DBQ

During the Post-Classical Period, religion and trade interacted frequently. Sometimes religion and trade went together, working harmoniously. Other times the two were at odds with each other. Christians and Muslims both could sometimes find issue with trade, or find it fitting with their religion. Overall, religion conflicted with trade, condemning traders for forgetting religion, being sinful, and sometimes having cheating, dishonest transactions.

Oftentimes, trade conflicted with religion, and religion conflicted with trade, each having their own consequences. In documents 4 and 5, religion took the offensive against trade, condemning it. In document 4, Pope Innocent orders that Venice not trade with the Muslims, his reason being the Crusades have started and the Muslims must not be assisted in their war efforts, evn though Christians will benefit as well. Document 5 shows dislike for commerce and traders in general, proclaiming fairs and markets as great places of evil. According to it, yearly fairs and frequent markets are places where religion was forgotten, people swore, and drinking was rampant. Ibn Khaldun (doc. 2) said himself that the qualities of merchants such as evasiveness and disputation also lead to degradation of virtue.

On the other hand, sometimes religion and the economy could tolerate each other or compromise. In documents 3 and 1, the religions of Christianity and Islam found a way to coexist without much issue with trade. However, this was not true all of the time because oftentimes religion would condemn traders if they (the traders) did actions that they would view as sinly or bad morally.
In document 1, the Hadith says that Allah permits trade, as long as the transaction goes honestly. If someone lied or cheated another out of money, Allah condemns the action. In the Christian view in the third document, Reginald of Durham says that his biography subject did nothing bad by trading and profiting well.

Coming from a completely different view, Chinese thinker Zhang Han in document 6 showed absolute hate for traders, calling them stupid, and saying that they lead decadent, and insignificant lifestyles. To him, because they are so opinionated and selfish, he thinks they are greedy and stupid. Although not from a religious standpoint, trade still was seen as evil.

Overall, the patterns most visible are Change over time and Cause and Effect. These documents cover from the 700s to the 1500s and cover several points of view. Overall, as time went on, religion seemed to find trade more and more lucrative and sinly. Because the traders were making so much money and gaining so much power, religion for the Muslims and Christians took an increasingly anti trade position.

For additional documents, the view from an actual Muslim, Christian, Chinese or Indian trader would be fitting, seeing as all of the points of view come from people more indirectly affected. Their documents could explain their behavior and business tactics, and their position on religion.

Chinese Poetry and Painting

http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/painting/4ptgyula.htm-Ni Zan's Still Streams and Winter Pines (Painting)



(Poem)



Swift wind, heaven high, an ape's cry of grief,At the islet of clear white sand, birds circle round.Endlessly, trees shed leaves, rustling, rustling down,Without cease, the great river surges, surges on.Ten thousand miles in sorrowful autumn, always someone's guest,A hundred years full of sickness, I climb the terrace alone.Suffering troubles, I bitterly regret my whitening temples,Frustratingly I've had to abandon my cup of cloudy wine.- Climbing High by Du Fu



The Connection



In Du Fu's Climbing High, He speaks of a lonely islet bordered in soft white sand where he has a lonely terrace where he ponders about all of the problems in his life, from his whitening hair to his long time of sickness. He speaks of the surroundings of trees and birds, which are shown in Ni Zan's Still Streams, and how he is accustomed to being in these surroundings.

Muslim Treatment of non-Muslims in Africa

Islam reached the sub-Saharan African region in the 700's. Non-Muslims who lived in the same areas as Islam were protected under dhimma. This meant that they could not be enslaved and were free to pursue whatever profession they liked. Forced conversions weren't common because Muslims believed that people should come to accept Allah under their own terms. Continuing this belief, it was taught that they tolerate other religions. Patriarch Ghaytho wrote ‘The Arabs, to whom the Lord has given control over the world, treat us as you know; they are not the enemies of Christians. Indeed, they praise our community, and treat our priests and saints with dignity, and offer aid to churches and monasteries.’ If anyone was ever disrespectful, rude or abusive to non-Muslims Prophet Muhammad complained about them on the Day of Judgement. Treatment of all people was taken very seriously in the eyes of the Muslims. However, there was a negative effect of being non-Muslim. The best known purgatory action was Jizya, a tax that only non-Muslims were forced to pay, but as long as non-Muslims followed the law of where ever they were living, they were allowed to live as they pleased. Many people converted to Islam in The tax was the reason for many conversions. Islam appealed to many of the people in the low areas of the hierarchy systems because they weren't required to pay anything. It also appealed to minority religions that were lacking structure. Temporary non-Muslim residents were not given the same rights. In fact, some non-Muslims were even at war with Muslims and because they were only temporary, they weren't given the same respect.
Overall, there wasn't much that kept those that were dedicated to their faith from sticking to them. Even though there were many conversions, there were also people who didn't convert. A head tax was a small price to pay to be able to worship and live as desired for some people. Trade was a key component in the spread of Islam through sub-Saharn Africa. Merchants who traveled to this region brought along with them a brand new religion that people were ready to accept. Mansa Kankan Musa was also played a major role in the growing population of Muslims in Africa. He was a successor of Sundiata and made a pilgramge to Mecca making Islam known to the people of Mali. There were major amounts of conversion following his return. So, throughout history, Islam had found ways to make itself known, becoming the second largest practiced religion in today's world.
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/304/
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/374/ http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/375/