The great Muslim historical figures
I have read many stories about great Islamic historical figures, the scientists and mathematicians that made great contributions to the advancement of mathematics and science in the early days of Islam. It has always bothered me that these things are no longer evident in the Islamic world today, and we have the Western world still making great advances in the pursuit of knowledge. I think that the conditions in Islamic societies should seek to promote knowledge and the exchange of information, not restrict them. After all, it was Muslim scholars (along with Chinese) who visited the Library of Alexandria, the greatest library ever, with stacks and stacks of ancient knowledge, and made some copies, bringing these copies back to their homelands. After a Catholic mob burned the library and its books to the ground in around AD 350, knowledge was set back for 2,000 years. It was documents created by Muslim scholars that saved some essential facets of ancient knowledge. One that strikes my mind is the design of a steam engine, something that had not been invented for another 18 centuries!
I decided to learn more about this, and what I found out was interesting.
"The birth of Islam provided great impetus to human pursuits of knowledge. The necessity of preserving the Quran and the Traditions (Hadith) awakened the spirit of collecting such writings in various forms, which paved the way for the establishment of the earliest libraries in the world Of Islam. The mosques which, during the early decades of Islam formed the nerve centres of all political, religious and educational activities, housed valuable libraries comprising books on religion, philosophy and science. Soon, however, Muslims who distinguished themselves as the greatest patrons of learning, established during the days of their glory some of the biggest libraries of mediaeval times. The great intellectuals of their age including Avicenna the encyclopaedist, Ibn Miskawayh the historian-philosopher, Al-Fadl-Ibn Naubakht and Humayun Ibn Ishaq the renowned translator were entrusted with the responsibility for the organisation and maintenance of libraries. The Caliphate Raashidah and that of the Omayyads were the periods of conquests, consolidation and organisation." (Source: http://www.netmuslims.com/info/libraries.html)
This page goes on to say: "The Muslim civilization had attained such a high standard that it served as a beacon light to the West. The Christian conquerors of Spain tried to efface all traces of Arab civilization from their sacred land. In 1499 all literary treasures of the Muslims were collected from different libraries of Spain and burned by Cardinal Ximens, Archbishop of Toledo. Writing in the Spirit of Islam, Ameer Ali says, that in Spain, "Christianity destroyed the intellectual life of the people. The Muslims had turned Spain into a garden; the Christians converted it into a desert. The Muslims had covered the land with colleges and schools; the Christians tranformed them into churches for the worship of saints and images. The literary and scientific treasures amassed by the Muslim sovereigns were consigned to the flames"
It has been propagated by western historians that the Arabs destroyed the famous Alexandrian library. The latest historical researches have established beyond doubt that the said library was destroyed by the Romans themselves long before the advent of Islam. Writing in the Glimpses of World History, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru says: "There is a story that the Arabs burnt the famous library of Alexandria, but this is now believed to be false. The Arabs were too fond of books to behave in this barbarious manner. It is probable, however, that Emperor Theodosius of Constantinople was guilty of this destruction or part of it. A part of the library had been destroyed long before, during a siege at the time of Julius Caesar. Theodosius did not approve of the old pagan Greek books dealing with the Greek mythologies and philosophies.
He was too devout a Christian. It is said that he used books as fuel with which to heat his bath".
On the contrary, it was the Christian crusaders who burnt the great Muslim library of Tripolis (Syria) containing more than three million books. "
It's sad how religion really contributes to the human race setting itself back back a few thousand years every once and then. I am even more saddened that I just learned that it was a Christian mob that burned down one of the greatest Islamic libraries, one that rivals the Library of Alexandria, which was itself burned down by a Christian mob. These two events probably set us back more than we can ever fully comphrened.
I decided to learn more about this, and what I found out was interesting.
"The birth of Islam provided great impetus to human pursuits of knowledge. The necessity of preserving the Quran and the Traditions (Hadith) awakened the spirit of collecting such writings in various forms, which paved the way for the establishment of the earliest libraries in the world Of Islam. The mosques which, during the early decades of Islam formed the nerve centres of all political, religious and educational activities, housed valuable libraries comprising books on religion, philosophy and science. Soon, however, Muslims who distinguished themselves as the greatest patrons of learning, established during the days of their glory some of the biggest libraries of mediaeval times. The great intellectuals of their age including Avicenna the encyclopaedist, Ibn Miskawayh the historian-philosopher, Al-Fadl-Ibn Naubakht and Humayun Ibn Ishaq the renowned translator were entrusted with the responsibility for the organisation and maintenance of libraries. The Caliphate Raashidah and that of the Omayyads were the periods of conquests, consolidation and organisation." (Source: http://www.netmuslims.com/info/libraries.html)
This page goes on to say: "The Muslim civilization had attained such a high standard that it served as a beacon light to the West. The Christian conquerors of Spain tried to efface all traces of Arab civilization from their sacred land. In 1499 all literary treasures of the Muslims were collected from different libraries of Spain and burned by Cardinal Ximens, Archbishop of Toledo. Writing in the Spirit of Islam, Ameer Ali says, that in Spain, "Christianity destroyed the intellectual life of the people. The Muslims had turned Spain into a garden; the Christians converted it into a desert. The Muslims had covered the land with colleges and schools; the Christians tranformed them into churches for the worship of saints and images. The literary and scientific treasures amassed by the Muslim sovereigns were consigned to the flames"
It has been propagated by western historians that the Arabs destroyed the famous Alexandrian library. The latest historical researches have established beyond doubt that the said library was destroyed by the Romans themselves long before the advent of Islam. Writing in the Glimpses of World History, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru says: "There is a story that the Arabs burnt the famous library of Alexandria, but this is now believed to be false. The Arabs were too fond of books to behave in this barbarious manner. It is probable, however, that Emperor Theodosius of Constantinople was guilty of this destruction or part of it. A part of the library had been destroyed long before, during a siege at the time of Julius Caesar. Theodosius did not approve of the old pagan Greek books dealing with the Greek mythologies and philosophies.
He was too devout a Christian. It is said that he used books as fuel with which to heat his bath".
On the contrary, it was the Christian crusaders who burnt the great Muslim library of Tripolis (Syria) containing more than three million books. "
It's sad how religion really contributes to the human race setting itself back back a few thousand years every once and then. I am even more saddened that I just learned that it was a Christian mob that burned down one of the greatest Islamic libraries, one that rivals the Library of Alexandria, which was itself burned down by a Christian mob. These two events probably set us back more than we can ever fully comphrened.
1 Comments:
I am shocked that you opened your eyes and learned that not all Muslims are horrible. There are many Christians who did the barbaric things as well.
It is all about religion that we need to look at.
Oh, just recently, the Republicans distributed to thousands of rural voters in Arkansas, warning them that Kerry will ban the holy bible and allow the gay marriage. That is ridiculous.
Care to comment on that?
R-
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