In 1827 A.D., the Mediterranean island of Sicily
became part of the growing Islamic empire. For
nearly three hundred years it remained under
Islamic rule. Then, in 1090, it was reconquered by
the Normans.
The founder of the Norman kingdom of Sicily was
Roger II (1095-1154). In 1110 he succeeded his
brother as count of Sicily and in 1130 was crowned
king. Although he belonged to a nation of
conquerors, and it was the Muslims whom he had
defeated, he still retained a high respect for Arabs
and Islam. His coronation mantle was designed by
a Muslim artist, and had Arabic inscriptions woven
into it. After his coronation, he decided that he
would like to have a chart showing the full extent of
the Norman empire. He chose a Muslim
cartographer, Al-Idrisi, to design this chart, for he
was the greatest expert in the field. Al-Idrisi then
went on to prepare an atlas for the king, consisting
of seventy maps and extensive geographical data.
Originally written in Arabic, the first European
edition of this atlas was published in 1619.
The selection of Al-Idrisi for the mammoth task of
preparing maps of the whole of the known world
shows, as the historian. J.H. Kramers has pointed
out, that at that time the intellectual and academic
superiority of Muslims was accepted by one and all.
Roger II certainly appreciated the worth of Muslim
scholars: he encouraged and sponsored them in
their work and—in the words of one historian—
“made Sicily a major meeting place for Christian
and Arab scholars.”
Though defeated on the field of battle, Muslims
continued their intellectual and academic
dominance, even in the court of their conqueror.
This was because at that time Muslims were far and
wide the most advanced race in almost every field
of knowledge. The legacy of Islam lives in European
languages, which retain many words of Arabic
origin.
Muslims today complain of their political, economic
and military subjection to non-Muslim nations.
They think that they can take back, by protest and
militancy, what has been seized from them. But the
case of Roger II of Sicily—his respect for Muslim
scholars and their continued intellectual
domination even after military defeat—shows that
the solution to the problems of the Muslims in the
modern age lies in their cultivating technological
capability, and establishing dominance in the field
of modern scientific knowledge. This can be
achieved—not by protests and militant
“fundamentalism”, but by earnest academic
endeavour alone; it can be acquired by seeking to
give to the world, rather than just take from it.
Ref - The Moral Vision
