The Muslims response to 911 and beyond can be defined as a cacophony of voices with different decibels. Some Muslims have denied 911 as a Muslim crime. President Obama aware of the conspiracy theories said “Al Qaeda did 911″. He also said “this is fact not an opinion“. Other Muslims have have totally bought into the Western narrative and criticize Muslims only. A third wave of Muslims have tried to educate the West on the Muslim perspective on things. Like me Tamimis waging a struggle to explain the Islamic story. It is amazing that Europe has a much better understanding of the Muslim perspective than America. The Chinese and the South Americans also comprehend the Muslim narrative. It is in America that the perspective is least understood.
That is changing, and Obama speech this week will expedite that change.
A sweeping narrative history by the acclaimed author of West of Kabul, East of New York illuminates how Muslims have seen the history of the world— and what western world history leaves out
We in the west share a common narrative of world history—that runs from the Nile Valley and Mesopotomia, through Greece and Rome and the French Revolution, to the rise of the secular state and the triumph of democracy. But our story largely omits a whole civilization that until quite recently saw itself at the center of world history, and whose citizens shared an entirely different narrative for a thousand years. http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/publicaffairsbooks-cgi-bin/display?book=9781586486068
The destinies of many peoples have been disrupted. The destiny of the peaceful people of Baghdad was disrupted by the marauding hordes of Mongols that ruthlessly destroyed everything it their path like a swarm of locusts devour all vegetation in their flight plan. The destiny of the Native Americans of North America was destroyed by the untimely arrival of Christopher Columbus on the shores of America. The destiny of the African nations was disrupted by the British slave trade that impacted the entire continent. The destiny of the Incas and the Mayans was disrupted by the invading Conquistadors which destroyed and enslaved the entire population. The destiny of the peaceful Indus Valley of Pakistan was disrupted by the invading Aryans from the Caucus mountains. The list is long…
Tamim Ansary has written the book from a Muslim point of view. One of the most profound points of view made in the book is the different timelines of Muslims and other peoples. Tamim eloquently describes the fact that that he was involved in the redesign of the US Text books. When he tried to bring in a Muslim perspective, he was ignored and Islam ended up in half a chapter of the US History text book. He suggests that in view of the current political situation of the world, perhaps the Muslim timeline should also be part of the curriculum.
In Destiny Disrupted, Tamim Ansary tells the rich story of world history as the Islamic world saw it, from the time of Mohammed to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and beyond. He clarifies why our civilizations grew up oblivious to each other, what happened when they intersected, and how the Islamic world was affected by its slow recognition that Europe—a place it long perceived as primitive and disorganized—had somehow hijacked destiny. Entertaining and enlightening, Destiny Disrupted also offers a vital perspective on current conflicts.
Tamim Ansary is the author of the memoir West of Kabul, East of New York, co-author with Farah Ahmadi of the New York Times bestseller The Other Side of the Sky, and has been a major contributing writer to several secondary school history textbooks. Ansary is director of the San Francisco Writers Workshop. He writes for Encarta.com, the San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, Alternet, Edutopia, Parade, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/publicaffairsbooks-cgi-bin/display?book=9781586486068
To make his point, he defines Western history in the general categories and compartments described by Western history textbooks:
- Nile Valley and Mesopotamia
- Greece and Rome
- The Dark Ages
- The Renaissance
- The French Revolution
- Rise of the secular state and the
- Triumph of democracy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mddKSypJ–E
He brilliantly analyzes this timeline and poignantly asks the question, on why Islam is not part of each section of history. I have myself also questioned the world map that makes the North look larger and the South smaller. Greenland shows up as big as Africa and the area of small Canadian islands show up bigger than India. I like Tamim have also questioned the lack of corresponding events in the Muslim world as well as in China and South Asia. As an avid reader, I purchased Jawarlal Nehru’s book “Glimpses of World History” (a book he wrote from prison to his 13 year old daughter). One of the most fascinating things about Nehru’s book is that he has a comparative timeline where he describes world events in light of what is happening in South Asia. I kept that book for three decades and finally passed it on to my son, who says he read it. The Indian binding of the book did not survive his “reading”, and I plan to buy another copy of the book when time permits.
- Tamim present the Muslim history as follows:
- Jahaaliah period
- The Advent of Islam
- The Hijra
- The spread of Islam from Morocco to Indonesia
- The Ummayads
- The Abbassids
- Crusades
- Ottomans
- Colonialism
- Post Colonialism
The Muslim timeline does not follow the Western timeline. According to Tamim the Western timeline thrives on the triumph of the West where Islam is an insignificant actor. For Islam the events of the West may or may not be pertinent. According toe Tamim the West sees itself on a correct timeline where as Muslims and Islam is lagging behind and should quickly catch up. For Muslims working on their own timeline see Western material advancement and struggle with the ways that it effects them.
Tamim does not present any solutions to the asynchronous timelines, but does want the West to be aware of a different timeline and different content. He does want a unified history of the world where the East and the West are both described to students.
The book is easy to read and walked the West through the Islamic timeline.
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