Respect for what?

Submitted by Fred Baehr (United States), Mar 24, 2011 at 04:30

OK Muslims developed some new math about a thousand years ago and preserved some Greek texts from destruction by Christian fanatics and names the naked eye stars. But can any one name a major theorist in physics or astronomy in the last two hundred years? Who are the Arabic Einsteins and Hubbles?

Bernard Lewis tells the story of the great observatory that was destroyed because the new observations were causing new questions that the jurists didn't like much and was the last observatory built in Muslim lands for 400 years until the latter half of the twentieth century. Its problematic to advance new shattering theories like the expansion of the universe in a culture based on submission to God's holy men and their holy rulings and their holy power to cut your unholy head off. Christianity suffered from the same blight in the time of Galileo. Bruno was burned alive for saying the stars were suns but far away and that there must be millions of other Earths out there among them. But Christianity found a way past that kind of intellectual repression and spawned the modern liberal pluralistic ideal that is essential to scientific progress. I see little evidence that Islam has found its way past its repressive needs.

This outreach was touchy feely BS at its worst. Of course it went nowhere since there was nowhere to go. Islam is anti- intellectual and has been ever since their culture started to slide because of its own authoritarian nature. Muslims are victims alright -- of their own repressive system. If Islam did not come to us from antiquity, if Mohammed's dates were 1922-1932 instead of 622-632 would anyone take it for anything but the fascist collectivism it in fact is? Islam is no more than medieval fascism cloaked in the trappings of revealed religion. As a fascist system it was ahead of its time 1400 years ago, but it has been on a 600 year slide to cultural obscurity due to no fault but its own. If they didn't have so much oil now nobody would care a thing about them because they haven't contributed much to the modern world at all.

I can respect Muslims just as I can respect people of other faiths, but I can't respect the Islamic faith very much. "By their fruits shall ye know them". The fruit smells pretty rotten to me.

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