Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Propaganda and Stereotyping, was Hi! I'm new
Lynda
Well, I don't want to start a political bruhaha here but this post is filled
with government backed propaganda and misconceptions. The following article
would seem to be appropriate right about now.
Lynda
=====
A is for Arabs...
From algebra and coffee to guitars, optics and universities -- an
alphabetical reminder of what the West owes to the People of the Crescent
Moon; the much maligned Muslims.
By George Rafael
Jan. 8, 2002 | Even before Sept. 11 forced the West to face the cultural
friction between it and the Arab/Islamic world, there was an unwarranted
sense of superiority. The renowned Italian journalist and interviewer Oriana
Fallaci wrote Arab culture off as a few interesting architectural flourishes
and the Quran. Apparently, it's easy to forget that history is cyclical and
the roles were once reversed. A millennium ago, while the West was shrouded
in darkness, Islam enjoyed a golden age. Lighting in the streets of Cordoba
when London was a barbarous pit; religious tolerance in Toledo while
pogroms raged from York to Vienna. As custodians of our classical legacy,
Arabs were midwives to our Renaissance. Their influence, however alien it
might seem, has always been with us, whether it's a cup of steaming hot Joe
or the algorithms in computer programs. A little magnanimity is called for.
A is for algebra
From "al-jabr," Arabic for "restoration," itself a transliteration of a
Latin term, and just one of many contributions Arab mathematicians have made
to the "Queen of Sciences." Al-Khwarizmi (c.780-c.850), the chief librarian
of the observatory, research center and library called the House of Wisdom
in Baghdad, was the man responsible for making my life miserable at school.
The motivation behind his treatise, "Hisab al-jabr w'al-muqabala"
("Calculation by Restoration and Reduction": widely used up to the 17th
century), which covers linear and quadratic equations, was to solve trade
imbalances, inheritance questions and problems arising from land surveyance
and allocation. In passing, he also introduced into common usage our present
numerical system, which replaced the old, cumbersome Roman one. Al-Karaji of
Baghdad (953-c.1029), founder of a highly influential school of algebraic
thought, defined higher powers and their reciprocals in his "al-Fakhri" and
showed how to find their products. He also looked at polynomials and gave
the rule for expanding a binomial, anticipating Pascal's triangle by more
than six centuries. Arab syntheses of Babylonian, Indian and Greek concepts
also led to important developments in arithmetic, trigonometry (the
algorithm, for instance, thanks to al-Khwarizmi) and spherical geometry.
B is for backgammon
Sheshbesh is what it's called in Beirut and Cairo, whence the savviest
players hail. Although this beautiful waste of time dates back to the
pharaohs, the form we enjoy today came to us via Moorish Spain in the 10th
century. Ghioul and moultezim are two other variants of "the game of
kings," popular wherever the happy hookah is indulged.
C is for cough medicine
Necessity being the mother of invention, the Arabs were the first to distill
water, for long journeys across areas (such as the Sahara) where supplies
were uncertain. Their experiments with various chemical compounds also gave
us ethanol alcohol, sulfuric acid, ammonia (have you ever noticed the
uncanny resemblance between Mr. Clean and the genie in "Thief of Baghdad"?)
and mercury. In applied chemistry they discovered better and more efficient
ways for tanning leather and forging metals. Messing around with mortars and
pestles produced camphor, pomades and syrups.
D is for Dante
Her countryman Silvio Berlusconi echoed Fallaci's ill-spoken sentiments
that, on the whole, Western civilization was superior to that of Islam. She
said she was quite happy with Dante, thank you very much. She spoke too
soon. Though the theory has long incited fierce debate, Dante may have been
acquainted with "ascension literature," a fantastical literary genre that
deals with Mohammed's ascent to Heaven (using a spiraling, magical ladder;
ascension literature is still popular in the Middle East and Africa). Dante
was undoubtedly acquainted with Avicenna and Averroes ("who made the great
commentary"), assigned as they are to that benign circle of the Inferno
reserved for pagan and non-Christian worthies known as Limbo.
Moreover, according to the dean of Arabic literary studies, the formidable
Robert Irwin, "a full understanding of the writings of Voltaire, Dickens,
Melville, Proust and Borges, or indeed of the origins of science fiction,
is impossible without some familiarity with the stories of the Arabian
Nights." Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and Scheherazade, archetypes
each and every one, are honorary members of the Western canon. The mock,
allegorical travelogues and cautionary tales of Montesquieu, Voltaire,
Johnson and other18th-century writers and philosophes, are inconceivable
without the garrulous, wayward conceits of "The Arabian Nights." They're
detectable as well in the parodic chivalry of Don Quixote and in Calvino's
postmodern children's fable "Marcovaldo."
E is for equestrian
Although the ancestors of Mr. Ed and Secretariat probably originated in
Central Asia (with the "Heavenly Horses" of the King of Ferghana), our
equine friends were first bred for speed in the desert sands of the Empty
Quarter. Arab historian al-Kelbi (c. 786) traced the Arabian to the
pedigreed horses of Bax, great-great-great grandson of Noah. The conquest of
the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa and Spain was due in no small part to
the aptly named beast (and the indefatigable camel), mount of choice for
the tribesmen who swept all in their path. The descendents of these terrible
swift steeds were brought to the New World by the Conquistadors, to
devastating effect, particularly in ancient Peru where the Incas mistook
the horsemen for gods. (By the time they learned the truth it was too late.)
Appropriately enough, the largest and most successful stable today belongs
to Sheikh Maktoum of Dubai.
F is for Fitzgerald
Edward, translator of that beloved chestnut of yore, "The Rubáiyát of Omar
Khayyám" (a jug of wine, a loaf of bread -- and thou). My concern here, of
course, is not with Fitzgerald, nice duffer though he was, but with Khayyám
himself (1048-1131) -- gifted physician, Persian bard and geometer
extraordinaire. In his seminal "Algebra" he attempted a fusion of algebraic
and geometric methods, discussing the solution of cubic equations by
geometric means, anticipating analytical geometry. (Descartes took up this
thread 500 years later, though it's unlikely he knew Khayyám's work.)
Khayyám also dabbled in astronomy, his lunar calculations leading him to
reform the calendar in 1079 (there are references to this throughout the
Rubáiyát). Furthermore, Islamic astronomers invented the pendulum, improved
upon the sundial, prognosticated the existence of sunspots and studied
eclipses and comets. And al-Biruni calculated the length of the solar year
to within 24 seconds and discussed the earth's rotation on its axis -- 500
years before Galileo. Arabian and Islamic astronomers also constructed the
first observatories, in Toledo, Cordoba, Baghdad and Cairo.
G is for guitar
If the Moors had known they would be responsible for the spectacle of Mick
Jagger shaking his scrawny ass onstage into his late 50s, they might have
thought twice about schlepping the early prototypes of the instruments that
make up the typical rock band to Spain and Southern Italy. Percussion in the
form of cymbals and timpani, bowed instruments, the lute (from "al-ud," the
wood; see "The Buena Vista Social Club" for more), the Spanish guitar (or
guitarra morisca as it was originally called 800 years ago), the zither
(brought west from Greece), the dulcimer began keeping the neighbors awake
as early as the 9th century. There's also that unique Near Eastern sound and
rhythm, which, aside from early Spanish music, made itself felt in
18th-century classical music, most famously in Mozart's "The Abduction from
the Seraglio." (Turkish things were so "in" then. Witness all those
wonderfully exotic 18th-century Venetian scenes by Longhi and Reynolds'
costumed, turbaned toffs.) Miles Davis accented the "Oriental," Near Eastern
strain in his "Sketches of Spain." The godfather of world music, Davis
incorporated Middle Eastern elements into his fusion of jazz and rock in the
late '60s and '70s. Nowadays nobody thinks twice about such hybridization.
H is for "Havi"
Expanding on the legacy of the Greek physician and philosopher Galen was
Rhazes (c. 865-c. 930), the greatest doctor of the Middle Ages. His
extensive medical treatise in nine volumes, "Havi" ("The Virtuous Life"),
was used as a textbook in the Sorbonne as late as 1395. In addition to case
studies and clinical reports that still have anecdotal interest, Rhazes
also wrote a celebrated monograph on smallpox. (Knock wood.)
"The Book of Healing," by the Persian physician and philosopher Avicenna
(980-1037), is a masterwork on hygiene and therapeutics that was used as a
reference well into the 16th century. With Averroes (1126-1198), the
Andalusian physician and philosopher, Arabian medicine attained its peak.
Muslim surgeons in the 11th century knew how to treat cataracts and internal
hemorrhaging, and they pioneered the usage of anesthetics, which they
derived from herbs. Arabian hospitals anticipated our modern ones in
combining teaching facilities and libraries, and in offering
specializations such as internal medicine, opthamology, orthopedics and
pharmacology (on the last, Ibn al-Bayter, who died in 1248, described 1,400
different medicines of vegetable and mineral origin alone). They also set
standards for cleanliness and hygiene that in the West shamefully weren't
met till the 19th century.
I is for Ibn Khaldun of Tunis (1332-1406)
He invented the scientific study of history (and, indirectly it could be
argued, sociology) centuries before the French Enlightenment, Hegel, Weber
and Braudel. His "Muqaddimah" ("The Prolegomena"), the introduction to a
general survey of Islamic history with a specific focus on North Africa, was
begun in 1377 and updated several times to account for sociopolitical
changes. In it, he attempts to order the raw material and outward phenomena
of history under basic principles.
"Wise and ignorant are at one in appreciating history, since in its external
aspect it is no more than narratives telling us how circumstances
revolutionize the affairs of men, but in its internal aspect it involves an
accurate perception of the causes and origins of phenomena. For this reason
it is based on and deeply rooted in philosophy, worthy to be reckoned among
its branches.
"Human society in its various manifestations shows certain inherent features
by which all narratives must be controlled ... The historian who relies
solely upon tradition and who has no thorough understanding of the
principles governing the normal course of events, the fundamental rules of
the art of government, the nature of civilization and the characteristics of
human society is seldom secure against straying from the highway of truth
... All traditional narratives must invariably be referred back to general
principles and controlled by reference to fundamental rules."
Of Olympian detachment, Ibn Khaldun was less prone than most historians,
then and now, to fiddle the books and force facts to fit preconceived
theories. He saw that the course of history is governed by the balance of
two forces, which for him were the nomadic and the settled life. He
identified history with civilization and, having established this theory,
expounded in minute detail upon civilization in all its religious,
administrative, economic, artistic and scientific layers.
Ibn Khaldun briefly made headlines in the early 1980s, when President Reagan
quoted him in a speech. His name mystified the White House press corps,
driving them to their encyclopedias to bone up on this Ibn guy; within hours
they were speaking knowledgeably of him. As an undergraduate at the time, I
was taking a yearlong seminar entitled "Oriental Humanities." One of our
assigned texts in the Arabian section was "Muqqadimah." Professor Meskill,
an old China hand, informed us of the Great Communicator's "erudition." We
all had a good laugh.
J is for jihad
This word, which has been misinterpreted as "religious war" but really means
"an effort" or "striving," is one of many Arabic words that have entered the
English language. Besides mullah and ayatollah, which have also acquired
pejorative connotations, a partial list of Arabic words or derivatives
thereof includes: alcohol, orange, coffee, sofa, caravan, tariff (from
Tarifa -- the village through which the Moors invaded Spain, near
Gibraltar), citrus, lemon, alembic, algebra, chess, sugar, cataract,
magazine, seraphim, arsenal (also the name of a London soccer club, Osama
bin Laden's favorite, appropriately enough), apricot, sandal, Satan (from
"Shaitan," the Evil One), rice (from "al-ruzz"), sherbet and sorbet,
talisman, artichoke, rack (from "arrack," perspiration, also the name of
the fiery spirit, raqi; wrack your brains on that one), almanac, alcove,
albatross (from "al-kadas," which the Portuguese corrupted into "alcatraz";
now what would the author of "Kubla Khan" make of that?), castle (from
"alcazar"), albacore, Abyssinia, ginger, ghoul, zircon (from which we derive
"jargon," one being a mixture of stones, the other of tongues), banana (from
"banan," finger or toes), nadir, zenith, cipher, zero and monsoon (from
"mausim," or season).
K is for kebab
Next time you're munching on a Nathans, or, in my case, disputing the
nutritional value of chorizo with the missus, you have the Moor to thank.
Cured meats and sausages and the humble kebab, usually lamb or beef (never
pork), were among the culinary delights that came to Europe via Islamic
Spain. Likewise the hotter spices and spicier condiments. The Moors were
also the first to crystallize sugar (which they also brought to Europe).
L is for latte
As you sip one of those wimpy, froufrou confections in Starbucks, think
about this: Arabica. Yes, the humble coffee bean. First cultivated and
brewed as rocket fuel by Yemeni tribesman way back when -- though it's
disputed whether the beans were transplanted from Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to
the Arabian Peninsula or whether it was the other way around. As an
afterthought, we might not now have this plague of Starbucks and chi-chi
cafes were it not for the Ottoman Turks, the Viennese getting the clever
idea of the coffeehouse from them in the late 17th century.
M is for mosque
Funny, thinking about what Oriana Fallaci said earlier, the architectural
flourish commonly attributed to the Moors, the curved arch, was actually
copied from the Visigoths in Spain. Byzantine art and architecture, above
all the Hagia Sophia in what was then Constantinople, had a profound
influence on Islamic builders and artisans. However, it's the humble church
steeple (via the mighty cathedral tower) that has an Islamic antecedent,
the minaret.
N is for navigation
Without Arabian improvements upon the compass, the astrolabe, nautical maps
and seaworthy lanterns, Magellan, Cabot, Vasco da Gama, Columbus, et al.,
might have had trouble pulling anchor and leaving port. The Arabs also
pioneered the usage of hydraulic presses and water clocks, which tracked
the passage of time and phases of the moon.
O is for optics
The concept of camera obscura, which is indispensable to the later
development of photography, was first suggested in "The Treatise on
Optics," by Hassan Ali Aitan (963-1009).
P is for paradise
Consider the varieties of roses -- the damask and the gallica, to name the
two most common -- brought to Europe through Spain and Southern Italy by the
Moor. Perhaps a rose is a rose is a rose, but what signifies here is where
they're planted, and to Islamic sages and poets, gardens were symbolic of
the paradise to come, a "blue green" paradise, blue for water, naturally,
and green for greenery. The word "paradise" is of Persian origin
("paradaeza"); it literally means garden. Paradise as a garden or pleasure
ground with swaying houris (heavenly handmaidens), the one that's promised
to good male Muslims, figures heavily in the Quran, in contrast to Genesis
where the Garden of Eden is a paradise lost. (And there are no houris in the
Old Testament and definitely none in the New; is it any wonder Islam won so
many converts?)
Q is for Qasim
Can you name the mystical Sufi poet who inspired Spiritual Girl Madonna to
whirl like a dervish in "Speed of Light"? The one who is beloved by Demi
Moore, quoted by Deepak Chopra and read by New Age ninnies from Beverly
Hills to Notting Hill? (None of this, incidentally, should be held against
him.) A Persian of Greek descent, who's up there in the Persian pantheon
with Attar, Firdausi, Hafiz, Khayyam and Sadi? OK, OK, you know already:
It's Jalad'din , but actually before him there was another, more carnal
Rumi. Ibn al-Rumi (836-896) was an expansive, unforgettable, larger than
life figure, Walt Whitman and Dylan Thomas rolled into one. He was
magnificently ugly, unkempt and unwashed, pugnacious and ferociously
sarcastic ("Those who kiss ass shouldn't complain of wind"), promiscuous,
gluttonous, bibulous, blasphemous and irredeemably bohemian -- and he
wondered why he couldn't get a position at court. And Qasim, you ask? He
was the Caliph's vizier, who, fearful of the poet's wicked tongue,
graciously poisoned him at supper. Rumi, though, had the last laugh. Upon
quaffing the fatal potion and having a good burp, Rumi rose to leave. Qasim
asked where he was off to, and Rumi replied he was going where the vizier
had sent him. "In that case, convey my greetings to my father," Qasim said,
thinking himself very witty. "I am not going to the fires of hell," Rumi
replied. (Well, I needed something for Q.)
R is for religious tolerance and racial equality
Yes, hard as that might be for some to believe, Islam was the first major
religion, certainly the first monotheistic one, to practice religious
tolerance. Not that Muslim tribesmen didn't put to the sword those who
refused to convert -- they committed their fair share of well-documented
massacres early on -- but military success came so swiftly to them and on
such a vast scale, that they found themselves burdened with an empire, and
needed all the help they could get from their cleverer subjects to run it.
They were, after all, warriors, not administrators. As rulers they were
lenient, even generous (unlike the Germanic tribes that ravaged the late
Roman Empire). Besides, Jews and Christians were "People of the Book" --
Islam borrowed much from its elders; Abraham, Moses and Christ are
recognized prophets in the Koran -- and as long as they paid their tithe to
the Caliph and kept out of trouble, they were free to do as they wished (the
Zoroastrians in Persia were treated in similar fashion). "Holy Toledo," the
meeting point of the three great religions, became a model of religious
tolerance and harmony -- an idyll that ended when the Christian kings of the
north recaptured it in 1085. (Until the rise of Holland in the 17th century,
if you were Jewish it was generally better for your overall health and
well-being to live in Muslim lands such as North Africa, the Levant or
Turkey than almost anywhere in Christendom, particularly those places where
Catholicism prevailed. French missionaries are to blame for introducing the
virus of anti-Semitism to the Middle East in the 19th century.) Of the three
great thinkers who flourished under Islamic rule, one was non-Muslim,
Maimonides of Cordoba (1135-1204), author of "The Guide for the Perplexed,"
who was Jewish. Like Avicenna and his fellow Cordoban, Averroes, Maimonides
attempted to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with religious belief. He
died in Alexandria, where he founded the great synagogue.
Regarding race, Islam is colorblind, which came as a surprise to Malcolm X
on his pilgrimage to Mecca, where he found himself worshipping alongside
blond-haired, blue-eyed white devils. Unlike Christianity, which justified
racial slavery (blacks were inferior, less than human and so forth) by
citing Ham in the Old Testament, Islam emphasized the equality of man before
the eyes of God, whether black or white, rich or poor, man or woman. But,
as we all know, what is preached isn't necessarily what is practiced. The
cruel irony of Malcolm X's revelation, which challenged his ideas and
changed the course of his life, was that he had it in a country that didn't
abolish slavery until 1973. (Slavery exists today, despite claims to the
contrary, in Mauritania and in the Sudan, both Muslim nations, the latter a
fundamentalist state that has prosecuted a genocidal war against its
southern, African half for more than 20 years. None of this, of course, was
brought up at the United Nations conference on slavery in September.) And
although the British, Dutch and Portuguese dominated the Atlantic slave
trade in Caryl Philips' "Atlantic Sound," the Arabs held a firm whip hand in
East Africa, built entire ports and cities devoted solely to that very
profitable end, and played a significant role as middlemen throughout the
continent. Still, it is good to know that Islam is colorblind.
S is for shatranj
Although modern chess originated in Northern India in the 7th century A.D.,
where it was called chaturanga, it was introduced to Spain and Sicily a
century later by Moorish invaders and Saracen traders. Shatranj, which
means "king's game" (shah tranj), differs slightly from the game we know
today, in that instead of a queen there was a firzan, and in place of the
bishop there was a fil (of course). The game was slower, with pawns allowed
to advance but one square in the opening and no castling allowed. Victory
came from checkmate (from the Persian, "Shah mat," the King is lost or
helpless), stalemate or a "bare king" (the king alone, like Richard III at
Bosworth Field). Some caliphs played "living chess" -- human pieces, slaves
or prisoners -- the downside for the participants being possible
decapitation if one was captured. As depicted by the Elizabethan playwright
Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine -- in real life infamous for the Sack of
Baghdad in which a million people died -- was fond of this pastime.
T is for turban
Let's face it, the turban, the burnoose, that wild and crazy Arafat thingy
the college kids love to wear, whatever you wish to call it, is a brilliant
fashion accessory. Imagine Edith Sitwell, Audrey Hepburn or David Hume
without theirs; you can't, can you? With a little bit of water moistened
about the inside you have a portable air conditioner. The turban was an
early instance of form following function, though I have a feeling Sitwell,
Hepburn and Hume were unaware of all this. Speaking of turbans, you need the
right setting for one, too, something out of an odalisque by Ingres or
Matisse: muslin, damask, chintz to cover sofas and pillows -- Moorish
appurtenances on which to seat your little keester and to rest your weary
head -- while being fanned by eunuchs, of course.
U is for university
The concept of the university originated with the madrassas, which were
centers devoted to religious instruction, as they are in considerably less
cosmopolitan forms in Muslim nations today. The first madrassas in Spain,
in Malaga, Zaragoza and Cordoba, which later evolved into universities,
started in the 11th century. The foundation of Damascus University dates
back to the 8th century.
V is for venetian glass
Venetian glass blowers, famed for their miraculously intricate and delicate
creations, learned their secrets from the Arabs (and went on to monopolize
the glass trade for centuries). Islamic artisans and craftsmen, renowned for
their ceramics, armory and masonry, made a deep impression on their
Spanish, French and Italian counterparts. One could easily compose an
alphabet of objects, decorative and otherwise, from Aubusson tapestries to
the engravings on Zildjian cymbals, that bear traces of Arabic and Islamic
design and calligraphy.
W is for watermelon
This is just one of the many crops the Arabs introduced to the West. Others
include artichokes, rice, cotton, asparagus, oranges (from "naranj"),
lemons, limes, figs, dates, spinach and eggplants. Arab methods of
irrigation, which made the desert bloom, are still utilized today in North
Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, as are the wells and aqueducts they built.
X is for Xenophon
Have you heard of him? Friend of Socrates and Plato, guest at the Symposium,
author of a treatise on horses (the Hippike), Xenophon, in truth, was a bit
of bore. Nevertheless, we're better off for knowing him because of the
company he kept. Aristotle was a special favorite of Islamic scholars and
thinkers such as Avicenna and Averroes, particularly for his "Ethics." Much
of what remains of the Greek classics was salvaged, translated -- into
classical Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Persian and vernacular languages such as
Castillian -- and interpreted under the aegis of the Arabs, with
non-Muslims, anonymous scribes and great thinkers alike playing their parts
(Maimonides comes to mind). Contrary to popular belief, it was Christian
fanatics who sacked the Great Library of Alexandria (they followed up with a
pogrom), decades before Muhammad was born.
Y is for the yearning one (el taleb)
Like Scotsmen and their kilts, there's more going on under those burqas than
you might think. El taleb, or "the yearning one," is one of the 46 different
kinds of vulvae described in the ninth chapter of the Arabian equivalent of
"The Kama Sutra," "The Perfumed Garden of the Shaykh Nefzawi," translated by
my favorite roaming Brit (a very short list, that), the randy Sir Richard
Burton. "This vagina is met with in a few women only. With some it is
natural; with others it becomes what it is by long abstinence. It is burning
for a member, and having got one in its embrace, it refuses to part with it
until its fire is completely extinguished"; talk about vagina monologues.
(Note, fair ladies, there's a similar chapter on male equipment.) Other
chapters deal with the act of generation, with praiseworthy men and women,
with contemptible men and women, with positions other than the missionary
(mullah position, anyone?), with arousal techniques, with impotence and
sterility, with pregnancy, and so on and so forth. In contrast to the early
Christians, the Arabs had a refreshing view of sex -- it was for pleasure,
too, not just procreation.
Z is for zero
From "zefira," or cipher. Nought, nothing, nil. What a concept. Carried over
from India to the West by the Arabs. Less than zero? Well, you're getting
into negative numbers there ...
---- Original Message -----
From: "Valerie Cifuentes" <homeschool@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2002 9:41 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Hi! I'm new
with government backed propaganda and misconceptions. The following article
would seem to be appropriate right about now.
Lynda
=====
A is for Arabs...
From algebra and coffee to guitars, optics and universities -- an
alphabetical reminder of what the West owes to the People of the Crescent
Moon; the much maligned Muslims.
By George Rafael
Jan. 8, 2002 | Even before Sept. 11 forced the West to face the cultural
friction between it and the Arab/Islamic world, there was an unwarranted
sense of superiority. The renowned Italian journalist and interviewer Oriana
Fallaci wrote Arab culture off as a few interesting architectural flourishes
and the Quran. Apparently, it's easy to forget that history is cyclical and
the roles were once reversed. A millennium ago, while the West was shrouded
in darkness, Islam enjoyed a golden age. Lighting in the streets of Cordoba
when London was a barbarous pit; religious tolerance in Toledo while
pogroms raged from York to Vienna. As custodians of our classical legacy,
Arabs were midwives to our Renaissance. Their influence, however alien it
might seem, has always been with us, whether it's a cup of steaming hot Joe
or the algorithms in computer programs. A little magnanimity is called for.
A is for algebra
From "al-jabr," Arabic for "restoration," itself a transliteration of a
Latin term, and just one of many contributions Arab mathematicians have made
to the "Queen of Sciences." Al-Khwarizmi (c.780-c.850), the chief librarian
of the observatory, research center and library called the House of Wisdom
in Baghdad, was the man responsible for making my life miserable at school.
The motivation behind his treatise, "Hisab al-jabr w'al-muqabala"
("Calculation by Restoration and Reduction": widely used up to the 17th
century), which covers linear and quadratic equations, was to solve trade
imbalances, inheritance questions and problems arising from land surveyance
and allocation. In passing, he also introduced into common usage our present
numerical system, which replaced the old, cumbersome Roman one. Al-Karaji of
Baghdad (953-c.1029), founder of a highly influential school of algebraic
thought, defined higher powers and their reciprocals in his "al-Fakhri" and
showed how to find their products. He also looked at polynomials and gave
the rule for expanding a binomial, anticipating Pascal's triangle by more
than six centuries. Arab syntheses of Babylonian, Indian and Greek concepts
also led to important developments in arithmetic, trigonometry (the
algorithm, for instance, thanks to al-Khwarizmi) and spherical geometry.
B is for backgammon
Sheshbesh is what it's called in Beirut and Cairo, whence the savviest
players hail. Although this beautiful waste of time dates back to the
pharaohs, the form we enjoy today came to us via Moorish Spain in the 10th
century. Ghioul and moultezim are two other variants of "the game of
kings," popular wherever the happy hookah is indulged.
C is for cough medicine
Necessity being the mother of invention, the Arabs were the first to distill
water, for long journeys across areas (such as the Sahara) where supplies
were uncertain. Their experiments with various chemical compounds also gave
us ethanol alcohol, sulfuric acid, ammonia (have you ever noticed the
uncanny resemblance between Mr. Clean and the genie in "Thief of Baghdad"?)
and mercury. In applied chemistry they discovered better and more efficient
ways for tanning leather and forging metals. Messing around with mortars and
pestles produced camphor, pomades and syrups.
D is for Dante
Her countryman Silvio Berlusconi echoed Fallaci's ill-spoken sentiments
that, on the whole, Western civilization was superior to that of Islam. She
said she was quite happy with Dante, thank you very much. She spoke too
soon. Though the theory has long incited fierce debate, Dante may have been
acquainted with "ascension literature," a fantastical literary genre that
deals with Mohammed's ascent to Heaven (using a spiraling, magical ladder;
ascension literature is still popular in the Middle East and Africa). Dante
was undoubtedly acquainted with Avicenna and Averroes ("who made the great
commentary"), assigned as they are to that benign circle of the Inferno
reserved for pagan and non-Christian worthies known as Limbo.
Moreover, according to the dean of Arabic literary studies, the formidable
Robert Irwin, "a full understanding of the writings of Voltaire, Dickens,
Melville, Proust and Borges, or indeed of the origins of science fiction,
is impossible without some familiarity with the stories of the Arabian
Nights." Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and Scheherazade, archetypes
each and every one, are honorary members of the Western canon. The mock,
allegorical travelogues and cautionary tales of Montesquieu, Voltaire,
Johnson and other18th-century writers and philosophes, are inconceivable
without the garrulous, wayward conceits of "The Arabian Nights." They're
detectable as well in the parodic chivalry of Don Quixote and in Calvino's
postmodern children's fable "Marcovaldo."
E is for equestrian
Although the ancestors of Mr. Ed and Secretariat probably originated in
Central Asia (with the "Heavenly Horses" of the King of Ferghana), our
equine friends were first bred for speed in the desert sands of the Empty
Quarter. Arab historian al-Kelbi (c. 786) traced the Arabian to the
pedigreed horses of Bax, great-great-great grandson of Noah. The conquest of
the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa and Spain was due in no small part to
the aptly named beast (and the indefatigable camel), mount of choice for
the tribesmen who swept all in their path. The descendents of these terrible
swift steeds were brought to the New World by the Conquistadors, to
devastating effect, particularly in ancient Peru where the Incas mistook
the horsemen for gods. (By the time they learned the truth it was too late.)
Appropriately enough, the largest and most successful stable today belongs
to Sheikh Maktoum of Dubai.
F is for Fitzgerald
Edward, translator of that beloved chestnut of yore, "The Rubáiyát of Omar
Khayyám" (a jug of wine, a loaf of bread -- and thou). My concern here, of
course, is not with Fitzgerald, nice duffer though he was, but with Khayyám
himself (1048-1131) -- gifted physician, Persian bard and geometer
extraordinaire. In his seminal "Algebra" he attempted a fusion of algebraic
and geometric methods, discussing the solution of cubic equations by
geometric means, anticipating analytical geometry. (Descartes took up this
thread 500 years later, though it's unlikely he knew Khayyám's work.)
Khayyám also dabbled in astronomy, his lunar calculations leading him to
reform the calendar in 1079 (there are references to this throughout the
Rubáiyát). Furthermore, Islamic astronomers invented the pendulum, improved
upon the sundial, prognosticated the existence of sunspots and studied
eclipses and comets. And al-Biruni calculated the length of the solar year
to within 24 seconds and discussed the earth's rotation on its axis -- 500
years before Galileo. Arabian and Islamic astronomers also constructed the
first observatories, in Toledo, Cordoba, Baghdad and Cairo.
G is for guitar
If the Moors had known they would be responsible for the spectacle of Mick
Jagger shaking his scrawny ass onstage into his late 50s, they might have
thought twice about schlepping the early prototypes of the instruments that
make up the typical rock band to Spain and Southern Italy. Percussion in the
form of cymbals and timpani, bowed instruments, the lute (from "al-ud," the
wood; see "The Buena Vista Social Club" for more), the Spanish guitar (or
guitarra morisca as it was originally called 800 years ago), the zither
(brought west from Greece), the dulcimer began keeping the neighbors awake
as early as the 9th century. There's also that unique Near Eastern sound and
rhythm, which, aside from early Spanish music, made itself felt in
18th-century classical music, most famously in Mozart's "The Abduction from
the Seraglio." (Turkish things were so "in" then. Witness all those
wonderfully exotic 18th-century Venetian scenes by Longhi and Reynolds'
costumed, turbaned toffs.) Miles Davis accented the "Oriental," Near Eastern
strain in his "Sketches of Spain." The godfather of world music, Davis
incorporated Middle Eastern elements into his fusion of jazz and rock in the
late '60s and '70s. Nowadays nobody thinks twice about such hybridization.
H is for "Havi"
Expanding on the legacy of the Greek physician and philosopher Galen was
Rhazes (c. 865-c. 930), the greatest doctor of the Middle Ages. His
extensive medical treatise in nine volumes, "Havi" ("The Virtuous Life"),
was used as a textbook in the Sorbonne as late as 1395. In addition to case
studies and clinical reports that still have anecdotal interest, Rhazes
also wrote a celebrated monograph on smallpox. (Knock wood.)
"The Book of Healing," by the Persian physician and philosopher Avicenna
(980-1037), is a masterwork on hygiene and therapeutics that was used as a
reference well into the 16th century. With Averroes (1126-1198), the
Andalusian physician and philosopher, Arabian medicine attained its peak.
Muslim surgeons in the 11th century knew how to treat cataracts and internal
hemorrhaging, and they pioneered the usage of anesthetics, which they
derived from herbs. Arabian hospitals anticipated our modern ones in
combining teaching facilities and libraries, and in offering
specializations such as internal medicine, opthamology, orthopedics and
pharmacology (on the last, Ibn al-Bayter, who died in 1248, described 1,400
different medicines of vegetable and mineral origin alone). They also set
standards for cleanliness and hygiene that in the West shamefully weren't
met till the 19th century.
I is for Ibn Khaldun of Tunis (1332-1406)
He invented the scientific study of history (and, indirectly it could be
argued, sociology) centuries before the French Enlightenment, Hegel, Weber
and Braudel. His "Muqaddimah" ("The Prolegomena"), the introduction to a
general survey of Islamic history with a specific focus on North Africa, was
begun in 1377 and updated several times to account for sociopolitical
changes. In it, he attempts to order the raw material and outward phenomena
of history under basic principles.
"Wise and ignorant are at one in appreciating history, since in its external
aspect it is no more than narratives telling us how circumstances
revolutionize the affairs of men, but in its internal aspect it involves an
accurate perception of the causes and origins of phenomena. For this reason
it is based on and deeply rooted in philosophy, worthy to be reckoned among
its branches.
"Human society in its various manifestations shows certain inherent features
by which all narratives must be controlled ... The historian who relies
solely upon tradition and who has no thorough understanding of the
principles governing the normal course of events, the fundamental rules of
the art of government, the nature of civilization and the characteristics of
human society is seldom secure against straying from the highway of truth
... All traditional narratives must invariably be referred back to general
principles and controlled by reference to fundamental rules."
Of Olympian detachment, Ibn Khaldun was less prone than most historians,
then and now, to fiddle the books and force facts to fit preconceived
theories. He saw that the course of history is governed by the balance of
two forces, which for him were the nomadic and the settled life. He
identified history with civilization and, having established this theory,
expounded in minute detail upon civilization in all its religious,
administrative, economic, artistic and scientific layers.
Ibn Khaldun briefly made headlines in the early 1980s, when President Reagan
quoted him in a speech. His name mystified the White House press corps,
driving them to their encyclopedias to bone up on this Ibn guy; within hours
they were speaking knowledgeably of him. As an undergraduate at the time, I
was taking a yearlong seminar entitled "Oriental Humanities." One of our
assigned texts in the Arabian section was "Muqqadimah." Professor Meskill,
an old China hand, informed us of the Great Communicator's "erudition." We
all had a good laugh.
J is for jihad
This word, which has been misinterpreted as "religious war" but really means
"an effort" or "striving," is one of many Arabic words that have entered the
English language. Besides mullah and ayatollah, which have also acquired
pejorative connotations, a partial list of Arabic words or derivatives
thereof includes: alcohol, orange, coffee, sofa, caravan, tariff (from
Tarifa -- the village through which the Moors invaded Spain, near
Gibraltar), citrus, lemon, alembic, algebra, chess, sugar, cataract,
magazine, seraphim, arsenal (also the name of a London soccer club, Osama
bin Laden's favorite, appropriately enough), apricot, sandal, Satan (from
"Shaitan," the Evil One), rice (from "al-ruzz"), sherbet and sorbet,
talisman, artichoke, rack (from "arrack," perspiration, also the name of
the fiery spirit, raqi; wrack your brains on that one), almanac, alcove,
albatross (from "al-kadas," which the Portuguese corrupted into "alcatraz";
now what would the author of "Kubla Khan" make of that?), castle (from
"alcazar"), albacore, Abyssinia, ginger, ghoul, zircon (from which we derive
"jargon," one being a mixture of stones, the other of tongues), banana (from
"banan," finger or toes), nadir, zenith, cipher, zero and monsoon (from
"mausim," or season).
K is for kebab
Next time you're munching on a Nathans, or, in my case, disputing the
nutritional value of chorizo with the missus, you have the Moor to thank.
Cured meats and sausages and the humble kebab, usually lamb or beef (never
pork), were among the culinary delights that came to Europe via Islamic
Spain. Likewise the hotter spices and spicier condiments. The Moors were
also the first to crystallize sugar (which they also brought to Europe).
L is for latte
As you sip one of those wimpy, froufrou confections in Starbucks, think
about this: Arabica. Yes, the humble coffee bean. First cultivated and
brewed as rocket fuel by Yemeni tribesman way back when -- though it's
disputed whether the beans were transplanted from Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to
the Arabian Peninsula or whether it was the other way around. As an
afterthought, we might not now have this plague of Starbucks and chi-chi
cafes were it not for the Ottoman Turks, the Viennese getting the clever
idea of the coffeehouse from them in the late 17th century.
M is for mosque
Funny, thinking about what Oriana Fallaci said earlier, the architectural
flourish commonly attributed to the Moors, the curved arch, was actually
copied from the Visigoths in Spain. Byzantine art and architecture, above
all the Hagia Sophia in what was then Constantinople, had a profound
influence on Islamic builders and artisans. However, it's the humble church
steeple (via the mighty cathedral tower) that has an Islamic antecedent,
the minaret.
N is for navigation
Without Arabian improvements upon the compass, the astrolabe, nautical maps
and seaworthy lanterns, Magellan, Cabot, Vasco da Gama, Columbus, et al.,
might have had trouble pulling anchor and leaving port. The Arabs also
pioneered the usage of hydraulic presses and water clocks, which tracked
the passage of time and phases of the moon.
O is for optics
The concept of camera obscura, which is indispensable to the later
development of photography, was first suggested in "The Treatise on
Optics," by Hassan Ali Aitan (963-1009).
P is for paradise
Consider the varieties of roses -- the damask and the gallica, to name the
two most common -- brought to Europe through Spain and Southern Italy by the
Moor. Perhaps a rose is a rose is a rose, but what signifies here is where
they're planted, and to Islamic sages and poets, gardens were symbolic of
the paradise to come, a "blue green" paradise, blue for water, naturally,
and green for greenery. The word "paradise" is of Persian origin
("paradaeza"); it literally means garden. Paradise as a garden or pleasure
ground with swaying houris (heavenly handmaidens), the one that's promised
to good male Muslims, figures heavily in the Quran, in contrast to Genesis
where the Garden of Eden is a paradise lost. (And there are no houris in the
Old Testament and definitely none in the New; is it any wonder Islam won so
many converts?)
Q is for Qasim
Can you name the mystical Sufi poet who inspired Spiritual Girl Madonna to
whirl like a dervish in "Speed of Light"? The one who is beloved by Demi
Moore, quoted by Deepak Chopra and read by New Age ninnies from Beverly
Hills to Notting Hill? (None of this, incidentally, should be held against
him.) A Persian of Greek descent, who's up there in the Persian pantheon
with Attar, Firdausi, Hafiz, Khayyam and Sadi? OK, OK, you know already:
It's Jalad'din , but actually before him there was another, more carnal
Rumi. Ibn al-Rumi (836-896) was an expansive, unforgettable, larger than
life figure, Walt Whitman and Dylan Thomas rolled into one. He was
magnificently ugly, unkempt and unwashed, pugnacious and ferociously
sarcastic ("Those who kiss ass shouldn't complain of wind"), promiscuous,
gluttonous, bibulous, blasphemous and irredeemably bohemian -- and he
wondered why he couldn't get a position at court. And Qasim, you ask? He
was the Caliph's vizier, who, fearful of the poet's wicked tongue,
graciously poisoned him at supper. Rumi, though, had the last laugh. Upon
quaffing the fatal potion and having a good burp, Rumi rose to leave. Qasim
asked where he was off to, and Rumi replied he was going where the vizier
had sent him. "In that case, convey my greetings to my father," Qasim said,
thinking himself very witty. "I am not going to the fires of hell," Rumi
replied. (Well, I needed something for Q.)
R is for religious tolerance and racial equality
Yes, hard as that might be for some to believe, Islam was the first major
religion, certainly the first monotheistic one, to practice religious
tolerance. Not that Muslim tribesmen didn't put to the sword those who
refused to convert -- they committed their fair share of well-documented
massacres early on -- but military success came so swiftly to them and on
such a vast scale, that they found themselves burdened with an empire, and
needed all the help they could get from their cleverer subjects to run it.
They were, after all, warriors, not administrators. As rulers they were
lenient, even generous (unlike the Germanic tribes that ravaged the late
Roman Empire). Besides, Jews and Christians were "People of the Book" --
Islam borrowed much from its elders; Abraham, Moses and Christ are
recognized prophets in the Koran -- and as long as they paid their tithe to
the Caliph and kept out of trouble, they were free to do as they wished (the
Zoroastrians in Persia were treated in similar fashion). "Holy Toledo," the
meeting point of the three great religions, became a model of religious
tolerance and harmony -- an idyll that ended when the Christian kings of the
north recaptured it in 1085. (Until the rise of Holland in the 17th century,
if you were Jewish it was generally better for your overall health and
well-being to live in Muslim lands such as North Africa, the Levant or
Turkey than almost anywhere in Christendom, particularly those places where
Catholicism prevailed. French missionaries are to blame for introducing the
virus of anti-Semitism to the Middle East in the 19th century.) Of the three
great thinkers who flourished under Islamic rule, one was non-Muslim,
Maimonides of Cordoba (1135-1204), author of "The Guide for the Perplexed,"
who was Jewish. Like Avicenna and his fellow Cordoban, Averroes, Maimonides
attempted to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with religious belief. He
died in Alexandria, where he founded the great synagogue.
Regarding race, Islam is colorblind, which came as a surprise to Malcolm X
on his pilgrimage to Mecca, where he found himself worshipping alongside
blond-haired, blue-eyed white devils. Unlike Christianity, which justified
racial slavery (blacks were inferior, less than human and so forth) by
citing Ham in the Old Testament, Islam emphasized the equality of man before
the eyes of God, whether black or white, rich or poor, man or woman. But,
as we all know, what is preached isn't necessarily what is practiced. The
cruel irony of Malcolm X's revelation, which challenged his ideas and
changed the course of his life, was that he had it in a country that didn't
abolish slavery until 1973. (Slavery exists today, despite claims to the
contrary, in Mauritania and in the Sudan, both Muslim nations, the latter a
fundamentalist state that has prosecuted a genocidal war against its
southern, African half for more than 20 years. None of this, of course, was
brought up at the United Nations conference on slavery in September.) And
although the British, Dutch and Portuguese dominated the Atlantic slave
trade in Caryl Philips' "Atlantic Sound," the Arabs held a firm whip hand in
East Africa, built entire ports and cities devoted solely to that very
profitable end, and played a significant role as middlemen throughout the
continent. Still, it is good to know that Islam is colorblind.
S is for shatranj
Although modern chess originated in Northern India in the 7th century A.D.,
where it was called chaturanga, it was introduced to Spain and Sicily a
century later by Moorish invaders and Saracen traders. Shatranj, which
means "king's game" (shah tranj), differs slightly from the game we know
today, in that instead of a queen there was a firzan, and in place of the
bishop there was a fil (of course). The game was slower, with pawns allowed
to advance but one square in the opening and no castling allowed. Victory
came from checkmate (from the Persian, "Shah mat," the King is lost or
helpless), stalemate or a "bare king" (the king alone, like Richard III at
Bosworth Field). Some caliphs played "living chess" -- human pieces, slaves
or prisoners -- the downside for the participants being possible
decapitation if one was captured. As depicted by the Elizabethan playwright
Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine -- in real life infamous for the Sack of
Baghdad in which a million people died -- was fond of this pastime.
T is for turban
Let's face it, the turban, the burnoose, that wild and crazy Arafat thingy
the college kids love to wear, whatever you wish to call it, is a brilliant
fashion accessory. Imagine Edith Sitwell, Audrey Hepburn or David Hume
without theirs; you can't, can you? With a little bit of water moistened
about the inside you have a portable air conditioner. The turban was an
early instance of form following function, though I have a feeling Sitwell,
Hepburn and Hume were unaware of all this. Speaking of turbans, you need the
right setting for one, too, something out of an odalisque by Ingres or
Matisse: muslin, damask, chintz to cover sofas and pillows -- Moorish
appurtenances on which to seat your little keester and to rest your weary
head -- while being fanned by eunuchs, of course.
U is for university
The concept of the university originated with the madrassas, which were
centers devoted to religious instruction, as they are in considerably less
cosmopolitan forms in Muslim nations today. The first madrassas in Spain,
in Malaga, Zaragoza and Cordoba, which later evolved into universities,
started in the 11th century. The foundation of Damascus University dates
back to the 8th century.
V is for venetian glass
Venetian glass blowers, famed for their miraculously intricate and delicate
creations, learned their secrets from the Arabs (and went on to monopolize
the glass trade for centuries). Islamic artisans and craftsmen, renowned for
their ceramics, armory and masonry, made a deep impression on their
Spanish, French and Italian counterparts. One could easily compose an
alphabet of objects, decorative and otherwise, from Aubusson tapestries to
the engravings on Zildjian cymbals, that bear traces of Arabic and Islamic
design and calligraphy.
W is for watermelon
This is just one of the many crops the Arabs introduced to the West. Others
include artichokes, rice, cotton, asparagus, oranges (from "naranj"),
lemons, limes, figs, dates, spinach and eggplants. Arab methods of
irrigation, which made the desert bloom, are still utilized today in North
Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, as are the wells and aqueducts they built.
X is for Xenophon
Have you heard of him? Friend of Socrates and Plato, guest at the Symposium,
author of a treatise on horses (the Hippike), Xenophon, in truth, was a bit
of bore. Nevertheless, we're better off for knowing him because of the
company he kept. Aristotle was a special favorite of Islamic scholars and
thinkers such as Avicenna and Averroes, particularly for his "Ethics." Much
of what remains of the Greek classics was salvaged, translated -- into
classical Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Persian and vernacular languages such as
Castillian -- and interpreted under the aegis of the Arabs, with
non-Muslims, anonymous scribes and great thinkers alike playing their parts
(Maimonides comes to mind). Contrary to popular belief, it was Christian
fanatics who sacked the Great Library of Alexandria (they followed up with a
pogrom), decades before Muhammad was born.
Y is for the yearning one (el taleb)
Like Scotsmen and their kilts, there's more going on under those burqas than
you might think. El taleb, or "the yearning one," is one of the 46 different
kinds of vulvae described in the ninth chapter of the Arabian equivalent of
"The Kama Sutra," "The Perfumed Garden of the Shaykh Nefzawi," translated by
my favorite roaming Brit (a very short list, that), the randy Sir Richard
Burton. "This vagina is met with in a few women only. With some it is
natural; with others it becomes what it is by long abstinence. It is burning
for a member, and having got one in its embrace, it refuses to part with it
until its fire is completely extinguished"; talk about vagina monologues.
(Note, fair ladies, there's a similar chapter on male equipment.) Other
chapters deal with the act of generation, with praiseworthy men and women,
with contemptible men and women, with positions other than the missionary
(mullah position, anyone?), with arousal techniques, with impotence and
sterility, with pregnancy, and so on and so forth. In contrast to the early
Christians, the Arabs had a refreshing view of sex -- it was for pleasure,
too, not just procreation.
Z is for zero
From "zefira," or cipher. Nought, nothing, nil. What a concept. Carried over
from India to the West by the Arabs. Less than zero? Well, you're getting
into negative numbers there ...
---- Original Message -----
From: "Valerie Cifuentes" <homeschool@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2002 9:41 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Hi! I'm new
> Hi! I'm Valerie
> We are new to unschooling but have been homeschooling for 7 years. One
> year I lost my head and taught at a private school for tuition so my
> children could attend. Anyway, I won't go into that.
> We live in Camp LeJeune, NC. My DH is a Navy man of 14 years.
> I have 3 kids, dd 14, dd 11, ds 9.
> I have always tried to get around NOT doing some of our workbooks and I
> never felt good about going over the same material over and over again.
> Anyway, I know you have heard the same thing from others. I'm sure I'm
> quite typical.
> I have been lurking for most of the day.
> I have a little opinion on the TV issue. Well, there are many rabbit
> trails on here about them. :O)
> I just wanted to introduce myself before I jumped in! :O)
>
> >>>>>But, I've been thinking a lot about suicide bombers lately and I
> have
> > to wonder what happens to make them willing to do that? How desperate
> > do their lives have to be? How much have they lost hope that things
> > can improve?<<<<
>
> >From what we have learned the bombers don't believe that their lives are
> desperate, bad or lacking in any way. They find that the Western culture
> with all of it's modernization and frills is very evil, as well as any
> modernization on that side of the world.
> Starvation is considered the norm and violence is a part of their
> religion.
> They kill themselves because they are taught that this life has no value
> whatsoever and paradise awaits them when they discard their earthly
> flesh. When they murder innocent people they believe that they are being
> merciful to those people by ending their corrupted lives. These bombers
> are taught from their earliest youth that the only reason they are alive
> is to die in "Holy Jihad" and to be with Allah very soon.
> Notice that the bombers are very young, most not even in their 30's. I
> think that their government has intensified it's teachings of Holy Jihad
> in the last couple of decades.
> The Navy is serving the Detainees and POW's in Camp X-Ray. My husband is
> attached to the fleet hospital down there. He didn't have to go as he
> was with Division at the time the hospital moved down there and he was
> "left behind" (though he stands a 50/50 right now of having to deploy in
> September for the change over.) The docs that come back are telling us
> how young the detainees are. The average age is 15. Their lives were so
> rugged that they can't believe the excellent treatment they are getting
> in Camp X-ray!
> They have never known what medical care really is! Needless to say,
> quite a few claim to defect. But I don't believe it. They are so
> brainwashed into the Jihad thing, it will take a lot to turn around that
> powerfully evil teaching.
> Anyway, don't want to get off on a tangent. :O) But this is an
> interesting subject and my children and I have been following since
> Sept. 11 as closely as possible.
> Thanks for letting me share.
>
> >
>
> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> .· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
> ¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
> ((¸¸.·´ .·´ -:¦:-Valerie Cifuentes
> -:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*
> I CAN NO LONGER ACCEPT FORWARDS, CHAIN LETTERS AND PETITIONS. THEY ARE
> FILLING UP MY BOX AND TAKING UP MY TIME. THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING!
> http://nolen.home.texas.net/valerie/Cifuentes.html
> I'm A Navy Brat & Wife of HM2 Cifuentes; Active Duty Navy, & Mother of
> Three Young Navy Brats!
> *~*PLEASE HAVE PATIENCE AS I CHECK EMAIL ONCE IN THE MORNING & EVENING
> AFTER 3:00PM AND NOT ON SUNDAY (THE LORD'S DAY.)*~*
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sharon childs [mailto:sugarcrafter@...]
> Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 6:19 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: TV is bad
>
> I have put a lot lot lot of thought into that also and I really can not
> come
> up with anything. Are they doing this from loyalty, from fear of some
> kind
> of personal threat (maybe against their families or something), are they
> brainwashed, are they mind controlled by maybe drugs and other things?
>
> Nothing has ever made any sense to me regarding this. It is totally
> beyond
> my comprehension.
> .·:*´¨`*:·..·:*´¨`*:·.
> *.* Sharon *.*
> *· .·*
> `*·-:¦:-*´
> ³´`*:»§«:*´`³
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "rumpleteasermom" <rumpleteasermom@...>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 8:59 AM
> Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: TV is bad
>
>
> > --- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "sharon childs" <sugarcrafter@u...>
> > wrote:
> > > Every crime that is commited is commited for lots of reasons.
> >
> >
> > Sharon, mostly, I agree. There is no definite line that says somethig
> > violent is no longer a crime but rather an act of war.
> >
> > But, I've been thinking a lot about suicide bombers lately and I have
> > to wonder what happens to make them willing to do that? How desperate
> > do their lives have to be? How much have they lost hope that things
> > can improve?
> >
> > Bridget
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ~~~ Don't forget! If you change the topic, change the subject line!
> ~~~
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > [email protected]
> >
> > Visit the Unschooling website:
> > http://www.unschooling.com
> >
> >
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
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rumpleteasermom
My dh was telling me the other day that not all of the palestinian
suicide bombers have been Muslim. Still haven't had time to go verify
that but he is usually right about this stuff.
Bridget - still wondering how hopeless one must be to do that.
suicide bombers have been Muslim. Still haven't had time to go verify
that but he is usually right about this stuff.
Bridget - still wondering how hopeless one must be to do that.
--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "Lynda" <lurine@s...> wrote:
> Well, I don't want to start a political bruhaha here but this post
is filled
> with government backed propaganda and misconceptions. The following
article
> would seem to be appropriate right about now.
>
> Lynda
Karima Webb
No, not all are muslim, there are arab christians and jews as well. In fact, Arabs only make up perhaps 15% of the entire worldwide (over 1.4 billion) muslims. The largest concentration is in Indonesia and Asia.
Karima
apparently, the resident Muslim
Karima
apparently, the resident Muslim
----- Original Message -----
From: rumpleteasermom
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 8:39 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: Propaganda and Stereotyping, was Hi! I'm new
My dh was telling me the other day that not all of the palestinian
suicide bombers have been Muslim. Still haven't had time to go verify
that but he is usually right about this stuff.
Bridget - still wondering how hopeless one must be to do that.
--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "Lynda" <lurine@s...> wrote:
> Well, I don't want to start a political bruhaha here but this post
is filled
> with government backed propaganda and misconceptions. The following
article
> would seem to be appropriate right about now.
>
> Lynda
~~~ Don't forget! If you change the topic, change the subject line! ~~~
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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Tia Leschke
>Well, I don't want to start a political bruhaha here but this post is filledThis is great, Lynda. Thanks for sending it.
>with government backed propaganda and misconceptions. The following article
>would seem to be appropriate right about now.
Tia
>A is for Arabs...What you think of me is none of my business.
> >From algebra and coffee to guitars, optics and universities -- an
>alphabetical reminder of what the West owes to the People of the Crescent
>Moon; the much maligned Muslims.
*********************************************************
Tia Leschke leschke@...
On Vancouver Island
[email protected]
On Sun, 21 Apr 2002 11:00:47 -0500 "Karima Webb" <karimawebb@...>
writes:
Isreali Jews? I don't understand the motivation...?
Dar
writes:
> No, not all are muslim, there are arab christians and jews as well.But why would an Arab Jew or Christian become a suicide bomber to kill
> In fact, Arabs only make up perhaps 15% of the entire worldwide
> (over 1.4 billion) muslims. The largest concentration is in
> Indonesia and Asia.
Isreali Jews? I don't understand the motivation...?
Dar
[email protected]
In a message dated 4/21/02 11:44:28 AM, freeform@... writes:
<< But why would an Arab Jew or Christian become a suicide bomber to kill
Isreali Jews? I don't understand the motivation...? >>
This is way off topic, and I apologize for prolonging it, but if you read
what people hope to gain for their own people by defying what they consider
to be evil, then the motivation seems clear.
And it's not being hopeless. It's being hopeFUL that the defiance of even
everyday people can defend their homes and relatives from what they see as
ungodly cruelty.
In the Middle Ages, Christian crusaders did some horrible things. But they
had been assured that if they died on crusade they would go straight to
heaven regardless of other sins. And even pilgrims, travelling to religious
shrines (Jerusalem, Rome, or just local stuff) were guaranteed immunity from
hell while they were on pilgrimage.
Japanese kamikazi pilots. Martyred saints. Buddhist priests who have
protested with self-immolation. They weren't stupid people. There was much
thought and hope behind their actions.
Sandra
<< But why would an Arab Jew or Christian become a suicide bomber to kill
Isreali Jews? I don't understand the motivation...? >>
This is way off topic, and I apologize for prolonging it, but if you read
what people hope to gain for their own people by defying what they consider
to be evil, then the motivation seems clear.
And it's not being hopeless. It's being hopeFUL that the defiance of even
everyday people can defend their homes and relatives from what they see as
ungodly cruelty.
In the Middle Ages, Christian crusaders did some horrible things. But they
had been assured that if they died on crusade they would go straight to
heaven regardless of other sins. And even pilgrims, travelling to religious
shrines (Jerusalem, Rome, or just local stuff) were guaranteed immunity from
hell while they were on pilgrimage.
Japanese kamikazi pilots. Martyred saints. Buddhist priests who have
protested with self-immolation. They weren't stupid people. There was much
thought and hope behind their actions.
Sandra
Karima Webb
The motivation is that the land has been illegally occupied since the israeli state was chartered and sanctioned by the UN.
All Palestinians were displaced unjustly. It had nothing to do with religion, it still doesn't. This is a land issue.
If I moved into your house and despite the police telling me that I can't stay there, I remain and then I invite everyone I know to move in as well, wouldn't that upset you just a tad? This has been going on for 50 years. The camps have been set up for 45 years. Palestinians have been displaced. The Israelis are considered "occupying forces". They won't leave.
Karima
All Palestinians were displaced unjustly. It had nothing to do with religion, it still doesn't. This is a land issue.
If I moved into your house and despite the police telling me that I can't stay there, I remain and then I invite everyone I know to move in as well, wouldn't that upset you just a tad? This has been going on for 50 years. The camps have been set up for 45 years. Palestinians have been displaced. The Israelis are considered "occupying forces". They won't leave.
Karima
----- Original Message -----
From: freeform@...
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 12:27 PM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: Propaganda and Stereotyping, was Hi! I'm new
On Sun, 21 Apr 2002 11:00:47 -0500 "Karima Webb" <karimawebb@...>
writes:
> No, not all are muslim, there are arab christians and jews as well.
> In fact, Arabs only make up perhaps 15% of the entire worldwide
> (over 1.4 billion) muslims. The largest concentration is in
> Indonesia and Asia.
But why would an Arab Jew or Christian become a suicide bomber to kill
Isreali Jews? I don't understand the motivation...?
Dar
~~~ Don't forget! If you change the topic, change the subject line! ~~~
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Lynda
The history of that region was stable until the UK and US came up with a
brain fart that resulted in the UN carving out a chunk of land to be given
to the Jews as Israel. Israel has been at war with its neighbors since that
time.
The main problem is the same as it would be if a segment of the population
in the town you live in was suddenly given rights to a section of the town
and then started "expanding" their land holdings and wanting more and more
of your town.
right now you have the Israelis taking over parts of Palestine, they have
stationed troups in the homes of Palestinians, they have shelled hospitals,
schools and residential neighborhoods. This has been going on since 1999
and is getting worse by the day. last week they shelled a refugee camp.
The US is seen as a bad guy because they provide money and weapons to the
Israelis. The "war" is rather lopsided because the Israelis have tanks,
jets, helicopters and other weapons either provided by the US or bought with
US funds, about $5 BILLION per year to be exact. The Palestinians who are
only trying to take back their own land are fighting with old rifles,
PERIOD!
they have spent years petitioning the US, the UK and the UN to no avail.
The only relief they see is in the form of the Hamas and the suicide
bombers.
This is not to say that it is right or an excuse, it is an explanation of
why things are the way they are.
Lynda
brain fart that resulted in the UN carving out a chunk of land to be given
to the Jews as Israel. Israel has been at war with its neighbors since that
time.
The main problem is the same as it would be if a segment of the population
in the town you live in was suddenly given rights to a section of the town
and then started "expanding" their land holdings and wanting more and more
of your town.
right now you have the Israelis taking over parts of Palestine, they have
stationed troups in the homes of Palestinians, they have shelled hospitals,
schools and residential neighborhoods. This has been going on since 1999
and is getting worse by the day. last week they shelled a refugee camp.
The US is seen as a bad guy because they provide money and weapons to the
Israelis. The "war" is rather lopsided because the Israelis have tanks,
jets, helicopters and other weapons either provided by the US or bought with
US funds, about $5 BILLION per year to be exact. The Palestinians who are
only trying to take back their own land are fighting with old rifles,
PERIOD!
they have spent years petitioning the US, the UK and the UN to no avail.
The only relief they see is in the form of the Hamas and the suicide
bombers.
This is not to say that it is right or an excuse, it is an explanation of
why things are the way they are.
Lynda
----- Original Message -----
From: <freeform@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 10:27 AM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: Propaganda and Stereotyping, was Hi!
I'm new
>
> On Sun, 21 Apr 2002 11:00:47 -0500 "Karima Webb" <karimawebb@...>
> writes:
> > No, not all are muslim, there are arab christians and jews as well.
> > In fact, Arabs only make up perhaps 15% of the entire worldwide
> > (over 1.4 billion) muslims. The largest concentration is in
> > Indonesia and Asia.
>
> But why would an Arab Jew or Christian become a suicide bomber to kill
> Isreali Jews? I don't understand the motivation...?
>
> Dar
>
>
> ~~~ Don't forget! If you change the topic, change the subject line! ~~~
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
>
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> http://www.unschooling.com
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>
>
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>
>
rumpleteasermom
Karima,
I'd be very interested in hearingmore of your thoughts on the middle
east conflict. I'd also like to know where you are from - do you
have a connection to that area? But if you don't want to answer I
will understand.
Bridget
ps - My SIL just married a Tanzanian Muslim - Excellent Food!!!!
I'd be very interested in hearingmore of your thoughts on the middle
east conflict. I'd also like to know where you are from - do you
have a connection to that area? But if you don't want to answer I
will understand.
Bridget
ps - My SIL just married a Tanzanian Muslim - Excellent Food!!!!
--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "Karima Webb" <karimawebb@t...> wrote:
> No, not all are muslim, there are arab christians and jews as well.
In fact, Arabs only make up perhaps 15% of the entire worldwide (over
1.4 billion) muslims. The largest concentration is in Indonesia and
Asia.
>
>
> Karima
> apparently, the resident Muslim
rumpleteasermom
More and more, what is happening there reminds me of what happened in
North America 200 some years ago.
Bridget
North America 200 some years ago.
Bridget
--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "Karima Webb" <karimawebb@t...> wrote:
> The motivation is that the land has been illegally occupied since
the israeli state was chartered and sanctioned by the UN.
> All Palestinians were displaced unjustly. It had nothing to do with
religion, it still doesn't. This is a land issue.
>
> If I moved into your house and despite the police telling me that I
can't stay there, I remain and then I invite everyone I know to move
in as well, wouldn't that upset you just a tad? This has been going
on for 50 years. The camps have been set up for 45 years.
Palestinians have been displaced. The Israelis are considered
"occupying forces". They won't leave.
>
> Karima
Karima Webb
Karima,
I'd be very interested in hearingmore of your thoughts on the middle
east conflict. I'd also like to know where you are from - do you
have a connection to that area? But if you don't want to answer I
will understand.
ps - My SIL just married a Tanzanian Muslim - Excellent Food!!!!
Sure, which thoughts? The ones that condemn Israel or the ones that condemn muslim majority countries for thinking more about personal wealth and status than Islam?
I'm from the US, have lived here all my life.
Tanz food is good, I prefer greek and indian food (and occassionaly chinese food)... Anything with curry has my vote.
Karima
I'd be very interested in hearingmore of your thoughts on the middle
east conflict. I'd also like to know where you are from - do you
have a connection to that area? But if you don't want to answer I
will understand.
ps - My SIL just married a Tanzanian Muslim - Excellent Food!!!!
Sure, which thoughts? The ones that condemn Israel or the ones that condemn muslim majority countries for thinking more about personal wealth and status than Islam?
I'm from the US, have lived here all my life.
Tanz food is good, I prefer greek and indian food (and occassionaly chinese food)... Anything with curry has my vote.
Karima
--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "Karima Webb" <karimawebb@t...> wrote:
> No, not all are muslim, there are arab christians and jews as well.
In fact, Arabs only make up perhaps 15% of the entire worldwide (over
1.4 billion) muslims. The largest concentration is in Indonesia and
Asia.
>
>
> Karima
> apparently, the resident Muslim
~~~ Don't forget! If you change the topic, change the subject line! ~~~
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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Visit the Unschooling website:
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rumpleteasermom
Both actually. I think Isreal is wrong. I think the money grubbing
oil sheiks are wrong. But I'm not sure I know enough about the
everyday common people in the region to understand their feelings.
Something in a book I read last night strikes me as appropriate inthis
thread.
If you are in power over someone, you don't just have the priveledges
to lead them. You also have the responsibity to protect them from
harm. If you aren't doing both, you aren't truly a leader.
Bridget
oil sheiks are wrong. But I'm not sure I know enough about the
everyday common people in the region to understand their feelings.
Something in a book I read last night strikes me as appropriate inthis
thread.
If you are in power over someone, you don't just have the priveledges
to lead them. You also have the responsibity to protect them from
harm. If you aren't doing both, you aren't truly a leader.
Bridget
--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "Karima Webb" <karimawebb@t...> wrote:
> Sure, which thoughts? The ones that condemn Israel or the ones that
condemn muslim majority countries for thinking more about personal
wealth and status than Islam?
>
> I'm from the US, have lived here all my life.
>
> Tanz food is good, I prefer greek and indian food (and occassionaly
chinese food)... Anything with curry has my vote.
>
>
> Karima
>
>