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Ignorance Is Bliss

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Submitted By myedu
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Grace Reynolds
Hum 2210
Pennington
Scholar Group 2
Journal Essay #4

Ignorance Is Bliss

The fact that many Americans believe that Muslims and the Arab world are ignorant speaks more to our lack of understanding of other cultures inside and outside of America than it does the merits or accomplishments of those cultures. History has shown that the Islamic culture and Arab world is anything but ignorant.
The quest for a new Islamic world began in the early 7th century and was a militarily and societal effort to spread the religion and culture of Islam. Invading Islamic armies found once powerful, but now depleted and war weary empires ripe for the sacking; utilizing both land and sea assaults to conquer port and city targets. Within 100 years of the fall of Mecca, Islam had spread across much of the Middle East, North Africa and Spain, sparking the Golden Age of Islam.
Islamic society in newly conquered lands was advanced by creating city centers that helped build a sense of community for its citizens. Mosques were built and used as social, economic, and educational gathering places. Also functioning as governmental and administrative faculties, mosques literally served all aspects of daily life. This virtually insured the religion influenced all who interacted within the mosque community. Later, teaching colleges called Madrasas were attached to the mosques in order to teach the Qur’an as well as other disciplines, including mathematics and the sciences.
Between the mosque’s central role in community and the acceptance of “any and all comers”, citizens found easy access to a new religion that did not deny Christianity or Judaism, but was a continuation of those faiths with an introduction to Mohammad and the “five pillars”. The similarities allowed for an easier religious transition. Additionally, the Muslim faith makes no distinctions

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