For about five centuries Muslim civilisation dominated the universe with its promotion in scientific discipline, humanistic disciplines, medical specialty, mathematics and doctrine etc. Muslim were the innovators in interpreting the plants of Aristotelean scientific discipline, Platonian cosmology including the impenetrable strands of Grecian scientific discipline linked to the Pythagoreanism and Hermeticism ( Nasr, 1994: 162 ) . Muslims scientist non merely acquainted themselves with the traditional cognition and history of Islam but besides with the Indian scientific disciplines particularly medicine, Iranian literature and they even garnered certain facets of Babylonian cognition that were non known to the Greeks ( Nasr, 1994: 162 ) . Then why the Muslim civilisation is now in a period of degeneracy when their sires achieved alone success in scientific discipline. There may be legion replies for this inquiries and every reply will further originate more inquiries but this paper will reason that Muslims were in a dominating place in the development of scientific discipline and cognition when they were unfastened to the cognition of other civilisations non confronted by the spiritual orthodoxy but when the Umayyad swayers crashed the motion of Qadarites that initiated the constitution of spiritual bigotry against free will and logic which even exists today in Muslim states.
In finding what were the grounds for Muslim ruin which led to the ultimate diminution of scientific discipline in Muslim civilisation some tend to fault the external factors like campaigns, Mongol invasions and colonialism etc. Some tend to specify the diminution as a effect of the disappearing of Islamic values. But Muslims tend to bury to compare the diminution with the rise of spiritual orthodoxy which made hard for the secular forces to coexist with Islam terming them as blasphemy and profanity. This does n’t intend the exclusion of political and economic grounds as Pervez Hoodbhoy points out that: “ Rather than delegate one individual cause to the job of diminution. I shall, alternatively do an observation for which there seems to be much historical grounds: the diminution of scientific disciplines in Islamic civilization was contemporary with the dominance of an fossilized religionism, doing it harder and harder for secular chases to be ( 1991: 115 ) . ”
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Tracing back the roots of the spiritual orthodoxy defying scientific discipline we need to travel back 1300 old ages back when Islam provided an individuality for the tribal, narrow minded and confined Arab society ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 116 ) . Soon this society brought a cultural revolution doing them the keepers of cognition and scientific discipline which gave them military high quality against their opposite numbers. Soon ground forcess from Arabia conquered North Africa, Palestine, Spain, India and Syria ( Lewis, 2002: 4 ) .
They were innovators in set uping the trade paths and communications from Europe, Africa to Asia which allowed Muslims to go a major economic power trading different trade goods, groceries from Asia and importing wool from Europe and gold, slaves from Africa ( Lewis, 2002: 6 ) . Moslem civilisation at the tallness of humanistic disciplines and scientific disciplines non merely inherit the cognition and accomplishments from Greece, Persia antediluvian Middle East but besides added valuable inventions and creativeness from outside such as the denary positional enumeration from India and the usage and industry of paper from China ( Lewis, 2002: 6 ) . It is hard to conceive of modern scientific discipline and literature without the parts made by Islamic bookmans. Even the medieval Europe was dependent upon thoughts, experiment and observations made by the Muslim Scientists take for illustration the usage of Indian denary Numberss incorporated for the first clip by the Muslim mathematicians in the familial organic structure of mathematical acquisition. From there it transmitted to Europe where they are still known as Arabic numbers ( Lewis, 2002: 6 ) . Therefore Islam became genuinely a cosmopolitan civilisation but if faced a challenge of absorbing these elements of broad larning into the cloth of Islam.
Soon after this procedure were taken and Muslim bookmans equip with logic, ground and experiment were speedy to utilize these tools in spiritual debate and shortly a argument between the advocates of free will and those who believe in predestination started ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 116 ) . The advocates of free will were identified as Qadarites who used Quranic poetries “ that adult male could choose, out of the many options open to him, the 1 that he wanted ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 116 ) ” . The reading of this poetry non merely had doctrinal significance but besides political as it implied that the regulation of the autocrat in this instance the Umayyad should n’t be accepted as the concluding authorization ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 116 ) . On the other stands the sturdy group of bigotry jointly known as Jabria who believed that every event and action was the act of God along with the Umayyad swayers whose authorization were being challenged by this phenomena of free will came down hard at Qadarites and beheaded their leader Ma’bad al-Juhani ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 116 ) .
In this manner we can happen legion illustrations in Islamic tradition where the opinion category in order to keep position quo and power have used the spiritual orthodoxy to counter the broad forces. These broad forces did n’t hold arms to contend like their opposite numbers alternatively they were equipped with the tools of ground, reason, empiricist philosophy and logic. In this manner Muslim civilisation which flourished in humanistic disciplines and scientific disciplines, who were the instigators of inter civilisations larning and invention declined.
On the other manus the Christians faced similar quandary where the Roman Catholic Church ruled Europe with dictatorship, intolerance and bias non leting any environment in which scientific discipline and humanistic disciplines could boom. Those who challenged the church authorization were termed as enchantresss and misbelievers and were tortured to decease. The most interesting instance was when Archbishop Ussher had concluded that Earth was created at 9 am, Sunday 23 October 4004 BC nevertheless long ago a scientist name Wycliffe proved that Earth was at least some 1000s old ages old based on dodos and geology of Earth. Unable to digest this church ordered Wycliffe decease ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 25 ) . That society was based upon the actual readings laid down by the church and hence any free thought and scientific discipline was regarded as menace.
But finally these tenets could n’t stamp down scientific discipline as scientists in Europe with grounds and experiment proved the superstitious notions lay down by the church to be wrong. Whether it was Benjamin Franklin with his unsafe experiment when he flew his kite in storm proving that buoy uping is merely electricity non a effect of five wickednesss as professed by the church or Wickliffe with his geological grounds turn outing Earth is thousand old ages old ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 29 ) . In this manner European society was able to get the better of the spiritual elite and was able to prosecute modern scientific discipline whereas the Muslim civilisation was corrupted by spiritual tenets supported by those in power non leting any room for free will, creativeness and invention which were the grounds of the success of their ascendants.
Throughout history we observe the battle between the spiritual and broad forces in Muslim societies. One interesting history is to look at the response of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan a great Muslim mind when Muslims were wholly devastated after the War of Independence in 1857. The Muslims of sub continent were in a daze with licking and were segregated economically, politically and socially. On one manus there was a demand felt for the reawakening of the Islamic beliefs in the society and on the other bases Sir Syed felt the demand to re-explain the Islamic divinity to accommodate with the post-Renaissance western scientific thoughts ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 65 ) . He believed that the lone redress to the current predicament of Muslims in India is to get modern instruction based on ground and reason. Pervez Hoodhboy called the position of Sir Syed as Reconstructionist place which is to re-explain the religion in order to coexist with the demands of modern scientific discipline ( 1991: 64 ) . They believed that faith in Prophet and the four Caliphs times was broad, rational and progressive. But the subsequent propensity towards spiritual bigotry brought the victory of Taqlid ( tradition ) against Ijtihad ( independent thought ) ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 64 ) .
Another advocate of this Reconstructionist position was Syed Ameer Ali who believed that Aristotelean positivist thought is in conformity with Islam and the modern scientific discipline in West should be brought back to the Muslim civilisations as it is n’t something foreign to them and is wholly in conformity with Islam ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 68 ) . In his position a Muslim should be freed from the bondage of actual reading. He compared the province of the Muslims at that clip from that of the pre-renaissance Christians when the Church was considered as the keeper of cognition until the rebellion by Martin Luther. He stressed that Islam needs reformation as did the Christianity did and termed the motion of Mutazilism as a signifier Muslim Protestantism ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 68 ) .
Both these bookmans talked about the causes of the Muslim degeneracy and tried for the rebellion of Moslems but were labeled as profane by the spiritual orthodoxy of their clip. Sir Syed faced tremendous unfavorable judgment from the spiritual circles legion fatwas were issued against him which led him to make Aligarh Muslim University to fit immature Indian Muslims with modern instruction and scientific discipline ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 69 ) . And it was here in the same establishment the Pakistan Movement was given a new energy where the immature Muslims questioned the regulation of British and demanded independency. Sir Syed instance provides a perfect instance survey where a individual who fought for the defence of his community, who tried to edify young person with modern scientific discipline, was termed as castaway and non Muslim by the spiritual orthodoxy. This has been core ground why Muslim civilisation declined where spiritual elites have dominated in keeping their domination as keeper of cognition and this harsh and severe attitude towards free will and free thought have led to the creative activity Al-Qaeda and Taliban who alternatively of utilizing reason and logic enforce their bids by force in order to legalize their regulation.
However in order to beef up the statement you need to take history the counter statement every bit good. Seyyed Hossein Nasr an Orthodox Muslim bookman argues that during Renaissance a different sort of scientific discipline was born in Europe which was brought approximately Descartes, Galileo and eventually Newton. Harmonizing to him this scientific discipline was based upon rationalism and humanitarianism concentrating on the kingdom of measure at the cost neglecting traditional worldview and the absence of religious component of nature ( Nasr, 1994: 164 ) .
He farther stressed on how Muslims were able to boom in humanistic disciplines and scientific disciplines while keeping the traditional nature of scientific discipline and engineering within their traditional cognition without burying the religious importance of nature in adult male ‘s life ( Nasr, 1994: 164 ) . On the other manus the West considered nature as ‘thing ‘ or ‘it ‘ at the disposal of world to be raped fiercely in order to derive ephemeral benefits ( Nasr, 1994: 164 ) . This procedure of commanding, suppressing and pull stringsing nature continued till the application of this scientific discipline that gave west military high quality which led to the colonisation of Muslim universe ( Nasr, 1994: 164 ) . But this debate of Nasr does n’t supply replies to the current abysmal of Muslim civilisation if Muslim were able to boom in humanistic disciplines and scientific discipline with their traditional cognition why is that Muslim states today are considered as the 3rd universe? Why Muslims are being blamed for spiritual fanatism and terrorist act if their traditional worldview was based upon harmoniousness of adult male and nature? And why this traditional cognition worldview was unable to set Muslims out of their wretchedness during colonial regulation?
Even though Nasr statements becomes strong when he argues that it is the horrors and the application of the modern scientific discipline that we are in a province atomic war and the ecological catastrophes. But this brings us to the statement made by Carl Sagan that though the modern horrors of war threaten whole humanity and planet Earth but should n’t all states see cardinal alterations in their traditional manner of making things and reconstituting their political, economic, societal and spiritual establishments ( 1980: Ep. 13 ) . Sometimes these alterations are considered against the human nature and impractical but we have observed these alterations happened in our society for illustration adult females consistently mistreated in our society are bit by bit deriving political and economic power antecedently denied ( Sagan, 1980: Ep. 13 ) . This brings us back to our statement that Muslims need to reconstitute their spiritual, political and economic establishments in order to get by up with the challenges of twenty-first century.
Coming to our cardinal statement still in Muslim states we find that elites in seeking to legalize their government have the spiritual orthodoxy to stamp down the broad forces. They have non merely used the power of arm but besides the power of instruction in perverting the immature heads to subscribe to their beliefs and tenet. Take for case the instance of Pakistan when military dictator General Zia ul Haq took over the authorities with a putsch in 1977, he with the support of spiritual cardinal parties declared their purpose to Islamise the society on the footing of their reading of faith ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 43 ) . General Zia and his followings besides took instruction in order to Islamise it and tempered the course of study of the public school where the multitudes get instruction, they did n’t changed the course of study of elitist instruction where their kids went and get modern instruction alternatively they corrupted the heads of the multitudes so that an rational and thought arousing in-between category could n’t lift to dispute their authorization ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 43 ) .
Pervez Hoodbhoy footings this type of place in Muslim societies as Restorationist line which seeks to construct Islamic society based on the past glorifications and declare the ground of all failures to be diverting from this way ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 60 ) . Specifically speaking about Pakistan the vanguard of this school of idea is Jamaat-e-Islami which derives its support from urban in-between category and pupils though the Jamaat has n’t been able to acquire monolithic support but its incursion instruction establishments in Pakistan and its tampering in the course of study during Zia ‘s epoch it has been able to earn important support ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 61 ) . Harmonizing to its laminitis Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi topics like doctrine, chemical science, geology and economic sciences are a beginning of Gumrahi ( remaining off from truth ) ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 61 ) . Important point to observe is that these were the subjects in which Muslim civilisation acquired proficiency. Muslim philosophers translated the plants of great Grecian philosophers in order to derive cognition.
The Jamaat is against the chase of modern scientific discipline and instruction and is of the position Muslims does n’t necessitate to catch up with the West as modernness brings corruptness of psyche. They regard tradition as the solution to all jobs as Maryam Jameelah a Jamaat ‘s interpreter argued that invention and alteration were ne’er intrinsic values in Islamic civilization and the ideal of Islamic civilization is based upon the lasting, changeless and religious values of Quran and Sunnah ( Hoodbhoy, 1991: 61 ) . These sorts of tenets do n’t let question and oppugning in immature heads of pupils. It closes the door of critical thought and logical thinking among pupils to deduce that sometimes the authorization can be incorrect.
The spiritual orthodoxy and elites in Muslim civilisation have closed the doors of reason, ground and inquiring. In order to beef up their power they have n’t accommodated modern instruction and scientific discipline as a consequence throughout Muslim universe we see lack of research and development, low degrees of literacy and low poorness. In order to run into the challenges of 21st century which include clime alteration, H2O crisis, poorness, and atomic proliferation etc Muslim states need to reconstitute their political, economic and spiritual establishments in order to reply the inquiries posed by modern scientific discipline. Muslim youth need to dispute the authorization and spiritual orthodoxy with ground, experiment and reason merely like the Europeans did in Renaissance to construct a society that is based upon invention, creativeness and quest for cognition.
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