Prodigious Contributor to Civilization
During the past 17 years, the primary victims of the clerical dictatorship have been the people of Iran themselves
. The havoc caused by the utter incompetence of the ruling mullahs in Tehran has brought such tremendous harm to the socio-economic and international dignity of Iran that at times the people of Iran are blamed for and even equated with the short-sighted policies of their so-called leaders.
The voluminous work of such well known Western scholars as Dr. Arthur Upham Pope, Dr. Edward Browne and numerous other Iranologists have objectively shed a bright light on the historical, artistic and scientific accomplishments of this benevolent nation. However, today and sadly enough, terms such as "terrorist", "rogue" and "outlaw", which are pertinent only to the behavior of the despotic mullahs, are inadvertently uttered to describe 67 million Iranians. To abate such grave misconceptions, in this issue, we will put our focus on a fraction of the prodigious contributions of Iran to the world civilization.
When we study the scientific and philosophic books of the Islamic period we are surprised to find that the origin of most of the science and technological developments are attributed to the Greeks. The reason for this complete surrender to the hegemony of the Greeks in the East, was that the Muslim Scientists and men of letters had not found any books pertaining to sciences in Iran and other parts of the Middle East and whatever there was, had a Greek stamp on it. Nonetheless, we have to bear in mind that, the historians of old also admitted that most of the scientific books of the East were collected in Iran and Mesopotamia by the order of Alexander, and after translation into Greek, the originals were destroyed.
Also we know from history, as related by Ibn-Khaldun that when Iran was conquered by the Arabs, a large number of books and libraries were found. An Arab warrior, Sa'ad Ibn Waqas wrote to Caliph Omar about these and asked if they could be sacked and distributed among the Muslims. Omar wrote back that: "All these books should be washed in water and destroyed because if they are books teaching guidance, the Almighty has already sent us a better guidance through Koran, and if they are books leading us astray, may the Almighty save us from their evil teachings."
It should be realized also, that ever since the conquest of Iran, Caliphs and their Arab retinues had a real fear of Iranian uprising and national resurgence and so they were very much against listening to anything of interest in the domain of science and philosophy coming from Iranians, and so the latter were always forced to present themselves and their ideas behind the screen of Greek philosophers in order to bring their own theories and views to be heard.
Periscien, who was one of the six Greek philosophers who came as refugees to Iran in 529 A.D., wrote the following revealing words in the preface of the book he especially prepared for Khosrow I, (Anushirvan): "When I present to you this philosophical book I have done nothing but to offer you a fruit that I have gleaned from your own garden. It is in the same fashion that people make a sacrifice to Gods from among their own creatures." In fact most of the Greek authors in classical times considered themselves as heirs and successors of the Eastern sages, especially of the Iranian Prophet, Zoroaster (Zarathustra).
According to the Greek tradition, Zoroaster patronised a series of sciences in Greece, such as asrtology, botany and alchemy. The reason behind this attribution is that in pre-Islamic Iran, science grew in the shadow of the Zoroastrian fire-temples and individuals did not imprint their names upon each new discovery or invention. All these were collected and kept in the libraries attached to the fire-temples, and thus, the Greeks who received most of their information from the Magi (the priests) considered them as the works of Zoroaster himself.
Prodigious Contributor to Civilization
By: Dr Izharul Hasan
Using Wall Decals To Snazz Up Your Office Space Who Needs A Muralist, Anyway? (hint: Not You!) Belfast Is Great For City Breaks Our Busy But Sedentary Lives Are Doing Us No Favors Prostate Supplement Project Teams: Collaboration Vs. Distraction 4 Ways To Stay Fresh During A Long Project Cobra Coverage Explained No Distractions, Please. I'm Driving! Transform Your Abs With Russian Twists How To Win The Lotto - Guarantee Your Bet Three Ways To Connect With Your Prospects Why Brick Wall Decals Are Better Than Real Brick