Islam in the modern world

Islam today is facing challenges from within and from the wider world. The critical problems are the fundamental tensions within Islam. The attitudes and criticisms common in the outside world can be ignored as misguided or hostile, but the tensions within Islam throughout the world must be confronted. In a simple geographical sense, Islam has to come to grips with its changing centres. The religious centres define the heartland: Saudi Arabia maintains its guardianship of the shrines at Mecca and Medina, and the conduct of the hajj, against the claims of Shii Iran, the Shii tradition, and other sects disillusioned with Saudi Arabia's credentials within the ummah. Saudi Arabia enjoys much of its strength to repudiate other claims because it remains the economic centre of the ummah. It takes a combination of the incomes of Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Yemen even to come close to Saudi Arabia's oil wealth.

However, this wealth is based on finite resources, and in the years to come the economic centre will shift to those parts of the Muslim world with sustainable resources and reproductive assets. West Asian financial investments recognise this long-term problem, but they remain overwhelmingly located in the Western and non-Muslim economies. The intellectual centre of Islam is Al-Azhar in Cairo. The ideas and attitudes taught here are spread throughout the ummah, particularly through the population centres of Islam: Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Malaysia. The relative power of the different centres is shifting. Over time the claims on and against the heartland from and by the peripheral Muslim communities will exacerbate the tensions already present. The conservative centre will be under greater pressure from the more vigorous, prolific and liberal Muslim societies on the periphery.

Despite the ideals promoting an equitable and productive material life, the overwhelming majority of Muslims experience living standards which are hardly enviable by any standard. This frequently appears to be a greater paradox in the wealthy oil-producing Muslim countries. Where justice and brotherhood are recommended by the ideals, in such countries we see the conspicuous consumption of the very rich, the purchase of very expensive military technology and armaments, and we see the exploitation of 'guest workers': fellow Muslims from Palestine, Pakistan, the Philippines, among others.

The plight of these groups was obvious during and after the Gulf War in 1990-1991. Unemployment of masses of people; rapid urbanisation; unbalanced development - all need to be addressed quickly by the ummah, if the ummah is to become the social force of international Islam. The wide imbalances in the distribution of incomes and wealth between Muslim societies are obvious, but since effective redistribution is not happening within most Muslim societies it is unlikely to occur to any major degree between different Muslim societies.

Development investment in Muslim countries is slow simply because investors are put off by the more extremist agitations and the perceptions in the West about Islamic legal proscriptions of such financial mechanisms as interest. Muslim investors appear quite happy to send their money into the non-Muslim economies, where greater profits are available and the political and social circumstances are much more settled. In other cases, where people are trying to help their communities they often encounter problems from unlikely sources. The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh has been lending small sums of money, mostly to rural women so that they can engage in small enterprises, but also to collective groups. The sums are small and the interest is fixed, with the principal being repaid first and the interest calculated on the diminishing principal. Twenty per cent interest per year still seems high, but it is tiny when compared with the twenty per cent per month or ten per cent per day demanded by the traditional money-lenders, or the compound interest at Bangladesh's commercial banks. The Grameen Bank lends money to people who would not be eligible in the normal commercial sense.

People are helped to determine the best way to satisfy their needs and are helped by the bank's officers in the villages. The Grameen Bank goes out to its clients and it permits the good sense and honesty of its clients to prevail: it has a recovery rate of some ninety eight per cent. The bank faces conflict from the traditional money-lenders, the commercial banks which claim that the scheme is too small to create the economic growth necessary in Bangladesh, and from the Muslims who see the scheme emancipating women in the villages. The bank fulfils the ideals of Islamic thinking, but is attacked by established interest groups defending their interpretation of Islamic practice.

Economic frustration and unequal opportunities are fertile breeding grounds for dissent and protest. Equally important is the failure of most Muslim governments to confront the demands of general education. "Modernity, the circumstance of being 'modern', is, in a central sense, inescapable. It is the necessary context for every tolerably well-informed life-journey undertaken in the contemporary world."^[1] Being modern does not mean being Western but it does mean that some degree of secular knowledge will have to be given far greater prominence in Muslim epistemologies. Dr Mahathir bin Mohamed has made the point that there can be no separation between secular and religious knowledge because all knowledge, all life, is encompassed by Islam. It is interesting that so prominent and successful a Muslim leader as Dr Mahathir had to tread a fine line: advocating on the one hand an independent and progressive Muslim attitude to acquiring the widest possible knowledge, while placating the traditional sensibilities by insisting on the moral rectitude of learning as the only way to protect the faith. There are Muslim intellectuals working to understand what it means to be a Muslim in the modern world, but they do not receive the prominence given to the extremists in Western reports.

Western media are more interested in the violent and emotional than they are in quiet, but deeply significant, debates about the eternal values that remain, despite the anarchic individualism of Western communities, the essence of being human. Not only are Muslim intellectuals under pressure from the conservative elements of their own societies, they are not receiving the recognition and support they deserve from the West. Yet it is at this level of ideas and reassessments that Muslim leaders will have to convert the de facto modernisation of their societies into general acceptance. The renaissance of ijtihad will be needed to reinterpret the principles of Islam, to retain the critical moral core while jettisoning the dubious accretions of traditional and worldly Muslim authorities.

The whole panoply of modern knowledge and technology is acceptable, but its Western manifestations are to be avoided if all they achieve is the perpetuation of the Muslim world's dependence on Western developments. A fundamental problem here is that which bedevils Western societies: can the use of and reliance upon new technologies alter perceptions, change desires, force social changes? Do the people who create and maintain the new technologies become the new high-priests. All knowledge and technology entail more than the physical and objective characteristics; they also contain the moral questions about how the new technologies should be used, what controls should be placed on them and who should be responsible for the implementation of the regulations. These are moral questions the simply secular authorities cannot answer, if only because utilitarian arguments lead us only to numerical quantities not qualitative priorities.

There is a very real danger involved if Muslims are not critical enough of Western world perceptions and if they take things for granted. There needs to be an increase in criticism in the light of Islam criteria. Without a heightened critical faculty Muslims are in danger of considering

"Islam as a partial view of things to be complemented by some modern  deology rather than as a complete system and perspective in itself, whose very totality excludes the possibility of its becoming a mere adjective to modify some other noun which is taken almost unconsciously as central in place of Islam...He who understands the structure of Islam in its totality knows that it can never allow itself to become reduced to a mere modifier or contingency vis-a-vis a system of thought which remains independent of it or even hostile to it." ^[2]

The main danger arises if Muslims accept the more extreme view of the difference of Islam and the insistence on establishing 'the third way'. If everything Western is to be discarded, then the creative and productive dynamism inherent in Islamic traditions will be suppressed yet again. Is Islamic resurgence giving enough attention to the challenges of poverty and hunger, disease and illiteracy? Have Islamic resurgents gone past, or are they still stuck on, their rhetoric regarding education and knowledge, science and technology, politics and administration, economics and management in their preferred Islamic order? To what extent have Islamists become pre-occupied with forms and symbols, rituals and practices? Do they regard laws and regulations in a static rather than a dynamic manner ? Is there a tension between the extremists' positions and the principles of the Quran and sunnah about the roles of women in society and the place of minorities in Muslim societies? Is the main problem a betrayal of the spirit of the Quran in the extremists' exclusiveness in a variety of matters ranging from charity to politics? Are the activities of extremists encouraging sectarianism in the umma through their insistence on their interpretations being the only correct ones? Have extremist views contributed to the factionalism and fragmentation of the ummah. ^[3]

The moral question is at the heart of the matter. Fazlur Rahman stated the position precisely. Islam needs: "some first-class minds who can interpret the old in terms of the new as regards substance and turn the new into the service of the old as regards ideals". ^[4] Can the modernists who want modernisation without Westernisation expect to realise their hopes? There is evidence enough in Western society that modernisation, with all its technological developments, has radically changed values by putting traditional attitudes under pressure and then instituting a new ethic.

Untrammelled economic growth and development has resulted in consumerism, institutionalised selfishness, ill-gotten wealth, rising expectations, laxity in sexual behaviours, the dissolution of the family, essentially independent electronic media, the influx of foreigners and foreign values, the materialism of modern science and technology and greater amounts of secularism. ^[5]

Western secular politics is based on the notion that sovereignty belongs to individuals who select their governors through political consensus arrived at during free and regular elections. Islam believes, in theory at least, that sovereignty belongs only to God and that a legitimate temporal government is so only for as long as it implements God's will and the Sacred Laws. Whatever the theory asserts, the reality is that governments have to find the equilibrium that produces social prosperity and harmony under the guiding impulses of a strong moral code. The problem is made more complex when the moral code is itself subject to sectarian divisions: between orthodox and heterodox claims to revelation and legitimacy. We have to return to the questions: whose Islam, what Islam, where and when? It is clear that in states which have declared Islam as the ideology of political order, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, there has been little reduction in domestic conflict or the reduction of conflict with their neighbours, Muslim or otherwise. In these states there is little real evidence of effective redistribution of wealth or substantial economic and social benefits flowing down to the general population. The benefits promised by Islam are not being realised.

In the Muslim communities with an emphasis on the secular ideology of politics, such as Turkey and Egypt, the general welfare is only slightly better, although there appears to be a greater freedom of belief and action. The majority of Muslims live under governments with a qualified acceptance of a secular ideology. These states have taken Western models for modern political and social institutions and have imbued them with a strong Islamic character. ^[6] The problem remains: how does Islam deal with public morality and public order? What institutional frameworks can define, separate, and regulate private vice and public morality? What arguments can be raised in favour of, and against, the devout who insist that there exists already a definitive, well-known and comprehensive path revealed by God? In our reflections on the issues, we must remember to distinguish between the genuinely devout people and those utilising religious symbols to promote their own positions.

Political Islam is under challenge from its own rhetoric and message to be self-critical: to live up to its own standards; to live up to the principles it espouses and demands of others; to avoid and denounce excesses committed by governments and movements that identify themselves as Islamic; to take or share responsibility for the failures of Muslim societies, and not simply to blame the West for all the problems. ^[7] One of the central questions will be the treatment of minorities under Islamic governments, and the behaviour of Muslim minorities in other countries. At present the political ideology of Islam cannot entertain an equal and pluralist society of Muslims and non-Muslims. ^[8] This is not just a matter of tolerance: it entails the recognition in ideal and reality of the unqualified equality and citizenship rights of people of all faiths irrespective of whether they are male or female. The role and influence of political dissent, trade unions, and the media will have to be re-examined along with the social and legal issues. A new equilibrium will have to be reached between the legitimate demands of the individual and the legitimate demands of the society in which he or she lives.

In the same way, Muslim minorities will need to reach a new accommodation with the ruling groups in their countries. Indian Muslims (about one hundred millions, or twelve per cent of the population), and Muslims in the Philippines (about six millions, or eight per cent of the population), will have to control the extremist elements within their communities. The examples of Pakistan and Bangladesh are clear demonstrations that separatism is not a viable option. Religious homogeneity is no more capable of establishing a harmonious society than is the ethnic homogeneity being attempted by the Bosnian Serbs. The spread of Islamic terrorism into the emerging Muslim states in Central Asia, in Africa, as well as the sporadic outbreaks in Western countries, will need to be suppressed. At the same time the legitimate demands of Muslim minorities must be recognised by the governments of their countries. Some fifty million Chinese Muslims cannot be ignored even within a population as large as China's.

In international terms, Islamic states are increasingly significant economically, financially and politically. Across the ummah local interests and national politics appear to be more important than simple identification of interests based on Islamic traditions. The Islamic states antipathetic to the West (Libya, Iran, Iraq, Yemen) are balanced by those which are firmly supportive (Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei). This is not to say that the states with positive relations with the West are not critical of the West. Many of the criticisms of leaders such as Dr Mahathir, Lee Kuan Yew, and Goh Chok Tong (Prime Minister of Singapore), among others, are incisive and go to the heart of many of the problems in the West. 

Despite the overwhelming global influence of Western ideas, the West, of course, is not a monolithic presence. The twentieth century has proved beyond any doubt that the ideals espoused in the West do not prevent hypocritical justifications for untenable attitudes towards the rest of the world, nor do they prevent total war between European nations. 

The West has to understand Islam; not because Islam is the next great threat, but because Islam contains so many ideas and moral values that the West, for all its rampant secularism, still shares. The West must also recognise the diversity of Muslim experiences across the world. Muslim societies do not only suffer from 'Islamic' problems; they suffer the same problems long familiar in the West: political, economic, ecological, social and moral development. As such, these are shared human experiences and the beneficial resolutions: in science, technology, medicine, education should also be shared equitably. If Western nations believe in the value of their defining concepts: individualism, liberalism, constitutionalism, human rights, equality, liberty, the rule of law, democracy, free markets, and the separation of church and state ^[9] then they will have to be shared through sympathetic dialogue, not forced upon others. The idea of contending world views which define the good states from the bad states will have to be scrapped. It has not worked in the West's relationships with China, where the hypocrisy of the West's stance on human rights has been highlighted by the West's attitudes towards Algeria and Bosnia. Western support, especially that by the United States, for the authoritarian regimes in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Pakistan while denigrating other exclusive Islamic authorities in Iran, Syria, Iraq, and the Sudan, does not generate confidence among Muslim societies around the world. Western nations supported the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, yet helped to oppress Palestinians through support for Israel. The continued existence of Israel is not negotiable, but the ways in which Western nations have treated the concerns and sensibilities of the Palestinians have not been sympathetic enough. Neither have the more aggressive Muslim attitudes helped the situation. 

Western attempts to propagate ideas about Western civilisation as 'universal civilisation' have resulted in significant reactions against a new imperialism: 'cultural imperialism', 'human rights imperialism', and so on. The religious revivals and reaffirmations of local, traditional values, among the younger generations in Islamic and Hindu cultures especially, are often reactions against the insidiousness of Western culturual influences. 

Just as Western societies must reassess their ideas about the superiority of their ideals, so too must Muslim societies understand that their traditions need reinterpretation. It is pointless for the ulama to keep on insisting that Islam is not simply a different tradition: it is a superior tradition. In this light Western ideas are not only inferior, they are inapplicable and irrelevant to Islam and Muslim society. ^[10] 

At the level of ideals the arguments depend eventually on the leap of faith: whether divine authority rests in the Torah, the Bible or the Quran. People who accept the superior divinity of only one of these not only have the problem of repudiating other claims, they must also address the people who do not accept the authority of any divine revelation. It is useless to quote the authority of the Quran to people who do not accept it. The arguments have to be conducted on other levels: rational and empirical levels. Here the ideals can be seen to have been debased over the centuries by the practical realities of living. This does not mean that the ideals are worthless, but it does mean that demands for a return to the simplicity of Islamic principles must be tempered by courageous and clear-sighted analysis of the differences between the Quranic ideals and their historical development. 

Islam and the West have much to offer each other. Nothing productive will develop while the dominant attitudes are those of suspicion, bigotry, and fear. Islam once played an essential role in preserving knowledge during the ignorance and barbarism of Europe's 'dark ages'. The rediscovery and refinement of this knowledge helped to set Europe on the road to its modern dominance of science and technology. The grip of worldly and corrupted religious leaders was broken in Europe. At the same time the suppression of ijtihad and rational dissent within Islamic societies by similar sorts of rulers caused the decline of the Islamic world, permitting the Europeans to indulge in imperialism and colonialism from the eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. A sympathetic exchange of knowledge, flowing this time from Western societies to Islamic societies, may well revivify Islam and permit Islamic societies to enjoy a more creative and significant role in the modern world. 

Simple material transfers are not enough. There has to be a reworking of the central ideas in both societies. It may seem an obvious point, but in the bigotry of the religious confrontation it is necessary to emphasise that non-Muslims must recognise as a fact God's revelation of truth to Muhammad. If we can accept our own monotheistic traditions and the role of prophets we must recognise the genuine prophetic claims of others. We can critically examine the traditions but we must do so from recognition and knowledge not from denigration and outright rejection. Islam offers much to Western societies presently dominated by the anarchic demands of rampant 'isms': individualism, materialism, consumerism and secularism.

Islam has preserved the central position of moral values as the defining character of human society. Francis Lamand, President of the French Association 'Islam and the West', considers that:

"Islam can contribute to the rebirth, in the West, of three essential values: the sense of community, in a part of the world that has become too individualistic; the sense of the sacred; and the legal sense. This can be the contribution of Islam to Western societies". ^[11] 

In return the West has to control its arrogance and reassess its stance towards the rest of the world. The notion of there even being a 'rest of the world', from whatever perception, is something we all have to change.

The future technology of computers and its dilemmas.

The computer technology has taken rapid twist and turns, ever since the supercomputers were formatted. The processing speed and the internet speed have also increased tremendously. We have been evolving from the times of the mainframes till the supercomputer today, with fast processors and ever increasing technological advancements. We have variety of processors and various storage capacities for RAM  and ROM. Each user is free to personalize his computer according to his requirement, budget and usage.

Internet is not only a mode of information or an exchange of emails anymore. Video conferencing is not limited to the multinational companies only but any and every one can afford internet now and  we have software available, like Skype for video conferencing and free calls which are used by masses through their personal computers.

In current times,traditional tape/hard drive technology and complicated manual data back-up processes do not stand up to the demands of video surveillance storage. Magnetic tape is sensitive to environmental conditions, highly volatile and is not portable or distributable. Although hard drives are relatively inexpensive to acquire, HD retention capabilities are unreliable, making it a costly archive solution in the long run. For instance, 1TB hard drives are designed to be consistently powered on in order to check and authenticate data. On the other hand, an HD archive sits unpowered on the shelf, without automatic self-correction, video data is susceptible to loss and uncorrectable errors. Compared to these conventional storage mechanisms, Blu-ray technology delivers the longest lifespan, best security and least risky migration capabilities for video media-making it the only fully complaint, true archiving technology and the industry choice in digital storage.

Added to this, nowadays, Nano technology has come in to play. The stress is on the smaller sizes and the most powerful processing. We have laptops, note books, I pads and so on. Now one doesn’t has to sit in front of a heavy duty desktop but  can easily carry his work with him. Portability has become increasingly important.Through nanotechnology, computing devices are becoming progressively smaller and more powerful. Everyday devices with embedded technology and connectivity are becoming a reality. Nanotechnology has led to the creation of increasingly smaller and faster computers that can be embedded into small devices. It is predicted that almost any items such as clothing, tools, appliances, cars, homes, coffee mugs and the human body will be imbedded with chips that will connect the device to an infinite network of other devices.

The future technology will also lead to give rise to different other forms of nana computers which are, electronic Nano computers, chemical and bio chemical, quantum and mechanical Nano computers.

Future computer technology will also help in solving many medical problems such as dyslexia and ADHD by reinterpreting sensory data and modulating brain activity. A whole host of other medical illnesses and conditions will be cured or managed by future software controlling dosages of medicine such as those with diabetes now experience, but the scope of the conditions healed or managed will be much vaster.

The forthcoming of computer technology is  very bright one indeed. The current trends tell us this, as well as the research and development that are happening at lightning pace. The children today will have a whole new technological world waiting for them tomorrow. And tomorrow isn't that far away.

The impact of computers on social sciences

Computer plays a significant role in any filed. In social sciences, it has played a major role. The invention of the modern computer has increased interdisciplinary through the creation of cognitive science, consisting of artificial intelligence, psychology, philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, and neuroscience. Electronic mail and the Internet have made international collaboration easier and faster than ever. Simulation, expert systems, neural networks, and genetic algorithms would be unthinkable without high-speed computers, and so would be statistical analyses of large bodies of data. In these respects, the social sciences today have available a repertoire of powerful new tools and opportunities.

It has indeed changed the social sciences as, now the research workers digitally collect their data and since computer and internet provides a faster medium for the transfer of information and communication among different research departments. Internet provides a fast search engine for collecting information about different topics and fields of social sciences.

The invention of the computer has been described as the third information revolution, after the advent of writing and the printing press. Computerhas transformed  the world of social sciences, in reality and fiction: from online library catalogues and the World Wide Web to the vision of machines that will eventually surpass humans in intelligence.

Social sciences offer courses related computing and these courses are the core courses of any social sciences program. Computers provide social scientist with the technology and information, in order to bring about their work. Students and researchers can conduct surveys and research right off the internet, saving time and energy through open discussion forums and blogs. Now one doesn’t has to read or carry heavy journals but can easily acquire information off the internet websites.

Hence, computer has fundamentally changed the field of social sciences by upgrading, speeding and providing convenience to conduct research and for acquiring knowledge.

: “Fascination with difference”: democratizing anthropology conducting Fieldwork among Equals”

The fifteenth century Persian Sufi poet Jami recited a poem in the praise of an Arab mystic Rabia-the slave girl, whom he relates with the shining of the sun and believes that women like her should not be hidden behind the veils of their own or the society.

In context to the Rabia’s time, it is considered that women in a Muslim world are considered to be veiled and there are a very low percentage of middle class, educated and professional women. It is such a dilemma that Islam is a religion providing equal rights for men and women to acquire education then why do we have such a low percentage of educated women? Why is there an obvious sexism in the field of education? European women are far ahead and independent in comparison to the Muslim women. One support to this fact can be the extremism and the belief that a woman should be behind seven veils and she is suppose to stay at home and to serve,  perform the household chores and to provide pleasure to her man.

Islam is a religion of peace and is same across all the Islamic states and constitutionally declared to be the state religion of Iran and Pakistan. It is a pity how this religion of peace has been stereotyped and considered extremist. Why have the Muslim women been stereotyped to be unprofessional and being judged by the non Muslims in the business world? Certain image of Muslim women has been perceived in the non Muslim world- a veiled and an unprofessional look, however, the reality is opposite. Not all Muslim are unprofessional or hidden behind a veil. However, this image has been further popularized as, the Muslim states likewise Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran etc, have encouraged women to hide behind the veils and have oppressed them and their rights.

Muslim women are highly progressing in all the fields. They are educated, extremely professional and confident. However, the writer brought up the concept of orientalism in the context of women, as the Europeans are the orient lists and they see the Muslim women as the “others” or the orient to be judged. Why are the Muslim women being judged by the formed image of veil and unprofessionalism? They are considered different and arte ranked on the level of their professionalism by the Europeans. A woman doesn’t necessarily have to be educated with a western degree to be categorized as educated or talented.

“Scratching the Surface: Some Notes on Barriers to Women and Loving*”

The old black natives had the policy of “two steps behind her man” for women. Not only women were out casted but repressed as well. However, the black women progressed and the old phenomenon of the sexual relationship power seems to have been lurking behind. Enforced sterilization, unavailable abortions and rape was seen as a tool to oppress women despite opposition they have been coming forward, however, as mentioned by the writer that, if self actualization and self-protective bonding of the black women is seen as a threatening development then how is it not a threat to black men? Men have always tried to overrule the women and have strongly condemned their progress.

This self progressive behavior has further led to the intimate bonding between the black women, in other words termed as lesbianism. These women are politically and emotionally attached and hence, not a threat to the men, but are consider as allies. They consider a straight women and her progress as a potential threat, however, a lesbian is more of an ally as a man could over power a straight women. This raises a question that why such double standard approach? Added to this, even the lesbian women who tried forming intimate connections with non black females were threatened and criticized. Now why were they threatened when they were forming ties outside the black community? Were the men scared to lose their influence on the women? Did they consider the lesbians as ally merely because they stayed within the black bonds?

Meanwhile, black men fantasize the white women and date and even marry them. If a black woman can’t be in a relationship with a white woman let alone a man, why were black men allowed the otherwise? A black lesbian has been attacked by both the heterosexual women and the men. If so, then why the idea of sexual contact between Black men so much more easily accepted or unremarked? This is just pure sexism, where the old policy of “two steps behind her man” has still not been forgotten.

“Sister Outsider-Poetry Is Not a Luxury”

Silence is a language itself. My statement is itself a contradiction however; I have reasoning for my statement which is that silence is lava that boils within the unconscious of a silent person, it is how a person internalizes his thoughts, petrified to divulge them out in open. He neither speaks nor writes about it, scared of what other people might say or think about him/her. He/she considers himself either too inferior or too superior to share his opinions. Thus, the silence becomes a language of expressions, a language that conceals the emotions, boiling and gurgling as lava.

Yet there is poetry, a language of the silence, it demonstrates the emotions, feelings, imaginations and ideas already being thought or felt. Such is the case of the black lesbian woman poet, who has learnt her way to let her emotions out in open, yet in my perspective, she proclaims that poetry is not a luxury, but merely stanzas and lines describing feelings. However, I am unable to understand what she meant by stating the connection of a woman’s feeling with the non-European consciousness of living? European living refers freedom of speech while a black woman has an instinct to hide her feelings or to create a balance between veiling and unveiling.

If poetry is not merely a dream or a vision, yet how is it possible for one to transform what she imagines or what “feels right to her”, since, the poet said that the poetry is not a luxury? How is it the bridge between the said and the unsaid? Feelings come from one’s inner self and thus the poems can be highly opinioned.

Life is a ground of experiments and every day is a new day with new happenings and new things to discover and to learn. Then how is it possible that there are no new ideas and no new pains to discover? How have we hidden the facts in the same place where we have hidden our power? Though, we have poems to which makes the dreams more realizable and provides strength to speak, feel and to dare.

The Field of Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of natural lingo. Precisely, it is a science of languages, or of the implication, foundation and application of words. Linguistics can be applied or theoretical. A person who engages in this study is called a linguist. There are various branches of linguistics which includes; Psycholinguistics, Applied linguistics ,Sociolinguistics, Language acquisition , Neurolinguistics, Linguistic anthropology , Computational linguistics, Generative linguistics, Cognitive linguistics, Descriptive linguistics, Historical linguistics, Comparative linguistics, Etymology, Stylistics Prescription, Biolinguistics, Corpus linguistics and Paralinguistic.

Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of studies that explores, categorizes and proposes solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are linguistics, sociology, psychology, education and anthropology.

Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the statistical and/or rule-based form of natural lingo from a computational standpoint. This representation has not been condensed to any particular linguistics field. Conventionally, computational linguistics was usually performed by computer scientists who had specialized in the application of computers to the processing of a natural language. Computational linguists often work as members of interdisciplinary teams, including, language experts (persons with some level of ability in the languages relevant to a given project), linguists (specifically trained in linguistics) and computer scientists. In broad-spectrum, computational linguistics illustrates upon the contribution of computer scientists, linguists, and experts in artificial intelligence, logicians, mathematicians philosophers, cognitive psychologists, cognitive scientists, anthropologists, psycholinguists and neuroscientists, along with others.

Neurolinguistics is the study of the neural mechanisms in the human brain that control the comprehension, production, and acquisition of language. It portrays methodology and theory from fields such as neuroscience, linguistics, neurobiology, cognitive science, neuropsychology, communication disorders, and computer science. Neurolinguists study the physiological mechanisms by which the brain processes information related to language, and evaluate linguistic and psycholinguistic theories, using brain imaging, electrophysiology, and computer modeling.

Psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language. Psycholinguistics covers the cognitive processes that make it possible to generate a grammatical and meaningful sentence out of vocabulary and grammatical structures, as well as the processes that make it possible to understand utterances, words, text, etc. Developmental psycholinguistics studies children's ability to learn language.

 Neurolinguistics is informed by models in psycholinguistics and theoretical linguistics, and is focused on investigating how the brain can implement the processes that theoretical and psycholinguistics proposes are necessary in producing and comprehending language.

There are several subdivisions within psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics that are based on the components that make up human language. These divisions are Syntax, which in psycholinguistics is the study of the patterns that dictate how words are combined together to form sentences whereas, in Neurolinguistics, it is how the brain extracts speech sounds from an acoustic signal and how the brain separates speech sounds from background noise. Pragmatics is concerned with the role of context in the interpretation of meaning. Semantics deals with the meaning of words and sentences. Morphology in psycholinguistics, deals with the word structures, principally the relationships between related words (such as dog and dogs) and the formation of words based on rules (such as plural formation) while in Neurolinguistics, it is how the brain stores and accesses words that a person knows and finally the Phonetics and phonology are concerned with the study of speech sounds and in psycholinguistics, research focuses on how the brain practice and comprehends these sounds.

Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society. Sociolinguistics differs from sociology of language in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on the language, while the latter's focus is on the language's effect on the society. It also studies how language varieties differ between groups separated by certain social variables, e.g. ethnicity, religion, status, gender, level of education, age, etc., and how creation and adherence to these rules is used to categorize individuals in social or socioeconomic classes

 A very important concept in sociolinguistics is the concept of different language usage in different social classes. This concept includes speech community, prestige, social network and internal vs. external language. A distinction is drawn between I-language (internal language) and E-language (external language). In this context, internal language applies to the study of syntax and semantics in language on the abstract level; as mentally represented knowledge in a native speaker. External language applies to language in social contexts, i.e. behavioral habits shared by a community.  Speech community describes a more or less discrete group of people who use language in a unique and mutually accepted way among themselves.

Prestige implies the negative or the positive connotation given to any language pattern used in a community. Whereas, in a social network, understanding of a language is essential, yet it is determined by the way members interact with each other and this network could be loose or tight depending on the interaction among the community members.

REFERENCES:

http://al.brody.com.ua/Branches%20of%20Linguistics.html

http://englishgarden.nice-forum.com/t4008-linguistics-and-its-branches

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonetics

Interpreter of Maladies- An overview

Jhumpha Lahiri’s novel “The interpreter of Maladies” comprises a collection of nine stories encompassing the emotions, cultural experiences, oriental’s perspective and Indian-European experiences of the different characters settled in either England or America. Each story leads the reader to a mesmerizing tale of emotions and the reader feels himself/herself as a part of the story’s ambience. Be it the heart aching tale of Bibi Haldar and Boori Ma, or the deteriorating marriage of Shobha and Shukumar, each story creates an aura of belonging and a reader can relate himself with the characters.

     Lahiri has used the Indian culture, values and norms and religion as chief themes in each story and the relations and life of the characters revolving around these Indian norms. However, in each story, one observes the deterioration of the cultural values and changes in the relations between the characters due to the changes in the values and the Indian norms.

     There are several instances of the loss of cultural and spiritual values and the emotional loss, due to the worsening of relation between the characters in each of Lahiri’s story. One such instance can be cited form the story “A Temporary Matter”. The story revolves around a couple, Shobha and Shukumar, who had lost interest in their marriage aftermath the still birth of their child, six months ago.

     The once happily married couple now avoided even the mere sight of each other and stayed aloof. Shobha would work for long hours and would extra work home in order to keep herself occupied. The once diligent homemaker, as Lahiri said, who would “prepare for surprises good or bad” now treated her home like a hotel./ She would leave her shoes and books in the kitchen and eat right from a cereal box if Shukumar hadn’t prepare any proper meal.

     On the other hand, Shukumar engrossed himself in reading novels, cooking dinner and resting instead of working on his dissertation. He would often forget to brush his teeth and had moved his work to the nursery; they had decorated for their once impending baby, knowing the Shobha avoided that room. Lahiri has also pointed out that Shukumar and Shobha had adopted a neglectful attitude towards their house and Shukumar consistently utilized the supply of food reserved by Shobha instead of preparing new meals and restoring the food supply. 

      Hence, each had formed a glass wall and created barriers form each other.  Instead of comforting and consoling each other, they both had shunned themselves in their own nutshells. Their marriage was collapsing and the love they once shared had now faded away. They were two different people under one roof, bonded together through a paper of marital contract. They had divided their house into two portions, upper for shukumar and lower for Shobah and ate separately in their portions.

     Moreover, when due to the power outages they were brought closer to each other and shared the secrets that they hadn’t shared before, it was also a game of deception and thus, their relation faced the final blow as, Shobha revealed that she had leased an apartment and was separating from Shukumar and in return, Shukumar revealed the gender of their dead baby, which he had once sworn to keep a secret.

     Similarly, in the story “When Mr. Pirzada came to Dine” the passing of the cultural values can be observed from the fact that though, Mr. Pirzada and Lilia’s family used to dine together and shared the same interest in political matters, had same taste for the meal and spoke a similar language yet, had different nationalities. Thus, Mr. Pirzada used to dine with Lilia’s family and was away from his family, in America, when the war broke out between Pakistan and Bangladesh and he lost all the contact with his family. Lilia grew a sudden interest in the politics of Mr. Pirzada’s homeland, Bangladesh. Lahiri also explains the collapsing of Pakistan as a unit comprising East wing and West wing into Bangladesh and latter Pakistan.

     Mr. Pirzada had seven daughters and since he was unable to meet them, he transferred his fatherly affection towards Lilia and used to bring confections for her on a daily basis. However, soon this practice was stopped as; due to war he became more concerned for his family. Lilia felt close to Mr. Pirzada and concerned for his family. This change of habit caused her to adopt a spiritual practice of praying for the well being of his family after putting each sweet in her mouth every night. However, soon she quitted this practice as; her family received a letter from Mr. Pirzada, explaining that he had happily reunited with his family.

     Furthermore, the story “Interpreter of Maladies” doesn’t only represent the collapse of monuments but also the cultural values and emotions attached to one’s native land. Likewise the Das couple, Mr. Kapasi, the tour guide had lost interest in his marriage. He had failed to accomplish his dream of becoming the international diplomat on the basis of being a linguist and now the only foreign language he could speak was English, which even he feared that his children had a better hold of the language.

     Mr. Das

     Das had a failing relationship among themselves and Mrs. Das portrayed the perfect example of “ugly Americans”. This shows the transfer of western values on her. She was selfish and had lost interest in her once important children and her marriage. She shattered Mr. Kapasi’s dream of companionship with her, out of their lonesome marriages as, she regarded him as a father figure, while he aimed for a romantic companionship. In return, he didn’t help her in interpreting her problem and resolved that it was the guilt, which she suffered from. Moreover, the fact that Bobby was a product of Mrs. Das’s adultery also represented the reason behind their failing marriage and her lost of concentration in her family.

     In “Real Durwan”, Boori Ma’s constant conflict in her seductive and appealing stories of her lost riches and estate represents the disintegration of her past. Nobody was certain whether she told the truth or plainly told tales, yet her sighs demonstrated a great loss in terms of her heritage and her precedent.

     Besides, an aura of materialism, globalization and sense of competition can also be observed in the nature of the inhabitants of the neighborhood, as when Mr. Dalal installed the sink in the building and his financial state improved, other members of the building also started working on the improvisation of building on their parts.

      In the rat race of contest, each forgot the role and importance of Boori Ma’s role as a durwan of the building. She would roam around the streets and one fine day when the sink was stolen from the building, she was hold responsible for the loss and called a “thief”. This shows the loss of her respect and her previously ignored contradicting stories were now held as an evidence that she had the habit to manipulate and could have been the thief. Ironically, new the neighborhood felt the need to hire a “real durwan”, overlooking Boor Ma’s services as a durwan.

     In the story “Sexy”, it is evident that Miranda became inspired with the Indian food and culture. She was interested in seeing Madhuri Dixit’s movie since Dev’s wife resembled her. This represents her concern for the Indian culture as, previously she was untouched by Laximi’s stories of her cousin’s cheating husband.

     However, her affair with Dev finally came to an end, when Rohin called her sexy and explained his interpretation of the word as “loving someone you don’t know”. This collapsed her image of her illicit affair with Dev as; she realized that Dev’s interpretation of the word sexy would have been same. Soon she stopped seeing him and their relationship was terminated.

     Jhumpha Lahiri has frequently symbolized the importance of the Indian culture and the correspondence of Indian women to the values and norms. Throughout the novel, female characters likewise Mala, Laxmi and Mrs. Sen. have portrayed the Indian culture. On the contrary, Shobha and twinkle have demonstrated strong and liberal woman and a loss of cultural values can be seen as, Shobha and Twinkle didn’t dress up in saris, applied vermillion, red dye or haven’t worn bangles.

      Food has also played an important role in each of these stories as, Mrs. Sen. and Mala followed their Indian recipes and even Lilia’s family ate rice and fish. However, Mrs. Sen. was unable to adapt the foreign culture and couldn’t settle on the processed, tinned fish and always demanded fresh sea fish, which her husband couldn’t provide her all the time and she had to compromise.

     Moreover, The narrator in the Third and final continent also had to lose his cultural values by eating banana and cereal instead of a well cooked home food and later when his wife joined him, he was unable to adjust to the aroma of Indian food. Twinkle in this blessed house, also, preferred easy-American food over the Indian food as she considered grinding and peeling g ginger and garlic, a waste of time. Here it is evident that it is the collapse of the cultural values. Besides, she even used vinegar in food which Indian mostly prohibits in their cooking.

     In Mrs. Sen. Lahiri has described the loss of Indian heritage, as Mrs. Sen. far away from her native land, misses the use of the cutting blade with her relatives and also she couldn’t scream according to her will as the neighbors would consider it a disturbance instead of coming for help or sharing grief or happiness. Added to this, later after her accident with Elliot, he was left to stay alone at his each instead of visiting Mrs. Sen.’s and this shows the loss of once important visit at her place and now he was considered capable of taking care of his own self by his mother.

     Even in the story the blessed house, we can observe the loss of spiritual values as Twinkle becomes impressed by the Christians objects around her new house and Sanjeev used to get frustrated and reminded her often the “We aren’t Christians”. Twinkle was so mesmerized by the objects around her house that she considered her house to be blessed and was unable to understand her husband’s frustration. Even Sanjeev seemed confused that whether or not he actually loved Twinkle and his marriage seemed to be on the verge of deterioration. He had lost his reason for loving her and even wondered if he actually meant when he told her that he loved her.

     Nevertheless, in the story the third and the final continent, it is surprising that the narrator couldn’t relate to his cultural norms and not touched by any of his wife’s moves, until Mrs. Croft calls her a perfect lady. He seemed to be regretting his decision of even asking Mala to dress up for a walk as he frowns when she comes out dressed up as “if dressed up for a party”.

     Furthermore, Lahiri has diligently mentioned the emphasis and importance the youth gives to their parents and their experiences. With the passage of time, we have become so materialistic that feelings and emotions don’t matter to us much. As, Mala’s son wasn’t surprised when they told him about the age of Mrs. Croft when she dies, but he was taken aback but the amount of rent that his father had paid her. Moreover, now Mala didn’t cried for her family but for the distance she had from her son.

    Hence, this book, interpreter of maladies has numerous instances of the collapse, deterioration, or passing of once-important cultural, emotional or spiritual values in all of the stories and they are beautifully chalked out by the writer, Jhumpha Lahiri.