Chapters 9, 11 &12

     Chapter 9 discussed the birth of a new religion- Islam. Muhammad was a man who fought to seek justice for the people who were victims of social injustices and inequalities. Muhammad would reflect and during one of his reflections the angel Gabriel appeared to him and he received revelations from him. Muhammad was a messenger for Allah, the one and only god in the Islamic religion. All of his messages were recorded in the Quran, which is the sacred scripture and the words of god. Allah means submission. The Islamic Faith follows 5 Pillars of Islam. The five pillars are:

     1- there is only one god

     2- prayer 5 times a day

     3- almsgiving- charitable donations to help the less fortunate

     4- the observation of Ramadan

     5- the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime

Membership grew quickly, this was attributed to the fact that Islam was a belief rather than a birth rite. Another unique factor in the rapid growth of the Islamic faith was, its leader Muhammad. Muhammad was a religious and political leader. 

In Muhammad's farewell sermon regarding the model of the Islamic communities, he states, "All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non -Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white- except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that Muslims constitute one brotherhood"(p. 371). I found this quote to be powerful and insightful. These words demonstrate that Muhammad wanted to create an equal society for everyone. Further, I feel like Muhammad's farewell address is very similar to the the perspective that Strayer projects in our textbook. Strayer promotes an all inclusive account of history and values everyone as Muhammad did in his final address. As with every religion and civilization there were conflicts and divisions, however, the core beliefs of the Islamic faith are still practiced today and the faith is still very strong  and practiced everywhere in the world. 

Chapter 11:

     The impact of the Mongol's was significant because it was a cultural encounter between pastoralists and settled civilizations of Eurasia. The Mongol's rise to power, under the leader of Temujin (Chinggis Khan) was quick because his followers thought of him as a supreme leader. Further, the Mongol's thrived because of good timing, a devoted army, the people they conquered became laborers, they had a reputation for being fierce and they were resourceful. They thrived and conquered many civilizations such as China, Persia and Russia. However, they did not try to adapt to any other cultures they maintained true to their Mongol traditions. The only war they could not conquer was the the battle of the plague. The Black plague destroyed and diminished their world. 

ON A SIDE NOTE:

    In preparation for my paper regarding what makes a great leader, I had a discussion with my husband about who he thought was a great leader. (I did not tell him anything about what I had been studying or reading) My husband told me he thought Chinggis Khan was one of the best leaders in history. I was totally surprised by his answer because I had just finished reading about him and I was preparing to blog about him. It was a perfect segway for my blog and it gave me insight for my upcoming paper. I asked him why he felt that Khan was a great leader,  and he replied that he was able to conquer many civilizations, he was strategic and he had the respect of his military. My husband comes from a military background and he served in Desert Storm. He is very proud to have served his country. Sadly, he has seen the dark side of war and is still haunted by it today. He has PTSD and is very emotional about the negative impact of war. However, with his background and perspective he is able to recognize the importance of leadership and unity in war time.Recognizing that Khan was ruthless, he felt that at the time, his dominance was his strength as a powerful leader. 

Chapter 12:

     The 15th century was a diverse time in History. It was made up of "Bands of hunters and gatherers, villages of agricultural peoples, newly emerging chiefdoms or small states, pastoral communities, established civilizations and empires" (p. 500).

     The beginning of expeditions began. Europeans and the Chinese began exploring  the seas. This also begins the story of the famous expedition of  Christopher Columbus. At this time, the Chinese, the Europeans and Columbus, backed by Spain were all on expeditions. The Europeans were seeking to gain wealth from Africa and Asia and they were looking to convert people to Christianity. China, on the other hand, was on an expedition with no expectations of gaining power, faith or wealth. China took a longer route and the Europeans were conquering and battling countries along the way. Ultimately, the Chinese were not benefiting from the long voyages and their superior attitude led them to abandon their mission. This secession paved way for the Portuguese to begin their expeditions.

Next, the Islamic world was growing rapidly. The Ottoman Empire was a product of the rapid growth of Islam. It is described in the book as "one of the great empires of world history" because it had a large territory, the duration, diversity, and cultural and economic advancements. A division of Islamic faith emerged at this time between the Shia empire (which practiced Shia) and Sunni faith in Persia.
Later on, four Muslim empires banned together (the Ottoman, Safavid, Songhay and Mughal) to unite the Islamic world. This allowed the continuance of the Islamic faith to continue to spread.
   
     The Aztec and Inca empires were equally impressive. The Inca's were bureaucratic and the the Aztec's had strong religious beliefs and radical war practices in the name of god. Both civilizations had different political and economic practices but both had gender equality. The book calls it  "gender parallelism". This means that "women and men operate in two separate but equivalent spheres, each gender enjoying autonomy in its own sphere". (p. 528)