Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Race to Discover America
Another late night seems to be in the making thanks to the countless number of assignments. Not to mention the midterms are a stone's throw away. I have four out of five midterms before the reading week. Most of the people like that because it means they get an easy break but what is the point of having an easy break if you do bad on the exams.
I read quite a disturbing article today. It was about a man who had been receiving threatening letters because he employed a worker who wore hijab. First it was just death threats in letters, and then a bullet was mailed to him. They never did find the culprit but it signals an unnerving trend. Though it was nice to see the government respond in a positive manner.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4223307.stm
Read another interesting article regrading the discovery of North America. Apparently one school of thought says that it was explored 71 years before Columbus by a Chinese Muslim explorer, Admiral Zheng He. There is a documentary being made on it to be telecasted on TV some time in the future. As for those of you surprised to hear of a Chinese Muslim, yes, there are about 20-25 million by unofficial estimates. If I recall correctly, Islam reached China by as early as 9th century through traders and explorers. Another interesting side note is that the oldest surviving book form of the Quran was found in China (approximated 8th-10th century) and is on display in a Chinese museum.
http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2005-02/01/article07.shtml
I have also read accounts of the Vikings arriving in North America around the 10th century. The reason such a voyage did not receive recognition was because it was not a success and secondly, the European historians were never made aware of the 'NEW WORLD.'
I read quite a disturbing article today. It was about a man who had been receiving threatening letters because he employed a worker who wore hijab. First it was just death threats in letters, and then a bullet was mailed to him. They never did find the culprit but it signals an unnerving trend. Though it was nice to see the government respond in a positive manner.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4223307.stm
Read another interesting article regrading the discovery of North America. Apparently one school of thought says that it was explored 71 years before Columbus by a Chinese Muslim explorer, Admiral Zheng He. There is a documentary being made on it to be telecasted on TV some time in the future. As for those of you surprised to hear of a Chinese Muslim, yes, there are about 20-25 million by unofficial estimates. If I recall correctly, Islam reached China by as early as 9th century through traders and explorers. Another interesting side note is that the oldest surviving book form of the Quran was found in China (approximated 8th-10th century) and is on display in a Chinese museum.
http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2005-02/01/article07.shtml
I have also read accounts of the Vikings arriving in North America around the 10th century. The reason such a voyage did not receive recognition was because it was not a success and secondly, the European historians were never made aware of the 'NEW WORLD.'
Faraz Ahmed 10:59 p.m.