World History And Islamic Culture Essay, Research Paper

.The study of world history is very important to us as Americans because it is helps us understand who we are and what helped us to get where we are. Also it helps us understand who we are as a culture and where we come from. Many people are different and share their different point of views. People have different religions and different ways of living. With the different ways of living and different religions there is a lot of racism and ethnic violence in America today. I feel this a very important issue in the world today because we as Americans need to tie together and become as a team.

While I take this course I hope to learn more about the different cultures and where they were originated from. If I learn where different cultures originated from and how they live their everyday life this can help me learn on how their life is lived and give me a vision of what their lives are really like. For example the people in Somalia are starving for food and will work all day for a simple meal, while most Americans eat food as if it was an everyday thing.

As you can see all people have something a little different in them. I think it’s very important for people to know their own roots. It is also important for us to learn about our government as well as other countries. This is another important thing that I would like to learn and understand by taking this class. We must learn about the leaders of different countries because many leaders from the past have taken a significant influence on our world’s history. The biggest leader who sticks out in my head is Hitler who lead Germany to believe in the Aryan race. This lead to many deaths of Jewish people at concentration camps. If we would have learned more abut Hitler and his views we might have been able to sway him from his ways, or maybe even taken him out before the large death tolls of Jewish people at the concentration camps. We must learn these government believes and know its powers. Government is a main way of communicating with other countries. In order to keep it this way we must keep accepting some of the things they do.

Your religion is one of the most important thing in one’s life that can separate one person from another. The differences can cause major conflicts and can lead to a Holy War. This is why today in America they call it the “melting pot” of cultures and religions. Many people from all over the globe migrate to America to express their religion and cultural backgrounds. This is one of the biggest reasons of how racism comes into factor. As you can see I feel it is very important for Americans to learn about other cultures and other backgrounds so we can know how different people are and we can adjust to other peoples beliefs. This can help cut down on racism in the world but it will take more than this to get rid of the people who are ethnocentric.

Another important factor in our nation is our economy which depends upon the world’s demand for goods and resources. In understanding world history we can get to know our consumers better, and in doing that it creates a much bigger market for our goods. In return it benefits us by creating more jobs and capital in the United States. Every day Americans consume millions of dollars in imports. Whether it is the oil in your car or the leather coat you are wearing. We depend on other nations just as they depend on us. It is safe to say that the United States is the richest country in the world. This can make us o

One of the most important things in world history is the Bill of Rights. This has changed everybody’s life since it has been applied. Without the Bill of Rights, Americans will not be governed by laws and we would not have the rights we have today. The Amendments help protect the people and give them the rights they need to feel like they are American citizen. Amendments also help people from incriminating themselves. It makes it possible to protect yourself by keeping a gun in your house. It gives us freedom of speech which is a very important thing to have because you are allowed to say whatever you want; without freedom of speech you would not be able to stick up for yourself and say what you think is right. If Americans didn’t have the amendments the world would be a very curupt place to live in.

I am very happy to be an American citizen, and feel it is one of the most important things to me. I learned how lucky I am from viewing other countries and comparing what my rights and living style in America. The study of world history is very important to us as Americans because it is helps us understand who we are and what helped us to get where we are. Also it helps us understand who we are as a culture and where we come from. Many people are different and share their different point of views. People have different religions and different ways of living. With the different ways of living and different religions there is a lot of racism and ethnic violence in America today. I feel this a very important issue in the world today because we as Americans need to tie together and become as a team.

While I take this course I hope to learn more about the different cultures and where they were originated from. If I learn where different cultures originated from and how they live their everyday life this can help me learn on how their life is lived and give me a vision of what their lives are really like. For example the people in Somalia are starving for food and will work all day for a simple meal, while most Americans eat food as if it was an everyday thing.

As you can see all people have something a little different in them. I think it’s very important for people to know their own roots. It is also important for us to learn about our government as well as other countries. This is another important thing that I would like to learn and understand by taking this class. We must learn about the leaders of different countries because many leaders from the past have taken a significant influence on our world’s history. The biggest leader who sticks out in my head is Hitler who lead Germany to believe in the Aryan race. This lead to many deaths of Jewish people at concentration camps. If we would have learned more abut Hitler and his views we might have been able to sway him from his ways, or maybe even taken him out before the large death tolls of Jewish people at the concentration camps. We must learn these government believes and know its powers. Government is a main way of communicating with other countries. In order to keep it this way we must keep accepting some of the things they do.

Your religion is one of the most important thing in one’s life that can separate one person from another. The differences can cause major conflicts and can lead to a Holy War. This is why today in America they call it the “melting pot” of cultures and religions. Many people from all over the globe migrate to America to express their religion and cultural backgrounds. This is one of the biggest reasons of how racism comes into factor. As you can see I feel it is very important for Americans to learn about other cultures and other backgrounds so we can know how different people are and we can adjust to other peoples beliefs. This can help cut down on racism in the world but it will take more than this to get rid of the people who are ethnocentric.

Another important factor in our nation is our economy which depends upon the world’s demand for goods and resources. In understanding world history we can get to know our consumers better, and in doing that it creates a much bigger market for our goods. In return it benefits us by creating more jobs and capital in the United States. Every day Americans consume millions of dollars in imports. Whether it is the oil in your car or the leather coat you are wearing. We depend on other nations just as they depend on us.

One of the most important things in world history is the Bill of Rights. This has changed everybody’s life since it has been applied. Without the Bill of Rights, Americans will not be governed by laws and we would not have the rights we have today. The Amendments help protect the people and give them the rights they need to feel like they are American citizen. Amendments also help people from incriminating themselves. It makes it possible to protect yourself by keeping a gun in your house. It gives us freedom of speech which is a very important thing to have because you are allowed to say whatever you want; without freedom of speech you would not be able to stick up for yourself and say what you think is right. If Americans didn’t have the amendments the world would be a very curupt place to live in.

I am very happy to be an American citizen, and feel it is one of the most

important things to me. I learned how lucky I am from viewing other countries and

comparing what my rights and living style in America.

2. Islam has, throughout the centuries, been somewhat a victim of

circumstance – indeed it has been perceived by many as oppressive and

cruel. This belief originated over a thousand years ago, when Islamic

peoples first threatened the western world. As they slowly undermined

Byzantine authority, Christians became terrified of their presence,

resulting in widespread animosity. Hindus and Buddhists

of the South Asian subcontinent lived under Islamic law for hundreds

of years and eventually, in the twentieth century, split the region into angry factions Mohamm ed, the prophet of Islam, was a great warrior. This invariably

[=lead defeated peoples to believe that he begot a cult of war and

violence. Over the centuries, it also has developed the ability to

instill a sense of holy purpose onto its believers and soldiers, where

they go into a battle of certain death for their faith in the jihad,

or holy war. Even today, the jihad is still a potent source of

conflict and aversion, as the many of the problems in the Middle East

center around the issue of Islamic Fundamentalism and the jihads.

Originally, Islam was perceived by western historians as a religion of

violence and conquest; "by preying on the caravans of the Quraish,

[Mohammed] weakened them to the point of submission (Mohammed and

Islam, 1).” In fact, Mohammed was a warrior, aristocrat, and

brilliant strategist – a stark contrast to many other holy men of

history. He was forced to both defend his cities and force

submission, as the passage had shown, because of the strong military

powers of his religious predecessors and oppressors, the pagans of the

Middle East. Islam means “submission” according to the Islam

discussion in class – and one might assume that the submission was

attained through military and forceful means. In fact, while Mohammed

preached peace from 610 to 622 AD, he attracted few converts and was

persecuted by the current ruling paganistic regime. After the visions

of 622 AD, he realized that his cause was even more urgent than

before, and only at that point did he begin to utilize his military

skills (Class Discussion). However, despite the more violent nature

that his quest took, even after the revelations by Gabriel in 622 AD,

“by reciting his revelations aloud, Mohammed made many converts,

(Mohammed and Islam,1).” Mohammed was not a purely violent man, but

also a great speaker and demagogue (Mueller, 2). He did not solely

attack the pagans of the Middle East, he also attracted a great deal

of converts by the truths he spoke. “If he could be ruthless, he was

more often gentle, kind, generous, magnanimous. He could be

Christ-like in his sympathy for the poor (Mueller,2 ).” Another

non-violent way of spreading Islamic culture was through the merchant

system which developed around its new centers of trade and culture in

both Mecca and Medina (Ahmad, et. al., 572). People from all around

the region would come to those cities to trade, and were attracted by

the religion. As Islam developed and spread rapidly, its control

quickly began to encroach on Byzantine territory where it found

diverse groups of people, who resented the foreign control of the

flailing western power. The people viewed the Middle Eastern Islamic

conquerors as liberators from the oppressive Byzantine Empire, and

welcomed both Islamic soldiers and religion. In addition to other

non-violent means of conquest, when Muslims actually did militarily

gain territory, they allowed other religions to grow around them.

They did not force conversion by slaughter in the name of Allah, as

Christians often did. The Muslims were tolerant of both foreign

religions, peoples, and traders. They welcomed Far Eastern merchants

into their territory. In India, while they did militarily gain

control of the South Asian subcontinent, they never forced conversion,

nor did they enter the territory with a religious intent. Indeed, the

reason that the Hindu and Muslim clashes arose was based on religious

differences, which were largely initiated by the Hindus, who viewed

their conquerors as heretics – not the opposite (Ahmad, et. al., 186).

In fact, that page of the text also notes that the first Delhi

sultans set up hundreds of schools, hospitals, and other public

establishments. The Koran was very tolerant, accepted many beliefs,

and was another basis for the peaceful spread of Islam. The Koran,

according to “The Koran” article and class discussions, appealed to

the impoverished and the destitute – people from all walks of life

could embrace the Koran, because it was targeted at them, not at the

government-ranking aristocrats that most other religions were centered

around, as those religions had been created for the purpose of social

control, rather than deep spiritual convictions or for spiritual

well-being. The Muslim needs no priest nor intermediary to pray to

Allah – the only spiritual transmitter to god he needs is prayer –

Islam does not even require a mosque or temple for litany. The actual

religion of Islam preaches decidedly against violence and speaks out

against aggression. “The concept of jihad refers to? inner spiritual

struggle of Muslims for self control in order to do good (Sudo, 5).”

Actually, the average Muslim is not violent, nor is he driven by any

form of holy conquest. Islam has been unfairly depicted as a religion

spread through Jihad and the lure of riches and conquest. But Islam,

the most unlikely of candidates, has been, throughout the centuries, a

relatively tolerant religion. It has never believed in any form of

religious genocide, nor had any inquisitions or messianic crusades, as

religions of many other parts of the world did. In fact Akbar I of

1556-1605 AD, the third ruler of the Mughal Empire, took the ultimate

steps toward tolerance, by marring a Hindu princess, and allowing

Hindus a strong role in the government (Ahmad, et. al., 187). The

wars that Islam fought have been rather secular, despite the fact that

their government often was not. However, the same cannot be said of

Christian, Hindu, and Aztec government, all which had strong ties to

both violence and conquest, and indeed, while often are characterized

as non-violent forms of religion (with perhaps the exception of

Aztec), are equally as violent as Islam, if not more so.

Perhaps the religion which has perhaps shaped the world, for

better or worse, more than any other religion, has been Christianity.

This is not to deny the roles of the vast numbers of religions in

many parts of the world, nor which is to say that Christianity has

been particularly unique. Despite the fact that the Western world

likes to set European man and Christians apart from the rest of the

world, their connection to imperialism, mercantilism, and social

conquest is undeniably real. While Islam is seen by many as a violent

religion because of its origins and the popularization of the term

‘jihad,’ they have never had far-reaching imperialistic goals, nor

have they preceded their soldiers with missionaries. Christians,

however, as we have studied, were instrumental in the undoing of

Africa, and in fact the seeds that the pious missionaries of Europe

planted into African society eventually lead to the destabilization of

centuries of culture and hierarchy. The missionaries poured into

Africa, only to be followed by soldiers and company men – it was the

foothold of the missionaries that allowed Europeans to eventually

dominate the continent All of which was done in the name of “saving

enlightening the heathens.” Christianity is certainly not without its

bloody conquest, as the most blatant example is that of the Crusades,

which were, to Christians of the middle ages, the very symbol of their

faith. The Christians ventured towards the holy land with the sole

purpose of killing the ‘infidels’ and ridding the holy land of all

Islamic influence, bringing it back into the light of Christianity.

However, the Muslims in the holy land provided important technology

for the Christians. In all truths, Christianity was spread to Latin

America in a most brutal fashion. The Spaniards murdered millions of

Indians, and wiped out civilizations of peoples not for the purpose of

not only religion, but gold! The primary reason that Christianity

remains the ubiquitous religion in Latin America is because the

Spaniards forced conversion of their Indian slaves – something that

Islamic conquerors rarely did. In fact they charged a tax on their

non-Muslim subjects, which eventually lead to conversion by choice

rather than by force. Christians in the Americas came to dominate the

continent by using their superior technology to forcefully overwhelm,

enslave, or force conversion on inhabitants, in contrast to the

Islamic people, who attracted converts from an economic standpoint,

but also came to absorb many conquered peoples, as evident in the

cultural blending of South Asia, which eventually fell apart for

secular reasons (Ahmad, et. al., 186). Spaniards burned books,

temples, and sculptures, and quelled all rebellion by the once mighty

Americans (Ahmad, et. al., 46). The Spanish enslaved the Indians of

Central and South America, while the British, Dutch, and French

enslaved the Africans.