I know there is debate over the role of music, such as vocal music generally being viewed as acceptable, but instrumental music generally viewed as unacceptable. Has Islam's role or stance towards music changed over time? Does the Islamic stance towards music differ in different countries such as Turkey or Egypt?

Considering musicians created exclusive music when hired for private events, would this impact that musician in a negative light when he/she searched for future work? How would it relate to Chopin and his prominence as a pianist in that era? Would it cast him as a rebel or put him up as a master almost immediately?

What benefits did the conversion have for the Scandinavians?

The Schlieffen plan was the plan to fight a war on two fronts: Russia and France. From what I've learned, Russia was allied with Serbia, and Germany was allied with Austria-Hungary. If France had no quarry with Germany, why did Germany decide to attack France?

I know that the USSR wanted all of its republics to be seated, and the US vetoed and counter-requested that all of its states be seated. Why did Ukraine and Belarus get seats instead of any other republics (like Russia), and why did the Americans not pursue the same thing?

The Indian Rebellion happened in 1857 after which a complete British Government was set up. The American Civil War started at 1861. So although there is a gap between the two, is there anything that relates them in anyway?

What were some of the breakthroughs and studies that came from his heading of the Academy of Science and from the subsequent expeditions?

I understand that there likely will be no straightforward answers to this question, and it is in many ways speculative. I'm curious and interested in hearing all potential answers.

So as a preface, my area of study is the middle east. I have a pretty good grasp on how regional modernization projects, especially in Egypt were carried out. Generally speaking they sought out European technical support in modernizing their military, economy, education, government administration, and infrastructure, building everything from rail roads to the Suez Canal. For a time it was hugely successful, during, say, the reign of Mohammed Ali Pasha. Then his successors started contracting loans, leading to bankruptcy. Bankruptcy lead to foreign interference, sparking proto-nationalist revolts (Urabi) which in turn led to occupation (to simplify just a bit.) The same story played out across the Middle East and North Africa. The Ottomans even tried Constitutional reform, which was basically a disaster.

Now from my understanding, the Meijii period saw an almost identical program of reforms, with similar conflicts over developing a modern social structure, but obviously with radically different results.

What did Japan do differently? Did they not take out foreign loans? Did they have particularly good leadership? Was it simply their isolation? If they didn't take loans how did they afford these projects?

Hi guys and gals! I'm currently in a Sino-American relations history course, and I'm an avid student of Aviation history as well. To your knowledge, is there any joint Sino-American aviation history. I know about the AVG and the American Air forces in China flying the 'Hump' but I'm interested in learning more! Any help you have would be greatly appreciated!

Without refrigeration, could you ever have a cold drink of something other than water in the heat of july? How could there possibly be ice?

My friend and I have been working on a History Day project since October. We passed our school History Day with flying colors; described by one judge as, "The best project here, amazing job." I observed that the judges loved fun and interesting facts as they showed that we knew our topic really well, so any of those would be appreciated.

• When is World War I considered to have officially started? Was it on July 28th, 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, or when more of the participating countries got involved?
• Russia did not participate in the Paris Peace conference, as they were experiencing uprisings and riots. Why would this prohibit them from attending?
• One of the requirements for the armistice with Germany was that it only lasted 30 days. However the Treaty of Versailles took many months to complete. Were other armistices enacted to sustain the peace while the treaty was being written, and if so, how many? Any other advice would be welcome, but constructive criticism is unnecessary as we are locked out of editing the website one week prior to Regionals. Website: 92350791.nhd.weebly.com Edit: A word

What really sparked this interest was thinking of where the term Lord came from in the English Language. Did the feudal system pick it up from the bible or did it exist in the bible for God and the hierarchy of the feudal system adopted it so as to hold power over others? Also let me know if I can word this in a different/better way.

I've been learning German, however I can't find much on the history of German speaking peoples beyond the World Wars, and the Reformation, which is all good... however "the Reformation" was the ONE college level history course I got an A in and the World Wars don't hold that much fascination for me. I'm not looking to become a scholar on the subject, just figured I'd turn my motivation for the language into motivation to learn about the history.

What else should I be looking into if I want to dive into the world of German history?

Any (English Language) resources you could recommend?

Has their culture changed at all?

To what extent would peasant levies be used on a medieval (12th century and onwards) western European battlefield? Is there any truth at all to the idea that there would be a core of knights surrounded by a horde of peasants? If yes, to what extent were they used?

Just to clarify, I am not referring to actual, professional soldiers such as English archers, Swiss pikemen or Genoese crossbowmen but rather to something along the Anglo-Saxon fyrd.