Secret HistoryS


Sherlock

Salafism vs. Wahhabism: Are they the same?

Muslims praying
© Antonio Melina/Agência Brasil, Wikipedia CommonsMuslims praying
The terms Salafi and Wahhabi are often used interchangeably. Many confuse the two while others refer to them as one. What are the differences between the two?

The study of modern Salafism will not be complete without looking into Wahhabism - a reference to the teachings of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and its relation to Salafism. In the current discourse on Islam, the term "Salafi" and "Wahhabi" are often used interchangeably. Many confuse the two while others refer to them as one.

Wahhabi is a label given to those who follow the teachings of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The Wahhabis are always referred to as Salafis, and in fact they prefer to be called as such. As a rule, all Wahhabis are Salafis but not all Salafis are Wahhabis. The term Salafism did not become associated with the Wahhabi creed until the 1970s. It was in the early 20th century that the Wahhabis referred to themselves as Salafis.

Who is a Salafi?

The usage of the term Salafi today refers to those who embrace Salafism (Arabic: Salafiyyah). Salafiyyah is known to be the manhaj or way of the Salafis. The Salafis are Muslims who advocate literal and to some degree binary interpretation of Islamic teachings as enjoined by Prophet Muhammad and subsequently practised by the early pious predecessors known as the salaf al-salih. Following the salaf is the reason for their self-designation as Salafis.

Microscope 2

Europe: DNA discovery reveals an unknown chapter in human history 15,000 years ago

Skull and hand
© MAHMOUD ZAYAT/AFP/Getty Images
A major and unexplained population shift occurred in Europe around 15,000 years ago when local hunter-gatherers were almost completely replaced by a group from another area, scientists researching our ancestors' genetics have discovered. The findings were made after the extensive study of DNA evidence obtained from the bones and teeth of ancient people who lived in Europe during from the Late Pleistocene to the early Holocene, a period of roughly 30,000 years.

While attempting to find more genetic data from this time period, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany made an unexpected discovery. The Institute's Johannes Krause said: "We uncovered a completely unknown chapter of human history: a major population turnover at the end of the last Ice Age."

To try and piece together the facts of this 'lost period' the team analysed the mitochondrial genomes of 35 hunter-gatherers who lived in Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic and Romania, from around 35,000 to 7,000 years ago. Three of these 35 people had DNA that belonged to 'haplogroup M', meaning they all were part of a single line of descent. This haplogroup is almost completely absent in modern Europeans, but it's very common among modern Asian, Australasian and Native American populations.

The absence of this haplogroup in places other than these led scientists to believe that non-African people dispersed gradually throughout history to colonise other parts of the world. However, the discovery that this haplogroup existed in Europe relatively recently instead suggests that all non-Africans quickly dispered from a single group at a specific time, which scientists believe occurred around 50,000 years ago.

This is a major discovery in itself, but the researchers' biggest surprise came when they found evidence that there was a major population turnover in Europe around 14,500 years ago, as the last Ice Age ended and the world began to warm.

Map

History of human migration reconsidered after discovery of ancient Phonecian's DNA is made

reconstruction
© HandoutA reconstruction of what the 'Young man of Byrsa' may have looked like
A rare genome has been identified in an ancient body pulled from a sarcophagus on a site near ancient Carthage, in a discovery which could throw new light on the history of human movement.

The DNA of the 2,500-year-old remains of the 'Young Man of Byrsa', discovered in 1994 and believed to be that of a young male Phoenician, was sequenced by a team of scientists.

They found it contained an extremely rare type of genome sequence, known as U5b2c1, which is almost unknown among modern populations. The research has now been published in the scientific journal Plos One.

"This is first example of an ancient Phoenician genome," Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith, co-leader of the study with Dr Pierre Zalloua, told The Independent. The DNA was found on the site of Byrsa, a citadel close to the ancient city of Carthage, which now just outside Tunis, Tunisia.

Comment: DNA analysis has also been revealing other discoveries of historical importance:


Archaeology

25 new "Dead Sea Scrolls" come to light

new dead sea scrolls
© The Schøyen Collection, Oslo and London, MS 4611 This scroll fragment preserves parts of the Book of Leviticus, in which God promises to reward the people of Israel if they observe the Sabbath and obey the 10 commandments.
More than 25 previously unpublished "Dead Sea Scroll" fragments, dating back 2,000 years and holding text from the Hebrew Bible, have been brought to light, their contents detailed in two new books.

The various scroll fragments record parts of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Samuel, Ruth, Kings, Micah, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Joshua, Judges, Proverbs, Numbers, Psalms, Ezekiel and Jonah. The Qumran caves ― where the Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered ― had yet to yield any fragments from the Book of Nehemiah; if this newly revealed fragment is authenticated it would be the first.

Scholars have expressed concerns that some of the fragments are forgeries.

These 25 newly published fragments are just the tip of the iceberg. A scholar told Live Science that around 70 newly discovered fragments have appeared on the antiquities market since 2002. Additionally, the cabinet minister in charge of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), along with a number of scholars, believes that there are undiscovered scrolls that are being found by looters in caves in the Judean Desert. The IAA is sponsoring a new series of scientific surveys and excavations to find these scrolls before looters do.

Hourglass

Treasure trove of ancient human footprints found near volcano in Tanzania

ancient human footprints
© Robert Clark, National Geographic CreativeMudflats in the shadow of the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano captured a huge trove of ancient human footprints.
Nine miles from the volcano the Maasai call the "Mountain of God," researchers have cataloged a spectacularly rare find: an enormous set of well-preserved human footprints left in the mud between 5,000 and 19,000 years ago.

The more than 400 footprints cover an area slightly larger than a tennis court, crisscrossing the dark gray mudflat of Engare Sero, on the southern shore of Tanzania's Lake Natron. No other site in Africa has as many ancient Homo sapiens footprints—making it a treasure trove for scientists trying to tell the story of humankind's earliest days.

Comment: Related articles:


Info

The not-so-underground Reich: W. Germany's senior justice ministry was over 50% Nazi in 1950-70s

The Federal Ministry of Justice in Berlin
© De-okin / WikipediaThe Federal Ministry of Justice in Berlin
The majority of West German Justice Ministry officials during the post-WWII period were former Nazis that had served in Adolf Hitler's regime, a government study claims, adding that may be why so few Nazis were prosecuted for war crimes.

Between 1949 and 1973, 90 of the West German Justice Ministry's 170 judges and lawyers were ex-members of the Nazi party, an official study presented by German Justice Minister Heiko Maas revealed.

Of those 90, at least 34 had been members of the SA, the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. The SA played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power and was responsible for the crimes committed during the 1938 Kristallnacht, also known as the Night of Broken Glass, when more than 90 Jews were killed.

Comment: Left unsaid is that this was directly supported and facilitated by the "winner" of the war: the USA. For some like Allen Dulles, the Nazis weren't so bad. Actually, they were pretty darn great. Dulles had always been a supporter, with many Nazi friends, clients, and business associates. After the war, he did all he could to save as many of them as possible from retribution. Many were brought over to the States in Project Paperclip. Many more were put on the payroll overseas, like Reinhard Gehlen, who basically ran the CIA's anti-communism spy activities in West Germany. In truth, the Nazis were never defeated. They just teamed up with the Americans. For more of the details, see David Talbot's recent book, The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government.


Arrow Down

Best of the Web: Columbus and the Indians: By Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn
© US Slave Blogspot
Arawak men and women, naked, tawny, and full of wonder, emerged from their villages onto the island's beaches and swam out to get a closer look at the strange big boat. When Columbus and his sailors came ashore, carrying swords, speaking oddly, the Arawaks ran to greet them, brought them food, water, gifts. He later wrote of this in his log:
"They... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned.... They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane.... They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want."
American History_1
© US Slave Blogspot
These Arawaks of the Bahama Islands were much like Indians on the mainland, who were remarkable (European observers were to say again and again) for their hospitality, their belief in sharing. These traits did not stand out in the Europe of the Renaissance, dominated as it was by the religion of popes, the government of kings, the frenzy for money that marked Western civilization and its first messenger to the Americas, Christopher Columbus. Columbus wrote:
"As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts." The information that Columbus wanted most was: Where is the gold?

Archaeology

Zana - the story of the mysterious Russian "neanderthal" discovered in 1850

zana neanderthal
A leading geneticist claims a towering woman named Zana (artist's representation) who lived in 19th Century Russia - and appeared to be 'half human, half ape' - could have been the fabled yeti
The Discovery of Zana

The year is 1850. The place is the Ochamchir region of Georgia in Russia. A group of local hunters are prowling through the forests in search of whatever they can find - What they DO eventually find, shakes their beliefs to their foundations and leaves the world with an enigma that has yet to be explained.

What they saw appeared to be human - and yet not human. It seemed to be young and female with ape-like features. Her arms,legs,and fingers were unusually thick. her bosom was described as "Massive" and she was covered with thick dark hair. She was also said to be absolutely ferocious, nevertheless, the hunters managed to capture her alive and brought her to the isolated mountain village of T'khina fifty miles from Sukhumi, where she was given to a nobleman called Edgi Genaba.

So violent and ferocious was she, that for the first three years after her capture she was kept in a cage where she dug herself a hole to sleep in. The village people were terrified of her rages and would not venture near - food was thrown to her.

Over the course of time, she became tamer and eventually, domesticated. She was given the name Zana, and was moved to a wattle enclosure, tethered at first but later was released and allowed to roam free, but she never wandered far from the place where she was fed. She eventually learned some simple tasks such as grinding corn and carrying wood, but never mastered a single word of speech, her only utterances being grunts and - if angered - howls.

The women of the village remained scared of her - she could be ferocious and bite when angry - and would only come near if she was in a happy mood. Her Master Edgi Genaba, however could control her and she would react with fear if he shouted at her..

Comment: More information from the Daily Mail:
"[A] leading geneticist believes he has found evidence to prove that it - or rather she - could have been more than a myth.

Professor Bryan Sykes of the University of Oxford claims a towering woman named Zana who lived in 19th Century Russia - and appeared to be 'half human, half ape' - could have been the fabled yeti.
[...]
Sykes made an astonishing discovery when he carried out saliva tests on six of her living relatives and the tooth of her deceased son Khwit.

The DNA analysis revealed that they all contained the right amount of African DNA for Zana the ape woman to be '100 per cent African' but remarkably she did not resemble any known group.
[...]
Some have argued that she was a runaway Ottoman slave but Professor Sykes says her 'unparalleled DNA' refutes that theory.

He believes her ancestors came out of Africa over 100,000 years ago and lived in the remote Caucasus for many generations."



Wedding Rings

Rare warrior tomb filled with bronze age wealth and weapons

An international team of archaeologists led by University of Cincinnati researchers recently discovered a Bronze Age warrior's tomb in southwestern Greece filled with more than 1,400 objects: jewels, weapons and armor, as well as bronze, silver and gold vessels.

bronze mirror with an ivory handle.
© University of Cincinnati A bronze mirror with an ivory handle discovered in the tomb of a Greek warrior in southwest Greece refers to a scene of a goddess holding a mirror in one of four gold rings unearthed in the excavation.

Comment: Other excavated objects can be viewed in this slide show.


Sherlock

Archaeologists find pre-Columbian tombs in Guatemala

Tikal
© File photoTourists are seen at the Mayan ruins of Tikal, 500 kilometers north of Guatemala City.
Guatemalan archaeologists hope two tombs uncovered in Peten, Guatemala, will shed light on a clash between two kingdoms located in the Maya Lowlands during the Classic Maya period from 250 to 900 A.D.

The tombs in Peten, 310 miles (500 kilometers) from the capital, Guatemala City, escaped decades of looting at the site, a group of archaeologists said at a news conference Monday.

Beginning in 2000, archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli, who directs Boston University's Holmul Archaeological Project, and his team have protected the site — the Classic Maya city of Holmul — employing four park rangers to guard it from looters.

The rangers also protect Holmul's structures from erosion through the use of roofs.

As a result, the coordinator of the foundation for Maya Cultural and Natural Heritage, Hector Escobedo, said structures at Holmul were among the best preserved in the Maya region.

Comment: Related articles: