There are always seems to be some really smart people on 2+2 so I was hoping to get a little help (and create a potentially interesting topic for discussion on this board) for an assignment I have for my a world civilization class.

The assignment is kind of vague and the instructor is letting students pick their own topic, but it can be any subject from 10,000 BCE to 1500 CE. The catch is it has to be something you can make argument about and you have to come up with a number of questions you can ask related to the topic.

I would like to do my tie my paper into Islam somehow, but obviously that is a really broad topic. I was wondering if there is some area of Islam that posters think would make for a particular interesting discussion (again it cannot be before 1500 CE) and make for some interesting questions to pose. The paper has to be 5-7 pages so it cannot be too broad. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

You could try posting this in the RGT forum

why? it is about history not religion.

Religion doesn't have a history?

Yes, it does. But, the topic will either be about how the religion affected history or the historical forces that surrounded the religion from its founding until 1500 CE.

I don't see how that has more to do with religion than history.

I could explain further but I really have no interest in providing any assistance to you now.

What gave rise to the Islamic Golden Age and why did it end?

One topic I found interesting was the study of a Muslim man known as Djeb-al-Tarik,

It has been said that during the 8th century Julian of Ceuta went to Djeb-al-Tarik, a Berber leader under the Umayyad Caliphate, and asked al Tarik to liberate then Visigoth Spain from the corrupt rule of King Roderic.

Reading into the Muslim invasion of Visigoth Spain in 711 is quite interesting. It was said that King Roderic was a man who instituted harsh Anti Jewish measures, as well as a man who raped the daughter of Julian of Ceuta, which some say played a roll in Julian calling al Tarik to "liberate" Visigoth Spain. It is also said that the Jews under King Roderic welcomed the invading Muslim forces, and in the aftermath of Roderics defeat, Jewish and Arab militias were set up. After the successful Umayyad conquest of Hispania, Jews from around the world were said to travel to Spain to have an opportunity at success that they would otherwise not have in their homelands. Both Jewish and Muslim sources talk of the success of Jews in early Muslim ruled Spain.

It seems that in this point in history, its very possible that the Muslim invaders of Visigothic Spain in 711, were more like liberators.

The political economic climate that allowed the Arab conquests to succeed is pretty interesting and well as the Arab conquest and subsequent explusion from Spain is too.

The Berber resistance to the Arab conquests and its continuing ethnonationalism in relation to Morocco, Libya, etc could be a topic, or the Arab slave trade.

Islam, Judaism, and Christianity teach to free the slaves. Whilest there were past Christians, Muslims, and Jews who were responsible for allowing the slave trade to continue, there were Christians, Muslims, and Jews who played a role in abolitionist movements through the years.

Lol, who cares? The Arab slave trade is a fascinating subject that doesn't get a lot of academic airtime. If someone wanted to cover something religious but out of the ordinary that's one place to look.

OP,

Maybe do something on the Noble Muslim warrior, Musa I of the Mali Empire,

Mansa Musa is the most famous leader of the Mali Empire, representing the golden age of its cultural achievement, development, and expansion. Rising to the throne against the background of instability in Mali, he consolidated his hold over the entire empire around 1307.


.....


Under Mansa Musa's rule, the administration operated peacefully, and trade flourished in Mali both internally and externally... After he committed himself to Islam, in 1324 he initiated an act that brought him great acclaim-an exhibition of great wealth and a hajj(pilgrimage) to Mecca. According to Arabian observer Al-umari, Musa took with him 60,000 people, 100 camel loads of gold at 300 pounds each, 12,000 servants, and his royal administration. 500 of those servants each carried a four pound gold staff.

Loaded with these provisions, he crossed the Sahara, entering Cario. Along the way, he spent lavishly, so much so that he caused a depression in the price of god in the city of Mecca. This trip brought international attention to Mali, making it one of the most visited places in Africa for the next 100 years. In fact, Mali appeared on European medieval world maps as a major empire. In 1375, Charles V of France had an atlas drawn showing "Red Melli" or "Musa Mali" in the area of west Africa wearing robes and a crown and holding a gold nugget in one hand and a scepter the other.

....

Another significance of this hajj was that it created a intellectual revival in Islamic education within the Mali empire as it attracted even more attention.

....

Mansa Musa Establish strong diplomatic relations and cultural exchanges between Mali and Egypt, Syria and Morocco. Students came from all over Asia and Europe to study in Mali, much like foreign exchange students come to the United States to study today.


more,

https://books.google.com/books?id=nV...ana%22&f=false




It took several months for both officials and servants to prepare for this 3000-mile trip from Niani to Makkah. They collected different animals to use as both beasts of burden and food sources: horses,camels, cows and goats. Once assembled the caravan headed along the Niger River to Mema, then toWalata then through Taghaza and Tuat and then traveled eastward across the Sahara Desert, a crossingthat took almost three months.Musa's journey was documented by several eyewitnesses along his route, who were in awe of hiswealth and the size of his entourage, so records exist in a variety of sources, including journals, oralaccounts and histories.

Along the way Mansa Musa displayed his charitable and generous side. Wherever his train halted ona Friday, he paid for the erection of a mosque. Everywhere he went, he became legendary for hisgenerosity and the extravagant spending of his entourage. Every city he passed through received part of his vast largesse and he showered riches on the needy as required by a pillar of Islam. He also traded goldfor souvenirs

Perhaps, no other writer has paid tribute to Mansa Musa, the greatest contributor to Mali's history,better than the North African scholar Al-Omari. A few years after Musa visited Cairo, Al-Omari wrotethat in all of West Africa he was, `the most powerful, the richest, the most fortunate, the most feared byhis enemies and the most able to do good for those around him.'


more,


http://www.academia.edu/1593503/Lion..._of_Mansa_Musa

I think the reason for the ending was pretty clear. Mongolian invasion.

Sorry no. Just a simple review of the subject shows that there are many more and complicated reasons for it.