Tuesday, March 14, 2006

How the moslem inventors changed the world - or did they?

I actually wanted to pass this by, since it has nothing to do with Denmark, but what the heck - its a slow newsday for Danish stuff I can blog.

You may or may not know, that The Independent recently ran an article on the exhibition "1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World" that is currently circulating in Great Britain. The Independent piece then nominated the 20 most important "moslem inventions". One problem, though:

Most of it is bogus.

For starters, you have to wonder why, to come up with 20 "influential inventions", the exhibition needs to include the 3-course-meal, coffee and chess. Then there is the fact, that legitimate doubts can be raised about 11 of them, and that none of them seem to have been made in the last 500 years.

Fausta (via Gates of Vienna and Filtrat) already picked apart 10 of the "inventions" (numbers 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18 and 20), to which I can add no 1: coffee. As the Independent story goes:

1 The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry.

The problem with this story is, that it is a lie. There are no arabs in Kaffa, and indeed the arab myth about coffee is about a goatherder in Yemen. In Kaffa - where coffee is originally from - it was christian ethiopian monks that made the discovery. Also by goat, btw.

Then there are the small, annoying comments meant to debase non-moslems. Example:

5 ... One of the Crusaders' most striking characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash.

....which is part of the moslem superiority complex. Like stories are passed around by lots of other medieval moslems to put down non-moslems. When an arab traveller ran into a band of vikings in Russia, he fex in much detail described how their daily morning hygiene consisted in passing around a vessel of water, in which they all in turn washed and blew their noses.

The stories were then propagated during the renaissance to put down that filthy period in between the Antique and its re-birth (Re-naissance).

Henrik

17 Comments:

Blogger Mike H. said...

Something that might help the computer generation is the Linux operating system which was developed by Linus Torvalds.

11:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Odin

The British 101

Don't think that a tiny liberal elite that is distrusted and despised within Britain far more than elsewhere is in any way representative of the common view.

Don't rely on what people say but on what they do.

When there was a need for action in both gulf wars, afghanistan, bosnia and anywhere else for that matter only the US has contributed more.

The independent and the Guardian are strictly minority papers, just read the circulation figures.

I have actually blogged about our deplorable media a couple of times recently check it out
http://theelbonian.blogspot.com

2:30 PM  
Blogger ummahzy said...

gee...ever find anything positive about Muslims?

If you're ever curious...

http://muslimpositive.blogspot.com/

(If you are not willing to open your heart, your mind....don't bother looking at that site as it will all seem impossible to believe)

5:52 PM  
Blogger Investment Opportunity said...

Alsalm Alaikom,
I beleave to all your Information and need to ask you How Arabic Moslem Independent Inventors, with many Great invention, that the world need very urgent, as a ready for use, to save the Earth Climate Change with Discovers of New renewable Energy source, Im the one personally ther missing the small support or help to come forward, imleting unfortunatly my inventing live and go to work as real estate brooker...tell me if you have anythink to do for one situation like this!
Im very serious and know whst im asking. The Moslems money is going
in many bad way and FITNA way? Right? We are so sorry for our nice
population, if we live like my situation, but if we can go some steps forwords and get good results?
Take this as for URGENT letter to
each good men for the Globe save.
Greeting from your brother.

8:07 PM  
Blogger Investment Opportunity said...

أن كان للاسلام رجال جعلوا من العلوم الاسلامية انوارا الي الانسانية جمعاء دون الانقطاع عن المثابرة والجهاد العلمي وبروح ابتكارية طاهرة ومسالمة وراحت القرون الي انتقالية تلو الاخري وتغيرت المعطيات والمفاهيم ونراها من الاحوال الطبيعية تجاهلا او فقدانا للامل بحكم التسارع الي الغني الاسرع وما هذا البخل السياسي الذي لا نرى له حيائا من الله ولا غيرة عن تاريخ السلف الصالح من المبتكرين المسلمين
لا استدعي من العرب والمسلمين احدا الي مساعدتي كمخترع لاهم حلول حماية الارض من
الاحتبس الحراري واترك نتائجي العظيمة من بين يدي لاشتغل وسيطا عقاريا افضل من ينظر لي اخ بعين المتسول ولكن المسؤول امام الله عن انقطاعي عن اهداف سامية هو كل مسلم تصله هذه الكلمات

نسال الله الهداية لنا ولكم والسلام عليكم

8:41 PM  
Blogger madelaine said...

The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English coffee.

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2:12 AM  
Blogger Investment Opportunity said...

ALL sciences has been to start a live from Isalamic sciences in all the stories, do you now from who come the "Zero" to the Live for Mathematics? Is moslem Arabic Scientist. the first Heart Oparation with the success over 300 years Ago.Etc.

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Blogger Anty Wong said...

I don't think an actual muslim has ever invented much of anything except maybe the IED and female circumsision.
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12:41 AM  
Blogger Investment Opportunity said...

Hi World! hereby I present me and my inventing result of long 25 years in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Dubai-UAE and other oversea experiences, in career friendship or cooperation with Multinational engineers and Scientists etc..., I'm inventing more as one good products for the Green Tech, and try to get a GRANT as support from my country Tunisia, of the amount of 10.000 EUR only, like the programs of US Energy department of invention and innovation for US Independent inventors.

My problems are: 1st. because I live in Europe before, I'm now the wrong men in the wrong civilization and country
2nd. I'm 45 year old, I'm married with 4 children ( 8-14 years) with my low income, in Tunisia.
3rd. I don't have potential possibility to travel any where and seeking the right Job or the right country which support me.
4rth. In many Arabic Countries is unfortunately no way for invention.

Then I can and want to be different worldwide and practically from USA, for the mother earth, this is the greatest SOLIDARITY for Countries Success.

About one Ideas:
Two New Technical scientific ways in the renewable Energy Technology as new alternative to generate electricity with new Nature Source, and 99.9% environment friendly manufacturing and also in use.

Answering the International wanted Advantage:
1. Generate electricity with full Continuity
2. Hight Generation Speed
3. Low factory cost
4. Quick capital return
5. Cheap Electricity for consumer
6. 50% cheap manufacture
7. 100% renewable of Nature use
8. 100% Clean manufacture so Chemic-less, CO2-less
9. Produce up to 400% more Electricity for best concurrence of all the actually renewable technologies.

Staging steps: for the level up of the development of Ideas

1. I'm developing 90% of new renewable energy source, with Stages and prove the success of new technology with new system function
2. Prototype Picture is ready
3. Patent search in USA is success full with the right to make the Patent and Royalty

Final step: The Patent search, with success result to make a provisional patent by the USPTO of new York

Proposal Basic:

1. Cooperation Agreement of Innovation
between me and your Company as for long term partnership to make two New Idea as new alternatives of new renewable energy source, Related to rights reserving of NCND Agreement
1.1 Patenting fees of one invention by USPTO in New York, 5000 EUR, is the Immediate Needed:

Including also, the publication fee and website with 3D, to eliminate my all Obstacles to continue forwarding the creation for the first month is the Primary potential as to put Small Capital in VISA or MASTER CARD ( 5000 EURO)
2. Signing "JOINT OWNERSHIP AGREEMENT"
2.1. Made the US manufacturing license, Manufacture License fee 5.000 $

2.2. Prototyping budget 170.000 up to 200.000 $
2.3. Getting up to 200 Million US Dollars as Loan forms / Investment / Association for funding the manufacturing company.
2.4. Otherwise, we sell the National license in USA then the global manufacturing License worldwide in International Invention market, may one time license price 300 Million $ this evaluation is made by specialist in USA.

You are the right Address, for this story and I'm sure to get one of your good propose of Solution example:
1st. Job in your company as engineer, supervisor, foremen.
2nd. Joint ownership Agreement of innovation of my invention.

I will be very happy to hear from you soon, and alway to answer you question.

PS: I prefer to write and speak German or French also Arabic, because my experiences in English countries are low.

Thanks and Regards


Rached Bourbia
Machinery Electrical Engineer
Mobile +216 50 997602
Email: Promoway@gmail.com
Messenger: rasch_0001@yahoo.com

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