Describe the method constitutes an institutional building guarded and always watched by only one guard in a tower place in the center.

Application Paper #2
Panopticon is a theory that was developed by a social theorist and English philosopher called Jeremy Bentham. The method constitutes an institutional building guarded and always watched by only one guard in a tower place in the center. The guard would be able to maintain control over his subjects as they don’t know when they are being watched and therefore they would always have to behave. Religion is an aspect of society in which the model of the panopticon is key.
In some societies religion is what controls it. For instance, although Saudi Arabia ’s legal system is based on the Sharia law or Islamic law which is derived from the Quran and Sunnah ( The traditions of Prophet Mohammad). The book “ Quran” is where god lays down all his laws that men have to follow and then he continues to relay all the punishment one will get if he or she decides to disobey them. This could be seen as a panopticon as it is evident the control that it has over the followers of Islam that is backed by the fear of punishment in life and the afterlife. The laws in the Quran include The laws concerning warfare, robberies, adultery etc. One good example is the command that says “Whoever among you sees a wrongdoing, let him change it with his hand. If he has no enough power to do so, let him (change it) with his tongue. If he has no enough power even to do so, let him (disapprove of it) with his heart; and that is the least degree of faith.” meaning that all should be witnesses to anothers action.
The idea of religion also seems very close to the prisoners in the cells, not knowing if someone is watching them or not, a guard, or in the case of religion God. Muslims that have sinned can be seen as the people that are in the cells, and God is the guard in the central tower, never seen, but requiring a moral discipline from those who choose to believe he is there, watching. The Muslims that have sinned are similar to the persons in the cells because they have both done wrong and are seen as outcasts in their respective communities. They have God or the central guards watching over them and they do not know when they are being watched or not. The prisoners in the cells cannot confirm if the guards are watching them or not so they must assume that they are always being looked at and policed. It is the same with Muslims, as Muslims are taught that God is present and is always watching over them no matter what, however, they ca never confirm this because they never really actually see God looking down at their actions from heavens. This is a very effective method of controlling the actions and behaviors of Muslims. In the Quran it says, “”We verily created man and we know what his soul whispereth to him, and we are nearer to him than his jugular vein.”
. Similarities can also be seen if you take another look on Islam and its aspect of a controlling power. Muslims at times may not realize it, but a big aspect in Islam is controlling the followers and Islam to do the correct behavior that is desired. It is the same in a panoptic society; they use institutions and panoptic jailing systems to control power in society. As said in Panopticism, “Hence the major effect of the Panopticon: to induce in the inmate a state of consciousness and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power. So to arrange things that the surveillance is permanent in its effects even if it is discontinuous in its action; that the perfection of power should tend to render its actual exercise unnecessary; that this architectural apparatus should be a machine for creating and sustaining a power relation independent of the person who exercises it,” (Foucault, 288.) They have a method of correcting the deviant behavior committed by the citizens in society when they are held in cells in the Panopticon style building. The deviants correct their own behavior because they do not know when they are being watched or not so it is not worth it to try to commit bad behavior. Due to this structure, they are always on their best behavior and stop themselves from being deviant. Muslims use a correction method that is similar as well. Once a Muslim is caught committing sin, they are required to do some sort of penance for their sins. The individual that sinned then proceeds to complete the penance because they want to correct their own behavior because they are taught that God is watching them. This goes back to the controlling power because each wants a specific result that they achieve through changing individuals behavior.
Overall, religion is a very good example of using Panopticism in order to keep a group of people in check. Constant oversight by an invisible force encourages the prisoners to behave in fear of punishment. They do not know when or if they are being watched, but that paranoia plays a role in the way that they act, just as it does in religion. Their actions are strongly dependent on their faith/religion, just as the prisoners actions were strongly dependent on the Panopticon.