Then and Now
I
am pissed! To reach the age of 53 and only now learn that all of the history I
have been taught is Eurocentric and holier than Swiss cheese. That the made-up
wars this country has created in the Middle East is a load of crap (okay, I
already knew that). That the current administration has whipped up such hatred
for Muslims and the Middle East (and everybody else who is different than white
men) and is now in the Middle East selling weapons to the country that does and
has everything that president has dreamed of having: no protest, contained
women and complete control over the population. All of this is possible because
the history of the Middle East has been Orientalized by the West. If just the
history of Golden Age of Baghdad and the House of Wisdom would be enough to
show how much knowledge we use today that was derived from that time period, it
would even be safe to say that the European Renaissance would not have happened
without the Islamic Golden Age. The West owes so much to the East!
Though
there are many individuals that played an important part to this Golden Age of
Wisdom, Abu Raihan Muhammad Al-Beruni (973-1048) is one of the greats. Not only
is he still revered in Astronomy and Mathematics but he is also considered the
first Anthropologist as well as a historian. Al-Beruni was born in Khwarizm
and it is
believed he converted to Islam as an adult. (Ahmed, 09)
Al-Beruni’s
ability to speak several languages (Persian, Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit, and
Syriac) along with his extensive travel, made it possible to be one of the
leading writer and translators of world knowledge of the times. One of his most
famous books was Kitab al-hind or the
book of India. Unlike many of the
forefathers of Western Anthropology, “Al-Beruni's dispassionate commentary measures up to the
highest contemporary scientific standards in the social sciences.” (Ahmed, 09)
Ibn
Sina (980-1037) is another great scholar who had an enduring impact on Europe
and to the present day. He was a physician and philosopher of Persian decent. In
the field of medicine, Ibn Sina, “defined the contagiousness of tuberculosis,
and the spread of disease through water.” (Saadeh, 37) He was the author of the
medical book Al-Qanun, which was used
from the 12th to the 17th century. Ibn Sina was educated
in Sufism as well.
Both
of these men are examples of the best scholars of their time. Their influence
lasted well beyond the East and live on in the West. Would the space programs
of China, Russia and the US even exist without the astronomy and math advances
created by this period of advanced learning? And what about medicine? Today,
modern medicine can achieve organ transplants as well as eradicating major
diseases. Without Ibn Sina’s medical discoveries we wouldn’t have the field of
epidemiology.
The
most striking thing about both of these scholars, is that they were not just
scientist but very well rounded in the humanities. History, philosophy, sociology
and religion were equal parts of their training. What a refreshing concept. At
least in the United States, it has only been in the last 10 years that students
applying to medical school are encouraged to have a liberal arts background
because it makes them a better doctor. (NPR, 2015)
Another
the lesson from this time period is how vast libraries and volumes of knowledge
can be lost in such a short time. At the height of the Golden Age of Islam the
libraries of Baghdad contained vast volumes of books. But all of this was
tragically destroyed by the Mongol invasion
of Baghdad by Genghis Khan in 1258. All of the books were thrown in the river
and, “the mosques, libraries, homes and hospitals of the great city were all
destroyed.” (Bengoechea, 2016)
It is easy to
think of this as only a historical event and in no way possible in today’s
modern society. But the destruction of ancient sites in Palmyra, Syria by ISIS
and the dismantling of scientific data on climate change by the sitting
president of the United States brings new examples of knowledge being
destroyed.
Finally, what can be done to heal the divide
between the East and West? Some possibilities are: a dedicated campaign to
teach a more complete world history from early grades upward; to learn about
the disinformation practices throughout history and how to stop them; continue
to share scholarly information; and let go of the Eurocentric model.
Optimistic? Perhaps, but it’s a starting place.
In the words of Edward Said, “Where difference is
respected and understood without coercion.” (Said, 2012)
Works Cited
Bengoechea, Isabella. "Iraq’s Golden Age: The
Rise and Fall of the House of Wisdom." 2016. Culture Trip. 23 May
2017.
<https://theculturetrip.com/middle-east/iraq/articles/iraq-s-golden-age-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-house-of-wisdom/>.
Ravner, Julie. "A Top Medical School Revamps
Requirements To Lure nglish Majors." 27 May 2015. NPR. 22 May
2017.
<http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/05/27/407967899/a-top-medical-school-revamps-requirements-to-lure-english-majors>.
Said, Edward. Edward Said on Orientalism
Professor Sut Jhally. 28 October 2012.
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