Our World Encounters Book Report

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“In 50, barbarian warrior-tribes and pagans inhabited northern and western Europe.”(Hammond) A majority of the Mediterranean World had been encompassed by the Roman Empire, and the Persian Empire had presided over a huge realm of the Middle East and Persia. However all of that had changed by the year 1000. The Catholic faith instead was the main culture and tradition in Europe, whereas the Middle East, Persia, and the southern parts of the Mediterranean were governed by the Islamic faith. How exactly was this made possible? In a span of nine hundred fifty years, the faiths of the world and cultures were changed drastically. The reason for these gigantic “cross-cultural conversions” was made possible by the use of the “syncretic process.”…show more content…
An example of this would be like during the time of the Roman Empire when a pagan would completely throw away his beliefs and traditions and convert to the Catholic faith. Often when a person converts to a new faith or tradition, there are radical changes that the individual would need to make, such as changing the way one dresses, their diets, their relationships with family and friends, etc. The book then goes on and asks questions, like what kind of promises and such could have persuaded individuals to make these voluntary changes? The book answers these questions by stating that “the most powerful incentives to conversion through voluntary association were prospects for political, economic, or commercial alliance with well-organized foreigners.”(Bentley 9) But because an individual freely accepts another cultures beliefs and traditions in hopes of prosperity, isn’t that still an induced pressure, at least subconsciously? If a person sees that people around him who have taken on a different set of traditions and rules are having an easier life, isn’t that a pressured incentive? True no one is holding a blade to their throat and telling him that if they don’t get on board like everyone else then they will die, but isn’t the prospect of having an easier life still an…show more content…
Though both Christianity and Islam believe themselves to be the one true religion, Islam went about establishing itself as a dominant religion differently…by the way of the sword. The Islam religion was originated by the prophet Muhammad. He spread this faith first to his family and friends, and then went on teaching it to his clan. He formed a tight society that eventually “brought most of southern and western Arabia under its control.”(Bentley 90) After Muhammad’s death, his followers went on to expand the first Islamic Empire. Such areas included: Egypt, North Africa, Armenia, etc. While many had tried to face the Islamic forces, they often fell to them in their bloody conquest to establish dominance. However, not all converts were forced into accepting the Islamic faith by ways of violence. Some people were converted through voluntary association because the religion and traditions appealed to them. On the other hand, others were forced to accept the faith through induced pressures. A great example of this was during the Umayyad dynasty. As the faith spread out through the Middle East and North Africa, “non-Muslims lived under restrictions, often in specially designated neighborhoods, which prevented their integration into the new Islamic society.”(Bentley 93) Those who did convert were given
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