The Tribe

The Tribe has always been an important concept in Arabian and Islamic history, creating divisions among its dwellers and followers. How has this caused problems in the history of Islam?

The tribe has always been an important concept in Arabian and Islamic history. These tribes have continually fought amongst one another. For thousands of years, the two have had constant feuds regarding their views on many different matters. For example, Muhammad was born into a tribe that was against the rich tribes. When he came to power, the inhabitants of the richer clans opposed his teachings. And when he died, choosing a new caliph was a challenge because different groups of Muslims' opinions varied on what they wanted. Because of Muhammad's death, many alliances were broken and there was no longer peace within them. This led up to the split of the Muslims. Two distinct groups were formed - the Sunni and the Shi'a. Furthermore, the Tribe is a significant aspect of Arabian and Islamic history, however, it is not one that they might be proud of.

Blog 9

How has the religious history of India influenced India's tradition of non-violence?

The religious history of India influenced India's tradition of non-violence because violence was considered wrong in society. India's main religion, Hinduism, is a peaceful religion. Hinduism includes the values of peace, kindness, etc. Gandhi said, "There are many causes that I am prepared to die for, but no causes that I am prepared to kill for." He also took his non-violent values and tried to intervene them with the government. In 1924, Gandhi fasted for three weeks in an effort to show people that violence was bad. He encouraged the untouchables to work and learn, etc. without harming anyone. Lastly, Gandhi still restrained himself when people were violent towards him. For example, in 1987, when he was lynched by a white mob, he refused to prosecute them. Gandhi was one of India's greatest leaders and promoted the values of Hinduism. Gandhi became a symbol for nonviolence throughout the world. It was Hinduism that gave Gandhi these ideas, and so it can be said that Hinduism is mostly responsible for India's tradition of nonviolence.

The Impact of Migration

Can migrations have a positive impact on the people and/or land receiving the immigrants?

Yes and no. Migration can have both a positive and negative affect on the land and its inhabitants. When people migrate to a new area, the bring their religions, languages, customs, ideas, foods, etc. with them, which helps form change in society. Migration also helps develop trade routes, which are important aspects in any civilization. Within trade, people are able to exchange and receive goods, as well as other traits from people's nations, so things are spread around and accumulate around the world. This creates more diversity.

However, in addition to helpful new changes and ideas, it takes a toll on the people and their surroundings. When people migrate from different places, they could bring disease with them and infect the people around them, causing illness and even death. Also, the population would increase, making the area more crowded. Over-populated places are likely to have a shortage in food, leading to starvation and death. Lastly, because there are more people, more food needs to be grown. Even though there would be many new crops to supply the people with, growing so much of anything would wear out the soil. All in all, migration - good or bad - helped shape the world to what it is today.