Abstract
This paper presents an overview of the life of Omar Khayyam, born on 18 May 1048 at Nishapur, the provincial capital of Khurasan. The writer explores all aspects of his amazing life, as painter, mathematician, musician, writer and philosopher. The paper begins with his early life in Persia through to his death in Nishapur on 4th December 1131. The writer believes that Omar Khayyam was an outstanding astronomer and astrologer and his contributions to this field are invaluable still today. The paper includes a number of drawings of the man and examples of his writing.

From the Paper
"Omar Khayyam was well known as a poet, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and physician. His full name was Ghiyath al-Din Abul-Fath Omar ibn Ibrahim Al-Nishapuri al-Khayyami. A literal translation of the name al-Khayyami means "tent maker" which maybe derived from his father's trade or he may have practiced this skill at one time. Khayyam played on the meaning of his own name when he wrote; "Khayyam, who stitched the tents of science, Has fallen in grief's furnace and been suddenly burned, The shears of Fate have cut the tent ropes of his life, And the broker of Hope has sold him for nothing!"."

Tags:algebra, astrologer, astronomer, geometry, mathematician, philosopher, physician, poet, ruba

Abstract
Omar Khayyam's poem, "The Rubaiyat", is a work alive with contrast, conflict, and contradiction. Some of these conflicts are external conflicts, cultural conflicts, physical conflicts, and time. There are also the eternal, internal struggles of sin against holiness, wisdom against lack of knowledge, and faith against unbelief. This paper shows that all of these conflicts show the basic question of the poem: "What is the meaning of life?" Khayyam tries to answer this question many times in the poem. He offers several different answers, many in contradiction of each other. The paper shows that the answer he finally comes up with is one quite against his Muslim faith. It shows that the poem can be seen as an argument between the physical and the spiritual, with the strong, human, physical urges winning out over the weakness of the metaphysical.

From the Paper
"Bringing up Jesus and Moses (as well as David later on) not only brings in organized religion to the piece, but also uses them as references to pre-Islamic religions of the Middle East: Judaism and Christianity. More distinctly pre-Islamic Persian references to Jamyshd (an ancient mythical Persian king and constant presence in the poem) and to Pehlavi (the pre-Islamic Persian language) come up in the fifth and sixth stanzas."

Tags:Persia, Bacchus, Ramadan

Abstract
This paper explains that the mathematical formula known as "Pascal's Triangle" was simultaneously discovered centuries before Pascal by the Chinese and the Persians; it was even mentioned by Omar Khayyam centuries before Pascal. Pascal, however, one of the world's most famous mathematicians, was the first "modern" mathematician to realize the true potential of the formula and apply it. The author points out that Pascal's Triangle contributed to the understanding of probabilities, which led to the development of "average gain" or "probable gain" formulas that are still used extensively in business and industry. The paper relates that there is one problem with Pascal's formula: as the numbers increase, the triangle takes much longer to solve, and the formula becomes ungainly, but mathematicians have learned to cope with the formula and have created alternates that let them work with the numbers more effectively. Formula included.

From the Paper
"The mathematical formula known as "Pascal's Triangle" has long been attributed to the great mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, who lived in France during the 17th century. Pascal only lived to be thirty-nine years old, but during his lifetime, he made significant achievements in mathematics and philosophy, and may be most well known for the mathematical formula of Pascal's Triangle, which he did not invent, but has long received credit for inventing. Pascal was a bright child, who created the first known type of automatic calculator at the age of nineteen, and invented the modern-day barometer before he turned thirty-one."

Tags:probabilities, persians, chinese, formula, problem

Abstract
The paper presents a critical review of "Streets of Glory - Church and Community in Black Neighborhoods" by Omar M. McRoberts, determining the McRoberts' success or failure in accomplishing his stated intent in writing. The paper sites both advantages and disadvantages in regards to this book in particular, and submits comments on the value of developing an understanding of faith-based social services in general.

From the Paper
"McRoberts considers three "ways in which churches were meaningfully different....churches differed in their application of ubiquitous religious ideas, in modes of interaction with the immediate environment and in their approaches to activism, or social change" (2003:59). Differing views of the street include seeing it as an: evil/dangerous place; a recruiting ground, a point of contact with people at risk. Many churches were a combination of these. How churches interpreted "in the world, but not of it" found expression in particularism and exilic consciousness. This often included linking holiness with Southernness and equating life in the North with exile. Church activisms are displayed along a continuum of: serve members more or less exclusively (priestly) -> mixture of members and non members (pastoral) -> mostly nonmembers (prophetic). McRoberts maintains that churches are impacted for change by leadership turnover, congregational growth more than by the "broader political and cultural climate."

Tags:visuals, architectural, photographs, social, services

From the Paper
"For members of marginalized groups, limited access to education and literature compel them to forge fresh relationships to language. Writers from these groups base their work on modes of speech, on communal traditions of oral communication, and, sometimes, on the reimagining of European art forms. But, when they employ the standard framework of novel, chronicle, or autobiography, the standard is transformed. As a group, they (and others like them) are creating a genre, the novela-testimonio, in which the disenfranchised seize the weapons used to oppress them, and turn them on their rulers. That is the case for the following four narratives, which take very different forms: Toni Morrison's Beloved is a novel; Rigoberta Menchu's life story. I, Rigoberta Menchu, was compiled from a series of interviews; Omar Cabezas wrote his autobiography in Fire from the ..."

Abstract
This paper compares the texts of Mawardi and Nizam Al-Mulk and analyzes their contributions to Islamic culture. In addition, the times and the lives of these two great thinkers and the social ambiance that shaped their psyche are examined.

From the Paper
"Al-Mulk drew up a set of protocols for the governance of the empire called the Siyasat Nameh, the two most influential institutions of which were the offices of atabeg, and the right of iqta. Atabegs were military advisers to young princes who frequently ended up usurping the power entrusted to them, while iqta was a grant of the income from land to an official who was entrusted with its running. In theory no ownership in the land passed but in practice large hereditary estates developed. Both these institutions led to a massive decentralization of power and this in turn facilitated and prolonged the factional fighting which characterized the Seljuk period of power."

Tags:Islam, Mideast, great, thinkers, politics, religion, Omar, Khayyam, Assassins, Caliph

Abstract
The paper presents a brief history of intrusions into Afghanistan and focuses on the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan in 1979 and the eventual rise of the Taliban. The paper explores the Taliban and its leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, and then shows how the concept of classical realism applies to Afghanistan vis-a-vis the U.S. interests involved. The paper argues that the U.S. cannot win the war in Afghanistan because there are simply too many young Muslim men around the world who despise America, who train on the Pakistani-Afghan border areas, and are easily radicalized and brought in as suicide bombers or fighters with no fear of death. The paper predicts that American public opinion will eventually grow weary of another endless war and President Obama will see the futility of the U.S. engagement in Afghanistan.

Outline:
Introduction / Thesis
Brief History of Unwelcome Intrusions Into Afghanistan
Explanation of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
Rise of the Taliban - Who are the Taliban?
Theoretical Construct
Conclusion

From the Paper
"According to Seddon, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was worried about the U.S. support for the mujahideen so he sent in Soviet troops and MI-24 helicopter gunships and captured Kabul in December 1979. In response to the Soviet invasion, Islamic rebel forces - the U.S. referred to them as "freedom fighters" - came from other countries to join in the insurgency against the PDPA (Seddon, p. 190). Money and military supplies to support the freedom fighters came from Iran, China, the U.S., Pakistan and other gulf states; interestingly Osama bin Laden was among the Islamic volunteer fighters that eventually pushed the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan (Seddon, p. 191)."

Tags:Taliban, Omar, Islam, classical, realism, terrorism, mujahideen, Pakistan

Abstract
The paper outlines how a recent editorial in USA Today discusses how the ongoing genocide of African refugees in Sudan is being allowed to continue because of the complicity of the nation's president, Omar al-Bashir. The paper relates that this lively editorial concludes that the United States has been planning to take action against the Arab janjaweed militias who are carrying out the atrocities. However, the paper discusses how no concrete American action has yet been taken, resulting in the free movement of the brutal militias, the displacement of millions of black Africans, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands.

From the Paper
"A recent editorial in USA Today discusses how the ongoing genocide of African refugees in Sudan is being allowed to continue because of the complicity of the nation's president, Omar al-Bashir. This lively editorial concludes that the United States has been planning to take action against the Arab janjaweed militias who are carrying out the atrocities. However, no concrete American action has yet been taken, resulting in the free movement of the brutal militias, the displacement of millions of black Africans, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Back in 2004, the Republican Administration spearheaded a fruitless..."

Tags:issues, discussion, darfur

Abstract
The paper highlights the insurgence of terrorism and the resultant fears expressed by peoples throughout the world. The paper discusses the characteristics of the leading terrorist organizations and the background of its leaders in an attempt to explain the thinking behind the terrorist psychology.

Outline:
Hamas
Hizballah
Al Quaida
LTTE
Hizb ul-Mujahideen
Terrorists Profile
Usama Bin Laden
Velupillai Prabhakaran
Shoko Asahara
Mullah Mohammed Omar
Ahmed Ramzi Yousef

From the Paper
"Terrorism has expanded into every nook and corner of the world today. A terrorist today, does not appear with a distinctive personality but rather blends with the society leaving security experts with little clue. While organized crimes are mostly economically motivated, terrorism is on an entirely different footing. Religious and cultural fanatism are the main motivational factors for terrorist outfits. [Frank Bovenkerk] Terror networks are in operation with the groups globalized and operating from diverse bases. Because of this, it is not possible for law enforcement officers to operate with existing tools for local crimes. Terrorism management wings need international cooperation and a transparent relationship with their counterparts from other nations."

Tags:psychological, hardlined, politically, moderate, kidnapping