Chapter 11, 12 & 13

I see Islam as a religion created by man. Muhammad presented himself in the line of earlier prophets (pg. 304) but who made him a prophet? Who chose him as the messenger of God? I see Islam as a very structured religion, putting aside the relationship with God. The requirement of the believers, called the sixth pillar, impose too many guidelines for new converters.

         Muhammad could be seen as a dictator. He forced citizens to contribute to a payment made to support the poor. In WW, it is also mentioned that Muhammad acted harshly to suppress the Jewish, exiling some and enslaving, or killing others (pg 307). It seems that the Arab empire was built successfully in great majority on religious beliefs. Islam was seen as a social conversion, unlike Christianity, which was based on faith. Unfortunately, with death of Muhammad, there were some divisions within the Islamic community. I wonder what criteria or requirements were held by elders in appointing the next leader within the Islam.

         The Mongols always had an extremely bad reputation, but in chapter 12 it seems that they were not that bad after all. For all of its size and fearsome reputation, the Mongol empire left a surprisingly modest, cultural imprint on the world it had briefly governed (pg 342). Mongols were a pastoral society. They served as a bridge to bring other civilizations into far more direct contact than that in earlier times (pg 342) Mongols were able to grow, maintain their people together and conquer other civilizations because of their loyalty to their military leaders. They were very smart, while in China they used Chinese administrative practices, techniques of taxation and their postal system (pg 348), but never adopted their culture or beliefs. In Persia they used their sophisticated bureaucracy, rebuilt damaged cities and repaired neglected irrigation works (pg 351) In Russia, Mongols were not able to do much other than exploit and dominate them for the steppes (pg 352). Mongols created a trading circuit that linked the Afro-Eurasian world (pg 354). In addition, Mongols also facilitated diplomatic relationships from one end of Eurasia to the other (pg 354). Learning more about the Mongols changed the previous outlook I had on them.