Major New Book Refutes ‘Clash of Civilizations’

While some Americans associate Islam with terrorism and strife in the Middle East, author Michael Hamilton Morgan counters with a resounding "no" -- by showing how much we all owe to forgotten Muslim thinkers and inventors in his new book LOST HISTORY: THE ENDURING LEGACY OF MUSLIM SCIENTISTS, THINKERS, AND ARTISTS.
Lost History tells the story of a once-brilliant civilization built on pure genius and innovation ... with a heavy dose of tolerance thrown in. The book shows how early Muslim breakthroughs in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, science, culture and leadership not only laid the cornerstones of the European Renaissance -- but how they reverberate even today -- in computation, digital appliances, surgery and pharmaceuticals, film and books, modern universities and global commerce.
"Only 1000 years ago," says Morgan, "Baghdad was the greatest and largest city on earth at 2 million people, churning out futuristic math, science, medicine and literature, while London and Paris were muddy towns of 30,000 or less. Cairo and Cordoba were other Muslim thought-centers. Rising cities in India, Persia, Central Asia and Turkey would soon join them."
Lost History was spurred by Morgan's concern after 9/11 that for Americans, not understanding Muslim contributions could intensify a sense of alienation, while for young Muslims, it meant they did not know their full heritage of invention, intellectual courage and tolerant societies.
Former President Jimmy Carter says, "Lost History delivers a missing link to the story of an interconnected world," while King Abdullah II of Jordan writes in his foreword that "many available works paint too stark a picture of confrontation between civilizations, when the reality was often one of exchange and mutual dependence."
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,123550.shtml

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
© 2004 pakistanlink.com . All Rights Reserved.