Remembering 1000 skipped years of scientific revolution
Instead, Muslims favour the language of religious and political differences. On the other, Westerners seem to be stricken by a breathtaking ignorance of the real foundations of science; and some of those who know, are afflicted by such brazen arrogance as to attempt to pass over 1000 years of Muslims’ tinkering and creation of state-of-the-art […]
Instead, Muslims favour the language of religious and political differences. On the other, Westerners seem to be stricken by a breathtaking ignorance of the real foundations of science; and some of those who know, are afflicted by such brazen arrogance as to attempt to pass over 1000 years of Muslims’ tinkering and creation of state-of-the-art technologies.
For example, when in 1979 Anthony Feldman and Peter Ford wrote their book: The People Who Made Technology From Earliest Times to Present Day, they left a gap of 1000 years, jumping from Archimedes (287-212 BCE) to Johannes Gutenberg (1400-1468). That’s an unbelievable jump of 1,600 years. 7th -17th was skipped and boom! we had Renaissance.
Did we get Renaissance out of nowhere?
What do they call the omitted period? The Dark Ages. Of course it was dark in Europe where its people staggered in the darkness of their superstitions and the filth of their traditions. Elsewhere it was as bright as day; here, inquiry, experiments, learning, hygienic hospitals, etc. flourished.
I’ve written about this matter before, but I’m doing so again because, right now, I have, in my possession a book, beautifully written and highly accessible, which chronicles the Islamic world’s contributions to modern world – from the discovery of coffee on the Ethiopian slopes by an Arab man called Khalid to a 1200-year old successful manned flight. Yes, hundreds of years before the Wright brothers. The book is 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World. I’m reading the second edition (2007) of the hardcover. It’s edited by Salim T. S.
Al-Hassan. I used to fetch bits and pieces from different sources; now I’ve them in one place. The book also has a companion website from where you can source peer-reviewed papers on the subject, it is at www.MuslimHeritage.com.
Yet, even though some people still deny this past, there are those who have spoken with candor. From the book, I found two voices quite instructive. The first person is Prince Charles who said: “there is … much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilisation owe to the Islamic world” and the second voice is Mrs. Carleton Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, who said: “The technology industry would not exist without the contributions of Arab mathematicians.”
First, Prince Charles:
“If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilisation owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure, which stems, I think, from the straight-jacket of history, which we have inherited.
The medieval Islamic world, from central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished.
But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society, and system of belief, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history.”
HRH Prince Charles in a speech “Islam and the West”, Oxford, 27th October 1993.
Ms Fiorina:
“There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts. Within its dominion lived hundreds of millions of people, of different creeds and ethnic origins.
“One of its languages became the universal language of much of the world, the bridge between the peoples of a hundred lands. Its armies were made up of people of many nationalities, and its military protection allowed a degree of peace and prosperity that had never been known. The reach of this civilization’s commerce extended from Latin America to China, and everywhere in between.
“And this civilization was driven more than anything, by invention.
Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the algebra and algorithms that would enable the building of computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined the human body, and found new cures for disease. Its astronomers looked into the heavens, named the stars, and paved the way for space travel and exploration. Its writers created thousands of stories. Stories of courage, romance and magic. Its poets wrote of love, when others before them were too steeped in fear to think of such things.
“When other nations were afraid of ideas, this civilization thrived on them, and kept them alive. When censors threatened to wipe out knowledge from past civilizations, this civilization kept the knowledge alive, and passed it on to others.
While modern Western civilization shares many of these traits, the civilization I’m talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600, which included the Ottoman Empire and the courts of Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo, and enlightened rulers like Suleiman the Magnificent.
“Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage. The technology industry would not exist without the contributions of Arab mathematicians.
Sufi poet-philosophers like Rumi challenged our notions of self and truth. Leaders like Suleiman contributed to our notions of tolerance and civic leadership. And perhaps we can learn a lesson from his example: It was leadership based on meritocracy, not inheritance. It was leadership that harnessed the full capabilities of a very diverse population-that included Christianity, Islamic, and Jewish traditions.
This kind of enlightened leadership — leadership that nurtured culture, sustainability, diversity and courage — led to 800 years of invention and prosperity.”
Mrs. Carleton Fiorina, CEO HP Company. 26 September2001 Finally, what’s Boko? Is it Halal or Haram?