Problem: He repeatedly calls on his followers to embrace martyrdom since "The walls of oppression and humiliation cannot be demolished except in a rain of bullets." For those yearning for a lost sense of order in an older, more tranquil world, he offers his "Caliphate" as an imagined alternative to today's uncertainty. For others, he offers simplistic conspiracies to explain their world. Bin Laden also relies heavily on the Egyptian writer Sayyid Qutb. A member of the Muslim Brotherhood executed in 1966 on charges of attempting to overthrow the government, Qutb mixed Islamic scholarship with a very superficial acquaintance with Western history and thought. Sent by the Egyptian government to study in the United States in the late 1940s, Qutb returned with an enormous loathing of Western society and history. He dismissed Western achievements as entirely material, arguing that Western society possesses "nothing that will satisfy its own conscience and justify its existence." Three basic themes emerge from Qutb's writings. First, he claimed that the world was beset with barbarism, licentiousness, and unbelief (a condition he called jahiliyya, the religious term for the period of ignorance prior to the revelations given to the Prophet Mohammed). Qutb argued that humans can choose only between Islam and jahiliyya. Second, he warned that more people, including Muslims, were attracted to jahiliyya and its material comforts than to his view of Islam; jahiliyya could therefore triumph over Islam. Third, no middle ground exists in what Qutb conceived as a struggle between God and Satan. All Muslims-as he defined them-therefore must take up arms in this fight. Any Muslim who rejects his ideas is just one more nonbeliever worthy of destruction. Bin Laden shares Qutb's stark view, permitting him and his followers to rationalize even unprovoked mass murder as righteous defense of an embattled faith. Many Americans have wondered, "Why do 'they' hate us?" Some also ask, "What can we do to stop these attacks?" Bin Laden and al Qaeda have given answers to both these questions.

Question: "According to Qutb, what fight must all Muslims engage in?"

Answer: "The fight of Islam against jahiliyya"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes
Answer: yes

Problem: From a human point of view, a habitat is where you live. It might be your city, town, or neighborhood. Your habitat can be altered. Most people move a few times in their lives. But a plant cannot move. An animal may not be suited to live in another area. A habitat is the natural home or environment of an organism. Humans often destroy the habitats of other organisms. The loss of habitat can cause the extinction of species. Extinction is when a species disappears forever. Once a species is extinct, it can never be brought back. Humans cause habitat destruction in many ways. There are two common ways this happens. Land may be cleared. Another way is when an animal or plant is brought to an area where it does not belong.

Question: "Once a species is extinct, can it be brought back?"

Answer: "no, the species is extinct"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes
Answer: yes

Problem: First of America Bank Corp. said it completed its acquisition of Midwest Financial Group Inc. for about $250 million. First of America, which now has 45 banks and $12.5 billion in assets, announced an agreement to acquire the Peoria, Ill., bank holding company in January. Midwest Financial has $2.3 billion in assets and eight banks. The Midwest Financial subsidiary banks will continue to operate under their current names until early 1990, when each will adopt the First of America name. Kalamazoo, Mich.-based First of America said it will eliminate the 13 management positions of the former Midwest Financial parent company. First of America said some of the managers will take other jobs with First of America. But it said that severance payments to those executives not staying with the company will reduce First of America's operating results for 1989 by $3 million to $4 million, or 15 cents to 20 cents a share.

Question: "Where is Midwest Financial Group Located?"

Answer: "The Midwest"

OPTIONS:
- no
- yes
Answer:
no