While this election has inspired me to pay more attention to the dynamics of my own countries leadership, it has also sparked a desire in me to learn more about the rest of the world.
Don't get me wrong, I have always cared about people and countries across the planet, but the problems in my own hometown seem so big that I felt it was almost a betrayal to spend energy thinking about people in Zimbabwe, for example.
(I'd like to thank progressive u blogger Mudyaradzi Hoto for opening my eyes to events going on there.)
I have always been interested in other cultures, and have really spent most of my time understanding them through studying their religions. I haven't however followed day to day, or year to year changes in policies or leadership that affect the citizens in these countries.
This election, and recent events such as the financial crises we are facing, has caused me to want to explore the bigger picture more, to see our place as a nation in relationship to the rest of the world.
I really do believe that if our leaders don't do this as well, we just might be risking the ultimate downfall of America.
I understand the tensions in the Middle East to be very old, and very complex. i really don't think that America understands fully why so many neighboring countries are in such conflict, yet we pretend to assume the role of military peacemakers.
How can we do that when we don't really understand the nature of the conflict in the first place?
I do think the conflict is based first on territorial conflict, but second on religious conflict.
I would like to see the leaders of these countries stand up and take action for their causes instead of relying on America to settle their arguments.
I have asked in other blogs without success, Is there, or has there ever been a great Muslim leader? If there is, perhaps American diplomats should look to this person for guidance. If there isn't, but has been, maybe we can use that person as a model for how to promote peace in the Muslim world.
i really would appreciate any feedback on this, especially from any Muslims on ProgressiveU.
Was Genghis Khan a great leader? If so, then the greatest empire on the face of the earth just a few hundred years ago was the Ottoman Empire. It was muslim. I know very little of its history ... google it. If being leader of a great empire is justification for greatness then you should find some there.
DB
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If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. - Anatole France
According to Wikipedia:
Genghis Khan's religion is widely speculated to be Shamanism or Tengriism, which was very likely among nomadic Mongol-Turkic tribes of Central Asia. But he was very tolerant religiously, and interested to learn philosophical and moral lessons from other religions. To do so, he consulted among others with Christian missionaries, Muslim merchants, and the Taoist monk Qiu Chuji.
Also, Genghis Khan was the ruler of the Mongol Empire
The Ottoman Empire was led by many different people over time.
What I mean by a "Great Leader" is not necessarily a ruler or political leader. I mean an example of a person who had an impact of positive change in their environment.
Examples of what I mean are people like Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, or Ceasar Chavez.
To me a great Muslim leader would be someone who advocated for equality, education, and freedom for people in the Middle East, and who actively promoted these.
they do not have any leader Today and that is what has been their downfall
we talk about the past too much and we have lost our hold on the present :`(
but really, I love our history (most of it) but hate what is going on today :)
"A person doesn't die when he should but when he can."
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
"close your eyes, clear your heart..." Allama Iqbal...An Ode to the Cup Bearer<
Yes, during there golden years they had plenty of leaders. one i can name is Muhammed Al-Ahmar who established a dynasty in Granada( present day spain)
when europe was in the dark ages Granada flourished until 1492.
since then it has been down hill