MERCY (RAHMAH) AS THE PRELUDE TO ISLAM

Mercy is central to the very identity of Islam, yet this is not often recognized by theologians and scholars. This paper will demonstrate that the idea of mercy is important as a prelude to the understanding of Islam and an interpretation of its teachings. This important role of mercy is evident in Islam's primary sources – the Quran and the Sunnah – and is not contingent on political, social, or historical contexts. It is well recognized that the proper comprehension of Islam hinges on grasping the attributes of God, his divine message, and the character of his messenger. But what is often overlooked is that these aspects are fundamentally rooted in mercy. Islam encourages its followers to cultivate merciful virtues. It emphasizes that the compassionate nature of the faith should always precede the understanding and interpretation of its teachings. As a result, Muslims are encouraged to nurture a compassionate self, foster a benevolent mindset and approach, and anchor their religious obedience in the spirit of mercy. While followers of Islam are responsible for upholding this ethos, external observers too should try to view the religion fairly based upon this recognition of the centrality of mercy

A THOMSONIAN ARGUMENT AGAINST MEDICAL MANDATES

This paper explores the parallel between Judith Jarvis Thomson's argument for abortion rights based on bodily autonomy and the contentious issue of vaccine refusal. Drawing on Thomson's famous thought experiment involving a violinist, I present analogous scenarios involving medical decisions. I argue that if Thomson's reasoning holds, individuals also possess the right to refuse vaccines, even if it entails serious risk to others. The paper underscores the importance of recognizing that medical decisions, including vaccine refusal, should be evaluated within the framework of bodily autonomy and individual rights, challenging the prevailing opinion on this complex issue

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Enhancing Spectator Engagement in E-sports Events

This study investigates and measures factors related to the involvement of spectators in e-sports events using a Structural Equation Model (SEM) coupled with a Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA). The researchers conducted the study within a framework of push and pull factors. The findings indicate that both push and pull factors impact commitment, and that commitment has an impact on engagement. The practical implication of this is that management should emphasize pull factors, such as improving the quality of events, strategies for enhancing event attractiveness at the community level, managing event rewards, considering pricing strategies, utilizing promotions, and selecting suitable venues. Regarding the theoretical implications, the significance of three factors, push, pull, and commitment, are underscored as necessary conditions for engagement in this context. This research provides valuable in-depth insights for e-sports event managers to develop strategies which increase interest and participation among spectators, thereby enhancing the overall experience and growth of the industry

Posthumanist Reflections in J.M Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999) and Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2001): Alternative Environmental Ethics of South Africa and Japan

This paper aims to investigate the ways in which notions of posthumanism are portrayed and sustained in the post-apartheid South African literature, Disgrace (1999) by J.M. Coetzee and the Japanese animation, Spirited Away (2001) by Hayao Miyazaki, reflecting on alternative environmental ethics. Posthumanism aims for propelling future sustainability by considering what concepts of humanism did to the world, structurally and discursively. Transgressing the binaries of nature and culture, human and non-human, animated and inanimated, posthumanism accredits the archipelic performances beyond modes of positioned identities and their modes of othering. However, as its current main concentration is still on Western countries, its frameworks and outcomes are constrained within Western narrations, ideologies and contexts. This paper, therefore, attempts to transgress this corpus and its epistemologies by looking at two narrations from South Africa and Japan. As a result, the paper attempts to further develop the framework of posthumanism by extending its foci onto Japanese and South African contexts

DYING WITH DIGNITY AND THE ARGUMENT FROM CONSCIENCE

This paper examines some of the arguments in favor of and against “mercy killing”. Euthanasia is defined as the voluntary or involuntary killing of a terminally ill human being suffering from unbearable pain and intolerable suffering. Literally, euthanasia means “good death” or “dying with dignity.” But the argument for mercy killing hides under the ill motive of emancipating oneself the burden of having to bear a life that appears meaningless. This inquiry argues that such a position is morally unacceptable since it violates life itself. But the reason this paper puts forward is not based on the stewardship argument, one that says life is sacred. The stewardship argument is weak compared to the “right to die” advanced by liberal philosophers. As an alternative, the “argument from conscience”, which puts emphasis on recognizing the moral mistake of reducing the value of human life into something that is instrumentalist, is proposed. James Rachels’s utilitarian argument for mercy killing seeks to diminish the suffering in the world. But what it hides is that it actually mistreats human life as something that is quantifiable. The argument from conscience is a humanist position that is grounded in the love and attention for the dying

The Convergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic and EFL Writing Pedagogy: The Paradigm Shift

In the academic context in the COVID-19 era, learning, once traditionally taking place in the classroom, has been changed to be driven online. This happens in all fields of study, including the writing pedagogy. Even in the post-pandemic, its influence can still be witnessed in forms of online or digital learning via various communication platforms such as ZOOM or Webex Meetings. However, though this phenomenon sparks a surprising educational transformation as being discussed in diverse articles across different disciplines, its silver linings, positively affecting writing pedagogy, specifically in the EFL writing instruction context, can be recognized though they come with great challenges as being reviewed. To be aware of these issues, this academic article aims to raise this topic as a paradigm shift of EFL writing pedagogy, particularly in higher education by virtue of the COVID-19 pandemic. In so doing, the novel EFL writing pedagogy frameworks, its new feedback regime, and its triangular dimensions are introduced and discussed for long-term practical pedagogical implications, especially after the pandemic legend in the digital era

JESUS’ PRINCIPLES FOR PEACEBUILDING

This study explores Jesus’ ideas about peacebuilding in their historical context. The study considers Jesus’ teaching within the context of the conflict of first-century Palestine at its center. Jesus conceptualizes peace in the context of the kingdom of God and prioritizes peace over justice. The principles for Jesus’ strategy for peacebuilding are motivated by compassion, love, identity, forgiveness, and peace itself as a superior reality. The practical implications of these include reset of conflict realities, recognition of ambivalence of conflict and peace, building a culture of peace in the presence of conflict, reconciliation, repentance, and forgiveness, and human free will. The study identifies four conflict barriers that contribute to present-day conflict perpetuation: a destructive emotional orientation, a compromised vision for peace, compromised pragmatic ethics, and an ethnocentric view of peace

Exploring the Effect of Flipped Classroom on Translation, Storytelling, and Knowledge of Culture

Flipped classroom has been a recurring topic of many educational research. Only a few studies investigated the ramifications of flipped classroom for teaching several subjects in high school. This research set out to find answers to two research objectives, namely : (1) whether there is any difference between the ability of the learners before the flipped learning and after the flipped learning in translation, storytelling, and knowledge of local culture; (2) whether there is any difference between the ability of the learners who learn the three skills only from their teacher (the control group) and the ability of the learners who learn from videos and then receive extra teaching from their teacher and the ability of the learners who learn from videos only without any extra guidance from their teacher. Results showed that two of the groups, the one taught directly by the teacher and the one learning directly from the videos at homes, made gains only in translation. The control group outperformed the other two groups in translation and knowledge of local culture. Some possible causes of the results include lack of students’ and teachers’ preparedness, teaching qualities, immersion to their own culture, and some demographic factors