One often hears of how enlighted Islam was during the Medieval era.
They leave out the fact that Averroes (1126-1198), the most brilliant scholar in Andalusia, Spain, was banished for "non-Islamic" teachings.
And thus ended the Islamic involvement in the maturation of intellectual ideas bridging the gap between the Medieval era and the Renaissance.
Finished with the 12th century, back to the 9th century, boom, and stuck there ever since.
Why? Take a look at the fate of Salman Rushdie or Ayaan Hirsi Ali or countless less famous people.
Deviation from the 9th century is a capital offense, with every faithful Muslim empowered to be judge, jury, and executioner via fatwa.
In a free society, you can criticize the government, you can disrespect religion, you can disagree about the role of women or the sanctity of marriage. There is a free flow of ideas.
There is a free flow of ideas between Christians, Jews, atheists, Buddhists, Taoists, whatever, there is a free flow of ideas between men and women, there is a free flow of ideas between people who think things that have never been thought before.
No Islamic country has anything remotely approaching that, nor has since Averroes was banished for talking about Aristotle. |
