I have ordered this promising book, which discusses a very important topic; the influence of the Qur'an on the creation of the modern free and tolerant world.
Nowadays it is thought that the Qur'an represents the total opposite of what the free world stands for, but this was not the idea of early Enlightenment thinkers. The contribution of the Islamic culture and the Qur'an for the creation of the Renaissance, Enlightenment and today's modern free world, is enormous. But sadly due to the economical and intellectual decline in the Muslim world after 1500 caused by bad leadership, which caused a wrong direction of Muslim interpretation and thought, and the non-acknowledgement of Western thought of their debt ot Islam; the idea of Islam being the source of the modern world is a strange idea.
But modern academics are starting to acknowledge the contribution of the Islamic intellectual heritage to modern science, law, philosophy and politics. Ibn Rushd (Averroes), the great Muslim philosopher and judge from Andalus, is considered the founding father of secular thought1. Voltaire, the important Enlightenment writer and philosopher who was a staunch advocate of freedom of religion and thought and who influenced the American and French revolution, said Muhammad was the founder of "a wise, severe, chaste, and humane religion" and he admired the Qur'an2. Arnold Toynbee, a famous historian called Mohammad one of the greatest benefactors to mankind due to Islam's high religious tolerance and the complete abscence of racism. Because of this he said Islam still has an important role to fulfill in contributing to tolerance and peace among mankind3.
Although the Muslim contribution to science is almost common knowledge now among academics, the contribution of Islam on Humanism and Freedom are still are relatively unknown or ignored, while Islam has greatly influenced it ,as in Fouad Khatib's words:
"Those who study the Quran for the first time might also reflect on the positive influence that Islam's holy text has had on Western civilization.
The Quran has the unique distinction of causing an ancient Semitic language, Arabic, to thrive as the language of learning for the better part of a millennium. While most ancient languages have either perished or been confined to the hallways of academia, Arabic continues to be a living language in more than two dozen countries. Arabic also formed the linguistic cornerstone of one of the greatest civilizations mankind has experienced.
The Quran and the example of the Prophet Muhammad, which gave Muslims a complete code of life, stimulated a belief in the importance of learning and inspired Arab-Muslim civilization to direct its creative energies into literary and scientific pursuits. Muslim science, mathematics, literature and medicine became the best in the world.
To understand how the Quran influenced civilizations, one should study the evolution of the Renaissance, the great revival of learning in 14th century Europe that had its origins in the interactions between the "Christian" West and the lands of Islam. For centuries preceding the Renaissance, Islamic Spain offered fertile intellectual ground from which sprang an enormous wealth of knowledge.
The famous libraries of Baghdad preserved in Arabic translations great Latin works of literature that were banned by the Church. Muslim Spain preserved the intellectual content of the Greco-Roman civilization that was later rediscovered by the West.
This vast knowledge base became the springboard for the Renaissance. The genesis of the Renaissance lies in the translation into Latin of books in all branches of knowledge then extant in the Arabic language.
Some precepts of law familiar to us today were also inspired by the Quranic code. Its influence on the international law is characterized by strict limitations on warfare, prohibition of harming of civilians or destruction of trees and crops, and adherence to treaties.
Distinguishing criminal intent from criminal action was first advanced by Islamic law. Consequently, children and the insane could not be prosecuted as they were deemed incapable of harboring criminal intent.
The Magna Carta and English common law were also influenced by the Quranic code. Pope Sylvester II graduated from a Spanish university with a degree in Islamic Law. He went on to translate Islamic legal texts into Latin and called it the "New Roman Law." This code became the basis for the French legal system as well as that of Louisiana.
On the social and civic front, a profound contribution of the Quranic code was the explicit banning of racism, which provided a practical framework for thriving multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies exemplified by the peaceful coexistence of different peoples in Muslim Spain.
In the 8th century Iraq, entire schools of grammarians in Baghdad, Basra and Kufa minutely scrutinized the Quran in an effort to elucidate its meanings. This led to the formal scrutiny of the Arabic language itself. Some significant outcomes of this intense linguistic exploration were the development of lexicography, rules of grammar and cryptology.
Only a serious study of the Quran and its influence on history can help one truly understand why more than a billion human beings revere this book as their revealed scripture. Polemics and hostile rhetoric, apart from being distasteful, do little to further understanding or mutual respect."4
But "The Enlightenment Qur'an" is a book which can change this ignorance. When the West finally realizes that modern society is a product partially based on the Qur'an, and the Muslims reform their approach to the Qur'an, then the world can finally benefit again from this Guidance, and we can all develop a peaceful pluralistic world society as intended by the Qur'an.
The review and description shows my hopes for this book are right:
Review
"Insightful, convincing and eloquent. Readers will gain a new appreciation of the complex background to our current intellectual and political reality." --Andrew Rippin, Professor of History at University of Victoria, Canada
"Erudite, subtle and profound. Stylishly written and a pleasure to read." --Robert Irwin, Author of 'For Lust of Knowing: The Orientalists and Their Enemies'
"Exquisitely persuades and provokes. Beautifully written and marvelously learned." --Thomas Burman, Associate Professor of History, University of Tennessee
Product Description
Iconoclastic and fiercely rational, the European Enlightenment witnessed the birth of modern Western society and thought. Reason was sacrosanct and for the first time, religious belief and institutions were open to widespread criticism. In this groundbreaking book, Ziad Elmarsafy challenges this accepted wisdom to argue that religion was still hugely influential in the era. But the religion in question wasn't Christianity - it was Islam. Charting the history of Qur'anic translations in Europe during the 18th and early 19th Centuries, Elmarsafy shows that a number of key enlightenment figures - including Voltaire, Rousseau, Goethe, and Napoleon - drew both inspiration and ideas from the Qur'an. Controversially placing Islam at the heart of the European Enlightenment, this lucid and well argued work is a valuable window into the interaction of East and West during this pivotal epoch in human history.
To purchase the book, got to:
The Enlightenment Qur'an: The Politics of Translation and the Construction of Islam (Paperback) by Ziad Elmarsafy
Footnotes:
1. Averroes: His Life, Works and Influence by Majid Fakhry, 2001.Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1851682694.
2. "Essai sur les Moeurs et l'Esprit des Nations" by Voltaire, Paris 1858, p167 note 175, 179.
3. Civilization on trial by A.Toynbee, London 1953. p 156.
4. The Quran's Influence on Western Civilization By Fouad Khatib.