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Revision as of 17:46, 29 October 2010 by 196.210.239.170 (talk) (→Publications)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)David Bukay is a Professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Haifa. He is the author of Islamic Fundamentalism and the Arab Political Culture. He specializes in the Arab-Israeli conflict; inter-Arab relations and the Palestinian question; international terrorism and fundamental Islam; theoretical issues and political applications in the Middle-East; Asad's foreign policy towards Israel and Lebanon; the culture approach to understanding the Middle-East.
Views
Bukay is a supporter of the controversial Huntington thesis of the Clash of Civilisations. He argues that there is a wide gap between what he categorises as "Western political culture" and "the Arab-Islamic political culture". Bukay also holds controversial opinions in his own right. In a speech to a conference in Jerusalem in 2003, he argued that "the aggressiveness and fanaticism of Islamic fundamentalism is an existentially lethal phenomenon". He went on to claim that "Islam and democracy are totally incompatible, and are mutually inconclusive. The same applies to Modernity, which is perceived as a threat to Islamic civilization", and that "Leaders and policy-makers in the West refuse to grasp that the Islamic and Palestinian terrorism embodies the SARS decease: Suicide and Ruin Syndrome of democratic society. Until it is understood that this struggle is the war between the Son of Light against the Sons of Darkness, that they represent the invasion of the Huns, in order to destroy modern culture - the world will continue to face an existential more growing threat".
In his book Arab-Islamic Political Culture, Bukay writes: "This is a culture where rumors are an integral part of social activity, and they quickly become absolute truth that cannot be challenged. It has to do with exaggerations, flights of fancy, and especially, in a society that believes in conspiracies, a society wherein every date is important, that remembers everything and forgives nothing. This is a society wherein the lie is an essential component of behavior patterns, and lying is endorsed by religious sages".
According to an article in Haaretz, Bukay also wrote in the same book: “There is no condemnation, no regret, no problem of conscience among Arabs and Muslims, anywhere, in any social stratum, of any social position”. The article further alleges that he distributed a document to his students stating that “when an Arab or a Muslim opens his remarks with the expression wallahi, he is apparently intending to lie”.
Publications
Books
- Total Terrorism in the Name of Allah: The Emergence of the New Islamic Fundamentalists. Shaarei-Tikva: Ariel Center for Policy Research, 2002.
- Arab-Islamic Political Culture. Shaarei-Tikva: Center for Policy Research, 2003.
- Ed.: Muhammad's Monsters: A Comprehensive Guide to Radical Islam for Western Audiences. Green Forest, Ar.: Balfour Books, 2004.
- Arafat, the Palestinian National Movement and Israel: The Politics of Masks and Paradox. New York: Mellen Press, 2005.
- "From Muhammed to Bin Laden: Religious and ideological sources of the homicide bombers phenomenon". New Burnswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2008.
Articles
- Zionists, Post-Zionists and Pseudo-Zionists: The Media Leftist Complex and the al-Aqsa Intifadah, in: S. Sharan (ed.). Israel and the Post-Zionists. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2003.
- The New Islamic Anarchistic Groups, in: D. Bukay. Muhammad’s Monsters.
The Facts about the Bible
Introduction
What should be made known is the fact that the history of the Bible as revealed by Christians and Jews proves that the Bible was constructed by them. Their claims reveal that the Bible is not a divine book nor is it an inspired book as no one knows its authors! The Bible is divided into two sections, which constitute their Scriptures, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The first Church in Christianity is the Roman Catholic Church, they claim that the Old Testament generally consists of 45 books and the New Testament consists of 27 books. Then shockingly, they add a rider to it: “Although the number might be some-what higher or lower depending on how one separates or combines certain Old Testament books”. However, the Protestants who came into existence only 1228 years after the first Church, claims that the Old Testament contain only 39 books.
The evidence to substantiate what has been said:
Christianity is taught to be one of the major ways of life in the world. It is claim by Christians to a religion. Yet they claim that their book is not based on the original guidance or revelations from the Creator. The first Church in Christianity claims:
“Bible, Manuscripts of the. Copies of the Biblical text, written by hand. The text of the Bible has been handed down to us through handwritten and printed copies of the original writings and through translations into various ancient and modern languages. None of the original manuscripts written by the inspired authors themselves (autographs) is known to exist, but there are many ancient copies of the originals.” (Our emphases)
The effect of the above claim is so devastating that the other denominations of Christianity which came into existence 1,228 years after the first Church wants to claim that the first Church has no right to state what they claimed is the truth! On what grounds can anyone object to what the original Church in Christianity knows is the truth? In spite of the foolish objections, the combined mainstream Protestant Churches claims:
“Since no autograph of any book of the Bible has survived, textual criticism plays an important part in Bible study. The material on which textual critics of the Bible work includes not only manuscript copies of the books of the Bible in their original languages but also ancient translations into other languages and quotations of biblical passages by ancient authors”.
The above submission must have been known to them as they were originally all Catholics, who became Protestants only after they first became apostates! However, it is clear that the main bone of contention must have been the Bible itself! The fact that the Biblical contents were changed proves the point!
Why was it so easy to create all these great devastating differences, if the Bible was the word of their Creator? There are many reasons that made it so simple! Out of the many, one of the most obvious is the language! Is it not strange that “Moses” is claimed to have appeared in the year 4004 BC? Yet, the name of the book is claimed to be the Bible which is ‘derived through Latin from the Greek’ language! Both nations entered Palestine thousands of years after “Moses”! Now surely “Moses” could never have spoken to Pharaoh in any of the languages claimed by the Jews and Christians, which according to them was Hebrew or even if they want to claim that it was Aramaic! It should be known that the name of the language Hebrew is a Greek word and not a word originated from the Children of Isrâ’îl. What does this mean? It means that not one word of the Old Testament can be the truth, as no prophet that came to the Children of Isrâ’îl spoke Hebrew!
Adam never sinned according to the Bible
Let us prove what we claim:
Genesis 2:15: “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:25: And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Genesis 3:1: Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. Genesis 3:24: So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”
When we informed a sane but ordinary uneducated Christian person about this story, he went and lay on his stomach and laughed for some time; when he was finished, we told him this is a Holy Biblical story. He reacted by saying this cannot be true! He said: ‘are you saying that God wants to dress the Garden of Eden and let human beings walk naked?’ We said: ‘This is what is written in your Holy Bible.’ He said: ‘I am not an educated person and cannot read, but what you are saying is bullshit!’ We said ‘you must retract those words because you are talking about the Holy Bible!’ Then he got furious, and said ‘do you play with the words of God?’ Then we gave him a Bible and said go home and ask anyone to read to you the marked pages. He then said: ‘But I cannot believe that a serpent can talk!’ We said: ‘It might have happened in those days – who knows?’ He interjected and said ‘please stop this bullshit!’ Again we said ‘please retract those words.’ Then he asks, ‘can you prove to me that a serpent can speak?’ We tried to calm him, and he reacted by saying ‘the people still walk naked in Europe why cant serpents also still talk?’ Then we thought it is best not to continue as he might become violent.
Then we found a well educated Christian, who has a doctorate in Zoology and we said to him ‘brother, can you please explain this Biblical narration to us?’ We gave him the few pages which we photo-copied. He looked at it for some time and said ‘this can never be from my Holy Bible!’ We ask him why he thinks so. He said: ‘look at all the things Adam had done by naming every animal that exists which I myself do not know, and I have studied many animals!’ Then we tried to change the subject by saying you know that sometimes you see Christians runs naked on a Rugby field and you must have seen in the news papers that many educated Europeans in Holland ride bicycles naked the other day! So why must Adam not be able to be like those Europeans? Then he said: ‘Adam did not know anything until the talking serpent told his wife that it was God who lied about eating the fruit that they would die! So how could Adam have known the names of all the animals which I still do not know today? You must remember that I am a Zoologist.’ Then we ask him, how do you as a Christian explains that “they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day”? He then said: ‘These papers cannot be from the Holy Bible!’ We ask why you think so. He said: ‘Don’t be silly, it makes no sense as no one’s voice can walk. This could not even be a metaphorical statement.’ Then we said, alright but what have you to say about Adam’s sin? He quickly responded and said are we trying to be funny? We said what is funny about the question? He said ‘how was it possible for Adam to commit any sin while in a state of ignorance?’ We responded by saying that is what your Holy Bible claims! He said ‘these papers can never be the words of the Holy Bible!’ Then we said what are you going to do when we show you that these verses were copied from the Bible? He said do you know that ‘I am going to Church for over 45 years and never heard these verses!’ We said you might not have listened carefully enough. He said: Please bring me a Holy Bible! We fetch one, and he started reading it. Then he looked down and said: ‘Damn it!’ We said do not feel bad many people do not read their Scriptures. He responded, ‘I cannot believe this; it has shaken my entire life!’ We thought that we must just give him a Translated Qur’ân, then we gave him a Translated Qur’ân and said: Now you try and do the same what we have done, he then smiled and we said Goodbye!
However, the many absurd fables are in the Holy man-made reconstructed fabricated Bible as a whole must be classified as an Apocryphal book!
The fewer verses appeared first in the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible. Thereafter, the New International Version’s Textual Critics decided to do the same as that of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible, but the New International Version’s Textual Critics decided to remove the number of the verse also:
Matthew 17: 21 Matthew 18: 11 Matthew 23:14 Mark 7: 16
Mark 11: 26 Luke 23: 17 John 5:4 Acts 8: 37
Acts 15: 34 Acts 24: 7 Acts 28:29 Romans 16: 24
The fewer books in all Protestant Bibles we referred to is as follows: We begin with the Roman Catholic’s Bible:
“OLD TESTAMENT Historical Nooks (21) Genesis; 4 Kings Exodus 1 Paralipomenon Leviticus 2 Paralipomenon Numbers 1 Esdras Deuteronomy 2 Esdras Josue Tobias Judges Judith Ruth Esther 1 Kings I Machabees 2 Kings 2 Machabees 3 Kings
Doctrinal Books (7)
Job Canticle of Canticles Psalm Wisdom Proverb Sirach Ecclesiastes Prophetic Books (17) Isaias Jonas Jeremias Micheas Baruch Nahum Ezechiel Habacuc Daniel Sophonias Osee Aggeus Joel Zacharias Amos Maiachias Abdias New TESTAMENT Historical Books (5) Matthew John Mark Acts of the Apostles Luke Doctrinal Books (Epistles, 21) Romans Titus 1 Corinthians Philemon 2 Corinthians Hebrews Galatians James Ephesians 1 Peter Ephesians 2 Peter Colossians 1 John 1 Thessalonians 2 John 2 Thessalonians 3 John I Timothy Jude 2 Timothy
Prophetic Book (1)
Apocalypse
Protestants accept both the Old and the New Testaments and generally di¬vide the books into groups in the same way as Catholics. Most Protestants, however, exclude from the Old Testa¬ment six complete books (seven, if Baruch is considered a separate book) and parts of two others. These books (called “apocrypha” by, most non¬-Catholics) were included in Protestant Bibles until fairly recent times. In his German Bible (1534), Luther did not exclude them, but relegated them to the end of the book. The King James translators (1611) did the same thing. It was only in 1827 that the British and American Bible societies began to ex¬clude them completely. Moreover, the names of the Old Testament books differ somewhat be¬tween the King James Version or other Protestant versions and most Catholic Bibles. The difference in name is of no theological importance, and there is a tendency among some Catholics today to adopt the King James’ spellings.
CATHOLIC BIBLE PROTESTANT BIBLE Genesis Genesis Exodus Exodus Leviticus Leviticus Numbers Numbers Deuteronomy Deuteronomy Josue Joshua Judges Judges Ruth Ruth 1 Kings 1 Samuel 2 Kings 2 Samuel 3 Kings 1 Kings 4 Kings 2 Kings 1 Paralipomenon 2 Chronicles 2 Paralipomenon 2 Chronicles Esdras Ezra 2 Esdras Nehemiah Tobias (omitted) Judith (omitted) Esther Esther (a portion omitted) Job Job Psalms Psalms Proverbs Proverbs Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes Canticle of Canticles Song of Solomon Wisdom (omitted) Sirach (omitted) Isaias Isaiah Jeremias Jeremiah Lamentations Lamentations Baruch (omitted) Ezechiel Ezekiel Daniel Daniel (part omitted) Osee Hosea Joel Joel Amos Amos Abdias Obadiah Jonas Jonah Micheas Micah Nahum Nahum Habacuc Habakkuk Sophonias Zephaniah Aggeus Haggai Zacharias Zechariah Malachias Malachi 1 Machabees (omitted) 2 Machabees (omitted)
The Jews, who accept only 39 books of the Old Testament, divide, them into groups, but in a different way than Christians:
The Torah (the Law)
Genesis Numbers Exodus Deuteronomy Leviticus
The Former Prophets Joshua 2 Samuel Judges 1 Kings I Samuel 2 Kings The Latter Prophets Isaiah Micah Jeremiah Nahum Ezekiel Habakkuk Hosea Zephaniah Joel Haggai Amos Zechariah Obadiah Malachi Jonah
The Writings
Psalms Esther Proverbs Daniel Job Ezra Song of Songs Nehemiah Ruth I Chronicles Lamentations 2 Chronicles Ecclesiastes
The Bible is used in the Catholic Church chiefly for three purposes (I) the Bible is a source of divine revelation. God has spoken to men in two ways, through Scripture and through tradition (which see). The Council Of Trent stated that both founts of revela¬tion, Scripture and tradition, are to be esteemed equally. (2) Scriptural passages are always used in the Church’s liturgy. Both the praise of God and petitions to God found in liturgical prayer are either given in the words of the Bible or in a manner modeled after Scripture, e.g., the Psalms. Moreover, the readings and instructions incor¬porated in the liturgy are taken largely from Scripture. (3) Scripture is a re¬ligious book to be used also for one’s personal spiritual life. St. Jerome said that ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ, and Pope Benedict XV repeated this phrase of Jerome. No better book of personal spiritual reading could be found.”
After examining the above information one find it difficult to consider the Bible as a source of divine revelation or a book of inspired contents. The statement of the Roman Catholics that “Most Protestants, however, exclude from the Old Testa¬ment six complete books (seven, if Baruch is considered a separate book) and parts of two others” tells that there is no surety whether the book Baruch is really part of the Bible. The book Baruch is either a book of the Old Testament or it is simply not part of the words of God. This fact questions the authenticity of the first whole Bible.
Our concern is the Jehovah’s Witnesses. When the followers of the Roman Catholic Church decided to break away from the Church, they must either have disagreed with the Bible not being the words of God or they disagreed with the Pope or the Bishops or the Priests. If they disagreed with the Pope or the Bishops or the Priests, then they would not have changed the Bible. However, they have changed the Bible which makes it clear that it was the first Bible which they could not tolerate. If they had only disagreed with the Pope or the Bishops or the Priests or only one of the groups then they would never have changed the first Bible. Make no mistake, that those who broke away from the original Church must be termed as apostates. That is the first sin they committed; the second sin they committed is that they removed some books from the first Bible; the third sin they committed was that they changed the modus operandi of the Church.
Please keep in mind that we are not claiming that the Roman Catholics have the truth, as we have made our stand clear that they also do not possess the truth as by their own admission above, what we are doing is only revealing the state of those who broke away from the original Church. We shall reveal the state of all those who follows the Bible! One needs not to be a Professor to come to the conclusion that the Bible of all denominations is the main bone of contention.
It is important that we start with the biblical history as reported by those who broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. The Holy Bible opens with the following words: “To the most high and mighty prince James, by the grace of God, King of great Britain, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c.” This 1896 Bible reveals that Genesis chapter one began in the year 4004 BC. According to the book ‘The Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopaedic Dictionary’ Jesus was born ‘(c 4 B.C. – c A.D. 30)’. According to John Blanchard, who states: “Strictly speaking, the Bible is not a book at all, but a collection of sixty-six documents brought together over the course of about 1,500 years, the most recent dating from about A.D. 95.” Then the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim: “The Bible was written over a span of some 1,600 years, from 1513 B.E.C. to about 98 C.E.” We have the first oldest manuscripts dated 916 AD which is the Massoretic text. Then we have the Dead Sea Scrolls which brings the date a thousand years backwards. Blanchard reports as follows: “...the Dead Sea Scroll manuscript of a particular important chapter of the Bible is more than 1000 years older than the earliest copy we previously possessed...” What does this mean? It means that the Jehovah’s Witnesses seems not to tell the truth. If the Dead Sea Scrolls is a thousand years older, then the Bible cannot be older than about 100 BC. Even though the Dead Sea Scrolls are supposed to be the oldest, there is not one Bible that contains its contents. We ask why? They were forced to keep the documents for fifty years in secret and had to kill John Marco Allegro - in order to protect the secret of their manipulations of the Scrolls. So many controversial things were written about the Scrolls, but till today they have not been released, or even used in any of the Bibles. We believe strongly that the creation of Israel in 1948 was as a direct result of the Scrolls. It seems to have been the bargaining chip for Israel and it protection. Before 1947 the Jews and Christians did not see eye to eye but suddenly after the discovery of the Scrolls things changed dramatically and so quickly and Israel was created under the auspicious of the Christian nations.
We can safely say that the age of the Bible cannot begin before 100 BC, or let us be magnanimous and give it an extra 500 years grace, then we still have 3400 years left for which we must discover biblical documents in order to substantiate the authenticity of the Bible. Tom, Dick and Harry knows that there are no documents for those years. One can even go to the Kalahari and Sahara Deserts and the people there would tell you the same. It could even be that some of the people in Timbuktu might give reasons as to why there can never be an original Bible.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses, this new sect who emerged during 1931 claims the following:
“Book Writer Date Completed Time Covered Place Written Genesis Moses 1513 after chapter 1, verse 2: Wilderness
46,026-1657
Exodus Moses 1512 1657 – 1512 Wilderness Leviticus Moses 1512 1 Month (1512) Wilderness
Job Moses c. 1473 Over 140 years Wilderness Between 1657 -1473 Numbers Moses 1473 1512 – 1473 Wilderness and Plains of Moab Deuteronomy Moses 1473 2 months (1473) Plains of Moab”
The Jehovah’s Witnesses who are supposed to have emerged from people who have studied the Bible, and called themselves ‘The Bible Students’ made the above false claim. If they had studied the Bible they would have known that the book of Job cannot be the book of Moses. They placed the book as the fourth book of Moses in the above quotation, but placed the book of Job in their Bible as the eighteenth book. What does it mean? Is this the work of righteous men?
Just on the above information the Bible cannot be the truth and by extension Christianity also cannot be the truth!
J. Arthur Findlay in the following words further supports the above view: “Christianity was the compromise. Conditions then were like conditions now. Philosophy then, as Science now is doing, was killing superstition, and consequently the pagan priesthood opposed it just as the Christian priesthood opposed science. Science has conquered because it had behind it the printing press which philosophy lacked. The people then were turning away from the ancient Religion, the temples were neglected, and the Gods were not worshipped as of old. Something had to be done to preserve the power of the priesthood. Something new but yet the same had to be given to the people to satisfy their longings. Constantine on reaching the throne saw how events were moving within his domain, especially in Rome, and decided that the then little known cult, Christianity, suited best the needs of the people, provided its differences could be settled and it was brought more into line with pagan thought. Eusebius and Athanasius produced the necessary structure, the former the Nicene Creed and the latter the ideas which ultimately developed into the Athanasian Creed. Eusebius and the other Church fathers, it is reasonable to believe, would not hesitate to make what alterations were necessary in the writings and records of the cult to bring them into line with the creeds they produced. Honesty and accuracy, as we understand them, did not exist in those days. For three hundred years prior to Nicœa no historical records existed, so there was no great difficulty in deluding the people as to the past story of the cult. Any thing could be added to or subtracted from its past beliefs without undue comment” Visit http://tanzil.info/for English translation of Qur’an
“I have to deplore the systematic manner in which the literature of Europe has contrived to put out of sight our scientific obligations to the Mohammedans. Surely they cannot be much longer hidden. Injustice founded on religious rancour and national conceit cannot be perpetuated forever.” .
What is not taught in school.
What is Taught: The first mention of man in flight was by Roger Bacon, who drew a flying apparatus. Leonardo da Vinci also conceived of airborne transport and drew several prototypes.
What Should be Taught: Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain invented, constructed and tested a flying machine in the 800's A.D. Roger Bacon learned of flying machines from Arabic references to Ibn Firnas' machine. The latter's invention antedates Bacon by 500 years and Da Vinci by some 700 years.
What is Taught: Glass mirrors were first produced in 1291 in Venice.
What Should be Taught: Glass mirrors were in use in Islamic Spain as early as the 11th century. The Venetians learned of the art of fine glass production from Syrian artisans during the 9th and 10th centuries.
What is Taught: Until the 14th century, the only type of clock available was the water clock. In 1335, a large mechanical clock was erected in Milan, Italy. This was possibly the first weight-driven clock.
What Should be Taught: A variety of mechanical clocks were produced by Spanish Muslim engineers, both large and small, and this knowledge was transmitted to Europe through Latin translations of Islamic books on mechanics. These clocks were weight-driven. Designs and illustrations of epi-cyclic and segmental gears were provided. One such clock included a mercury escapement. The latter type was directly copied by Europeans during the 15th century. In addition, during the 9th century, Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain, according to Will Durant, invented a watch-like device which kept accurate time. The Muslims also constructed a variety of highly accurate astronomical clocks for use in their observatories.
What is Taught: In the 17th century, the pendulum was developed by Galileo during his teenage years. He noticed a chandelier swaying as it was being blown by the wind. As a result, he went home and invented the pendulum.
What Should be Taught: The pendulum was discovered by Ibn Yunus al-Masri during the 10th century, who was the first to study and document its oscillatory motion. Its value for use in clocks was introduced by Muslim physicists during the 15th century.
What is Taught: Movable type and the printing press was invented in the West by Johannes Gutenberg of Germany during the 15th century.
What Should be Taught: In 1454, Gutenberg developed the most sophisticated printing press of the Middle Ages. However, movable brass type was in use in Islamic Spain 100 years prior, and that is where the West's first printing devices were made.
What is Taught: Isaac Newton's 17th century study of lenses, light and prisms forms the foundation of the modern science of optics .
What Should be Taught: In the 1lth century al-Haytham determined virtually everything that Newton advanced regarding optics centuries prior and is regarded by numerous authorities as the "founder of optics. " There is little doubt that Newton was influenced by him. Al-Haytham was the most quoted physicist of the Middle Ages. His works were utilized and quoted by a greater number of European scholars during the 16th and 17th centuries than those of Newton and Galileo combined.
What is Taught: Isaac Newton, during the 17th century, discovered that white light consists of various rays of colored light.
What Should be Taught: This discovery was made in its entirety by al-Haytham (11th century) and Kamal ad-Din (14th century). Newton did make original discoveries, but this was not one of them.
What is Taught: The concept of the finite nature of matter was first introduced by Antione Lavoisier during the 18th century. He discovered that, although matter may change its form or shape, its mass always remains the same. Thus, for instance, if water is heated to steam, if salt is dissolved in water or if a piece of wood is burned to ashes, the total mass remains unchanged. What Should be Taught: The principles of this discovery were elaborated centuries before by Islamic Persia's great scholar, al-Biruni (d. 1050). Lavoisier was a disciple of the Muslim chemists and physicists and referred to their books frequently.
What is Taught: The Greeks were the developers of trigonometry .
What Should be Taught: Trigonometry remained largely a theoretical science among the Greeks. It was developed to a level of modern perfection by Muslim scholars, although the weight of the credit must be given to al-Battani. The words describing the basic functions of this science, sine, cosine and tangent, are all derived from Arabic terms. Thus, original contributions by the Greeks in trigonometry were minimal.
What is Taught: The use of decimal fractions in mathematics was first developed by a Dutchman, Simon Stevin, in 1589. He helped advance the mathematical sciences by replacing the cumbersome fractions, for instance, 1/2, with decimal fractions, for example, 0.5.
What Should be Taught: Muslim mathematicians were the first to utilize decimals instead of fractions on a large scale. Al-Kashi's book, Key to Arithmetic, was written at the beginning of the 15th century and was the stimulus for the systematic application of decimals to whole numbers and fractions thereof. It is highly probably that Stevin imported the idea to Europe from al-Kashi's work.
What is Taught: The first man to utilize algebraic symbols was the French mathematician, Francois Vieta. In 1591, he wrote an algebra book describing equations with letters such as the now familiar x and y's. Asimov says that this discovery had an impact similar to the progression from Roman numerals to Arabic numbers.
What Should be Taught: Muslim mathematicians, the inventors of algebra, introduced the concept of using letters for unknown variables in equations as early as the 9th century A.D. Through this system, they solved a variety of complex equations, including quadratic and cubic equations. They used symbols to develop and perfect the binomial theorem.
What is Taught: The difficult cubic equations (x to the third power) remained unsolved until the 16th century when Niccolo Tartaglia, an Italian mathematician, solved them.
What Should be Taught: Cubic equations as well as numerous equations of even higher degrees were solved with ease by Muslim mathematicians as early as the 10th century.
What is Taught: The concept that numbers could be less than zero, that is negative numbers, was unknown until 1545 when Geronimo Cardano introduced the idea.
What Should he Taught: Muslim mathematicians introduced negative numbers for use in a variety of arithmetic functions at least 400 years prior to Cardano.
What is Taught: In 1614, John Napier invented logarithms and logarithmic tables.
What Should be Taught: Muslim mathematicians invented logarithms and produced logarithmic tables several centuries prior. Such tables were common in the Islamic world as early as the 13th century.
What is Taught: During the 17th century Rene Descartes made the discovery that algebra could be used to solve geometrical problems. By this, he greatly advanced the science of geometry.
What Should be Taught: Mathematicians of the Islamic Empire accomplished precisely this as early as the 9th century A.D. Thabit bin Qurrah was the first to do so, and he was followed by Abu'l Wafa, whose 10th century book utilized algebra to advance geometry into an exact and simplified science.
What is Taught: Isaac Newton, during the 17th century, developed the binomial theorem, which is a crucial component for the study of algebra.
What Should be Taught: Hundreds of Muslim mathematicians utilized and perfected the binomial theorem. They initiated its use for the systematic solution of algebraic problems during the 10th century (or prior).
What is Taught: No improvement had been made in the astronomy of the ancients during the Middle Ages regarding the motion of planets until the 13th century. Then Alphonso the Wise of Castile (Middle Spain) invented the Aphonsine Tables, which were more accurate than Ptolemy's.
What Should be Taught: Muslim astronomers made numerous improvements upon Ptolemy's findings as early as the 9th century. They were the first astronomers to dispute his archaic ideas. In their critic of the Greeks, they synthesized proof that the sun is the center of the solar system and that the orbits of the earth and other planets might be elliptical. They produced hundreds of highly accurate astronomical tables and star charts. Many of their calculations are so precise that they are regarded as contemporary. The AlphonsineTables are little more than copies of works on astronomy transmitted to Europe via Islamic Spain, i.e. the Toledo Tables.
What is Taught: The English scholar Roger Bacon (d. 1292) first mentioned glass lenses for improving vision. At nearly the same time, eyeglasses could be found in use both in China and Europe.
What Should be Taught: Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain invented eyeglasses during the 9th century, and they were manufactured and sold throughout Spain for over two centuries. Any mention of eyeglasses by Roger Bacon was simply a regurgitation of the work of al-Haytham (d. 1039), whose research Bacon frequently referred to.
What is Taught: Gunpowder was developed in the Western world as a result of Roger Bacon's work in 1242. The first usage of gunpowder in weapons was when the Chinese fired it from bamboo shoots in attempt to frighten Mongol conquerors. They produced it by adding sulfur and charcoal to saltpeter.
What Should be Taught: The Chinese developed saltpeter for use in fireworks and knew of no tactical military use for gunpowder, nor did they invent its formula. Research by Reinuad and Fave have clearly shown that gunpowder was formulated initially by Muslim chemists. Further, these historians claim that the Muslims developed the first fire-arms. Notably, Muslim armies used grenades and other weapons in their defence of Algericus against the Franks during the 14th century. Jean Mathes indicates that the Muslim rulers had stock-piles of grenades, rifles, crude cannons, incendiary devices, sulfur bombs and pistols decades before such devices were used in Europe. The first mention of a cannon was in an Arabic text around 1300 A.D. Roger Bacon learned of the formula for gunpowder from Latin translations of Arabic books. He brought forth nothing original in this regard.
What is Taught: The compass was invented by the Chinese who may have been the first to use it for navigational purposes sometime between 1000 and 1100 A.D. The earliest reference to its use in navigation was by the Englishman, Alexander Neckam (1157-1217).
What Should be Taught: Muslim geographers and navigators learned of the magnetic needle, possibly from the Chinese, and were the first to use magnetic needles in navigation. They invented the compass and passed the knowledge of its use in navigation to the West. European navigators relied on Muslim pilots and their instruments when exploring unknown territories. Gustav Le Bon claims that the magnetic needle and compass were entirely invented by the Muslims and that the Chinese had little to do with it. Neckam, as well as the Chinese, probably learned of it from Muslim traders. It is noteworthy that the Chinese improved their navigational expertise after they began interacting with the Muslims during the 8th century.
What is Taught: The first man to classify the races was the German Johann F. Blumenbach, who divided mankind into white, yellow, brown, black and red peoples.
What Should be Taught: Muslim scholars of the 9th through 14th centuries invented the science of ethnography. A number of Muslim geographers classified the races, writing detailed explanations of their unique cultural habits and physical appearances. They wrote thousands of pages on this subject. Blumenbach's works were insignificant in comparison.
What is Taught: The science of geography was revived during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries when the ancient works of Ptolemy were discovered. The Crusades and the Portuguese/Spanish expeditions also contributed to this reawakening. The first scientifically- based treatise on geography were produced during this period by Europe's scholars.
What Should be Taught: Muslim geographers produced untold volumes of books on the geography of Africa, Asia, India, China and the Indies during the 8th through 15th centuries. These writings included the world's first geographical encyclopedias, almanacs and road maps. Ibn Battutah's 14 th century masterpieces provide a detailed view of the geography of the ancient world. The Muslim geographers of the 10th through 15th centuries far exceeded the output by Europeans regarding the geography of these regions well into the 18th century. The Crusades led to the destruction of educational institutions, their scholars and books. They brought nothing substantive regarding geography to the Western world.
What is Taught: Robert Boyle, in the 17th century, originated the science of chemistry.
What Should be Taught: A variety of Muslim chemists, including ar-Razi, al-Jabr, al-Biruni and al-Kindi, performed scientific experiments in chemistry some 700 years prior to Boyle. Durant writes that the Muslims introduced the experimental method to this science. Humboldt regards the Muslims as the founders of chemistry.
What is Taught: Leonardo da Vinci (16th century) fathered the science of geology when he noted that fossils found on mountains indicated a watery origin of the earth.
What Should be Taught: Al-Biruni (1lth century) made precisely this observation and added much to it, including a huge book on geology, hundreds of years before Da Vinci was born. Ibn Sina noted this as well (see pages 100-101). it is probable that Da Vinci first learned of this concept from Latin translations of Islamic books. He added nothing original to their findings.
What is Taught: The first mention of the geological formation of valleys was in 1756, when Nicolas Desmarest proposed that they were formed over a long periods of time by streams.
What Should be Taught: Ibn Sina and al-Biruni made precisely this discovery during the 11th century (see pages 102 and 103), fully 700 years prior to Desmarest.
What is Taught: Galileo (17th century) was the world's first great experimenter.
What Should be Taught: Al-Biruni (d. 1050) was the world's first great experimenter. He wrote over 200 books, many of which discuss his precise experiments. His literary output in the sciences amounts to some 13,000 pages, far exceeding that written by Galileo or, for that matter, Galileo and Newton combined.
What is Taught: The Italian Giovanni Morgagni is regarded as the father of pathology because he was the first to correctly describe the nature of disease.
What Should be Taught: Islam's surgeons were the first pathologists. They fully realized the nature of disease and described a variety of diseases to modern detail. Ibn Zuhr correctly described the nature of pleurisy, tuberculosis and pericarditis. Az-Zahrawi accurately documented the pathology of hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and other congenital diseases. Ibn al-Quff and Ibn an-Nafs gave perfect descriptions of the diseases of circulation. Other Muslim surgeons gave the first accurate descriptions of certain malignancies, including cancer of the stomach, bowel and esophagus. These surgeons were the originators of pathology, not Giovanni Morgagni.
What is Taught: Paul Ehrlich (19th century) is the originator of drug chemotherapy, that is the use of specific drugs to kill microbes.
What Should be Taught: Muslim physicians used a variety of specific substances to destroy microbes. They applied sulfur topically specifically to kill the scabies mite. Ar-Razi (10th century) used mercurial compounds as topical antiseptics.
What is Taught: Purified alcohol, made through distillation, was first produced by Arnau de Villanova, a Spanish alchemist, in 1300 A.D.
What Should be Taught: Numerous Muslim chemists produced medicinal-grade alcohol through distillation as early as the 10th century and manufactured on a large scale the first distillation devices for use in chemistry. They used alcohol as a solvent and antiseptic.
What is Taught: The first surgery performed under inhalation anesthesia was conducted by C.W. Long, an American, in 1845.
What Should be Taught: Six hundred years prior to Long, Islamic Spain's Az-Zahrawi and Ibn Zuhr, among other Muslim surgeons, performed hundreds of surgeries under inhalation anesthesia with the use of narcotic-soaked sponges which were placed over the face.
What is Taught: During the 16th century Paracelsus invented the use of opium extracts for anesthesia.
What Should be Taught: Muslim physicians introduced the anesthetic value of opium derivatives during the Middle Ages. Opium was originally used as an anesthetic agent by the Greeks. Paracelus was a student of Ibn Sina's works from which it is almost assured that he derived this idea.
What is Taught: Modern anesthesia was invented in the 19th century by Humphrey Davy and Horace Wells.
What Should be Taught: Modern anesthesia was discovered, mastered and perfected by Muslim anesthetists 900 years before the advent of Davy and Wells. They utilized oral as well as inhalant anesthetics.
The Western World is proud of its roots in Greek Philosophy, and prides itself with persons of the calibre of ‘Aristotle’ and ‘Plato.’ Today, in the western world it has become a common belief that the writings of “Aristotle” ought to be quoted, as if one could derive from it some useful information. Yet, if “Aristotle” really existed, then he could not have been such a knowledgeable scholar / philosopher; as will be observed from the following statement made by a great scholar, an embryologist, by the name of Professor Keith Moore, who states the following:
“As far as we know, Aristotle wrote the frst embryology book in the 4th century BC. In it he recorded some observations on comparative embryology, especially on the general progress of the developing chick. He promoted, however, the incorrect idea that the human embryo developed from a formless mass that resulted from the union of semen with menstrual blood. Scientifc knowledge of embryology did not progress signifcantly for nearly 2000 years.”
What is Taught: The concept of quarantine was first developed in 1403. In Venice, a law was passed preventing strangers from entering the city until a certain waiting period had passed. If, by then, no sign of illness could be found, they were allowed in.
What Should be Taught: The concept of quarantine was first introduced in the 7th century A.D. by the prophet Muhammad, who wisely warned against entering or leaving a region suffering from plague. As early as the 10th century, Muslim physicians innovated the use of isolation wards for individuals suffering with communicable diseases.
What is Taught: The scientific use of antiseptics in surgery was discovered by the British surgeon Joseph Lister in 1865.
What Should be Taught: As early as the 10th century, Muslim physicians and surgeons were applying purified alcohol to wounds as an antiseptic agent. Surgeons in Islamic Spain utilized special methods for maintaining antisepsis prior to and during surgery. They also originated specific protocols for maintaining hygiene during the post-operative period. Their success rate was so high that dignitaries throughout Europe came to Cordova, Spain, to be treated at what was comparably the "Mayo Clinic" of the Middle Ages.
What is Taught: In 1545, the scientific use of surgery was advanced by the French surgeon Ambroise Pare. Prior to him, surgeons attempted to stop bleeding through the gruesome procedure of searing the wound with boiling oil. Pare stopped the use of boiling oils and began ligating arteries. He is considered the "father of rational surgery." Pare was also one of the first Europeans to condemn such grotesque "surgical" procedures as trepanning (see reference #6, pg. 110).
What Should be Taught: Islamic Spain's illustrious surgeon, az-Zahrawi (d. 1013), began ligating arteries with fine sutures over 500 years prior to Pare. He perfected the use of Catgut, that is suture made from animal intestines. Additionally, he instituted the use of cotton plus wax to plug bleeding wounds. The full details of his works were made available to Europeans through Latin translations. Despite this, barbers and herdsmen continued be the primary individuals practicing the "art" of surgery for nearly six centuries after az-Zahrawi's death. Pare himself was a barber, albeit more skilled and conscientious than the average ones. Included in az-Zahrawi's legacy are dozens of books. His most famous work is a 30 volume treatise on medicine and surgery. His books contain sections on preventive medicine, nutrition, cosmetics, drug therapy, surgical technique, anesthesia, pre and post-operative care as well as drawings of some 200 surgical devices, many of which he invented. The refined and scholarly az-Zahrawi must be regarded as the father and founder of rational surgery, not the uneducated Pare.
What is Taught: William Harvey, during the early 17th century, discovered that blood circulates. He was the first to correctly describe the function of the heart, arteries and veins. Rome's Galen had presented erroneous ideas regarding the circulatory system, and Harvey was the first to determine that blood is pumped throughout the body via the action of the heart and the venous valves. Therefore, he is regarded as the founder of human physiology.
What Should be Taught: In the 10th century, Islam's ar-Razi wrote an in-depth treatise on the venous system, accurately describing the function of the veins and their valves. Ibn an-Nafs and Ibn al-Quff (13th century) provided full documentation that the blood circulates and correctly described the physiology of the heart and the function of its valves 300 years before Harvey. William Harvey was a graduate of Italy's famous Padua University at a time when the majority of its curriculum was based upon Ibn Sina's and ar-Razi's textbooks.
What is Taught: The first pharmacopeia (book of medicines) was published by a German scholar in 1542. According to World Book Encyclopedia, the science of pharmacology was begun in the 1900's as an off-shoot of chemistry due to the analysis of crude plant materials. Chemists, after isolating the active ingredients from plants, realized their medicinal value.
What Should be Taught: According to the eminent scholar of Arab history, Phillip Hitti, the Muslims, not the Greeks or Europeans, wrote the first "modern" pharmacopeia. The science of pharmacology was originated by Muslim physicians during the 9th century. They developed it into a highly refined and exact science. Muslim chemists, pharmacists and physicians produced thousands of drugs and/or crude herbal extracts one thousand years prior to the supposed birth of pharmacology. During the 14th century Ibn Baytar wrote a monumental pharmacopeia listing some 1400 different drugs. Hundreds of other pharmacopeias were published during the Islamic Era. It is likely that the German work is an offshoot of that by Ibn Baytar, which was widely circulated in Europe.
What is Taught: The discovery of the scientific use of drugs in the treatment of specific diseases was made by Paracelsus, the Swiss-born physician, during the 16th century. He is also credited with being the first to use practical experience as a determining factor in the treatment of patients rather than relying exclusively on the works of the ancients.
What Should be Taught: Ar-Razi, Ibn Sina, al-Kindi, Ibn Rushd, az -Zahrawi, Ibn Zuhr, Ibn Baytar, Ibn al-Jazzar, Ibn Juljul, Ibn al-Quff, Ibn an-Nafs, al-Biruni, Ibn Sahl and hundreds of other Muslim physicians mastered the science of drug therapy for the treatment of specific symptoms and diseases. In fact, this concept was entirely their invention. The word "drug" is derived from Arabic. Their use of practical experience and careful observation was extensive. Muslim physicians were the first to criticize ancient medical theories and practices. Ar-Razi devoted an entire book as a critique of Galen's anatomy. The works of Paracelsus are insignificant compared to the vast volumes of medical writings and original findings accomplished by the medical giants of Islam.
What is Taught: The first sound approach to the treatment of disease was made by a German, Johann Weger, in the 1500's.
What Should be Taught: Harvard's George Sarton says that modern medicine is entirely an Islamic development and that Setting the Record Straight the Muslim physicians of the 9th through 12th centuries were precise, scientific, rational and sound in their approach. Johann Weger was among thousands of Europeans physicians during the 15th through 17th centuries who were taught the medicine of ar-Razi and Ibn Sina. He contributed nothing original.
What is Taught: Medical treatment for the insane was modernized by Philippe Pinel when in 1793 he operated France's first insane asylum . What Should be Taught: As early as the 1lth century, Islamic hospitals maintained special wards for the insane. They treated them kindly and presumed their disease was real at a time when the insane were routinely burned alive in Europe as witches and sorcerers. A curative approach was taken for mental illness and, for the first time in history, the mentally ill were treated with supportive care, drugs and psychotherapy. Every major Islamic city maintained an insane asylum where patients were treated at no charge. In fact, the Islamic system for the treatment of the insane excels in comparison to the current model, as it was more humane and was highly effective as well.
What is Taught: Kerosine was first produced by the an Englishman, Abraham Gesner, in 1853. He distilled it from asphalt. What Should be Taught: Muslim chemists produced kerosine as a distillate from petroleum products over 1,000 years prior to Gesner (see Encyclopaedia Britannica under the heading, Petroleum).
Notes
- Bukay, David. "Cultural Fallacies in Understanding Islamic Fundamentalism and Palestinian Radicalism", First Jerusalem Summit, October 12-14, 2003.
- Bukay, David.Archived 2007-12-05 at the Wayback Machine , NATIV, Vol. 1, 2003.
- Rappaport, Meron. "In the name of truth", Haaretz, April 28, 2005.