Africa before Transatlantic Enslavement

The study 'Africa before Transatlantic Enslavement' by USI (Understanding Slavery Initiative), a UK national learning project which specializes in researches regarding transatlantic slavery and its legacies through museum and heritage collections, reminds that some of the world's great civilizations such as Kush, Axum, Mali, and Great Zimbabwe flourished in the years before 1500.

It was wealth, especially gold in great empires of West Africa such as Ghana, Mali, and Songhay, that induced Europeans to make voyages to Africa during the 13th and 14th centuries. As pointed out in the study, Africa before 1500 had developed sound economic and political systems. Difficult agricultural problems were solved, and Africa was engaged in local, regional, and even international trading networks. There were specialized miners, artists, and other knowledge professionals. Although some form of slavery existed in all forms of early civilizations and Africa is no exception, transatlantic slavery under which Africans were exploited by colonial western rulers did immense harm to the fabric of African continent in an unprecedented way. It is at the heart of many problems that Africans still face today although slavery is banned officially in all respectable societies today. 

Transatlantic slave trade led to forceful immigration of tens and thousands of Africans. As Africa started underperforming, ability of Africans as a race began to have a negative perception. Notions were put forward that Africa had never developed any institution and needed European assistance to make progress. This is despite the fact that some of the early civilizations existed in Africa, including the Nile valley civilization, Egypt over 5000 years ago. Africa is a place where some of the world's great civilizations such as Kush, Axum, Mali, and Great Zimbabwe flourished in the years before 1500. It is ironical that it was a Muslim invasion with their North African conquest of the Iberian peninsula beginning 8th century that led to the re-introduction of much of the knowledge of the ancient world to Europe! 

The study under lens by UK-based USI reminds rich achievements of Egyptians in learning including mathematics, medicine, mechanics, philosophy, and agriculture. As a consequence, negative views by philosophers like David Hume in the 18th century, German Philosopher Hegel in the 19th century, or Hugh-Trevor-Roper in the 20th century regarding Africans cannot stand the scrutiny. 

It hurts when unjustified doubts are raised about Africans. One cannot definitely agree with some of the claims in the study like Pythagoras theorem known to the Africans hundreds of years before Pythagoras' birth. Most of the contents, otherwise, in the study are supported by wider findings by other historians on the issue. For instance, Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula in the 7th century is supported by Medieval Sourcebook: Ibn Abd-el-Hakem: The Islamic Conquest of Spain.

College sport in US: Why equal stipend for all participants?

(This article is written from the perspective of United States of America where participating in sport is seen very positively by the society. A close look will be taken at college sport in this article from the standpoint of stipend. A contention will be made why participating in all college sports, not just highly profitable football, should receive stipends (i.e., some form of fixed remuneration in cash instead of just scholarship that helps to fund college education), and why stipends should be distributed equally between all games. Opposing viewpoints like stipend would lead to cheapening of college athletes will be put in perspective. In countries like India and South Korea, learning usually means getting high academic scores. Sport in colleges here has a marginal role when it comes to admission and funding. There is perhaps still a long way to go to change that.)

It is true that purpose of college is learning. Sport too constitutes a part of learning. Success of any sportsperson is not related with just his or her physical strength: it surprisingly involves mental qualities as well. Whether it is physical-centric sports like football and basketball or mental-centric sports like chess, all require a power to endure. Just like ability to read and write opens new windows of opportunity and makes a citizen useful to the society, so is the case with sport. Successful college athletes are, after all, in a better position to handle services that require blend of physical stamina and mental endurance. The nation benefits from grooming of young people who can more easily be assimilated in national services like security forces, state intelligence agencies.

Sport helps in approaching life a more positive way. Current US President Barack Obama is regularly seen taking part in basketball and baseball games. United States of America has made significant wealth through enterprising activities of its people, which is one of the hallmarks of successful athletes. Not surprisingly, state provides a supportive environment for young people to take part in sports. College sport is an excellent way of combining education with athletic endeavor whilst having one’s degree funded through scholarship.

College sport in US in modern times is a big business generating millions of dollars of revenue for individual colleges. It is reported by ESPN that The Longhorns' athletic department made about $45 million from selling tickets to sporting events in 2010. Colleges in Ohio states collectively earned $15.8 million, North Carolina $10.2 million, and Alabama $8.8 million from selling TV, radio, and internet rights. For the University of Central Florida, students are generating almost $15 million of the bill from the athletic department (For more recent data of Sept 2014, click The 20 Colleges that Make the Most Money on Sports). Not surprisingly, such revenues help to make colleges self-sustainable. Colleges can pass this benefit directly to students by reducing their tuition fees, not taking subsidies from state, investing more on educational projects, or paying stipends which is the pertinent topic discussed under this article.

It is to be noted that US state policies do not allow college athletes to be paid stipends. Otherwise, college students would essentially turn out to be employees, changing legal dynamics by making them eligible for workers' compensation and other benefits. According to one commentator, a proposal of $150-per-month stipend for athletic scholarship recipients in football and basketball is sham on the premise of ‘amateurism,’ a cornerstone of college sport.

According to Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, players deserve a share in the huge money generated by commercialization of college sport. Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier says fifty years ago, there was not any kind of money, and the players got full scholarships. Spurrier, who reportedly earned $2.8 billion in 2011, said that now it truly bothers that he has gotten rich while remuneration of his players has not changed.

Earlier, Spurrier had proposed $300-a-game stipend for college football players. This is interesting. But what about those athletes who do not participate in more profitable games like football and baseball? Understandably, state laws prohibit special concession for a single game. If football is making surplus money, some part of it can be transferred for athletes of other genre. This will lead to balanced growth of all sporting activities. After all, each sport is important in the sense it represents one unique kind of skill development. While more popular games like USC football and Duke basketball will help their players be a part of the huge business they generate in terms of TV shows etc., less popular ones like lacrosse at Johns Hopkins would not be left behind.

If it is feared that rewarding stipends would lead to indiscipline among athletes who are also young college learners, then a system that rewards them after a time lag may be thought of. For instance, athletes can be paid stipends once they leave their colleges or after two or five years from the college exit. This would address problem of cheapening qualities of college athletes. 

It appears unfair for athletes who help to generate millions of dollars for colleges and coaches to just remain contended with scholarships. For sports like gymnastics, there is a young age barrier. Those participating in college sport, who are the pillars behind generating huge revenue, should receive a fair share of their efforts. It would be unfair if coaches and other stakeholders benefit disproportionately. At the same time, equal stipend for all athletes would help development of multiple sporting skills in an impartial way.

New Arab Revolt: What Happened, What It Means, and What Comes Next

(BOOK REVIEW)

The compendium New Arab Revolt: What Happened, What It Means, and What Comes Next (publication date: May 1, 2011 by Council on Foreign Relations, US) covers key past events that defined today’s Arab world with an eye on future. With articles written by 49 authors in addition to three interviews and a documents section, this can be a useful reference book for anyone interested in the Middle East politics and society.

The treatise can be useful to understand how confiscation of an unlicensed vegetable cart of a 26-year-old street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi in a small Tunisian town led to nightmares for dictators Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of Tunisia and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The compendium starts with providing readers with a regional map and an introduction by Foreign Affairs Editor Gideon Rose (Gideon Rose predicts that other dictatorial regimes in the region are quite likely to face serious upheaval as well. True, Libyan dictator Moummar Gaddafi who ruled Libya from 1969 to 2011 with iron fist is now ousted through popular civil uprising aided by a NATO intervention.)

Then it deals with the past with five chapters written by Fouad Ajami (The Sorrows of Egypt, Foreign Affairs, September/October 1995), Martin Indyk (Back to the Bazaar, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2002), Bernard Lewis (Freedom and Justice in the Modern Middle East, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2005), and Steven A. Cook (Adrift on the Nile: The Limits of the Opposition in Egypt, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2009 and Is El Baradei Egypt’s Hero? Mohamad El Baradei and the Chance for Reform, ForeignAffairs.com, March 26, 2010).

The treatise next explores future for the Arab world with five thought-provoking articles including Demystifying the Arab Spring: Parsing the Differences Between Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya by Lisa Anderson and Terrorism after the Revolutions: How Secular Uprisings Could Help (or Hurt) Jihadists by Daniel Byman, both first published in Foreign Affairs in May/June 2011.

What makes the compendium more relevant is inclusion of a complete section on Libya: Intervention in Libya that includes 13 articles analyzing present-day Libya from vivid angles including the role of US in toppling Gaddafi’s regime. We do not know the answer of question raised by Meghan L. O’Sullivan in the article “Will Libya Become Obama’s Iraq?” There are allegations of winning ugly in Libya by Michael O’ Hanlon in the article echoed by part of mainstream media.

The compendium has 15 articles in the section titled “The Cracks Spread”. This covers almost all Arab players in the region including Jordan (Why Jordan is not a Regional Domino by Robert Danin, first published in CFR.org on February 1, 2011), Iran (Iran’s Protests and Economic Realities, an interview with Suzanne Maloney, published in CFR.org on February 22, 2011), Palestine (The Arab Turmoil and Palestinians – Interview with Rashid I. Khalidi, published in CFR.org on February 25, 2011), Bahrain (Bahrain’s Shia Question: What the United States Gets Wrong About Sectarianism by Kristin Smith Diwan in ForeignAffairs.com on March 2, 2011), Iraq (Rage Comes to Baghdad: Will Iraq’s Recent Protests Lead to Revolt? by Raad Alkadiri published in ForeignAffairs.com on March 3, 2011), Syria (The Sturdy House That Assaud Built: Why Damascus Is Not Cairo by Michael Broning published in ForeignAffairs.com on March 7, 2011), Saudi Arabia (Rageless in Riyadh: Why the Al Saud Dynasty Will Remain by F. Gregory Gause III published in Foreign Affairs.com on March 16, 2011), Algeria and Morocco (Meanwhile in the Maghreb: Have Algeria and Morocco Avoided North Africa’s Unrest?, published in Foreign Affairs.com by Azzedine Layachi on March 31, 2011).

Historical ties or economic interests with one party can develop biases while reporting international events such as September 11, 2001 attacks on United States of America or Israel-Palestine conflict. These biases are often the results of looking at things from a local perspective. While expressing anguish over the casualties in September 2001 terrorist attacks in United States, international media also blamed US for not taking into considerations interests of the Muslim world. What gives the compendium under discussion a western tilt is that Council on Foreign Relations seeks to guide US policy makers on foreign affairs matters. This is despite the fact that the Council claims to take no institutional positions on policy matters and is independent of the US government.

Inclusion of articles like “Are the Mideast Revolutions Bad for Women’s Rights?” by Isobel Coleman published in Washington Post on February 20,2011 gives the book a social dimension as well in addition to dealing exhaustively with the politics of the day. There are also 13 documents, including remarks by President Barack Obama on a new beginning delivered at Cairo University, Egypt on June 4, 2009.