The scourge from nowhere

Dawn ^ | 9 April, 2005 | Dawn

[CarrotAndStick]

According to contemporary sources cited, Genghis Khan had a special grudge against Muslims: his envoys to King Mohammed of the Muslim Central Asian state of Khwarezm were killed when they brought proposals for trade and good relations.

So, more proof of the Muslims being ruthlessly uncivilised even at their 'Golden Age'?

[stylin19a]

Shouldn't that be Jenjis ?

[the Real fifi]

Moonbat analysis--I doubt the Wash Post called the Mongols "a species". I am certain that this is yet a way to blame someone else for the pitiful state of Islamic nations today. Eastern Europe was overrun by the Mongols--they made it to the gates of Vienna and they still made it into the 21st century, didn't they?

[Cronos]

Genghis Khan as 'the most important man in the last thousand years' because he led a single species to dominate the entire known world.

So the Pakis consider Mongols a different 'species'. I guess they think that of blacks as well.

[Founding Father]

I think we should put Khan in charge of the war on terror (whatcha bet he'd protect our borders?).

[muawiyah]

Two or three different events at many centuries remove are confounded in a single paragraph there ~ Turks and Mongols are "different".

Still, the Mongols brought about the destruction of Arab rule in the Middle East.

[CarrotAndStick]

I think the term 'species' refers to human beings, and not only the Mongols. For the time, and until the British Empire, the Mongol Empire was the largest for several centuries. All those lands were under Mongol control.

[CarrotAndStick]

[the Real fifi]

Yes*blush* But it is true the Mongols conquered most of Easrern Europe--west of Kiev (not quite to Vienna) but close..and still that part of the world did not devolve afterwards to what Moslem lands did.

[keithtoo]

Where did Attila the Hun come in? Were Huns also Mongols?

[swilhelm73]

Now, as this frustration and dissatisfaction expresses itself in extremism and terrorism, people like Osama bin Laden talk of the Americans as 'crusaders'. A comparison with the Mongol hordes would be more appropriate.

/Roll eyes

When we kill several million Arabs for the fun of it, you let us know...ok?

I also notice no mention of the fact that most of the Mongols coverted to Islam, and continued to slaughter their way across Eurasia.

[muawiyah]

Actually, in conquering Eastern Europe the Mongols were dealing with people not much different than the more primitive tribes to the North of Mongolia.

They were not highly motivated to keep their hands on the place since it would require substantial investment to bring about a return in trade sufficient to overcome the cost of the conquest. If anything, the Mongols thought about Eastern Europe pretty much the way we, today, think of North Korea.

Your supposition that Eastern Europe didn't suffer to the degree found in Arabia presumed some sort of equality of condition.

There was no such equality. You would have much preferred Baghdad as a hometown even after the Mongol conquest.

The Mongols made normal trade arrangements with the portions of the West that could provide them with furs and dried fish, or which had already had a longstanding relationship with Mongol interests. These places include Hungary, Estonia and Finland (all of which ended up adopting an Uralic-Altaic language as their own).

[CarrotAndStick]

Actually I posted this simply because I found it interesting. I had thought all along that Genghis Khan was a Muslim. I wonder who converted the Mongols to Islam, and when.

[muawiyah]

The Huns were from China proper. The Emperor kicked them out. They moved West ~ slowly. By the time they reached Europe they were "white folk".

Look at the Huns more like a cultural movement than a tribal relocation.

[CarrotAndStick]

Isn't it known that the language spoken in Turkey has similar words to those languages spoken in China and Korea?

[ReadyNow]

The "golden age" of muslim accomplishments is greatly overrated. They are, and always have been, an inferior society.

[muawiyah]

Mongols tended to adopt whatever religion was dominant in the conquered area. They started out as animists in their homeland. Today they are mostly Buddhist.

If Islamic missionaries had not gotten to them before they moved into the Middle East the carnage and destruction would have been far greater.

[muawiyah]

The Turkish language is a member of the Uralic-Altaic family of languages. These have several major subdivisions, one of which is Finno-Ughric ~ today represented primarily by Finish and Estonian.

Other members include several spoken in Tibet, modern Mongolian, Korean, Manchu, a number of languages in Central Asia South of Mongolia, and an element in Japanese (more than offset with a Polynesia or Austronesian component).

If you want to learn these languages you can attend Indiana University.

[CarrotAndStick]

An of course, this is from a Pakistani newspaper. Just an injection of false bravado and jingoism to keep the country's Islam-based nationalism rejuvenated. No Pakistani journalist would miss the chance to omit the misleading phrases like 'Glory of Islam', 'Golden Age', 'Advanced Muslim civilisation' etc.

[CarrotAndStick]

Thanks for the information. Are you learned in any of those languages? Are any of those languages spoken in India?