Professor Mark Brandon
World History I
May 3, 2015
Final Essay
Ibn Battuta is considered to be one of the greatest travelers of all time. He was born in Morocco and come from Berber descent. Ibn Battuta visited a majority of the Islam world, as well as the developing civilizations surrounding the Islamic cities (Dunn, Ross, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta,1986, 159). He learned a lot about the Islamic religion and those who follow it during his travels. The Islamic culture is an attractive civilization with global appeal because Muslims uphold traditions from the beginning of time, tolerate diversity, and are respectful, generous, and obedient. Islamic people understand and emphasize the importance of practicing and passing down the traditions of their culture. In 1352, Ibn Battuta made his trip to Mali where he learned that Muslims were “Punctilious in observing the hours of prayer, studying books of law, and memorizing the Koran.” (Battuta, Ibn, “Travels in Mali,” in Kevin Reilly, Readings in World Civilizations, 1992, 310). Muslims attend all hours of prayer and require their children to do the same. The Mosques are so crowded on Fridays that men must go early in order to find a place to conduct their prayers. One of the many Islamic traditions include a father sending his son to the Mosque where he must lay out his prayer-mat and wait for his master. On Fridays, women, men and children must wear clothes that are clean and white for services. Additionally, everyone is expected to memorize the Koran by heart (Battuta, Ibn, “Travels in Mali,” in Kevin Reilly, Readings in World Civilizations, 1992, 314). The poets in Mali tell the sultan that “This pempi which you occupy was that whereon sat this king and that king, and such were this one’s noble actions and such and such the other’s. So do you too do good deeds whose memory will out live you.” (Battuta, Ibn, “Travels in Mali,” in Kevin Reilly, Readings in World Civilizations, 1992, 313). The
Bibliography: 1. Battuta, Ibn, “Travels in Mali,” in Kevin Reilly, Reading in World Civilizations, 308-314/ 2. Translated by Samuel Lee, The Travels of Ibn Battuta. 51-68, 139-168, 172-176, 181-183, 199-206. 3. Dunn, Ross, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta (1986) 159-182.