Description
Throughout human history, minorities of various sorts have experienced discrimination. After the 300s CE, the Roman Empire (and then the Byzantine Empire which followed it) was predominately Christian, including the emperor and other government officials. As a result of this Christianization, Roman Law came to discriminate against non-Christians, particularly against Jews. Likewise, in the 600s, Arab Muslims conquered much of the Middle East and North Africa. Over time, Muslims became the majority religion in these areas of the world. Christians and Jews who lived under Muslim rule also experienced discrimination. For historians, Roman Law, which dealt with Jews under Roman Law in the late Roman Empire and under the Byzantine Empire, and the Pact of Umar, which dealt with Christians and Jews under Muslim rule during the Abbasid Caliphate, provide important details about this discrimination.
Tasks:
First, read selections from Roman Law on the treatment of Jews and the Pact of Umar.
In our readings we see how Roman Law and the Pact of Umar impacted the lives of Christians and Jews living in the Byzantine and Abbasid empires. Consider the specific ways these laws shaped the treatment of religious minorities to answer the following questions:
In your personal experience have you ever faced religious or ethnic discrimination? If so, how did that treatment make you feel? What is more, when reading about the laws and/or treatment of minority groups in the Abbasid or the Byzantine empires, did you find any parallels with your own experiences? Please be specific.
Follow up with your peers and discuss how modern American law has improved upon the treatment of religious minorities over that of the Byzantines and the Abbasids. Or if you feel there has been no progress in these areas, please explain why.
Expectations and Criteria for Success:
Your discussion post should answer all the questions above with specific examples and details from the assigned sources.
