The Slave Trade

As Europe came out of the Dark Ages, having survived the Black Death plague, it was the sailors who led the enterprise of expansion. Lisbon became centre of this expansion and in the mid 15th century was the biggest city in the world.  

To facilitate this expansion, extra manpower was required, especially as the plague had decimated European population. The first slavers went East and it was Eastern Europe which supplied the original slaves. Hence probably the word Slave (out of the ethnicity of Slavs). There are official scribes who described the first slave auctions in the first half of the 15th century in Lisbon. 

 

A major historical event changed the history of the Slavs of Eastern Europe. Sultan Muhammad Fateh, conquered Constantinople in 1453 and the Byzantine Empire collapsed. The ensuing change, shut down the Mediterranean for these Portuguese sailors. They needed to go elsewhere. These sailors must have been tough, daring, hardened people. They went South and the need to open up the Atlantic became imperative.  

    

Along the coast of North Africa they encountered black people, who were generally Muslim. In search of trade and gold, they had discovered people. People meant slaves; and so the blacks of Northern Africa Atlantic coast, became the slaves. But the sailors needed legitimacy, and so Portugal applied to the Pope for approval. This was given. The authority allowed that in the battle of the Crusades, the sailors were allowed to ‘enslave the Muslim blacks of Africa for perpetuity’. Perpetuity. No hope, no freedom, a life spent serving at the wish of others. 

The rest is common knowledge. The Portuguese went South. They made friends of Kings along the coast, traded and at the same time bought or captured humans. Lisbon in the next 50 years became the hub of all trade. It became the gateway to Europe and very soon, as the Portuguese conquered Brazil, the slaves were also sent there, to expand the outpost of the Empire.

The Portuguese who entered as traders, soon set up plantations of sugarcane, coffee, dug gold mines and raided deeper and deeper lands to find more slaves. In just a few years, they found the blacks were actually not Muslims, as the reach of Islam was not that deep. So the actual authority of the Pope was itself irrelevant. Hence, a new ideology was coined, which has prevailed through the centuries till to-date. The mantra of the West! These people are backward savages, and we are bringing ‘civilisation’ to them. 

 

Armed with this ideology Portuguese adventurers and slavers could advance with impunity. They even turned on most of the agreements with local Kings. This of course sounds familiar. We saw the same with British in India. And yes, very soon, France, England, Dutch and Belgians would join in this trade. As early as 1595 in Sao Tome, the slaves revolted, burned and pillaged the plantation and factories. So, the Portuguese the ultimate masters of the seas of the 16th century, moved their industry and slaves to Brazil.  

This was the first century of slavery and of colonisation. They go hand in hand. The wealth of European nations (and later American) was thus built on illegal human slavery, who were in turn used pre industrialisation to be the work engine. An edifice built for centuries on the back of human bondage. It is also quite coincidental, that the slavery numbers declined (and disappeared) just as mechanical factories became cheaper than human bondage. Had that not happened would we have had an Abraham Lincoln and American Civil War?

* picture from monthlyreview.org

The Generational Divide; Age Diversity!

 

When we were growing up, the difficult teen years and maybe early stages at work were testing periods. In a generation where communicating with older people was generally cautious, sometimes stilted and distant, it was always put down to the generation gap. But the good thing was that everyone involved could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Times uncountable, one heard how this problem will be over post teens, or for young employees as soon they settle down.   

 

Push forward thirty years and something has changed. Today the generational gap has expanded dramatically and really come home to roost. It is no more about a few years. All of us are engulfed in it all the time. Its more like a generational war between old and new. We saw it in action in 2016. Both the Brexit and Trump votes showed the age divide in the segments vote.   

Older people generally are less concerned about the materiality of things. It's more about culture, nationality, independence, the feeling of isolation and being disenfranchised. "We do not belong; no one listens to us; we simply do not exist. It's as if we have fallen off the back of a truck and no one has noticed". The older generation is feeling left out, perhaps technology and social media making them less relevant. Hence their is a reaction, against economics, more about culture, more about race and nationalism.  
    

The younger ones are concerned about the future shape of things. They have grown up in a networked environment and are at home in this global village. They are less worried about migration and how society is being homogenised. It's about eco systems, environment, interlinkages and how to make a prosperous future. Make the global village work together. And at the backend, how best to deal with rampant technology, use it and drive it further. There is a further change in Millennials (early 80s to late 90s birth) thinking. Research is showing that ideas about prosperity are changing. Millennials are opting for valuable personal experiences than necessarily outright ownership of property. This is part of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. As Millennials have grown up in a more secure environment, they do not necessarily feel property ownership is a purpose in life and would much rather go on a holiday and value that experience more. 

Partially this generational gap is laid on the door of demographics. In many developing countries the youth bulge is giving the under 30s a very large and dynamic say in society. This leads to a face off, between the conservative and liberal agendas. Quite the opposite, in developed societies with birth rates dropping and population ageing, it is the older population which has a significant vote bank, and it is this population which is driving a nationalistic agenda. You see that with Brexit and Trump votes.

   

What is coming is a more scary generational scenario. As the world population growth declines and comes to a standstill somewhere around 2045, the older population will become bigger in numbers. However, technology and the operations of the world, will be more readily handled by the youth. Simultaneously, the older population will start retiring in big numbers. The responsibility to run the world and provide for a growing old age population will fall squarely on the youth. As the retired population increases, it will be fewer younger people providing for more and more older people. One can actually see an 'inverse responsibility pyramid', leading to a generational conflict developing and chaos prevailing. This is all the more likely, as the then youths will not attach much value to wealth accumulation. So looking after the workings of an aging world will become a huge bind for them.

Since this eventuality of generational conflict is so obviously apparent today, governments and world organisations need to come together to carve a plan which shall stop this terrible situation developing. Part of the solution may be to reverse declining birth rates, but also will include a big increase in the retirement age and further utilisation of retired people in society (perhaps volunteer work). Also legislation to enhance inter-generational mixing and teams. Age diversity! Without such reforms and actions to stop this generational divide, it can tear us apart and cause endless harm and destruction.

*picture is from Shutterstock 

Sarfaraz A Rehman: The Mongol Miracle

Sarfaraz A Rehman: The Mongol Miracle: Early in the thirteenth century, fresh from re-establishment of authority over Jerusalem, the Muslim world could have been forgiven for...

The Mongol Miracle

Early in the thirteenth century, fresh from re-establishment of authority over Jerusalem, the Muslim world could have been forgiven for feeling strong. There was no immediate challenge. The newly established Mamluk Sultanate in Cairo, the fledgling rise of the Afghan slave dynasty in India and the strong Shah of Khwarezm in Central Asia/Khorasan seemingly in control of the then world.  

Covertly, there was disunity within the Islamic rulers and lack of the fervour, which had led the Muslims out of Arabia and taken them as far as Spain and China. This was now an aging civilisation, some six hundred years after the Prophet (saw).     

   

Unbeknownst, the greatest ever challenge to Islam to-date, was brewing at its northern borders. Temujin, a small time chieftain of the Mongol tribes was just beginning to unite the wild nomads into a beast of an army. The Mongols were to call Temujin, ‘Khan’ and history noted him as Genghis Khan. In a few years beyond 1206, Genghis Khan was to professionalise the army, combine it with the Turkic hordes and invade the great Chinese Jin dynasty. Moving with speed never seen before, he poured past the Chinese wall and sacked Beijing. 

In a few years due to Khwarezm intransigence, he turned westwards and destroyed this great empire and chased Jalauddin Shah a thousand miles, to exile beyond the Indus in India. In his wake, cities were massacred and burnt. The Islamic world simply wilted against a cataclysmic force. 

            

It was at this time that the Khan fell ill and chose his third son (there were four, all warrior like and ferocious) Ögedei as his successor. Ögedei managed the Mongol hordes for a quarter of century, without much split, and expanded conquest into Eastern Europe. However, Jochi one of the sons of Genghis, never forgave his father for this rejection and withdrew northward into safe territory away from the main hordes and he did not participate in the expansion. This small event was to save Islam over three decades later.

After Ögedei’s death, his successors turned their attention to the rest of the Muslim world, with the stated intention of destroying Baghdad (Abbasid Caliphate) and Cairo (Mamluks) and eventually wiping out Islam as a force. It is estimated in the Mongol battles and conquests from 1210 to 1260, an approximate 5% of the population of the world perished. The majority of these were Muslims. 

     

Helagu Khan, one of the successors of Ögedei, destroyed Baghdad and the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258, thus plunging the world into an age of ignorance for a period, as all knowledge was burned in the libraries of Baghdad. His army then proceeded towards Cairo. In the Battle of Ain Jalut (Goliath’s Spring) in 1260, Kitbuqa, henchman of Helagu, finally suffered defeat at the hands of the Mamluks. But only just. There was a Mongol miracle happening behind him, which saved the Mamluks and Islam.   

         

The forgotten son of Genghis, Jochi had spawned descendants. One of whom, Berke Khan had converted to Islam, when he met a Muslim caravan during his conquests. Berke Khan became a devout Muslim and when Baghdad was sacked, swore revenge on Helagu (his cousin) and to put a stop to any further conquests. The Blue and Golden Hordes of Mongols converted in significant numbers under the leadership of Berke Khan. Harried at the back by Berke and having lost strength, Helagu lost the Battle of Ain Jalut. This was the beginning, and subsequent defeats by Berke Khan weakened Helagu and he finally settled in his lands and forgot further conquests.   

The many Mongol and Turkic hordes settled all over as their power and fear declined. They slowly converted to Islam and in the next century, were to spawn the Ottoman Empire and the Tamerlane Empire (which eventually led to the Mughals of India). The Mongol conversion miracle was to sustain Islam as the dominant force for a further five centuries. But it all began from a small miracle of the disaffection of a son of the great Khan and was sustained by a chance encounter of one Prince with a caravan of Muslims.

Temujin - Genghis Khan, great leader of Mongols

Ögedei  - son and successor of Genghis Khan

Jochi - disaffected son of Ghenghis Khan  
Helagu Khan - one of the successors of Ögedei 
Berke Khan - son of Jochi 
Kitbuqa - general of Helagu 
Mamluk dynasty - rulers of Egypt, Hijaz and Syria 
Khwarezm- Kingdom Central Asia, Persia & Khorasan 

*picture is from Pinterest

Huxley or Orwell - Indulgence faces Extreme Control

One so often hears the fears related to Orwell’s ‘1984’. Especially for Liberals, their one fear is that somewhere, sometime in the future, a strong hand will control the people of this world. That control will be exercised for reasons of efficiency and betterment, but will lead to human society facing extreme subjugation.

Perhaps Orwell had a communistic society, strengthened with technology, in his mind. He definitely painted a very dark picture in that ‘1984’ world, of everything being absolutely monitored and controlled. So freedom was sacrificed for some sort of stability. 

It was a fear which was a constant in the pre-1990 world. All my peers grew up in that sort of culture, where a fear of Soviet Russia and Communist China clamping down on the worlds freedom was constant. The Vietnam war was propelled on that fear and the Mujahideen in Afghanistan became heroes on its back. The liberals never quite left that fear behind, and much of the liberal agenda today continues to be just that. A constant fear of control. They see the present semi-turn towards the far right in the West, as just such a story. Perhaps, society will take that type of regressive backwards step, to what it was a hundred years ago.    

   

As so happens, Aldous Huxley’s lesser known story of The Brave New World, is the opposite side of the coin, and would suit our world today. A picture of society of extremes, converted by human society to a pursuit of the trivial, the unnecessary. There is little bond left in humanity, because individuals are self-indulgent. Now what does all that remind one of? Does not human society run after trivia, while there is much deprivation elsewhere. Expensive indulgences, while others starve. Does not trivia and fake news control reality, restricting the very freedom which liberal society aspires to? 

Huxley saw this world of triviality, where self indulgence will be rife and be the signature of society. Our extreme consumerism, absolute involvement in creating our own image and brand, narcissistic pursuit of fame (on social media) and the mutated search for innovation (rather than for advancement, we innovate for growth of profits and out of boredom) has marginalised society. 

It’s now not about everyone, it is about the self. This has led to extreme indulgence everywhere. The fake part of the world is just a side effect which no one could imagine. Fakery (is there such a word?) has created pursuits which has warped the whole. We are spending our lives faking it.

Back in 1931, Huxley had a vision which maybe coming to fruition in our brave new world.

Lesson from a Dars

Last year I was listening to a Ramadan dars. Some Lessons for life. I had listed them down for social media. Came across the list and thought it might make a simple blog list. So here they are.

- Stay simple 

- Love each other as humans

- Do not fall into firqaa/ we are one

- Love your parents

- Love your spouse and children

- Take care of neighbours and relatives

- Give charity

- Say prayers

- Marry with consultation

- Allow your children to marry with consultation 

- Do not lie

- Do not steal

- Do not consume sood

- Help others

Sounds like good advice. If all of us apply it, this will be a great world. 

Sarfaraz A Rehman: Maulana tackles Iblees

Sarfaraz A Rehman: Maulana tackles Iblees: I heard a wonderful talk from Maulana Tariq Jameel today. It was an analysis of how to tackle Iblees, when he attacks us humans. And ...

Maulana tackles Iblees

I heard a wonderful talk from Maulana Tariq Jameel today. It was an analysis of how to tackle Iblees, when he attacks us humans. And all the defence centres around the practice of fasting. 

Iblees attacks us from four directions. He will never attack from above, because   he is scared of Allah being above us humans. Nor will Iblees attack from below, because his pride does not allow him to be below us humans (the original sin still prevails in his mind). So, his attack comes from our front, back and from the left and right.

Front  

So what is in front? In front of us is the image of Qiyamah, of Jannah and Dozaq.

It is a travesty that a significant portion of the human race do not believe in the existence of the hereafter. Another significant portion of us, believe that in the hereafter they are going to be blessed, as Allah (swt) will excuse them and send them to Jannah. So we are left a smaller portion who realise that this life is a balance of good and bad. In the final analysis a weighing scale and a judgement will happen, for us humans. The rehmat of Allah (swt) might prevail after the judgement, nevertheless a judgement will occur.

This is the frontal attack from Iblees and he has succeeded in taking out a major portion of the human race.  

Back 

The next attack is from the back and that involves an exquisite image of the world. So much so, that we start equating the world and this life with Jannah. In this fabrication, we fall into a struggle.  Because we are built for focus, this diversion creates a loss of faith and breakdown of our purpose. We are lost in a diversion. We have taken an alternative route and the road not taken is the righteous one.  

Left

The third attack comes from the left side. The angels Raqib and Atid sit on our shoulders overviewing us and recording our actions. In their presence, Iblees entices us with evil. This is the attack where actions like murder, robbery, adultery, lying, cruelty etc happen. It is the easiest to understand and is most likely the lowest level of attack, as most humans who are involved, are those who have lost the front or back battles already.  

Right

So what is on the right? On the right is belief, faith and righteousness.

This is Iblees at his most insidious. He is using your very strength in faith and your goodness and converting that to evil. This is the evil whisperer who lets you feel knowledgeable, superior and critical of others actions. Unfortunately, we see many examples of this today. A scholar who feels above question. A scholar who thinks of ordinary humans as inferior. One who despises others actions based on a superiority complex etc. All of us see many examples of this arrogance. It is the route to a huge fall into an abyss.  

The shield.

In all the above we have our faith as our protection. But, only one of all our ritual allows us protection against a direct attack of Iblees, it is not namaaz, zakaat or Hajj which is a strong defence. No, it is fasting. It is the only time when a human voluntarily sacrifices on a personal basis and it pleases Allah and it simply kills Iblees. He keeps a distance. That is why in the month of Ramadan, we find it so much easier to do goodness. 

So from above, it is quite obvious why our fasting is good for us in a spiritual sense. This is leaving aside matters of health, where it has been shown that fasting for a month has huge positives for us in physical terms.

This article is simply paraphrasing and translating the words of Maulana Jameel. May Allah (swt) guide us and excuse me in case of any errors.

* picture is from Pinterest.com 

Sarfaraz A Rehman: Attributes, not Skills

Sarfaraz A Rehman: Attributes, not Skills:   This world is changing and the speed is accelerating. The evidence of that change is all around us. Our next forecast change is two f...

Attributes, not Skills

 

This world is changing and the speed is accelerating. The evidence of that change is all around us. Our next forecast change is two fold and has already moved into our lives.   

Firstly, cognitive artificial intelligence. What we are facing is an intelligence, which does not have borders. It quickly acquires data, evaluates it at lightening speed, saves up increasing levels of information and is able to use it forever. Unlike humans, who get tired, make errors and also eventually retire. These programs can go on forever. So can we imagine what could happen? Systems talking to systems automatically, capturing data, analysing and making  decisions within flexible parameters, not requiring human intervention. The limits seem limitless. 
  

Secondly, comes robotics and 3D printing. Printers making skyscrapers, early stage human body parts intervention, precision robots taking up difficult and repetitive tasks. Soon, medical intervention, manufacturing and repetitive human tasks will all be transferred to the machines. Including transportation and retailing. These are the most human based work items presently.  

Regardless the quantum of change, the impact on jobs will start now and continue over many decades. It will be a hybrid of humans and machines and AI. The trend of this change will be tilted towards AI and 3D, but humans will be in significant numbers for decades to come. 

How to choose such humans. Who will be good in this environment?

I personally have always encouraged hiring on the basis of attributes. Humans who have mental strength, a strong spine and a big heart always show attributes confirming these elements of strength. They are brave; they listen; are great team members; are willing to work for a cause (rather than themselves); and generally look beyond themselves to see a wider view.  

Now, I would add two further attributes. This has been confirmed by some recent research on how today’s successful models are working. Adaptability and unlearning. With incessant change only the adaptable will succeed. But more importantly, our thoughts are made by our experience. We find it difficult to change years of designing. The need to unlearn will be vital in a changing environment. Without that unlearning, we will become behemoths stuck in an environment which has long lost the need for our work.

The lesson which is more important for us to learn is that our skill based grounding is useless in tomorrow’s world. Skills can always be taught, again and again. Attributes have to be nurtured and where they fit, we must grab on to that person. These attributes will be like manna to the system.

* picture from medium.com