SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Arabic book in the collection of 16th century Renaissance King Francois I, Blois.
When a teacher in rural Augusta County, Virginia, decided to expose her students to the Arabic script (a piece of calligraphy writing out the Muslim profession of faith), the backlash from some furious parents so hinted at the violence that county schools had to be closed for a day.
I guess that Script Rage was based on a lack of knowledge of the gifts European and New World cultures received from those who wrote in Arabic or the script. Among them was the great medieval Jewish thinker Maimonides. The prominent Christian theologian Thomas Aquinas was influenced by philosophers writing in Arabic. The fact that Americans are in America has something to do with Christopher Columbus's dependence on the calculations of al-Farghani, who recognized that the earth is spherical.
Here are some gifts of Arabic-language science and creativity for which we might be more grateful.
1. Arabic numerals. These originally come from Sanskrit. The Arabs adapted them and passed them on to Europe. Imagine dividing CLXII by XLIV. The Indians also invented the concept of the zero, but our circular zero comes from the Iranian scholar Muhammed ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, 780 -850, who wrote in early Abbasid Baghdad.
2. Algebra. Al-Khwarizmi laid the foundations for algebra, and the word algorithm corrupts his name. So, if any children in Augusta County, Virginia, are taught algebra, they will benefit from breakthroughs originally expressed in Arabic script.
3. Muslim scientists were the first to separate pharmacology from medicine and to professionalize the former.
4. Nasir al-Din Tusi invented trigonometry.
5. Muslims invented the modern hospital.
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
When a teacher in rural Augusta County, Virginia, decided to expose her students to the Arabic script (a piece of calligraphy writing out the Muslim profession of faith), the backlash from some furious parents so hinted at the violence that county schools had to be closed for a day.
I guess that Script Rage was based on a lack of knowledge of the gifts European and New World cultures received from those who wrote in Arabic or the script. Among them was the great medieval Jewish thinker Maimonides. The prominent Christian theologian Thomas Aquinas was influenced by philosophers writing in Arabic. The fact that Americans are in America has something to do with Christopher Columbus's dependence on the calculations of al-Farghani, who recognized that the earth is spherical.
Here are some gifts of Arabic-language science and creativity for which we might be more grateful.
1. Arabic numerals. These originally come from Sanskrit. The Arabs adapted them and passed them on to Europe. Imagine dividing CLXII by XLIV. The Indians also invented the concept of the zero, but our circular zero comes from the Iranian scholar Muhammed ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, 780 -850, who wrote in early Abbasid Baghdad.
2. Algebra. Al-Khwarizmi laid the foundations for algebra, and the word algorithm corrupts his name. So, if any children in Augusta County, Virginia, are taught algebra, they will benefit from breakthroughs originally expressed in Arabic script.
3. Muslim scientists were the first to separate pharmacology from medicine and to professionalize the former.
4. Nasir al-Din Tusi invented trigonometry.
5. Muslims invented the modern hospital.
When a teacher in rural Augusta County, Virginia, decided to expose her students to the Arabic script (a piece of calligraphy writing out the Muslim profession of faith), the backlash from some furious parents so hinted at the violence that county schools had to be closed for a day.
I guess that Script Rage was based on a lack of knowledge of the gifts European and New World cultures received from those who wrote in Arabic or the script. Among them was the great medieval Jewish thinker Maimonides. The prominent Christian theologian Thomas Aquinas was influenced by philosophers writing in Arabic. The fact that Americans are in America has something to do with Christopher Columbus's dependence on the calculations of al-Farghani, who recognized that the earth is spherical.
Here are some gifts of Arabic-language science and creativity for which we might be more grateful.
1. Arabic numerals. These originally come from Sanskrit. The Arabs adapted them and passed them on to Europe. Imagine dividing CLXII by XLIV. The Indians also invented the concept of the zero, but our circular zero comes from the Iranian scholar Muhammed ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, 780 -850, who wrote in early Abbasid Baghdad.
2. Algebra. Al-Khwarizmi laid the foundations for algebra, and the word algorithm corrupts his name. So, if any children in Augusta County, Virginia, are taught algebra, they will benefit from breakthroughs originally expressed in Arabic script.
3. Muslim scientists were the first to separate pharmacology from medicine and to professionalize the former.
4. Nasir al-Din Tusi invented trigonometry.
5. Muslims invented the modern hospital.