A terrible loss

Submitted by David Koral (United States), Jul 2, 2012 at 21:59

At one time, Mali was one of Africa's wealthiest empires. In the fifteenth century, when Mansa Musa made a pilgrimage to Mecca, he dispensed so much gold over the course of his journey that he actually drove down its value in Egypt. He is depicted on his throne in a map by the Jewish mapmaker Abraham Cresques. When I visited Timbuktu with a tour group in 1999, we were told that the doors to the mosque were designed and built by architects summoned from Spain.

I consider these historical facts as relevant to Dr. Pipes' article only to demonstrate how just a few colorful details from Mali's remote past could capture the imagination of someone living in another part of the world. All of us suffer from such a loss.

At the time I visited Timbuktu, Mali was listed as the third or fourth most poorest nation in the world. I can't say where they rank today, but, considering the recent military coup and the extremely dangerous situation in the Sahara, I fear it may be a long time before the government or any other world body can restore what at one time was one of Islam's major centers of learning. A pity.

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