We\u2019ll wind up the term, architecturally speaking, with a building called the Taj Mahal.
(Please click to enlarge.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had an exchange last week with somebody who assured me \u2014 based, so far as I could tell, on the many minutes that he\u2019s spent listening to talk radio \u2014 that Islamic civilization<\/em> is an oxymoron, and that it has never contributed anything whatever of any value to the history of science, art, medicine, mathematics, law, philosophy, or literature.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, I\u2019ll be administering a midterm exam in one of my classes that, along with some basic information on Islamic history and the fundamental principles of the religion and the basic elements of mosque architecture, will focus on three works of literature (the Kalila wa Dimna<\/em> of Ibn al-Muqaffa\u2018, the Shahnameh<\/em> of al-Firdawsi, and the Deliverer from Error<\/em> of al-Ghazali), as well as the Ka\u2018ba, the Topkapi Palace, the Dome of the Rock, the Grand Umayyad Mosque, Islamic gardens, the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, the Great Mosque of Cordoba, the so-called Gayer Anderson House, and the Alhambra.)<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Much more could be said about art, literature, music, philosophy, science, and the rest, but I challenged my challenger to give a good look at those items and get back to me. \u00a0It\u2019s been about a week. \u00a0He hasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I issue the same challenge to others who\u2019re inclined to make his historically uninformed claim.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
And those things are just the merest tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg: \u00a0On Thursday, I plan to discuss The Conference of the Birds<\/em>, by Farid al-Din Attar, as well as the concept of the madrasa<\/em> and Cairo\u2019s mosque-university of al-Azhar.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 I had an exchange last week with somebody who assured me \u2014 based, so far as I could tell, on the many minutes that he\u2019s spent listening to talk radio \u2014 that Islamic civilization is an oxymoron, and that it has never contributed anything whatever of any value to the history of science, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"India's](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/03\/Taj_Mahal_reflection_on_Yamuna_river_Agra.jpg\")
<\/a>