Where did they get this Knowledge?

Submitted by vj (Kuwait), Aug 10, 2009 at 02:52

Where did they get this Knowledge?-

Very few Arabs at the time of Mohammad could read or write or know arithmetic's. Mohammad himself said we are a nation that does not know how to write or to do arithmetics (nahnu 'omah la takteb wa la tahseb). The Arabs used the local tradesmen, architects and scholars of the conquered countries and learned their skills from them. The scientific measure of the Arabs at the time of Mohammad is best reflected in the Hadith and the Qur'an, which when read is not very scientific at all.

It is the Jewish prisoners of war in early Islam that taught the early Muslims how to read and write etc. and in return they received their freedom.

Also, when it came to Greek science, "most of the translators were Christians" (Warraq, p.262). Its was the Christians that translated the Greek works of science to the Arabs. These were the great scholars that taught the Arabs about science and philosophy. And during that time, "Christians and Jews continued to make so active a contribution [science]..." (ibid, p.272).

After the Arabs conquered many territories an Islamic Renaissance began. They absorbed and extended the learning of all the dominions where their sword had been successful. They now learned paper making from the Chinese, mathematics from the Indians, commerce and banking from the Jews, astronomy from the Egyptians, poetry and literature from other parts. And wherever they went, they carried with them the results of their increasing knowledge.

The so called great Muslim thinkers and philosopher's of the time were actually " the least Moslem....The Moslem mainstream of this time, on the other hand, emphasized rigid Koranic orthodoxy and deployed Greek philosophy and science solely to buttress its authority....[and when] paying little attention to the authority of the Koran, they aroused suspicion of the rulers both in North Africa and Spain, as well as in the East. Persecution, exile, and death were frequent punishments suffered by the philosophers of Islam whose writings did not conform to the canon. (The Golden Age of Islam is a Myth By Serge Trifkovic, emphasis added). Most Historians will tell you that these Muslim thinkers practiced science and philosophy in SPITE of Islam, not because of it.

Go to Qur'an, Islam and Science web site for more fallacies from the Muslims about they being the originators of modern science, when in actuality, they borrowed from the Greeks, Romans, Hindu's and other countries they conquered. The whole Muslim religion and way of life has been plagiarized from other religions and cultures of this world, there is nothing to brag about. If anyone should brag it should be everybody else.

Myth of the Golden Age-Many Muslims boast about the golden age of Islam when they ruled a vast part of the world, but actually this was due as noted above by other influences and not the religion of Islam. The religion of Islam only influenced the conquering and killing of people and spreading the religion all over the world. Once conquered, the influence of other cultures and sciences influenced the Arabs. Warraq writes: "We might distinguish three Islam's: Islam 1, Islam 2, and Islam 3. Islam 1 is what the prophet taught, that is, his teachings as contained in the Koran. Islam 2 is the religion as expounded, interpreted, and developed by the theologians through the traditions (Hadith); it includes the sharia and Islamic law. Islam 3 is what Muslims actually did do and achieved, that is to say Islamic civilization.

"If any general thesis emerges in this book it is that Islam 3, Islamic civilization, often reached magnificent heights DESPITE Islam 1 and Islam 2, and NOT because of them. Islamic philosophy...science...literature, and Islamic art would not have attained those heights had they rested on Islam 1 and Islam 2. Take poetry for example. At least early on, Muhammad despised the poets: 'Those who go astray follow the poets' (sura 26:224)...As for Islamic art, the Dictionary of Islam (DOI) says, Muhammad cursed the painter or the drawer of men and animals (Mishkat, 7, ch. 1, pt. 1), and consequently they are held to be unlawful...the Hadiths are full of condemnation for 'makers of figured pictures,' who are called the 'worst of men.'...Mercifully contact with older civilizations with rich artistic traditions induced converted Muslims to flout the orthodox position, and was responsible for such masterpieces of representational art...Thus the creative impulse underlying Islamic art...philosophy...science and ...literature came from outside Islam 1 and Islam 2 from contact with older civilizations with a richer heritage...[these] were totally lacking in Arabia...Without Byzantine art and Sussanian art there would have been no Islamic art, Islam 1 and 2 were hostile to its development. Similarly without the influence of Greek art and science there would not have been Islamic art and science, for Islam 1 and 2 were certainly ill-disposed to these 'foreign sciences.' For the orthodox, Islamic philosophy was a contradiction in terms, and Islamic science futile...Some of the greatest representatives in these fields, or those who played a crucial role in their development were either non-Muslim or actually hostile to some or even all of the tenets of Islam 1 and 2" (Why I am not a Muslim, pp.1-02, emphasis added).

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