Abstract This paper takes a look at racism-- what it is and what is the root of its power.
From the Paper "Racism is leftover baggage from the slave trade and slavery. In the year 2002 there are people who believe that there is no longer any racism and there is only one race, the human race. Many of the people that accept these views as true, that it is only the human race, are a part of the majority group in the United States, which are white people. The majority group of people uses the ideology of racism to justify the injustices that are set upon the minority groups. A few of the injustices that they try to justify are how people differentiate between the Black community, versus the White community, in terms of the job opportunities and the types of training that are received. Therefore, racism is based on ideology or belief systems."
Abstract This paper explains that the antagonistic view regarding the phenomenon of Jihad is too shallow, inaccurate and unreasonable. The author explains that it is a grim fact that these views prevail as opposed to the true meaning of Jihad. Endnotes.
From the Paper "The inception of every single religion has experienced forces working against its expansion. Consequently, there have been instances where most major religions have had to use force in order to survive, prevail or exist at all for that matter. We can look up the Christian crusades or the Samurai war crimes or the Six-day war between Israel and the Arabs or even the kamikaze pilots of the Shinto faith and the list goes on and on. Although we cannot discount the political and social undercurrents involved in these wars, anyone with little common sense can arrive at the conclusion that the core basis of these wars was religion. Islam is no exception in this regard. History, especially from the western perspective is riddled with the Muslim conquests of Spain and India. Islam (at least in the west) has been labeled as the modern version of barbarianism. This dim sightedness is a result of several factors originating from the Muslims themselves and eventually developing into the increasingly popular concept that Islam in essence is the Mecca of le diable a quatre. If we take a closer look at the Muslim warfare, one word that comes up every time is Jihad. "
Tags: islam, jahada, muhammed, arab, muslim, religion, non, violent
Abstract This paper shows how the biography of Malcolm X by author Alex Haley helped the author understand the true derivation of racism.
From the Paper " The constant references to racism by Malcolm X made me curious about the concept of race. I discovered that almost 200 years ago, Johann Friedrick Blumenbach, a German naturalist and the founder of Anthropology, decided to use differences in head shape and skin color to classify mankind into five different races. Although there has never been any scientific evidence to support "racial inheritance" by blood type, mankind has clung to Blumenbach's concept of people being of different races."
Abstract This paper provides an in-depth discussion of the Crusades, the military expeditions which Christians undertook from the eleventh to the thirteenth century to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. The author examines how and why Christian soldiers of the middle ages believed that the sole motive was to regain the Holy Land in the name of God, and the roles of key figures such as Richard the Lionheart and numerous church officials.
From the Paper "Many Christians during the middle ages were eager to undertake violent challenges to fight for God's cause. Their opportunity availed itself in the form of the Crusades. The Crusades can be defined as ?any of the military expeditions which Christians undertook from the eleventh to the thirteenth century to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. Between the years 1095 through 1291 Christian popes initiated these military attacks against the Muslim peoples who had taken over the holy city of Jerusalem and other places associated with the earthly life of Christ. There were seven major Crusades and although the Knights of Europe fought them with great passion, they can be considered a failure when one observes that the original goal was to regain the Holy Land ."
Tags: christian, crusade, holy, jerusalem, muslim, pope, war, lionheart
In this five-page paper the writer explores the book "The Bluest Eyes" by Tony Morrison and examines the theme of the story and attempts to explain why it occurs. The characters of the book are explored, as are the era and lifestyle of the characters.
1,300 words (approx. 5.2 pages), 4 sources, 2001, $ 43.95
Abstract In this five-page paper the writer explores the book "The Bluest Eyes" by Tony Morrison and examines the theme of the story and attempts to explain why it occurs. The characters of the book are explored, as are the era and lifestyle of the characters
From the paper:
"This nation has come a long way in its effort to stamp out racism, but we still have a long way to go. Decades ago even though slavery was long gone the African American population in this nation was still made to feel substandard. There were "black neighborhoods", and "black schools", and "black water fountains" everywhere we looked. It was a not so subtle slap in the face to a race that had been proclaimed "equal" with the abolishment of slavery and then the amendments to the United States Constitution."
Abstract In this paper the author examines the trading routes of the Roman Empire and how changes in them led to the rise of Islam. The author pays particular attention to the development of Islam in Africa and how it remains a great influence in African society even in this modern day.
From the paper:
?Islam offered a number of attractions within Africa. Its fundamental teaching that all Muslims are equal within the community of believers made the acceptance of conquerors and new rulers easier. The Islamic tradition of uniting the powers of the state and religion in the person of the ruler or caliph appealed to some African kings as a way of reinforcing their authority.?
Abstract This paper mainly discusses the idea of Holocaust denial and the people who follow this practice and how they support their ideas with the views of Deborah Lipstadt and her rebuttal.
From the paper:
""Modern Holocaust denial draws inspiration from a variety of sources" (Lipstadt 31). The Holocaust Deniers, or more appropriately called "revisionist" historians, and historians of the traditional school seem to differ greatly in their methodologies as shown when they use the same piece of evidence in two separate manners to come to two completely different conclusions."
Tags: deniers, holocaust, ii, lipstadt, revisionists, war, world
Abstract This paper looks at the world of the Toltecs, focusing on how they were shaped and how they helped to shape a larger Meso-American cultural grouping that shared a number of salient cultural features. The author also makes particular mention of Toltecs impact on the Aztecs.
From the paper:
"The rise of the Toltec civilization did however mark a distinct turn in some sense because after the rise of the organized Toltec empire the peoples and rulers of this region of Mexico would be more deeply and more consistently marked by a militaristic orientation than those people (culturally related as they were) that preceded them, as Bernal argues".
Abstract This paper looks at rituals and how they structure society. The author discusses how rituals effect communication mediums between people as well as how they impact cooperation and understanding. The author examines different types of rituals in different cultures.
From the paper:
"Regardless of who we are, or where we live, rituals form a basic part of our lives. We participate in them ourselves, we see them being performed by others, we notice them in the actions of animals. Rituals are physical actions that mean something to us: we do them because they serve a purpose and help us achieve what we need to in order to move on to the next step in our daily lives."
Tags: tradition, culture, religion, religious, god, ritual, bond
Abstract This paper is a detailed discussion of Islamic criminal law, its sources, its application, and its conflict with international law and human rights. The author examines both primary and secondary sources of Islamic law, and describes Hudud, Tazir and Qesas crime and punishment. The paper also focuses on the historical background of Muslim law.
From the paper:
?Islam means "submission" or "surrender" to the will of Allah. For the more than one billion Muslims of the world, this means submission to a comprehensive code of law governing every arena of life: social, political, economic, and religious. In Islam there is no separation of church and state, no distinction between religion and politics; Government, law, and religion are unified. Some would argue that Islamic law is not fully practiced in any part of the Islamic world. While this may be true, twenty-three nations have either declared Islam to be the state religion or declared the religious writings of Islam to be the principal source of law.?
This paper presents a book review of "Exterminate Them: Written Accounts of the Murder, Rape, and Enslavement of Native Americans during the California Gold Rush." by Clifford E. Trafzer and Joel R. Hyer. Forward by Edward Castillo.
Abstract The following book review examines the true treatment of Native Americans in California at that time of the California Gold Rush. It is a testament to the fact that folklore and tales can be embellished for many years with little accuracy. The book details and documents provable facts that should alert any future white person that it can happen, and did happen in the United States.
From the Paper "Throughout history, authors have used their works to convey emotion or a principle or moral that they felt strongly about. One of the best illustrations of this type of literary work is in, 'Exterminate Them' : Written Accounts of the Murder, Rape, and Slavery of Native Americans During the California Gold Rush, 1848-1868 ,by Clifford E. Trafzer (Editor), and Joel R. Hyer (Editor). In this work, the authors detail many of the horrors that were faced by the Native American, while the white man moved through the state of California, and industrialized it and changed it to their liking."
Abstract The following paper examines how the Amish are known to live non-resistant lives, and follow the teachings in the Bible in a literal sense. The writer takes a look at their detachment from the world outside Amish communities and discusses how this detachment is practiced through simple living, a trait notable of the Amish people
From the Paper "In the 1690's, they broke away from their organization, the Swiss Mennonites, and created a new group in the leadership of Jacob Amman (from which the word, "Amish" originated). In the year 1727, went to America to escape "religious prosecution" in their homeland Switzerland during the Swiss Protestant Reformation. The Amish were being persecuted during that time because they are Anabaptists, people who do not believe in infant baptism (Amish people are baptized only when they reach the age of 18). Aside from the United States, the Amish also went to Central America and Canada. At present, there are large communities of Amish people living in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Illinois "
This paper outlines the extent of bureaucratic complicity in the Holocaust, and attempts to explain why German civil servants, instead of obstructing the extermination process, only exerted themselves to ensure its success.
Abstract The following paper examines the extent of bureaucratic participation in the final solution in the Second World War in Germany. The second part of this paper seeks to identify the state of mind of German civil servants, which turned pen pushers, technocrats and professionals into earnest, but remote, agents of mass murder.
From the Paper "Reflection on the Holocaust invariably dwells on the subject of how it could have happened. This is, however, a dual question. In the first respect, it concerns the mechanical means by which the final solution was implemented, that is, the ways in which Jews and others were defined as destined for the death camps, physically identified, gathered for transportation to a relocation center, transported to the camps, processed upon arrival at the camps, murdered, and their bodies and belongings finally disposed of. Since it is almost inconceivable how such an operation could have been performed by people in dispassionate frames of mind - although it must have been, since it is impossible to kill so many as six million people in episodic fits of murderous rage - the question involves a second dimension, which is the nature of the mentality of those who participated, both directly and indirectly, in the extermination process."
Abstract This paper examines the historical context of these two ethnic cleansing genocides that occurred in the late twentieth century. It looks at lessons the world should have learnt from the Holocaust in World War II and analyzes the United Nations' involvement and role in preventing these atrocities.
From the Paper "Many people who lived through World War II will never forget the sights of thousands of Jewish bodies thrown into mass graves after the Nazi Holocaust. To most people it was unimaginable- the extent of the death and destruction. Winston Churchill called it a "crime that has no name" (www.un.org 2001). Winston Churchill was correct in his observation. Despite the numerous occurrences in history, the word "genocide" as a legal term and an international sanction did not exist until 1951 (www.un.org 2001). It was 1951 that the U.N. made a treaty defining and criminalizing genocide, entitled The Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In the last fifty years, the world has witnessed many horrendous massacres of civilian populations, in Cambodia, Bangladesh, and elsewhere, for which the political will was lacking to organize a war crimes tribunal. Now, the international climate supports the creation of the first two war crimes tribunals since the Nazi's at Nuremburg, those for Rwanda and Kosovo."
Tags: crimes, genocide, kosovo, nations, rwanda, tribunal, united, war
Abstract This paper states some of the history of scalping has been misconstrued to serve political purposes; nonetheless, scalping was practiced and was documented by both Indians and white settlers. Scalping was widely used as form of torture and as a type of trophy. Historians are beginning to discover that white men helped spread the act of scalping throughout North America.
From the Paper "A scalping, by definition, is when the circular patch of skin and hair found at the crown of someone's head is removed. An incision, circular, was usually made around the base of the hairline ? then pulled off the "fleshy layer of the skull". (Parker, 304) Once this was done, there were several options for the use of the scalp, depending on the significance of the particular scalp, and depending on the beliefs of that particular tribe."
