Masses who have developed with different thoughts and objectives that are in conflict, and who have been deprived of positive cultivation, they form a society wherein passion, animosity, and hatred run rampant. Such a society promises nothing in the way of goodness and decency.

The harmony in this resplendent book of the universe continues with the mutual support of all things, living and non-living, and their coming together to form a cohesive whole. Every kind of destruction and devastation transpires due to the collision of opposing currents. Such destruction is proportionate to the intensity of the clash.

Human societies are united under the same feelings, thoughts, and visions. They reach spiritual perfection with the same edification and all have a promising future.

As for those masses who have developed with different thoughts and objectives that are in conflict, and who have been deprived of positive cultivation, they form a society wherein passion, animosity, and hatred run rampant. Such a society promises nothing in the way of goodness and decency. In such a tumultuous society, the odds of an individual finding his or her true purpose and attaining serenity are unlikely – and perhaps even impossible. This is especially true when that society’s chief institutions are at the epicenter of the upheaval. When this happens, the society has become completely disordered. As a result, chaos and confusion reign.

However, the regularity of human societies, as with the order and harmony in the universe, is necessary and indispensible, both so that humanity can conform to nature’s universal harmony and so that humans do not contradict their own innate disposition. Every movement that does not adhere to the general symphony present in the book of the universe is a debacle, and the populace that falls prey to this erroneous movement is very unfortunate.

As such, in a population where successive oppressions and counter aggressions in the name of reprisal form a vicious cycle, the turmoil and mayhem resulting from disputes, uncertainties, and above all, deficiencies of the heart and soul, will engulf its surroundings like a terrifying tornado. In the ensuing terror, none will have the security to consider and examine the events or the reasons behind them. And of course, in the meantime, with collisions taking place one after another, the nation-tree will be shaken over and over again; homes will be intermittently destroyed, and individuals left stupefied. If only those rushing to society’s rescue in the sphere of belief and thought possessed a sense of order, faith in renewal, the power of persuasion, and sincerity and earnestness. Alas! Not in the least!

Virtually none of them has embarked upon this task with a clear worldview, an initial plan and system, or any anxiety over their destiny. Perhaps, with respect to the majority, even those who first sensed and recoiled in the face of such danger, especially the sensitive and exceptionally spiteful, were so unrefined in spirit that they said “yes” to every kind of tyranny, attack, and domination for the sake of satiating their carnal selves…

How sad it is that in this struggle, which defies all reason and comprehension – or more precisely, in this uproar – those most wronged and perpetually subjected to tumult have been the innocent multitudes. These naive masses, united by their centuries old cultural and historical values, have been unable to determine quite where they have come from and where they are going. They have been dragged into error after error, unaware of whose account they were acting. They have been corrupted and afflicted even more as their intellectuals have been denying their past and all they ought to take pride in, who could have otherwise served as a beacon of light and direction. When, eventually, the seeds scattered on our soil with countless ill intentions sprang up and developed, all segments of society formed into “enemy-camps” ready for conflict.

The masses have become such an ill-fated and uninhibited horde-who excuse everything as permissible, obliterate in one stroke all that is sacred, and ridicule all their values-that an individual falling into their clutches is but a vagrant, not bound by any limitations. And, as such, the national spirit worn away for centuries by internal erosion, and paralyzed in these ill-omened hands, has become completely bedridden.

If only the behavior of those wanting to protect their spirit in the face of such destructive movements were heartfelt, valiant, compassionate, and constructive… Alas! They too, could not establish the expected balance and provide the people with a sense of security…

On the contrary, by responding to excessiveness with excessiveness, they sacrificed myriad magnificent, righteous, and beneficial things. In this chaos, truth was slaughtered innumerable times; on top of that, those who slaughtered it did so for another presumed truth. How many times the masses were fooled and the multitudes were set against each other with wrong being shown as right and right being shown as wrong! Time and time again, after the battles erupting between enemy camps exhausted both groups, rifts had already formed that were difficult to heal.

Indeed, in this collective chaos, however harmful and destructive this ravenous “miscreant-spirit” has been, those naive immature spirits unable to rest their defense on a sensible system and who return “hate” for hate and “anger” for anger, have been just as detrimental. And thus, on one side are those miserable creatures who have rejected all their human values, have denied their past and their source of pride, and through an ever-increasing estrangement, have completely altered their nature-those irreverent, unloving, rootless, disbelieving slaves of their desires. And on the other side, up against these wretched creatures, are only those simpletons, deprived of the fighting spirit and ideal, who respond with anger, coercion, and brute force… For years on end, people grappled with the waves emerging from these opposing currents, resisted all these eddies, were assaulted again and again, and were repeatedly abandoned to hopelessness…

At this time, we await a community of devotees, who will “neutralize” these damaging currents. They will be respectful of the truth, hold the sake and pleasure of God over everything else, possess reason and conscience, have enlightened minds, radiant hearts, and souls that take flight in the realms high above. They will be reverent towards all the universal values we inherited from our forebears, to traditions and customs, to art and culture, and to morality and sound upbringing. This cadre would not overturn the spiritual roots and historical values that have held us on our feet for centuries. On the contrary, they would revive these in the face of changing world conditions; and, viewing each of these as a part of the national structure, would take complete ownership of them.

At a time when our sense of identity faces annihilation, this group of blessed ones-the possessors of this “sense of sacred suffering” who take upon themselves the task of its rescue-will applaud goodness and neutralize evil. They will do so by thwarting the internal decay and discord that has gnawed away at society for years on end, by ensuring a road for peace, and by removing the archaic methods, damaging fanaticisms, and monopolist designs used by both groups and which have crippled our society.

Today, when society’s ailments have reached their peak, when real enmity and our enemies have clearly emerged, and when the dialogue we have with the world to which we are connected gains strength with every passing day, we are exceedingly hopeful for humankind and hold the belief that we will rise once again.

Since all monotheistic scriptures come from the one and only God, we should view other scriptures as potentially enriching our understanding of our own scripture. But in the middle ages, almost all readers thought of revelation as a zero sum sport like tennis rather than a multiple win co-operative sport like mountain climbing.

In a zero sum game, any value or true spiritual insight I grant to another scripture somehow diminishes my own. This was the result of the influence of Greek philosophy’s emphasis on the logic of the excluded middle. Something is either true or it is false. There is no other option. If two propositions contradicted one another, one or both of them must be false. If my religion is true, yours must be false.

In modern terms, light could not be both a particle and a wave at the same time. Yet we now know that light is indeed both a particle and a wave at the same time.

This situation did not improve much in modern times. In the last two centuries, university academics have written many studies of comparative religion which they claim are objective and not distorted by their religious beliefs. Unfortunately, academics who treat other religions academically usually do not believe that other scriptures are actually Divinely inspired. Indeed, many academics do not believe that even their own scriptures are Divinely inspired.

They use the same kinds of explanation to understand a revealed religion that they would use to explain secular history and literature. I follow a different model, one I learned from Prophet Muhammad. For example, the Mishnah (an early third century compilation of the oral Torah), states, “Adam was created as an individual to teach you that anyone who destroys a single soul, Scripture imputes it to him as if he destroyed the whole world” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5).

And the Qur’an states, “one who kills a human being, unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land, would be as if he slew the whole people, and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people” (Qur’an 5:32). Academics explain the similarity of the two statements by assuming that since the Jewish statement is several centuries earlier than the Qur’an, Muhammad must have heard it from a Rabbi or other educated Jew in Medina.

But I believe Muhammad is a prophet of God who confirms the Torah of Prophet Moses. Muhammad has no need to learn this statement from another human being. Academics might reply that the statement is not found in the written Torah; it appears in the oral Torah, written by the Rabbis in the Mishnah more than 1000 years after Moses.

But the Rabbis maintain that the Mishnah is part of the oral Torah that was passed down from Moses through many generations, just as the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings have been passed down through the generations. Indeed, the Qur’an itself introduces this statement as follows, “It is because of this that We ordained for the Children of Israel ‘one who kills a human being …'” (Qur’an 5:32).

No prophet of God needs to be informed by another human what should be written in Holy Scripture. God is the source of all Divine inspiration. There are several verses in the Qur’an that mention things from the oral Torah. My perspective is that prophets and Holy Scriptures cannot in reality oppose one another because they all come from one source. Prophets are all brothers; they have the same father (God) and different mothers (motherlands, mother tongues, nations, cultures, and historical eras).

All of these produce different rituals and legal systems, but their theology can differ only in small and unessential details. As the sage of Konya, Jalal al-Din al-Rumi says, “Ritual prayer might differ in every religion, but belief never changes” (Fihi Mafih 49). Religions differ because the circumstances of each nation receiving them differ. Where the Scriptures differ, they cast additional light on each other. My belief is based on an important Hadith of Prophet Muhammad: a disciple of Muhammad named Abu Huraira relates, “The people of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and then explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. Allah’s Apostle said (to the Muslims). “Do not believe the people of the Book, nor disbelieve them, but say, ‘We believe in Allah, and whatever is revealed to us, and whatever is revealed to you.'”

Following Muhammad’s teaching, I too neither believe nor disbelieve the Qur’an. If I believed in the Qur’an, I would be a member of the Muslim ummah (community). But I cannot disbelieve in the Qur’an because I believe that Muhammad was a prophet and I respect the Qur’an as a revelation to a kindred people, in a kindred language. In fact, the people, the language and the theology are closer to my own people, language, and theology than that of any other on earth.

How does this perspective affect my understanding of their Qur’an and my Torah? I practice “hosgoru.” Unlike those in the past who played the zero sum game, I do not seek some verse in the Qur’an I can dispute or object to. Indeed, this is what the Qur’an itself teaches. “For every community We have appointed a whole system of worship which they are to observe. So do not let them draw you into disputes concerning this matter” (22:67).

One of the major differences between the Qur’an and the Torah is the Torah’s attention to details (names of people and places) and the Qur’an’s emphases on universals. The Torah has long lists of geographical locations and of genealogies that many people today, especially non-Jews, find boring.

The Qur’an rarely identifies locations, and often omits the names of the people it does mention, for example the prophet who appointed Talut to become the first king of Israel (2:246). Indeed, Muslim commentators disagree about many of these details. Some say the prophet who appointed Talut king of Israel was Samuel and others think it was Joshua or Simeon.

These disagreements occur because many commentators do not use the Bible to fill in the details for the generalities of the Qur’an. Sometimes the Qur’an refers to nameless Messengers sent to a nameless town and no additional details can be added because there is no parallel in the Torah (36:13-29). In this case, even the punishment is only a vague “single blast and all became corpses” (26:29).

This lack of detail points to the Qur’an’s universal and ongoing Divine call for all human societies to repent and reform themselves.

On the other hand, many Rabbis get caught up in the details of the Torah and even expand them into super details. Thus, the rules relating to dietary observance of Passover and prohibited work on Shabbat have multiplied endlessly.

We need to learn from the Sunnah of the prophet as narrated by Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded” (Bukhari Volume 1, Book 2, Number 38).

Another important lesson from the Prophet’s Sunnah, as narrated by his wife Aisha, says, “Whenever the Prophet was given an option between two things, he used to select the easier of the two as long as it was not sinful; but if it was sinful, he would remain far from it” (Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 147).

This is the path that I and most Reform Rabbis have taken in the last two centuries. If Orthodox Jews in the time of Muhammad had followed the prophet’s teaching, Reform Judaism (the largest of several different religious groups of Jews in North America) would have begun 14 centuries ago, instead of only two centuries ago.

The Qur’an was also far ahead of its time in many other ways. One of the most important ways is the Qur’an’s oft repeated statement that believers (Muslims) should believe in all the messengers of God. This message of religious pluralism and toleration is sorely needed in the 21st century.

The Qur’an states: “They say that none will enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian. That is their wishfulness. Say ‘Produce your proof if you are truthful'” (2:111).

At the time of Muhammad, both Orthodox Rabbis and Catholic Priests did claim that only their own believers would enter Paradise. The Qur’an instructs Muslims that this claim is not based on the Jewish or the Christian scriptures but only on the desires of those people who make these claims. In truth, nowhere in the Torah of Moses, the Zabur of David, or anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible is this claim that only Jews will enter Paradise asserted.

The great Sage Hillel, who lived in the first century prior to the birth of Jesus, taught that, “The righteous of all nations have a place in Paradise” (Tosefta Sanhedrin). Jesus also taught, “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 12:2).

But generations after the death of Jesus, claims were made in his name, that only those who believed Jesus was the son of God, who died on the cross to save all humans from going to Hellfire, would be able to enter Paradise. In reaction to these polemical Christian claims, some Talmudic Rabbis began to counter-claim that only Jews would enter Paradise.

Yet even then the Rabbis did not think that eternal punishment was the fate of all those excluded from Paradise. Gehenna-Hellfire was conceived of as a temporary abode generally believed to last a maximum of 12 months.

The great sage, Rabbi Akiba, stated, “The punishment of the wicked in Gehenna lasts 12 months” (Mishnah Eduyyot 2:10). This is repeated in the Talmud (Shabbat 33b), and elsewhere it is stated that sinners, both Jewish and non-Jewish, are punished in Gehenna-Hellfire for (up to) 12 months (Rosh HaShanah 17a).

Thus the Qur’an accurately states, “They say, ‘the Fire will not touch us except for a fixed number of days” (2:80). The Qur’an instructs Muslims to say to both Jews and Christians, “If the abode of the Hereafter with God is reserved for you alone, excluding other people, then long for death … but they will never long for it” (2:94-5).

So, the answer to those who claim that, “none will enter Paradise unless he is a Jew or a Christian,” is “No! Rather, whoever submits his whole being to God as one devoted to doing good, aware that God is seeing him, his reward is with his Lord, and all such will have no fear, nor will they grieve” (2:112).

Thus, the Qur’an affirms that those Rabbis who strayed from the words of Hillel, “The righteous of all nations have a place in Paradise,” were wrong. Those followers of Jesus who abandoned his teaching, “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places,” and instituted the doctrine that Saint Augustine espoused, “No one can find salvation except in the Catholic Church. Outside the Catholic Church one can have everything except salvation,” are also wrong.

Tragically, during many centuries of Medieval debate between the three religions, everyone thought that religion was a zero sum game (one winner or one truth vs. many winners or many truths, i.e. soccer or tennis vs. hiking or mountain climbing).

Thus, some Muslim commentators also began to take the same exclusionary view condemned by Prophet Muhammad by adding specific details of theological belief to the statements in the Qur’an that stress a simple and firm belief in the one and only God: “No! rather, whoever submits his whole being to God as one devoted to doing good, aware that God is seeing him, his reward is with his Lord, and all such will have no fear, nor will they grieve” (2:112).

And even more explicitly, “Those who believe (Muslims), those who advocate Judaism, Christians, Sabeans, whoever truly believes in God and the Last Day, and does good righteous deeds, surely their reward is with their Lord, they will not fear, nor will they grieve” (2:62).

Thank God, in 21st century America the majority of most religious groups now believe the teachings of the Qur’an cited above (2:112 and 2:62).

A survey of over 35,000 Americans in 2008 found that most Americans agree with the statement: many religions – not just their own – can lead to eternal life. Among those affiliated with a religious tradition, seven-in-ten say many religions can lead to eternal life. This view is shared by a majority of adherents in nearly all religious traditions, including 82% of Jews, 79% of Catholics, 57% of evangelical Protestants and 56% of Muslims (from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 2008, Pew Research Center).

Thus, in the 21st century United States most Christians, Jews, and Muslims have rejected the zero sum mind set and believe in the Qur’an’s teachings, “If God had so willed He could surely have made you a single community, but (He didn’t) in order to test you by what he has given you. Strive then, in competing in good works” (5:48). For ultimately, “On the Day of Resurrection God will judge between you about what you differed” (22:69).

Only those who reject God by disbelief or by unrepentant evil activities will be the losers when Judgment Day comes. But many, perhaps most, theologians will learn that they might not be as smart as they thought they were.

In conclusion, it is very important to understand that “religious pluralism is the will of God” is very different from religious, moral, or cultural relativism. Relativism teaches that all values and standards are subjective, and therefore there is no higher spiritual authority available for setting ethical standards or making moral judgments.

Thus, issues of justice, truth or human rights are, like beauty, just in the eye of the beholder. Most people, especially those who believe that One God created all of us, refuse to believe that ethics and human rights are simply a matter of taste. Religious pluralism as the will of God is the opposite of cultural or philosophical relativism.

The fundamental idea supporting religious pluralism is that religious people need to embrace humility in many areas of religion. All religions have always taught a traditional anti self-centered type of humility. Religious pluralism also opposes a religious, philosophical, and self righteous intellectual egoism that promotes a tendency to turn our legitimate love for our own prophet and Divine revelation into universal truths that we fully understand and know how to apply.

Religious pluralism teaches that finite humans, even the most intelligent and pious of them, cannot fully understand everything the way the infinite One does.

This is true, for every human being, even for God’s messengers themselves. When Prophet Moses, “who God spoke with face to face, as a person speaks with a friend” (Exodus 33:11) asks to see God face to face, he is told, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see My face and live” (33:20).

Similarly, in the Qur’an, Prophet Jesus admits to God, “You know everything that is within myself, whereas I do not know what is within Yourself” (7:116). When Prophet Jesus was asked, in private, by his disciples, “What will be the sign for your coming (back) and the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3) Jesus warns his disciples about all kinds of upheavals and false Messiahs that will come. Then Jesus concludes by saying, “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, not even the son: only the Father” (24:36).

A similar statement was made by Prophet Muhammad when he was asked, “Tell me about the Hour.” He said: “The one questioned about it knows no better than the questioner” (Muslim book 1 Hadith 1&4).

God taught the general principle of epistemological humility through his Prophet who taught his followers, “I am no novelty among the messengers. I do not know what will be done to me, or to you” (Qur’an 46:9).

Only on Judgment Day will the answer to the theological differences that divide us now be resolved. “To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open path. If God had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (He desires) to test you in what He has given you: so (compete) strive in all virtues as in a race. The goal of you all is Allah. He will (on Judgment Day) show you the truth of the matters in which you dispute” (5:48).

Sarahsi’s commentary on this incident is quite thoughtful: “The judge must pay extreme attention to this matter because of the following saying of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him: ‘The noble one should not be hopeful for your favor, nor should the weaker despair of your unfair treatment.’ If the noble one is positioned in the front, he or she may raise hopes for the judge’s favoring them, which will dishearten the weaker who will be concerned of a possible injustice incurred on them.” (Sarahsi 1983, 61)

Let us consider this incident. An ordinary citizen, who happens to be a Christian, complains and files a case against the Muslim President of the country without any concern of the consequences. The Chief Justice of the fantastic Abbasid Empire is Imam Abu Yusuf, the great jurist of the Hanafi school of thought, second only to Imam Azam. He hears both parties without being able to bring them to the same level of seating, for he is too shy to ask the Caliph to rise up from where he is and stand next to the plaintiff. This would normally be perceived as a minor, even insignificant lapse; but the judge never forgets this for his entire life, and considers it his most grievous error. In fact, it so grieves him, it is the one lapse he asks God to forgive him for. On the other hand, Sarahsi’s comment is also worth analysis, as he does not deem this incident an insignificant one, but takes a very meticulous approach when he says, “The judge must pay extreme attention to this matter.” We should also keep in mind that this incident is not narrated in a fictional work of stories or legends, but in one of the fundamental sources of Hanafi jurisprudence, and this makes the incident even more significant and makes it sufficient to reflect, singlehandedly, Islam’s very accommodating and tolerant policy towards non-Muslims.

Forbearance, or tolerance, is kindheartedness without expecting anything in return, and it is more comprehensive than a mere word or slogan in Islamic terminology. It is an injunction in the religion, as it is firmly established by Divine revelation and explained by the Prophet. This duty upon believers has taken a material form in the Age of Happiness, during the reign of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and throughout fourteen centuries of Islamic civilization. It is a product of the eternal and universal faith of Islam.

The Qur’an raised the columns of forbearance upon the Islamic foundations of life, universe, and mankind. Oneness is an attribute to God, and God alone; whereas all of creation is a manifestation of multiplicity, diversity, and differences. The basis of Islamic tolerance is that justice is obligatory. The Qur’anic description of God is “the Lord of the worlds,” the Lord of all mankind (Fatiha 1:1). As a result of this rationale, Islam embraces all the heritages of prophethood sent to all nations.

The Qur’an confirms the truthful acts of those who followed past prophets, corrects their faults or introduces new commandments (Maidah 5:48; Al Imran 3:3-4; A’raf 7:157-158).

Tolerant and just conduct towards non-Muslims was not only observed in the early days of Islam, but also in the following centuries. The Ottomans, from their onset in the late thirteenth century, particularly stand out for their political character. They prioritized avoiding internal conflicts with other principalities in Asia minor, and focused more on expanding westward to annex Byzantine towns. Their engagements with the non-Muslim people of these towns were never solely based on warfare and military power; instead, they cultivated relations based on fair treatment and tolerance. This diplomacy of fairness and forbearance paved the way for Orhan Bey (d. 1362) to have the gates of Bursa opened to him in peace in 1326 (Neşri 1983, 67; Akgündüz 1999, 430; Ihsanoğlu 1999, 422).

There is an overwhelming consensus among historians that the Ottomans were able to expand their territories in Asia Minor and the Balkans not only through military means but also through many social and ethical factors. Otherwise it is impossible to hold so many different ethnicities, with different faiths and languages, united (Eryılmaz 1990, 24). Sultan Mehmed II’s declaration on non-Muslims following the conquest of Istanbul is exemplary in terms of religious liberties, as he recognized the people’s freedom to worship in their own tradition; to conduct ceremonies as they did before; to travel freely; that their properties, shops, groves, farms, families, servants, and slaves were inviolable; that there was going to be no forced conversion to Islam; that their boys would not be conscripted; that they could choose their own community leaders; and that they would not be forced to work without compensation (Akgündüz 1999, 430; Ihsanoğlu 1999, 422-3).

The Ottoman policy on non-Muslims was mostly inspired from a judgment derived from a saying of the Prophet: “They (non-Muslims) have the same rights as we Muslims do; they are liable to the same duties as we Muslims are” (lahum ma lana wa alayhim ma alayna).

These rights and liberties the Ottomans recognized for the non-Muslim community become even more meaningful when compared with the situation in Europe during the same period of history. Bernard Lewis was visiting Turkey in the 1990s. In an interview for TRT (Turkish national network), the reporter asked him to comment on why, in the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, there is almost no record of Turkish travelers in Europe, whereas there were quite a number of European travelers who travelled across the Ottoman territories. I am summarizing Lewis’ answer as follows: “In those centuries there was no obstacle for Europeans to travel in the Ottoman land, for the Ottoman government was a state of rule and law. Europeans could visit the country on a visa (musta’man), travel, and follow up on their business freely. The travelers were of different religions, but they could freely gather with their co-believers or the locals who spoke their own language and hold services in their places of worship. They did not feel homesick or alienated. On the other hand, however, a Muslim could no way dare to visit a European country in those centuries without forsaking his life. Fanaticism was at its peak in Europe.”

The Ottomans had almost no competition in championing the freedom of religious belief and practice as a cornerstone of social order. The Ottomans also had non-Muslim groups represented in the parliament as ministers and at other senior levels; there were sometimes almost as many as fifty non-Muslim members of parliament, especially in the nineteenth century.

A more recent event was when Assyrian Christians, in the city of Mardin, had to confront the Ottoman state in 1915. Following the internal conflicts between Muslims and Armenians during World War I, in which the Tashnak and Hinchak groups of Armenians massacred Turkish villages, the Union and Progress government of the Ottoman state passed a decision to send all Armenian citizens – with the exception of those residing in Istanbul – into exile. Despite the fact that Assyrian Christians were not involved in any of those incidents, state officers in Mardin wanted to send them into exile too, simply because they were also Christians. In the chaotic environment of war, murder and violence followed this decision, and Assyrians from Midyat armed themselves and gathered in the village of Aynverd (Gulgozu). They did not obey calls to concede their weapons, for they did not trust the state’s army. Shaikh Fethullah Hamidi, of the Mardin region, announced a religious ruling that it would not be lawful according to Islam to harm Assyrians, and that their lives, properties, and honor were inviolable. He further communicated with state officers and, after three months of persistent efforts, secured a warrant of safety for the Assyrians. Assyrians never forgot his selfless stance and hard work, and as a sign of appreciation, they hang his picture next to their patriarch in the Mardin Deyruzzaferan Patriarchate.

Inspired by these ideas, Fethullah Gülen, one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in 2013,” and the Hizmet Movement, which has developed around this thought and guidance, are trying to reflect the same spirit of dialogue among different nations, religions, and cultures around the world. Born out of Turkey, this movement is now active in around 140 countries. Their outreach extends to all walks of life, regardless of differences, and their achievements raise our hopes that the world can once more experience a time of tolerance and coexistence, at least to the same degree, if not higher, as in the historical examples described in this article.

Dr. Yildirim is a professor of Qur’anic exegesis in the School of Divinity, Fatih University, Istanbul.

References

• Akgündüz, Ahmet, Said Öztürk. 1999. Bilinmeyen Osmanlı, Istanbul: Osmanlı Araştırmaları Vakfı Yayınları.
• Eryılmaz, Bilal. 1990. Osmanlı Devletinde Gayrimüslim Tebaanın Yönetimi, Istanbul: Risale Yayınları.
• Gibbons, Herbert Adams. 1998. Osmanlı imparatorluğunun Kuruluşu, Translated by R. Hulusi (Özdem), Istanbul: 21.Yüzyıl Yay.
• Hamidi, Muhammed Sadık. 2002. Mardini Es-Seyyid Eş-Şeyh Hamid Evlad ve Torunları, Istanbul,.
• Ihsanoğlu, Ekmeleddin. 1999. Osmanlı Devleti Tarihi I-II, Istanbul: Zaman Gazetesi Yayınları.
• Serahsî, Şemsu’l-eimme. 1983. el-Mebsut, Istanbul: Çağrı Yayınevi.

In the seventeenth century, nearly seven centuries after Ibn Sina, the Dutch scientist Anton van Leeuwenhoek (also referred to as the “Father of Microbiology”) observed microorganisms under a microscope (van Leeuwenhoek 1980). With his fundamental discovery, he showed that there were living organisms that were not visible to the naked eye. What van Leeuwenhoek did not realize was that these microorganisms (e.g. pathogen: a disease causing microbe) could actually be the cause of infections. This is contrary to the discoveries made by Ibn Sina seven centuries earlier that microorganisms could be the cause of infections despite the extremely limited evidence for the existence of microorganisms at the time. Nearly two centuries after Leeuwenhoek’s first observation of microorganisms, in 1876, Robert Koch, a German physician, postulated that microorganisms could actually be the cause of infection and therefore disease by his fundamental observation that the blood of an infected animal that contained pathogenic bacteria that, when transferred to a healthy animal caused the recipient animal to become sick (Koch 1999).

Let’s take a moment to reflect on Ibn Sina’s life story to encourage readers to learn more about him (McGinnis 2010) and his contributions to modern medicine and science.

Ibn Sina was born in 980 in in the village of Afshana near Bukhara, Uzbekistan (previously known as Khorasan) to a local governor named Abdullah, from Balkh, and his wife Setareh, a local from Afshana. Thanks to his father’s position as a governor as well as his background as a scholar, Ibn Sina had access to an excellent education in Bukhara, which at the time was the capital and intellectual center of the Samanids. Ibn Sina was taught by some of the most famous scholars of the time in the sciences and in Islamic theology. By the age of 18, Ibn Sina had already mastered the sciences of his day and had become a practicing physician. In addition to his expertise in medicine, for which he became world-renown, he was also a well-known philosopher, astrophysicist, mathematician, and theologian. He spent his life educating people, treating patients and writing books that not only enlightened the people of his age but later generations throughout the world as well.

Although Ibn Sina was considered one of the greatest Muslim philosophers of the medieval age he was a widely respected and well-known physician and was known as the “Prince of Physicians” in the West, and al-Sheikh al-Rais (Leader of the Scholars) among his students and colleagues (McGinnis 2010, 227). His gigantic medical encyclopedia al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine), comprising of upwards of a million words, has been used as the standard medical textbook up until the seventeenth century and is still widely considered a valuable resource for the study of medicine. It was printed thirty-six times in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries alone (Ullman 1978) and is regarded as one of the most influential books in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Siraisi 2001).

The Canon of Medicine consists of five books with each book subdivided into various subjects, subsidiary subjects, summaries, and sections. The first book, also called al-Kulliyyat (The Collection), discusses the scientific background of medicine and anatomy such as physiology, symptomatology, and the principles of therapy. The second book has an account of the therapeutic properties of substances used in medicine. The third book is devoted to pathology and specific or localized ailments. Diseases that affect the whole body, such as fever, are discussed in the fourth book. Ibn Sina explained the mixing of drugs in the final volume, which is a book on pharmacology. Ibn Sina, in his Canon, derives his system of medicine from the Greco-Roman physician Galen (Galen of Pergamon, modern day Bergama, Izmir, Turkey, 129-200 CE) who himself based his approach on Hippocrates (460-370 BCE). Ibn Sina also benefited from ar-Razi (Rhazes in Latin, 865-925 CE) and al-Majusi (Haly Abbas in Latin, died circa 990) to present a systematized and comprehensive view of the medical sciences of the time (Prioreschi 2003).

Ibn Sina is only one of many great minds of the Muslim World during the medieval era. There were other great minds such as Ibn Rushd (Averroes in Latin), Ali Kuscu, al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Omar Khayyam and many more whose multifaceted studies encompassed diverse scholarly fields such as exegesis, law, logic, metaphysics, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. The great Mesopotamia and Andalusia Civilizations – civilizations that were built by these brilliant scientists and philosophers – established the foundations of the science, art and philosophy of our age. The knowledge developed by the Muslim scholars was later transmitted to Europeans and enabled Europe to emerge from the Dark Ages and into the Renaissance.

A Renaissance is also needed for the Muslim world today. This can only be possible when they can raise a new generation of scholars like Ibn Sina who can lead the society with their groundbreaking findings and illuminating interpretations.

References

• Colgan, Richard. 2009. Advice to the Young Physician. Springer, New York.
• Koch, Robert. 1999. A Life in Medicine and Bacteriology. ASM Press, Washington, D.C.
• Life and work of Anton van Leeuwenhoek of Delft in Holland; 1632-1723. Municipal Archives, Delft, 1980.
• McGinnis, Jon. 2010. Avicenna. Oxford University Press, New York.
• Prioreschi, Plinio. 2003. Medieval Medicine vol. 5: Medieval Medicine, Horatius Press, Omaha, Nebraska.
• Siraisi, Nancy. 2001. Medicine and the Italian Universities 1250-1600. Leiden, The Netherlands.
• Ullman, Manfred. 1978. Islamic Medicine. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
• United States National Library of Medicine, MS A 53
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/themes/science/index.html

This is what Osman Sahin does to relax. Dance. But he is no choreographer, he is a calligrapher-one who has mastered the art of Classical Turkish-Islamic calligraphy for over twenty-five years. He calls his calligraphy style “the dancing of the pen.”

His eyes, eagerly glued to the paper, anticipate his next move. His hands lift with each pen stroke, gliding to the rhythm of his breath, rising with every new thought and slowing to the pace of his heartbeat.

To many of us, calligraphy is merely fancy handwriting used to record information, but to a Turk calligraphy is much more. It is an art-a grand form of art-with its origins dating back many centuries. The Turks refer to calligraphy as Hat (pronounced like “hut”). In its literal sense, Hat means beautiful writing practiced and perfected throughout time as a way to combine spiritual and functional writing with the medium of art.

It is however the spiritual element of Hat that is most striking to viewers. Because the drawing of human figures is not favored in Islam, Muslim artists throughout time have channeled their talents toward the art of calligraphy.

“Hat is all about symmetry, harmony and measurements,” explains Osman Sahin. “It is the dance of the pen and paper. It’s music to the eyes. Hat is like composed music that soothes and refreshes the spirit and brings peace and harmony to the soul. It enables the person to reach inner tranquility.”

The origins of Hat date back to the early Islamic era when manuscripts of the Qur’an were being recorded and handwritten. However, at that time there was little emphasis on the style of writing but greater emphasis on the message being revealed. It was centuries later, during the Ottoman Era, that Turks focused on the style of writing.

It is a common saying among Muslims that “the Qur’an was revealed in Mecca, recited in Egypt and written in Istanbul.” The Ottoman Turks produced and perfected various styles of script that were passed on throughout the Muslim world.

They loved and respected the art of Hat as it flourished in the great city of Istanbul, which was at the time the focal point of the Ottoman State, and it was there that history’s finest works were produced.

Hat has been used throughout Turkey in enchanting ways to decorate palaces, mosques, museums and fountains for many centuries. The renowned Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, referring to the art produced by Muslim calligraphers during the Andalusian period, said, “Muslim calligraphers five hundred years ago reached where I want to reach today.” In present-day Turkey, there are over twenty million artwork treasures that bear witness to this history.

The beauty present in Islamic-Turkish calligraphy is said to be a direct reflection of the inner soul of the calligrapher. As Osman Sahin himself says, “Whenever I am stressed, I pick up my pen and draw. This is because the art of Hat has a therapeutic aspect to it. During the Ottoman era, some of the sick were treated by using fine arts like Hat together with soothing Sufi music and the art of Ebru (water marbling) drawing.”

This extraordinary art form can only be executed with the use of pens made of bamboo cuttings, preferably Balinese bamboo. “The bamboo is cut at a thirty-degree angle and split in half from top to bottom,” demonstrates Osman Sahin. “Even with the technology present today, it is not possible to write better or more beautifully using anything other than bamboo. The squeaking sound you hear when using the bamboo pen is said to be the weeping of the pen. It is said that the pen weeps so as to not fall into the hands of the ignorant.”

It is no surprise that there is wonder and magic in Turkish-Islamic calligraphy. It is almost as if the art moves and comes alive. Sweet appearance follows a slow, inner flow. There is silence, yet harmonious and metaphysical music echoes. However, this music cannot be heard by the ears but must be heard within.

He breathed in and leaned back comfortably in his chair, looking deep into his finished calligraphy as it stared back at him. The dance was over, the rhythm ceased, and the music was muffled. The bamboo pen lay there on the table, weeping with heartache, unaware of when the next dance will be.

Based on a sensible interpretation of the cosmos and events, we considered the arrival and departure of each existence in this world very normal, a process taking place in a gentle manner; this mysterious journey instilled in us profound spiritual expansion, for it was a means of reunion, each action and replacement was like being discharged of duty and freedom from the burdens of service at the end of which await the realms of divine favors and rewards.

There may be such people even today, but those days in the past were unique, just like the people therein who were deep in the heart. They were unique in the way they deliberated on this world and the hereafter, on matters like departing for the Almighty, bidding farewell to this life, and greeting the afterlife. As they reached puberty and started developing self-awareness, a test anxiety would fill their spirits, then they would spend their days in self-accounting. Their feelings and thoughts were occupied with fear and awe, their hearts beating with love and enthusiasm, eyes seeking the divine mercy, hearts satiated with imploring, and with such feelings they would walk beyond this universe as if they were stepping into their wedding night. They were often in a state of fear governed by constant hope and alertness, for they knew this life was but temporary and short, and that all our experiences and delights are destined for termination, and the time for our appointed hour of departure is unknown to us. They were hopeful, for the road to follow is evident, the target is over there and the destination is known. Their paths were bathed in the light of inspiration by their faith and spiritual well-being, and by their vast conscience over a domain that was way beyond their physical capacity.

Unlike those unfortunate ones who cry in the pangs of having incarcerated themselves in their limited level of perception, and who observe the entire creation and all divine signs from such a narrow perspective and waste their lifetimes in the dark aisles of corporeality, believers set forth for a new dimension of life every morning and every night; they are receptive to what may descend from the beyond and they welcome any surprise in submission. Believers restore and purify any hardship or misfortune that has struck through the filters of patience, and for them such hardships are nothing less than bathing to wash off the dirt. They see the beautiful as nothing less than beauty and they deepen their perception with praise. Those things that appear ugly believers beautify with the rays of beauty from their conscience, and they pursue a colorful life.

Indeed, once upon a time, humankind experienced such a life filled with joyous enthusiasm, as if we were strolling on the vibrant slopes of the life beyond. We were informed of the beginning and the end of our life, its meaning, and what it offers for tomorrow. We knew where the thoroughfare we were on was going to reach as well as we knew the directions to our home. At times, we were afflicted by anxiety regarding our path and concerns about what would become of us; but, at the same time, with firm belief that everything was linked with His vast mercy, we fixed our eyes on the furthest limits and our inner vision on the horizon and beyond, and sent our thoughts in the direction of our inner disposition seeking His pleasure. We were not much concerned with anything other than these; we did not occupy ourselves with how events unfolded; our rhythm of action was not affected by thousands of concentric calculations in a complete correlative unity nor by developments apparently occurring in an unfavorable direction. We believed as long as we could employ our willpower up to its potential all problems could be overcome as a result of divine help. We always managed to discover contentment in our soul and proceeded on our course.

We had a powerful voice then; we had a word to utter for everyone, and our presence conveyed a deliberate message for all humanity. We regarded one another with compassion and mercy, and embraced everything and everyone with love. Satanic sparks that seldom turned up were weathered in the atmosphere of our conscience, softened, and then transformed into some sort of light and returned thus to their source. By and large, we were all at peace and breathed serenity.

Our joy and pleasures were forever, sorrow and grief temporary. If we moaned once, we woauld cheer ten times; in return for one ruin we would delight in countless joys. Like a baby peacefully sleeping in a cradle and nursed in comfort with lullabies, we were in a trouble-free environment with pure wishes and crystal-clear dreams. Concerns and anxieties were like clouds moving above us dropping temporary shade; their passing was momentary, and it was lit up all around. The days were so, and so were we . . .

Then, some kind of moth infested the spirit of our community-the beginning of this accursed period dates back a few centuries. It nibbled at the roots of the spirit and meaning that made us what we were. Heavily wounded and rotten in many aspects, it seemed almost impossible for this entity to stand by itself. Winds of opposition were shaking and eroding it while breaking its branches and causing cracks here and there, heaping heavy blows so as to kill it off. At a time when the world really needed a just, balanced, and truthful power, it was disqualified from its capacity to show direction to nations and to determine world events; its wonderful administration and influence completely faded. It was a long retreat; its voice was not heard, nor was it listened to. It kept losing rank and it was far from preventing this dragging down. It drifted toward an unknown end as it was transforming into something else while at the same time nations and communities that were once either brothers in faith or citizens under the same rule were now turned into enemies of one another.

Traditions and customs were being knocked down one by one across a wide region. Religious and national attitudes that complemented one another, an exemplary social order that had lasted for centuries, cultures that voiced the collective worldview of millions of people, the arts and the human spirit, the sense of history, all were being stripped off their soul, turning them into lifeless corpses. It was such a plague of metamorphosis under various names and titles that cast away what was local, replacing it with the junk of others. There were so many people, especially from the elite, who transformed during this rather rapid change, so that in the face of all that was happening, the masses twisted their original makeup, jumped from one fantasy onto another, and moved away from their own selves.

All these events were nothing but the death throes of a glorious civilization, humanity denying its own nature, as if peeling off its own skin, and trading its soul for some rambling notions devoid of spirit. High human virtues and ideals were being sacrificed for blind imitation.

Today, our eyes observe the strength and vigor of the human spirit, our hopes are fixed on the door of the All-Merciful that we believe is not completely closed to us, our hearts are expecting additional divine blessings, and we are fully convinced that we will revive, even though we appear like a corpse rotten for hundreds of years. If waiting is a condition, then we are ready to wait for another three or even four hundred years with this hope and faith. May our Lord, the All-Merciful Who is aware of our expectations, not make us suffer from other misfortunes.

Unfortunately, the biggest millennial issue was the Y2K syndrome. Instead of focusing on this temporary problem, we should have been concentrating on evaluating the century we so recently left, and devising ways to improve people’s mental and spiritual capacity. However the focus was Y2K, which showed once more that advances in technology and science are not enough to make us happy. Now that this particular “crisis” has passed, to what issue should we turn our attention? In our opinion, we should focus on our need for a new philosophy to unite our hearts and minds.

Science and religion have been separated for centuries, and religion has been accused of being implausible and superfluous. But during the last years of the twentieth century, we saw some new approaches to understanding religion and reconsidering human beings as believers. Despite this positive development, some futurists still claim that the next century will be one of religious polarization. The strongest answer to this claim is to understand the meaning and purpose of-life: “Altruism, beauty, and sincerity are the essentials of the world. No matter what happens, the world will come to those essentials.”

The continued call for interfaith and intercivilizational dialogue are strong indications that the next century will be one of mutual understanding. This is the position taken by the author of our first article, who writes: “I believe and hope that the world of the new millennium will be a happier, more just, and more compassionate place, contrary to the fears of some people. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism all come from the same root, have almost the same essentials, and are nourished from the same source. Although they have lived as rival religions for centuries, the common points among them and their shared responsibility to build a happy world for all creatures of God make interfaith dialogue among them necessary. This dialogue has now expanded to include the religions of Asia and other areas. The results have been positive.”

The second coming of Jesus is another factor for hope. Perhaps he is the one who will unite our hearts and minds, and remind us of the reason behind creation. In this issue, one of our authors deals with this topic from an Islamic point of view.

We sincerely hope that the new millennium justifies our optimistic expectations…

The era of illumination which began with the coming of our Prophet, upon him be peace, lasted for centuries. Then, we began to lose the dynamism of our civilization, to collapse. As a result, we came to regard the enemy as more powerful than ourselves. Our power of will and strength of spirit were paralysed. We sought excuses for our defeats, and considered the enemy invincible. The people, in consequence, lost their hope and resolve.

For many centuries we have deluded ourselves into believing our enemies irresistible, singing the praises of their military superiority. On occasions, we have even accused our ancestors of failing to match the technical advances of our opponents and have spoken ill of them. At other times, we have moaned that the enemy is cruel and pitiless. What we have not done is to criticize ourselves and honestly evaluate our own attitudes. In doing so, we have inflicted further heavy blows to the hope and resolve of people. It will remain impossible to establish the real reasons for our collapse, impossible to achieve a true revival as long as we continue to ascribe our defeats only to the military or technical superiority of the enemy and the superior number of their mechanized troops.

So ask yourselves, and then tell me, have you actually fulfilled your obligations? Have you been able to pursue the right road in your activities? Do you have enough will-power and resistance to overcome the obstacles that you face? Are your thoughts and actions in conformity with your beliefs? Have you been able to keep clear of such sinister motivating forces as hatred, malice and vengeance? And your plans and projects–are they carefully, accurately and appropriately thought out?

Only those afflicted with paralysis of will-power and spirit are so blind to their own faults that they busy themselves in finding fault with others. Such poor souls will never be able to perceive the truth, nor make a spiritual recovery, unless they admit that they are themselves fallible.

Every defeat and decline from greatness arises, first of all, from spiritual bankruptcy, and it will continue until there is spiritual recovery. What is most ominous for the well-being of the community is that the spiritually bankrupt individuals do not hold themselves responsible for the decay of the social order, and persist in laying the blame for it on others.

For God’s sake, stop blaming others, and allow yourself to carry a little of the blame. Be self-critical, at least a little. If indeed you are on the right road, if indeed your hearts are set on the service of the truth, and fully alert to your responsibilities, then no one will be able to do you any harm. Remember that only by the Will of God does harm or good come to anyone. Remember that the way has always been paved by Divine Destiny for those pure, loving souls who are determined to serve and support the truth.

How often has a small, resolute band, devoted to jihad, overcome, by God’s leave, a more numerous host. Many devout, godly persons have spent their whole lives in the way of God, and not quailed in front of whatever has befallen them. They have neither been weakened, nor brought low. They are the fortunate ones who are welcomed by the angels, and it is they who will be commemorated by succeeding generations.

Technology is the tool of civilization, and for Islamic civilization to have been such a leading force in the world for several centuries, it must have been based on important technological achievements.

The blossoming of science and culture in Islamic civilization was the result of the increasing quality of material life in its cities. The material prosperity, the varied local industries, the local and international trade, and the flourishing science and culture, in these cities, were all linked together, and would have been impossible without a developing technology. If Islam was the force behind the rise of cities, as is frequently asserted, then it was also the force behind all aspects of the prosperity of these cities and hence the technological efforts associated with it.

In addition to the positive effects of the ideology of Islam as a religion, Islam achieved a unique effect in the history of mankind. It united the civilizations and populations of the vast expanse of territory which lies between the borders of China and the Atlantic. This area comprised the lands of those ancient civilizations which were also the seat of later civilizations in the Near East, such as the Hellenistic. It remained under one government during the first centuries of Islam. Moreover, even after the rise of various dynasties, the region benefited from the cultural unity Islam provided. Islam abolished the barriers which had isolated these countries from each other, so that the whole area now had one religious tradition and one literary and scientific language. The cultural unity also ensured free passage and free trade from China in the east to Spain in the west. Scientists and men of letters were free to travel, and crossed vast distances to meet other scholars. Moreover, although the Umayyads in Spain did not acknowledge the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad, there always exited links between Spain and the Eastern territories under Islamic rule.

TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY

The traditional view of Western historians is that European culture is the direct descendant of the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. According to this theory, the works of classical authors–mostly in Latin, but some in Greek–were preserved by the Church during the centuries that followed the fall of the Roman Empire, to re-emerge as a potent source of inspiration in the later middle Ages and the Renaissance. Few would deny the strong influence of classical literature on European thought. Until recently, the works of Homer, Thucydides and the Greek dramatists, of Tacitus, Virgil and Horace, to name but a few, were part of the cultural background of every educated European. In science, however, the situation is very different. During the sixth century after the Hijra (twelfth century CE) the writings of such scholars as al-Farabi, al-Ghazali, al-Farghani (Afragamus), Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) were translated into Latin, and became known and were esteemed in the West. The works of Aristotle, soon to become the predominant influence on European thought, were translated from the Arabic together with the commentaries of Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd to the medieval Europeans. These commentaries were as important as the works of Aristotle himself in forming European scientific and philosophical thought. Many other scientific works, which had originally been translated from Greek into Arabic centuries earlier, were now translated into Latin. However, most of these were from the Hellenistic period, and though they were written in Greek, their authors came from all the countries of the Near East and eastern Mediterranean. It seems, therefore, that some European writers, being deeply appreciative of the literary masterpieces of Greece and Rome, have been led to believe that Western civilization, in all its aspects, was based upon Greek and Roman foundations. This is not the case with science and technology.

Charles Singer has discussed some of the points already touched upon. The Graeco-Roman heritage was built upon the great civilizations of the Near East and, furthermore, the major achievements in science and technology that are called Hellenistic and Roman were mainly Near Eastern achievements due to the scholars and artisans of Egypt and Syria. The pre-Islamic civilizations from Spain to Central Asia and northern India were inherited by Islam. Under the influence of Islam and the Arabic language, the science and technology of these regions was developed and improved. Referring to the Eurocentrism of Western historians, Singer wrote: ‘Europe, however, is but a small peninsula extending from the great land masses of Afrasia. This is indeed its geographical status and this, until at least the thirteenth century CE, was generally also its technological status.’ In skill and inventiveness during most of the period CE 500 to 1500, Singer continues: ‘the Near East was superior to the West… For nearly all branches of technology the best products available to the West were those of the Near East… Technologically, the West had little to bring to the East. The technological movement was in the other direction.’ We shall now indicate (see, S. Charles, et al., A History of Technology, 8 vols, Oxford, 1954) how this technology transfer occurred, and give some examples of the transfer of ideas and techniques from Islam to the West.

The adoption by Europe of Islamic techniques is reflected by the many words of Arabic derivation that have passed into the vocabularies of European languages. In English these words have often, but not always, entered the language from Italian or Spanish. To cite but a few examples: in textiles–muslin, sarsanet, damask, taffeta, tabby; in naval matters–arsenal, admiral; in chemical technology–alembic, alcohol, alkali; in paper–ream; in foodstuffs–alfalfa, sugar, syrup, sherbet; in dyestuffs–saffron, kermes; in leather-working–Cordovan and Morocco. As one would expect, Spanish is particularly rich in words of Arabic origin, especially in connection with agriculture and irrigation. We have, for example, tahona for a mill, acena for a mill or water-wheel, acequia for an irrigation canal.

Many Arabic works on scientific subjects were translated into Latin in the later middle Ages. The translation bureau in Toledo in the twelfth century CE, where hundreds of such works were rendered into Latin, is a notable example of this activity. There was, unfortunately, nothing comparable in the field of technology, in which direct translations from Arabic were extremely rare. About CE 1277, in the court of Alfonso X of Castile, a work in Spanish entitled Li-bros del Saber de Astronomia was compiled under the direction of the King, with the declared objective of making Arabic knowledge available to Spanish readers. It includes a section on time keeping, which contains a weight-driven clock with a mercury escapement. We know from other sources that such clocks were constructed by Muslims in Spain in the eleventh century , that is about 250 years before the eight-driven clock appeared in northern Europe. About CE 1277 the secrets of Syrian glass-making were communicated to Venice under the terms of a treaty made between Bohemond VII, titular prince of Antioch, and the Doge. Such direct examples of technology transfer are still comparatively rare but more will undoubtedly come to light as research proceeds.

For the moment, we can indicate several points in space and time where the exchange of ideas took place. Relations between Christian Europe and the Islamic world were not always hostile. Muslim rulers were often enlightened men and tolerant towards their Christian subjects, an attitude enjoined upon them by the precepts of the Qur’an. Furthermore, commercial considerations led to the establishment of communities of European merchants settled in Byzantium, where they made contact with Swedish traders traveling down the Dnieper. There were particularly close commercial ties between Fatimid Egypt and the Italian town of Amalfi in the fourth and fifth centuries AH (tenth and eleventh centuries CE). The ogival arch, an essential element of Gothic architecture, entered Europe through Amalfi–the first church to incorporate such arches being built at Monte Casino in CE 1071. Some historians think that the influence of the Crusades on European culture has probably been exaggerated, but transmission certainly occurred, as we have seen in the case of Syrian glass-making. Certainly, however, the mast fruitful exchanges took place in the Iberian Peninsula, where over many centuries the generally tolerant rule of the Umayyad caliphs and their successors permitted friendly relationships between Muslims and Christians. Muslim operations in agriculture, irrigation, hydraulic engineering, and manufacture were an integral part of everyday life in the southern half of the peninsula, and passed from Spain into Italy and northern Europe. These transmissions were not checked by the Reconquista. Indeed, they were probably accelerated, since the Christians took over the Muslim installations and maintained them in running order in the ensuing centuries. The Muslim irrigation systems with their associated hydraulic works and water-raising machines remained as the basis for Spanish agriculture and were in due course transferred to the New World. Other installations passed into Christian hands. Industrial plants, such as the paper mill at Jativa near Valencia, were taken over. Two large water-clocks on the banks of the Tagus at Toledo were found by the Christians where they continued in operation for at least fifty years. These few examples must suffice as indicators of the passage of Muslim ideas into Europe.

CONCLUSION

The contributions of Islamic civilizations to science, notably mathematics and astronomy, have long been recognized. The application of this scientific expertise to technology, however, has been neglected. The story of Islamic technology is far from complete. Research in this area is still at an early stage and, notwithstanding what has been published so far, contributions by Islam to science and technology have yet to be fully revealed. During the nineteenth and the first quarter of the twentieth centuries, Western research into Islamic science yielded outstanding results, but only after a long period of silence has that interest now been revived. There is still a need for additional co-ordinated research if significant results are to be obtained. The field of alchemy/chemistry and chemical technology is a case in point. At present this is an almost totally neglected area in which few seem to have taken even a slight interest since the admirable research several decades ago of Kraus, Ruska, Stapleton and Wiedemann.

(For more information, see, A. Y. al-HASSAN and D. R. HILL, Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988.)

The earth in springtime is a wonderful image and instance of universal renewal. Grass, trees and soil-in a thumbnail portion of which countless organisms are nurtured-all together come back to life. Take a walk amongst the living creatures-how they sally forth, putting on their uniforms of renewal and rejoicing in growth! How seemingly lifeless things come to life, like armies called out to parade, transforming the earth into a cheerful, multi-coloured paradise! Thus the spring puts on show innumerable signs of global renewal. Here a sentient, animate creature panting, heaving itself forward, in a mighty effort to achieve self-renewal. There, sprouting plant-forms pushing and struggling against whatever hardship surrounds them to emerge into the light in a cluster of shoots. And there, seeds scattered in thistle down, blown along with so many other kinds by winds obedient to the season, and pollen carried upon the legs of busy insects to fertilize the eager flowers, all alike actively seeking their renewal and continuance of life. And where the effort for self-renewal is not made, a decomposing and sinking back into the soil, there to be consumed without hope of renewed emergence.

Man too must, like every other creature, make the effort for self-renewal, individually and collectively. The more that communities and societies revive and rejuvenate themselves in mind and spirit, the better they are able to shoulder the world-wide responsibilities. That is accomplished by enlightening the sciences with the truth of religion, by applying technology with the wisdom of faith, and by carrying the message of revival to all people. Those communities who fail to renew themselves in this way will never be safe from destruction and the chains of captivity.

Self-renewal must not be confused, as it often is, with the indulgence of mere novelty and the latest fashions which is mere cosmetic covering up of defects. True renewal is providing the community with immortality through the water of life from the fountain of Khadr1.

True renewal is seeking and obtaining higher and purer levels of contemplation. It is preserving the purity of seed and root, of upholding the values refined and handed down over the centuries in association with the knowledge and ideas of modern times. It is sheer delusion to make outward forms of dress a measure of modernity or backwardness, and another delusion to suppose people will long be taken in by so shallow a criterion.

Self-renewal takes place in the metaphysical, not the physical, realm and is a revival of the spirit and of the spiritual life; the term ‘renewal’ is not seriously used for any other kind of renovation.

Renewal is true insofar as it engages in and uses modern scientific developments and technological facilities as means to increase our knowledge of the universe. However, we must constantly hold up to our hearts the mirror of self-examination so that our understanding is truly and meaningfully renewed.

An individual who has succeeded in renewing himself may be considered an enduring support to the well-being of the community. A society which comprises many such individuals becomes an important element in the balance of the world. But certainly there cannot be a society-wide renewal without sufficient numbers of individuals who have truly renewed themselves. Such people have hearts radiant with faith and minds soaring into different realms in quest of ‘bright days’, people who each moment renew the quality of their consciousness of that which is holy and true. Further, it is necessary that individuals of this calibre be followed by successors willing and able to hold aloft their thoughts and ideals like a torch.

The Ummayyads were unable to save themselves from destruction at the hands of powerful rivals because, as a dynasty, they proved incapable of carrying on the revival of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al- ‘Aziz: they wallowed in corruption and passed away in humiliation. Almost the same is true of the Abbasids, and of the Ummayyads in Andalusia, and of the Ottoman Turks of the 18th century. These magnificent states decayed and disintegrated in a similar manner, at the same time receiving heavy blows from external enemies. They applied themselves to Latin and Greek philosophy in the hope of sparking a renewal of their spirit thereby. This proved no remedy at all, rather it accelerated their destruction. Worse, in the case of the Ottomans, it caused them to deviate from their essential line of development and engage in a mindless imitativeness of their enemies so that the Ottoman intelligentsia became something of a laughing stock in Europe.

Neither the ‘New Regime’2 nor the massacre of the Janissaries, nor the Imperial Edict proclaimed in Gulhane Park3 by some callow and fanciful imitators of the West could open the road to a revival for the Ottoman society. Indeed, the reverse is true, that such measures stifled that society and threw it into a deathlike coma. We do not deny that there were some positive aspects to these movements but these were of so localized a nature as to have no bearing on the negative outcome. It can even be argued that the evident weaknesses of the Ottoman regime, disguised by these reforms, became thereby more insidious and therefore more dangerous. Such inappropriate remedies had no more long-term usefulness than sedating a patient suffering convulsions or applying a truss to a hernia.

Almost all the promises made by such dead, unintelligent souls who had lost their own way have proved a delusion which have led, and continue to lead, the ordinary mass of people astray. I do not know whether we shall be able to teach true renewal to those who have been, over and over again, deceived and misled.

Notes

1. A sage and saint believed to have been a leading a life unique to himself for centuries and to appear, at the right moment, to help those who are worthy, Those who are directly guided and educated by him are also believed to gain a kind of eternity referred to as ‘drinking the water of life from Khadr’s fountain’.

2. When the Ottoman Empire began to decline and suffer successive defeats, reforms were considered necessary. The ‘New Regime’ (nizam al-jadid) under Selim III was the result. Until the 18th century the Ottoman army had consisted of two main divisions, the State Guards (including Janissary troops) and the Cavalry units stationed in different parts of the empire and mobilized at need. Following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, signs of degeneration began to appear in the imperial army as well in other institutions. The decline intensified in the following centuries. Under Selim III an attempt to establish a new regime was instituted for the army and a new division created on the French model and with the name nizam al-jadid. However, this was not at all a fundamental reform; there were some superficial improvements but nothing of any lasting, positive significance.

3. This Edict, read out in Gulhane Park by Moustafa Rashed Pasha, the then Grand Vizier, proclaimed the so-called political reforms of Sultan ‘Abd al-Majid.