Just A Thought ~ IRONICAL

In all things, we must try to see something good, and give credit where credit is due.

After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, Europe fell under the power of the Christian Church, and entered a period known as 'The Dark Ages' lasting a thousand years. It wasn’t that there was no light ~ the sun shone just as brightly as before ~ but that ignorance was fostered and prevailed; it was the Darkness of Ignorance.

And, while this was going on, Islam arose, and challenged Christianity. Strangely, the whole world owes a lot to Islam for preserving the knowledge of the ancient Greeks and Romans ~ Science, Medicine, Astronomy, Mathematics, Philosophy ~ which Christianity had discarded.

The only people in Europe who could read and write during The Dark Ages were the monks in monasteries; even kings and rulers were illiterate and had to bow to the Pope in Rome, who ruled like an emperor, and had the power of life and death over all.

Islam developed a brilliant civilization in places like Spain and Sicily, apart from in the Middle-East. Europeans wanting access to the ancient knowledge had to go to Muslim universities, and were welcomed and accepted without being pressured to convert to Islam. This says a lot for the tolerance and magnanimity of Islam at that time. It's a great pity that this is no longer so.

Since I set out on my travels in 1965, I went to many Muslim countries ~ Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt, Malaysia and Indonesia ~ and must say that I rarely felt fear among the Muslims, and was generally treated quite well. I found Muslim countries less dangerous than many Western countries ~ look at the U.S., for example, where it is inadvisable to go out alone on the street at night (or even in the day, in some places!) It is said that there are about 43,000 murders in the Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave every year.

Moreover, I experienced few attempts to convert me, whereas Christians have tried many times, some of them threatening me with eternity in hell for resisting (Americans, in particular ~ of course, this is a generalization, and we must be wary about such ~ are quite ignorant of the world beyond their shores, but to hear many Christians talk, you would think they know all about heaven and hell). In fact, I recall only one Muslim ~ someone I met in Istanbul some years ago ~ who hinted at me becoming Muslim. I told him I wasn’t looking for another religion, but for something beyond religion; he accepted this, and we remained friends. I did not try to convert him to Buddhism ~ such a thing wouldn’t enter my head; I only wish people to be human beings, and to understand what that means; few do.

Rooted in earlier Judaism and Christianity, and acknowledging common ancestors, Islam began in 623 in Arabia. Its spread outwards from there was phenomenal. Burning with zeal, and using fire and sword, Muslims carried the message of Mohammed, and within a hundred years, had conquered all countries east between Arabia and India, north, as far as present-day Turkey (still under the Byzantine Empire at that time), south as far as Aden, and west across the coast of North Africa, right up through Spain, and were almost at the gates of Paris. If they had not been halted and turned back there into Spain, Europe ~ and consequently most of the world ~ would probably be Muslim now. As it is, there is religious diversity, and often friction between the various faiths. Clearly, religion plays a part in human life; just what, we should try to understand, so that it may help us instead of hinder and divide us, as it so often does. It’s not enough to call ourselves Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, as names mean little; we must try to live by the teachings and spirit of religion.

Only when we recognize the things we have in common and that connect us will we have any real hope for peace. The Buddha spoke about the facts of birth, ageing, sickness and death as being things we all share, and from which we cannot escape. Instead of seeing unity in diversity, however, we focus on the things that divide us, and use them to cause trouble. What strange beings we are! Sometimes, I think the only hope for humanity is to make open contact with extra-terrestrials ~ then we’ll see a difference, as they’ll probably be nothing at all like us!