Reason
& Rationality
No
one before Islam said use your reason. Repression
was based on priesthood, hierarchy or the one
in control. They emphasized the use of intellectual
capacity in all areas of life. One of the principles
they created is that the mind deals with reason,
exploration, but does not harbor emotions.
As
a result of Islamic teachings and the preservation
of Greek and Roman thought through Arabic translations
of original texts, the Renaissance came into being.
Averroes
(and wider Islamic thought) was instrumental in
the development of rationalism within the Christian
tradition, a factor which has been a major influence
on the development of the West as such.
At
this point, most especially in the Islamic kingdom
of Spain but also in the East, Islamic culture
was by and large tolerant and affirmative of religious
diversity within its own boundaries.
This
made for a rather impressive inter-cultural intellectual
milieu, where Islamic philosophers and theologians
discussed and clarified their faith alongside
similar representations from Christian and Judaic
thinkers.
Cordoba
in southern Spain, the then capital of the Moorish
empire, is perhaps the most impressive example
of such inter-cultural diversity.
Here,
Muslim translations and commentaries on Aristotle
from Greek into Arabic were translated by Jewish
scholars into Hebrew and by Christian scholars
from Hebrew into Latin.
This
led to an extraordinary degree of mutual dependence
and influence between the three religious traditions,
and by today’s standards, a surprising level
of respect and friendship between Islamic philosophers
and their counter-religionists.
Thus,
for example, the formidable Jewish philosopher
Moses Maimonides declared himself a disciple of
the Muslim Averroes while an influential (although
heretical) grouping called the Christian Averroists
also sprung up in Paris, declaring their debt
to the Master.
No
less a figure than Thomas Aquinas also owed a
huge debt to Averroes, although this debt was
not always so explicitly acknowledged.
Christian
thinkers relied more on Ibn Rushd (Averroism)
than on Aristotle in researching in the world
of science. Among Ibn Rushd's followers were the
Jewish thinkers who called him "the soul
and intelligence of Aristotle. In fact, Jewish
philosophers such as Ibn Maymun, known as Maimonides
(d. 1204), Yahuda ben Solomo Cohen and Aveicebron
who were the main glory of intellect were students
of Ibn Rushd and Arabic philosophy.
It
is the Islamic philosophy that floats high above
all racism that gave freedom and protection to
minority and the Jews who translated the Arabic
works into Hebrew (12th to 14th century). Rom
Landau stated in his book, "The Arab Heritage
of Western Civilization" that "Averroism
became the chief doctrine of the philosophical
schools of Paris, Padua and Bologna.
It
helped lay the foundation for the Renaissance"
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