VANITY; Islam gave us "Zero".

2/10/11 | Self

[jd777]

May I begin, by saying, I love this country, the United States of America, It is the greatest hope in the history of our planet, save the works of the prophets of God. I add that I have never voted for a Democrat - and I probably never will - although JFK did cut taxes and I wish he had lived longer. Also: I believe that we were endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, foremost being the freedom of speech. Jim Robinson, Thank you.

So: If I be banned for what I am about to write, then I be damned.

I ask that the admin's allow me this Post.

Now:

Our tremendous pride and the influence of Holy Mother the Church notwithstanding - 1000 years after the birth of Christ - Europe was lost in the midst of a DARK AGE. When Charlemagne was brought to Rome and became the first Holy Roman Emperor- He was unable to read or write- in any language. He was illiterate and so we're all of his kings. Do not ask me to footnote this fact, for I presume the church in ad 800 was not anxious to publicize that their first Holy Roman Emperor could not read.

But how could this be? Well, There was no education. Cast your minds back dear freepers to AD 1000. Before the university in Paris, or Oxford and Cambridge. The only education was offered by the Catholic church and you had to take holy orders to recieve it. The only subjects taught were (1) a tiny bit of Philosophy - all classical philosophy was lost - and (2) Theology. The study of the nature of God. They had conferences where Bishops would literrally discuss how many angels could fit on the head of a pin.

When French scholars in the early 11th centrury went down to Moorish Spain -Al andalus - They were amazed to find the 2nd largest library in the world. The largest library in the world at that time was in Baghdad. The largest library in Christain Europe was in Avignon where they had 2000 volumes. The great Library in Cordoba had 400,000 volumes.There - europeans recived their own heritage back. Jewish scholars in al andalus translated the great works of Socrates, Plato, Aristole, Pythagoras etc FROM ARABIC into European language and gave them to their awestruck visitors.

Forget the books. The hundreds of thousands of Books. For one moment. The building. Of the Library, itself. And the Great Mosque nearby were 1000 times greater than anything ever built to that time in all of Christendom.

Now I'm sure some of you are indignant at reading this, but that can not compare to the vehemence the Pope and his bishops felt at hearing this news. How could this be? 1000 years after Christ's birth? It must have been like the Jews in captivity in Babylon who said to their leaders: "I thought we were the chosen people - what happened? "

What does one do when presented with facts such as this - well, you think fast, in Babylon they wrote the TALMUD - In Rome they cried: "CRUSADE"

The history of the Crusades is beyond the scope of this post- but what did occur is evidenced by what happened in Europe after 1099. Europeans received "zero" from Islam - So the haters cry - and how true - We did not have a "ZERO" in our number system. Arabs gave us "0" - along with all our other arabic numerals. But it didn't stop there. Al-JABR aka Algerbra was received. Basic Calculus and Trignometry. And with that came Engineering - Lost since Ancient Rome. The Templars set about building - and within 150 years they built all the great cathedrals of France - The pointed arches. That they first saw in the great mosque of Cordoba - recapitulated in Chartres. The only buildings in europe after the fall of rome were like stone huts with thick walls. The arabs showed them how to build thin walls that reached up into spires.

But the gifts went on - the Code of Chivalry - a gift of SALADIN. who sent a horse to Richard the lionheart after his own horse died in battle. Courtly Love - sung by the troubadors - really the Taribs of North Africa. Medicine - My god, Medicine. If you were injured during the crusades pray you had an arab doctor - because there was no medicine in Europe. The arabs gave us "the Canon of Medicine" - It was taught for 500 years in European Universities - after it was given to us. But you tell me - who wrote the Canon of Medicine? Please, look it up

So, if parts of the Islamic world have now experienced their own dark age. May we not return the favor? Was not the legacy of the Knights Templar the two riders on the same horse? That we fought together, but we were brothers all along and knew it not? Are not we all the Children of Abraham?

Therefore, I plead for peace,

In closing I wish to say. God Bless the United States of America. The Constitution of our great nation. and the memory of our first true conservative Thomas Jefferson.

and oh yeah, go TEA PARTY!

[jd777]

I think the story has some more complex aspects to it than might appear on the surface - but i want to say, you're a very sharp guy - and you're a credit to FR.

Thanks for responding.

[jd777]

Thank you for the response. I wish I hadn't used the "zero" pun - alas, It was a rhetorical device. And your criticism is valid

However, Can I refer you to one contribution that the Europeans received and used for over 600 years in Europe for the benefit of our Civilization

It was called "The canon of Medicine"

From Wiki:

a 14-volume medical encyclopedia compiled by Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) and completed in 1025.[3] It presents a clear and organized summary of all the medical knowledge of the time.[4] Originally written in the Persian and Arabic language, the book was later translated into a number of other languages, including Latin, Chinese, Hebrew, German, French, and English.[5] The Canon is considered one of the most famous books in the history of medicine.[6]

Health! JD

[Flag_This]

"However, Can I refer you to one contribution that the Europeans received and used for over 600 years in Europe for the benefit of our Civilization"

Have you heard of the Roman physician Galen? His works were studied until the 19th century.

[jd777]

Excellent addition to the thread. Hear Hear! But - as my article mentions -the works of Ancient Rome and Greece - The Great treasures of the world - were all but completely lost in Western Christendom by AD 1000. Hard to believe but it is true. They did not know of those works existence.

From the 11th century onwards, Latin translations of Islamic medical texts began to appear in the West, Among those was ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine and the the much earlier Work of Galen et al.

But they were received back to Europe - translated from Arabic.

[Crim]

Stll pimping Islam I see... Pederasty..aka....buggery... Middle East and Central AsiaIn pre-modern Islam there was a "widespread conviction that beardless youths possessed a temptation to adult men as a whole, and not merely to a small minority of deviants."[42] In central Asia the practice is reputed to have long been widespread, and remains a part of the culture, as exemplified by the proverb, Women for breeding, boys for pleasure, but melons for sheer delight.[43] In the Ottoman Empire culture, young male dancers, usually cross-dressed in feminine attire, were called Köçek. Youth conversing with suitors Miniature illustration from the Haft Awrang of Jami, in the story A Father Advises his Son About Love. Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.In post-Islamic Persia, where, as Louis Crompton claims, "boy love flourished spectacularly", art and literature also made frequent use of the pederastic topos. These celebrate the love of the wine boy, as do the paintings and drawings of artists such as Reza Abbasi (1565 – 1635). Western travelers reported that at Abbas' court (some time between 1627 and 1629) they saw evidence of homoerotic practices. Male houses of prostitution amrad khaneh, "houses of the beardless", were legally recognized and paid taxes.[44] Osman Agha of Temeşvar who fell captive to the Austrians in 1688 wrote in his memoirs that one night an Austrian boy approached him for sex, telling him "for I know all Turks are pederasts".[45] In 1770s, Âşık Sadık the poet wrote, in an address to the Sultan: Lût kavmi döğüşür, put kavmi bozar. Askerin lûtîdir, bil Padişahım ("The people of Lot fight, the people of idolatry spoil. Know, my Sultan, that your soldiers are sodomites"). In Afghanistan in 2009, the British Army commissioned a report into the sexuality of the local men after British soldiers reported the discomfort at witnessing adult males involved in sexual relations with boys. The report stated that though illegal, there was a tradition of such relationships in the country, known as "bache bazi" or boy play, and that it was especially strong around Kandahar.[47] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pederasty

[jd777]

Dear Crim - it's great to hear from you again. I missed you ;) And what work you did on that topic. You seem very involved with your research, Well done. I certainly won't bother to summarize homosexuality in Euope since Ancient Greece Rome, and the Renaissance. Like I care. But I will Quote Winston Churchill: "The real traditions of the British Navy are rum, buggery and the lash."

And how about that Pope Benedict and his "hunky" (not my word) private secretary?

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/04/21/2008-04-21_pope_benedicts_hunky_private_secretary_h-2.html

Seems like everybody in power has their own body man aka "Reggie Love".

Ferstay?

[Crim]

Nice crabwalk and attempt at a bait an switch...too bad the british buggery was between MEN , not MEN and BOYS which is STILL an islamic tradition....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacha_bazi

Which is ironic seeing as the penalty under sharia law for homosexuality is Death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_topics_and_Islam

[fanfan]

Why don't you write about the harm? That's your job, My job is to love thy neighbor as I love thyself.

Maybe you heard different?

WinTheFuture are you talking about?
My job?
Heard different? About what?

You posted a vanity and invited discussion.
I made a post and asked you a question.

[Flag_This]

"But they were received back to Europe - translated from Arabic."

Where did the muslims get their versions? From the Byzantines - a.k.a. Eastern Roman Empire. The returning crusaders were heavily influenced by Constantinople.

The one positive aspect of the muslim conquests was their imposing a single language over a huge geographic area which facilitated the spread of ideas from east to west.

[jd777]

MY apology - I just saw that the question was - will you now write about the harm of a religion? - I felt that topic had been covered here ad infinitum.

Thank you for reading and responding to my post. I appreciate your input. Cheers, JD

[fanfan]

Seriously?

;-)

[fanfan]

No harm done.

:-)

[SunkenCiv]

;’) Those with the Subzero also discovered cubes. They weren’t the first. ;’)