tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10550935.post114046061558219969..comments2015-04-02T12:49:06.135-04:00Comments on erked: The wages of fundamentalismUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10550935.post-1140670151460451402006-02-22T23:49:00.000-05:002006-02-22T23:49:00.000-05:00As I recall, it was the Arabs (and Persians before...As I recall, it was the Arabs (and Persians before them?) who absorbed and essentially preserved the learning of the ancient Greeks during the Dark Ages. Odd, then, that Christian fundamentalism would help launch the Renaissance, while at the same time launching Islam in the opposite direction.erkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05626004771834205967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10550935.post-1140496661565238072006-02-20T23:37:00.000-05:002006-02-20T23:37:00.000-05:00Interesting post. I read a book entitled the Crus...Interesting post. I read a book entitled the Crusades through Arab eyes. It was largely a summary of Arab historian's views of the Crusades and somewhat unrewarding. However, the editor wrote a thought-provoking conclusion. <BR/><BR/>He pointed out that most would see the end of the Crusades as an Arab victory, but what he saw was the triumph of fundamentalism. Before the crusades, the arabs were scientifically and intellectually far more advanced than the barbarians from the west. As time wore on, the crusades brought the new ideas to the west, planting the seeds for the Renaissance. In contrast, for the arab nations, victory seemed tied to a turn inward, towards faith, and against reason.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com