49. The similar characteristics of East Asian regions.

East Asia, in general terms, consists of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, South Korea and North Korea; sometimes, Mongoliaand Vietnam are included in the definition. The major ethnicities of East Asia are: Han, Yamato, and Korean. Other ethnic groups of East Asia include: Tibetan, Uyghur, Kazakh, Manchu, and Mongol. Geographically East Asians farther north would also include groups such as the Buryats, Evenks, Yakuts, but due to the national and political dividing lines, the inclusion of East Asians north of China and Mongolia is not considered.

Mainly, the language families or isolates of East Asia are: Sinitic, Tibeto-Burman, Japonic, Ainu languages, the Korean language,Mongolic, Tungusic, Turkic, Miao–Yao, Tai–Kadai and Mon–Khmer;

The dominant influence historically has been China, whose area of cultural influence is generally known as the Sinosphere. Evidence of this can be seen in the cuisine, architecture, and lexicons, for example, throughout the region; in modern times, however, cultural exchange has flowed more bi-directionally. Major characteristics of this region include shared Chinese-derived language characteristics, as well as similar social and moral philosophies derived from Confucianism.

The script of the Han Chinese has long been a unifying feature in East Asia as the vehicle for Chinese culture. It was passed on first toKorea, Vietnam in the 1st century, then to Japan, where it forms a major component of the Japanese writing system. In Korea, however,Sejong the Great invented the hangul alphabet as a simpler alternative to Chinese characters (hanja), which it has largely supplanted as the main orthographic system for the Korean language. A similar phenomenon occurred in Vietnam, where the Chinese-based Chữ nômscript once used to write the Vietnamese language has been gradually superseded by the Latin-based Vietnamese alphabet since the area's absorption into the French colonial empire. In Japan, much of the Japanese language is written in hiragana, katakana in addition to Chinese characters. East Asian countries, in particular China and Japan, an individual's educational level is traditionally measured by their quality of calligraphy] and the number of characters within their vocabulary rather than diction, as is sometimes the case inthe West.

Japan, Korea and Vietnam, though not Chinese-speaking regions, have had their languages influenced by Chinese to some extent.[ Even though their writing systems have changed over time, Chinese is still found in the historical roots of many borrowed words, especially technical terms

Apart from the unifying influence of Confucianism, Buddhism, Chinese characters, and other Chinese cultural influences, there is nevertheless much diversity between the countries of the region

50. Islamic regimes and the rise of Islam as a political force

The basis of Islamic government is exclusive adherence to Sharia, or Islamic law. Those holding government posts should have knowledge of Sharia (Islamic jurists are such people), and the country's ruler should be a faqih  who "surpasses all others in knowledge" of Islamic law and justice (p. 59) -- known as a marja`—as well as having intelligence and administrative ability.

And while this faqih rules, it might be said that the ruler is actually sharia law itself because, "the law of Islam, divine command, has absolute authority over all individuals and the Islamic government. Everyone, including the Most Noble Messenger [Prophet Muhammad] and his successors, is subject to law and will remain so for all eternity ... " 

"The governance of the faqih" is equivalent to "the appointment of a guardian for a minor." Just as God established the Prophet Mohammad as the "leader and ruler" of early Muslims, "making obedience to him obligatory, so, too, the fuqaha(plural of faqih) must be leaders and rulers" over Muslims today. (p. 63) While the "spiritual virtues" and "status" of the Prophet and the Imams are greater than those of contemporary faqih, their power is not, because this virtue "does not confer increased governmental powers".

Islamic government is constitutional, but "not constitutional in the current sense of word, i.e., based on the approval of laws in accordance with the opinion of the majority." Instead of the customary executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, "in an Islamic government, a simple planning body takes the place of the legislative assembly that is one of the three branches of government"—a legislature being unnecessary because "no one has the right to legislate ... except ... the Divine Legislator" 

Islamic government raises revenue "on the basis of the taxes that Islam has established - khums, zakat ... jizya, and kharaj."  This will be plenty because "khums is a huge source of income" (p. 44-5)

Islamic Government will be just but it will also be unsparing with "troublesome" groups that cause "corruption in Muslim society," and damage "Islam and the Islamic state." In this regard it will follow the example of the Prophet Muhammad who eliminated the tribe heads of Bani Qurayza, (p. 89) after their murderous treachery.

Islamic government will follow the unflinching courage and rectitude of Imam ‘Ali. His seat of command was simply the corner of a mosque (p. 86); he threatened to have the hand of his daughter cut off if she did not pay back a loan from the treasury (p. 130); and he "lived more frugally than the most impoverished of our students." (p. 57) Islamic government will follow the "victorious and triumphant" armies of early Muslims who set "out from the mosque to go into battle" and "fear only God,"  and follow the Quranic command "Prepare against them whatever force you can muster and horses tethered" (8:60). In fact, "if the form of government willed by Islam were to come into being, none of the governments now existing in the world would be able to resist it; they would all capitulate".

Islam, like any great religion, is a broad tent. Within it, Islamism—the belief that politics is and must be an extension of the faith—comes in many colours, from the black of al-Qaeda to the dark green of Saudi-style Wahhabism to the palest of modernising shades. In whatever dose, the mixing of religion with politics implicitly involves the right to interpret and to impose the will of God. Many Arabs, and not just the avowedly secular, are uncomfortable with this and resent such powers of enforcement. Perhaps that is why, amid the seemingly inexorable rise of Islam as a political rallying force and amid increasingly strident assertions of sectarian identity, doubts are also growing.