Kritvi - TOK Exhibition Commentary

IA prompt:
7. What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge?
Optional Theme:
Religion
One can define knowledge as facts or information provided through education or experience.
Having knowledge enhances our abilities to think diversely and broadens our perspectives.
The implications of not having knowledge can be adverse and lead to further conflicts. The
leading cause of conflicts can be religion and the ideologies people believe in. In this
exhibition, I will be exploring examples of having as well as not having knowledge in our
society and the role of religion in conflicts.
Objects:
Washington Post Article “I think Islam hates us’’: A timeline of Trump’s
comments about Islam and Muslims.
This article on the Washington Post is a timeline of former President Donald Trump’s Twitter
posts relating to Islam. It is a well known fact that he has been voicing his opinions publicly
about his prejudice against this religion and the problems that they cause. He mentions ideas
such as Syrian refugees forming a ‘’secret ISIS army’’ and that Muslims are “sick people.’’
Such statements allows us to presume that he does not have enough knowledge on the
religion and the people of Islam. Religion plays a major role here because 1.1% (3.4 million
people) of the population in America is Muslim. Essentially, hating upon such a large fraction
of your people could be termed as a notion of ignorance.
This article connects to the idea of knowledge as we can see there is a severe lack of
knowledge with one primary implication, conflict. The consequences of the lack of
knowledge could be social, political and economical. If muslims are driven away from a
globalised country such as America, social injustices would be faced and one could even term
it as ‘’social genocide.’’ This idea refers to the wiping out of a religion without violence,
rather than socially misplacing them. There would be an imbalance in the diversification of
the country and political opposition from countries in the Middle East and other Islamic
countries. These oil rich countries have much influence in the stakes of the U.S economy as
well as the global markets. Moreover, such a large population of the country would normally
contribute through employment, labor and consumption of goods and services where the
money spent adds to the general GDP (gross domestic product) of the country, increasing its
economic status in the global market.
As we can see, the lack of knowledge of a religion can lead to numerous consequences that
could topple down such a power playing country and create severe destruction.
2. The Oslo Accords
Are all political decisions made based on the pursuit of knowledge? The second object I have
selected for this exhibition is the Oslo accords, signed in 1993, based on the United Nations
Security Council resolutions aimed at solving the Israel-Palestine religious conflict. Religion
played a major role in social treatment, accessibility to necessities and quality of life for the
citizens of both countries. Because the Israelis were known to be intellects, they were treated
with more respect and given easy access to resources. Arabs however were to live through
harsh living conditions with minimal resources. However, this is incorrect, some of the most
successful and hard working people are followers of Islam, such as, Bella Hadid (model),
Shaquille O’Neal (NBA player), Muhammad Ali (Boxer). However, because of the ill
treatment and outlook on Muslims, Israeli attacks in Palestine killed over 100 lives of
civilians.
I have included this object in my exhibition because I believe that these Accords were a
solution based on well interpreted and diversified knowledge. A gathering like the United
Nations allows a plethora of validated opinions and allows for a conclusive solution.
Although these accords did not solve the Arab-Israeli conflict completely, it brought peace
talks with knowledge from both sides of the conflict to find a favorable solution. It was an
opportunity for both sides of the conflict to bring in equal knowledge and opinions and
ensure that their voice was heard. Because of the equal distribution, a solution was made
possible and about 117 countries ratified the accords. My perspective believes that having
first hand knowledge of the conflict led to a viable solution.
3. The Rohingya Muslims Flag
We’ve discussed the implications of a government with a lack of knowledge. I have included
this object to assess the consequences for the victims at hand. This flag represents a
community known as the Rohingya Muslims. They originated in the Rakhine State of
Myanmar and were driven out in 2012 which began the conflict. Myanmar is officially a
Buddhist country and believes that the presence of any other religion would make their
country impure. And hence these Rohingya Muslim refugees were forced to flee.
These people lived in villages and were barely able to access basic necessities, education was
out of the question. When asked to leave, the Rohingyas had no information on where they
could go or the knowledge to fight back for their rights in their own country. Because of this,
they face hardships. They walked on their bare feet across Myanmar, some up north and some
down south looking for a land welcoming to them. Although many refugees are now in
Bangladesh and India, they were unaware at the time where to go, how to access resources
and if they would even be able to survive.
Because of their religion, Rohinyas were not provided the education and the means to
withstand their conditions. They battled hardships such as abuse and rapes without knowing
that there are international laws against it in the UN charter. As we can see, due to the lack of
knowledge, the journey for the Rohinyas became more and more ugle and difficult to
withstand.
All together, the 3 objects that I have chosen bring out the implications of having or not
having knowledge and show us the importance of having knowledge in today’s world. We
can also see how religion played a role in biasing the knowledge we have today.
References:
1. Jenna Johnson, Abigail Hauslohner. “'I Think Islam Hates Us': A Timeline of Trump's
Comments about Islam and Muslims.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 28 Apr.
2019,
2. “Ingia Kwenye Facebook.” Facebook,
sw-ke.facebook.com/Rohingya-Fun-Club-1859087420855141/photos/?ref=page_inter
nal.
3. Weiner, Jill Allison. “Israel, Palestine, and the Oslo Accords.” Core.ac.uk, 1999,
core.ac.uk/download/pdf/144226408.pdf.
Word Count: 947 words

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IA prompt:

7. What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge?

society and the role of religion in conflicts.

Washington Post Article “I think Islam hates us’’: A timeline of Trump’s

comments about Islam and Muslims.

of your people could be termed as a notion of ignorance.

economic status in the global market.

first hand knowledge of the conflict led to a viable solution.

3. The Rohingya Muslims Flag

and if they would even be able to survive.

2. “Ingia Kwenye Facebook.” Facebook,

Word Count: 947 words

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