Recidivism of Islam-2

Cluster Principle

Development path of man is like a plant in which organ system carries visible signs of progress that can be quantified. The shoot system indicates level of scientific knowledge achieved by a society, which drives technology and standard of living that each individual can afford. There is a hidden system that supports their progress from beneath. In the duration a society has achieved it has created a cluster of nodes that can absorb shocks of reverse in trade and commerce and many other eventualities. Such clusters that can sustain growth and maintain a society from collapse are far reaching than what readily appear to the eye. In falling back from the mainstream of civilization a society may show signs of carrying on but it has lost the vitality to grow or contribute to the common fount of human experience. One example will suffice. The west has grown past the tribal mindset long ago. Whereas Libya still propped up effete and bloodthirsty tyrants like Moammar Gaddafi for more than 42 years. In Bahrain you see a minority family running roughshod over majority Sh’ia population. In a society still bound by religion and affiliation of clans is a reflection of what is lacking. In the age of time and motion where efficiency is imperative in the middle east you see irresponsible leadership at its worst form. Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Tunisia are other examples that reveal the recidivism of Islam still echoing among the Middle East countries.
Cluster principle governs the lateral web without which no progress of any society can be sustained. In a consumer society every consumer is a hidden factor whose purchases nurse the health of such a society. The lateral web for example is giving the consumers the economic viability so they indirectly maintain the consumerism What if the consumer confidence or security is shaken?
For an amoeba digestion is simple and straight forward. Similarly lichens growing on a rock can draw nutrients straight from it. Whereas for a man his complex physiology lays premium on division of labor. Each organ has a specific purpose and digestion is done in the stomach. Cluster principle in the case of anatomy points to the division of labor that can support the complexity of man.
When Robinson Crusoe was left on a solitary isle he was cut off from the civilization that the larger world represented. He could not avail himself the service of a doctor if he had developed some sickness. In case he wished to meet people and chat with them in convivial atmosphere there was no tavern. Everything that made him a civilized man was taken from him. He was almost in danger of falling back from his station and of becoming a savage. Cluster principle that made all the facilities that a civilized world could offer him did not work in his case.
Recidivism of Islam similarly cut off the fruits of progress from them.
benny

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Recidivism of Islam

The word recidivism is used in cultural context meaning falling back from the general path of development where prevailing trends are frowned upon and resisted. Islam which was in the forefront of learning and thought ceased to develop. In short they fell back from leading Europe and it is their recidivism I am discussing here Please also refer my post Know Your Brethren of 20 Nov.
Throughout the Qur’an one can find a strong emphasis on the value of knowledge in the Islamic faith. The Qur’an encourages Muslims to learn and acquire knowledge, stemming from, but not limited to, the Muslim emphasis on knowing the unity of God. Because Muslims believe that Allah is all-knowing, they also believe that the human world’s quest for knowledge leads to further knowing of Allah. Muslims consequently led the world in their pursuit of knowledge in the medieval period of Islam, from about the 9th to the 14th centuries. The Islamic world at this time was the most scientifically advanced region of the globe, while also making important contributions in philosophy and literature. Part of the Muslim advantage came from the synthesis of ideas from diverse cultures such as the Greek, Persian, Egyptian, Indian, and Chinese, when the Islamic empire expanded in the 7th and 8th centuries. The Muslims made a priority of translating scholarly books from other cultures into Arabic and using them in developing Muslim ideas. The Muslims took Aristotle’s philosophy, Ptolemy’s geography, Hippocrates’ medicine, as well as Persian and Indian works on astronomy and mathematics, and either added to or contradicted them with new discoveries. Every major Islamic city in medieval times had an extensive library; in Cordoba and Baghdad the libraries claim to have had over 400,000 books.
Many Muslim ideas were soon transmitted to medieval Europe, and influenced learning there up until the Renaissance. By the 10th century, Europeans recognised Muslim intellectual superiority, and quickly began translating Muslim works in such fields as medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy from Arabic into Latin, Hebrew, and sometimes vernacular languages as well. By the 13th century, European students were studying at Islamic universities, mostly in Muslim-controlled Spain. Europeans realised that studying in Seville, Cordoba, Toledo, or Granada was the key to acquiring Muslim knowledge. When Latin translations of Muslim books were not completed quickly enough, universities in Toledo, Narbonne, Naples, Bologna, and Paris started teaching Arabic, in order to facilitate reading important scientific works from the Islamic world in their original language.
The Islamic world also produced many great philosophers in the medieval period, and as in other religions, a rift between philosophy and theology soon developed. The debate largely revolved around the nature and existence of Allah, and the legitimacy of the prophecy. Many Muslim philosophers were influenced by the works of Aristotle and Plato, and struggled to apply the principles of these ancient Greeks to the Islamic world. the Golden Age of Islamic learning ended with the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. As they made their way across Central Asia, the Mongols destroyed Muslim libraries, observatories, hospitals, and universities, culminating in the sack of Baghdad, the Abbasid capital and intellectual centre, in 1258. Many scholars perished in the ensuing mass murders. The following era saw a rise in conservatism, as Muslim leaders tried to preserve what remained of their civilisation. Innovative and original ideas were not welcomed the way they had been before the invasion, and philosophy was the first branch of learning to suffer. The sciences soon followed. Failure to keep up with the latest trends and from the mainstream creates a chasm. The rate in which you lose whatever gains made is incalculable. (ack:http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/beginnings/)
I shall quote a memorable line from Lewis Carroll.
The Queen: It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backward….’
‘Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!’
(to be concluded)
benny

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