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From: tonyw@ubvax.UUCP (Tony Wuersch)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Islam (long but informative)
Message-ID: <280@ubvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Jul-85 16:23:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: ubvax.280
Posted: Mon Jul 29 16:23:25 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 1-Aug-85 07:18:03 EDT
References: <264@harvard.ARPA> <11000113@uiucdcsb>
Reply-To: tonyw@ubvax.UUCP (Tony Wuersch)
Organization: Ungermann-Bass, Inc., Santa Clara, Ca.
Lines: 36

In article <11000113@uiucdcsb> cdp@uiucdcsb.Uiuc.ARPA writes:
>
>I wonder how Islam contributed to the Greek Civilization. I would
>rather say it destroyed it when the Turks demolished the Byzantine
>Empire and burned Greece from east to west. They even blew up
>part of Parthenon. Just look at what happened to the (one-time)
>Glorious St. Sofia in Constantinople the most important Cathedral
>of all Christianity (at that time). Just a few weeks ago the Turks
>demolished an ancient Greek church (a precious piece of art) in 
>Istanbul despite the protests of the Greek government and numerous
>other international organizations. Of course I have nothing against
>Islam but I was just wondering about their contributions ......

This kind of misinformation and vendetta posing as commentary makes
me sick.  Any decent reader of history knows Islamic scholarship
was the bridge which carried Greek knowledge to Europe in the Middle
Ages, without which none of Greek philosophy, ethics, or politics
would have survived to the present, or contributed to the Renaissance,
etc..  And any reader of Islamic history knows that the classical
period of Islam as a trading empire ended with the Turks.  For more,
read Shaban's two-volume set on Islamic history (my favorite); on
early Islam, Maxime Rodinson's *Muhammad* is good.

As far as modern history goes, I've never seen Turkey since the Ataturk
social revolution -- a Western, secular one -- classed with the
Islamic states that need religion as part of the foundation of the
state for historical and political reasons.  The depredations of the
current Turkish military regime have little if anything to do with
Islam or religious law.

I have enough Islamic friends to feel deeply insulted by articles like
the one above.  Criticism should never degenerate into dehumanizing
slander.  Nuff said.

Tony Wuersch
{amd,amdcad}!cae780!ubvax!tonyw