#Muhammad Temple Number 22

[nycreligion]

August Wilson House opens in Pittsburgh. His roots in the Nation of Islam

August Wilson House opens in Pittsburgh. His roots in the Nation of Islam

August Wilson stands in front of handwritten excerpts from his plays. Wilson “assembled” his plays by hanging out in his old neighborhood (The Hill district of Pittsburgh) in mosques, cafes, bars, and on the street corners — he would write down bits of conversations that he overheard on scraps of paper. Photo by David Cooper, originally for Yale Repertory Theatre, 2005. Last Saturday, Denzel…

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.24

484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. 1386 – King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda. 1525 – A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia. 1527 – Coronation of Ferdinand I as the king of Bohemia in Prague. 1538 – Treaty of Nagyvárad between Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and King John Zápolya of Hungary and Croatia. 1582 – With the papal bull Inter gravissimas, Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar. 1597 – The last battle of the Cudgel War takes place on the Santavuori Hill in Ilmajoki, Ostrobothnia. 1607 – L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance. 1711 – Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, is premièred. 1739 – Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nader Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah. 1803 – In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review. 1809 – London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving its owner, Irish writer and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan, destitute. 1821 – Final stage of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain with Plan of Iguala. 1822 – The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated. 1826 – The signing of the Treaty of Yandabo marks the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War. 1831 – The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West. 1848 – King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne. 1854 – A Penny Red with perforations becomes the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution. 1863 – Arizona is organized as a United States territory. 1868 – Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate. 1875 – The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high-profile civil servants and dignitaries. 1876 – The stage première of Peer Gynt, a play by Henrik Ibsen with incidental music by Edvard Grieg, takes place in Christiania (Oslo), Norway. 1881 – China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty. 1895 – Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the Cuban War of Independence; the war ends along with the Spanish–American War in 1898. 1916 – The Governor-General of Korea establishes a clinic called Jahyewon in Sorokdo to segregate Hansen's disease patients. 1917 – World War I: The U.S. ambassador Walter Hines Page to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States. 1918 – Estonian Declaration of Independence. 1920 – Nancy Astor becomes the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election as a Member of Parliament (MP) three months earlier. 1920 – The Nazi Party (NSDAP) was founded by Adolf Hitler in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany 1942 – Seven hundred ninety-one[22] Romanian Jewish refugees and crew members are killed after the MV Struma is torpedoed by the Soviet Navy.[ 1942 – The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm led to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasted into the early hours of February 25. 1945 – Egyptian Premier Ahmad Mahir Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree. 1946 – Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, is elected to his first term as President of Argentina. 1949 – The Armistice Agreements are signed, to formally end the hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. 1967 – Cultural Revolution: Zhang Chunqiao announces the dissolution of the Shanghai People's Commune, replacing its local government with a revolutionary committee. 1968 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnamese forces led by Ngo Quang Truong recapture the citadel of Hué. 1971 – The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed three days earlier. P.K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman. 1976 – The 1976 constitution of Cuba is formally proclaimed. 1978 – The Yuba County Five disappear in California. Four of their bodies are found four months later. 1981 – The 6.7 Ms Gulf of Corinth earthquake affected Central Greece with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Twenty-two people were killed, 400 were injured, and damage totaled $812 million. 1983 – A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II. 1984 – Tyrone Mitchell perpetrates the 49th Street Elementary School shooting in Los Angeles, killing two children and injuring 12 more. 1989 – United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, rips open during flight, blowing nine passengers out of the business-class section. 1991 – Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war. 1996 – Two civilian airplanes operated by the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue are shot down in international waters by the Cuban Air Force. 1999 – China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft, crashes on approach to Wenzhou Longwan International Airport in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China. All 61 people on board are killed. 2004 – The 6.3 Mw Al Hoceima earthquake strikes northern Morocco with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 628 people are killed, 926 are injured, and up to 15,000 are displaced. 2006 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup. 2007 – Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea. 2008 – Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years. He remains as head of the Communist Party for another three years. 2015 – A Metrolink train derails in Oxnard, California following a collision with a truck, leaving more than 30 injured. 2016 – Tara Air Flight 193, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, crashed, with 23 fatalities, in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, while en route from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport. 2020 – Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia following an attempt to replace the Pakatan Harapan government, which triggered the 2020-2022 Malaysian political crisis. 2022 – Days after recognising Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Russian president Vladimir Putin orders a full scale invasion of Ukraine.

[newstfionline]

Monday, May 24, 2021

Coming population decline (NYT) Maternity wards are shuttering in Italy. Ghost cities are appearing in China. Hundreds of thousands of properties in Germany have been leveled and the land turned into parks. The world’s demographics are changing, pushing toward more deaths than births. Though some countries’ populations continue to grow, fertility rates are falling nearly everywhere else. Demographers now predict that toward the middle of this century, the global population will enter a sustained decline for the first time.

New COVID-19 cases plummet to lowest levels since last June (AP) New coronavirus cases across the United States have tumbled to rates not seen in more than 11 months, sparking optimism. As cases, hospitalizations and deaths steadily dropped this week, pre-pandemic life in America has largely resumed. Hugs and unmasked crowds returned to the White House, a Mardi Gras-style parade marched through Alabama’s port city of Mobile, and even states that have stuck to pandemic-related restrictions readied to drop them. As the seven-day average for new cases dropped below 30,000 per day this week, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pointed out cases have not been this low since June 18, 2020. The average number of deaths over the last seven days also dropped to 552—a rate not seen since July last year. It’s a dramatic drop since the pandemic hit a devastating crescendo in January.

An IRS refund logjam (WSJ) Taxpayers are encountering unprecedented delays getting refunds, said Laura Saunders at The Wall Street Journal. “A host of problems rooted in the COVID-19 pandemic” has led to a severe backlog at the Internal Revenue Service. The agency is “reviewing about 16 million 2020 returns, mostly because of tax changes last year and in March,” while simultaneously gearing up “to send checks to millions of families” who qualify for upfront child tax credits this summer. Having to delay two annual filing deadlines last year, apply new tax-law changes, and “coordinate 470 million stimulus payments” hasn’t made the IRS’s job easier. Fortunately, the agency will pay 3 percent interest on “most tax refunds issued after April 15,” as long as the return was filed by May 17.

Leaving home: West Virginia population drop is largest in US (AP) After her company told employees in 2017 to start working remotely, customer service representative Haley Miller decided to break from her lifelong home of West Virginia. The beaches of St. Petersburg, Florida, provide a far different view than the mountains of her native state. She is not alone. According to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau, West Virginia lost a higher percentage of its residents than any other state in the nation. From 2010 to 2020, the population dropped 3.2%, or about 59,000 people. Reasons for leaving vary, but common themes emerge: a lack of opportunity or low pay; not enough to do; a political climate that some find oppressive, and poor cellphone and internet service. About 16% of West Virginia’s residents live in poverty, surpassed only by Arkansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Italian cable car plunges to the ground, killing at least 14 (AP) A cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view of some of northern Italy’s most picturesque lakes plummeted to the ground Sunday and then tumbled down the slope, killing 14 people. The lone survivor, a young child, was hospitalized in serious condition with broken bones, authorities said. Six of the dead were Israeli citizens, including a family of four who lived in Italy, the Israeli foreign ministry said. It wasn’t clear if the other couple was related. The mayor of Stresa, where the incident occurred, said it appeared that a cable broke, sending the car careening until it hit a pylon and then fell to the ground. At that point, the car overturned “two or three times before hitting some trees,” said Mayor Marcella Severino. The car was believed to have fallen around 15 meters (50 feet), according to Italian media. Sunday’s tragedy appeared to be Italy’s worst cable car disaster since 1998 when a low-flying U.S. military jet cut through the cable of a ski lift in Cavalese, in the Dolomites, killing 20 people.

Croatia ready to welcome foreign tourists, hoping they come ROVINJ, Croatia (AP)—Sun loungers are out, beach bars are open and rave music is pumping. Hotels and restaurants are greeting visitors hoping to get a head start on summer after more than a year of coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions. Croatia has widely reopened its stunning Adriatic coastline for foreign tourists, becoming one of the first European countries to drop most of its pandemic measures. Now, the ability of people to go there depends on each country’s travel rules. The mood is relaxed in the Istria region, the northernmost part of the Croatian coast famous for its pebble beaches, thick pine forests, wine and delicacies such as truffles, olive oil, goat cheese and prosciutto. Hardy anyone wears masks on the streets or in restaurants in the picturesque town of Rovinj. Still-standing limits on indoor dining and rules requiring a set amount of distance between tables are rarely observed. “People are fed up with lockdowns,” said Nikola Sandic, a waiter at a seafood restaurant located in a small boat harbor. “They have a glass of wine, watch the sea, and that’s all they need.”

Belarus opposition figure detained when flight diverted (AP) A prominent opponent of Belarus’ authoritarian president was arrested Sunday after the airliner in which he was traveling was diverted to the country after a bomb threat, in what the opposition is calling a hijacking operation by the government. The Ryanair plane was carrying opposition figure Raman Pratasevich and traveling from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania. Deputy air force commander Andrei Gurtsevich said the plane’s crew made the decision to land in Minsk, but Ryanair said in a statement that Belarusian air traffic control instructed the plane to divert to the capital. The Belarusian Interior Ministry said Pratasevich was arrested at the airport. Pratasevich is a co-founder of the Telegram messaging app’s Nexta channel, which Belarus last year declared as extremist after it was used to help organize major protests against Lukashenko. Pratasevich, who had fled the country for Poland, faces charges that could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

In the Russian Arctic, the First Stirrings of a Very Cold War (NYT) Chunky green trucks carry Bastion anti-ship missiles that can be prepared for launch in just five minutes. A barracks building, sealed off from the elements like a space station, accommodates 150 or so soldiers. And a new runway can handle fighter jets, two of which recently buzzed the North Pole. Franz Josef Land, a jumble of glacier-covered islands in the Arctic Ocean named after an Austro-Hungarian emperor, was until a few years ago mostly uninhabited, home to polar bears, walruses, sea birds and little else. But thanks to a warming climate, all that is changing, and quickly. Nowhere on Earth has climate change been so pronounced as in the polar regions. The warming has led to drastic reductions in sea ice, opening up the Arctic to ships during the summer months and exposing Russia to new security threats. As the sea ice melts, Russia is deploying ever more soldiers and equipment to the Far North, becoming essentially the first military to act on the strategic implications of climate change for the region in what some have called the beginnings of a Very Cold War. The Arctic ocean has lost nearly a million square miles of ice and is expected to be mostly ice-free in the summertime, including at the North Pole, by around the middle of the century. “In a sense, Russia is acquiring new external borders that need to be protected from potential aggressors,” the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, a Berlin-based think tank, wrote of Russia’s problem of disappearing ice.

More than 125,000 Myanmar teachers suspended for opposing coup (Reuters) More than 125,000 school teachers in Myanmar have been suspended by the military authorities for joining a civil disobedience movement to oppose the military coup in February, an official of the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation said. The suspensions have come days before the start of a new school year, which some teachers and parents are boycotting as part of the campaign that has paralysed the country since the coup cut short a decade of democratic reforms. Myanmar had 430,000 school teachers according to the most recent data, from two years ago. The disruption at schools echoes that in the health sector and across government and private business since the Southeast Asian country was plunged into chaos by the coup and the arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Around 19,500 university staff have also been suspended, according to the teachers’ group.

Iran says inspectors may no longer get nuclear sites images (AP) Iran’s parliament speaker said Sunday that international inspectors may no longer access surveillance images of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites, escalating tensions amid diplomatic efforts in Vienna to save Tehran’s atomic accord with world powers. The comments by Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, aired by state TV, further underscored the narrowing window for the U.S. and others to reach terms with Iran. The Islamic Republic is already enriching and stockpiling uranium at levels far beyond those allowed by its 2015 nuclear deal. “Regarding this, and based on the expiration of the three-month deadline, definitely the International Atomic Energy Agency will not have the right to access images from May 22,” Qalibaf said. May 22 was Saturday.

Life Under Occupation: The Misery at the Heart of the Conflict (NYT) Muhammad Sandouka built his home in the shadow of the Temple Mount before his second son, now 15, was born. They demolished it together, after Israeli authorities decided that razing it would improve views of the Old City for tourists. Mr. Sandouka, 42, a countertop installer, had been at work when an inspector confronted his wife with two options: Tear the house down, or the government would not only level it but also bill the Sandoukas $10,000 for its expenses. Such is life for Palestinians living under Israel’s occupation: always dreading the knock at the front door. The looming removal of six Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem set off a round of protests that helped ignite the latest war between Israel and Gaza. But to the roughly three million Palestinians living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 war and has controlled through decades of failed peace talks, the story was exceptional only because it attracted an international spotlight. Even in supposedly quiet periods, when the world is not paying attention, Palestinians from all walks of life routinely experience exasperating impossibilities and petty humiliations, bureaucratic controls that force agonizing choices, and the fragility and cruelty of life under military rule, now in its second half-century.

[expatimes]

Fear, silent migration: A year after anti-Muslim riots in Delhi

Fear, silent migration: A year after anti-Muslim riots in Delhi

New Delhi, India – Nisha Mewati and her family had been living peacefully in northeast Delhi’s Shiv Vihar area – a mixed-neighbourhood where Hindus and Muslims lived cheek by jowl – for more than a decade.

But last February, their world changed. “And it changed suddenly,” said 22-year-old Nisha, sadness flickering in her eyes.

On February 25, 2020, she was going about her daily chores in the morning when she heard shouts of “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord Ram) – a Hindu chant that has lately become a rallying cry for murder – reverberating at some distance from her home.

“A Muslim family was being dragged from their house in an adjacent lane and beaten by a Hindu mob,” she told Al Jazeera.

The neighbourhood had been tense for a couple of days as violent Hindu mobs had started targeting Muslims who were protesting against the new citizenship law passed by the Hindu nationalist government led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“But we didn’t expect it to hit us. Our family thought we would be safe in our home.”

They were wrong.

Nisha’s neighbourhood, along with several other areas, were engulfed in anti-Muslim violence that led to the killing of more than 50 people, mostly Muslims, in India’s capital New Delhi.

As the cries in the neighbourhood intensified, Nisha and her family, fearing for their lives, hurriedly left their home and took shelter at a relative’s place in an adjoining Muslim-majority area.

Remains of burnt motorbikes kept in a room in Shahnaz Shaikh’s house

They stayed away for 15 days, and when they returned, it was clear they were not welcome.

“Before the riots, Muslims and Hindus both lived together without any issues. But once we returned it was clear things had changed. Our friends in the colony were no longer our friends. They had turned strangers, if not enemies,” Nisha told Al Jazeera. “They yelled out ‘rioters’ on seeing us.”

A few days after Nisha and her family returned to their neighbourhood, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The outbreak in the country was tied by media and many ruling party leaders to a congregation held by the Tablighi Jamaat – a Muslim missionary organisation – in New Delhi. It provided another opportunity for hostile Hindu residents to attack their Muslim neighbours.

“Hindu residents of the lane used to cover their mouths when they saw us (Muslims). They called us ‘corona’,” Nisha said. “So, we stopped coming out of the house. Our brothers used to go out only to purchase groceries. After three-four months we sold our house.”

Two other Muslim families who used to live in Nisha’s lane have also moved out.

On 23 Feb 2020, Delhi Police assaulted five Muslim men who were lying on the floor and writhing in pain and made them sing the national anthem and ‘Vande Mataram’. Faizan, who sustained bullet injuries, died on February 28. 1/2#DelhiPogrom pic.twitter.com/aUxuIKY54K

— Nabiya Khan | نبیہ خان (@NabiyaKhan11) February 23, 2021

Migration from Hindu Mohallas

Mohammad Hanif’s story is no different. He too sold his two-story house in violence-hit Karawal Nagar – two kilometres (1.2 miles) from Shiv Vihar – a few months after the riots and is now living in a rented accommodation in Mustafabad – a Muslim-majority suburban area in India’s capital. Mohammad’s house was ransacked and looted during the violence.

“I had four beds, a bike and two fridges. Nothing was spared. There was no point living in the area now. It was better to vacate,” the 50-year-old said.

Mohammad’s was the only Muslim household in the lane and, after the violence last February, he and his family decided to leave forever. Finally, in October last year, he managed to sell the property.

”Our lives were saved once with difficulty. So, it is not right to risk our lives again.”

Mohammad laments the fact that prices for properties in the violence-struck areas have gone down, most likely due to the number of distress sales. “I sold it (the house) to a non-Muslim for 12 lakhs (approximately $16,500). The same house was offered 18 lakhs (approximately $24,800) before the riots” he said.

Police in Delhi, however, refused to pay much attention to the issue of Muslims feeling forced to leave Hindu-majority areas. “We are currently busy dealing with the farmer protests,” Chinmoy Biswal, a senior Delhi Police public relations officer told Al Jazeera, referring to the months-long farmers’ protests on the outskirts of Delhi against new farm laws.

Rights groups and several victims have accused Delhi Police of being complicit in the riots last year, doing little as Hindu mobs went on a rampage for several days. During the violence – which many government critics termed an anti-Muslim pogrom – police personnel could even be seen throwing stones towards Muslims along with the Hindu mobs. Police have also been accused by victims and lawyers of coercing them to withdraw cases related to the violence.

Some Muslim residents who have not been able to sell their property yet say they have to leave their houses on national occasions and Hindu festivities, due to security fears (Restricted Use)

Some Muslim residents who have not been able to sell their property yet say they have to leave their houses on national occasions and Hindu festivities, due to security fears.

“On the occasion of (India’s) Republic Day, our entire family shifted to a relative’s place. We feared that clashes may erupt,” said Shahnaz Shaikh, a resident of the violence-affected Shiv Vihar.

Farhana Khan, a local activist who has been helping the victims, said that ahead of Diwali – the Hindu festival of lights – last November, some “elements” used to gather near a crematorium in Shiv Vihar and would chant “Jai Shri Ram” whenever the adhan (Muslim call for prayer) was called from a nearby mosque. “They stopped doing it only after police had to be called for intervention. Such things create an atmosphere of perpetual fear,” Farhana told Al Jazeera.

Social activist Aasif Mujtaba said rallies were organised by right-wing Hindu groups in the bylanes of Shiv Vihar to coincide with the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

“Muslim community was petrified when they saw crowds roaming on streets chanting objectionable slogans, but very little was done by police and administration to address the concerns of Muslim community,” said Aasif, who heads Miles2Smile foundation which provides legal and monetary aid to survivors of the February 2020 violence.

Muslim residents of the area say the pervading milieu of mistrust and interfaith hatred in the wake of the riots – the worst religious violence since 1984 – is severely affecting their psychological wellbeing, forcing them to leave the neighbourhoods in which they have lived for decades.

“We want to leave the place. We do not manage to sleep at nights properly. Even a small sound at night scares us and it feels like we are being attacked again,” Shahnaz told Al Jazeera.

Shahnaz’s house was also ransacked during last year’s violence, and she and her sister lost all their jewellery. “The house wasn’t put to flames only because it would have burned adjoining houses owned by Hindus too,” said Shahnaz’s sister, Nazia Parween.

Their family also wants to sell their house and leave but they say they have not been able to get even three-fourths of the actual price.

“My mother wants to sell her house now. First, we wanted to sell it for 40 lakh ( $55,000). But as we could not get the price we decided to sell it for 35 lakh ($48,000) and now we are even willing to sell it for 30 lakh ($41,000). But nobody is willing to pay,” said Shahnaz.

She says all the approaching buyers are non-Muslims. ”Off course how would now Muslims come to this area?”

Distress sales

The property brokers operating in areas affected by the violence also say Muslims are selling their properties in haste, leading to distress sales. “Currently, some 15-20 people have asked me to look out for sellers for their houses. These are mostly Muslim households who live in Hindu-majority neighbourhoods. Some have already sold their buildings through me,” said Rizwan Khan, a property broker for the last 17 years.

Widespread damage to properties were reported during the Delhi violence

“But they don’t get market rate for their properties. For example, a building amounting to 20 lakh (approximately $27,000) is being sold out at 15 lakh (approximately $20,000),” Rizwan told Al Jazeera.

Local authorities, however, say they are “unaware” of such developments.

Puneet Kumar Patel, a sub-divisional Magistrate of Karawal Nagar, says they received no such complaints. “At the time of riots some people had abandoned their homes but now they are returning to them. If there is such a development (of Muslim migration) it would have definitely come to our notice,” Patel told Al Jazeera.

However, the ruling BJP acknowledged the migration of Muslims from mixed communities to ghettos and called for “trust-building initiatives” between the communities. “This is unfortunate, that after the riots the gap between two communities has widened in those areas. The people and the government of Delhi and central government should sit together and sort this out,” Harish Khurana, spokesperson for the BJP in New Delhi, told Al Jazeera.

For many in the violence-hit areas though, the situation is beyond reconciliation.

Decreased social interaction between the communities

“How would there be any normalcy if there is no interaction?” asks Muhammad Ibrahim who runs a grocer’s in Shiv Vihar. He lives in a Muslim-majority area, but owns a shop in a Hindu-majority lane. His business, he says, has been badly hit since Hindu customers no longer come to his shop.

“Right now Hindus prefer to go to shops owned by Hindus and similarly Muslims prefer to go to shops of Muslims,” Muhammad said. “Before the riots, both Hindus and Muslims used to come to my shop but now majority of non-Muslims have stopped buying from my shop.”

Muhammad’s shop was first looted and then burned in last year’s violence. Since then he has had poor sales because of an undeclared social boycott by the Hindu community, forcing him to think of selling his shop. “My father and I am discussing the possible relocation plans,” he told Al Jazeera.

The strained relations post-violence have led to minimal social interaction between the communities, aggravating the already wide fault lines. “Our children don’t even play outside with their (Hindu) friends any more. They have prohibited their children to play with ours. So we also don’t allow them to roam outside ” said Nazia Parween.

India’s approximately 200 million Muslims have long lived on the margins, with episodic religious violence forcing them to seek shelter in ghettos. Since the coming to power of Modi’s BJP in 2014, the community has become increasingly marginalised.

Experts say the silent migration of Muslims from “mixed” areas and further segregation of the community would expedite the near-total alienation.

“This, of course, is not a new phenomenon,” said Suchitra Vijayan, a New York-based lawyer and author of Midnight’s Borders, A people’s history of modern India.

“Sometimes a household, because of violence, is forced to move multiple times and it is so common amongst marginalised Muslim community in India. The community has earlier been also forced to migrate in large numbers to the Muslim-only enclaves or ghettos after violence perpetuated against them during Gujrat pogrom (2002), Nellie massacre (1983) or more recently now in Delhi.”

A 2006 report by the federal government-appointed Sachar judicial committee pointed out that “fearing for their security, Muslims are increasingly resorting to living in ghettos across the country.”

Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=18331&feed_id=34586

[antoine-roquentin]

The kingdom has more trivial money worries too. The Al Saud are a royal family like no other: there are thousands of them, descending from the 22 wives Ibn Saud had while technically observing the Sharia requirement of four wives – max – at any one time. He was ‘father to the nation’ in more than a metaphorical sense. In the context of a tribal society, these prudential intermarriages had the benefit of binding together a number of different groups at a time when Ibn Saud was merely the head of a coalition of tribes who founded the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 after he invaded the Hejaz, with its holy cities, Mecca and Medina. The trouble, presently, is that his descendants all expect their emoluments. The scale of this burden can be gauged from a classified cable sent by Wyche Fowler, then US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, to his government in November 1996, exposed by WikiLeaks, in which he reports that members of the Al Saud family receive stipends ranging from $270,000 a month for more senior princes to $8000 ‘for the lowliest member of the most remote branch of the family’. The system is calibrated by generation, with surviving sons and daughters of Ibn Saud receiving between $200,000 and $270,000, grandchildren around $27,000, great-grandchildren around $13,000 and great-great-grandchildren the minimum $8000 per month. According to the US embassy’s calculations, in 1996 the budget for around sixty surviving sons and daughters, 420 grandchildren, 2900 great-grandchildren and ‘probably only about 2000 great-great-grandchildren at this point’ amounted to more than $2 billion, with the stipends providing ‘a substantial incentive for royals to procreate’ since – in addition to bonuses received on marriage for palace construction – a royal stipend begins at birth. One minor prince, according to a Saudi source, had persuaded a community college in the state of Oregon to enrol him even though he had no intention of attending classes: his principal goal in life was to have more children so he could increase his monthly allowance.

In addition to the stipends, senior princes enriched themselves via ‘off budget’ programmes that ‘are widely viewed as sources of royal rake-offs’. The largest of these, according to the cable, was thought to relate to the holy shrines of Mecca and Medina – around $5 billion annually – and the Ministry of Defence’s strategic storage project, worth around $1 billion. Both were highly secretive and ‘widely believed to be a source of substantial revenues for the king’ – at that time King Fahd – ‘and a few of his full brothers’. Other ways the princes obtained money included borrowing from banks without paying them back (Saudi banks have been reluctant to lend to royals unless they have proven repayment records) and using princely ‘clout to confiscate land from commoners, especially if it is known to be the site for an upcoming project and can be quickly sold to the government for a profit’. King Abdullah, whose ten-year rule between 2005 and 2015 was seen as a period of modest reform, curbed some of these excesses by stopping handouts to family members going on holiday and discouraging them from using the national airline as a ‘private jet service’. As Karen Elliott House writes in On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Faultlines – and Future (2012), probably the best account of the country written so far by a Western observer (as a woman she had access to the half of the population that is off-limits to male reporters), ‘this plethora of princes is so large and so diverse that little if anything links them except some Al Saud genes … Collectively, they increasingly are viewed by the rest of Saudi society as a burdensome privileged caste.’ Though, thanks to another aspect of tribalism, even being an Al Saud doesn’t guarantee great privilege: sons and grandsons of Ibn Saud whose mothers don’t belong to elite Arabian lineages are considered ineligible for the throne. And as a recent BBC investigation showed, a number of dissident princes have recently vanished, or been disappeared.

The faith tradition that holds the Saudi system together – for now – is Wahhabi Islam, the iconoclastic creed of the 18th-century Islamic reformer Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, whose pact with the Al Saud family led to the creation of the modern kingdom in 1932. Al-Wahhab’s stormtroopers, the Ikhwan, enabled Ibn Saud’s rise to power. They killed unarmed villagers regarded as apostates, thought nothing of slaughtering women and children, and routinely slit the throats of male captives. Contemporary accounts describe the horrors afflicted on the city of Taif in 1924, when the Ikhwan murdered hundreds of civilians, in a massacre similar to the violence committed by Islamic State or al-Qaida today. As an Arab witness wrote, Ibn Saud’s forces ‘normally give no quarter, sparing neither boys nor old men, veritable messengers of death from whose grasp no one escapes’. Some 400,000 people are reported to have been massacred by the Ikhwan during the early days of the Saudi state. The Wahhabi understanding of tawhid, the theology of monotheism or divine unicity, which forbids the veneration of any person or object other than Allah, is still used today to justify the ban on all forms of non-Muslim public worship in the kingdom, as well as the confiscation of non-Wahhabi textual sources such as Quranic commentaries brought in by pilgrims from South Asia, who have had them removed by the religious police while attending the Hajj. But tawhid, a theology that claims to be fundamentally opposed to polytheism, has an unexpected consequence. It mines the Islamic discourse to sustain a totalitarian outlook whose actual purpose is the preservation and enrichment of the tribal dynasty that owns and governs this enormous country in its exclusive interest.

Al-Wahhab’s views on the veneration of Muslim holy men – exemplified by his destruction of the tomb of Zayd ibn al-Khattab, brother of Umar, the most revered of the early caliphs and a companion of the Prophet – are now used to legitimise the orgy of cultural vandalism inflicted on Mecca and Medina, over which the king claims religious guardianship as custodian of the Two Holy Shrines, a status that is quasi-caliphal (the Al Saud lack the lineage formally to declare themselves caliphs). The centre of Mecca, the sacred hub of Islam, now resembles Las Vegas, with hotels such as the Raffles Makkah Palace and the Makkah Hilton towering over the Kaaba, the cube-shaped temple to which Muslims everywhere bow in the direction of prayer. Beyond the sacred mosque is the Mekkah Clock Royal Tower, a kitsch rendition of Big Ben around five times as high – one of the world’s tallest buildings. Wealthy Gulf pilgrims are expected to pay premium prices for rooms and apartments in these buildings, as part of the effort to make up for the decline in oil prices. Even the Prophet Muhammad himself is not immune from the corrosive effects of Wahhabi iconoclasm, on the grounds that the veneration of the Prophet (as distinct from the worship of God) constitutes forbidden idolatry. The Prophet’s mawlid or birthday festival – widely observed with processions and family gatherings in other Muslim countries – is banned in the Saudi kingdom, while the name ‘Muhammad’ is often used disparagingly, as a catch-all for despised Muslim immigrants working as menials. The site of Muhammad’s first wife’s house, where it is believed he received his first revelations and where five of his children were born, is now occupied by a row of public toilets.

In the kingdom at large, Wahhabi doctrine is enforced by the five thousand-strong religious police force – known as the mutawaeen – controlled by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. These religious thugs, institutional descendants of the Ikhwan stormtroopers, patrol cities in expensive white SUVs enforcing prayer times and dress codes, as well as bans on music, sexual mingling and non-Wahhabi forms of religious worship. Even the international opprobrium heaped on the mutawaeen after 2002 – when they prevented 15 schoolgirls from leaving a blazing building, causing them to be burned alive – didn’t lead to their disbandment, though MBS has promised to curtail their powers. According to foreigners who have lived outside the privileged enclaves of expat colonies such as the Aramco-run city of Dhahran – known as Little America, with its manicured golf courses, where men and women mix freely and women are permitted to drive within the fenced-in corporate compound – the sense of fear is ubiquitous.

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Best Beaches in Turkey

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Best Beaches in Turkey

Best Beaches in Turkey. When you’re a country with coastlines along the Aegean and Mediterranean seas you’re bound to be spoilt for choice when it comes to decent beaches and that’s certainly the case with Turkey. Some, like those around Marmaris, are well-known to foreign visitors and come with all the amenities a holiday-maker could ask for. Less developed options also abound, like those on the Datça Peninsula, while some, like those on the islands of Bozcaada and Gökçeada, are hugely popular with Turks but only slowly gaining a reputation with visiting holiday-makers.

Travelers looking for a beach vacation may want to consider the Turkish Riviera. Guests are surrounded by luxury, not to mention a wide variety of water activities from waterslides to windsurfing to just lounging on the beach. Or they can relax with a spa treatment or traditional Turkish bath. In addition these resorts offer many international cuisines along with fitness centers to work off those calories. Most of the best beach resorts in Turkey can be found between Antalya and Alanya, with a few near Bodrum and Oludeniz.

Travellers’ Choice Awards. Find out what the best Beaches in Turkey are as awarded by real travellers.

Kaputas Beach, Kas, Antalya

1- Kaputas Beach, Kas

Kaputas Beach Kas; The beach is situated at a distance of 20 km from Kaş and 7 from Kalkan, at a point where an extremely narrow valley towered by steep cliffs and forests joins the sea shore in the cove of the same name as the beach (Kaputaş). The beach is quite popular among visitors to the region due to its untouched natural beauty commanded by a view from the heights traversed by the State road D400 between Kaş and Kalkan.

Iztuzu Beach (Dalyan)

2- Iztuzu Beach (Dalyan)

Iztuzu Beach, Dalyan; Good beach, with or w/o logger-head turtles. The town, 8 km (5 miles) NW of Dalaman Airport, the river, cliff tombs and Caunos ruins are a nice bonus.

Iztuzu Beach is backed by the Dalyan Delta. Iztuzu’s six kilometres of golden sands are just a fifteen-minute drive from Dalyan Town. Perhaps for this reason, the beach is rarely crowded.

The beach is a fine strip of white sand that juts into the water. Backed by Dalyan Delta, it is a stunning and natural place.

If you are seeking complete isolation, turn left on your way to Iztuzu and follow the off-road tracks into the mountains. You’ll travel through lush forests and isolated mountain villages, and eventually you’ll find a number of isolated, stunningly beautiful beaches.

Alanya: Kleopatra (Cleopatra) Beach, Perfect Sand, Summer

3- Kleopatra Beach, Alanya

Kleopatra Beach, Alanya; The town (115 km/72 miles east of Antalya) is busy and crowded, but the beaches are so long (22 km/14 miles to the east) that there’s plenty of sand for everyone. Great Seljuk castle, too

Blue Lagoon (Oludeniz Beach), Fethiye

4- Blue Lagoon (Oludeniz Beach), Fethiye

Blue Lagoon (Oludeniz Beach), Fethiye; Ölüdeniz (Fethiye) Very fine, with good hotels, restaurants and bars, but because it’s Turkey’s most famous, it can get crowded.

Oludeniz Blue Lagoon Turkey is a wondrous place famous for its beautiful beaches and historical sights. It should be mentioned that Oludeniz beach resort is a rather quiet and peaceful place, so you won’t find some noisy disco-bars and shows. In fact, tourists come here for other reasons.

So where is Oludeniz in Turkey located and how to get to Oludeniz beach? Oludeniz resort (Olu Deniz) is located near town of Fethiye in the province of Mugla in Turkey. You can easiliy get from Fethiye to Oludeniz by dolmus – mini bus. So how far is Fethiye from Oludeniz? The distance from from Oludeniz to Fethiye is 13 km and road goes through Ovacik and Hisaronu. Olludeniz dolmus timetable will not make you to wait for bus to go for more than 30 minutes or you always can take Oludeniz taxi. Sometimes holidaymakers from Marmaris, Bodrum, Antalya is comeing for a day to Oludeniz Blue Lagoon Turkey. Abswering the question how far is Oludeniz from Marmaris we must admit that Oludeniz to Marmaris is 137 km.Aas for the distances to other resorts: Antalya to Oludeniz is 201 km, Bodrum to Oludeniz – 244 km, Icmeler to Oludeniz – 145 km. The closest to Blue Lagoon Oludeniz airport is Dalaman which is located in 63 km from the resort.

Ancient city and beach of Patara in Turkey

5- Patara Beach, Patara (Fethiye)

Patara Beach, Patara (Fethiye); 50 meters/yards wide and 20 km (12.5 miles) long, this beach 75 km (47 miles) south of Fethiye is Turkey’s finest. Accommodations—and shade—are limited, though.

Patara was founded in the V century BC and soon became the largest port of Lycia.The Temple of Apollo with oracle, that was considered the second most important temple after the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, was attracting pilgrims from all the Greek cities of Asia Minor.

So where is Patara in Turkey located? The Patara ruins and Patara beach are located approximately in 10 kilometers west of the modern Turkish town of Kalkan in province of Antalya (actually Patara is much closer to Fethiye than Antalya – there are 225 km from Patara beach to Antalya). The distance from Fethiye to Patara Turkey is 75 km.

During the wars between the successors of Alexander the Great the Patara city was the major naval port and shipyard. In 42 BC Brutus gave an ultimatum to residents of Patara – he promised to spare all citizens of Patara and even release previously captured captives for the surrender of the city otherwise he would arrange a similar to Xanthos massacre. Patara chose to give up.

The Roman emperor Hadrian used to live in Patara for some time. The Apostle Paul and the Luke the Evangelist stayed here and on the way to Rome. In 138 BC the population of the Patara city was about 20,000 and Patara was the second most important city after Ephesus. Patara is also the birthplace of St. Nicholas (270 AD) – Archbishop of Myra and the prototype of Santa Claus.

Today Patara Turkey is mostly known for its beautiful white sand beach. Patara Beach Turkey is a strip of white sand of 500m width stretching along the Mediterranean coast for 20 km. There are sunbeds, changing rooms, several places to eat and have fun on the beach. It is a place where tourists can relax in a quiet secluded atmosphere amid the stunning seascapes. Beach and the sea is maintained in perfect cleanliness as Patara is the National Park and protected by the government. Patara Beach in Turkey was recognized as the best beach in Europe by British weekly journal The Sunday Times. You can get to Patara beach from Fethiye by car on D400 – coastal road to Antalya.

Ilica Beach, Cesme

6- Ilica Beach, Cesme

Ilica Beach, Cesme;

Ilıca is a large resort area near Çeşme in the extreme western tip of Turkey, in İzmir Province. A township apart in practically all its aspects, Ilıca administratively depends the municipality of the district center of Çeşme, at a distance of 5 km to the west.

Ilıca started out as a settlement towards the end of the 19th century, initially as a retreat for wealthy people, especially from İzmir, during summer holidays. Today, it is a popular destination for many. Its name makes reference to its famed thermal springs, some of which are in the sea. As the thermal waters come out of the sea bed and mix with the sea water adding minerals very close to the Ilica Beach, swimming at Ilica Beach is ideal for the skin. Ilica is also home to mud baths which is known to cure many illnesses such as rheumatism, metabolism illnesses and gynaecological diseases.

Mentioned by Pausanias and Charles Texier, Ilıca thermal springs are also notable in Turkey for having been the subject of the first scientifically based analysis in Turkish language of a thermal spring, published in 1909 by Yusuf Cemal. By his time the thermal springs were well-known both internationally, scientific and journalistic literature having been published in French and in Greek, and across Ottoman lands, since the construction here of a still-standing yalı associated with Muhammad Ali of Egypt’s son Tosun Pasha who had sought a cure in Ilıca before his premature death.

Ilıca also has a fine beach, about 1.5 km long, as well as favorable wind conditions which make Ilıca, together with the neighboring Alaçatı, an internationally prized location for windsurfing.

“Go to Calis if you want a relaxing break!”

7- Calis Beach, Fethiye

Calis Beach, Fethiye;

Konyaalti Beach Park – Antalya (region) – Tourism

8- Konyaaltı & Lara Beach (Antalya)

Konyaaltı & Lara Beach (Antalya); Big, l-o-n-g pebble/coarse sand beach using the Blue Flag System to certify cleanliness

Konyaalti Beach Park

Walk on the multicolored pebbles and feel the warm waves tickle your feet in this scenic beach park with views of distant mountains. Konyaalti Beach Park is a vast stretch of pebbles with a stunning backdrop of mountains. Showers, restaurants and the sea offer sunbathers respite from the sweltering heat. Make this your favorite spot for watersports, swimming and relaxing by the Mediterranean Sea just outside the city center. Sunbathe on deck chairs while the kids play on the beach. Rent umbrellas to shade you from the sun while you lounge on a beach chair. Dip your toes in the water or go for a swim in the Mediterranean Sea. Look for the blue flag indicating the water is clean and safe for swimmers. The Beydaglari Mountains loom powerfully over the horizon as a reminder of the country’s scenic and varied landscape. Capture photos of the rocky giants hanging over the sea. Stay at one of the hotels with a view of the beach. Take part in watersports, such as Jet Skiing and parasailing, for a small price. Choose snacks at the many vendors’ stands along the beach. Buy nuts, ice cream and sodas to share with family and friends. Sit at a restaurant for a meal accompanied by the soothing sound of crashing waves. Behind the beach you will find a park with paths, trees and vast grassy area where you can play games. The Antalya Aqualand Water Park next to the beach is packed with thrilling slides and waterfalls. You do not have to pay to enter the beach and park, which is always open to the public. Remember to wear appropriate footwear, as the pebbles can get quite hot on summer afternoons. Konyaalti Beach Park is about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) west of the central area of Antalya. You can drive to the beach, which has a large parking lot for visitors, in less than 15 minutes. The beach is next to the Miniature Culture Park, Antalya Aquarium and Antalya Museum. Ride the tram to the stop next to the museum and walk for 2 minutes to reach the beach. Buses also take passengers to the popular beach.

Olympos beach Antalya. A secluded beach 50 miles southwest of Antalya.

9- Olimpos (Antalya)

Olimpos (Antalya); The opposite of the others: small, secluded, atmospheric, backed by a forest filled with Roman ruins. 79 km (49 miles) southwest of Antalya

Laid on the Mediterranean coast in Antalya province, Olympus beach is famous as the place to see Chimera – natural flames issuing from the rocky mountains.

Getting there

To get to the beach from Antalya you can use a rented car. In this case, the trip is possible using a narrow road off the D400 highway. Also, there is a public transport service, although not direct.

Hotels and pensions are available in the villages of Cirali and Olympus, and getting to the beach from these villages is just a matter of a 15 min walk.

Side has sandy beaches, East and west

10- Side (Antalya)

Side (Antalya); The once-idyllic village 65 km (40 miles) east of Antalya is now crowded and noisy, but the beaches are still fine and unspoiled. Roman ruins abound

BODRUM PENINSULA BEACHES & COVES

11- Bodrum Peninsula

Bodrum Peninsula; Beaches in the towns are not great, but good smaller ones abound: Ortakent Yalısı (coarse sand & pebble), Turgutreis (surfy), and gem-like Gümüşlük

BODRUM PENINSULA BEACHES & COVESBODRUM PENINSULA BEACHES & COVES ADA BOGAZI (AQUARIUM) On the Bodrum peninsula between Gumbet and Bitez is the Akvaryum Cove, stretching for three kilometres towards the south. In front of it is Gorecik Island, which is also called ic Island. Between the Bodrum Peninsula and the island there is an area forming a strait and the cove, It is called Aquarium because of its crystal clear waters.In the open waters the sea floor 30 m. below can be seen with the naked eye. Throughout the day it get hoards of Daily Boat Trips and at night boats that anchor there. AKYARLAR COVE This cove with its wonderful beach and crystal clear waters is 13 km from Bodrum. It is one of the best places in the world to surf. Its ancient name is Arhialla. ASPAT BEACH Rising out of the shores of the Aegean and mentioned often in Turkish folk music, the real name of Aspat is Aspartos. Evliya celebi writes of Aspat in his Chronicles. Built upon a barren rock, the perimeter of Aspat Castle measures 700 paces. Here one may see the remains of a civilizations dating back to the Classic Age and continuing up until the present day. BAGLA BEACH With one of the best coves and beaches on the peninsula, it is an excellent place to camp and is 14 km from Bodrum. BARDAKCI BEACH Bardakçi is 500 m. from Bodrum. One can reach to Bardakci most of the time by sea. Its crystal clear sea is well-known for its springs. BITEZ BEACH One of the most beautiful coves on the peninsula, it is 10 km from Bodrum and has warm waters and sandy beaches. It is a beautiful quiet corner where blue and green reach out to touch each other in the tangerine orchards which stretch from the village to the sea. GOLKOY Located 13 km north of Bodrum, this beautiful cove blends the green of olive, tangerine and pine trees with that of palms. Because it faces the north, it is always lush and the water in the cove is cooler than that in the other coves. GUMBET BEACH About 3 km west of Bodrum, its waters are very shallow. It is an excellent place for beach surfing. Bardakci is a mere 1000 m. from Bodrum. Most people go there by Boat. It is known for its beach and the water, which is as clear as glass, as well as the fresh water spring there. GUNDOGAN Located 18 km from Bodrum, Gundogan cove is one of the coves that has been least changed by man and which still preserves its beauty in the most natural way. Its tangerine orchards are famous. GUMUSLUK It is one of the oldest settlements on the peninsula. It is still possible to see in places the underwater remains of the old harbor wall which connected Tavsan Island to the mainland. The sea and fish here are famous. Watching the sun set here amidst the lush green vegetation will be a life-long memory. GUVERCINLIK BEACH A cove of unusual beauty with every conceivable tone green and blue, it is located 25 km from Bodrum. Salih Island, located right across the water, only serves to enhance the natural appeal of this beautiful cove. KADIKALESI The sandy beaches of this crystal clear sea are surround with citrus orchards. Situated 23 km from Bodrum, it gets its name from the remains of a nearby castle belonging to the Hellenistic era. KARAINCIR Situated 16 km out of Bodrum, its 500 m. beach is one of the best in the area. ORTAKENT – YAHSI BEACH Located 14 km from Bodrum, its waters are warm and it has sandy beaches. Its tangerine orchards are quite famous. It is one of the best vantage points from which to view village life in Bodrum.

TORBA BEACH peaceful little village just 5 km from Bodrum, it is a charming yet lively place where the shining sea melds with the green pines and olive trees. There are boats going to Didim, Milet and Priene from here. TURGUTREIS BEACH Situated 20 km from Bodrum, the town is famous for its tangerine orchards. It is named for the famous Turkish admiral, Turgut Reis. In terms of population, it is the second most populous area after Bodrum. It is known for its unforgettable sunsets. TURKBUKU BEACH Situated beside Golkoy, at a distance from Bodrum of 15 km, it resembles Golkoy in almost every way. It is one of the places preferred by people looking for peace and quiet. YALIKAVAK BEACH Yalikavak impresses with its combination of alluring traditional charm and a sense of recognition of the importance of contemporary comforts desired by today’s discerning visitor. This is what makes Yalikavak attractive to those who care for both, the old and the new.

About Bodrum Peninsula

The ancient Bodrum peninsula is a beautiful port city on the Turkish Aegean Sea and is one of the most enchanting places in the region. It’s an attractive destination for wealthy Turkish families, jet-setters and European vacationers. The busy harbor is always littered with yachts and the area is bordered by white villas and palm trees

12- Kemer (Antalya)

Kemer (Antalya); Very mod-resorty, but near a lot of interesting day-trip possibilities

13- Pamucak (Ephesus)

Pamucak (Ephesus); Big, broad, dark sand, only 7 km (4 miles) west of Ephesus, relatively clean with a few cig butts and bottlecaps

14- Sarıgerme (Dalaman)

Sarıgerme (Dalaman); Very near busy Dalaman Airport, this well-kept beach is somewhat undiscovered, quieter, great for families and those interested mostly in beach time.

15- Kızkalesi (Silifke)

Kızkalesi (Silifke); Known only to Turks and savvy foreigners, this beach 25 km (16 miles) east of Silifke is sort of small but the castle out at sea makes up for it.

16 Sinop

Sinop; Sinop Nice beaches, never crowded, because the Black Sea water is usually pretty chilly.

17- Kuşadası (Ephesus)

Kuşadası (Ephesus); Nice enough Aegean beaches, but small and very crowded

18- Samandağ (Antakya)

Samandağ (Antakya); W-a-y down near Syria (26 km/16 miles) southwest of Antakya, but has a trash problem.

19- Anamur (Alanya)

Anamur (Alanya); Good beach that only Turks seem to know about, 127 km (79 miles) southeast of Alanya. Interesting Byzantine ghost town nearby.

20- Çalış (Fethiye)

Çalış (Fethiye); Long beach near the city cradling yacht-happy Fethiye Bay, good but somehow un-charming, and famous Ölüdeniz is just 10 km (6 miles) away over the hills.

21- Blue Flag Beaches

Blue Flag Beaches; The Blue Flag beach hygeine system has been adopted by some Turkish beaches. You should know about it to protect your health.

22- Icmeler Beach, Marmaris

Icmeler Beach, Marmaris;

23- Cirali Beach, Cirali

Cirali Beach, Cirali;

Antalya, Turkish Riviera

The Turkish Riviera is the most stunning part of Turkey’s Mediterranean coast with its perfect sun, clean beaches, ultra luxury resorts, nature and history. Antalya is the largest city on the Mediterranean with its charming harbour. It is typical of Turkey, a thriving modern city, with a historic heart in the centre of Kaleici, within the old city walls. This area has seen something of a renaissance in recent years, with many of the wooden Ottoman mansions being restored and turned into boutique hotels. The symbol of Antalya is the Yivli Minare built by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat in the 13th century. Culture lovers will find plenty of interest in the Archaeological Museum which has artefacts fro m the Paleolithic Age right through to Ottoman times.

Antalya has a backdrop of stunning mountain scenery, and the city is set high on cliffs, with many of its grandest hotels overlooking the sea on the outskirts of the town. The beach area of Lara, approximately 12 km to the east is home to the best beach in the area, known for its golden sand, which is rapidly becoming a resort in its own right. To the west, the long pebble beach of Konyaalti is also popular. Heading up into the mountains, you can make the most of the beautiful scenery by visiting the spectacular Duden or Kursunlu Waterfalls to see a completely different side to the Turkish landscape. Antalya has a large number of five star hotels, many of which have meetings facilities, and this, together with the Pyramid Congress Centre which can hold up to 3000 delegates make it a popular venue for conferences.

Patara Another must see for any summer traveler to Turkey is Patara Beach. Located in Antalya, the Patara is one of the Mediterranean’s longest beaches at 18km in length, and under protection by the Turkish government for nesting sea turtles. Curvy, sweeping sand dunes, surrounded by ancient ruins along with stiff coastal breezes for excellent wind surfing takes Patara Beach to the top of lists of World’s Best Beaches for both natural beauty and great value.

Belek Belek is Turkey’s premier golf resort with its spectacular long, golden sandy beaches, and a backdrop of mountains. Belek has won awards for environmentally friendly development and there are many rare species of plant and wildlife indigenous to the area. Accommodation is mostly of the five star variety with all facilities laid on including sporting and other activities, spa treatments and entertainment. Many of the hotels are also set up to cater for children with kids clubs and other facilities.

Kemer Kemer is one of Turkey’s first multipurpose resorts, carefully planned to blend in with the surrounding scenery. At its heart is the attractive marina, a stopping off point for gulets on the blue cruise. Around it are sophisticated shops, bars and restaurants catering for the resort’s well-heeled clientele. Kemer has a clean pebble beach, but the main resort areas are on the beaches located a little further out, namely Kiziltepe, Goynuk, Beldibi, Camyuva and Tekirova. Surrounded by pine forests, they offer a range of accommodation including five star hotels, all designed to blend in to the natural environment.

Alanya Alanya is a modern resort, famed for its beautiful sandy beaches. Its harbour is dominated by the Red Tower, which protected the dockyards in Seljuk times, the remains of which can still be seen in the waters. High on a promontory is the old fortress with its well preserved walls, towers and Byzantine church. It takes about an hour to walk up but it is well worth it for the views alone. Alanya itself has lots of blue flag beaches and has a full range of accommodation with plenty of good shops and restaurants, together with lively nightlife.

Side The old town of Side is set on a peninsula with sandy beaches to either side, surrounded still by the ancient city walls. It boasts an impressive ancient Hellenistic theatre, the largest in the area, with seating for 17.000, overlooking the sea; a charming museum and the stunning Temple of Apollo, a romantic spot at sunset. Side has something for everyone: great beaches, history, an abundance of shops, lively nightlife and a good choice of restaurants.

Olympos – Cirali (Çıralı) Olympos is in a charming spot set on a 5 km long beach amidst unspoilt nature, and the ruins include baths, a temple, Roman theatre and necropolis. To the north of Olympos, past the attractive beach front hamlet of Cirali, high on the hillside is the legendary burning flame of Chimera, literally burning stone.

Olympos Bey Mountains Coast National Park Koprulu Canyon National Park

READ MORE: http://www.visitturkey.in/best-beaches-in-turkey/

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JERUSALEM CITY OF PEACE OR CONFLICT

Symbols are powerful, they can amalgamate people of a common belief, they can also transform them into an impetuous rabble. Sometimes symbols get attached to places or to cities that are considered to be sacred. Some cities wash away sins, some are birthplaces of gods and some serve as the headquarters of a religion, but no city in the world has ever played a greater role in the history of a religion as Jerusalem has for Judaism, for Christianity, and for Islam. It’s one of the oldest cities in the world, known as the City of Peace. Yet it is today and has been throughout history, a city of conflict. It has been destroyed at least twice, fought over 16 times, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. 

Jerusalem has divided people, it has also united them in reverence as a holy land. Over the centuries of its existence, three major religions have fought for its control Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Abrahamic religions, a group of religions that view Abraham as a common ancestor, a patriarch who is mentioned in all three of their holy books: The Torah, The Bible and The Quran. Jews and Christians trace their roots to Abraham’s second son Issac. Muslims trace their roots to Abraham’s elder son Ishmael. Their faith and belief divide them but Jerusalem acts as that one connecting force that forms a link between these religions.

In Hebrew, it is known as Yerushalayim, the spiritual homeland of the Jewish people. Temple Mount in Jerusalem is where two biblical Jewish temples stood thousands of years ago. The western wall within the Temple Mount is said to be the last remnant of those temples, today it is considered to be the holiest site in Judaism. When Jews pray they face the western wall in Jerusalem just like Muslims face the Kaaba in Mecca. Also on top of Temple Mount rests the Dome of Rock, this is where Muslims say Prophet Muhammad levitated to the heavens. Jerusalem is also consecrated for Muslims, in Arabic it is called Al-Quds, the holy sanctuary. Home to the AL- Aqsa Mosque, the holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Madina. Lastly in Christianity Jerusalem is mentioned as Salem in The Bible, an ancient Hebrew name that was safeguarded in its current name, Jerusalem for Christians. This city is the home to the Church of The Holy Sepulchre, this is where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

So, for all of these three: Christian, Muslims and Jews Jerusalem holds a hallow and prime place.

But,………….…….……. who owns it?

Jerusalem belongs to everyone and no one…

Every religion has pronounced it and almost every paramount empire has once controlled it. 

In 135 CE, when the Romans drove the Jews out of Jerusalem and renamed their kingdom ‘Judea’ to ‘Palestina’, a Greek name to break the Jewish connection to this land. All the Jews were interdicted from setting foot in Jerusalem. 

What about the Jews where did they go?

After their departure from Judea, they dispersed across the Roman Empire which is present-day Europe but they were tyrannized wherever they went. In the 11th century, the jews were carnaged by the crusaders who considered them to be the killers of Jesus Christ. In the 14th century, they were scapegoated as the cause of black death, inculpated of poisoning the wells of Christians and slaughtering in the Rhine and Rhone region. Their persecution went on till the 19th century and this is when some Jews joined forces to protect their identities, they launched what is called Zionism, a religious, political and ideological movement that had two aims: First was to put an end to centuries of oppression and the second was to take Jews back to their ancient homeland. The Zionists believed that Judaism was as much as a religion as it was a nationality, that the Jews deserved their own state the same way The French deserved France or the Chinese deserved China. This movement is what brought Jews back to Israel. 

Today Zionism is Israel's national ideology. Towards the end of the 19th century, Zionism led to a colossal Jewish immigration to Palestine. By 1903, at least 30 thousand had re-established themselves in Palestine. By 1914, 40 thousand more Jews had resettled there. Then came the 1st World War, the Ottoman Empire collapsed and the British and French empires carved up west Asia with the British taking control of the region under the British mandate for Palestine. At first, they allowed Jewish immigration but as more and more Jews approached tensions between Jews and Arabs grew. Both sides committed acts of brutality, both claiming to be the victims. By the 1930s the British began limiting Jewish immigration, things changed again after the rise of Nazi Germany. 6 million Jews were killed in The Holocaust the remaining fled The US and Palestine in large numbers. 

By 1944 the Jewish population in Palestine had increased to 33% of the total. This jolted much of the western world in support of a Jewish state with much of The Arab world against it. In 1947 a sectarian violence between The Arabs and The Jews grew, The United Nations approved a plan to divide British Palestine into two discrete states one for Jews called Israel and one for Arabs called Palestine and the city of Jerusalem was to become a special international zone since it housed the holy sites of both religions. This plan was a massive failure, the British first failed to prevent violence and then washed their hands off all responsibilities. They left the land in a mess just as they left India and Pakistan after partition. The Jews accepted the UN plan on 14th May 1948, Jewish leaders proclaimed independence and declared the creation of the state of Israel but was rejected by the Arab side and never implemented. The Palestinians viewed this as ‘theft’, they accused Jews of stealing their land.  

Many Palestinians objected and a war followed. Troops from neighbouring Arab countries invaded. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced out of their homes in what they call Al-Nakba, or the "Catastrophe". By the time the fighting ended in a ceasefire the following year, Israel controlled most of the territory. Jordan occupied land which became known as the West Bank, and Egypt occupied Gaza. Jerusalem was divided between Israeli forces in the West and Jordanian forces in the East. Because there was never a peace agreement - each side blamed the other.

In another war in 1967, Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as most of the Syrian Golan Heights, and Gaza and the Egyptian Sinai peninsula. Most Palestinian refugees and their descendants live in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in neighbouring Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. This was known as a 6-day war because Israel had defeated the Arab countries in 6 days. Neither they nor their descendants have been allowed by Israel to return to their homes, Israel says this would overwhelm the country and threaten its existence as a Jewish state. 

 

Israel still occupies the West Bank, and although it pulled out of Gaza the UN still regards that piece of land as part of occupied territory. Israel claims the whole of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. The US is one of only a handful of countries to recognise Israel's claim to the whole of the city. In the past 50 years, Israel has built settlements in these areas, where more than 600,000 Jews now live. Palestinians say these are illegal under international law and are obstacles to peace, but Israel denies this.

 

What followed was decades of endless antagonism between The Jews and The Arabs. In the last 70 years, there have been eight acknowledged wars, two Palestinian intifadas or rebellions and a series of armed conflicts. Israel treated them as do-or-die battles and with each conflict, it gained more control of Palestine. The territories kept on reducing from 100% before 1948 to 48% (according to 1947 UN plan) to 22% from 1948- 1967 to 12% from 2011 till date (with East Jerusalem under Israeli control and Palestinian territories reduced to small ghettos). 



Tensions are often high between Israel and Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. Gaza, which is ruled by the Palestinian militant group, Hamas. Hamas has fought Israel many times. Israel and Egypt tightly control Gaza's borders to stop weapons from getting to Hamas. We are in 2021 now and Israel- Palestine has resurfaced, Jerusalem had once again become a city under siege, with buildings shaking and streets crawling with troops and flashbangs flying in Gaza. Things have escalated since the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in mid-April 2021, Hamas, a militant group and the de facto governing authority of the Gaza strip sensed an opportunity to push the Palestinian struggle back on centre stage, it launched rocket attacks on Israel and Israel responded in kind. It had been described as the most intense hostility in years, the heaviest offensive since the 2014 Gaza war. 

Hamas' missile attack on IsraelIsrael's overnight attack on Gaza

As a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas militants was held into Friday evening, attention shifted from the 11-day conflict to the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, potential political fallout for Israel’s embattled prime minister and renewed tensions in Jerusalem. A day after a cease-fire took effect at 2 a.m. local time, leading to celebrations in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, clashes broke out near the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The Palestinian death toll in Gaza stands at 243, including at least 66 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. In the West Bank, at least 21 Palestinians have been killed in the past week, officials there said. But, whatever Israel has done is purely to protect itself from Palestinian militants. The death toll in Israel stood at 12, including two children, by rockets fired from Gaza. Both Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have claimed victory in the latest conflict but The casualties in Israel are comparatively less due to the existence of the Iron Dome. Not only did Gaza face more economical setbacks but also additional structural losses.

BUT WHAT EXPLAINS THESE KILLINGS? 

As always, a piece of land. This time it's Sheikh Jarrah, a principally Palestinian neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. After Israel took control of this neighbourhood in 1967. The settler tropes launched legal bids, they staked claims on Jewish properties, properties which they said had been lost in the 1948 Arab- Israeli war. Israel passed a law to back these claims to justify the takeovers but only if the claimants furnish proof of their ownership. 

Five peace deals could not settle this dispute, eight wars could not bury the differences. Palestinians say if they drop weapons they will lose more land and the Israelis say if they drop the weapons there will be no Israel. So, Hamas shoots rockets and Israel bombs Gaza. Jerusalem, the city of peace struggles to live up to its name, its symbolism is lost in its reality.

Thanks a lot, everyone!!! STAY HOME STAY SAFE...I'll be back with another blog soon, till then Good Luck…Bye!!!

[flauntpage]

Temple Football 2018 Preview: Continuity and Optimism

Temple football got off to a slow start in the post-Matt Rhule era.

First-year head coach Geoff Collins began his tenure with three wins and fives losses as he worked to get more out of an offense and defense that both featured a good amount of potential but weren’t exactly operating like well-oiled machines. The Owls looked like a squad that was trying to find its footing after consecutive 10-win seasons that saw Rhule depart for Baylor and nine players move on to the NFL.

Would Temple continue to build on the good things Rhule developed in North Philadelphia, or would they regress to the norm?

It feels like more of the former rather than the latter, and it started last November with a solid home win over a decent Navy program. Quarterback Frank Nutile, who took over for Logan Marchi one game prior, put in a fantastic four touchdown performance, going 22-30 with 289 passing yards on the day. The defense limited Navy’s patented rushing attack to 136 yards on 52 carries, and the 34-26 win put the Owls back on track to qualify for a third straight bowl game.

They went on to win two of their final three, knocking off Cincinatti and Tulsa on the road and going on to smother Butch Davis and his FIU Panthers 28-3 in the Gasparilla Bowl.

It really was a nice turnaround for a team that looked more than pedestrian in September and October, struggling to carve out an identity through the first half of the schedule.

Now the Owls are back on stable ground, and you’ve got a program coming into 2018 with plenty of positives:

a second year head coach with experience under his belt

a serviceable starting quarterback

the return of running back Ryquell Armstead and wide receiver Isaiah Wright

a first round NFL prospect in safety Delvon Randall, who might be the best defensive player in the AAC

a navigable front-end schedule with winnable out-of-conference games

Nutile ended up playing about half of the 2017 season and put up 12 touchdowns and 7 interceptions with a 61.3 completion percentage. A look at his numbers, along with the top ball carriers and receivers:

On the other end of the spectrum, the question marks are fairly standard:

can Nutile continue to build on what he did last year?

how much is the defense affected by the loss of coordinator Taver Johnson and several starters in the secondary?

who steps up to replace receivers Adonis Jennings and Keith Kirkwood, who went to the NFL?

how much does the retirement of David Hood (concussions) affect the running game? can Armstead assume his workload? who steps up?

does the kicking game improve from last year’s 19/28 (68%) field goal effort?

The foundation is there. Coach and quarterback are the two most important pieces to any football team and Temple fans should feel pretty comfortable with what they’ve got.

Here’s a look at who the Owls are facing this year:

It starts with two winnable home games followed by an interesting trip to Maryland, a program embroiled in scandal. Tulsa at home is a game the Owls should win, then you go to Boston College to take on the fighting Steve Addazios. 4-2 or even 5-1 is not out of the question in the first half of the season.

The back-end schedule is tough, however. Four of the last six are on the road, including difficult trips to UCF and Houston in consecutive weeks. I think the key is that Navy game and the finale in East Hartford, both of which will go a long way towards determining bowl eligibility. But the reality is that you have six winnable home games and holding serve at Lincoln Financial Field is good enough to get you back to the postseason.

To delve deeper into this Temple squad, I asked Kyle Gauss from OwlScoop.com to chip in, and he was good enough to spend a few minutes discussing the Owls and their prospects for the 2018 season:

Crossing Broad:  7 wins and 6 losses last year, kind of a slow start out of the gates, but this team really turned it on at the end of the season, won some games down the stretch and got a bowl win, too. What’s the outlook for this team in 2018?

Kyle Gauss: They’re still trying to ride the momentum. Like you said, they started off slow last year and they ended up making a quarterback switch, which initially was for injury. Logan Marchi goes down and Frank Nutile steps in. Once he got in there he kind of just took over that job. They ended up winning a lot of games down the stretch, they became bowl eligible and won the Gasparilla Bowl and they want to continue to maintain that.

The out of conference schedule is doable. They have two ‘power five’ games against Boston College and Maryland. Everybody knows the current situation with Maryland, so that might be a game that Temple can walk into feeling pretty good. I think it should be a better season than last year. If the team can get to 8 or 9 regular season wins, and maybe UCF takes a step back with (Shaquem) Griffin graduating – I think they’ll be in competition for a division title. They have won two of the last three divisions titles, so whether they add a third one, I don’t know. But it’s an optimistic outlook so far.

Crossing Broad: In reading some quotes from the players, it seems like they’re just more comfortable with Geoff Collins and the staff now. They know what’s expected of them and they’re familiar with the schemes and the process. How much can be said for continuity and Collins going into year two, now understanding what it takes to be a head coach?

Gauss: I think a lot of it has to do with that. I think he’d be the first person to tell you that he was learning as he went. There’s a lot of continuity with the offense. The offensive coordinator is still here. Dave Patenaude will be the first one to tell you that, in his system, that they start to make strides from year one to year two. When you look at his offenses at Georgetown and Coastal Carolina, it does lend credence to that. On defense, the team did lose their coordinator, (Taver Johnson), who went to Ohio State to become the defensive backs coach. But it’s been a Geoff Collins defense the whole time, so there’s continuity there just because he’s very hands-on with the defense. I think it adds a lot of familiarity on offense when, they pretty much went from a successful offense under Matt Rhule, to all of a sudden doing something completely different, and towards the end of the year they sort of went back to a traditional Temple offense, which is when they started putting up numbers. I think having Frank Nutile now with 6-7 career starts under his belt, and you have a running back who’s been a three-year starter, and you return a lot of talent at wide receiver –  I think there will still be strides just because these guys have played a lot of football and are more comfortable at this point. There’s a lot of familiarity coming back.

Crossing Broad: Let me lump these two questions together – number one, with Nutile, what realistically can be expected of him? And with the offense, what’s the key there? You’ve got Ryquell Armstead coming back and Isaiah Wright looks like a key player as well. How does that unit move forward?

Gauss: Nutile is what he is; it’s unfair to call him a game manager because I think he’s more talented than that. He really understands the offense and doesn’t make many mental mistakes. He got a lot more comfortable as the season went along. I think there are still a lot of weapons on this team. Yeah, you graduated Keith Kirkwood, he and Adonis Jennings went to the NFL, but Wright can do a little bit of everything. Armstead, two years ago, had 14 rushing touchdowns. Ventell Bryant a few years ago looked like he’d be an NFL pick but had a bad junior year when he got lost in kind of the stew of a new team.

I think the key to the whole team might be their depth at running back. Armstead played every game last year but he was dinged up, maybe 50%, but if he’s able to give you 13 or 14 games of what he looked like as a sophomore, and if you can get guys like Jager Gardner, Tyliek Raynor, or Kyle Dobbins or Jeremy Jennings to kind of take some load off of him, I don’t think it’s every going to be a situation where they want to run the ball 50 times a game, but they do need to have that balance. I think the depth at running back is their biggest question mark, but it’s the key to the offense. At one point, after Logan Marchi lost his job at QB, they went from a 20 point per game team to a 32 point per game team. Even if they lose a couple of NFL guys at wide receiver, there are still enough pieces there for them to have a fair amount of success.

Crossing Broad: Geoff Collins obviously was a defensive coordinator for a long time. Even with Andrew Thacker coming in as DC this year and taking on Johnson’s gig, are we still looking at Collins guiding this defense, carving out a defensive identity first and going from there?

Gauss: Yeah, absolutely. I think it fits the profile. Collins was obviously a highly successful coordinator in the SEC for a good number of years. But it also fits the profile of Temple. You look back at the last ten years of Temple becoming a successful football program, and in the very beginning it was always based on defense. They had NFL guys like Muhammad Wilkerson and Jaiquawn Jarrett, who Eagles fans don’t want to hear about, but he was a highly successful college player. It’s always been based on defense and the offense always follows. I think the offense should be better this year but it’s first and foremost a defensive team. You have Delvon Randall at safety, who Sporting News projects as a first round draft pick. They bring back all of their starters at linebacker. They bring back two really good defensive tackles in Dan Archibong and Michael Dogbe. The real key with them is gonna be if they can they get pressure from the defensive ends. The defense is still going to be the identity but they have questions marks as well.

Randall is excellent. Here’s a good highlight film from last season, just mute the awful song choice:

Crossing Broad: You mentioned the road games at Maryland and BC. The UCF game is on the road in November and you’ve got 3 of the last 4 on the road, which includes Houston and UConn. What do you make of how the in-conference slate shakes down, in addition to those out of conference road trips?

Gauss: I still think with the American that there’s still the “haves” and “have nots,” even though they’re all kind of known as a Power 6 type of grouping. You start off with Villanova and they should beat Nova. Nova is a good FCS school but Temple’s talent level should make that a pretty easy win. Buffalo is a little harder than it looks on paper, but you’d think they win one of those. Maryland, Tulsa, Boston College, the beginning half of the season is actually kind of easy outside of maybe that trip to BC, with Temple’s old friend, Steve Addazio. If they can somehow get through that initial stretch and head out to the Navy game at 5-1, then I think they have a chance to weather the storm towards the end. They can definitely beat Navy. They’ve beaten Navy pretty regularly over the last couple of years. Cincinnati is down. It’s that UCF/Houston/USF stretch where, if they can win 2 of 3 or even 1 of those 3, then I think they’re definitely in the conversation for the conference title. They should beat Uconn again. If they get swept during that series, then it’s probably a season similar to last year, where they win 6-7 games, go to a bowl in Boca Raton, and maybe next year you take another jab at it. So that stretch is probably going to determine their entire outlook on the season, whether they’re hoisting a trophy as conference champion or if they’re just trying to build themselves up for a lesser bowl.

Crossing Broad: Last one; It really wasn’t long ago that Notre Dame was here, College Gameday was in town, this team was rocking and people were paying attention to college football in Philadelphia. Is that momentum still there, or did it leave with Matt Rhule? Can Temple reclaim some of that spark or are we just sort of back to having college ball play second-fiddle in a pro sports town?

Gauss: I think they had a little bit of lightning in a bottle that year. Things kind of worked out entirely in their favor. They beat Penn State to start the year. They start off 7-0 and they’re nationally ranked. They got the national game of the week against Notre Dame, and they should have beat Notre Dame if their walk-on safety didn’t take a bad route and allow a Will Fuller touchdown instead of intercepting the ball. That also coincided that week with the Eagles being on a bye, and people were kind of down on the Eagles that year and sort of waiting for Chip Kelly to get fired. Everything kind of built up to a point where people could rally around Temple. Do I think that’s the case right now, where they’re going to have two games of 70,000 people in the stands? No. Do I think there’s still some following in the city? Yeah, a lot more than 10 years ago. This will be my tenth season covering Temple, which is flabbergasting, and I vividly remember covering MAC games on Tuesdays with 3,200 people in the stands. Now they have a pretty loyal fan base. They’ll routinely get around 30,000 at games, which isn’t SEC, Big 12, Big 10 level, but it’s a solid football program.

You asked if I thought they lost momentum when Matt Rhule left. No, and I’m a big Matt Rhule guy, but I don’t think he was some irreplaceable coach. I think Geoff Collins has shown you can kind of maintain success with this program, assuming he has a good year or two and goes on to another program, that will be four straight coaches that were successful and went to BCS/Power 5 programs. I think there’s definitely a spot for Temple in the landscape of Philadelphia. I think they just to continue to do what they’re doing, which is recruit loyal guys, develop talent. They’ve put a bunch of guys into the NFL. As long as they keep doing that, (they’ll be good). There are entire generations of people that knew Temple as a commuter school and nobody cared about the football program. Now with 15,000 undergrads living on campus, they’re all there, they’re all coming down, it’s more ingrained in the culture. They get older and come back. I think Temple’s program is in a good spot, it’s just whether or not keep capitalizing on it. Right now, it seems like they’re on pace to do that.

Kyle Gauss is OwlScoop.com’s assistant editor. 

I think things are looking up for the Owls. You’re coming back with a more experienced head coach and stability at the quarterback position. You’ve got skilled number ones at the running back and wide receiver position and enough defensive talent to compete in the AAC. Randall will go in the first or second round of the NFL draft.

The question for me is what kind of momentum Temple can build out of the gate. Kyle is right when he says that Temple team from a few years back captured attention right away with the home win against Penn State, which really did turn a lot of heads. Matt Rhule went and talked to every single media outlet in the city after that game and people certainly did focus on Temple football and paid attention to what was happening.

This season, they’re obviously going to be buried by the Eagles, Flyers, and Sixers in terms of market share (and maybe the Phillies if they turn it around), but a big win at Maryland or Boston College can go a long way toward turning some heads and earning back some of the lightning they bottled up back in 2015.

I think the first two games are pretty straightforward, but if they can beat at least one of those “BCS” teams on the road, then 8-4 or 9-3 is not out of the realm of possibility, depending on what happens with that USF home game. That’s the game that might end up determining second place in the American East, assuming that UCF continues to roll after the departure of head coach Scott Frost to Nebraska.

The worst case scenario would be another 6-6 campaign or 7-5 with a chance to get to 8-5 with a Frisco Bowl win over the MAC.

Still, it’s not unreasonable to think that this can squad can make a push for eight or nine wins and another postseason appearance.

  The post Temple Football 2018 Preview: Continuity and Optimism appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Temple Football 2018 Preview: Continuity and Optimism published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[nycreligion]

August Wilson House opens in Pittsburgh. His roots in the Nation of Islam

August Wilson House opens in Pittsburgh. His roots in the Nation of Islam

August Wilson stands in front of handwritten excerpts from his plays. Wilson “assembled” his plays by hanging out in his old neighborhood (The Hill district of Pittsburgh) in mosques, cafes, bars, and on the street corners — he would write down bits of conversations that he overheard on scraps of paper. Photo by David Cooper, originally for Yale Repertory Theatre, 2005. Last Saturday, Denzel…

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.24

303 – Galerius publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Roman Empire. 484 – King Huneric removes the Christian bishops from their offices and banished some to Corsica. A few are martyred, including former proconsul Victorian along with Frumentius and other merchants. They are killed at Hadrumetum after refusing to become Arians. 1303 – Battle of Roslin, of the First War of Scottish Independence. 1386 – King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda. 1525 – A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia. 1538 – Treaty of Nagyvárad between Ferdinand I and John Zápolya. 1582 – With the papal bull Inter gravissimas, Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar. 1607 – L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance. 1711 – The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage. 1739 – Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nader Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah. 1803 – In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review. 1809 – London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute. 1821 – Final stage of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain with Plan of Iguala. 1822 – The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated. 1826 – The signing of the Treaty of Yandabo marks the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War. 1831 – The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West. 1848 – King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne. 1854 – A Penny Red with perforations was the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution. 1863 – Arizona is organized as a United States territory. 1868 – Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate. 1875 – The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high-profile civil servants and dignitaries. 1881 – China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty. 1895 – Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the Cuban War of Independence, that ends with the Spanish–American War in 1898. 1916 – The Governor-General of Korea establishes a clinic called Jahyewon in Sorokdo to segregate Hansen's disease patients. 1917 – World War I: The U.S. ambassador Walter Hines Page to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States. 1918 – Estonian Declaration of Independence. 1920 – The Nazi Party is founded. 1920 – Nancy Astor became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election as a Member of Parliament (MP) three months earlier. 1942 – The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm led to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasted into the early hours of February 25. 1942 – An order-in-council passed under the Defence of Canada Regulations of the War Measures Act gives the Canadian federal government the power to intern all "persons of Japanese racial origin". 1944 – Merrill's Marauders: The Marauders begin their 1,000-mile journey through Japanese occupied Burma. 1945 – Egyptian Premier Ahmad Mahir Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree. 1946 – Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, elected to his first term as President of Argentina. 1968 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué. 1971 – The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed three days earlier. P.K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman. 1976 – The current constitution of Cuba is formally proclaimed. 1980 – The United States Olympic hockey team completes its Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4–2 to win the gold medal. 1981 – The 6.7 Ms Gulf of Corinth earthquake affects Central Greece with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The shock killed 22 people and destroyed buildings in several towns west of Athens. 1983 – A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II. 1984 – Tyrone Mitchell perpetrates the 49th Street Elementary School shooting in Los Angeles, killing two children and injuring 12 more. 1989 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa and offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. 1989 – United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, rips open during flight, blowing nine passengers out of the business-class section. 1996 – Two civilian airplanes operated by the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue are shot down in international waters by the Cuban Air Force. 2004 – The 6.3 Mw Al Hoceima earthquake strikes northern Morocco with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 628 people are killed, 926 are injured, and up to 15,000 are displaced. 2006 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup. 2007 – Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea. 2008 – Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years. He remains as head of the Communist Party for another 3 years. 2015 – A Metrolink train derails in Oxnard, California following a collision with a truck, leaving more than 30 injured. 2016 – Tara Air Flight 193, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, crashed, with 23 fatalities, in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, while en route from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport.

[stopkingobama]

Trump exposes media coverup of 78 terror attacks

It’s no big secret that the liberal media are completely allergic to the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism.”

However, the Trump administration believes the media are completely allergic to reporting on terrorism at all. On Monday, the White House released a list of 78 terror attacks since 2014 that they feel “did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources”:

CNN’s Jim Acosta said his producer was given the list of the 78 attacks outside of the White House. Though he did not read the list in full on air, Acosta said it included attacks like Paris, Brussels, Nice, Istanbul and San Bernardino.

The terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino were widely reported; but again, the media avoided tying the atrocities to radical Islam at all costs.

At MacDill Air Force Base Monday, Trump argued that, “It’s gotten to a point where [terrorism is] not even reported, and in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn’t even want to report it.”

See the full unedited list of the 78 terror attacks behind the cut.

TIMELINE: September, 2014 – December, 2016 NUMBER OF ATTACKS: 78

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA September, 2014 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Abdul Numan Haider

TIZI OUZOU, ALGERIA September, 2014 TARGET: One French citizen beheaded ATTACKER: Jund al-Khilafah in Algeria

QUEBEC, CANADA October, 2014 TARGET: One soldier killed and one wounded in vehicle attack ATTACKER: Martin Couture-Rouleau

OTTAWA, CANADA October, 2014 TARGET: One soldier killed at war memorial; two wounded in shootings at Parliament building ATTACKER: Michael Zehaf-Bibeau

NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA October, 2014 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: US person

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA November, 2014 TARGET: One Danish citizen wounded in shooting ATTACKERS: Three Saudi Arabia-based ISIL members

ABU DHABI, UAE DATE: December 2014 TARGET: One American killed in knife attack ATTACKER: Dalal al-Hashimi

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA December, 2014 TARGET: Two Australians killed in hostage taking and shooting ATTACKER: Man Haron Monis

TOURS, FRANCE December, 2014 TARGET: Three police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Bertrand Nzohabonayo

PARIS, FRANCE January, 2015 TARGET: One police officer and four hostages killed in shooting at a kosher supermarket ATTACKER: Amedy Coulibaly

TRIPOLI, LIBYA January, 2015 TARGET: Ten killed, including one US citizen, and five wounded in bombing and shooting at a hotel frequented by westerners ATTACKERS: As many as five ISIL-Libya members

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA January, 2015 TARGET: Two US citizens wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Saudi Arabia-based ISIL supporter

NICE, FRANCE February, 2015 TARGET: Two French soldiers wounded in knife attack outside a Jewish community center ATTACKER: Moussa Coulibaly

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK February, 2015 TARGET: One civilian killed in shooting at a free-speech rally and one security guard killed outside the city’s main synagogue ATTACKER: Omar Abdel Hamid el-Hussein

TUNIS, TUNISIA March, 2015 TARGET: 21 tourists killed, including 16 westerners, and 55 wounded in shooting at the Bardo Museum ATTACKERS: Two ISIL-aligned extremists

KARACHI, PAKISTAN April, 2015 TARGET: One US citizen wounded in knife attack ATTACKERS: Pakistan-based ISIL supporters

PARIS, FRANCE April, 2015 TARGET: Catholic churches targeted; one civilian killed in shooting, possibly during an attempted carjacking ATTACKER: Sid Ahmed Ghlam

ZVORNIK, BOSNIA April, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed and two wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Nerdin Ibric

GARLAND, TX, USA May, 2015 TARGET: One security guard wounded in shooting at the Prophet Muhammad cartoon event ATTACKERS: Two US persons

BOSTON, MA, USA June, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; one police officer attacked with knife ATTACKER: US person

EL GORA (AL JURAH), EGYPT June, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; camp used by Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) troops attacked in shooting and bombing attack ATTACKERS: Unknown number of ISIL-Sinai members

LUXOR, EGYPT June, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed by suicide bomb near the Temple of Karnak ATTACKER: Unidentified

SOUSSE, TUNISIA June, 2015 TARGET: 38 killed and 39 wounded in shooting at a beach frequented by westerners ATTACKERS: Seifeddine Rezgui and another unidentified attacker

LYON, FRANCE June, 2015 TARGET: One civilian killed in beheading and explosion at a chemical plant ATTACKER: Yasin Salhi

CAIRO, EGYPT July, 2015 TARGET: One killed and nine wounded in VBIED attack at Italian Consulate ATTACKER: Unidentified ISIL operatives

CAIRO, EGYPT July, 2015 TARGET: One Croatian national kidnapped; beheaded on August 12 at an unknown location ATTACKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operative

PARIS, FRANCE August, 2015 TARGET: Two civilians and one US soldier wounded with firearms and knife on a passenger train ATTACKER: Ayoub el-Khazzani

EL GORA, EGYPT September, 2015 TARGET: Four US and two MFO troops wounded in IED attack ATTACKER: Unidentified

DHAKA, BANGLADESH September, 2015 TARGET: One Italian civilian killed in shooting ATTACKER: Unidentified

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK September, 2015 TARGET: One police officer wounded in knife attack ATTAKER: Palestinian national

EL GORA, EGYPT October, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; airfield used by MFO attacked with rockets ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives

PARRAMATTA, AUSTRALIA October, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed in shooting ATTAKER: Farhad Jabar

RANGPUR, BANGLADESH October, 2015 TARGET: One Japanese civilian killed in shooting ATTAKER: Unidentified

HASANAH, EGYPT October, 2015 TARGET: 224 killed in downing of a Russian airliner ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives

MERCED, CA, US November, 2015 TARGET: Four wounded in knife attack on a college campus ATTAKER: US person

PARIS, FRANCE November, 2015 TARGET: At least 129 killed and approximately 400 wounded in series of shootings and IED attacks ATTAKERS: Brahim Abdelslam, Saleh Abdeslam, Ismail Mostefai, Bilal Hadfi, Samy Amimour, Chakib Ahrouh, Foued Mohamed Aggad, and Abdelhamid Abaaoud

DINAJPUR, BANGLADESH November, 2015 TARGET: One Italian citizen wounded in shooting ATTAKER: Unidentified

RAJLOVAC, BOSNIA December, 2015 TARGET: Two Bosnian soldiers killed in shooting ATTAKER: Enes Omeragic

SAN BERNADINO, CA, US December, 2015 TARGET: 14 killed and 21 wounded in coordinated firearms attack ATTAKERS: Two US persons

LONDON, ENGLAND, UK December, 2015 TARGET: Three wounded in knife attack at an underground rail station ATTAKER: Muhyadin Mire

DERBENT, RUSSIA December, 2015 TARGET: One killed and 11 wounded in shooting at UN World Heritage site ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Caucasus operative

CAIRO, EGYPT January, 2016 TARGET: Two wounded in drive-by shooting outside a hotel frequented by tourists ATTAKERS: Unidentified ISIL operatives

PARIS, FRANCE January, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; attacker killed after attempted knife attack on Paris police station ATTAKER: Tarek Belgacem

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA January, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in shooting ATTAKER: US person

HURGHADA, EGYPT January, 2016 TARGET: One German and one Danish national wounded in knife attack at a tourist resort ATTAKER: Unidentified

MARSEILLES, FRANCE January, 2016 TARGET: One Jewish teacher wounded in machete attack ATTAKER: 15 year-old Ethnic Kurd from Turkey

ISTANBUL, TURKEY January, 2016 TARGET: 12 German tourists killed and 15 wounded in suicide bombing ATTAKER: Nabil Fadli

JAKARTA, INDONESIA January, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians killed and more than 20 wounded in coordinated bombing and firearms attacks near a police station and a Starbucks ATTAKERS: Dian Joni Kurnaiadi, Muhammad Ali, Arif Sunakim, and Ahmad Muhazan bin Saron

COLUMBUS, OH, US February, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians wounded in machete attack at a restaurant ATTAKER: US person

HANOVER, GERMANY February, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in knife attack ATTAKER: Safia Schmitter

ISTANBUL, TURKEY March, 2016 TARGET: Four killed and 36 wounded in suicide bombing in the tourist district ATTAKER: Mehmet Ozturk

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM March, 2016 TARGET: At least 31 killed and 270 wounded in coordinated bombings at Zaventem Airport and on a subway train ATTAKERS: Khalid el-Bakraoui, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, Najim Laachraoui, Mohammed Abrini, and Osama Krayem

ESSEN, GERMANY April, 2016 TARGET: Three wounded in bombing at Sikh temple ATTAKERS: Three identified minors

ORLANDO, FL, US June, 2016 TARGET: 49 killed and 53 wounded in shooting at a nightclub ATTAKER: US person

MAGNANVILLE, FRANCE June, 2016 TARGET: One police officer and one civilian killed in knife attack ATTAKER: Larossi Abballa

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN June, 2016 TARGET: 14 killed in suicide attack on a bus carrying Canadian Embassy guards ATTAKER: ISIL-Khorasan operative

ISTANBUL, TURKEY June, 2016 TARGET: 45 killed and approximately 240 wounded at Ataturk International Airport ATTACKERS: Rakhim Bulgarov, Vadim Osmanov, and an unidentified ISIL operative

DHAKA, BANGLADESH July, 2016 TARGET: 22 killed, including one American and 50 wounded after hours-long siege using machetes and firearms at holy Artisan Bakery ATTACKERS: Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Paye, and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal

NICE, FRANCE July, 2016 TARGET: 84 civilians killed and 308 wounded by an individual who drove a truck into a crowd ATTACKER: Mohamed Bouhlel

WURZBURG, GERMANY July, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians wounded in axe attack on a train ATTACKER: Riaz Khan Ahmadzai

ANSBACH, GERMANY July, 2016 TARGET: At least 15 wounded in suicide bombing at a music festival ATTACKER: Mohammad Daleel

NORMANDY, FRANCE July, 2016 TARGET: One priest killed in knife attack ATTACKERS: Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Nabil Petitjean

CHALEROI, BELGIUM August, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in machete attack ATTACKER: Khaled Babouri

QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA August, 2016 TARGET: Two killed and one wounded in knife attack at a hostel frequented by Westerners ATTACKER: Smail Ayad

COPENHAGEN, DENMAKR September, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers and a civilian wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Mesa Hodzic

PARIS, FRANCE September, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in raid after VBIED failed to detonate at Notre Dame Cathedral ATTACKERS: Sarah Hervouet, Ines Madani, and Amel Sakaou

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA September, 2016 TARGET: One civilian wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Ihsas Khan

ST. CLOUD, MN, US September, 2016 TARGET: 10 wounded in knife attack in a mall ATTACKER: Dahir Ahmed Adan

NEW YORK, NY; SEASIDE PARK AND ELIZABETH, NJ, US September, 2016 TARGET: 31 wounded in bombing in New York City; several explosive devices found in New York and New Jersey; one exploded without casualty at race in New Jersey; one police officer wounded in shootout ATTACKER: Ahmad Khan Rahami

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM October, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in stabbing ATTACKER: Belgian national

KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT TARGET: No casualties; vehicle carrying three US soldiers hit by a truck ATTACKER: Ibrahim Sulayman

MALMO, SWEDEN October, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; mosque and community center attacked with Molotov cocktail ATTACKER: Syrian national

HAMBURG, GERMANY October, 2016 TARGET: One killed in knife attack ATTACKER: Unknown

MANILA, PHILIPPINES November, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; failed IED attempt near US Embassy ATTACKERS: Philippine nationals aligned with the Maute group

COLUMBUS, OH, US November, 2016 TARGET: 14 wounded by individuals who drove a vehicle into a group of pedestrians and attacked them with a knife ATTACKER: US person

N’DJAMENA, CHAD November, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; attacker arrested after opening fire at entrance of US Embassy ATTACKER: Chadian national

KARAK, JORDAN December, 2016 TARGET: 10 killed and 28 wounded in shooting at a tourist site ATTACKERS: Several gunmen

BERLIN, GERMANY December, 2016 TARGET: 12 killed and 48 wounded by individual who drove truck into a crowded market ATTACKER: Anis Amri

[americanlibertypac]

Trump exposes media coverup of 78 terror attacks

It’s no big secret that the liberal media are completely allergic to the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism.”

However, the Trump administration believes the media are completely allergic to reporting on terrorism at all. On Monday, the White House released a list of 78 terror attacks since 2014 that they feel “did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources”:

CNN’s Jim Acosta said his producer was given the list of the 78 attacks outside of the White House. Though he did not read the list in full on air, Acosta said it included attacks like Paris, Brussels, Nice, Istanbul and San Bernardino.

The terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino were widely reported; but again, the media avoided tying the atrocities to radical Islam at all costs.

At MacDill Air Force Base Monday, Trump argued that, “It’s gotten to a point where [terrorism is] not even reported, and in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn’t even want to report it.”

See the full unedited list of the 78 terror attacks behind the cut.

TIMELINE: September, 2014 – December, 2016 NUMBER OF ATTACKS: 78

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA September, 2014 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Abdul Numan Haider

TIZI OUZOU, ALGERIA September, 2014 TARGET: One French citizen beheaded ATTACKER: Jund al-Khilafah in Algeria

QUEBEC, CANADA October, 2014 TARGET: One soldier killed and one wounded in vehicle attack ATTACKER: Martin Couture-Rouleau

OTTAWA, CANADA October, 2014 TARGET: One soldier killed at war memorial; two wounded in shootings at Parliament building ATTACKER: Michael Zehaf-Bibeau

NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA October, 2014 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: US person

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA November, 2014 TARGET: One Danish citizen wounded in shooting ATTACKERS: Three Saudi Arabia-based ISIL members

ABU DHABI, UAE DATE: December 2014 TARGET: One American killed in knife attack ATTACKER: Dalal al-Hashimi

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA December, 2014 TARGET: Two Australians killed in hostage taking and shooting ATTACKER: Man Haron Monis

TOURS, FRANCE December, 2014 TARGET: Three police officers wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Bertrand Nzohabonayo

PARIS, FRANCE January, 2015 TARGET: One police officer and four hostages killed in shooting at a kosher supermarket ATTACKER: Amedy Coulibaly

TRIPOLI, LIBYA January, 2015 TARGET: Ten killed, including one US citizen, and five wounded in bombing and shooting at a hotel frequented by westerners ATTACKERS: As many as five ISIL-Libya members

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA January, 2015 TARGET: Two US citizens wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Saudi Arabia-based ISIL supporter

NICE, FRANCE February, 2015 TARGET: Two French soldiers wounded in knife attack outside a Jewish community center ATTACKER: Moussa Coulibaly

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK February, 2015 TARGET: One civilian killed in shooting at a free-speech rally and one security guard killed outside the city’s main synagogue ATTACKER: Omar Abdel Hamid el-Hussein

TUNIS, TUNISIA March, 2015 TARGET: 21 tourists killed, including 16 westerners, and 55 wounded in shooting at the Bardo Museum ATTACKERS: Two ISIL-aligned extremists

KARACHI, PAKISTAN April, 2015 TARGET: One US citizen wounded in knife attack ATTACKERS: Pakistan-based ISIL supporters

PARIS, FRANCE April, 2015 TARGET: Catholic churches targeted; one civilian killed in shooting, possibly during an attempted carjacking ATTACKER: Sid Ahmed Ghlam

ZVORNIK, BOSNIA April, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed and two wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Nerdin Ibric

GARLAND, TX, USA May, 2015 TARGET: One security guard wounded in shooting at the Prophet Muhammad cartoon event ATTACKERS: Two US persons

BOSTON, MA, USA June, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; one police officer attacked with knife ATTACKER: US person

EL GORA (AL JURAH), EGYPT June, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; camp used by Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) troops attacked in shooting and bombing attack ATTACKERS: Unknown number of ISIL-Sinai members

LUXOR, EGYPT June, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed by suicide bomb near the Temple of Karnak ATTACKER: Unidentified

SOUSSE, TUNISIA June, 2015 TARGET: 38 killed and 39 wounded in shooting at a beach frequented by westerners ATTACKERS: Seifeddine Rezgui and another unidentified attacker

LYON, FRANCE June, 2015 TARGET: One civilian killed in beheading and explosion at a chemical plant ATTACKER: Yasin Salhi

CAIRO, EGYPT July, 2015 TARGET: One killed and nine wounded in VBIED attack at Italian Consulate ATTACKER: Unidentified ISIL operatives

CAIRO, EGYPT July, 2015 TARGET: One Croatian national kidnapped; beheaded on August 12 at an unknown location ATTACKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operative

PARIS, FRANCE August, 2015 TARGET: Two civilians and one US soldier wounded with firearms and knife on a passenger train ATTACKER: Ayoub el-Khazzani

EL GORA, EGYPT September, 2015 TARGET: Four US and two MFO troops wounded in IED attack ATTACKER: Unidentified

DHAKA, BANGLADESH September, 2015 TARGET: One Italian civilian killed in shooting ATTACKER: Unidentified

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK September, 2015 TARGET: One police officer wounded in knife attack ATTAKER: Palestinian national

EL GORA, EGYPT October, 2015 TARGET: No casualties; airfield used by MFO attacked with rockets ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives

PARRAMATTA, AUSTRALIA October, 2015 TARGET: One police officer killed in shooting ATTAKER: Farhad Jabar

RANGPUR, BANGLADESH October, 2015 TARGET: One Japanese civilian killed in shooting ATTAKER: Unidentified

HASANAH, EGYPT October, 2015 TARGET: 224 killed in downing of a Russian airliner ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives

MERCED, CA, US November, 2015 TARGET: Four wounded in knife attack on a college campus ATTAKER: US person

PARIS, FRANCE November, 2015 TARGET: At least 129 killed and approximately 400 wounded in series of shootings and IED attacks ATTAKERS: Brahim Abdelslam, Saleh Abdeslam, Ismail Mostefai, Bilal Hadfi, Samy Amimour, Chakib Ahrouh, Foued Mohamed Aggad, and Abdelhamid Abaaoud

DINAJPUR, BANGLADESH November, 2015 TARGET: One Italian citizen wounded in shooting ATTAKER: Unidentified

RAJLOVAC, BOSNIA December, 2015 TARGET: Two Bosnian soldiers killed in shooting ATTAKER: Enes Omeragic

SAN BERNADINO, CA, US December, 2015 TARGET: 14 killed and 21 wounded in coordinated firearms attack ATTAKERS: Two US persons

LONDON, ENGLAND, UK December, 2015 TARGET: Three wounded in knife attack at an underground rail station ATTAKER: Muhyadin Mire

DERBENT, RUSSIA December, 2015 TARGET: One killed and 11 wounded in shooting at UN World Heritage site ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Caucasus operative

CAIRO, EGYPT January, 2016 TARGET: Two wounded in drive-by shooting outside a hotel frequented by tourists ATTAKERS: Unidentified ISIL operatives

PARIS, FRANCE January, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; attacker killed after attempted knife attack on Paris police station ATTAKER: Tarek Belgacem

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA January, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in shooting ATTAKER: US person

HURGHADA, EGYPT January, 2016 TARGET: One German and one Danish national wounded in knife attack at a tourist resort ATTAKER: Unidentified

MARSEILLES, FRANCE January, 2016 TARGET: One Jewish teacher wounded in machete attack ATTAKER: 15 year-old Ethnic Kurd from Turkey

ISTANBUL, TURKEY January, 2016 TARGET: 12 German tourists killed and 15 wounded in suicide bombing ATTAKER: Nabil Fadli

JAKARTA, INDONESIA January, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians killed and more than 20 wounded in coordinated bombing and firearms attacks near a police station and a Starbucks ATTAKERS: Dian Joni Kurnaiadi, Muhammad Ali, Arif Sunakim, and Ahmad Muhazan bin Saron

COLUMBUS, OH, US February, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians wounded in machete attack at a restaurant ATTAKER: US person

HANOVER, GERMANY February, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in knife attack ATTAKER: Safia Schmitter

ISTANBUL, TURKEY March, 2016 TARGET: Four killed and 36 wounded in suicide bombing in the tourist district ATTAKER: Mehmet Ozturk

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM March, 2016 TARGET: At least 31 killed and 270 wounded in coordinated bombings at Zaventem Airport and on a subway train ATTAKERS: Khalid el-Bakraoui, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, Najim Laachraoui, Mohammed Abrini, and Osama Krayem

ESSEN, GERMANY April, 2016 TARGET: Three wounded in bombing at Sikh temple ATTAKERS: Three identified minors

ORLANDO, FL, US June, 2016 TARGET: 49 killed and 53 wounded in shooting at a nightclub ATTAKER: US person

MAGNANVILLE, FRANCE June, 2016 TARGET: One police officer and one civilian killed in knife attack ATTAKER: Larossi Abballa

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN June, 2016 TARGET: 14 killed in suicide attack on a bus carrying Canadian Embassy guards ATTAKER: ISIL-Khorasan operative

ISTANBUL, TURKEY June, 2016 TARGET: 45 killed and approximately 240 wounded at Ataturk International Airport ATTACKERS: Rakhim Bulgarov, Vadim Osmanov, and an unidentified ISIL operative

DHAKA, BANGLADESH July, 2016 TARGET: 22 killed, including one American and 50 wounded after hours-long siege using machetes and firearms at holy Artisan Bakery ATTACKERS: Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Paye, and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal

NICE, FRANCE July, 2016 TARGET: 84 civilians killed and 308 wounded by an individual who drove a truck into a crowd ATTACKER: Mohamed Bouhlel

WURZBURG, GERMANY July, 2016 TARGET: Four civilians wounded in axe attack on a train ATTACKER: Riaz Khan Ahmadzai

ANSBACH, GERMANY July, 2016 TARGET: At least 15 wounded in suicide bombing at a music festival ATTACKER: Mohammad Daleel

NORMANDY, FRANCE July, 2016 TARGET: One priest killed in knife attack ATTACKERS: Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Nabil Petitjean

CHALEROI, BELGIUM August, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in machete attack ATTACKER: Khaled Babouri

QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA August, 2016 TARGET: Two killed and one wounded in knife attack at a hostel frequented by Westerners ATTACKER: Smail Ayad

COPENHAGEN, DENMAKR September, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers and a civilian wounded in shooting ATTACKER: Mesa Hodzic

PARIS, FRANCE September, 2016 TARGET: One police officer wounded in raid after VBIED failed to detonate at Notre Dame Cathedral ATTACKERS: Sarah Hervouet, Ines Madani, and Amel Sakaou

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA September, 2016 TARGET: One civilian wounded in knife attack ATTACKER: Ihsas Khan

ST. CLOUD, MN, US September, 2016 TARGET: 10 wounded in knife attack in a mall ATTACKER: Dahir Ahmed Adan

NEW YORK, NY; SEASIDE PARK AND ELIZABETH, NJ, US September, 2016 TARGET: 31 wounded in bombing in New York City; several explosive devices found in New York and New Jersey; one exploded without casualty at race in New Jersey; one police officer wounded in shootout ATTACKER: Ahmad Khan Rahami

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM October, 2016 TARGET: Two police officers wounded in stabbing ATTACKER: Belgian national

KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT TARGET: No casualties; vehicle carrying three US soldiers hit by a truck ATTACKER: Ibrahim Sulayman

MALMO, SWEDEN October, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; mosque and community center attacked with Molotov cocktail ATTACKER: Syrian national

HAMBURG, GERMANY October, 2016 TARGET: One killed in knife attack ATTACKER: Unknown

MANILA, PHILIPPINES November, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; failed IED attempt near US Embassy ATTACKERS: Philippine nationals aligned with the Maute group

COLUMBUS, OH, US November, 2016 TARGET: 14 wounded by individuals who drove a vehicle into a group of pedestrians and attacked them with a knife ATTACKER: US person

N’DJAMENA, CHAD November, 2016 TARGET: No casualties; attacker arrested after opening fire at entrance of US Embassy ATTACKER: Chadian national

KARAK, JORDAN December, 2016 TARGET: 10 killed and 28 wounded in shooting at a tourist site ATTACKERS: Several gunmen

BERLIN, GERMANY December, 2016 TARGET: 12 killed and 48 wounded by individual who drove truck into a crowded market ATTACKER: Anis Amri

[universalessays-blog]

Slave Trade Research Paper has been published on http://research.universalessays.com/history-research-paper/us-history-research-paper/slave-trade-research-paper/

New Post has been published on http://research.universalessays.com/history-research-paper/us-history-research-paper/slave-trade-research-paper/

Slave Trade Research Paper

This sample Slave Trade Research Paper is published for educational and informational purposes only. Like other free research paper examples it is not a custom research paper. If you need help with writing your assignment, please use research paper writing services and buy a research paper on any topic.

Abstract

The trading of slaves had its origins when agricultural societies increasingly needed to defend lands and borders; it proliferated as growing empires expanded their own. Transatlantic slave trade, with its infamous Middle Passage, ensnared roughly 11 million people between 1443 and 1870; historians caution that using only slave-ship records to account for such numbers leaves out millions who perished in forced marches to factories on the African coast.

Outline

Introduction

Early History

The New World

Guns

Demographics

Bibliography

Introduction

Slave trade began with the onset of agricultural societies. As hunter-gatherers also became farmers, they settled down at least temporarily, defending their lands from both nomads and other farmers. The ensuing wars yielded prisoners, who then became convenient forced labor for the victors. More wars in an area meant more available slaves, who then could be sold to others in exchange for food, copper, and later money. This exchange was particularly true in Mesopotamia, India after the Aryan migrations, China under the Zhou dynasty (1045–256 BCE), and the Greek city-states. For example, in Sumeria in southern Mesopotamia this labor was used to perform the constant maintenance of irrigation canals as well as to build ziggurat temples. Egypt and Harappa (in the Indus River valley of modern Pakistan) had far fewer slaves until outsiders attacked, and their societies became more warlike than before in response. China and India had fewer slaves than Mesopotamia and Greece. Strong central governments that reserved slavery largely to themselves and that were blessed with more peasant farmers than they needed condemned fewer individuals to being outright chattel (an item of tangible property except real estate and things connected with real property) in eastern Asia.

Early History

Empires transmitted both slavery and slave trades. The Mediterranean world witnessed upsurges in the number of people in bondage with the imperial expansion of Athens, of Alexander III of Macedon (Alexander the Great), and then of Rome. Prisoners whose families could not afford or arrange a ransom were quickly sold and resold. Slave trades came to Gaul, in what is now Western Europe, and Britain. Thanks to senatorial policy, the center of Mediterranean slave trading moved from the island of Rhodes to the smaller yet more accessible island of Delos to the even more convenient Rome itself. In addition, as the historian Keith R. Bradley has noted, “piracy and kidnapping contributed to Delos’s ability, according to [the Greek geographer] Strabo, to dispose of tens of thousands of slaves in a single day, its volume of traffic being specifically geared toward Roman demand” (Bradley 1989, 22). On a smaller scale, in the Americas slavery and the slave trades blossomed long before Columbus. Mayan city-states enslaved defeated opponents, keeping some of them ultimately as objects to sacrifice to the gods. In the Andean region the Mochica celebrated the actual moment of enslavement during war through exquisite pottery art.

While the Americas remained isolated from intercontinental contacts and thus from long-distance slave trading, Africa became a center of large-scale human trafficking with the domestication of the camel during the first millennium CE and the spread of Islam into the lands south of the Sahara Desert after 800 CE. The trans-Saharan caravan trade mainly exported gold for basic commodities such as salt, but it also spread faith in Allah as well as toting captive women and children for sale as domestics and concubines in Arab caliphates (the offices or dominions of successors of Muhammad as temporal and spiritual heads of Islam). This trans-Saharan slave trade was small in comparison to the later transatlantic one, but it unfortunately accustomed western Africans to the idea of exporting human beings centuries before the Portuguese came to their coasts.

Monotheistic religions intensified and justified slave trades, particularly in Africa and around the boundaries between Christian and Muslim states such as in Iberia (modern-day Spain and Portugal). Muslims, in particular, viewed slavery as a prelude to conversion, but actual conversion did not preclude enslavement. Enslavement was just too profitable and necessary for converts to be allowed to go free. Accordingly, crusades and jihads (holy wars) dehumanized the enemy, making them fit to be treated as disposable property.

When the Roman Empire itself declined in Western Europe after 200 CE, slavery and the slave trades also declined and disappeared there. Feudalism and serfdom emerged eventually to provide cheap and reliable sources of agricultural labor for governing elites. Serfdom supported local subsistence farming, whereas slavery persisted in and around the Levant (countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean) to support large-scale cultivation for export. What the historian Philip Curtin has called “the plantation complex” (Curtin 1990, ix) began with Arab sugar planters in Mesopotamia using African and local prisoners of war about 800 CE. This complex gradually spread westward to the Levant, then to Cyprus, then to Crete, then to Sicily, then to Atlantic islands such as the Canaries, then to Sao Thome, and then finally to Brazil. Slave trades followed this westward trek, supplying the foreign, coerced workers for lucrative sugar plantations that needed vast numbers of workers to cultivate many acres in order to be profitable. Yet, slave trades also developed from south to north and from west to east. As noted, sub-Saharan Africa supplied Islamic caliphates with concubines and domestics, whether in Cordoba, Jerusalem, Mogadishu, or eventually Delhi. Yet, these slaves were a mere fraction of the global number of slaves. When Europeans thought of slaves before the fall of Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey) in 1453, they usually thought of the Slavic peoples caught in the wars between Muslims, Mongols, and Russians around the Black Sea. In fact, the word slave comes from this medieval association of forced labor with Slavs. More widely, before 1500, the Indian Ocean with its Arab and Muslim merchants had the largest volume of world trade and slave trade; after 1500 the Atlantic Ocean with its European merchants and African collaborators became more and more a center of world trade as well as of slave trade.

The New World

The making of the European “New World” was predicated upon the procurement of coerced labor. Even Columbus realized early on that he would have to generate riches and not just to steal them from Native American cultures. Schemes for a quick and gushing fortune required a lot of drudgery, which nearly all explorers and planters had come to the Americas to avoid. Parasitically, they at first tried to use the Native Americans as their slaves, but the Columbian exchange of diseases decimated that source of labor. Accustomed to “European” diseases because of international trading contacts, enslaved Africans increasingly replaced sick and dying Native Americans, particularly in coastal, tropical, and disease-ridden areas prime for growing sugar and other lucrative crops. This switch to African labor in the Americas took a while, however.

From 1500 until 1650 slave trading was not the main activity along the western African coast that it would become later. The Portuguese, who initiated European contacts with western African kingdoms, were there mainly for the gold and, to a lesser extent, for pepper, ivory, and leopard skins. Elmina Castle in Ghana began as an entrepot (intermediary center of trade and transshipment) for precious metals and other exotic luxuries in the 1480s, but it eventually became a factory for holding slaves for exports. It was taken over by the Dutch in 1637. By 1700 the Swedes, Brandenburgers, Danes, Britons, French, and the Dutch had established similar factories along the western African coast that was formerly devoted to the gold trade. Elmina Castle itself became less significant as rivals such as Cape Coast Castle took away more and more of the business themselves.

The slave trade became the most contested type of mercantilist capitalism whereby governmental monopolies from Europe tried to trade exclusively with African states one on one without any entrepreneurial inference from either side. For example, asientos were contracts by which Spain outsourced the work necessary to keep its American colonies supplied with slaves, particularly young adult men who were thought to be the best suited for arduous field labor by Europeans. Starting in 1518 the Spanish Crown licensed favored companies, usually Portuguese, for a fee to bring in a quota of young adult men. Women (who performed most of the farm work in western Africa), children, and the elderly could be counted only as fractions toward fulfilling the fixed, contracted number. After other European countries besides Spain and Portugal realized that colonies could be viable only with African slavery, they set up their own slave-trading monopolies. The English Parliament commissioned its own Royal African Company for that purpose in 1672 after a venture in the 1660s had failed. Parliament limited participation to merchants from London. Although leading to unprecedented profits for London-based merchants, this policy of limited participation enraged merchants from other ports such as Bristol, who, in turn, lobbied successfully to have the monopoly ended in 1698. The Royal African Company, however, continued to be a major player in the business until it was absorbed into another yet another licensed company in the 1740s. The actual profits from the slave trade were smaller than people thought at the time. A few merchants tripled their investment on the Middle Passage (the voyage of African slaves to the Americas), but that was the talked-about exception rather than the rule. On average the overhead, the constant turnover in personnel, and the unforeseen dangers due to on-board rebellions and bad weather reduced the yield to the standard 10 percent, which was in line with the yields of less exotic ventures. Thus, on their own, the profits from slavery and the slave trade were not enough to make Britain the first industrial nation, but they were enough to add to the demand needed to make it the first full-blown consumer society. At any rate, during the eighteenth century, when this trade was at its height, Britain dominated the export and transfer of enslaved Africans to the Americas. After the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the British gained the asientos of the Spanish Empire in addition to their own factories and markets. The guinea, a large-denomination British gold coin, was named for the lucrative nature of the slave trade along the Guinea coast.

Guns

Yet, even the British, with their maritime superiority, relied heavily on the eager and self-interested participation of African governments and elites out for their own profits. The disintegration of the Songhai Empire in Sudan after 1591 stimulated the further political fragmentation of western Africa into more than three hundred microstates and even more stateless societies, which, in turn, set the stage for numerous territorial and religious wars fueled by the introduction of guns into the area by the Portuguese. Local rulers wanted more guns, particularly after 1650 when the accuracy and durability of guns improved dramatically. In order to get these guns, rulers traded gold initially and later mostly prisoners from neighboring clans and countries. Farther south, one ruler of the Kongo kingdom, Nzinga Mvemba, tried to use the Portuguese against internal opposition and neighboring rivals. He and members of his family even converted to Christianity to cement this alliance. Of course, this fighting within and outside Kongo produced prisoners, stimulating more Portuguese interest and involvement in the country than the ruler had originally wanted. He moved to confront the Portuguese, but it was too late. After the Portuguese had insinuated themselves into Kongolese trade, he could not preclude the long-term effects of civil war, resulting famines, and the slave trade upon his country. The Europeans also needed African help in part because of the disease environment, for which they were not prepared. Most sailors and agents along the western African coast never returned home to enjoy what little income they had gleaned from the slave trade. Because yellow fever and malaria were dangerous to their own European employees, both governments and freelancers preferred African and biracial (of mixed white and black ancestry) contractors who could work at interior trading posts without getting sick.

Overall, the transatlantic slave trade, with its infamous Middle Passage, ensnared roughly 11 million people between 1443 and 1870. Historians continue to debate the exact number of slaves, but the difference in numbers largely comes about because of the question of at what point in bondage historians should start counting. In 1969 Philip Curtin, using slave ship and archival records, published the first well-documented attempt to count how many people were enslaved by the transatlantic slave trade. More recently other scholars have pointed out that if historians use only slave ship records that show how many of the enslaved boarded for the Middle Passage, that leaves out the millions more who perished in forced marches to the coastal factories. The historian Joseph C. Miller has noted that, in reference to the Angolan slave trade, only 64 percent of the people initially detained would actually make it alive to the slave pens of Luanda for embarkation to the New World. However horrific and brutal itself, the Middle Passage was truly only a transition from frequent fatalities along the trails to the ships to even more mortality after slaves were in the Americas, particularly after they were in the death traps of sugar plantations and precious metal mines. Miller estimates that two-thirds of those people seized in Angola during the late eighteenth century would have died by the fourth year of being a slave on a Brazilian plantation.

Demographics

Slaves became increasingly male, younger, and hailed from more southern locations in Africa by the nineteenth century. As David Eltis and David Richardson have recently concluded, “the demographic characteristics of the coerced migrant flow from Africa changed from one of rough balance between males and females and the presence of some children in the seventeenth century, to one in which males and children predominated by the nineteenth century” (Eltis and Richardson 2003, 55). This relative lack of enslaved women for export spared western and central Africa from complete demographic and economic collapse, but it failed to mitigate the longterm underdevelopment decried by the scholar and activist Walter Rodney. The triangular trade of guns for slaves to produce druglike staples for a world market addicted African kings and elites to European weapons and manufactured goods and thus inhibited the growth and enhancement of local industries outside of slave trading. When the slave ships stopped coming, local leaders scrambled to find appropriate substitutions.

Indeed, after European countries and the United States started to abolish the transatlantic slave trade after 1807 and then slavery itself after 1833, slave trades were again primarily associated with interior Africa, the Islamic world, and the Indian Ocean basin. Although Brazil and Cuba would continue to import slaves long after other plantation societies had ceased to do so, slave trades actually increased most in volume and frequency within Africa after 1800 as jihads proliferated and sellers looked for alternative markets. Most deceptively, a most virulent wave of European imperialism in Africa and Asia during the late nineteenth century was rationalized in part as an effort to stamp out slavery and slave trades. Accordingly, slave trades today are met with disapproval from the global community, with the genocidal wars in the Sudan and its enslavement of captives being the most glaring instance.

Bibliography:

Bradley, K. R. (1989). Slavery and rebellion in the Roman world, 140 B.C.–70 B.C. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press.

Burkholder, M. A., & Johnson, L. (2001). Colonial Latin America (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Curtin, P. D. (1990). The rise and fall of the plantation complex: Essays in Atlantic history. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

Eltis, D., & Richardson, D. (2003). West Africa and the transatlantic slave trade: New evidence of long-run trends. In G. Heuman & J. Walvin (Eds.), The slavery reader (pp. 42–57). London: Routledge.

Harris, J. E. (1998). Africans and their history (2nd ed.). New York: Meridian.

Klein, H. (1999). The Atlantic slave trade. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

Manning, P. (2003). Why Africans? The rise of the slave trade to 1700. In G. Heuman & J. Walvin (Eds.), The slavery reader (pp 30–41). London: Routledge.

Miller, J. C. (1988). Way of death: Merchant capitalism and the Angolan slave trade, 1730–1830. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Mintz, S. W. (1985). Sweetness and power: The place of sugar in modern history. New York: Penguin Books.

Northrup, D. (Ed.). (1994). The Atlantic slave trade. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath Company.

Thomas, H. (1997). The slave trade: The story of the Atlantic slave trade, 1440–1870. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Thornton, J. (1992). Africa and Africans in the making of the Atlantic world, 1400–1680. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

See also:

History Research Paper Topics

History Research Paper

US History Research Paper

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Allah on Broadway. August Wilson's roots in the Nation of Islam

Allah on Broadway. August Wilson’s roots in the Nation of Islam

August Wilson

August Wilson’s plays have lit up Broadway as few ever have. One theater is even named after him. His plays about The Hill District in Pittsburgh gripped African American New Yorkers like tales of their own neighborhoods.

You may be surprised that the playwright for the Academy Award nominee “Fences,” directed by Denzel Washington, had his roots in the Nation of Islam. (Viola Davis…

[nycreligion]

Allah on Broadway. August Wilson's roots in the Nation of Islam

Allah on Broadway. August Wilson’s roots in the Nation of Islam

August Wilson August Wilson’s plays have lit up Broadway as few ever have. One theater is even named after him. His plays about The Hill District in Pittsburgh gripped African American New Yorkers like tales of their own neighborhoods. You may be surprised that the playwright for the Academy Award nominee “Fences,” directed by Denzel Washington, had his roots in the Nation of Islam. (Viola Davis…