Chapter 34 Arab

On ordinary maps or geography handbooks, Arabia is part of Asia.However, for a Martian who does not know the history of people on Earth, if he is a guest on Earth, he may come to a different conclusion, thinking that the Nafud Desert—the famous Arabian desert is just the Sahara Desert It is just an extension of the Indian Ocean, but the insignificant shallow bay of the Indian Ocean separates the two. The Red Sea is so full of reefs that it is six times as long as it is wide.The average depth is about 300 fathoms, however, where the Gulf of Aden meets the Indian Ocean is only 2 to 16 fathoms deep.Therefore, before the formation of the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, which is full of volcanic islands, is likely to be an inland lake, just like the North Sea, which is not worthy of being called a sea until the English Channel appears.

The Arabs call their country the "Island of Arabia," but they are not at all interested in whether it belongs to Asia or to Africa.The area of ​​Arabia is 6 times larger than that of Germany, but its population is not proportional to the area. The total population of Arabia is 7 million, which is less than that of Greater London in the United Kingdom!However, the ancestors of the modern Arabs had the indomitable spirit and extraordinary physique, and they made an indelible impression on the hearts of people all over the world.The ancient Arabs had seized world supremacy without benefiting from any gift from the Creator.

First of all, in the area where the Arabs live, the climatic conditions are not suitable for human survival at all.Like the Sahara Desert, the Arabian Peninsula not only has no rivers, but is also one of the hottest places on earth.Only the southernmost and easternmost ends are wet and rainy, but because the living environment there is too humid, Europeans still cannot adapt.The mountains in the central and southwestern parts of the peninsula are above 6,000 feet above sea level, and the temperature varies greatly. As soon as the sun goes down, the temperature will drop from 80°F to 20°F in less than half an hour.Neither humans nor animals can adapt to such a huge temperature difference.

Without groundwater, the entire interior of the Arabian Peninsula would be uninhabited.In the coastal area, only the north of the British settlement in the Gulf of Aden is relatively rich. Although the Arabian Peninsula is inferior to a low-lying land in Manhattan in terms of commercial status, it has far surpassed Manhattan in terms of influence on world culture. Interestingly, the Arabian Peninsula never formed a full-fledged state like France or Sweden.During the World War, the Allied Powers made wild wishes to everyone around them because they were in desperate need of aid. Therefore, after the war, a series of so-called independent countries sprung up from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aqaba.Even the banks of the Jordan River in the north produced an independent state.This country lies between the deserts of Palestine and Syria, and the ruler is ruled by an emir who obeys orders from Jerusalem.These independent countries include Hasa and Oman on the coast of the Persian Gulf, Hadramaut in the south, Yemen and Asir on the Red Sea, and Hejaz (Hasa, the eastern province of Saudi Arabia today; Hadramau, the southeastern part of the Republic of Yemen today. region; Asir, present-day Western Province of Saudi Arabia; Hijaz, present-day Western Province of Saudi Arabia——Translator’s Note).Among them, Hijaz is more important, because this region not only has its own railway (the terminus of the Baghdad railway line has reached Medina, and will extend to Mecca in the future), but also Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad, and Medina, the resting place of Muhammad. Well, both of the holy cities of the Islamic world are on its turf.

In the early seventh century, the two desert oasis cities of Medina and Mecca were still unknown, and it was Muhammad who brought them great popularity.Muhammad was a posthumous son, born around 567 or 569 AD.When he was born, his father died for several months, and when he was still in his infancy, he soon lost his mother's love and was raised by his poor grandfather.Muhammad began to drive camels for others at a very young age, traveled with caravans throughout the Arabian Peninsula, and crossed the Red Sea to some African regions, probably Abyssinia , At that time, Abyssinia was trying to turn the Arabian Peninsula into its colony (it was a golden opportunity at that time, because at this time the desert tribes who had always been at odds were fighting inextricably, and it was impossible to work together as one externally).

Muhammad later married a widow whose family was relatively well-off, so he stopped traveling around and opened a small shop in his hometown, specializing in grain and camel feed.Like many epileptics, Muhammad would have strange hallucinations in a semi-comatose state, which indicated that he suffered from this painful epilepsy, but he himself did not want to admit it, but instead told his neighbors that , In order to obtain God's revelation, he just went to God to meet God.Since Muhammad was not innovative, he talked vaguely about rebuilding the ancient beliefs of Abraham and Ishmael rather than creating a distinctive religious system.For a while he even thought of bringing over the Christian creed and modifying it for the adaptation of his fierce Arab compatriots.However, Arabs are not servile people who take a beating on the left cheek and then stick out the right cheek.The vegetable vendor was treated as a joke by his neighbors in Mecca, and later, when he began to become a prophet in a serious way, his fellow countrymen began to threaten him with killing him, so Muhammad Had to flee to Medina.In Medina, his serious missionary career officially began.

I won’t go into detail about Muhammad’s religious teachings here. If you are interested, you might as well get a copy. However, you will find that reading this book is a hard job.The Semitic tribes have always been intriguing in the Arabian desert, but it can be said that it is the credit of Muhammad to unite them all at once to do something earth-shattering.In less than a hundred years, they have stepped on the whole of Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, the coastal areas of northern Africa and Spain under their iron heels.By the end of the eighteenth century, Muslims had posed a permanent threat to European security.

In a very short period of time, a nation has achieved such an achievement, and this nation must have superhuman physique and extraordinary wisdom.According to those who had dealt with Muslims (including Napoleon, who, though he had no taste in women, had an eye for good soldiers), the Arab was a formidable enemy, a fierce soldier.The Arab nation has extraordinary wisdom and has a strong interest in science, which is enough to prove in the Arab universities in the Middle Ages.However, they eventually went to decline and wither.Why is this so? I have no way of knowing.If it is easy to talk about the influence of geographical factors on national character here, then the conclusion that desert peoples are always great conquerors and the hegemons of the world can be drawn logically.but it is not the truth.Many desert peoples have been unknown, and many mountain peoples can also make great achievements. There are also many mountain peoples who have been doing nothing, wasting their time, and have never washed away their reputation as drunks.It is beyond my power to draw a general law out of the successes and failures of all peoples.

However, history often repeats itself.Muslims got rid of all complicated etiquette and blindness because of the religious reform movement in the middle of the 18th century Worship of the Wahhabis, whose lives were simplified by the Wahhabi lifestyle.Perhaps this makeover will set the Arabs on the march again.If Europe is still drained of its energies by civil wars, these Muslims will be the most dangerous enemies of Europe just as they were 1,200 years ago.Tough guys are the specialty of the dreaded peninsula of Arabia.These people always put on a dignified face, never smile, and never engage in entertainment.The life needs of the Arabs are very simple. They never feel that there is anything missing in their lives, so they will not be tempted by any gold, silver, money and material pleasures.

Such peoples are always a potential and great threat, especially when they have good reason to believe that they have been harmed.The idea of ​​white supremacy in places like Arabia, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australia is not as permanent and permanent as we would like it to be.