Islamic Culture Biography
Source:- Google.com.pkIf one looks at the general picture of the Muslim world today it is hard to find something positive on the horizon. There is political chaos and regional turmoil all over the Muslim world. Muslims seem to have lost control of their affairs. They feel frustrated and helpless. Many Muslim governments are persecuting their people – in the name of Islam. Can Muslims hope for a better future under these circumstances?
Allah has blessed Muslims with plenty of natural resources. Yet, they are dependent for most of their basic needs – not to speak of their dependence in the field of science and technology, and on knowledge, in general – on non-Muslims. Their resources are being plundered and wasted on an unprecedented scale, while the majority population suffers extreme hardships.
Muslims generally tend to blame others for their problems. Some blame their rulers. Others blame one another. There may be truth in all of this. But what is lacking from Muslim discourse is an honest and intelligent diagnosis of problems facing the Muslim ummah.
Representing almost a billion Muslims, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) – the official organ of the Muslim countries for discussing such problems – has become no more than a platform for passing resolutions upon resolutions of empty words with no teeth. No wonder it has been dubbed “Oh! I see!” Most other Islamic organizations, more or less, suffer from a similar fate.
In the present environment, Muslims mostly live individual lives (in their own little islands) while using the term Ummah in their discussions. Some seem to cooperate on issues affecting Muslim lives, but that is limited mostly to charity work. Muslims do not have a unifying plan (or, rather, are not interested) to chart out the future course of action for the ummah. Muslims appear to behave like millions of individual atoms without any strong bonds.
Is there a silver lining in this dark cloud? Will this long, dark chapter in Muslim history ever end?
When we read the history of Muslim contribution to world civilization, it seems very recent that Muslims were on top of the world. They were pioneers and leaders in all areas of human endeavor. They invented new branches of science and mathematics. They not only laid the foundation of modern knowledge, but propelled it to new heights. In particular, their contribution to the world of medicine is legendary.
So what happened? How did Muslims lose this crowning position of power in the world? And how did they lose leadership in science, mathematics and medicine?
The history of how this loss occurred is heart-wrenching. One way to tell this history is to describe the extraordinary achievements of past Muslims. This makes Muslims feel proud of their past glory – as, indeed, it should; we try to re-live, mentally, at least, the stages of that glory when we talk or write about the history of Islam and science. And this is what we will also do in this article – with one difference. We will not treat this as an end in itself, but with an eye to figure out how to reclaim that past glory.
We begin with a brief description of the achievements of some of the Muslim scientists, as stated, not by Muslim, but by non-Muslim scholars, to avoid any impression of a Muslim bias. The quotations below may seem extensive but they serve an important purpose to highlight the depth and breadth of the new knowledge that past Muslims created and developed, and which, according to Western historians of science, formed the backbone on which the Western renaissance in science began. This shows that Muslims may have forgotten the lesson of their own past intellectual giants in making science history, but the West has not. It continues to build its scientific superstructure for modern science on the foundations laid by our ancestors.
While reading these quotations, it would be beneficial to reflect and ponder on where we are, and whither we are going.
George Sarton pays tribute to Muslim scientists in Introduction to the History of Science:
“It will suffice here to evoke a few glorious names without contemporary equivalents in the West: Jabir ibn Haiyan, al-Kindi, al-Khwarizmi, al-Fargani, al-Razi, Thabit ibn Qurra, al-Battani, Hunain ibn Ishaq, al-Farabi, Ibrahim ibn Sinan, al-Masudi, al-Tabari, Abul Wafa, 'Ali ibn Abbas, Abul Qasim, Ibn al-Jazzar, al-Biruni, Ibn Sina, Ibn Yunus, al-Kashi, Ibn al-Haitham, 'Ali Ibn 'Isa al-Ghazali, al-zarqab, Omar Khayyam - a magnificent array of names which would not be difficult to extend. If anyone tells you that the Middle Ages were scientifically sterile, just quote these men to him, all of whom flourished within a short period, 750 to 1100 A.D.”
In Intellectual Development of Europe, John William Draper writes:
“I have to deplore the systematic manner in which the literature of Europe has continued to put out of sight our obligations to the Muhammadans [British term for Muslims]. Surely they cannot be much longer hidden. Injustice founded on religious rancour and national conceit cannot be perpetuated forever. The Arab has left his intellectual impress on Europe. He has indelibly written it on the heavens as any one may see who reads the names of the stars on a common celestial globe.”
This list is a compilation (in-progress) of titles in English language that are deemed appropriate for college level studies related to the Middle East, North Africa and the religion of Islam. The titles are available in the Cornell Library system, mostly in Olin and Uris libraries.
In addition to the literary works written by Arabs, Persians and Turks, you will find studies of Middle Eastern literatures, ethnographic studies of different communities, religious practices, the culture and situation of women, dramas and festival performances, Social life and customs in general, etc. These chosen titles are neither too technical, nor simplified
In order to choose readings on a subject that interests you, I suggest looking over this list carefully. Since these books (or videos, CDs, sound records, etc.) vary widely in difficulty, length, and type of study, it is important to find a group that you will enjoy better. Spend time in the library looking over the books you might want to read before you make your decision. You may find more titles on your topic in the stacks that are not listed here. Use this form to contact me if you need any assistance:
The Arab world Host, Bill Moyers. [videorecording] -- Princeton, NJ : Films for the Humanities, c1997. ( 5 videocassettes (30 min. each) VHS format. ) -- [pt. 1.] The Arabs : who they are and who they are not -- [pt. 2.] The historic memory -- [pt. 3.] The image of God -- [pt. 4.] The bonds of pride -- [pt. 5.] Arabs and the West. [Videocassette release of the 1991 television series produced by Public Affairs Television, Inc, in association with WNET/New York and WTTW/Chicago. [Bill Moyers discusses the Arab world with leading writers and thinkers on Arab culture and history. The particpants discuss the stereotypes which distort our view of the Arab world and its peoples, examine the role of religions in Arab society, survey Arab artistic and literary achievments, look at the historical forces that have shaped the modern Arab world, and examine the long history of Western involvement in the region.] *olin,lim DS;36;.8 .A72x;1997*
The mainstream paradigm, in general, describes the influence of Islamic scholarship chiefly in terms of its "preservation and transmission of portions of ancient Greek philosophy that had been lost to medieval Europe." George Sarton once criticized those who "will glibly say 'the Arabs simply translated Greek writings, they were industrious imitators...' This is not absolutely untrue, but it is such a small part of the truth that when it is allowed to stand alone, it is worse than a lie." And then there is another historian of science, Colin Ronan, "Too often science in Arabia has been seen nothing more than a holding operation. The area has been viewed as a giant storehouse for previously discovered scientific results, keeping them until they could be passed on for use in the West. But this is, of course, a travesty of the truth." (Note the word science is used in its historic meaning--knowledge, comprehensively defined, including philosophy, etc.)
Abdullah, King of Jordan, 1882-1951. My memoirs completed (al-Takmilah) / Translated from the Arabic by Harold W. Glidden. -- Washington, American Council of Learned Societies, 1954. (American Council of Learned Societies Devoted to Humanistic Studies Near Eastern Translation Program. ; no.7 *olinDS;154;.52;.A3 c A32z*
Attar, Farid al-Din, d. ca. 1230. [Mantiq al-tayr. English] The conference of the birds / Farid ud-Din Attar ; translated with an introduction by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis. -- Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England ; New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Penguin Books, 1984. (The Penguin classics) [Sufi poetry] *olin PK6451.F22 M336;1984* *uris PK6451.F2 M3;1984*
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islamic Culture Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
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