Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Liana Tuliau
BEHS210 Midterm Essays

Part I: In what ways did the Arab world (specifically, Muslims), influence the development of Western society?  How do you think their influence will play out over the next fifty years?
The Arabian History
The arab world has left different impressions on the modern world today, but the state of how countries are in the present is thanks to their historical influence. With the teachings of the Koran to help reinforce their beliefs and resolve, the muslims brought knowledge to the tribes of Europe.
With the dawning of the middle ages and the fall of Rome, the west had come to a standstill in making any kind of social advancements. The arab world was finally able to begin making its mark on the western world. They expanded from the east and spread into China, across all of North Africa, from which the muslims marched their armies onto european soil. The two countries who were first exposed to their influence were Spain and Portugal, though their attempts to conquer France were foiled in 732. The invading muslims had taken over Europe's sea routes, which meant that the trading of goods with Asia would now be controlled by them, forcing the europeans who had worked at sea to remain on land. This predicament led to the different countries' people and tribes settling down and adapting to an agricultural lifestyle, which in turn developed into feudal estates. This change was just the beginning of the impact muslims would have on the world.
By the start of 800 A.D., muslims had developed a method of creating paper and set up a factory in Baghdad, the first outside of China. This technology would reach Europe a century later. Soon following the muslims' technological advancements and developments would become the foundation of many inventors, philosophers and scientists. Their greater contributions in today's society include libraries, mathematics that include geometry, arithmetic and algebra, a clock that could strike the hours, and the science for successful farming. The arab world also brought forth the most accomplished scholars of the medieval ages, for where they had grown advanced in learning and science, europeans remained in Islam's shadow from 800-1100 A.D.. Examples of these scholars would be the greatest mathematicians, Abul Kamil and Ibrahim Ibn Sina, the greatest geographer and encyclopedist, Al-Masudi, and the greatest philosopher, Al-Farabi.
However, compared the power the muslim empire held over the west during the Dark Ages, the middle east has been left behind and is considered a third world country. The west continued to advance in all aspects of learning, including socially, using the islam teachings as a type of foundation. Islam hasn't had much of an advancement since it's prime during the Dark Ages, retaining many of its historical views and traditions to now. The arabs who did migrate to the state were the ones who tried to keep up with the times of change, but also for survival during the Arab-Israeli conflict in the 1940s. Considering the minimal change that has taken place since the early 16th century up until today, the future of the Arab World has both the potential to be improved, but not without the chance of their people suffering a severe regression.
What the media sometimes neglects to report is that there are two factions of the Islam religion, the Shiites who believe Ali was Muhammad's successor, and the Sunni's who believe it was Abu Bakr. Another difference between the two is who they consider the one to govern the country- the religious authority who is known as the Imam, or the government elected official. There are extremists from both factions, but the problem lies within finding out specifically which one seeks for the greater change and can carry the support of the majority for the longer period of time. Fifty years from now, the prejudice felt against muslims can either be further ignited, or else it will have begun to slowly diminish. With the attack on the twin towers in 2001, the west has begun a movement as if preparing to isolate themselves from any muslim influences. The general opinion that still floats around, specifically from some politicians to the common man, is that the arabs are "bad people", who are either militant fanatics or wife-beating sexists. The problem is that the west, in an attempt to bring the muslim society to the current time, is breaking the religious foundation their culture has grown on for centuries.
Their faith has been in a prime part of their lives, from when they are mere babes until they are old and crippled. The training and and protests against them that they have to endure is that their government replace the importance of their religion if they wish to thrive in today's world. Not only does this demand affect their living style, but it also changes what made them independent from other cultures. The near obsession with which they pray and are faithful to their god is not experienced anywhere else and shouldn't be attacked. The interpretations of the Koran are what influence them and therefore theologists who specialize in translation should be brought in accordingly.
Islam's youth is beginning to take steps in an attempt for change, but its future will still be determined by what actions they perform today. Their historical influence is irreplaceable for what heights the west has been able to reach today, but the enmity that continues to remain around them from other countries could lead to their annihilation.

Part II


Part III:How do you account for the existence of anti-Semitism in both Europe and the United States throughout most of history?
The Abuse of the Jews
The jews, also known as the children of Jacob, have been the victims of some of the most notorious crimes in human history. Their persecution dates back so far as biblical times and has continued since then for political, as well as discriminatory reasons.
The first book of Moses in the bible, Genesis, recounts the origins of judaism and muslim beliefs. Abraham had taken a wife, Sarai, who bore Isaac, the ancestor of judaism. But before his birth, Sarai's servant, Hagar, conceived Ishmael, the root of islam. The lord had predicted that Hagar's son would be wild against all of his brothers, just as they would all be against him (Moses). The Koran and the bible are in conflict about who the son of promise was, since Genesis states that it was Isaac who was to be sacrificed, yet the Koran teaches it was Ishmael. This variance adds to the hostilities that are very well known today between the muslims and the jews.
Further into the book of Genesis, it begins to tell the story of Isaac's two sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob maintained the relationship of ancestry towards the jews, but it is said that Esau's descendants are the romans. When the tension between the romans and the jews because of protests against the taxation, a battle began that is known as the 'first Jewish-Roman War'. Two more rebellions would occur, but the battle at Iudaea Province was the first religious war in history. When the romans invaded and conquered their homeland of Israel, the jews were forced to find a new place to call their home. But since suspicions and hostilities remained towards them, they were never allowed to settle or own land, making it impossible for them to become farmers or land-owners. Having adapted to the nomad living, their constant movement made them susceptible to becoming the scapegoats for the smaller crimes that would occur in villages and tribes.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, the jews' freedom of where to live became even more restricted once they were forced to reside in ghettos. It was thanks to people like Agobard, a bishop of Lyon, who wrote letters to the king with false accusations against the jews repeatedly that their image retained the negative kind. Despite the french revolution freeing the jews from the confines of living in ghettos, it wasn't until 1848 that they were able to receive rights and citizenship in various countries. Eventually they turned to mercantile pursuits and, later on, banking. This, in turn, lead to the jews' prosperous growth in riches, and envy grew against them.
Before then, hostilities remained high, especially in Russia, where pogroms, a russian word meaning 'to wreak havoc', began to be practiced. The first such incident that is believed to have been anti-jewish occurred in Odessa in 1821. These riots became more frequent after the assassination of Alexander II between 1881-1884. Russians weren't the only ones who practiced these sporadic acts of violence against the jews, for after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, ukrainians, red army soldiers and the polish also acted out these massacres against them. Around the same time, Hitler began to leave his imprint on society. In the beginning his speeches said that they should avoid practicing violence, but when it was against the jews, it was permitted if not encouraged. Historians continue to argue why exactly it was that Hitler began a genocide against the jews, but the most realistic reason is that he didn't much care for them, they had just been a common "pest" within society for the longest time that it was easy to manipulate the masses against them.
At the end of World War II in 1948, the hostility against jews rose again when the United States took a portion of Israel, which was now occupied by arabs, and gave it back to the jews. However, the arabs revolted against this plan and immediately united to begin their attacks against the jews. The decade before during the Arab Revolt, the jews had developed underground militia known as the Haganah, which proved vital during this new battle. Having finally won a battle in their favor, the jews were able to take up residence again in Israel, however the tension between the two cultures remains high.
What anti-semitism existed in the states declined after World War II, but evidence of it still remains with those who are part of the neo-Nazis and Holocaust Deniers and is showing signs of rekindlement in Europe. Manfred Gerstenfeld, a Holocaust specialist and survivor, says that Europe today is reliving the 1930s (Hurd, 2009). An example of a "man of god", such as Agobard was, in today's society would be the bishop mentioned by Oriana Fallaci, an italian journalist. There had been a demonstration against the jews and a bishop had participated, taking a few moments to stand at the microphone and describe the arab radicalists who targeted jews as "martyrs who go to death as to a party." With anti-semitism on the rise in a time where identities can be traded and stolen, judaism is on the brink of becoming an underground religion.
The children of Jacob, who have been persecuted since early history, remain a people to be targeted as an enemy for other nations to make ends meet.

References

Part I:
Retrieved December 16, 2009, from http://www.muslimheritage.com/timeline/chronology.cfm#13th

Part II:

Part III:


Hurd, Dale (March 23, 2009). "Anti-Semitism on the Rise in Europe." CBN News World. Retrieved December 16, 2009, from http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2009/March/Anti-Semitism-on-the-Rise-in-Europe-/

Fallaci, Oriana. "On European Anti-Semitism." Retrieved December 16, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9R7-1nYvPs

Spiro, Ken. "History of Judaism." Retrieved December 16, 2009, from http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/Jewish_History/