Books by Mirza Iqbal Ashraf
ARCHWAY PUBLISHERS, 2023
The word civilization, which is a relatively recent application from eighteenth-century, when cam... more The word civilization, which is a relatively recent application from eighteenth-century, when came into currency, is generally invoked more with a rhetorical flourish than argued in philosophical perspective. But history of knowledge considers its true object is the study of human mind, to know what his mind has believed, thought, and felt in diverse periods of its progression in the history of a civilization. Mirza Iqbal Ashraf, as a research scholar of Islamic and Western philosophies identifying the "Four Explosions of Knowledge" from ancient to modern time of history of knowledge, offers the readers in Progression of Knowledge in the Western Civilization uniquely within philosophical perspective that the Western world is a civilization of knowledge. This also means, whereas it is important to understand today's world so that we can deal with our contemporary period's civilizational challenges, it will be incomplete if we do not assess that modernity is born from the progress made by the knowledge of the past thinkers. But knowledge does not arrive fully formed; it requires many minds, specifically those minds which are free from the civilization's religious, cultural, and geophysical trappings. In the Progression of Knowledge in Western Civilization, Ashraf has expounded that even in modern time, no knowledge is complete without visiting the knowledge of the past, especially of the great thinkers of Classical Greek period, the scholars at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, and the famous centers of knowledge at Cairo, and Cordova of Arab Spain. In this book, the author has discussed when some other regions of the world might be familiar with philosophy and science, in one way or another, why such a treasure of knowledge emerged particularly in Greece that became a foundation of voluminous work of literature in almost every field of knowledge, and how it amazingly became the foundation of the history of progression of knowledge in the Western civilization, which is timelessly flourishing until today.
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An Anthology of Essays by Ashraf, 2022
While there are separate essays, they weave a unified celebration of the value of philosophy at a... more While there are separate essays, they weave a unified celebration of the value of philosophy at a time when our culture remains overly dependent on purely empirical results of science and technology. The range of knowledge is insightful. ~ Doug Grunther Ashraf's philosophical, scientific, humanitarian and cultural essays feel more like conversations-as though you were sitting in a private library, walls lined with many hand-signed leather-bound first editions, and there is only you and him. (Peter Rogen) Whereas reading this Anthology by Ashraf is a take of profound knowledge of literature, philosophy, and social science it is also a cupful of philosophical and scientific achievements of earlier Muslims and the problems before the Muslims of today.-Zarreen Akbar ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Literature, like other works, is a technology. It uncovers the literary blueprints in diverse forms, and one such form is delineated in An Anthology of Essays by Ashraf. It is a rich and intelligent tapestry of thoughts woven in the dimension of time, depicting the unity of human experience that every person has within him or herself. Even if every thought appears as an afterthought, Ashraf has viewed and judged them in the present. It stays in the mind; and as a collection of treatises, it shares with others the knowledge argued in this work of landmark discerning and entertaining writing. In thirty accessible chapters that are both profound and provocative, this anthology is an example of the vibrant literary form of writing, representing the robust tradition of essay writing from the Classical Greek period, ancient Rome, and the Golden Age of the Arabs, right up to the modern era of artificial intelligence. Part 1 includes essays on philosophy,
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Peter Lang International Publishers, 2019
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iUniverse, 2022
Literature, like other works, is a technology. It uncovers the literary blueprints in diverse for... more Literature, like other works, is a technology. It uncovers the literary blueprints in diverse forms, and one such form is delineated in An Anthology of Essays by Ashraf. It is a rich and intelligent tapestry of thoughts woven in the dimension of time, depicting the unity of human experience that every person has within him or herself. Even if every thought appears as an afterthought, Ashraf has viewed and judged them in the present. It stays in the mind; and as a collection of treatises, it shares with others the knowledge argued in this work of landmark discerning and entertaining writing. In thirty accessible chapters that are both profound and provocative, this anthology is an example of the vibrant literary form of writing, representing the robust tradition of essay writing from the Classical Greek period, ancient Rome, and the Golden Age of the Arabs, right up to the modern era of artificial intelligence. Part 1 includes essays on philosophy, science, human consciousness, artificial intelligence, humanities, the origin of democracy, and war and peace. Since, despite our philosophical and technological progress, humanity still reflects its philosophical cognitions juxtaposed with religious traditions, Part 2 of the book contains essays about the world of Islam's Golden Age, when scientific research and discoveries made by the Muslims were transmitted to the Europeans, laying the foundation for the progression of knowledge in the Western world. Today, we are living in the age of science and internet technology, in which every piece of information is proliferated by artificial intelligence and can be instantly transmitted globally. This anthology of essays invites us to understand that human identity lies in the consensus of manageable ideas of intellectualism projected through philosophical, scientific, humanistic, and religious knowledge. Thus, the well-offered subject matter articulated in each essay will be helpful to readers. Every essay in itself is an insightful vehicle of both philosophical and scientific knowledge, transporting great ideas from mind to mind-ideas that are the drivers of change. An Anthology of Essays by Ashraf is a miscellany of rich and illuminating essays that address how we build up a coherent picture of life in today's volatile world. Ashraf, a perpetual philosopher and an ambidextrous author with his technique of questioning, cerebral pattern, and choice of variety of subjects, offers the reader the opportunity to see everything around him in a clear, fresh light. This anthology of essays is a landmark presentation of brilliant discerning and knowledgeable exposition, which one can read alone sitting by the coffee table in one's home or in a restaurant, feeling lost in stimulating literary and informatory entertainment.
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Papers by Mirza Iqbal Ashraf
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Human beings-though sometimes to survive or get what they need are driven to violence-are firstly... more Human beings-though sometimes to survive or get what they need are driven to violence-are firstly peaceful. Buried inside every human mind, peace is holistically alive unless a cause with a right or a wrong signal raises its head within the mind of an individual or a group, it becomes frightful to harm others. When we argue, whether humans are naturally peaceful or violent, there is no dearth of evidence that humans are inherently compassionate, intrinsically altruistic, innately generous and naturally kind, even if they are in certain circumstances driven to act aggressively and violently. At the same time there is no dearth of evidence for those who believe that humans are inherently aggressive, violent and competitive, but still compassionately cooperating for personal as well as societal welfare. Since, a vast majority of the human beings is most of the time peaceful, peace seems to be naturally ingrained in their nature. It arises perfectly when an individual inertly and outwardly keeps himself in harmony with himself and the rest of creation. Its latent power is found in relaxation which gives rise to love, in its mindfulness which gives rise to vigilance, and in its consciousness, which gives rise to reason; all these together give rise to a feeling of "Peace." Shakespeare expresses the feeling of peace in his play Henry VIII; I know myself now: I feel within me A peace above all earthly dignities, A still and quiet confidence. 1 But the enigma of peace challenges our mind when we find human beings imperfectly kind, unintentionally inconsiderate, self-serving and helpful in near-equal measure, and at the same time surprisingly experiencing cruelty that results in their being more aggressive and violent. However, while kindness often transforms human beings in ways that lead to greater compassion and generosity, it is far more reasonable to perceive humans as capable of astonishing altruism, and most of the time, getting along fine together.
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Article, 2024
Abstract: There was a time when to profess disbelief in a Supreme Being could be dangerous to one... more Abstract: There was a time when to profess disbelief in a Supreme Being could be dangerous to one’s life. Today, atheism has set its feet up in every society and has taken its comfortable seat by the fire place of our living rooms. It has de facto control of education, the universities, and the academic press. Authors writing on the subject of atheism are appearing amongst the bestsellers defining atheism so respectable to never have been seen before. At the same time the really daring adventure today is not being an atheist, but challenging atheism. It is in the go-to position of controlling assumption of political discourse. In spite of such assumption, in the broadest sense, atheism is simply an absence of belief in the existence of God. Thinkers disagree whether atheism is a philosophy or just a conscious and explicit rejection of deities. Since every one of us is born faithless, the atheists argue that the burden of proof lies not on them to prove that there is no God, but on the theists to provide a rationale for God’s existence.
If atheism is neither a philosophy nor an ideology, then, is atheism a godless culture without a social order, or a belief in simple words ‘a’ plus ‘theism’? Theism from the Greek is a word for God (or gods), and with the ‘a’ prefix is the Greek negation of whatever it’s prefixing. Thus in clear and basic words atheism means ‘no God’ or a simple proclamation that there does not exist any kind of god, believing that the whole universe and everything in it is created from nothing.1 But the scientists maintain since ‘nothing comes out of nothing’ so there must be something or some source creating everything. However, in a world brimming with diverse beliefs and perspectives, it is fascinating to explore many big questions that shape our understanding of our existence and the appearance of universes. Among these viewpoints thinkers are tempted to philosophize, is atheism—which offers a distinct take on life’s mysteries without belief in a higher power—a modern culture without a socio-political order or just a godless faith?
Since philosophy invites us to ponder life’s profound questions by considering the evidence and reasoning behind various worldviews, including theism and atheism, philosophical inquiries offer a challenge to atheistic perspectives, nudging us toward a deeper exploration of the possibility of something greater than ourselves. Far from the stereotypical image of philosophers as mere armchair thinkers, these questions are engaging, thought-provoking keeping us awake, pondering the mysteries of the creation of the universes which might have appeared ex-nihilo or have a source of their creation named God by the theists. . . (1. Courtesy: Atheism on Trial: Philosophy Now Issue #109)
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Paper, 2024
God has treasuries beneath the Throne, The keys to which are the tongues of poets. Abstract: Phil... more God has treasuries beneath the Throne, The keys to which are the tongues of poets. Abstract: Philosophy has always been preoccupied with the question of what is human beings’ role in this Universe. Man, according Iqbal, as a possessor of a free personality has the potential of shaping his own destiny and as well as of his Universe by adjusting himself to it. Iqbal rejecting the idea of a closed and predetermined Universe, discusses that the Universe is temporal working out of a pre-conceived plan and is still unfinished. Creativity, both for man and his Universe is an ongoing process as one can hear the command of “Let there be” and “it becomes.”
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Peter Lang D eBooks, Feb 15, 2019
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Abstract
In India, fifty years after the unsuccessful rebellion against the British, Mohandas Gan... more Abstract
In India, fifty years after the unsuccessful rebellion against the British, Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian genius came forward in 1908 and stated, “The English have not taken India, rather we have given it to them.” The British heard this as a sign of another Rebellion in the sub-continent and thus started planning how to avoid the repetition of the 1857-58 scenario. They saw clearly that the colonization spell was coming to its end. While it was after the World War I, big dents started appearing in the colonization sprint of the Europeans. Thus, the British started work on a plan of quitting India without facing an armed struggle from the Indians. They knew well that the seventy percent Hindus of India were not a militant nation—a nation with its cast system had only one cast as fighter—whereas every Muslim was a soldier, as Jihad was obligatory for every Muslim who is healthy and able to fight. An armed struggle for the freedom of India could mean the birth of Muslim India, a country bigger than the European continent.
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Abstract: Ibn Khaldun, an amazing Muslim scholar of philosophy of history, inventor of social sci... more Abstract: Ibn Khaldun, an amazing Muslim scholar of philosophy of history, inventor of social science, and a neoclassical economist who beat Adam Smith by half a millennium, was a towering figure in the field of social sciences in the 14th century. He was the first social scientist whose biggest merit lies in his revolutionary methodological thinking. He introduced a new scientific method which allows thinkers to separate true and fake historical information, by the art of investigating human social organization with a sound yardstick and analyze society instead of accepting historians and social scientist’s stories without modifying, editing, questioning their validity, analyzing their credibility and avoiding to add their remarks to the traditions. According to the twentieth-century British historian Arnold J. Toynbee, “Ibn Khaldun’s star shines the more brightly by contrast with the foil of darkness against which it flashes out; for while Thucydides and Machiavelli and Clarendon are all brilliant representatives of brilliant times and places, ibn Khaldun is the sole point of light in his quarter of the firmament.”
Ibn Khaldun’s thinking in the field of economics regarding the division of labor serves as the basis for any civilized society and identifies division of labor not only on the factory level but also in a social and international context as well, he was hundreds of years before Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Human beings, insofar as they display asabiyah or socio-political cohesion, form into more or less stable social groups, as it is not just by accident that human beings live together; rather, society is natural and necessary. For him asabiyah is an essential attribute of humanity more basic than the religion. Ibn Khaldun’s concept of asabiyah is similar to what we know today as “secularism.”
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June 8, 2022
Abstract: When we discuss human beings as killers and war-mongers, we mean only males leaving fem... more Abstract: When we discuss human beings as killers and war-mongers, we mean only males leaving females out of the killer-game. One assumption is that males, as compared to females have bigger body and greater physical strength which has helped men to have evolved more aggressive than women. Though food in the earlier stage of evolution was based on foraging and vegetable gathering, but hunting by men was taken to be an early development in hominid-evolution. Once a tremendous leap to the big hunting-game was made, meat-eating became a potential food source. Females, immobilized by their offspring care-taking, relatively depended on the males for their meat supply. Whenever a male-the-hunter would bring meat for a female, he had to fight and compete with his fellow male to mate with the female. Emerging out of his biological evolution and stepping into his “societal evolution” man’s aggressive behavior took a dangerous form of hostility of fighting, killing, and group battles which gradually became an everlasting learned behavior of fierce fighting. With the emergence of a greater society and then a civilization, this behavior developed into a culture of organized war.
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Since there is no limit to human perception, comprehension, and investigation, Knowledge is a tim... more Since there is no limit to human perception, comprehension, and investigation, Knowledge is a timeless quest of humankind's cognition to find What is acceptable as a justified true belief! (Ashraf)
Abstract: Much before the history of classical philosophical and scientific knowledge which started from the “First Explosion of Knowledge” in Greece, when thinkers like Daedalus, Thales or Anaximander introduced knowledge on rationalism, it had begun as an art. In the time before Greek philosophy, we find a “heaven of invention of knowledge” situated in the ancient town of Ur in Mesopotamia—what is now Iraq—where around 2300 BCE, first poetic syllables originated and were rhythmically chanted. The name Enheduanna was being chanted in fevered tone meaning: “She is the high lord of the moon” which in its original syllables, “En-hedu-‘anna. En-hedu-‘anna. En-hedu-‘anna” is viewed to be the beginning of the invention of literature by man. A couple centuries after Enheduanna in the same corner of the world a race of men grew up calling themselves “Jews” affirming a novel story of the creation. They creating a new knowledge of faith proclaimed that one transcendent God had made a paradise from which the first man and his wife through their own fault were exiled. Man was told that he would have to work for his living. But God loved man whom he had created in his own image, gave him the ownership of the earth with all it contained for his sustenance and survival. The city of Ur in Mesopotamia, revered as a place of tremendous spiritual and cognitive imagination, is the same region where Abraham (2167-1992 BCE) the Prophet-patriarch of three revealed religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam was born. It is the same region where the first epic poem known the Epic of Gilgamesh (2100-1200 BCE) considered as the first great work of literature engraved on 12 clay tablets was found; and a region where Zoroaster (c.1400-1200 BCE) had presented a faith which made its impact on the cultures and religions that appeared after him.
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When the Persian and Roman empires were conquered by the Arabs, they got interacted with the Hell... more When the Persian and Roman empires were conquered by the Arabs, they got interacted with the Hellenistic, Greco-Roman, and Persian knowledge. Hungry for knowledge, they responded receptively to the modernizing influences of the sophisticated lifestyle and knowledge of the world beyond their rustic way of life of the people of the desert. Within couple of centuries a towering and finely developed structure of an Islamic Civilization with a culture of modern knowledge appeared amongst the former illiterate and uncivilized pagan Bedouin people of a desert. It was their concept of deen of Islam, a new way of life, which proved more inflammatory than their religion’s prayers.
The intellectual achievement of Muslims soon became the envy of the known world. In the magnificent centers of learning, from Damascus to Baghdad and Cairo to Cordova of Arab Spain, mathematics in the ninth century developed algebra, algorithms, and trigonometry—the foundations upon which modern technology is built. Inventors in the field of engineering devised the crankshaft and early versions of the torpedo and the parachute. In the field of medicine, physicians formulated the techniques of treatment ranging from orthodontia to asthma and tracheotomy. Muslim astronomers successfully calculated the diameter and circumference of the planets to remarkably degree of accuracy. Michael Hamilton in his work, Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists, has detailed how Muslim achievements laid the corner stone of the foundation of European Renaissance, Enlightenment, and the knowledge of modern Western Civilization. As he chronicles the Golden Ages of Islam, he in his work introduces great Muslim scholars, to name the few empirical thinkers such as, ibn al-Haytham, ibn Sina, al-Tusi, al-Khwarizmi, and Omar Khayyam who paved the way for Newton, Copernicus, Galileo, Einstein, and many others.1 Within few centuries, Islamic Civilization was ready to transmit modern knowledge of philosophical and general sciences to the West. Unfortunately, at the dawn of the nineteenth century the glory of Islamic civilization faded and its culture found itself stuck in the spiritual beliefs of its religion rather than its enlightening rationalism which was learnt and adopted by the Muslim thinkers from the Classical Greek philosophers during the first five centuries.
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Technocapitalism, is a new tech-version of capitalism that generates new forms of corporate organ... more Technocapitalism, is a new tech-version of capitalism that generates new forms of corporate organization designed to exploit intangibles such as creativity and new knowledge. The new organizations, are deeply grounded in technological research, as opposed to manufacturing and services production. Living in a world of every day dependence on artificial intelligence, we are heavily reliant on the corporate appropriation of techno-researches rather than the outcome of our intellection cognition. We do not think and question ourselves, whether this is a culture of truthful information, autonomous thought, or of a solitary self-analysis? But technology being a subject of social intervention, affects and is affected by functional and cultural influences. With a powerful smartphone integrated with a camera in our hand, we have started communicating, connecting, and talking with each other through pictures. Whereas the smartphone is creating a culture of physical separateness, the camera is now cultivating a culture of pictorial connectivity and celebrity exposure promoted by the digital art of 'selfie.' As a symbol of complacency within surveillance culture and an image with potential for self-empowerment, 'selfie' is a social media which has changed the way people contact, communicate, and present themselves to the world. It occupies a space of spontaneity, freedom in taking and sharing one's own image. While this technology superficially saves us from the fear of anonymity and validates a trendy visibility, it is slowly depriving our brain of its capabilities and sensibilities for direct intellectual investigation. It is damaging interpersonal social skills, emotional bonds, and spiritual virtues of ethics and morality, which the older generation learned through a common and spontaneous face-to-face tactile interaction. This tendency has also changed the way we conduct our daily social and business activities, such as online buying and selling of products selecting from pictorial display, paying online from our bank accounts, and communicating or chatting by texting. Having invented a techno-culture, we have laid the foundation of digitized technocorporatism by replacing the old economics of capitalism with the new scientific system of technocapitalism.
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Books by Mirza Iqbal Ashraf
Papers by Mirza Iqbal Ashraf
If atheism is neither a philosophy nor an ideology, then, is atheism a godless culture without a social order, or a belief in simple words ‘a’ plus ‘theism’? Theism from the Greek is a word for God (or gods), and with the ‘a’ prefix is the Greek negation of whatever it’s prefixing. Thus in clear and basic words atheism means ‘no God’ or a simple proclamation that there does not exist any kind of god, believing that the whole universe and everything in it is created from nothing.1 But the scientists maintain since ‘nothing comes out of nothing’ so there must be something or some source creating everything. However, in a world brimming with diverse beliefs and perspectives, it is fascinating to explore many big questions that shape our understanding of our existence and the appearance of universes. Among these viewpoints thinkers are tempted to philosophize, is atheism—which offers a distinct take on life’s mysteries without belief in a higher power—a modern culture without a socio-political order or just a godless faith?
Since philosophy invites us to ponder life’s profound questions by considering the evidence and reasoning behind various worldviews, including theism and atheism, philosophical inquiries offer a challenge to atheistic perspectives, nudging us toward a deeper exploration of the possibility of something greater than ourselves. Far from the stereotypical image of philosophers as mere armchair thinkers, these questions are engaging, thought-provoking keeping us awake, pondering the mysteries of the creation of the universes which might have appeared ex-nihilo or have a source of their creation named God by the theists. . . (1. Courtesy: Atheism on Trial: Philosophy Now Issue #109)
In India, fifty years after the unsuccessful rebellion against the British, Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian genius came forward in 1908 and stated, “The English have not taken India, rather we have given it to them.” The British heard this as a sign of another Rebellion in the sub-continent and thus started planning how to avoid the repetition of the 1857-58 scenario. They saw clearly that the colonization spell was coming to its end. While it was after the World War I, big dents started appearing in the colonization sprint of the Europeans. Thus, the British started work on a plan of quitting India without facing an armed struggle from the Indians. They knew well that the seventy percent Hindus of India were not a militant nation—a nation with its cast system had only one cast as fighter—whereas every Muslim was a soldier, as Jihad was obligatory for every Muslim who is healthy and able to fight. An armed struggle for the freedom of India could mean the birth of Muslim India, a country bigger than the European continent.
Ibn Khaldun’s thinking in the field of economics regarding the division of labor serves as the basis for any civilized society and identifies division of labor not only on the factory level but also in a social and international context as well, he was hundreds of years before Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Human beings, insofar as they display asabiyah or socio-political cohesion, form into more or less stable social groups, as it is not just by accident that human beings live together; rather, society is natural and necessary. For him asabiyah is an essential attribute of humanity more basic than the religion. Ibn Khaldun’s concept of asabiyah is similar to what we know today as “secularism.”
Abstract: Much before the history of classical philosophical and scientific knowledge which started from the “First Explosion of Knowledge” in Greece, when thinkers like Daedalus, Thales or Anaximander introduced knowledge on rationalism, it had begun as an art. In the time before Greek philosophy, we find a “heaven of invention of knowledge” situated in the ancient town of Ur in Mesopotamia—what is now Iraq—where around 2300 BCE, first poetic syllables originated and were rhythmically chanted. The name Enheduanna was being chanted in fevered tone meaning: “She is the high lord of the moon” which in its original syllables, “En-hedu-‘anna. En-hedu-‘anna. En-hedu-‘anna” is viewed to be the beginning of the invention of literature by man. A couple centuries after Enheduanna in the same corner of the world a race of men grew up calling themselves “Jews” affirming a novel story of the creation. They creating a new knowledge of faith proclaimed that one transcendent God had made a paradise from which the first man and his wife through their own fault were exiled. Man was told that he would have to work for his living. But God loved man whom he had created in his own image, gave him the ownership of the earth with all it contained for his sustenance and survival. The city of Ur in Mesopotamia, revered as a place of tremendous spiritual and cognitive imagination, is the same region where Abraham (2167-1992 BCE) the Prophet-patriarch of three revealed religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam was born. It is the same region where the first epic poem known the Epic of Gilgamesh (2100-1200 BCE) considered as the first great work of literature engraved on 12 clay tablets was found; and a region where Zoroaster (c.1400-1200 BCE) had presented a faith which made its impact on the cultures and religions that appeared after him.
The intellectual achievement of Muslims soon became the envy of the known world. In the magnificent centers of learning, from Damascus to Baghdad and Cairo to Cordova of Arab Spain, mathematics in the ninth century developed algebra, algorithms, and trigonometry—the foundations upon which modern technology is built. Inventors in the field of engineering devised the crankshaft and early versions of the torpedo and the parachute. In the field of medicine, physicians formulated the techniques of treatment ranging from orthodontia to asthma and tracheotomy. Muslim astronomers successfully calculated the diameter and circumference of the planets to remarkably degree of accuracy. Michael Hamilton in his work, Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists, has detailed how Muslim achievements laid the corner stone of the foundation of European Renaissance, Enlightenment, and the knowledge of modern Western Civilization. As he chronicles the Golden Ages of Islam, he in his work introduces great Muslim scholars, to name the few empirical thinkers such as, ibn al-Haytham, ibn Sina, al-Tusi, al-Khwarizmi, and Omar Khayyam who paved the way for Newton, Copernicus, Galileo, Einstein, and many others.1 Within few centuries, Islamic Civilization was ready to transmit modern knowledge of philosophical and general sciences to the West. Unfortunately, at the dawn of the nineteenth century the glory of Islamic civilization faded and its culture found itself stuck in the spiritual beliefs of its religion rather than its enlightening rationalism which was learnt and adopted by the Muslim thinkers from the Classical Greek philosophers during the first five centuries.
If atheism is neither a philosophy nor an ideology, then, is atheism a godless culture without a social order, or a belief in simple words ‘a’ plus ‘theism’? Theism from the Greek is a word for God (or gods), and with the ‘a’ prefix is the Greek negation of whatever it’s prefixing. Thus in clear and basic words atheism means ‘no God’ or a simple proclamation that there does not exist any kind of god, believing that the whole universe and everything in it is created from nothing.1 But the scientists maintain since ‘nothing comes out of nothing’ so there must be something or some source creating everything. However, in a world brimming with diverse beliefs and perspectives, it is fascinating to explore many big questions that shape our understanding of our existence and the appearance of universes. Among these viewpoints thinkers are tempted to philosophize, is atheism—which offers a distinct take on life’s mysteries without belief in a higher power—a modern culture without a socio-political order or just a godless faith?
Since philosophy invites us to ponder life’s profound questions by considering the evidence and reasoning behind various worldviews, including theism and atheism, philosophical inquiries offer a challenge to atheistic perspectives, nudging us toward a deeper exploration of the possibility of something greater than ourselves. Far from the stereotypical image of philosophers as mere armchair thinkers, these questions are engaging, thought-provoking keeping us awake, pondering the mysteries of the creation of the universes which might have appeared ex-nihilo or have a source of their creation named God by the theists. . . (1. Courtesy: Atheism on Trial: Philosophy Now Issue #109)
In India, fifty years after the unsuccessful rebellion against the British, Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian genius came forward in 1908 and stated, “The English have not taken India, rather we have given it to them.” The British heard this as a sign of another Rebellion in the sub-continent and thus started planning how to avoid the repetition of the 1857-58 scenario. They saw clearly that the colonization spell was coming to its end. While it was after the World War I, big dents started appearing in the colonization sprint of the Europeans. Thus, the British started work on a plan of quitting India without facing an armed struggle from the Indians. They knew well that the seventy percent Hindus of India were not a militant nation—a nation with its cast system had only one cast as fighter—whereas every Muslim was a soldier, as Jihad was obligatory for every Muslim who is healthy and able to fight. An armed struggle for the freedom of India could mean the birth of Muslim India, a country bigger than the European continent.
Ibn Khaldun’s thinking in the field of economics regarding the division of labor serves as the basis for any civilized society and identifies division of labor not only on the factory level but also in a social and international context as well, he was hundreds of years before Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Human beings, insofar as they display asabiyah or socio-political cohesion, form into more or less stable social groups, as it is not just by accident that human beings live together; rather, society is natural and necessary. For him asabiyah is an essential attribute of humanity more basic than the religion. Ibn Khaldun’s concept of asabiyah is similar to what we know today as “secularism.”
Abstract: Much before the history of classical philosophical and scientific knowledge which started from the “First Explosion of Knowledge” in Greece, when thinkers like Daedalus, Thales or Anaximander introduced knowledge on rationalism, it had begun as an art. In the time before Greek philosophy, we find a “heaven of invention of knowledge” situated in the ancient town of Ur in Mesopotamia—what is now Iraq—where around 2300 BCE, first poetic syllables originated and were rhythmically chanted. The name Enheduanna was being chanted in fevered tone meaning: “She is the high lord of the moon” which in its original syllables, “En-hedu-‘anna. En-hedu-‘anna. En-hedu-‘anna” is viewed to be the beginning of the invention of literature by man. A couple centuries after Enheduanna in the same corner of the world a race of men grew up calling themselves “Jews” affirming a novel story of the creation. They creating a new knowledge of faith proclaimed that one transcendent God had made a paradise from which the first man and his wife through their own fault were exiled. Man was told that he would have to work for his living. But God loved man whom he had created in his own image, gave him the ownership of the earth with all it contained for his sustenance and survival. The city of Ur in Mesopotamia, revered as a place of tremendous spiritual and cognitive imagination, is the same region where Abraham (2167-1992 BCE) the Prophet-patriarch of three revealed religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam was born. It is the same region where the first epic poem known the Epic of Gilgamesh (2100-1200 BCE) considered as the first great work of literature engraved on 12 clay tablets was found; and a region where Zoroaster (c.1400-1200 BCE) had presented a faith which made its impact on the cultures and religions that appeared after him.
The intellectual achievement of Muslims soon became the envy of the known world. In the magnificent centers of learning, from Damascus to Baghdad and Cairo to Cordova of Arab Spain, mathematics in the ninth century developed algebra, algorithms, and trigonometry—the foundations upon which modern technology is built. Inventors in the field of engineering devised the crankshaft and early versions of the torpedo and the parachute. In the field of medicine, physicians formulated the techniques of treatment ranging from orthodontia to asthma and tracheotomy. Muslim astronomers successfully calculated the diameter and circumference of the planets to remarkably degree of accuracy. Michael Hamilton in his work, Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists, has detailed how Muslim achievements laid the corner stone of the foundation of European Renaissance, Enlightenment, and the knowledge of modern Western Civilization. As he chronicles the Golden Ages of Islam, he in his work introduces great Muslim scholars, to name the few empirical thinkers such as, ibn al-Haytham, ibn Sina, al-Tusi, al-Khwarizmi, and Omar Khayyam who paved the way for Newton, Copernicus, Galileo, Einstein, and many others.1 Within few centuries, Islamic Civilization was ready to transmit modern knowledge of philosophical and general sciences to the West. Unfortunately, at the dawn of the nineteenth century the glory of Islamic civilization faded and its culture found itself stuck in the spiritual beliefs of its religion rather than its enlightening rationalism which was learnt and adopted by the Muslim thinkers from the Classical Greek philosophers during the first five centuries.
The prospects for a harmonious relationship between Islam and the West seem uncertain. A period of cordial relation between the fanatically intense and militant Muslims and the allied American and British Westerners lasted for a very short period of a decade or so. Soon after the fall of the Soviet Union, voices were being raised by thinkers and politicians in the West that this was the time to take care of “Islamic Civilization.” I remember reading an article in the Los Angeles Times in 1990 stating that after the demise of Marxism the only ideology that could pose a threat to American supremacy is Islam. Works and interviews with Bernard Lewis appeared, followed by the famous book of Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Making of World Order, followed by many debates and discussions. Before a well-planned clash of civilization could be ignited, the “Desert Storm” campaign against Saddam Hussein was administered as a testing ground.~ MIRZA ASHRAF
Though the internet and the world wide web play a pivotal role in facilitating globalization by connecting billions of individuals, civil societies, and governments, the political dimension of globalization refers to the intensification and expansion of political interrelation across the globe. It raises important political issues relating to the principle of the state and people’s sovereignty, the growing impact of inter-governmental organizations, and future prospects for regional and global governance. Modern democracy, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, is also seen as accelerating the process of globalization and bringing nations into common economic and political ground. For the Muslim world this new phenomenon is a challenge to its concept of universal Islam and its belief of Divine sovereignty. Therefore, the important question today before the Muslims is how universal Islam can mitigate the line between the Islamic political concept and Western secular principles regarding certain key concepts in the process of globalization, such as the compatibility of Islam and modern democracy, responsible forms of government, political accountability, equal citizenship, freedom of choice, and the right of equal say to non-Muslims in matters of political authority.