RedWine
09-05-2007, 03:18 AM
There seem to be an intensifying orchestrated effort in the west particularly the U.S. to neglect, discount, discredit or convolute the multifaceted contributions of philosophers, physicians, scientists, historians and artisans of the past few millennia in south, south-central, south-west Asia, and north Africa--a vast area now collectively referred to by the fabricated name, the Middle East. Some attribute this new wave to post-soviet era and post September 11 events of creating a crusade against the Islamic World. It is as if “civilization all began” in the west in the 16th century and is solely based on Greek philosophy of life in vacuum. While the immense contributions of the EASTERN world’s citizens (China to North Africa), currently comprised of two-third of the world population and the profound impact of their scholarship on the ultimate awakening of Europe and the west, and the advancement of civilization is documented worldwide, the western distortion is further exacerbated when new countries, that were formed by the British mandate after the Ottoman Turk defeat in World War I such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or the UAE join in the exploitative distortion of history. Scattered tribes hovering around oil and gas fields that have been discovered in the region in recent decades, finance the publication of seemingly polished manuscripts that give the whole credit of the accomplishments of the Eastern peoples to the Arabs or Islamists, and thereby imputing a rich retro-virtual history to a country such as Saudi Arabia which it never had, as the country never existed. These nations yearn to stand on an equal cultural footing with their historical neighbors, namely, Iran, India, Egypt, Syria, or China despite their youth, and lack of such “rich” track records. Notwithstanding this, however, one should reiterate the mutual respect and admiration for the sovereignty, identity and integrity of all nations, as long as it in no way infringes upon others. For instance, the attempt by some Arab ultranationalists, e.g. Saudi Arabia, to rename the Persian Gulf, a water body named as such 2500 years ago and as recorded by Herodotus, typifies such irrational and immature behavior.
I am writing in response to a recent article, “Rediscovering Arabic Science” by Richard Covington in the Aramco World Magazine, the official public relations piece published by a tax exempt organization in Houston Texas and sponsored by Saudi Arabia. The article, as do an intensifying large emerging number of articles in the west during the past decade, depicts the scientists in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa in the past 2000 years as Arabic. Although this is a dramatic improvement over the twentieth century during which the citation of the work of such scientists in the west remained non-existent or convoluted, at best, Covington opts for a selective citation of Persian scientists, and as the title of his work shows, Rediscovering Arabic Science, it implies that they are Arabs; this is far from the truth. Whereas an inclusive nationalism advocacy by any nation, including the newly established Saudi Arabia is reasonable, such strong advocacy of nationalism by a lucratively commissioned author should not include fabrication of a national historical identity for a young nation that emerged out of the oil exploration of the 20th century, by taking pieces of history from other historical nations and ethnicities such as the non-Arab Iran and the Persians, the Egyptians, the Turks, the Syrians, the Indians and the Central Asians, and collectively insinuating them to be “Arabic.”
Ever since receiving the latest hard copy issue (May/June 2007) of the World Aramco Magazine (also available at www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200703/) , I have appreciatively read the article Rediscovering Arabic Science, three times, and cannot help but to applaud the author in his efforts to highlight some of the finest scholarly works of the distant past in the region. I would, however, take strong issue with the misguided selection of the article’s title and the implication throughout that these past scholars were solely Arabs. The article is well researched, and comprehensively written. It broadly covers the multi-faceted scientific and technological contributions of learned people from China to Spain made toward the betterment of life for humanity through almost 1000 years when Islam was the catalyst for governance and spirituality in this vast region of the world. The article further spells out eloquently and illustratively the substantive impact such 'Islamic' science has had on western civilization, and modern science and technology post-Renaissance.
My humble suggestion is for Covington and others like him to consider submitting the same kind of articles to the mainstream western media with the right title and due recognition to ethnicities, especially at this taxing politically charged juncture with the proper title. The aspirations of the 1.3 plus billion ethnically diverse people in the 'Muslim' world for homegrown democracy and socio-cultural and religious reformation are seriously undermined by hegemonic influences and pre-emptive military interventions. The predicament of tens of millions of otherwise law abiding and immensely contributing citizens in the West with ancestry from the south and southwest Asia or referred to with the fabricated and historically baseless 'Middle East' is particularly precarious.
I have maintained a conversation with a few of such organizations and their media (AAAS, NSF, Am. Chem. Soc., Chemical Heritage Foundation, CHF), encouraging them to consider publishing articles long overdue as exemplified by Covington’s. For instance, the Chemical Heritage Foundation publishes a glossy colorful magazine similar to Aramco’s, and prints articles on the primarily western historical heritage of chemistry and science. CHF magazine’s spring 2007 issue had an article, Image of Alchemy, in which it is as if chemistry began in the 17th century in Europe. CHF published a select synopsis of my elaborate prose on the subject in their summer 2007 issue as follows:
I read with enthusiasm your recent article, “The Image of Alchemy”. The article does an excellent job illustrating the seminal contributions of alchemists in post-Renaissance Europe. The word alchemy, as the definite feminine article al- demonstrates, had its origin in Aramaic, Arabic and Hebrew odysseys in the area now called Middle East. We must not forget the [multifaceted] contributions of the people of that region in the millennia before the treasure troves, that they had safeguarded and expanded, were passed on to Europeans. It is worth citing, for instance, such Persian scholars as Avicenna, Biruni, Farabi, Omar Khayam, Rhazes, Algorithm, and Jabir ibn Hayyan.
The avid reader may only review a brief introduction to Iranian/Persian scientists in this prose. It is hoped that similar information can also be found on Indian, Syrian, Egyptian or Chinese scientists elsewhere; and that the same coverage can be extended to scientists of Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Zoroastrian faiths of the distant past and before the advent of, or after Islam. Then, western scholars would be obligated to adhere to a minimum set of internationally accepted standards for generating manuscripts with complete citations. They should for instance, focus solely on the Saudi Arabian scholars or Kuwaiti scholars and present them, based on verifiable referenced facts and merits.
A humble, meritoriously constructive feedback on the recently cited article titled: Rediscovering Arabic Science as it appeared in the propaganda Saudi magazine World Aramco immediately implies an Arab centered theme and thereby undermines the powerful message the article presents thereafter. It connotes, as if science did not exist in India or China, and in the Greek and the Persian (Iran) worlds before the 'Arab' influence, and if and when science happened it was all 'Arabic'. An author of modest historical knowledge of the region knows better that this is farthest from the truth. If one in our own communities cannot recognize the specific contributions of our ancestors in their own right and nationalities, no wonder then, as to why the West, only in the 20th century along with the oil, reluctantly discovered the historical importance of the peoples of the regions.
I am writing in response to a recent article, “Rediscovering Arabic Science” by Richard Covington in the Aramco World Magazine, the official public relations piece published by a tax exempt organization in Houston Texas and sponsored by Saudi Arabia. The article, as do an intensifying large emerging number of articles in the west during the past decade, depicts the scientists in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa in the past 2000 years as Arabic. Although this is a dramatic improvement over the twentieth century during which the citation of the work of such scientists in the west remained non-existent or convoluted, at best, Covington opts for a selective citation of Persian scientists, and as the title of his work shows, Rediscovering Arabic Science, it implies that they are Arabs; this is far from the truth. Whereas an inclusive nationalism advocacy by any nation, including the newly established Saudi Arabia is reasonable, such strong advocacy of nationalism by a lucratively commissioned author should not include fabrication of a national historical identity for a young nation that emerged out of the oil exploration of the 20th century, by taking pieces of history from other historical nations and ethnicities such as the non-Arab Iran and the Persians, the Egyptians, the Turks, the Syrians, the Indians and the Central Asians, and collectively insinuating them to be “Arabic.”
Ever since receiving the latest hard copy issue (May/June 2007) of the World Aramco Magazine (also available at www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200703/) , I have appreciatively read the article Rediscovering Arabic Science, three times, and cannot help but to applaud the author in his efforts to highlight some of the finest scholarly works of the distant past in the region. I would, however, take strong issue with the misguided selection of the article’s title and the implication throughout that these past scholars were solely Arabs. The article is well researched, and comprehensively written. It broadly covers the multi-faceted scientific and technological contributions of learned people from China to Spain made toward the betterment of life for humanity through almost 1000 years when Islam was the catalyst for governance and spirituality in this vast region of the world. The article further spells out eloquently and illustratively the substantive impact such 'Islamic' science has had on western civilization, and modern science and technology post-Renaissance.
My humble suggestion is for Covington and others like him to consider submitting the same kind of articles to the mainstream western media with the right title and due recognition to ethnicities, especially at this taxing politically charged juncture with the proper title. The aspirations of the 1.3 plus billion ethnically diverse people in the 'Muslim' world for homegrown democracy and socio-cultural and religious reformation are seriously undermined by hegemonic influences and pre-emptive military interventions. The predicament of tens of millions of otherwise law abiding and immensely contributing citizens in the West with ancestry from the south and southwest Asia or referred to with the fabricated and historically baseless 'Middle East' is particularly precarious.
I have maintained a conversation with a few of such organizations and their media (AAAS, NSF, Am. Chem. Soc., Chemical Heritage Foundation, CHF), encouraging them to consider publishing articles long overdue as exemplified by Covington’s. For instance, the Chemical Heritage Foundation publishes a glossy colorful magazine similar to Aramco’s, and prints articles on the primarily western historical heritage of chemistry and science. CHF magazine’s spring 2007 issue had an article, Image of Alchemy, in which it is as if chemistry began in the 17th century in Europe. CHF published a select synopsis of my elaborate prose on the subject in their summer 2007 issue as follows:
I read with enthusiasm your recent article, “The Image of Alchemy”. The article does an excellent job illustrating the seminal contributions of alchemists in post-Renaissance Europe. The word alchemy, as the definite feminine article al- demonstrates, had its origin in Aramaic, Arabic and Hebrew odysseys in the area now called Middle East. We must not forget the [multifaceted] contributions of the people of that region in the millennia before the treasure troves, that they had safeguarded and expanded, were passed on to Europeans. It is worth citing, for instance, such Persian scholars as Avicenna, Biruni, Farabi, Omar Khayam, Rhazes, Algorithm, and Jabir ibn Hayyan.
The avid reader may only review a brief introduction to Iranian/Persian scientists in this prose. It is hoped that similar information can also be found on Indian, Syrian, Egyptian or Chinese scientists elsewhere; and that the same coverage can be extended to scientists of Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Zoroastrian faiths of the distant past and before the advent of, or after Islam. Then, western scholars would be obligated to adhere to a minimum set of internationally accepted standards for generating manuscripts with complete citations. They should for instance, focus solely on the Saudi Arabian scholars or Kuwaiti scholars and present them, based on verifiable referenced facts and merits.
A humble, meritoriously constructive feedback on the recently cited article titled: Rediscovering Arabic Science as it appeared in the propaganda Saudi magazine World Aramco immediately implies an Arab centered theme and thereby undermines the powerful message the article presents thereafter. It connotes, as if science did not exist in India or China, and in the Greek and the Persian (Iran) worlds before the 'Arab' influence, and if and when science happened it was all 'Arabic'. An author of modest historical knowledge of the region knows better that this is farthest from the truth. If one in our own communities cannot recognize the specific contributions of our ancestors in their own right and nationalities, no wonder then, as to why the West, only in the 20th century along with the oil, reluctantly discovered the historical importance of the peoples of the regions.