Droughts Pave Way for Islam

Extreme dry conditions contributed to the decline of the ancient South Arabian kingdom of Himyar.

Combined with political unrest and war, the droughts left behind a region in disarray, thereby creating the conditions on the Arabian peninsula that made possible the spread of the newly emerging religion of Islam.

On the plateaus of Yemen, traces of the Himyarite Kingdom can still be found today: terraced fields and dams formed part of a particularly sophisticated irrigation system, transforming the semi-desert into fertile fields. Himyar was an established part of South Arabia for several centuries.

However, despite its former strength, during the sixth century AD the kingdom entered into a period of crisis, which culminated in its conquest by the neighboring kingdom of Aksum (now Ethiopia). A previously overlooked factor, namely extreme drought, may have been decisive in contributing to the upheavals in ancient Arabia from which Islam emerged during the seventh century. These findings were recently reported by researchers led by Professor Dominik Fleitmann in the journal Science.

Petrified water acts as climate record
Fleitmann’s team analyzed the layers of a stalagmite from the Al Hoota Cave in present-day Oman. The stalagmite’s growth rate and the chemical composition of its layers (see box) are directly related to how much precipitation falls above the cave. As a result, the shape and isotopic composition of the deposited layers of a stalagmite represent a valuable record of historical climate.  READ MORE...

Remembering

Whenever I hear politicians, Democrats or Republicans, say that 9/11 happened because WE LOVE FREEDOM...  I cringe with anger... because that is not true at al...

The United States of America has a big problem trying to FORCE DEMOCRACRY on the rest of the world, especially in the Middle East among the ARABS who are MUSLIM and their faith is mainly ISLAM and they DON'T WANT OUR FREEDOM to be a part of their country and their beliefs...

America has FREEDOM

America was founded on FREEDOM

America has a BILL OF RIGHTS

America believes in CIVIL LIBERTIES

BUT...  not everyone around the world shares our belief of freedom and it is wrong for us to force OUR FREEDOM on them...  especially when we are trying to get them to change their beliefs.

When will we learn that the REST OF THE WORLD DOES NOT WANT TO BE LIKE US???

and,

When will we learn that THEIR RIGHTS are just as important as OUR RIGHTS???

The Number Twelve (12)

 What is the significance of this number?

The number twelve carries religious, mythological and magical symbolism, generally representing perfection, entirety, or cosmic order in traditions since antiquity.

• 12 tribes of Israel
• 12 disciples of Jesus
• 12 Imams in Islam
• 12 gates in heaven
• 12 angels
• 12 inches in a foot
• 12 eggs in a dozen
• 12 ribs on a human being
• 12 hours on a clock
• 12 hours earth orbits the sun
• 12 is easily divisible by 1,2,3,4,6, and 12
• 12 months in the year
• 12 is the symbol of love
• 12 signs of the Zodiac
• 12 sided universe
• 12 gods in Greek mythology
• 12 sons of the Norse god Odin

And, I am sure that we can think of more, if we wanted to take the time, which we probably do not...

Some think of the number 12 as the perfect number and it has been used often by those who believe that extraterrestrials have visited earth and were actually the ones who imparted than knowledge to the people because 10, instead of 12, would be a more common number to use, especially when considering the early development of mankind...  and the fact that we have 10 fingers and 10 toes...  not 12...  and yet those early civilizations had a mathematical system that was based upon the number 12...

Riddle me that one...

Major Global Religions

Photo Above:  Jerusalem is a holy city for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, whose adherents comprise >50% of the world's population.

The world's faithful account for 83% of the global population; the great majority of these fall under twelve classical religions—Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. These twelve religions are the most prominent spiritual traditions that still exist. 

Judaism
Judaism is a strictly monotheistic religion practiced by the Jewish people, an ethnic and religious nation descended from the historic peoples of Israel and Judah. Judaism as it would be recognized today originated in the Middle East in at least the 500s BCE, although certain religious traditions or beliefs can be traced back much further. Its adherents have long faced persecution from dominant religious groups around them. The Roman Empire destroyed the Second Temple, the center of Judaism, and the nation was scattered. Through to the modern day, Jews have been the victims of intense violence and discrimination. All the same, Judaism has persisted and remains one of the most visible and widely practiced religions in the world. Learn more»

Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered around the personage of Jesus of Nazareth, or Jesus Christ. Christianity arose in the 30s–50s CE as a religious offshoot of Judaism based on the teachings of Jesus, who was himself Jewish. Early Christianity rejected many of the social, cultural, and religious institutions of Judaism and pursued radically different strains of spiritual thought. Within a century a recognizable Church was founded. The texts of the faith and its most important creeds were codified in the 300s CE. Despite persecution, Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire and all of its inheritors, and in the time since the different Christian denominations have collectively become the largest faith in the world by a wide margin. Learn more»

Islam
Islam is a strictly monotheistic faith founded by the prophet Muhammad in the year 607 in present-day Saudi Arabia. His teachings, collected in the Quran, claim common descent with many Jewish and Christian beliefs. Muhammad preached his faith in the city of Mecca despite opposition from local polytheists, and quickly built a religious community of early Muslims. The community was forced to relocate to Medina in 622, after which the group codified and began their expansion across the Arabian peninsula. Nearly all of Arabia converted to Islam by 632, the year of Muhammad's death, and in the years since it has grown to become the world's second largest religion, mostly concentrated in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Learn more»

Baha'i
Baha'i is the youngest major world religion, founded in 1863 by the prophet Bahá'u'lláh. Baha'i grew out of the earlier religion of Babism, whose founder the Bab presaged the coming of another great prophet like the coming of Muhammad. Baha'i originated in Iran, although its current center is in Haifa, Israel. Baha'i is a monotheistic religion, but it teaches that religious truth is manifested and revealed by the founders of all the major world religions, including Jesus Christ and the Buddha. Baha'is believe that the different cultural interpretations of religion all have the same goal, and they strive for prosperity across faiths. There are around eight million Baha'is today, who indirectly vote for the leaders of their religion every few years. 

Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is perhaps the world's oldest monotheistic religion, founded by the Persian prophet Zoroaster. It is first recorded in the 500s BCE, but many historians believe it was founded as early as the 900s BCE. Zoroastrianism became the dominant religion of the vast Achaemenid Empire of Persia, and it continued to play an important part in the region until the ascent of Islam in the 700s CE. Many credit Zoroastrianism with affecting the development of other major religions. Zoroastrianism declined through the medieval era, and today there are fewer than 200,000 Zoroastrians as of the last reputable survey. However, there are some indications that many Kurds are converting to Zoroastrianism, which they see as an ancestral religion, which may reverse the long declining population. 

Shinto
Shinto is the traditional religion of Japan, which incorporates a vast array of local beliefs and customs across the nation. These traditions were collected and described as something like Shinto in the 800s CE, although the different beliefs predate this. Shinto is, for the most part, not an organized religion, and is instead the foundation of many cultural practices in Japan. Likewise, it's difficult to produce a number of people who follow Shinto; based off of membership in Shinto organizations, only 4% of Japan follows the religion. However, up to 80% of Japanese people (even ones who proclaim no religious belief) still keep shrines and make Shinto prayers. The intimately cultural quality of Shinto means that it is limited almost entirely to Japan. Learn more»

Hinduism
Hinduism is by many accounts the oldest religion in the world, due to its origins in Vedic beliefs dating as far back as the 1500s BCE. The religion has no founder, and is a synthesis of many different Indian religious traditions. The religion waxed and waned in competition with Jainism and Buddhism throughout Indian history, before seeing a huge resurgence after the medieval period. Thereafter it became the dominant religion on the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is one of the most geographically concentrated of the major world religions—of the world's 1.12 billion Hindus, 1.07 billion live in India and Nepal. The sheer number of practitioners, however, makes Hinduism the world's third largest religion. Learn more»

Buddhism
Buddhism is a religious tradition founded by Gautama Buddha in the early 400s BCE, drawing from (or opposing) many of the same Vedic traditions that inform Hinduism. Buddhists engaged Hindus and Jains in religious dialogues for centuries, developing mutual competing traditions and beliefs. Buddhism flourished in India, receiving support from several powerful leaders, before declining during the medieval period. Buddhism continued to grow and develop in East Asia, having a profound impact on the cultural landscape of the entire region. Buddhism is today the fourth largest religion in the world, being the majority religion of many countries in Southeast Asia, and with nearly 200 million practitioners in China.  Learn more»

Jainism
Jainism is an ancient religious tradition from India; per its practitioners Jainism is eternal, or at least older than Hinduism, but many historical estimates will place it contemporary with Buddhism as a Classical offshoot of old Vedic tradition. Like Buddhism, Jainism received varying degrees of support or opposition from powerful sponsors, and was in constant dialogue with India's other religious traditions. Unlike Buddhism, Jainism didn't spread far outside of its home in India, and today the vast majority of the world's 4-5 million Jains live in India. The Jain community enjoys a large profile, however, due to their high literacy rates and the esteem Mohandas Gandhi professed for Jain teachings and beliefs. 

Sikhism
Sikhism is a young religion founded in the early 1500s CE in Punjab (Northern India) by the Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak was raised as a Hindu in the Muslim-ruled Mughal Empire, but he rejected both dominant faiths and began preaching his own religion. A community formed around him. Over the next two centuries, the Sikhs would be led by nine more gurus. The last living guru named the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, as his successor, and there has since been no single leader of the Sikh community. Despite being a religious minority, the Sikhs overthrew the Mughals and founded a major empire in Northern India in the 1800s. By different definitions Sikhism is either the fifth or eighth largest religion in the world, mostly concentrated in their home region of Punjab. Learn more»

Confucianism
Confucianism, it must be said, is not a religion in a strict sense. It is a philosophy that draws on the folk religion of China. Confucianism as a school of thought was founded by the Chinese philosopher Kǒng Qiū (孔丘), better known as Master Kǒng or Kǒngzǐ (孔子), during China's Spring and Autumn period in the 500s BCE. It quickly became the preeminent of the "Hundred Schools of Thought" and became the foundation of the later imperial government of China. The Chinese folk religion that Confucianism draws on is still concentrated in China, but its teachings are widespread throughout East Asia. Note: Kǒngzǐ, or the more honorific Kǒng Fūzǐ (孔夫子) was latinized as Confucius by Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s. Learn more»

Taoism
Taoism is a philosophy and religion originating in China around the same time as Confucianism, and was the primary rival to Confucian thought out of the Hundred Schools. Taoism claims descent from the (perhaps mythical) figure Lǎozǐ (老子), which literally means "Old Master." Taoism shares some common elements with Chinese folk religion, but the core teachings differ (unlike Confucianism). Taoism has been immensely influential on Chinese and East Asian cultures, with Taoist thought influencing everything from literature to medicine to martial arts. Due to the syncretic interactions of Taoism with Chan Buddhism and Confucianism, it is hard to find a hard number of Taoists, but Chinese religions collectively are the fifth largest religion in the world. Learn more»

Telemarketers

I was sitting on the couch this morning writing an article for this blog and received a call and since I was not watching FOX NEWS on Cable TV, I could not tell what number was calling us but the answering machine's female voice spoke something that I could not understand.  My wife, who was in the water closet (that is to say bathroom) called out:  "who was calling?"  My response was "I could not understand what was said."  With that comment and expecting another question, I got up off the couch and walked over to where the telephone was to check out the list of previous callers by pressing the CID key twice. 

Harry Chapin

The call was from Chapin, SC and I called out to my wife, "It was Chapin, South Carolina,"  and "wasn't there a singer named Chapin?  I believe the song was 'Cats in the Cradle,'"  Still in the water closet, she responded, "No that was Cat Stevens."  Not accepting her response, I looked it up on the internet and told her...  "no,. it was Harry Chapin."
pausing for a second or two, I said,

My first thought after this conversation exchange was the fact that I had always liked the song 'Cats in the Cradle,' because it reminded me of my relationship with my father and the subsequent relationship with my daughter.

Cat Stevens

My second thought was that I had always liked Cat Stevens also who was famous for his song, 'Peace Train.'  The song was released in 1971 when I was still in the military and the Vietnam War was still active in the minds of most Americans.

I remember that Cat Stevens disappeared from the music scene and I always thought maybe that he had died from a drug overdose or something...   but, I was WRONG...  and later discovered that Cat Stevens had become a Muslim and changed his name to Yusof Islam and began writing and singing Islamic songs...