blog 10

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?
Muhammad tried to unite all people under Islam. The existence and value of tribes caused many problems for him and his successors. Creating and maintaining unity was made very hard by the fact that many tribes were enemies. After Muhammad’s death, Abu Talib (his uncle) put in tremendous efforts to keep the tribes united. As peoples’ alliances lay with their tribes, all wanted the next spiritual leader (the caliph) to be from their own tribe (or at least not an enemy tribe). Many revolts and wars throughout the history of Islam were caused by the split of Islam into 3, which initially was, in some degree, the result of tribal controversies and preferences.
The ancient tribal problems are still causing conflict. In several modern countries, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan where the absolute majority of citizens are Muslim, religion and government is not enough to unite the people. Tribal loyalties for many of them aren’t only above religion; they are also above the law. People respect and fear their tribal laws and traditions more than they do formal law and central governments.

blog 9

How has the religious history of India influenced India ’s tradition of non-violence? The non-violent tradition is deeply rooted in Indian culture and religious history. In Jainism, there’s ahimsa, the concept of “noninjury” to anything living. Jainism follows the extreme of this concept, some even wearing a cloth over their face to avoid accidentally swallowing a fly. Tolerance of all forms of life became a widespread concept in both Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, whatever bad you do ruins your next few lives. The heritage and ideas of one of the most prominent Indians, Mohandas Gandhi, were greatly influenced by those religions. The basis of his ideas was satyagrana: the concept of non-violent protest. This concept was very effectively used during the Indian struggle for independence from Britain.

Blog 8: Can migrations have a positive impact on the people and/or land receiving the immigrants?

Can migrations have a positive impact on the people and/or land receiving the immigrants?
In my opinion, cultures and countries can often benefit from immigrants. There are examples of this in history and our world of today.
In the 14th century, Poland invited Jews. The Jewish people brought with them knowledge, skilled artisans, and traders, as well as many other valuable techniques and ideas. This started off Poland golden age.
As well as introducing new ideas and skills, they encourage tourism, which allows more businesses, boosting the economy. Often, native citizens complain that the immigrants are taking their jobs. That is because many immigrants will do work for a lower pay and also better, creating competition. When my grandparents came to the US, my grandpa got a job at a flower shop because he agreed to work for a minimal wage. He was happy to have a job and his employers were happy to have such a worker.
Immigrants coming to a new country can also increase the population, making the country seem more important (as well as diverse). An increasing population also encourages more businesses, because more supplies are needed. Those businesses create more jobs and the money that is earned goes into other businesses, boosting the economy. According to www.marketwatch.com, immigration from 1990 to 2007 boosted the average annual earnings of native-born Americans from 0.7 to 1.8 percent.
Most immigrants usually move because of oppression in their native countries or better opportunities in other countries (or both). Therefore, many try their best to get good grades and jobs and use all opportunities that they are presented with. This creates competition for others, causing everyone to strive to be better, increasing the quality of education and the rate of development.
They come with knowledge of bad ideas (that made them migrate from their own country), making the country they come to less likely to repeat the mistakes of other countries.
In conclusion, immigrants often have a positive impact on the places to which they migrate and it’s citizens.