> "It is wholly unfair to attribute the efflorescence of European culture > during the Renaissance period to the influence of Christianity. It was > mainly the product of the forces released by the Muhammadan Dispensation." > (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual > believer, April 27, 1936; Lights of Guidance, 2nd edition p. 495) > > Is there modern scholarship with evidence to back this up? >
The "forces released by the Muhammadan Dispensation" is a term that is allows for some interpretation. If there is not scholarship to show direct links between the Renaissance and Islam, there are arguments to be made for Islamic "forces". I think the University at Cordova in Spain, among other things, had an influence. Here are a couple of Islamic sites I came across (that have varying degrees of partisanship). http://home.att.net/~a.f.aly/renaissance.htm http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/4701/idx/uni-idx.htm A key event in the efflorescense of European culture was the invention of the printing press (not an Islamic invention). Christianity does have a direct link back to the Greek philosophers (bypassing Islam) through the Roman, Boethius (who wrote his Consolation of Philosophy circa 525 AD). Although without Islam and Islamic libraries, it may be that much of the early Greek and Roman philosophy (which contributed to the Renaissance) would have been lost, I don't have a feel for what was held by the European priests and monks. The Consolation of Philosophy was essentially ignored for centuries after it was written, but it was "discovered" in the Middle Ages and was a staple of Western scholars for many centuries. Many Western scholars look at it as the link to the likes of Plato, but given other events, such as Christianity's initial response to Boethius (he died in jail-perhaps due to his Arian affinities), I think it is correct to give some credit to Islam for a variety of the advances of the Renaissance (as pointed out in the sites listed above). For those unfamiliar with Boethius, here are a few sites: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/latin/boethius/boepre.html http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/latin/boethius/boebio.html http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/boethius.html ---------- You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Baha'i Studies is available through the following: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.jccc.net/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=bahai-st news://list.jccc.net/bahai-st http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist (public) http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (public)
