HISTORY (1861-1992) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HISTORY (1861-1992) - Research Paper Example Du Bois used mostly his own experiences of being an African-American in an American society to develop the essays and illustrate the conditions of the souls of those African-American and outline how their living conditions felt. In the forethought to the book where Du Bois offers a brief introduction, he says, 'Herein lie buried many things which if read with patience may show the strange meaning of being black here in the dawning of the Twentieth Century.' (Du Bois, Forethought). This book was an essential insight into the souls of the black folk, standing not only for its time, but perhaps holding true even today, despite considerable progress and change. This essay aims to examine that proposition and prove that it is indeed true. In the aforementioned forethought, Du Bois laid down the foundation of the theme the rest of the book was to focus on, and through which he explains the conditions of those African-Americans. He does so by referencing to a certain Veil (with the V capita lized to indicate its being an entity of its own and not just a commonplace divide) that divided or partitioned the African-American man from his American surroundings. He compares the veil to a certain line that divides color, or a color line, as he also calls it, and says that every African-American lives within it and views his world in reference to it. Elaborating on this veil, he further goes on to say in the following chapter, when relating an experience as a little boy where he was forced to acknowledge his being different, and where he realized the existance of this veil first, that â€Å"... it dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, may-hap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil. I had thereafter no desire to tear down that veil, to creep through; I held all beyond it in common contempt and lived above it†¦.† (Du Bois, Chapter 1). But he goes on to say that even though he in h is own vision had decided to keep all beyond it in contempt and beat them all, he realized that he could not, for everything was theirs to own, and he could merely desire to own it from them. With a poverty rate that's almost double than that for white Americans (O'Hare, 2009) is that not something many under-privileged African-American youths of today can also relate to? Du Bois further remarked at how it felt to be an outcast, or a 'problem', or to be viewed as one, and how as a result of it, he found his peers withdrawing to within this Veil and wasting themselves away in bitterness. Du Bois also says that the reason racism exists and continue to block the inhibition of the African-American man is because of this Veil and the distance and isolation they feel beneath it, a feeling, that despite the democracy and progress is still applicable to and experienced by many (Alexander, 2008). Towards the second half of the book, Du Bois, in his position and time, aimed to minimize this d istance and aura of isolation around the common African-American man living in an American society and says, 'The present generation of Southerners is not responsible for the past, and they should not be blindly hated or blamed for it.' (Du Bois, Chapter 3). He also references the achievements of Booker T. Washington, and said that while he had done much to bring about harmony among the African-American and white American folk, his policies of encouraging African-Americans to give up their political power, civil rights and higher

Mohammed Ibn Abdul Wahab and Wahhabism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mohammed Ibn Abdul Wahab and Wahhabism - Essay Example For the purpose of this essay, we shall restrict our discussion to Wahhabi Islam and its influences on current Islamic fundamentalism and the society as a whole. This especially involves Islamic terrorism since Wahhabi Islam is considered to be the premier fundamentalist religious movement supporting it and still incorporates religious beliefs and principles from Koran not found anywhere else in the world. Mohammad ibn bd ul-Wahab was a reformist born in 1703 in Central Arabia in Bani Tamim tribe. He learned literature at a Hanifite school, Islamic law at Medina, and then after few years in his hometown, commenced working as an Islamic teacher after returning to Nejd. Influenced by his examination of luxuries of life, superstitious pilgrimages, worship of Prophet Mohammed and other saints rather than the God and use of omens, he was repulsed and began to pronounce simplicity of early religion as per Koran. Thus began a sect now known as Wahhabism. There was considerable difference in religious texts and actual situation on ground in practical Islam. He was amazed at the importance given to practices like pilgrimages, saints, sacrifices while non-adherence to Islamic law, indifference to conditions of women, widows and children, lack of ritual prayers and non-inheritance of family share to women. He began to preach against jahilliya, which meant ignorance of Islamic laws. Jahilliya was a term in Islam referring to barbarism and ignorance that existed before Islam was founded. Paradoxically, while Wahhab recognized himself with Prophet Mohammed in principles, he connected his society with he same evils that the prophet attempted to overthrow. (Cline, 2003) Because so many Muslims lived (or so he claimed) in jahiliyya, Abd-ul Wahhab accused them of not being true Muslims at all. Those who followed the strict teachings of al-Wahhab were proclaimed as true Muslims during the period because only they still followed the path laid out by Allah. Accusing someone of not being a true Muslim is significant because it is forbidden for one Muslim to kill another; but if someone is not a true Muslim then killing them (in war or in an act of terrorism) becomes legitimate. It would be hard to underestimate the importance of this principle to modern terrorists and extremists. He also based his preachings on principle of uniqueness of God and his students were called as Muwahuddin (Unitarians). The basic text of Wahhabis is the Kitab at-tawhid or the book of unity. Their critics called them Wahhabis who mainly concentrated against Shia ideologies. While this word was originally used in a derogatory context, it has now become commonplace and is used by even people in Nejd. Most Wahhabis today live in Saudi Arabia. However, with passage of time and influx of notorious money, their influence has spread in many other countries of the middle-east, central and South Asia. Implementation of Wahhabism Mohammed Ibn Abd'ul Wahhab's directions for implementation of Islamic law as per his interpretation of Koran were strict and non-tolerant. All non-believer Islamists as well as non-Islamic people were to be put to death immediately. Soldiers of Islam were promised immediate entrance into Paradise and, unbelievably, each soldier had a written order from Ibn Abd-ul Wahhab for the gatekeeper to admit him in heaven forthwith. Wahhab died in 1791, and Wahhabism spread until it was broken down by Mehemet