Thread: Muslims should blame themselves, says Dr M

Muslims should blame themselves, says Dr M
Sun, Feb 17, 2008
The Star



KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Many of the crises faced by Muslims and the Muslim world were largely due to their own fault, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

The former prime minister said crises were not something new to the Muslim world as they existed since the Quran began to be interpreted in many ways by different groups.

"Crises and problems also began when Muslim scholars began to neglect subjects perceived to be secular such as science, mathematics, medicine and engineering, but focused only on religious studies.

"I would like to insist that the fault lies in ourselves. We are the people to be blamed, letting ourselves split by so many sects and different interpretations of the Quran," Dr Mahathir said in his keynote address on "Global Peace: Crisis in the Muslim World" at the International Islamic University (IIU), Gombak, near here.

At one time, Dr Mahathir said, Muslims were leaders in science, mathematics, astronomy, architecture, engineering and medicine while the Western world lagged behind them and were in the dark ages.

However, the Europeans, noticing the knowledge acquired by Muslim scholars, began to learn Arabic to get access to the (various fields of) knowledge and got out of the dark ages and achieved the Renaissance.

He said while the Europeans developed powerful military forces, Muslims however, become less knowledgeable and less capable of doing things for themselves, including defending themselves.

asiaone.com

it would be interesting to read the whole text, rather than the cherry picked examples here.

but....

Originally Posted by Mid

However, the Europeans, noticing the knowledge acquired by Muslim scholars, began to learn Arabic to get access to the (various fields of) knowledge and got out of the dark ages and achieved the Renaissance.

is he suggesting that western understanding of these subject areas is only based on muslim work??

Originally Posted by kingwilly

is he suggesting that western understanding of these subject areas is only based on muslim work??

I'm sure he just means that the Muslims carried the torch which was passed onto them by the Greeks, before in turn the Europeans took it from them during the Renaissance.

^^

try the links from here and give ya Bahasa a test ............

Tun Dr Mahathir Berucap di UIA - soc.culture.malaysia | Google Groups

It's time for another crusade.....They dident finish the job the first time....

IMO, The good Doctor is pretty much on the money in what he says. Given his current political status, he is able to speak a few truths about Islam without worrying about his next election.

... ourselves split by so many sects and different interpretations of the Quran...

Very interesting point that one. Different forces pulling in different directions.

Sounds a bit like Christianity.

^ It does, very much so.

I think the difference is that we're seeing the effects of this here and now as regards Muslims. Aside from the odd break-away splinter group of Christian nutters preaching armageddon, the divide in the Church is more settled and historical in a lot of respects.

Christians had their Crusades and their violent persecutions. They got over it, and moved on. Now Islam is doing the same thing. It's like a clumsy adolescent phase that unfortunately lasts a few hundred years.