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Post by galvez on Dec 18, 2003 23:12:20 GMT -5
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Post by someguy on Jan 1, 2004 11:20:54 GMT -5
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Post by galvez on Jan 1, 2004 22:36:46 GMT -5
That's an interesting article from FrontPageMag.com, but it appears to be very politically motivated. I would like to see any major historians agreeing with the main ideas of that article.
Some of my objections:
1. The author states that the intellectuals flourished in spite of Muslim rule rather than because of it. This can be used against the Jews and any other group: Baruch Spinoza, one of the great Jewish philosophers, was excommunicated by the Jewish community over his pantheistic beliefs. Albert Einstein had very atheistic beliefs that also go against the core of Orthodox Judaism. Does that mean that Spinoza and Einstein should be separated from Jewish culture and history?
2. The author criticizes Muslim societies because they are undemocratic and believes this makes them inferior, but this premise itself is open to question, particularly since many of the greatest thinkers in history opposed democracy.
3. Inventing algebra and transmitting Greek knowledge to the West (in large part) are no minor things, in addition to other Muslim accomplishments. The environment under the Muslim empires encouraged the arts and sciences, directly or indirectly, by providing men of the greatest abilities some leisure and inspiration. Also, the architecture produced by Muslims -- inscribed with Muslim poetry -- is some of the best work of all time. In some of the crafts the Arabs were unsurpassed.
FrontPageMag.com is not a great source of history, but it provides some interesting polemics.
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Post by AWAR on Jan 2, 2004 3:36:38 GMT -5
I don't know about you, but if I found myself in the dark ages, I'd much rather live in the Islamic world.
I agree with Galvez about Baruch Spinoza and Einstein.
Of course, this is just another point showing that Judaism is a religion, not a race as some think.
There were a lot of European scientists who were christians, but they were excommunicated and some were tortured and burned. These scientists are definitely not Christian scientists, but Europeans.
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