Islam

The president said that NASA’s main mission is to reach out to Muslim nations and point out Islams great contributions to math and science. Gulp. Shortly after 9/11 I read a couple of books on Islam, the most informative was written by Bernard Lewis, a man considered to be the foremost scholar on the Middle East. He said that the first 500 years of Islam were the glory years and the religion spread across three continents but for the next 1000 years nothing of significance happened. The reason was that Muslims did not like to live in non Muslim countries as they felt it was not compatible with their religious beliefs. The net result was the west went through the industrial revolution which included a revolution in science and technology and the Muslim world reminded in the 12th century where it is at today.

As the west emerged from the Dark Ages the Muslim world stayed behind. Today many Muslim countries see the value in the results of western ingenuity but they are fearful of being contaminated by the culture. They like color TV but not half dressed women in the ads. They are caught in the trap that comes with a theocracy, in that they desire the productivity and the conveniences of modern life but it does not fit well with Sharia Law, the Muslim law that says that their religion is a way of life. Until they agree to separate church and state they will not fit well into western society.