World History Homework Five- Model

1. List the "Five Pillars of Islam."

2. How is Islam different from Christianity?

The major difference between Islam and Christianity is that Islam combines governmental and military ideas with religious ones. Christianity instructs its followers to be good citizens and follow their own governments for the most part (Jesus said "Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s," and the Bible and Christian tradition uphold good citizenship), while Islam, at least for much of its past, has militarily conquered land and set up its own government. Islam adopted some of the violence that seems typical in the Middle East, and contains elements of theocracy, making it both a religion and an ideology. Shariah is considered the only fully approved form of government in Shia Islam. (Addison)

3. Charles the Hammer, Pepin the Short, and Charlemagne: which one is your favorite, and why?

Pepin the Short must have been pressured greatly by his people to live up to his father’s name, the great “Charles the Hammer”. In A.D. 752 Pepin was anointed King of the Franks by the Pope. Because the Pope approved of Pepin the Short, the people highly respected Pepin as God’s chosen ruler. Pepin offered protection to the Church by his powerful army if the Pope would grant him a blessing. Pepin the Short knew he could gain more awe and respect from his subjects if they saw the Pope, who represents Jesus, bountifully bless him. At that time, the Church in Rome was being attacked by the Lombards and the Pope sought help from the Franks since the Byzantine Empire did not want to interfere. Pepin helped remove the Lombards from Rome in A.D. 754. The relationship between the Catholic Church and the Franks increased because the Franks had kept their promise to aid the Church whenever it was in danger, while the ties between the Church and the Byzantines were weakened because they did not send help when it was needed. (Veronika)

My favorite of the three was Charles Martel, also known as Charles the Hammer. He protected Christian Europe by destroying the Muslim invasion at the Battle of Tours. (Leonard)

Charlemagne is my favorite. He truly impacted the world by renewing the emphasis on education. He seemed to possess a strong faith in Jesus Christ. Although he could have lived his life by the sword, he followed what Jesus taught and did not. In general he was a very prestige king who used his power to do good, not evil. (Jenna N.)

4. Describe what you like about feudalism in Western Europe.

Feudalism was beneficial because it provided incentive for the workers. The serfs worked for the lord, and he benefited from the wealth that was produced. The lord in turn, provided protection and supplies for the surfs. (Zachary)

5. Explain the difference between the Sunnis and the Shiites, and give examples of one country controlled by each.

6. Current events: Comment on the table of Islamic populations by country. Do you notice anything interesting about it?

7. Briefly describe four major civilizations or tribes in South America, as discussed in the lecture.

(A) Maya (A.D. 300-900) The Maya tribe was a Mesoamerican civilization known for its unique, fully-developed written language, which was the only one at that time noted in the pre- Columbian Americas. The tribe is well known for mathematical and astronomical systems which helped us discover things we could never have discovered without them.

(B) Moche (A.D. 200-700) The Moche tribe greatly thrived in northern Peru. They did not have many intellectual minds and were not politically organized. There were no classes or levels in their society. They all lived and shared a common elite culture. They spent a lot of their time painting exquisite ceramics, creating gold possessions, and building great huacas (great constructions) and irrigation systems.

(C) Incas (A.D. 1250-1537) The Incas were a civilization that flourished into a powerful tribe until a controversy weakened them against the Spanish. They were wonderful craftsmen and are widely known for their large gold earrings. They were a tribe of wealth and power. Most people think of the Incas when someone mentions the ancient civilizations in South America.

(D) Aztecs (A.D. 1200-1521) The Aztecs are known for playing ballgames, the use of a calendar, and customs of their ancestors. The only major difference is that the Aztecs were more war-like; the Aztecs were not intellectual. They themselves did not advance knowledge or civilization but used the methods of their predecessors. (Veronika)

The Teotihuacan people (A.D. 100- 900), who worshipped gods, lived in suburbs, and had an upper class.

The Mayans (A.D. 300- 900), numbering 5- 16 million, are known as the “Greeks of the New World”. They used a yearly solar calendar, traded using different materials, and they did understand the concept of zero.

The Toltecs (A.D. 900- 1200) resided in northern Mexico and were fighters who were also conquered by the sword.

The Aztecs (A.D. 1200- 1521) were very warlike and also fell by the sword. However, they had ingeniously invented plots of floating land to grow food on.

The Incas (A.D. 1250- 1537) developed an immense empire in South America, which is considered to be the largest civilization in all of the Americas. They had an excellent system of messengers and soldiers, and they did not demand any type of tribute to the empire. As great as an empire as the Incans were, a disastrous civil war weakened it and was no match for the Spaniards when they arrived there from Europe. (Olivia)

H1. Do you think King Arthur, or anything told about him, is based in fact?

H2. Current events: Is democracy possible in Iraq, as the United States has been trying to accomplish for six years?

I absolutely believe that democracy is possible in Iraq. True, we have not fully succeeded in six years, and true, the Middle East is a traditionally violent place, but six years of partial failure does not mean we can never succeed. When there were elections in Iraq, common people were excited to come out and vote. I remember seeing a photo of a woman in a burqua smiling and giving the peace sign. ... I think that the common people as a whole really want freedom, and that if the theocracies and dictatorships were removed, there could be peaceful democracy. ... [I]t is almost impossible to destroy the desire for freedom that exists in man. (Addison)

H3. What is your view of "chivalry"?

H4. Do you think Islam will overtake Christianity in the number of believers? Explain your view.

H5. Why do you think feudalism developed independently in Western Europe and Japan at around the same time in history?

H5. Revisit the issue of Muhammad Ali being allowed to avoid the United States draft based on converting to Islam. Islam allows fighting only in "Holy Wars," and Ali said that the Vietnam War was not a "Holy War" and thus it was against his conscience to fight in it.

H6. Do you think the term "faith" properly applies to any religion other than Christianity?

No - the very fact that faith is a Christian idea removes the possibility of it applying correctly to any other religions. That is the simple, concise answer! (Deborah)

... [T]he Christian faith is in fact different from every other religious faith. Through going back to the Hebrew language this becomes clear. The Hebrew word for faith which is used in the Old Testament is emunah. Emunah is an action oriented to the word “support”. So when I say that I have faith in God, I am not just saying that I have confidence that God exists, like people in other religions say, I am going even further. I am saying that I fully support what I know God can do and is going to do. So the Christian faith is different from the faith in any other religion. (Jenna N.)

I do not believe that “faith” can be properly applied to any other religion because most religions either believe in multiple gods with human desires and temptations or one god that acts on “whims.” (Olivia)

H7. Comment on the history of feudalism in Japan.