words: And among His signs is this that He has created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them; and He has put love and mercy between you. Verily in that are signs for those who reflect. (30:21) The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was full of praise for virtuous and chaste women. He said: â€Å"The world and all things in the world are precious but the most precious thing in the world is a virtuous woman. He once told the future khalif, ‘Umar: â€Å"Shall I not inform you about the best treasure a man can hoard? It is a virtuous wife who pleases him whenever he looks towards her, and who guards herself when he is absent from her.† On other occasions the Prophet said: â€Å"The best property a man can have is a remembering tongue (about Allah), a grateful heart and a believing wife who helps him in his faith.† And again: â€Å"The world, the whole of it, is a commodity and the best of the commodities of the world is a virtuous wife.† The Prophet (peace be upon him) was most emphatic in enjoining upon Muslims to be kind to their women when he delivered his famous khutba on the Mount of Mercy at Arafat in the presence of one hundred and twenty-four thousand of his Companions who had gathered there for the Hajj al-Wada (Farewell Pilgrimage). In it he ordered those present, and through them all those Muslims who were to come later, to be respectful and kind towards women. He said: â€Å"Fear Allah regarding women. Verily you have married them with the trust of Allah, and made their bodies lawful with the word of Allah. You have got (rights) over them, and they have got (rights) over you in respect of their food and clothing according to your means.† â€Å"One who makes efforts (to help) the widow or a poor person is like a mujahid (warrior) in the path of Allah, or like one who stands up for prayers in the night and fasts in the day.† â€Å"O Messenger of Allah, who is the person who has the greatest right on me with regards to kindness and attention?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your father.† In another tradition, the Prophet advised a believer not to join the war against the Quraish in defense of Islam, but to look after his mother, saying that his service to his mother would be a cause of his salvation. Mu’awiyah, the son of Jahimah, reported that Jahimah came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, † Messenger of Allah! I want to join the fighting (in the path of Allah) and I have come to seek your advice.† He said, â€Å"Then remain in your mother’s service, because Paradise is under her feet.† The Prophet’s followers accepted his teachings and brought about a revolution in their social attitude towards women. They no longer considered women as a mere chattels, but as an integral part of society. For the first time women were given the right to have a share in inheritance. In the new social climate, women rediscovered themselves and became highly active members of society rendering useful service during the wars which the pagan Arabs forced on the emerging Muslim umma. They carried provisions for the soldiers, nursed them, and even fought alongside them if it was necessary. It became a common sight to see women helping their husbands in the fields, carrying on trade and business independently, and going out of their homes to satisfy their needs. â€Å"Among my followers the best of men are those who are best to their wives, and the best of women are those who are best to their husbands. To each of such women is set down a reward equivalent to the reward of a thousand martyrs. Among my followers, again, the best of women are those who assist their husbands in their work, and love them dearly for everything, save what is a transgression of Allah’s laws.† The Shari’ah regards women as the spiritual and intellectual equals of men. The Shari’ah requires a man, as head of the family, to consult with his family and then to have the final say in decisions concerning it. In doing so he must not abuse his prerogative to cause any injury to his wife. The words of the Prophet (peace be upon him), ‘the queen of her house’, and this is the position a true believer is expected to give his wife. In contrast to these enlightened teachings of Islam in respect of women, Western talk of women’s liberation or emancipation is actually a disguised form of exploitation of her body, deprivation of her honour, and degradation of her soul! http://www.allaahuakbar.net/womens/rights_of_women_guaranteed_by_islam.htm A COLLECTION OF REFERENCES FROM THE QURAN AND HADEETH ABOUT THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN GUARANTEED BY ISLAM Spiritual Equality of Women and Men Allah has got ready forgiveness and tremendous rewards for the Muslim men and women; the believing men and women; the devout men and women; the truthful men and women; the patiently suffering men and women; the humble men and women; the almsgiving men and women; the fasting men and women, the men and women who guard their chastity; and the men and women who are exceedingly mindful of Allah. (Al-Ahzab 33:35) Attitudes towards women O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should ye treat them with harshness, that ye may take away part of the dower ye have given them,-except where they have been guilty of open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and Allah brings about through it a great deal of good. (An-Nisa 4:19) Collaboration and consultation The believing men and women, are associates and helpers of each other. They (collaborate) to promote all that is beneficial and discourage all that is evil; to establish prayers and give alms, and to obey Allah and his Messenger. Those are the people whom Allah would grant mercy. Indeed Allah is Mighty and Wise. (Al-Taubah 9:71) Women’s Right to Attend Mosques Narrated Ibn Umar: The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, â€Å"Allow women to go to the Mosques at night.† (Bukhari Volume 2, Book 13, Number 22) Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Do not deprive women of their share of the mosques, when they seek permission from you. Bilal said: By Allah, we would certainly prevent them. ‘Abdullah said: I say that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said it and you say: We would certainly prevent them! (Sahih Muslim Book 004, Number 0891) The Common Performance of Ablutions Narrated Ibn Umar: â€Å"It used to be that men and women would perform ablutions together in the time of the Messenger of Allah’s assembly.† (Bukhari: 1: Ch. 45, Book of Ablution) Women’s Right of Proposal Narrated Sahl: A woman came to the Prophet, and presented herself to him (for marriage). He said, â€Å"I am not in need of women these days.† Then a man said, â€Å"O Allah’s Apostle! Marry her to me.† The Prophet asked him, â€Å"What have you got?† He said, â€Å"I have got nothing.† The Prophet said, â€Å"Give her something, even an iron ring.† He said, â€Å"I have got nothing.† The Prophet asked (him), â€Å"How much of the Quran do you know (by heart)?† He said, â€Å"So much and so much.† The Prophet said, â€Å"I have married her to you for what you know of the Quran.† (Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 72) Women’s Right of Permission Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, â€Å"A matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her; and a virgin should not be given in marriage except after her permission.† The people asked, â€Å"O Allah’s Apostle! How can we know her permission?† He said, â€Å"Her silence (indicates her permission).† (Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 67) The Right of Women not to be Forced Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas: Barira’s husband was a slave called Mughith, as if I am seeing him now, going behind Barira and weeping with his tears flowing down his beard. The Prophet said to ‘Abbas, â€Å"O ‘Abbas ! are you not astonished at the love of Mughith for Barira and the hatred of Barira for Mughith?† The Prophet then said to Barira, â€Å"Why don’t you return to him?† She said, â€Å"O Allah’s Apostle! Do you order me to do so?† He said, â€Å"No, I only intercede for him.† She said, â€Å"I am not in need of him.† (Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 63, Number 206) The Characteristics of a Believing Man Narrated AbuHurayrah: Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said: a believing man should not hate a believing woman; if he dislikes one of her characteristics, he will be pleased with another. (Muslim Book 8, Number 3469) The Education of Women Narrated Abu Said: A woman came to Allah’s Apostle and said, â€Å"O Allah’s Apostle! Men (only) benefit by your teachings, so please devote to us from (some of) your time, a day on which we may come to you so that you may teach us of what Allah has taught you.† Allah’s Apostle said, â€Å"Gather on such-and-such a day at such-and-such a place.† They gathered and Allah’s Apostle came to them and taught them of what Allah had taught him. (Bukhari Volume 9, Book 92, Number 413) On the Treatment of Women Narrated Mu’awiyah al-Qushayri: I went to the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) and asked him: â€Å"What do you say (command) about our wives?† He replied: â€Å"Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them.† (Sunan Abu Dawud: Book 11, Number 2139) â€Å"The best of you is one who is best towards his family and I am best towards the family†. (At-Tirmithy). â€Å"None but a noble man treats women in an honourable manner. And none but an ignoble treats women disgracefully†. (At-Tirmithy). A Husband’s Attitude ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) said that a man came to his house to complain about his wife. On reaching the door of his house, he hears ‘Umar’s wife shouting at him and reviling him. Seeing this, he was about to go back, thinking that ‘Umar himself was in the same position and, therefore, could hardly suggest any solution for his problem. ‘Umar (RA) saw the man turn back, so he called him and enquired about the purpose of his visit. He said that he had come with a complaint against his wife, but turned back on seeing the Caliph in the same position. ‘Umar (RA) told him that he tolerated the excesses of his wife for she had certain rights against him. He said, â€Å"Is it not true that she prepares food for me, washes clothes for me and suckles my children, thus saving me the expense of employing a cook, a washerman and a nurse, though she is not legally obliged in any way to do any of these things? Besides, I enjoy peace of mind because of her and am kept away from indecent acts on account of her. I therefore tolerate all her excesses on account of these benefits. It is right that you should also adopt the same attitude.† quoted in Rahman, Role of Muslim Women page 149 The Prophet’s Disapproval of Women Beaters Patient behavior was the practice of the Prophet, even when his wife dared to address him harshly. Once his mother-in-law- saw her daughter strike him with her fist on his noble chest. When the enraged mother -in-law began to reproach her daughter, the Prophet smilingly said, â€Å"Leave her alone; they do worse than that.† And once Abu Bakr, his father-in-law, was invited to settle some misunderstanding between him and Aishah. The Prophet said to her, â€Å"Will you speak, or shall I speak?† Aisha said, â€Å"You speak, but do not say except the truth.† Abu Bakr was so outraged that he immediately struck her severely, forcing her to run and seek protection behind the back of the Prophet. Abu Bakr said, â€Å"O you the enemy of herself! Does the Messenger of Allah say but the truth?† The Prophet said, â€Å"O Abu Bakr, we did not invite you for this [harsh dealing with Aishah], nor did we anticipate it.† quoted in: Mutual Rights and Obligations http://www.allaahuakbar.net/womens/women_sharia_and_oppression.htm A lot of attention has been focused on the issue of Muslim women and human rights since September 11, almost all of it by non Muslims. Once again, images of women swathed in black veils or blue burqas are de rigeur, as the media soberly reminds us that Muslim women are not considered equals to men in Islam, and that they are oppressed even by the moderate regimes in the Muslim world. From the Muslims, we have one of two reactions. The first is the reaction of the â€Å"liberal, reformist, secular† Muslims. They believe that Shari’a oppresses women, and that we need to completely overhaul it, or toss out sections of the Qur’an that are â€Å"uncomfortable,† or institute secular forms of government that separate the sacred from the legal all together. These are the same Muslims who equate Hijab with oppression, and who support the denial of free speech rights to â€Å"Islamists† (all the while, crying for their rights to free speech in countries where it is denied). They take their political thought not from Islamic sources, but from feminism, socialism, and capitalism. Naturally, it is to these Muslims that the Western media turns when it wants a â€Å"Muslim† perspective on â€Å"Muslim issues.† On the other side, we have the organizers of the mainstream conservative Muslims, the leaders of our civic societies, advocacy groups, and associations. When presented with instances of women’s oppression in the Islamic world, these Muslims, almost always men, respond defensively. They cart out examples of women’s oppression in the Western world, or worse, they address the issue by lecturing the questioner about the virtues of the Ideal Place of Women in Ideal Islam. In other words, they treat the ideal that we are all aspire to as the reality on the ground. Pressed into taking a stand on real life issues, they retreat in anger. â€Å"That’s culture, not Islam, it has nothing to do with me as a Muslim,† they sniff. Who speaks for them? Most often, it is the United Nations, human rights groups, and feminist organizations, led by people who have no foundations of knowledge in Islam, and who often have a real antipathy for Islam. While the Feminist Majority Fund was selling swatches of â€Å"burqa† and petitioning the government for action on behalf of Afghan women, the leaders of our Islamic societies stayed silent. Publicly, many Islamic leaders and organizations disassociated themselves from the Taliban, but other than denying them entry into the Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC), they took no action to petition the Taliban for change from an Islamic view, or form any sort of Islamic opposition. Perhaps this is because when any Islamic organization or individual Muslim attempts to change or speak out about injustices towards Muslim women, the rest of the community circles the wagons. These lone souls are labeled â€Å"radical feminists,† and accused of attempting to undermine Islam. Strangely, when a Muslim woman’s Islamic rights are violated, many organizations are eager to speak out and petition. For example, when Merve Kavacki was denied her seat in the Turkish Parliament because of her headscarf (and later stripped of her citizenship), Muslim groups were quick to condemn the Turkish government, as they should have. In many Western Muslim circles, Merve has been elevated to a symbol of the struggle muhajabat women face in secular societies. Yet there is a resounding silence when the issue being raised is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), honor killings, forced marriages, the unequal application of hadd punishments on women, or the denial of education to girls and women. All of these wrongs are perpetrated on women in the name of Islam. While it is true that many of these violations occur across cultural and religious boundaries, the only action often taken by conservative Muslims is a condemnation of the action because it is â€Å"cultural† and not Islamic. Meanwhile, women continue to be murdered and little girls continue to be mutilated. In Africa, conservative sheikhs teamed up with women’s rights advocates to educate people about the harms of Female Genital Mutilation. These people get very little mention in the Western media, which, of course, paints the â€Å"Islamists† as the opponents of an enlightened, secular minority of liberal Muslims. About a year ago, a small band of conservative Muslim women, almost all of us from the West, came up with the idea of starting a Muslim women’s human rights group, to petition and advocate for the rights of Muslim women as they are given in the Shari’a of Islam. Although slow to start, we have managed to form a basis from which to work, and have taken up our first case. Right now, a Muslim woman in Nigeria is under a death sentence from the Shari’a court for the crime of adultery. The situation came to the attention of the authorities when the man who impregnated her decided to confess his crime to the police, rather than pay the child support that her father asked of him. There are many glaring errors in the case, from a classical, â€Å"Orthodox† fiqh point of view. These errors (which would aid the woman) are not coming from a â€Å"reformist reinterpretation† of Shari’a, these errors are so great that any of the qadis of the past would have thrown the case against her out. Prophet Mohammed, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, was mocked and assaulted because of his strong and courageous stance on the status of women. He came with a message that lifted women up and gave them dignity. Fourteen hundred years later, we have descended back into the dark pit of Jahiliya, and Muslim women around the world find themselves cast into the same slavery that the Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, was sent to liberate them from. It does not make you a â€Å"radical feminist† to decry honor killings and volunteer for peaceful campaigns to educate and change laws. Raising your voice against Female Genital Mutilation does not mean you want to â€Å"undermine Islam.† To the contrary, working against these injustices in the way of Allah is a manifestation of the desire to uplift Islam and the Muslim people. When the Taliban decided to deny education to any girl over a certain age, it is the conservative Muslims, the ones who profess adherence to â€Å"Qur’an and Sunnah† that should have spoken the loudest against this. The longer we stay silent, the more people, both Muslim and non Muslim, will begin to equate â€Å"Shar’ia† with the oppression of women.

Post Partum Haemorrhage (PPH) Essay

Introduction: Post partum haemorrhage (PPH) is an obstetrical emergency that can follow vaginal or cesarean delivery. It is a major cause of maternal morbidity and one of the top three causes of maternal mortality in both high and low per capital income countries, although the absolute risk of death in much lower in high income countries (1 in 100,000 versus 1 in 1000 births in low income countries). Furthermore, hemorrhage is the leading cause of admission of the intensive care unit and the most preventable cause of maternal mortality. The average blood loss following vaginal delivery, caesarean delivery and caesarean hysterectomy is 500 ml, 1000ml and 1500 ml respectively. Depending upon the amount of blood loss, post partum hemorrhage (PPH) can be- âž ¢ Minor (1L) âž ¢ Severe (10g/dl) so that the patient can withstand some amount of the blood loss. †¢ High risk patients who are likely to develop post partum hemorrhage (such as twins, hydramnios, grand multipara, APH, history of previous PPH, severe anemia) are to be screened & delivered in a well equipped hospital. †¢ Blood groping should be one for all women so that no time is wasted during emergency. †¢ Placental localization must be done in all women with previous caesarean delivery by USG or MRI to detect placenta accreta or percreta. †¢ Women with morbid adherent placenta are at high risk of PPH. Such a case should be delivered by a senior obstetrician. A availability of blood & or blood products must be ensured before hand. Intranatal: †¢ Active management of the third stage, for all women in labour should be a routine as it reduces PPH by 60%. †¢ Women delivered by caesarean section, oxytocin 5 IU slow IV is to be given to reduce blood loss. †¢ Exploration of the utero-vaginal canal for evidence of trauma following difficult labour or instrumental delivery. †¢ Observation for about 2 hours often delivery to make sure that the uterus is hard and well contracted before sending her to ward. †¢ During caesarean section spontaneous separation & delivery of the placenta reduces blood loss (30%). Management of retained placenta: This diagnosis is reached when the placenta remains undelivered after a specified period of time (usually half to 1 hour following the baby’s birth). This is done to apply pressure to the placental site. The whole hand is introduced into the vagina in cone shaped fashion after separating the labia with the fingers of the other hand. the vaginal hand is clenched into a fist with the back of the hand directed posteriorly and the knuckles in the anterior fornix. The other hand is placed over the abdomen behind the uterus to make it anteverted. The uterus is firmly squeezed between the two hands. It may be necessary to continue the compression for a prolonged period until the (during the period, the resuscitative measures are to be continued). Manual removal of the placenta: The operation is done under general anaesthesia. The patient is placed in lithotomy position with all aseptic measures, the bladder is catheterized. One hand is introduced into the uterus after smearing with the antiseptic solution in cone shaped manner following the cord, which is made taut by the other hand. While introducing the hand, the labia are separated by the fingers of the other hand. The fingers of the uterine should locate the margin of the placenta. Counter pressure on the uterine fundus is applied by the other hand placed over the abdomen. The abdominal hand should steady the fundus & guide the movements of the fingers inside the uterine cavity till the placenta is completely separated. As soon as the placental margin is reached, the fingers are insinuated between the placenta & the uterine wall with the back of the hand in contact with the uterine wall. The placenta is gradually separated with a side ways slicing movement of the fingers, until whole of the placenta is separated. When the placenta is completely separated, it is extracted by traction of the cord by the other hand. The uterine hand is still inside the uterus for exploration of the cavity to be sure that nothing is left behind. i) Management of third stage bleeding: In this third stage of bleeding or hemorrhage, the bleeding occurs before expulsion of placenta. Principles âž ¢ To empty the uterus. âž ¢ To replace the blood. âž ¢ To ensure effective haemostasis. Steps of management: a) Placental site bleeding: âž ¢ To palpate the fundus and manage the uterus to make it hard. âž ¢ To start crystalloid with oxytocin at 60 drops /min and to arrange for blood transfusion if necessary. âž ¢ Oxytocin 10 units IM or methargin 0.2 mg. is given intravenously. âž ¢ To catheterize the bladder. âž ¢ To give antibiotics (ampicillin 2gm.and Metronidazole 500mg. IV). b) Traumatic bleeding: The utero vaginal canal is to be explored under general anaesthesia after the placenta is expelled. ii) Management of true post partum hemorrhage: In this true post partum hemorrhage the bleeding occurs subsequent to expulsion of placenta (majority). Management: âž ¢ Call for extra help involve the obstetric senior staff on call. âž ¢ Keep patient flat and warm. âž ¢ Send blood for diagnostic test. âž ¢ Infuse rapidly 2 litres of normal saline. âž ¢ Give oxygen by mask 10-15L/min. âž ¢ Monitor the pulse, blood pressure, urine output, drug type, dose and time. B. Secondary Post partum hemorrhage: Definition: Secondary post partum hemorrhage is bleeding from the genital tract more than 24 hours after delivery of the placenta and may occur upto 6 week later. The bleeding usually occurs between 8th to 14th day of delivery. Causes: The causes of late post partum hemorrhage are- 1. Retained bits of cotyledon or membranes (commonest) 2. Infection and separation of slough over a deep cervico-vaginal laceration. 3. Endometritis and sub involution of the placental site- due to delayed healing process. 4. Secondary hemorrhage from caesarean section wound usually occur between 10-14 days. 5. Withdrawal bleeding following oestrogen therapy for suppression of lactation. Clinical Manifestation: 1. The lochia are heavier than normal & recurrence of bright red flow. 2. Offensive lochia if infection is a contributory factor. 3. Sub involution of uterus. 4. Pyrexia & tachycardia. Diagnosis: The bleeding is bright red and varying amount. Rarely it may be brisk. Varying degree of anemia & evidences of sepsis are present. Internal examination reveals evidences of sepsis, sub involution of the uterus & often patulous cervical OS. Ultrasonography is usual in detecting the bits of placenta inside the uterine cavity. Management: Principle: âž ¢ To assess the amount of blood loss & to replace it (transfusion) âž ¢ To find out the cause & to take appropriate steps to rectify it. Management: i) Massage the uterus if it is still palpable to bring about a contraction. ii) Express any clots. iii) Encourage the mother to empty her bladder. iv) Give an oxytocic drug such as ergometrine by intravenous or intramuscular route. v) Save all pads & lines to assess the volume of blood loss. vi) If retained products of conception are not seen on an ultrasound scan, the mother may be treated conservatively with antibiotic therapy and oral ergometrine. vii) Anemia is treated with iron supplement & in severe cases, blood is transfused. Nursing management of PPH: Assessment: 1. Assess maternal history for risk factors, plan accordingly and communicate to the perinatal area. 2. Assess pulse pressure, recording consistently less than 30bpm are consistent with hypertensive crisis. 3. Assess intake & output chart. 4. Assess location & firmness of uterine fundus. 5. Palpate the bladder distension, which may interfere with contracting of the uterus. 6. Inspect for intactness of any parineal area. Diagnosis: i) Deficit fluid volume related to blood loss as manifested by looking pale, dehydrated & decrease pulse rate. ii) Acute pain related to perineal discomfort from birth trauma and physiologic changes from births as monitored by wrinkled in forehead, restlessness & irritability. iii) imbalance nutrition less than body requirement related to restriction in food intake as manifested by fatigue, weakness and lethargic. iv) Sleeping pattern disturbance related to pain & bleeding as manifested by drowsiness, lethargic, irritated, etc. v) Risk for infection related to birth process & maintaining poor hygiene as manifested by patient’s verbal complain, irritable & discomfort. Goal: i) Monitoring for hypotension & bleeding. ii) Minimize the pain. iii) Improve nutritional status. iv) Improve sleep pattern. v) Reduce the risk for infection. Intervention: âž ¢ For 1st diagnosis: i) Monitor vital signs every 4 hours during the first 24 hours. ii) Assess vaginal discharge for clots and amount. iii) Maintained IV line as ordered by the doctor. âž ¢ For 2nd diagnosis: i) Assess pain level, location, duration and type also. ii) Provide comfortable position (i.e. supine position) iii) Administered medicine as prescribed by the doctor. âž ¢ For 3rd diagnosis: i) Assess the nutritional status of the patient. ii) Patient is advised to take liquid diet from 3rd day & solid from 4th day. iii) Weight in monitored daily. âž ¢ For 4th diagnosis: i) Sleep pattern is assessed. ii) Provide a neat and tidy bed to the patient. iii) Unnecessary procedures avoided during sleeping period. iv) Patient is advised to discourage day time sleeping. âž ¢ For 5th diagnosis: i) Assessed the level of infection, burning sensation and frequency of urination. ii) Washing hands & wearing gloves can reduce the risk for infection before doing any procedure. iii) Advised the patient to maintain the personal hygiene and also should teach how to take care of perineal area. Evaluation: i) Bleeding is reduced than before. ii) Patients pain level might be minimized. iii) Nutritional status of the patient is improved. iv) Patients sleep pattern is improved. v) Infection is controlled. Conclusion: Post Partum hemorrhage continued to be a leading cause of maternal morbidity & mortality. In this patient despite identification and attempt at correction of an identified clotting disorder, major obstetric hemorrhage was not avoided. However, these factors may be unavoidable and early surgical intervention as per local protocol is recommended to minimize maternal morbidity. After studying & presenting the seminar on the topic of PPH, I got a thorough idea about this disease and I am thankful to ma’am for giving me opportunity of presenting this topic. I think I can be able to import some amount of knowledge to the group & I will be able to provide proper care to such patient if I got in future. Bibliography: 1. C.D. Dutta â€Å"text book of obstetrics† 7th edition, new central book agency, page no- 410-418 2. Annamma Jacob â€Å"A comprehensive textbook of midwifery & Gynecological Nursing†, 3rd edition, Joypee brothers medical publishers (p) Ltd. 3. â€Å"Myhes Tex book for midwives†, edited by V. Rith Bennett Linda K. Brown, 12th edition. Page No- 462-470 4. Dr. Parulekar Shashank V., â€Å"Text book for midwives†, 2nd edition, voramidical publication. Page No- 351-356. 5. B. Basavanthappa T. â€Å"Essentials of midwifery & obstetrical Nursing†, 1st edition, Jaypee Brothers medical publishers. Page No- 544-555. 6. w.w.w.urmc.rochester.edu>URMC>Health Encyclopedia âž ¢ w.w.w.birth.com.au>Labour & Birth. âž ¢ w.w.w.rcog.org.uk>Home>women’shealth> idelines>search for a guideline. âž ¢ Bmb.oxford journals.org/..205full. âž ¢ w.w.w.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov> journal list>cases J/V.J;2008

Market & social research - research proposal Essay

Market & social research - research proposal - Essay Example The financial crisis impacted negatively on the savings of the British public as most banks lost the savings entrusted to them by depositors. According to Buckley, one of the major contributors to the global financial crisis was the untenable rise in subprime mortgage lending (2011). Part of the reason for the rise in subprime mortgage lending is attributable to the government’s own efforts to win votes and popularity by making it easy for the public to buy homes. Also, the banks rode on this high risk debt products due to their potential to generate immense profits. The banks leveraged the mortgage loans with credit default swaps and the mass failure of borrowers to pay back led to added levels of debt on the banks’ books of account. Ultimately, the culmination of mass defaults led to the financial crisis. Due to globalization, the financial crisis had a negative impact on many countries since the world economies are interconnected. The credit crunch had cross cutting effects that affected virtually all sectors of the economy. This led to social economic changes that had direct impact on the British public (Akinbami 2011). This paper will evaluate the British public attitudes towards the banking sector after the financial crisis. ... The onus is upon the financial regulatory agencies to establish the public attitudes and implement strategies to ensure that the financial sector is positively perceived by the public (Hodson & Deborah 2009). The needs of bank customers are evolving rapidly and it is therefore necessary for banks to put in place futuristic plans that can effectively cater for the evolving needs of their customers. Objectives 1. To investigate the public’s attitude towards the banking sector after the financial crisis. 2. To establish the public perceptions on who is to blame for the financial crisis 3. To identify the information that the public receives in regards to the banking industry in the United Kingdom and how this information affects their attitudes towards the banks 4. To establish the consumer trends in the banking sector and the evolving needs of the bank customers 5. To identify the banking products that the customers will need in twenty years time. Limitations The domain of the s tudy comprises of all the public and it is difficult to access all the domains of the public. Suffice to say, the research will be restricted to a sample of the public selected through convenience sampling. It is also notable that numerous changes have occurred in the banking sector after the financial crisis and new factors may contribute to the public attitudes towards the banking sector. Research Design It is important that the opinion and attitudes of the members of the public should be correctly observed and recorded. This research will adopt a pragmatic philosophy in order to effectively collect information about the perceptions and attitudes of the public. It is important to that the nature of the research problem demands for multiple views to appropriately answer

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The Joneses - Movie Review Example But little does the neighbourhood know they will be taken by storm by this new family, a family adept at selling the â€Å"American Dream†. The field capital theory is the application of social, economic and cultural capital amassed by a certain section of the society who â€Å"deploy it social arenas known as fields to compete for positions of authority, distinction and status† (Tapp, Warren, 2010, p.1). This competitive behaviour in human beings is of primary interest to marketers. Steve and Kate are the ideal business man-gorgeous wife couple. Kate is the object of envy among her peer circle – she is beautiful dressed in designer clothes and decked with latest accessories. Steve is the successful businessman, an object of admiration who has everything – a beautiful wide, a huge mansion and a collection of expensive status symbols ranging from cars to gadgets. They have wealth, an affluent and jazzy lifestyle. Jenn and Mick children of the affluent couple are a rage in their school as they go about living ostentatiously a hip and trendy lifestyle. They have cool clothes, fast cars and the latest gadgets. Steve and Kate own the finest property in the new suburban town with expensive interior decorative and highly priced fittings. The competition and a sort of internal rivalry due to excessive social admiration from all quarters are holding back the Joneses family form working together. A conflict of ego and self esteem is at play. Steve is being held back by his wife who refuses to be a friend to him and instead behaves in a rather professional way. Steve overcomes this oppression by breaking through this wall of ego and

Smart air conditioner Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Smart air conditioner - Research Paper Example As energy is conserved this way, the amount of pollutants from such sources would also be reduced therefore protecting the university environment from pollution. Additionally, smart air conditioner would keep the university environment clean by reducing on the pollutants released from air conditioners. Air conditioning units are said to contain refrigerants. According to Northern Ireland Protection Agency (2014), these refrigerants contain hazardous substances like fluorinated gases (F-gases) and ozone depleting substances (ODS). Some air conditioners have deodorants which could release chlorofluorocarbons, CFC, when in operation. These compounds gradually damage the university environment, depleting the ozone layer, the reason for global warming. The smart air conditioner mitigates this menace by reducing the time of operation of air conditioners by programming operation only when in use (Karol, 2014). This minimizes on the amount of these compounds emitted and also reduces the environmental exposure time thus curbing on the pollution of the university’s

Information security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Information security - Essay Example Although this protocol allows devices to communicate with each other easily, but the network-enabled devices have a number of weaknesses in them that have make the networks exposed to attacks (Westervelt 2013). â€Å"The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) is warning about weaknesses in the Universal Plug and Play protocol† (Westervelt 2013, p. 1). The reason behind the warning is a recent research about the security flaws in universal plug and play devices which has identified some protocol vulnerabilities and configuration errors in the use of UPnP devices. According to the report, 81 million universal plug and play devices expose themselves to the internet and nearly 16 million devices of those have the tendency of allowing attackers to intrude into the systems by making the firewall ineffective (Moore 2013). In this paper, we will cover some of the main issues associated with the universal plug and play devices and the ways that can be used to overcom e the risk of hackers’ attacks. The discussion will support the statement that technology usually gets deployed in a hurry without proper consideration of the harms associated with it. 2. Weaknesses Although plug and play devices allows easy communication between devices, there also exist some major weaknesses related to network security protocol. Researchers have shown that nearly 40 to 50 million network-enabled devices face risk because of universal plug and play protocol vulnerabilities (Moore 2013). UPnP allows communication between devices, such as, printers, routers, smart TVs, media players, webcams, and network-attached storage (NAS). The three main security flaws bringing millions of users under risk of attack include programming issues in SSDP raising the risk of execution of arbitrary code, exposure of private networks to attacks because of exposure of plug and play control interface, and crashing of the service because of programming bugs in HTTP, UPnP, and SOAP (Moore 2013). Disabling the universal plug and play protocol is one way to prevent the attacks the risk of which is always associated with the use of UPnP devices. Most of the vendors usually do not have any plan of updating their vulnerable devices. Therefore, organizations need to use Metasploit modules and ScanNow UPnP tool to identify vulnerable media servers, printers, and other UPnP devices (Blevins 2013). One of the main weaknesses of universal plug and play devices is that trust on all other communicating devices which in most cases are not trustworthy. There is no software that can check whether the devices with which UPnP devices communicate are prone to attacks or not. Moreover, buffer overflows are also an issue regarding the use of UPnP devices (Schmehl 2002). An effective way to overcome this issue is the blocking of the UPnP at the Internet gateway. After doing this, link to any system outside the LAN should be blocked using the firewall in such a way that it does not access the ports 1900/UDP anymore. In case of Windows system, those ports are 2869/TCP. Along with this, UPnP on the router should also be turned off (Vaughan-Nichols 2013). As Raikow (2001, p. 1) states, â€Å"an attacker could gain complete control of an entire network of vulnerable machines with a single anonymous UDP session†. The attack not only provides the hacker with an access to all files and data stored in

The murder of Duncan on Macbeth Essay Example for Free

The murder of Duncan on Macbeth Essay To what extent is it fair to place the main blame for the murder of Duncan on Macbeth? It is obvious that Macbeth did actually kill Duncan, but is Macbeth really to blame for his actions? There are many other factors to take into account. One reason for Macbeths actions is that he was under a lot of pressure from other people and changes in his life. Also there maybe a supernatural element to take into account for the killing of Duncan by Macbeth, which may have influenced Macbeths decisions. There also maybe of coarse, no-body else that could have influenced Macbeth and just Macbeth himself. Or maybe all of the different pressures and influences combined together, making one mass attack on Macbeths mind. The blame for the murder of Duncan could be placed on anyones shoulders, but who do we blame specifically? Do we blame Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, The Three Witches, or was it the atmosphere and society of the 11th century? The most obvious person to blame for the murder of Duncan is Macbeth. This is because he actually took hold of the knife and stabbed Duncan. Therefore he should be and feel responsible for the murder. His motives for the murder are that if he kills Duncan then he will be made king of Scotland. He believes strongly in the afterlife, but still doesnt care about what happens to him when he dies, may it be of old age, or of murder also. All he cares about is becoming king. He backs that up by saying: Wed jump the life to come. It is his high ambitions that drive him into murdering Duncan. But, surely Macbeth knows that killing Duncan is a treasonable offence, and he could also be killed for it. He would lose everything because it would be obvious that Macbeth killed Duncan. This is because no-body else would have the right motives. He would lose his titles of Thane of Glamis, and also when he became Thane of Cawdor, he would lose that too. So he cannot really afford to commit the murder. This is where the argument of whether Macbeth is mentally ill comes into play. A sane person wouldnt risk his life and livelihood like that. His normal personality is that of a human being that hasnt got it in his personality to kill someone who hasnt done anything to harm him. Macbeth is able to kill a man on a battlefield, but that is a totally different situation. On a battlefield you dont know the person you are about to kill, and he is also prepared to kill you also, so it is like killing in self-defense. But by killing Duncan, it is killing in cold blood, someone that is asleep and has no defense. A split personality perhaps, where one minute he is nice, and wouldnt hurt a fly and the next minute he is a cold-blooded killing machine. You could even say that he is slightly sycophantic towards Duncan. Even Duncan himself says that Macbeth is loyal: What he hath lost noble Macbeth has won The word noble says it all in that line. Macbeth has the respect of the King, and so has won the position of Thane of Cawdor. Lady Macbeth or The Three Witches could also have influenced Macbeth into killing Duncan. The Three Witches prophesised that Macbeth would become Thane of Cawdor, and then King. They say: FIRST WITCH: All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! SECOND WITCH: All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! THIRD WITCH: All hail Macbeth, thou shalt be King here- after! Macbeth was already Thane of Glamis, so that doesnt count as a prophecy, but he wasnt Thane of Cawdor when The Witches spoke to him, but then Ross and Angus came from the battle with the Norwegians, and told Macbeth that he was Thane of Cawdor because Sinel had been killed in battle. So the witches first prophecy had come true. That is when Macbeth fell into The Witches trap, or spell, or whatever you wish to call it. He decided to trust The Witches, so he expected that Duncan would die soon, whether it be of old age or by murder, but the prophecy did not come true. So Macbeth decided to kill Duncan himself, to make the prophecy come true. He was greedy, because the witches forced Macbeth into killing Duncan through temptation. But, Macbeth could have backed out at any point along the road to the murder. Lady Macbeth influenced Macbeth by putting so much pressure onto Macbeth to kill Duncan, to give her and Macbeth a better life. Macbeth gets pushed around by her, and does whatever she tells him to. This may have caused Macbeth to murder Duncan, but again, Macbeth could have backed out at any point. Lady Macbeth first finds out about The Witches prophecies when he writes her a letter. He writes this letter because he knows he needs somebody to push him to kill Duncan. She drives him to the crown, and therefore acts as a catalyst to Macbeth. She bullies his and uses emotional blackmail against him. She knows that he has good positive morals, and so she has to push him. She ridicules him by saying: When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man. This basically means that when he dared to do it, then he was a man. This is insulting towards Macbeth, because she knows he is a warrior and is mocking his bravery. She also answers every objection that Macbeth has against the murder, and tries to motive his with her answer. Macbeth says this: If we should fail Lady Macbeth then immediately jumps in by saying: We fail? There is a hint of surprise in that reply, surprise about Macbeth, of him thinking that they will fail. But Lady Macbeth could also be implying that if they get caught, then Macbeth should get all the blame. Macbeth also doesnt believe that they will be able to cover up the murder successfully. Lady Macbeth objects to this lack of optimism by saying: Who dares receive it other, As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar Upon his death? This suggests that no one will dare believe anything else (this is referring to the daggers planted on the soldiers), because Lady Macbeth and Macbeth will mourn so much that everybody will think that the couple is genuinely upset. Lady Macbeth also organises the finer points of the murder. When Macbeth come back from the murder scene with the daggers, she is annoyed with him because he is being careless. She then has to plant the daggers onto the soldiers herself because Macbeth is too scared of getting caught. The reason why Lady Macbeth is pushing so hard is maybe because she is possessed. She actually asks to be possessed by Demons or Spirits. She says: And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty She is asking to be possessed because then she will be able to lose here feminine side and become cruel and greedy. These evil spirits may be connected to The Witches. Macbeth first meets The Witches after the battle with Norway, and they predict that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and then King. When the first prophecy comes true, Macbeth and Banquo are extremely surprised. We can tell this because Banquo says: Can the devil speak true? This shows us that they did not expect The Witches to be telling the truth. Then Macbeth goes into deep thought about the second prophecy. Banquo tells us this when he says: Look how our partners rapt We could say that Macbeth is thinking that it is his destiny to be King, and therefore King he must be. After this point Macbeth is always thinking about the second prophecy and whether to do anything about it or not. The Witches made him fell like this and so must take some of the blame. The Witches also may have contributed to the murder of Duncan because they were making some kind of spell onto Macbeth at the start of the play. There is obviously some kind of sorcery going on in this first scene because the First Witch says: I come Greymalkin! A Greymalkin is a greycat, which is a spirit associated with the Devil. The Witches would not call to this demon if they werent planning on evil spells, and in this context Macbeth is surely going to be involved. Also, The Witches obviously arent bluffing about their power, because they then hovered off, which is a tricky thing to do if you arent a witch. This proves their power and their strength for the rest of the play. We fist get an idea of what the atmosphere is like in 11th century Scotland when Macbeth and Banquo appear. Macbeth says: So foul and fair a day I have not seen. There is a contradiction here, because a day cannot be foul and fair at the same time. But what he may mean is that the weather is bad, but because of the victory over the Norwegians, it has made his day good. Perhaps The Witches made the weather bad with their evil presence. In the 11th century, it was not unusual for highly respected people to get murdered, so that other people could climb higher up the ranks. Macbeth may have just been following the custom of that time. The atmosphere of the 11th century is evidently that of an evil, brutal place. I conclude that Macbeth should take the main blame for the murder of Duncan. He actually committed the murder and let ambition and greed rule him, despite knowing the consequences. I think that the other three factors are less important, but acted as catalysts, working alongside the main factor. If the other three factors were taken away, then the murder would have still occurred, but not as quickly.

Characteristics of Renaissance Art in the Last Supper

Characteristics of Renaissance Art in the Last Supper It is agreed that the Renaissance was a period of great art and architectural feats and ingenuity, during which artists looked back to the classical art of Greece and Rome from which to draw inspiration. This influence can easily be seen in the many paintings and sculpture that came out of the Renaissance. However, the conservative nature of the period, the subject matter, and the restrictions imposed upon artists of that time kept the Renaissance from truly becoming a return to the classics of Greece and Rome. The most obvious factor in the difference between the two artistic periods is the predominant subject matter the artists of the time chose. In ancient Greece and Rome, the subject matter most popular among artists were depictions of myths, war, or intellectual figures: statues of the gods decorated nearly every significant architectural landmark of the time. Being a Christian society, the art of the Renaissance did not simply depict various bible stories, but also moral stories permeated with religious allusions and symbolism. The Sistine Chapel is just one example among the many depictions of the creation, Madonna figures, and religious icons that existed in that era. However, there were some artists, such as Botticelli who depicted mythological figures as religious icons such as Botticellis Birth of Venus, which put the Greek goddess into a Christian context. Artists from both periods experienced problem with completing and preserving works. In Ancient Greece and later Rome, because of frequent war and the threat of invasion, many of the bronze sculptures that existed were melted down so that the metal could be used for weaponry. In addition to that, the construction of the pieces was often so weak that they would break, usually at joints such as the ankles because they couldnt support the weight of the piece indefinitely, or other limbs that were too fragile to withstand any kinds of damages. Because artists of the Renaissance were often commissioned by wealthy patrons or the church, they had to work within the guidelines given by the patrons which limited the freedom with which they could compose a piece. Even for artists such as Michaelangelo, often times, funding for commissions would be limited or discontinued altogether, forcing the artist to either leave the piece unfinished or scale down the size of the original project. Although Renaissance art was based on Greek and Roman schools of thought and art, the subtle stylistic differences between the two periods are reflective of the ideals of beauty at the time. Greek sculpture often depicted highly idealized figures- usually young, athletic men and women- in extremely melodramatic poses, while figures of the Renaissance were more realistically rendered- such as van Eycks which even showed the flaws of those who posed for the pieces instead of beautifying them- but still remained slightly melodramatic in at least facial expression if not posture. Though it attempted to revive the classical art of Ancient Greece and Rome, the Renaissance instead simply modified the style and applied it to its own tastes. Artists of both times sought to appeal to the general public with what was popular at the time- war, myth and melodrama in Ancient Greece and Rome, religious icons and pleasing the patron in the Renaissance. Leonardos Last Supper is a priceless piece of art with much hidden meaning and obvious talents bestowed upon a wall. Under the study of Verrocchio as a painter and a sculptor, he was able to use his skills in creating a very detailed and a very naturalistic piece of work that would be remembered for hundreds of years. He was also able to create characters with amazing individuality. Not only was his portrayal of the characters magnificent, but the symbolism he used which emphasized the story being told in the Last Supper. Lodovico Sforza chose Leonardo to create The Last Supper in the refectory of the Dominican Church of S. Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The Abate of the S. Maria delle Grazie saw Leonardo work from morning until night on The Last Supper without eating. Although, there were times he would stop painting for days at a time; or, he would work on a specific character for just a few moments and then leave to continue working on it later. He worked on it from 1495 thru 1498 (Strauss, 27). Before Leonardo began painting the actual portrait, he put down a substance which was suppose to absorb the tempora and protect the tempora from the moisture on the wall. Unfortunately, the substance was proved unsuccessful, and by 1517 it began to deteriorate. In May 1556 a painter Giovanni Batista Armenini said that the painting was so badly affected that nothing is visible but a mass of blots'(Heydenreich, 18). The painting has continued to decay in the following centuries. It was further damaged by restorations made by careless artists and by the addition of a doorway put in the lower part of the painting. Yet even to this day his painting The Last Supper is widely known and visited by many tourists each year. The remembrance of the Last Supper could be due to the sacredness of the parting meal. It is quite obvious that the skill used in the creation of the Last Supper was magnificent. Although, the way Leonardo allows its viewers to depict the scene from a specific point in the Bible adds to the importance and significance of the painting in which no other artist could even compare. He does allow the viewer to recognize this scene by the gestures of both the Lord and the Apostles. The Lord sits ever so quietly while the Apostles rise in reaction to what the Lord had just announced. It is rather obvious that Leonardo chose the critical moment after the Lord had stated, Verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me, because of the emotions that evolve in this specific scene (Matt. 26.21). He took much time to express every detail of each Apostle and the Lord. Leonardo had even wrote in one of his notebooks that A good painter has two chief objects to paint man and the intention of his soul. The former is easy, the latter hard because he has to represent it by the attitude and movement of the limbs(Heydenreich, 27). For example, the Lord is very relaxed with his arms resting on the table which adds to the portrayal of His greatness. He also emphasized the Lords greatness by giving Him a serious attitude and by presenting Him as untouchable with the space between Himself and the Apostles. The distance put between them is called the spacial perspective, which is one of the techniques Leonardo feels is important in naturalistic art. Although, the Apostles are painted in a more restless fashion. They are all facing different ways and seem to be jumping out of their seats. Even the grouping of the apostles in three was done intentionally. He used four groups of three Apostles in each group in order to symbolize the Holy Trinity which means three, and the  four groups were used to symbolize the Gospels and the Cardinal Virtues . He was very cautious in every aspect of his painting from the placement of the figures to the movement they each possessed. Leonardo had to create actions and various postures which would be appropriate for each figure in order to keep them from looking as if they were brothers. Monica Strauss stated that in her research she had found that for the first time in the history of the subject, Leonardo had distinguished each one by appearance and gesture(Strauss, 27). For each of the twelve Apostles he had to not only resort to the historical information on their names and on their appearances but also by the portrayal of their specific qualities as they are known to us from the Gospels. For instance, Judas was put outside the circle of the innocent Apostles and only his shadowed  profile can be found. He is the only one to be found sitting in the shadows and in solitude. This allows the viewer to see the guilt he had, for he knew he was the one who would betray the Lord Jesus. He is also frozen in shock, and he is an outcast in the group. The significance of the portrayal of Judas is very important because in earlier pictures of the Last Supper, no one had ever been able to show this (Heydenreich, 57). Peter and John, located at the sides of Judas, were both painted with bright heads and with outstretched hands to the Lord Jesus which signify their fateful connection with Him. Yet, he distinguishes their differences by showing Peter to be more stubborn and argumentative and John to be more gentle and submissive as the Bible has thoroughly explained. Philip, on the other hand, stands up in excitement; and, he puts his hands on his chest to express a tender loyalty towards Christ. Andrew is found next to his brother Peter. Then, there is James the Greater, the older brother of John, who  touches Peters shoulder and forms a link with Peter and John. These three are those who witnessed the Transfiguration and who accompanied Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 17.1; 26.36-37). Leonardo continued to distinguish each of the Apostles as he felt necessary. He placed James the Less, the Lords brother (Gal. 1.19), to the Lord Jesuss right where he is like Him in feature and with outstretched arms; but, his gesture is only a reaction and not an expression of a completed action like the Lord Jesuss. Behind James the Less stands the doubting Thomas who is known to share a common feast day . St. Matthew is next and finally comes St. Jude, who is the brother of James the Less and St.  Simon. James the Less and St. Simon were martyred together so they too have a common feast day. Leonardo not only arranged the Apostles in four groups according to kinship and the personal links they shared, but each of the twelve Apostles exhibit an emotional and temperamental reaction appropriate to the character attributed to him in the Gospels. Each disciple reacted in his own way, as men. Leonardo had said, Emotions move the face of man in different ways, for o! ne laughs, another weeps, one becomes gay, another sad, one shows anger, another pity, some are amazed, others reflective. In these the hands and the whole person should follow the expression of the face, (Heydenreich, 57). He made sure he portrayed this in his Last Supper. The Lord Jesus was also given qualities that distinguished Him from everyone else. The Lord Jesuss hands are laid in a resting fashion on the table. His hands lie between the filled cup and the unbroken bread, the symbols of sacrifice, as if pointing in a silent gesture towards them. He seems to relay a message that His business has not yet been completed. Only the objects in front of Him remain in order, as does He remain calm, unlike the objects in front of the Apostles which are in disarray, as are the Apostles also in an unorderly emotional state of confusion. Leonardo uses the description of the  table to symbolize the state in which the Apostles and the Lord Jesus are in. For this reason, Leonardo not only uses the characters to portray the story but also the objects and the structures which encampeth around them. Leonardo used the beautiful background motif of the pedimented doorway, which was centered behind the Lord Jesus, in order to emphasize the Lord Jesuss greatness. It acted as a crown of glory hovering over His head. The surrounding walls and ceiling, where tapestries hung, were not in natural perspective but in an idealized one. The surroundings were unrelated to any spectator in the room. The same can be said of the characters in the portrait. Their scale and grandeur is other worldly, but their emotional distress is obviously human. He created the characters as if they were each on their own frontal plane. He also put a painted border around the painting which cut off most of the ceiling and the walls. These two modifying factors caused the characters to seem to leap out of the portrait. The Last Supper portrayed very individualistic characters which have made Leonardos piece of work stand out from all the others who also have tried to create the Last Supper; but, talented Leonardo was able to perfect his creation with his perspective of atmosphere and color. Leonardo had said, If we see that the true quality of colours is known through light, it is to be concluded that where there is more light, the true quality of the illuminated colour is better seen; and where there is more darkness, the colour is tinged with the colour of that darkness, (Heydenreich, 65). Later he concluded with, Nothing ever looks to be its real colour, if the light which strikes it is not all of that colour, (Heydenreich, 65). He used his theory in his painting to make it more realistic. He used two sources of light which came from the last gleams of the dying day which entered from behind the window with its charming view of the countryside and from the window in the refectory itself. He claimed to have painted in tones of light, when he created his Last Supper (Heydenreich, 66). Rosci had said that it is possible that he may have given the advice on the construction of the rectangular refectory because of the illusion the light gives the paint! ing (108). The two zones of light make it possible for Leonardo to give his characters a very finely graduated relief (Heydenreich, 70). Leonardo caused the colors of Christs garments, a red tunic and a blue cloak, to reflect in the pewter plate in front of him; and, similarly the plate in front of Philip reflects the red of his cloak. The colors of the Apostles robes are distributed across the painting in a wonderful array of colors. To the right of the Lord, the pale green tunic of James the Less forms a transition between the Lords blue cloak and the red robe of Philip, whose blue sleeves are just a shade brighter than the tone of Christs cloak. There is also a mixture of colors in the second group on the right of the Lord. Matthew is clothed in bright blue, which together with Judes ochre tunic and Simons violet cloak forms a perfect three note chord. Even in the group to the left of the Lord, consisting of John, Peter, and Judas; emphasizes the blending of colors. Judass greyish blue garment is the only one whose tone remains indefinite and dull which was formed from Johns dark, rust red cloak and bluish green tunic and Peters dark blue sleeve. In the outer left hand group, which stands in the darker background, Andrews green cloak over a yellow garment, James the Greaters reddish clothing, and Bartholomews violet blue tunic and dark olive cloak form a carefully equivalent to the outer right hand group, which stands in bright light. From one side of the Lord Jesus to the other the colors go from light primary tones to dark subtle blends. All of this coloration is due to the effect that light has o!n colors. Leonardo really believed that the perspective of light was important because it ensured to make the Last Supper as realistic as possible. Leonardo believed that naturalization was harmony between mental and physical motion. He accomplished the correspondence between physical movement and mental emotion by the pause between two great emotions which are the momentarily stiffening at an extreme point of excitement and at the horror of being startled out of tranquility (Heydenreich, 67). The painting portrays both expression and emotion. This combination complements each other. The expressions allow the viewers to see the emotions the characters are feeling. Their frozen movement allows one to see they are human. We can see both their outward and inward reactions. It is as if Leonardo had been there, and he had taken a picture of the marvelous meal. He definitely accomplished his goal in portraying his Last Supper as a realistic piece of art. The symbolism, the individualized personalities of the characters, and the skills such as the light perspective and spacial perspective blended together to fo!rm a photograph-like pai nting.