Virality Spot

It was year 1522 and they revolted just after Christmas on the island of Hispaniola. They moved quickly from one plantation to the next hoping to mobilize others to their cause. With a machete in hand, they killed settlers and livestock, torched homes and fields. Once the dust had settled, 15 bodies lay dead, 9 of which were European. By historical standards, this was a minor revolt but it was the first slave revolt of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and it was instigated and led by African Muslim slaves.   Who were these Muslims from Africa These Black African Muslims were a proud people. They were confident in their abilities and sure of themselves. Islam was their guiding principal and it blessed them with many abilities. Muslims from Africa included people from the Wolof, Mandingo, Hausa, Pulaar, Fulani, Vai and other ethnicities but it was Islam that bound them all. They shared a religion and a language, a writing system, a set of values and habits that transcended the traditi...

We have all heard of the various famous Greek mathematicians such as Pythagoras (Pythagorean Theorem), Euclid ( Euclidean Geometry) or Archimedes who are giants in their field, but who has heard of the name Al-Khwarizmi, the master mathematician from the Muslim world? Who was Khwarizmi? Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī was born in Central Asia, Khorasan province in 780 CE, just a little over 100 years after the birth of the new Islamic Civilization. Al-Khwarizmi showed early on that he had considerable talents and usually was the most intelligent person in the room. As a result, most of his work was conducted in isolation. In the 9 th Al-Khwarizmi was summoned to Baghdad by the Caliph Al-Mansur to work in the House of Wisdom. For the first time in his life is surrounded by giants, people who would be considered his intellectual equals and they pushed him and stretch his mental capacity. Muslim thinkers at the House of Wisdom during Khwarizmi’s time were busy translating everything the...

Europe remembers Kheir-ed-Din Barbarossa as a pirate, a murderous corsair, a thief and considers him an insignificant figure. It is this image that has become popular. Contrary to popular belief, Kheir-ed-Din was a highly cultured and intelligent man who had a significant impact on North Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and he left behind a legacy that would endure for at least 3 centuries. Kheir-ed-Din Barbarossa began his career under the tutelage of his older brother Aruj. The two brothers left Lesbo (off the coast of Turkey) for North Africa in their early twenties with nothing more than 2 galleots. By the time Aruj is killed in battle 14 years later, they had a small fleet and created a land kingdom, the Kingdom of Algiers. For the next 15 years after the death of Aruj, Kheir-ed-Din would consolidate and expand the Kingdom further. The Kingdom of Algiers would last for 3 centuries and dictate trade and the movement of ships in the Mediterranean well into the 19th century. This by it...