Guest Blogger Meam Wye, “Shining History - Medieval Islamic Civilization”

Meam Wye is one of my favorite bloggers. Her blog, “Shining History – Medieval Islamic Civilization” http://www.shininghistory.com – is one I heartily recommend to anyone interested in discovering the rich history of Islamic civilization, especially in the areas of engineering, medicine, science, aviation, cosmetology, education and the creation of hospitals. All of these fields owe a tremendous debt to the pioneering work of the people she writes about. I would hazard a guess that most people in the West know nothing at all about these people and the contributions they made. What we hear about is a tiring litany of negative reportage and comments about Islam and Islamic civilization.

Meam Wye’s guest column today is a response to some of that. A reprint of a comment by someone known as “burymore”, and her reply, appears below. First, the comment by “burymore”:

“If muslims would come to realize that the fundamentalist extremes of their culture are holding them back, then they might have a scientist or inventor of note that lived more recently than three hundred years ago.

There is not an invention or scientific breakthrough of any importance to come from the muslim world in centuries.... seeing this list of great minds from a thousand years ago only points that out more.

Quit marginalizing half your population. (Quit treating women like garbage) and quit putting the spiritual leaders in charge of the governments, and maybe Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt and all the rest can actually progress a little as nations.”

Next, Meam Wye’s reply:

“I fully agree with the second paragraph of your comment -more than a couple of centuries that any significant contribution has been made. This raises two important questions:

1. What were the factors behind the rise of this glorious civilization?

2. Why this civilization declined?

These are thought-provoking questions, the answers to which require an in depth study of history, religion and a detailed analysis of socio-political situations in various eras to reach at some meaningful conclusion.

I am unable to understand your term 'fundamentalist extremes of their [Muslim] culture'. Different countries, with predominant Muslim population, have different cultures -food/dresses/language/ arts/literature/architecture/wedding festivals etc. Being Muslims, as guided by Islam, they however do share common elements as well. For example, the greeting ‘Assalaam-O-Alaikum'  (meaning: Peace be upon you)  taught by Prophet Mohammad (Peace be Upon Him) is the same across different Muslim countries/continents. So is true for many other traditions including the way Muslims clean themselves, what they don't consider lawful to eat, the manner in which Ramadan and Eid are observed/celebrated, the preference of opening fast with dates (although other menu items vary greatly across different regions), the ability to at least read, if not comprehend, Arabic (the language of Quran) by almost every educated Muslim, irrespective of the mother tongue and so on.  I and for that matter any unbiased person cannot see any elements of ''fundamentalist extremes of their [Muslim] culture' in this.

If you are referring to the barbaric customs, like honor killings etc. then these barbaric/beyond humanity acts have absolutely no link/place in Islam. In fact, Islam very strictly prohibits the killing of innocent people and violation of human (and other living creatures) rights.

Beyond humanity/barbaric acts that are carried out in the name of culture/religion, are unfortunately part of many 'non-Muslim' countries/societies as well. For example, in India, considered to be the largest democracy of the world, there is a custom called 'sati' among Hindus in which the widow of the deceased husband is burned ALIVE along with his husband's dead body! The last 'reported' case of Sati (though outlawed) is dated, not a century back, it's October 11, 2008. Quite shocking. Have you ever heard of 'Bridal Burning'? According to a recent official report, 6000 women, each year, are murdered by putting gasoline and fire on them in India. Reason:  these women do not fulfill the demands of dowry by their husband [Hindus traditionally consider dowry as a 'groom-price' - money/valuables that the man is entitled to for taking the woman in marriage]. Several examples of these and other kinds of horrifying acts can be found in many other under-developed/developing countries and uncivilized cultures. However, the media never labels them as 'Fundamentalist Hindu/Christian/any other religion Culture'.

Your third point 'Quit Treating women like Garbage': This blogger is a woman and an engineer (with a Masters degree). Had I been treated like garbage, I would have been in a garbage dump or inside a landfill and not online now. Whatever I have achieved (and I've got a resume in which there is plenty in the 'Honors' section to boast of), perhaps would not have been possible without the great and continuous support and love of two MEN - initially from my late father and later from my husband. And I am not the only example. There are numerous other Muslim women across various countries and societies, making positive contributions in life while being treated respectfully like a fellow human being, both by their respective societies and their families.

Like many other countries of the world, violation of women's right  are unfortunately part of, to varying degrees, of many Muslim countries as well.........again nothing to do with Islam and something that is, beyond any kind of doubt, truly deplorable. Violation of any living being's (human beings, animals and plants) rights is equally and highly deplorable.

Do you know that the oldest continuously-operating degree-granting university in the world, as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records, was founded by a Muslim woman Fatima in 859 CE - 9th century. Oxford University did not allow women as late as 1878! This is just one small example. There are numerous other great examples, starting with the women during the life of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon him). This in itself is a topic for a whole book.

Islam gave women the rights that are now taken for granted but was unthinkable of in the 7th century. Many of these fundamental human rights were not given by the west to women as late as 19th century!  Islam gave women:  the right of being human (with rewards of good deeds equal to men), the right of earning, the right of  inheritance, the right of owning property (married/unmarried/divorced/ widowed), the right to get divorce, the right to choose her husband, the right to say no for marriage proposal without giving any reason, the right to get custody of children after divorce, the right to be provided for and cared by father/spouse/brothers, the right to get education, the right to teach others [including men], the right to pass religious judgments, the right to argue, disagree and advise men on any matter - political, religious or personal at any place - home, mosque or public, the right to re-marry after divorce or husband's death, the right not to spend their own earnings on their family if they don't want to (unlike men, women have a choice here :) ), the right that no woman is held  responsible or faces gender discrimination on account of the mistake committed by both Adam  and Eve (not Eve alone), the advantage of being considered as 'Blessing of Allah' if you are lucky to be a female child and  many more. 

Whatever and wherever violation of human rights - women, men, senior citizens, children or animals -  it is unfortunately a common practice among many countries - more common in developing/under developed countries. Had these violations of basic human rights not been there, these countries would have also been progressing.

Regarding the 'spiritual leadership', I again fail to understand your usage of this term. There are two points. First, in the countries you mentioned, the leadership either is monarchy (Saudi Arabia), dictator-ship/occupied (Iraq) or democracy/presidential (Iran, Syria & Egypt). Nothing spiritual as you put it. Secondly and more important: the problem is with the Leadership - spiritual or non-spiritual. The nuclear  bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 were done on the orders of Harry S. Truman - the 33rd president of United states ............ Was he a spiritual Muslim leader? The crime considered to be the biggest in the history of this world against one race - Was  Hitler a spiritual Muslim leader? The recent economic turmoil in USA?   George Bush was the last US president for eight consecutive years............Was he a spiritual leader?  The two Opium wars in the nineteenth century on China - courtesy British and French empires.......Were Queen Victoria or Napoleon Bonaparte spiritual leaders? This list can be easily extended without much research. The problem lies with the leadership. The world is expecting a lot from President Obama - Let's be hopeful :)

Although, you have not mentioned Afghanistan but I think that many readers might be thinking about the 'spiritual leadership' of Taliban. A country, that has been almost completely destroyed by three decades of war and carpet bombings -  more than one million civilians were killed, more than three million were wounded and five million became refugee by the end of first decade of war only! It is a country where babies who were born thirty years ago, on arriving in this beautiful world, did not hear some sweet melodious sounds of nature or the soothing voice of their parents as their first sounds;  they heard the horrifying sounds of dropping bombs and the never ending gun shots. When these babies started crawling, they came across dead bodies of their parents, saw blood while trying to swallow food, witnessed broken limbs and chopped arms of their siblings (if some miracle saved them from getting blind), interacted with paralyzed and shocked people, sighted the frightening faces and bodies of people with chemical burn injuries, played outside their destroyed homes with bombs disguised as toys (booby traps) and had destructed natural surroundings for their pleasure with nothing worth while to eat, what to speak of getting education! Living this life for three consecutive decades, they never even got a chance to live a life that even wild animals/beasts are blessed with - peace in the beautiful nature. Now after growing up, if they behave in an uncivilized manner, does the solution lies in continuing to kill them like cockroaches, by the so-called civilized world, or in reaching out to them and teaching them with love and compassion? A question that is not difficult to answer.

I thank you for your feedback and for sharing your views, 'burymore'. It would have been better had you chosen not to be anonymous by making your blogger profile private. Understanding each other is the first essential step towards making this beautiful world a livable place for everyone. I strongly feel that the need of the hour is to be less judgmental and a little responsible in reaching conclusions and forming strong opinions.

Thank you.

N.B. For any comments, please use the original post http://www.shininghistory.com/2009/07/list-of-muslim-scientists.html#comment-form so that all related comments are on one page.”

Meam Wye

http://www.shininghistory.com

Thank you, Meam, for being the guest blogger for today’s post.

Jorge (“Toasty”) Tostada

A wonderful story for young adults of any age

Review of “Habibi”, by Naomi Shihab Nye. Mass Market Paperback. Simon Pulse, 1997.

Naomi Shihab Nye brings her poet's voice to this touching story about 14 year old Liyana Abboud and her family as they move from St. Louis, Missouri to Palestine, where her father, a physician, was born and raised. The move isn't an easy one, for more reasons than one. The family arrives to find conditions more tense than they had expected, with growing violence and a growing Israeli military presence in the West Bank. The story is also filled with some memorable characters, one of the most memorable being Sitti, Liyana's 81 year old grandmother, who is the “glue” that holds her large family together, a veritable font of energy and wisdom.

It isn't easy being an American teenager in Israel, especially when you're half-Arab and half-American and female. The rules are very different (and Liyana tests them, as any self-respecting teenager will), you don't understand the language, dad (“Poppy”) has to do all the translating, you don't “fit” anywhere, and the tensions between your father's people (and hence your own) and the powers that be in Israel grow daily. To complicate matters, a friendship develops between (and warms) between Liyana and a Jewish teenager named Omer (she mishears his name as “Omar”). It is a time of hardening positions and escalating violence. “Did people who committed acts of violence think their victims and their victims' relatives would just forget? Didn't people see? How violence went on and on like a terrible wheel? Could you stand in front of a wheel and make it stop? ... It was better ... if you were able to let the violence stop when it got to you. But many people couldn't do that.” When a Jewish deputy mayor of Jerusalem proposes that two thousand Arab homes in east Jerusalem be torn down to make room for fifty thousand houses for Jews, and nothing is said “about pain or attachment or sorrow or honor”, what happens? When someone knocks on your door, walks in and kicks you and your family out without so much as a by-your-leave, and you lose everything, what's the logical consequence? These are the issues that Liyana, her family, and every other human being in that part of the world (and in many others) had and have to deal with every day of their lives.

As grandma Sitti says to Omer “You will need to be brave. There are hard days coming. There are hard words waiting in people's mouths to be spoken. There are walls. You can't break them. Just find doors in them. See?”

Ms. Nye does a wonderful job of painting in the details of her story in vivid color, images and anecdote.

This may be a book for young adults. In my view, it is a book that everyone should read.

All for now,

Jorge Luis Tostada (“Toasty”)

Change I can believe in

In a speech to an economic panel at the progressive think tank, the Center for American Progress, Vice President Joseph Biden made the following remarks:

"If the economy is growing but middle-class and low-income families are falling behind, then prosperity must be accruing at the very top of the scale" the vice president said at one point. "Quite simply put, the middle class families weren't sharing and haven't been sharing in the wealth they helped create."

He went on to say that the administration is not interested in redistributing wealth:

"We aren't talking about income redistribution. We are talking about a fighting chance to make a decent income... it's about fairness. It is about simple fairness. It is about an equality of opportunity. At least that's what we are searching for. We are searching for that Holy Grail. How do we establish that level playing field?"

That is the kind of change I believe in. But we all have to work for it to make it possible.

To read more on the subject, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/05/biden-people-have-been-st_n_347023.html&cp.

All for this post,

Toasty

Daylight Savings Time and other silly subjects

I’ve always thought of it as a way Americans have of playing “pretend”, as if we can save daylight by saying that’s what we’re doing. It doesn’t fool cows, who insist on being milked at the same time, regardless of what time our clocks now say it is. A couple of years ago, maybe to distract itself from unpleasant realities, Congress voted to extend Daylight Savings time to begin earlier and stay later. I’m surprised someone hasn’t called for starting daylight savings time banks where, for a small fee, people can withdraw daylight to add to their days, and bank unused light to withdraw later when they’re on vacation. Maybe I shouldn’t say that; someone’s sure to see it and think: “Not a bad idea!” Kind of like the paper extender we used to send new people for when I worked in a Sears shipping department years and years ago. People used to go trotting off to find the thing, usually came back frustrated or mad.

It’s the kind of thing that made my good old great-uncle W. D. Polley shake his head and mutter about people having too much time on their hands. He was always right on the mark, like the time he told an acquaintance that if he was planning to fight a particularly unpleasant guy that “if you’re gonna fight a skunk, remember that he don’t mind the smell.” He never was a fan of silly ideas including daylight savings time.

We don’t have Daylight Savings Time in Japan. Everyone gets along perfectly well without it. When mentioned, they either smile or shake their heads; sometimes they do both. Another crazy American idea, like sub-prime loans and other ponzi schemes.

Ah, life! Ain’t it grand! Unless you’ve made other plans, have a wonderful day. And if you’ve made other plans, go ahead and change them. I won’t tell.

All for this post,

Toasty

Keeping your word

President Obama has clearly said that he intends to treat America’s allies as equals. I take this to mean that his administration is open to the opinions and suggestions of their allies when the two sides sit down to discuss policy issues. The old “Top dog, Underdog” days are dead and gone. Or so we have been led to believe.

Reality has so far shown that what we are getting is more of the same old thinking and behavior: We are the top dog here, and you are expected to do as we wish without so much as raising an eyebrow. When we tell you to jump, the only thing we’ll accept from you is the question “How high, sir?” If you want to kill trust, this is one of the better ways to do it.

I am becoming more that a little annoyed with America’s petulant grousing about the Hatoyama government's taking President Obama at his word by dealing with American officials as equal partners in discussions on policy issues. If President Obama is serious about meeting with allies as equal partners, he needs to begin acting that way. The words coming recently from Secretary Gates and others within the administration give the clear impression that the Obama administration expects Japan to kow-tow to their wishes without so much as raising a question or offering an opinion. This is a replay of the arrogant “Just who do you think you are talking to!?” attitude that kills trust and plays well with no one. As an American, I find it disgusting and deeply troubling.  

Frankly, I think it is high time allies begin showing America that they expect to be treated with respect as equals,  especially when the “senior partner” says it is their policy to do so.

I am proud of Prime Minister Hatoyama and his Ministers who, ever so politely, have been showing President Obama that they intend to hold him to his word. I applaud them for it. Mister Hatoyama certainly has my support.

All for this post,

Toasty

 

Mercedes Sosa, July 9,1935- October 4, 2009

Mercedes Sosa, in concert, Quito, Ecuador, 10/26/2008

 

My wife showed me an article about her passing in her daily Hokkaido newspaper yesterday, and it feels like I’ve lost a much-loved member of my family. A year younger than me, I think of her as a sister.

I first encountered Mercedes Sosa in 1977 when my Spanish instructor at the University of Minnesota showed me one of her albums, “Cantata Sudamericana”, which I still have. From the minute I heard her voice, I was hooked. It is full, rich, captivating. Her voice, her personality and her music captivated millions across South America and around the world.

Born in Tucuman, Argentina, she began her singing career at age 15, when she won a contest on a radio station. She was still singing 59 years later when she took sick and entered a hospital a few weeks ago.

Her music was always about the people: the poor and disenfranchised, the sick, the old and the persecuted victims of the military dictatorships that hated and persecuted her.

Doña Mercedes, I bow to you. Gracias, mi hermana; gracias por su vida y su canción. Rest in peace. Thank you for blessing us for all your life with all that you are.

Bendición,

Jorge Tostada

 

American Taliban — Right-Wing Politics in America, the Players & Their Message

Every once in a while in America there is a resurgence of extreme right-wing hysteria that blooms for a time, seems to disappear, then blooms again. I've seen several of these toxic blooms, the first being the Red Scare during the 1950s and early 1960s that featured U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy (Repub. Wisconsin) loyalty oaths and HUAC (the House Un-American Activities Committee), the second being the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, and the third being the so-called “sexual revolution” in the 1970s. Each of them had their own hysteria, share of violence and poisonous ranters. E. P. Y. Simpson, my church history professor in seminary said about it that America contains an undercurrent of fascism that could turn into disaster if they ever got into power.

At the time (1960) I didn't see it as a possibility. Now I do. The level of paranoia, denial, resentment and anger of today's right-wing is not only loud, it is poisonous and devoid of compassion, ethics, moral compass and reason. With Barack Obama elected President, they believe themselves to be in Armageddon, and many of them will do anything to recapture the power they had under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, and make sure they keep it.

I call them the American Taliban. Who are they? Not John Walker Lindh, the young American caught in Afghanistan during America's invasion. Leaders of the American Taliban are people we all know: Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Pamela Geller, retired Lt. General Wm. G. Boykin, U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (Repub., MN), former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (Repub., PA), Gary Bauer (former Undersecretary of Education in the Reagan administration), Bernard Goldberg, author of A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (And Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media, and a host of others. The title of Goldberg's book is an example of the way their communication style: verbal attack, slogans, put-downs, half-truths, gossip, slander and outright lies.

Their followers are largely disaffected lower and middle class people, True Believers, resentful victims, domination junkies, anti-feminists, immigration fearers, hyper-patriots, militia members, politicians and others who see the 21^st century and want to turn the clock back to a “simpler” time in which they were top dog and not suddenly, terrifyingly at sea.

Their ideas about creation, science, the Bible, non-Christian religions, women, justice, and equality are appalling, chilling and laughable. Many of them envision America as a theocracy resembling what the Taliban had in Afghanistan and the ayatollahs have in Iran. For anyone who disagrees with them, life in America would be a nightmare in which women would be chattels, non-Christians, liberal Christians and homosexuals would be persecuted, educational curriculum would be strictly controlled, and people who don't agree with them had better watch their backs.

I wish I were wrong about this, but I don't think I am. The noise level and rhetoric is louder, more prevalent and more acid, bitter and blistering than I've ever heard it. And never in my seventy-five years of life do I recall one of the two major political parties under the thrall of a demagogue like Rush Limbaugh. These are not people to be ignored. We need to call them out and make plain to everyone what they say and what they stand for.

If you think I'm exaggerating, here is a sampling what some of them say. It is not pretty. Were Jesus of Nazareth here to hear it, he would be appalled that they claim to follow him. What they say is cited first, followed by the person's name.

• "There is only one way to get rid of nuclear weapons... use them." —Rush Limbaugh.

• Members of Congress should be investigated for perceived anti-American bias, and abortion foes need to take a blood oath (“slit our wrists”) to combat abortion. —Michele Bachmann, U.S. Representative (Rep), MN.

• Called President Obama a racist, a socialist and a liar on Fox TV. —Glenn Beck tv personality and author.

• “We should not criticize our nation, because it is good.” —Sarah Palin. Former Alaska Governor and former Republican V.P. Candidate.

• "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." —Ann Coulter.

• “Religion and politics do mix. America is a nation based on biblical principles. Politicians who do not use the bible to guide their public and private lives do not belong in office." —Beverly LaHaye. Her husband was a co-author of the Left Behind series of novels.

• "A good butt-whipping and then a prayer is a wonderful remedy." —Fob James, Governor of Alabama

• "Not only is homosexuality a sin, but anyone who supports fags is just as guilty as they are. You are both worthy of death." —Fred Phelps, fanatical anti-gay Baptist minister.

• "We are engaged in a social, political, and cultural war. There's a lot of talk in America about pluralism. But the bottom line is somebody's values will prevail. And the winner gets the right to teach our children what to believe." —Gary Bauer, Undersecretary of Education in Ronald Reagan's administration.

• "This is God's world, not Satan's. Christians are the lawful heirs, not non-Christians." —Gary North, Institute for Christian Economics.

• "I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." —George H. W. Bush, former U.S. President.

• "God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did.” —George W. Bush, former U.S. President.

• "When science and the Bible differ, science has obviously misinterpreted its data." —Henry Morris, Founder, Institute for Creation Research.

• "The Bible is the inerrant ... word of the living God. It is absolutely infallible, without error in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as well as in areas such as geography, science, history, etc." —Jerry Falwell, Moral Majority founder.

• "Nobody has the right to worship on this planet any other God than Jehovah." —Joseph Morecroft, minister.

• “George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States, he was appointed by God.” —Lt. General (ret.) Wm. G. Boykin.

• "The 'wall of separation between church and state' ... should be frankly and explicitly abandoned." —William Rehnquist, Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

• "When I, or people like me, are running the country, you'd better flee, because we will find you, we will try you, and we'll execute you.” —Randall Terry, Operation Rescue, speaking about abortionists and their supporters.

• "Our culture is superior. Our culture is superior because our religion is Christianity and that is the truth that makes men free." —Pat Buchanan, Presidential Candidate and commentator.

• "There were no politics to polarize us then,” before the civil rights movement, “to magnify every slight. The 'negroes' of Washington had their public schools, restaurants, bars, movie houses, playgrounds and churches; and we had ours." —Pat Buchanan, Presidential Candidate and commentator.

• "Rail as they will about 'discrimination,' women are simply not endowed by nature with the same measures of single-minded ambition and the will to succeed in the fiercely competitive world of Western capitalism." —Pat Buchanan, Presidential Candidate and commentator.

For more quotes like the ones given above, click on the following link, or copy and paste it into your browser.

http://adultthought.ucsd.edu/Culture_War/The_American_Taliban.html.

Call them out!

All for this post,

Toasty