Of Islam and civilisation

Although, today I feel that this brief introduction lacked in informing me about the Islamic Golden Age, an era we wrongfully bypass as the “Dark Age”, for then Europe was in a situation similar to ours today. Perhaps we are too busy defining the Two Nation Theory and writing our beloved country a history in our books that we forget to inform much of the general public about our Avicennas and al-Farabis.

In the words of the Oxford History of Islam, “Such is the importance of al-Khwarizmi’s (ca. 780–850) Kitab al-Jabrwal-Muqabala (The book of compulsion and comparison), which introduced the term al-jabr (algebra). Despite its lack of sophistication in comparison to later works of Arabic algebra, this treatise was the indispensable prerequisite for advanced future research in the field.” 
We not only had philosophers but philosopher-kings like Mamunibn Harun al-Rashid. I, for one, was intrigued that not only petrol but the idea of the first aerial flight, the glider, came from a Muslim, Abbas ibn Firnas, contrary to what I had heard most of my childhood. Yet that intrigue came with mixed feelings of pride and sorrow.
In the middle of nowhere, deaf, dumb and blind as the heirs of a great civilisation plunged into complete darkness. We are raped into silence by defenders of faith, murdered by religious zealots, and flogged in public by puritans. Whether there is a light at the end of the tunnel or a dead end of degeneration for our society as a whole, I cannot say, but should we preach hatred and not strive to come out of a dismal economic, social, political, religious and cultural situation, history is bound to repeat itself in a ruthless fashion.

With the advent of the Islam infanticide, trade of women and incestuous practices came to an end, trade, economics, inheritance laws, education, war – every aspect of life was touched by the Divine decree; a civilisation in its true sense started to shape and eventually prevailed for centuries to come, reaching its apogee in what we refer to as the Islamic Golden Age. Nevertheless, today that civilisation stands decadent; on its obscure path to nonexistence. I pray that would not be the case.
 


The author is a policy analyst and a social worker from Islamabad who believes that the glass is half full. 
He can be reached at siddique.humayun@gmail.com and www.weekend.pk

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