Violent Media Culture Spurs Violent Behavior

[Luke_Wilbur]

Hollywood has to take some responsibility for the tragedies that have befallen us. Guns are tools and they are weapons. But, our youth look at them as toys.

 

In my opinion, Congress needs to understand that people of all ages (including myself) want to put aside their worries by parking themselves on the couch, or in front of a desk, or sit in a movie theater to be entertained. I am not against the idea of the individual pursuit of happiness, but what is worrisome is how people become engrossed in virtual exploits. We spend so much money on the drug culture. But, how much is spent understanding the intermixing of international belief systems within video culture?

 

One example comes to mind is Assassin's Creed, a popular video game with children and adults. The kids cannot get enough of it.

 

 

Assassin's Creed virtual world was inspired from the novel Alamut by the Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol. The video game features this novel's famous quote, 'Nothing is true, everything is permitted'. The phrase is taken from the words of Hassan-i Sabbah, the first recorded Mentor of the Assassin (Hashashins) military order of the the Fatimid Empire. Hashashins fought against Sunni Seljuq authority within the Persian territories.

 

All Hashashins were trained in both the art of combat as in the study of religion, believing that they were on a jihad and were religious warriors. Some consider them the Templars of Islam and, as such, also formed an order with varying degrees of initiation.

 

There is much to be learned (albeit all bad) from the founder of the Islamic Fedayeen or Hashshashin. The patriarch of Islamic terrorism was Hasan bin Sabbah, the Sheikh of Alamut. He was known as "The Old Man of the Mountain." In addition to providing a living embodiment of Muhammad's words and deeds, and thus of establishing the modern basis for Islamic terrorism, Hasan is said to have taught the Knight's Templar of Crusades how to be ruthless. His teachings were used by Adam Weishaupt as the basis of Freemasonry, as the basis of Communism, of the religion of man, Secular Humanism, and as the basis of the New World Order's master/slave fascist tyranny. Although few know the Old Man of the Mountain by name, he remains one of the most influential persons of all time.

 

Hasan's most famous quote reads like Allah's Qur'an and Adam Weishaupt's Order of the Illums (the basis for Communism, Socialist Secular Humanism, Freemasonry, the New World Order, and Political Correctness): "Nothing is forbidden. Everything is permitted." Weishaupt paraphrased the line with: "the end justifies the means." Communism, Fascism, Catholicism, and Islam conquer and control using this mantra.

 

http://prophetofdoom...Assassins.Islam

 

 

The Shī‘a Imami Ismā‘īlī Tariqah also referred to as Nizari Ismailism is a branch of Shī‘a Islām. Shī‘a Imami emphasizes social justice, pluralism, and human reason within the framework of the mystical tradition of Islam. The Nizari are the second largest branch of Shia Islam. There are an estimated 15 million Nizari Ismā‘īlīs residing in more than 25 countries.

 

Nizari teachings affirm the Islamic tenet that "there is no god but the One God, and Muhammad is the prophet of God"

 

For Nizari reasoning is arrived at through a dialectic between revelation and human reasoning, based on a synergy of Islamic scripture and classical Greek philosophy, in particular Aristotelean reasoning and Platonic metaphysics. It seeks to extend an understanding of religion and revelation to identify the outwardly apparent (zahir), and also to penetrate to the roots, to retrieve and disclose that which is the inner underlying (batin). This process of discovery engages both the intellect (‘aql) and the spirit (ruh), operating in an integral synergy to illuminate and disclose truths (haqa’iq) culminating in gnosis (ma'rifat).

 

Assassin's Creed takes what is known and creates a world of historical fiction that blends the need to understand the cultural aspects of the era of Hasan bin Sabbah for you Avatar to survive in the game.

 

Ubisoft's vision for Assassin's Creed was to create what was essentially a Hashshashin documentary, not just a standard action-adventure video game. They got all the facts more or less correct (sadly, most Hashshashin recruits that assassinated their targets were captured and executed, which doesn't really work in the context of a video game). However, they needed to complete their vision with a strong gameplay design. Sadly, here is where Ubisoft Montreal failed, even though they actually succeeded in many ways.

 

Ubisoft Montreal basically asked themselves: “what would a real Hashshashin do?” As was true with the game's historical foundations, their gameplay solutions were trying to be as realistic as possible to the source material, to truly put the player into the role of a real Hashshashin during the Third Crusade.

 

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MatthewLoPresti/20101217/6470/Assassins_Creed_The_Failed_Hashshashin_Simulator_and_its_Aftermath.php

 

It would be advised that our government leaders study historic impact of the interactions of the Christian Knights Templar and their Muslim counterparts, the Hashashins. Then measure the affects of video game constructs like Assassin's Creed that reintroduce philosophies like this in a fantasy role playing format in today's society.

 

It is my opinion, Assasin's Creed desensitizes the killing of an individual and gives a moral precept in justifying it. The psychological games like this form of entertainment are very difficult to evaluate without having a consortium historians, ethnographers, psychologist, and socialist working together.

 

If Groups like the NRA really mean what they say. It is time for them to take the lead and start funding the research with definite timelines for the public to view.

[Guest Adnan Darwash]

This is an excellent and highly informative contribution. It reminds of the attempts by some historians and anthropologists to see if there were connections between the Old Chinese, the Indians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Egyptians and the Roman civilizations.

 

Islam is a relatively new religion as Mohamed came some 2600 years after Moses and 600 years after Jesus. Unlike subjects of colonies who followed the religion and habits of the colonizers, the Mogols who destroyed Baghdad and killed its Calif in AD1258, converted into Islam, spread the message of Mohamed to far away places and went to build the most elaborate shrines in Bukhara, Qum, Samarkand and India. This had exposed Islam to local traditions and mysticism; from Nigeria to China.

 

One must not be surprised to see similarities between most religions in the justification of cruelty as a divine practice against the infidels. Finally, for an idea to be followed by people over the years, it needs logical and philosophical basis. In Iraq, the Shiat schools in Najaf continue to follow the Greek system of teaching, where a number of students are taught by one master teaching Logic, Philosophy, Math, Arabic grammar and poetry and Speech. There was a number of secret organizations formed in Iraq which wanted to use the mind (Ala'qil) in the interpretation of the Quran and other historical events. Naturally, they were crushed by those whom we call today as fundamentalists or Salafists.

 

Unfortunately, and despite the presence of 5000 universities and millions of graduates in America, the country may be easily classified as the most violent and the least 'civilized'. Violence and cruelty became an inherent American trait dominating aspects of life and practices from Hollywood, to Wall street passing through the white house.

 

Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times

[Luke_Wilbur]

Thank you for you kind remarks Adnan. I have a theory that the world’s first monotheistic religion, Zoasterism had and still plays a major influence in Sufi, Kabalism, Christian mysticism, and gnostic beliefs. Zoasterism combined with Greek philosophy influenced emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, esoteric organizations, groups, and individuals throughout the globe.

 

 

 

http://www.avesta.org/

 

http://www.fezana.org/

 

http://zarathushtra.org/

 

History gets suppressed by the victors. The destruction of Persepolis by Alexander the Great in 330 BC left little trace of the Achaemenid Empire on the surface. But, through persistent archeology historians piecing together a greater understanding the vastness and influence the Achaemenid civilization impresses on world culture even today.

 

 

If we go back further back in time to 600 BC to the first monarch of the Archaemenid Empire, Cyrus the Great, we see a Persian leader who left a lasting legacy on the Jewish religion due to his Edict of Restoration policy in Babylonia. Cyrus was referred to by the people of the Jewish faith, as "the anointed of the Lord". The monarch's edict allowed Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple.

 

2 Chronicles 36

 

36:22 In the first year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the promise he delivered through Jeremiah, the Lord moved King Cyrus of Persia to issue a written decree throughout his kingdom.

 

36:23 It read: “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: ‘The Lord God of the heavens has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build for him a temple in Jerusalem in Judah. May the Lord your God energize you who belong to his people, so you may be able to go back there!”

 

Ezra 1

 

1:1 The Decree of Cyrus

 

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message spoken through 4 Jeremiah, the Lord stirred the mind of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict the following:

 

1:2 “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia:

 

“‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple 11 for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

 

1:3 Anyone from his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem.

 

1:4 Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

 

 

I wonder what wisdom Cyrus would have shared if he would have witnessed the hostility between the Israeli and Persian people today.

[Guest Thomas]

Zionism is not Judaism. Zionist takes God out of the equation.

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

As Jesus said, ""let he who is without sin, cast the first stone."

 

How many instances has history's leaders used the cloak of religion to undertake schemes of public glory. The public at large is to blame by not paying attention to what psychological imprints are coming from the games they are playing.

 

http://youtu.be/GmENWmgevBg

 

Under Siege (Taht-al-hissar تحت الحصار) is a sequel to the video game Under Ash designed by Radwan Kasmiya. Like Under Ash, it is a first-person shooter, with the option of playing the game as a third-person shooter. The game focuses on the lives of a Palestinian family between 1999 and 2002 during the second Intifada. The player shoots at Israeli Defense Force soldiers throughout most of the game. Shooting at civilians or otherwise hurting them ends the game.

 

The game has been described as a docugame, since all the game levels are based on actual events documented by United Nations records (1978–2004).

 

Under Siege is about the modern history of Palestine and it focuses on the lives of 5 Palestinian family members, during the second Intifada 1999–2002.

• Ahmad, a young man who believes in using armed struggle to solve his people's problems.
  
• Khaled, an ex-freedom fighter who cooperates with Israeli intelligence because he sees no other way of helping to end the conflict.
  
• Mary, Khaled's wife and Ahmed's sister, who is meant to symbolize the plight of Palestinian women.
  
• Mann, a 13 year old boy whose school is frequently closed due to occupation orders.
  
• Abu Himam, an old veteran who reminds his fellows of the importance of the Palestinian national struggle.
  

The game was released in three versions:

 

UnderSiege "path to freedom" 2006 Arabic only.

UnderSiege "remnant of human" 2007 Arabic only.

UnderSiege Golden Edition 2008, English & Arabic.

 

http://www.underash.net/

[Luke_Wilbur]

I am glad to see the Vice President taking the helm of this problem. From what I am reading and hearing there is at least talk about Guns, Money, and Violent Media Culture.

[Guest Mikey]

The way I see it Japan allows the most violent video games and snuff films, but no one is killing each other there. It is all about family values.