L S & T (541 -549) Consideration of Islam

541. There is a subject of some current concern that demands the expression of personal persuasion regarding tangible proof of the Islamic threat to non Islamic societies throughout the world.

542. This is intended to illuminate knowledge of Islam that is not widely possessed by the people of the USA. There are also many historical records of which our sources of information (education/media) are either ignorant or have chosen to conceal.

543. Let some things be recognized prior to the examination of what is herein called a threat.

544. Records suggest that Muhammad, the founder of Islamic faith, seems to have been in conflict with himself.

545. Benevolent, peaceful and tolerant statements and behaviors are correctly attributed to Muhammad. They are often repeated, even in some US educational institutions. This latter is quite inexplicable for a modern society that has such a record of intolerance for Christian expressions.

546. However, the benign and admirable beliefs need not be shared here. It is Muhammad’s other conflicting, violent and intolerant principles and behaviors that represent a threat .

547. The tangible proof relies on translations of highly respected Islamic historians and widely known historical records.

548. Identification of necessarily shortened names and some other terms should be informative for the forthcoming sharing. Islamic scholars may suggest modifications, but I trust the basics to be sound.

— Muhammad – Messenger and final Prophet of Allah (God)

— Qur’an – Revelations from the Archangel Gabriel

— Hadith – Traditions and sayings of the Prophet

— Sira – Biography of Muhammad

— Sunnah – Models of behavior derived from the Qur’an, Hadith and Sira

— Sharia Law – Laws governing all civic and spiritual behavior with the Qur’an and Hadith as its foundation

— Jizya – Poll tax required of subjugated people, particularly Jews and Christians, for  “protected” status

— Mecca – Birthplace of Muhammad – major trade center – principal city of pilgrimage

— Medina (Yathrib) – City to which Muhammad & followers fled to avoid persecution from non believers

— Hijra – Muhammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina- Marks first year of Islamic calendar

— Ka’bah – Religious shrine in Mecca – Housed representations of many gods of Arabia – Muhammad removed all but Allah

—- Mi’raj – Muhammad’s one night heavenly tour to Jerusalem, Heaven and Hell, led by Gabriel

—- Buraq – The heavenly winged horse, with the head of a man, that carried Muhammad on his night journey

—- Shi’i – Those who believed leadership of Islam should fall upon the blood line of the Prophet – Represented by Ali, a cousin of Muhammad, and Fatima, Ali’s wife & Muhammad’s daughter

—- Sunni – Those who believed leadership should be selected from Muhammad’s advisors – Abu Bakr was the first in line

—- Caliph – Chief Muslim religious and civil leader

—- Caliphate – An area ruled by a caliph

—- Imam – A title of various Muslim leaders, especially one succeeding Muhammad as leader of Shiite Islam.

—- Hidden Imam, the Mahdi – Islamic leader who will reveal himself to become Imam/Caliph of a world wide Caliphate.

—- Islamic Historians of reference – Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa’d and Bukhari, upon whose records much of the following information is based

—- Muslim Translators of reference – Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall

549. Acknowledging the age old expression, “actions speak louder than words”, we will next consider the Prophet, the man, his claims and his actions.

L S & T (582 – 593) Islam Post Muhammad

582. Ludicrous it would be to consider the encapsulation of 1400 years of Islamic history in one final sharing. Even a cursory understanding would need to begin with item 541. Again, that said, most items should stand alone as points of truth.

583. Muhammad’s period of spiritual and military leadership covered about 2 decades. During that time the forces of Islam militarily dominated the Arabian peninsula and gained the acquiescence of the leader of Persia.

584. Following the violent divisions over leadership and theology resulting from Muhammad’s death in 632 AD,  Muslim domination expanded rapidly during the next century.

585. The Prophet’s followers established control northward and eastward to parts or all of the areas we know as Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran and India.

586. Westward military conquests included Egypt, all the rest of North Africa and portions of central Africa before setting sights on Western Europe.

587. Once across the Mediterranean, the Muslim Moors invaded what is now Spain. A great celebratory mosque was established in Cardoba.

588. As a side note, just by coincidence, the Islamic center which was established near the site of the fallen towers of 9/11 was given the title of (you guessed it) Cardoba.

589. The European Islamic advance was halted in France at the Battle of Tours by forces under the leadership of a Frankish king, Charles Martel. This was only 100 years after the demise of Mohammad, but the last military stronghold in Granada was not defeated until 1491 AD.

590. One point of interest, of which few Americans (and modern Muslims) are aware, is that the conquests achieved in Spain predated the “evil” Christian Crusades by 400 years.

591. Fast forward to the rise of the USA on the world stage, and we see the pirates of the Islamic provinces of Tripoli, Algiers, Tunis and Morocco capturing American merchant ships, confiscating the merchandise, holding the crews for ransom, impressing them into service or selling them as slaves. The American government was told that, “… all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave…”.

592. The US tried paying “jizya”, in earlier treaties. That did not work out well. President Thomas Jefferson began an aggressive response, but we and other countries continued to have difficulties until the French achieved a pivotal victory.

593. In conclusion… and continuing to authenticate the dilemma facing Muslims and the concern of other societies:

——- Many modern Islamic sources proclaim: “The word “jihad” means struggle, and the Prophet Muhammad said that the greatest jihad is the struggle against self to become better human beings through peace. Our goal as American Muslims should be to wage true jihad of education, compassion and service to humanity.

——- A modern imam (now assassinated), Ramadan al Buti, disagreed with that view of jihad …..

“The theory that our religion is a peaceful and loving religion is a wrong theory. The Holy war, as it is known in Islam, is basically an offensive war, and it is the duty of all Muslims of every age, when the needed military power is available, because our prophet Muhammad said that he is ordered by Allah to fight all people until they say “No God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger”… It is meaningless to talk about the holy war as only defensive, otherwise, what did the Prophet mean when he said, ‘from now on even if they don’t invade you, you must invade them.’ …”.

L S & T – (568 – 581) Muhammad II

568. It is very important to emphasize the point of these sharings is not to pick a view of Muhammad that must be believed by all Western civilization, but to illustrate the dilemma facing those who profess Islamic faith. Awareness of that dilemma does raise legitimate concerns for other societies.

569. A pillar of the Islamic faith is that Muhammad represented the perfect man whose behavior should be emulated.

570. An examination of Muhammad’s reported record reveals a want of consistency in his behavior and messages from Allah.

571. Even the highly regarded Ibn Ishaq’s record tells of the Prophet’s favorite wife, Aisha, declaring the remarkable frequency of Allah’s varying edicts just happening to coincide with the current preferences of Muhammad.

572. Muhammad explained that variations in the declarations of Allah were improvements or clarifications.

573. Avoiding lengthy details of names, quotations and places as much as possible, a very limited presentation of truths should be illustrative.

574. The Prophet’s early identification of Jews and Christians as being “people of the Scripture”, thereby deserving of special consideration, was later followed by more stringent behaviors and declarations.

575. After failing to grow in converts and strength in Mecca, Muhammad’s proselytes and armed forces increased in Medina. He became both a strong religious and military leader. When certain Jews of Medina opposed him, they were forcibly exiled, leaving their property for him.

576. The Prophet who stressed “turning the other cheek” and forgiving those who had wronged him was the same man who called for, and appreciated, the assassination of three poets who offended him. Permission to lie to infidels was also granted at that point.

577. Former President Obama shared that “The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all of mankind…”. True, but Allah later clarified the meaning to allow harming of women and children of unbelievers when Muhammad assigned warriors to attack a caravan at Nakhla.

578. One episode with which modern Muslims and apologists are least comfortable was known as the Battle of the Trench. It was noted for the degree of merciless violence following the surrender of hundreds of Banu Qurayza Jews.

579. Muhammad had gained Allah’s approval to exact revenge on the Banu Qurayza for violating their agreement to join him against another tribe. After surrendering, every Qurayza male who had matured to puberty, and refused to convert to Islam, was publicly beheaded with Muhammad leading the efforts. All of the tribe’s property, women and children were awarded to Muhammad and his fighting forces.

580. Although brief in nature, this information should authenticate that Muslims are seemingly at liberty to choose either the noble or the violent models of the Prophet. The concern of others must then depend upon which choices are embraced by which Muslims.

581. Next is the meaning of jihad and a look at the history of Islam post Muhammad.

 

 

 

 

L S & T (550 – 567) Muhammad, Part I

550. LS & T (541- 549) has been provided in hopes of touching items that will supplement the forthcoming accounts without necessitating expansive detail.

551. Since Muslims regard Muhammad’s words and actions as constituting a perfect model of behavior, it is incumbent upon other societies to recognize some particulars of that model.

552. All of the following accounts of the life, words and actions of the Prophet of Islam must be considered as the amount of water picked up by a stone that has skipped across a pond. However limited that may be, each item shared is true according to the previously noted Islamic historians and should suffice to indicate the dangers to other cultures as well as the dilemma facing what society calls “peaceful” Muslims.

553. The Muslim dilemma is the reconciliation of peaceful and admirable words and actions of their Prophet as opposed to his violent commands and deeds. The likelihood of large groups of “peaceful” Muslims publicly repudiating the latter is minuscule.

554. Tradition has it that Muhammad lived from the late 500s to the mid 600s AD. Blood feuds and desert raiding tribes were not uncommon. The people were of a harsh and unyielding nature.

555. Jewish beliefs, forms of Christianity and numerous pagan religions were practiced by the Arabians.

556. Among the pagans was Mecca’s dominate Quraysh tribe of which Muhammad was a member.

557. Although Allah was a common word for god in Arabia, it was Muhammad who used that term for the one true god as he established the religion of Islam.

558. Islam meant submission. The world has now learned that “submission” is subject to various applications.

559. About the age of 40, Muhammad began receiving visits from Gabriel, who delivered messages from Allah. Those messages and other revelations became the Qur’an of Islam.

560. The messages included personal requirements, some of which coincided noticeably with Jewish traditions as well as those of Christian and Persian religions of the day.

561. The Islamic profession of faith (Shahada) was an exigent requirement of Islam: “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.”

562. Muhammad taught that Allah was the god worshiped by Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets. He claimed to be the final and dominate Prophet of Allah.

563. With great airs of authority, Muhammad shared the Islamic requirements, along with his “night journey” experience.

564. This was not popular with his tribe and others, causing him to encounter increasing opposition. He never shed the resentment of the Quraysh’s refusal to convert to Islam.

565. The rejected Prophet and his followers fled the oppression in Mecca. At Medina he rapidly increased the numbers of his converts and began a career of violence approved by Allah.

566. Not surprisingly, Muhammad’s early departures from professions of peace and tolerance included ordering, and sometimes leading, raids on wealthy Quraysh caravans.

567. Evidence of the Prophet’s dark side would be woefully inadequate without further mention of notable events contained in Islamic records.

L S & T (515 – 540) America’s Great Sin

515. As expressed in #468, I am persuaded that Satan (the father of lies) has sought to separate mankind from God by inciting animosities.

516. Satan is currently taking much pleasure in promoting many divisions in this country that God has established (LS&T #76-#237).

517. This has been made possible by the apathy, insidious purposes or ignorance (lack of information) of those responsible for transferring information from generation to generation.

518. The lies of Satan have been so effective that social media, protest organizers and politicians promote divisive beliefs that the USA has been the preeminent offender in “400 years” of brutal slavery.

519. Anyone who knows anything regarding the 6000 year history of slavery will concur that horrible atrocities were committed through out that time period.

520. Millennia of enslavement of black Africans (and members of all other races) is a matter of historical fact.

521. In the year 1600, there was no such thing as the USA, and practically all of the world practiced slavery.

522. In the year 1700 there was still no USA. What was to become the USA was a group of British subjects who engaged in slavery with the approval of, and profit for, the king of England.

523. The British colonies in the western hemisphere had begun their use of African slaves 120 years after other European colonies.

524. The total number of African slaves delivered to ports in British North America was about one half million.

525. The number delivered to all other ports exceeded ten million.

526. In 1775, there was still no USA, and most of the world still practiced slavery.

527. In 1783, the North American colonies shed British control and were free to chart their own course, but the first attempt at confederation was ineffectual.

528. The country literally became the United States of America when the US Constitution was ratified in 1789. Twenty years later, the Atlantic slave trade was outlawed. Fifty six years after that, slavery was abolished, and the long road to unity was opened.

529. Not to be deterred, Satan began, and now continues, to stir every possible pot of animosity to prevent a sense of brotherhood among Americans.

530. The abolition of slavery in the US found most of the world’s population still living in countries wherein slavery was practiced. That included all Islamic countries.

531. As a point that should be informative, the African Islamic Republic of Mauritania did not outlaw slavery until 2006.

532. As far as oppression goes, that pot has to be vigorously and continually stirred if it is not to be labeled ridiculous by the entire population of the U.S.A.

533. Today, Americans of the black race occupy prominent positions in the sciences, education, entertainment, professional athletics, military leadership, health care, the media, the judiciary, local governments, school boards, state governments, the federal government, major corporations and Wall Street.

534. For 2019, the number of black millionaires in the U.S. is estimated to be 380,000

535. Also in 2019, through out the world, there are twelve to fifteen black billionaires……. Five of them are Americans.

536. The preceding accomplishments were not sympathy awards for the atrocities suffered by their ancestors any more than the descendants of any other race with a history of slavery……..They were earned!

537. If the masses of black Americans are oppressed today, the oppressors are doing a very poor job.

538. There is a serious question that must be considered in any honest discussion of the charge of America being unique among all countries and cultures in the “Great Sin” of “slavery and oppression”.

539. The question is:  Why do so many people of all races seek to get here as fast as they can?

540. This topic will be concluded with a caution expressed to my children and friends …. Be very skeptical of contentions emphasizing, “race, race, race”.  Satan’s influence is in there some where.

L S & T (507 – 514) Trans Atlantic Slavery, Cont.

507. The number of African people eventually suffering slavery in any specific location in the western hemisphere can never be determined because of those purchased from slave owners in other areas and hundreds of years of procreation.

508. In quest of some degree of accuracy regarding the volume of Africans transported by the Atlantic slave traders, a nineteenth century guess of fifteen million prevailed as the accepted figure for a number of years.

509. Records found by subsequent investigators have produced figures ranging as low as 10,000,000 and as high as that 15,000,000.

510. The figures below reflect the conclusions of the British researcher, Hugh Thomas, who had taken years to examine previously mentioned sources and 17 efforts of other investigators. Thomas stated the obvious when writing that anyone absorbed with attempts to arrive at figures correct to the final digit would be engaged in an effort of utter futility.

Total Originating From All African Ports: 13,000,000

Record Of Slaves Arriving At Ports of Delivery:

Brazil 4,000,000

Spanish empire 2,500,000

British West Indies 2,000,000

French West Indies 1,600,000

British North America & US 500,000

Dutch West Indies 500,000

Danish West Indies 28,000

European destinations 200,000

Total 11,328,000

511. A comparison of these figures reflect the rate of en route deaths noted in #506.

512. In search of the historical villains involved in the enslavement of black Africans, let us move past, but not forget …… the thousands of years preceding 1492 wherein members of all cultures and races had been enslaved and had enslaved others.

513. There is a considerable list of the malefactors who were responsible for black Africans being taken from their villages and eventually becoming laborers in the western hemisphere:

– The Africans who captured and led the captives to the ports, tied together at their necks….

-The African rulers such as those of Ashanti, Congo, Dohomey & Loango who profited in the sale of human flesh….

-The native guards necessary to control hundreds of captives until they were moved to the ships…

-The slave ship captains & crews….

-The slave ship owners….

-The European rulers who promoted and profited from taxes on the slave sales….

-Those who approved of the trade from their positions of religious and political leadership….

-Those who were employed in Europe’s “fine financial counting houses”….

-Those who controlled the slave repositories at the destinations….

– Those who participated in the actual sales of the slaves….

-Finally, those who purchased slaves and profited from their labor….

514. Considering the information in #418 thru #514, much of which has never been shared with generations of Americans, the time has come to reasonably consider the tools of deception used by the Great Deceiver in efforts to destroy America. .

L S & T (488 – 506) Trans Atlantic Slavery

488. There is a necessary redundancy to express here. Many of the items shared in these L S & Ts are only gateways to the vast amount of information that is not common knowledge today.

489. Historically speaking, the availability of people to be enslaved and their capabilities to meet the desires of the masters have been major determinants in seeking slaves. Oft times enslavement has been simply the result of enslaving those who were defeated in military conflict. Race itself has generally been a happenstance.

490. Slaves were often directly selected from the readily available members of a conquered populace. This was true in the “conquest of the New World”. The Spanish and Portuguese, arriving 100 plus years before the English, proceeded to take slaves from indigenous tribes.

491. The natives were inefficient for the tasks and unable to survive the rigors of the mineral mines and sugar cane fields.

492. Because it was known that black Africans would be more capable of New World labor and more likely to survive, the trans Atlantic slave trade was born.

493. The first areas used for slave trading harbors were located on the African coast opposite the Canary islands, and, eventually, slaving ports extended around the continent to Madagascar and Mozambique.

494. With their practice of slavery having been exercised for generations extending into antiquity, the indigenous African rulers gave no thought past profiting as they supplied products for the market.

495. Before further consideration of trans-Atlantic slavery’s historical records, it may be enlightening to imagine the terror, degradation and agony that was the fate of the individual trans-Atlantic slave.

496. Even though enslavement had been a danger for many centuries, fear across the continent must have been a constant companion as the Atlantic slave trade required more and more raids on the villages of Africa’s interior. Marauders came, day or night, kidnapping who they would and leaving the rest to survive as they could.

497. It is probable that some fought to their deaths, but considering the millions that were taken alive, most of them probably surrendered due to their captors having an advantage in arms obtained from the Europeans and the Arabs.

498. Flight to safer areas was unlikely because any direction might result in closer proximity to other raiders who were, after all, members of their own race.

499. The captives were transported distances sometimes covering hundreds of miles to sea ports operated by Europeans, Arabs and African rulers.

500. Once on board ship, most captives did not immediately begin the Middle Crossing of the Atlantic, which usually required 40 to 50 days. Filling the ship itself required days that sometimes ran into a week or more if visits to multiple ports were required.

501. Men were confined to the smallest possible spaces, some reported to be 4 feet, 3 inches by 5 feet, 3 inches. They were shackled with irons that galled the skin.

502. Food and water were scarce, and sanitary conditions were difficult to maintain.

503. There is a great desire to share much more regarding conditions aboard the slave vessels. The extensiveness required is prohibitive in this form. If so motivated, one may become more informed by reading accounts of the life and writings of the slave, Olaudah Equiano.

504. A small number of onboard revolts were attempted, but successes were extremely rare. Participants of the failed efforts were subjected to unmentionable fates.

505. Those who died from disease or other causes were tossed to the sharks. The most extreme example of this was a Portuguese slaving expedition involving five ships and 1200 captives where more than 50% eventually died. Had this been anywhere near the norm, the Atlantic slave trade would have ended long before the voyage of the Mayflower. All of the slavers would have become bankrupt.

506. Small samples vary greatly,  but, over all, the records of slaves departing from African ports, compared to slaves sold at their destination, indicate a mortality rate of about 13 of every 100.

L S & T (468 – 487) Revisit Islamic Slavery

468. Satan will use anything that promotes divisiveness among the American people.

469. One such tool is the lack of knowledge of Islamic history.

470. Christianity and Islam are eternally antithetical as can be demonstrated by simply comparing the two “founders”.

471. There is much to share concerning the faith of Muslims, but these comparisons should suffice to illustrate irreconcilable differences.

472. Jesus never fielded an army. He taught the difficult goal of loving your enemy. He would not allow his followers to fight to defend him, even when the Jews came to take him to his death.

473. Muhammad commanded his army in the defeat of the Qurayzah Jews at the Battle of the Trench. That was followed by the beheading of all the surrendering male Jews above the age of puberty and the distribution of the remaining women, children and property (according to Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad’s first biographer).  He later called for, and received, volunteers to assassinate three poets who had offended him.

474. For many nomadic desert raiders, the option of submitting to the word of the Prophet and sharing in future spoils taken in conquests seemed to be a capital idea. Their numbers increased rapidly.

475. All of Arabia was conquered during the brief period of the Prophet’s leadership.

476. Following the death of Muhammad, conquests proliferated exponentially. To the east, Islam was spread to the very borders of China. Westward conversions and conquests included all of north Africa, intrusion into sub-Sahara Africa and across the Straight of Gibraltar into Spain.

477. Everywhere Islam went, conversion, death, extortion (called jizya) or enslavement were to be expected.

478. Muslims transported black slaves across the Sahara Desert 700 years before the slave ships arrived in the Americas. They were supposedly prohibited from enslaving any who had converted to Islam, but conversion after capture did not necessarily apply.

479. When the trans-Atlantic slave trade began, having long trafficked in slavery, converted black Muslims were experienced and ready to profit by capturing and transporting their black brothers and sisters to become the cargoes for European slave ships.

480. Many black rulers prospered from their commerce with the European slave traders.

481. When slaves were freed in America by ratification of the 13^th Amendment to the US Constitution, every Islamic country in the world still participated in slavery.

482. More than a dozen Islamic countries did not abolish slavery until the twentieth century, and one of those did not actually make slavery illegal until after 2006 AD. Some  of those areas are reputed to continue the practice today.

483. In modern times, several black American Muslim leaders have openly taught divisive and virulent opinions regarding white Americans. Those opinions have used the historically true white American involvement in slavery as their germinating point.

484. Such extreme opinions have not become predominate in the US, but Satan uses them to promote the divisions that he seeks. An arsonist’s well placed and continually fanned campfire can destroy an entire forest.

485. Evidence of Satan’s effectiveness is manifested in the number of Americans of African descent who disregard Islam’s 1200 year participation in slavery and take pride in their Islamic conversion ….. while myopically focusing on the 260 year sin of white Americans. Even that 260 is not exactly true…. Until 1776, the people in question were participating in slavery as subjects of the king of England. But that is a thought to be considered later.

486. QUESTION: By what understanding can Americans of African descent be lead to look favorably upon Islam?

487. ANSWER: Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”

L S & T (445 – 467) Evils of Slavery

445. The previous items of history clearly confirm that white settlers of America did not invent the institution of slavery, and the people of the black race are not alone in their suffering under that evil.

446. Candidly, and without reservation, my persuasion is that the institution and its practices have been the result of Satanic influence upon the carnal weaknesses of the human race.

447. Satan has always cultivated the nature of man to turn from God.

448. Jesus gave us the often difficult assignment of loving others as ourselves, and Satan has rejoiced in promoting conflicts of brother against brother.

449. Satan is the personification of evil.

450. There is evil in all facets of slavery.

451. Truthful history has furnished many examples.

452. Forcing people into roles of mortal combat was evil.

453. Forcing people to live as heterosexual and homosexual prostitutes was evil.

454. Forcing women and children of a conquered foe to become the personal property of the conquers was evil.

455. Forcing kidnapped women to become “wives” for the purpose of procreation was evil.

456. Forcing people to work in the cotton fields, tobacco fields and homes of the USA was evil.

457. Forcing people to work in the mineral mines and sugar cane fields of Central America, South America and the Caribbean Islands was evil.

458. Resistance to the education of slaves was evil.

459. Breeding slaves as though they were cattle was evil.

460. Kidnapping people for the purpose of human sacrifice to “gods” was evil.

461. Kidnapping people for the purpose of selling them into slavery was evil.

462. Maintaining slave trading markets and ports was evil.

463. Transporting people to be sold into slavery was evil.

464. Government and “church” authorization of slavery was evil.

465. As we continue, there is a high degree of probability that other such evils will come to light.

466. Some of these are exercised today. For reasons unknown, if reported at all, they are most often addressed as “crimes” with little suggestion as being a continuation of slavery.

467. The next objective of these L S & Ts is to visit historical information that more directly addresses the knowledge gaps contributing to the effectiveness of he who would divide the people of our country.

L S & T (432 – 444) History of Slavery

432. If we are to regard ourselves as intellectually informed concerning the institution of slavery, we would certainly want to possess, at minimum, a microscopic awareness of its history. Knowledge provides the opportunity to be intellectually independent; Absent knowledge, we become mentally subservient to someone else.

433. The presence of enslaved people seems to have been the accepted norm throughout human history.

434. The discovery of prehistoric graves in Lower Egypt has indicated enslavement of Negrito tribes as early as 8000 BC.

435. Slave labor was used in the construction of a giant hydraulic system in China about 3000 BC.

436. Even though some modern scholars have used interpretations of words to minimize the existence of slavery in ancient India, the acknowledgement  of people who were compelled to be in the service of others is common. Other scholars are not hesitant to mention the procreative services of women.

437. Around 1750 BC, the Babylonian king Hammurabi set forth laws by which people were required to live. Included was a penalty of death for anyone aiding in the escape of a slave

438. In Biblical times, prior to the birth of Christ, large numbers of all twelve tribes of Israel were carried away into slavery. Members of ten of those tribes have been lost to history.

439. Over 300 years before the time of Jesus, the philosopher Aristotle contemplated human history as well as philosophy. He also observed contemporary human behavior, and one of his conclusions was, “Humanity is divided into two: the masters and the slaves”.

440. Muslims had conquered much of Spain 400 years before the first Christian Crusade was launched, and a Caliph in Cardoba is reputed to have had an army composed of 60,000 Slavs, Frenchmen and Germans. They were forced to kill enemies of the Caliph or be killed.

441. The Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Indians, Western Europeans, Russians, Arabic cultures and Romans practiced slavery.

442. The native tribes of North America, Central America, South America and Sub-Sahara Africa practiced slavery.

443. Closing as we began in #433, there is a blanket statement that is secure in its veracity…….. Members of all races and cultures have suffered in slavery…….. and all races and cultures have been guilty of enslaving others.

444. Before continuing to #445, please take a few moments to understand the gravity of the few preceding items of history……. Try to imagine the billions of people who have suffered fear, degradation, physical torment and death over the thousands of years slavery has been a practice of human behavior.

More ……………….