Hospitals Owe Debt To Islam

Independent (UK) ^ | 9-11-2003 | Steve Connor

[blam]

Hospitals owe debt to Islam

By Steve Connor
11 September 2003

Modern medicine owes much to the scholars of the medieval Islamic world, who pioneered the diagnosis and treatment of human disease, a science historian told the conference.

The very first hospitals were built around AD800 in Baghdad and they were much more sophisticated than the simple monastic hospices that grew up in Western Europe several hundred years later, said Emilie Savage-Smith of St Cross College in Oxford.

The largest Islamic hospitals were built in Egypt and Syria in the 12th and 13th centuries. Patients were treated in wards dedicated to different illnesses, such as gastrointestinal complaints, eye ailments and fevers. "The establishment of an extensive system of hospitals was one of the greatest achievements of medieval Islamic society. It was in the context of these hospitals that the teaching of medicine at bedside was first introduced by Arabic-speaking physicians of the 10th century," Dr Savage-Smith said.

"In Islam there is a moral imperative to treat all the ill regardless of their financial status. These hospitals were open to all, male and female, civilian and military, rich and poor, Muslims and non- Muslims." The hospitals had several purposes: as a centre of medical treatment, a convalescent home for those recovering from illness or accident, an insane asylum and a retirement home giving basic maintenance needs for the aged and infirm who lacked a family to care for them.

As well as translating and interpreting the works of classical Greek medicine, Islamic scholars wrote a vast medical reference library to understand disease, pain, injuries and childbearing.They described infectious diseases such as smallpox and eye conditions such as catar-acts and successfully did minor operations such as tonsillectomies.

For a thousand years, Islamic physicians kept alive the traditions of classical medicine from Greece and Rome.

[blam]

Hmmmm, were they civilized at one time?

[Welsh Rabbit]

Yeah well, what've they done for us lately?

[isthisnickcool]

"In Islam there is a moral imperative to treat all the ill regardless of their financial status.

Maybe somewhere along the line there was a partially deaf Imam who heard all of this and thought they said "treat all and kill" regardless of their financial status.

[wimpycat]

IF all this is true, it just makes the present state of the Islamic world that much more shameful. To have the high point of your civilization be over 1,000 years ago isn't much to boast about today.

[Da Mav]

What is the point of this article? At one time Islamic culture led the world in many respects. That was a heck of a long time ago, and totally irrelevent to anything happening today, where they seem to produce and house a disproportionate share of the worlds barbarity.

[Arthalion]

I've always said that Islam is a dichotomy. On one hand, 95% of their religious teachings emphasize hard work, honesty, learning, and charity...just like Christianity. Sadly, the remaining 5% is dedicated to war, conquest, and the subjugation of the "infidel". There have been points in Islam's history where the masses have chosen to ignore that 5%, and other times where they have decided to concentrate on it. We are currently in one of those latter times.

[debg]

well...yeah. islam keeps hospitals full.

[tet68]

Islamic scholars wrote a vast medical reference library to understand disease, pain, injuries and childbearing.They described infectious diseases such as smallpox and eye conditions such as catar-acts and successfully did minor operations such as tonsillectomies.

And all of this wonderous knowledge is where, pray tell?

[adx]

IF all this is true, it just makes the present state of the Islamic world that much more shameful. To have the high point of your civilization be over 1,000 years ago isn't much to boast about today.

I'm not ashamed of it. Islam has put the survival of the West in doubt not once but twice. I'm glad Islamic civilization has sunken so low, and if we have any sense at all, the West will keep them there for good.

[paul51]

Hospitals Owe Debt To Islam

Yeah, OK. The checks in the mail

[68skylark]

I've been told that the Islamic world was once the leader of civilization. I think it had more to do with the backwardness of Western Europe at the time -- and not much to do with any genuine sophistication in the Islamic world. Thankfully, we've progressed since then. I don't think they have.

[JusPasenThru]

Folks need to keep in mind that Islam as it evolved in the Middle Ages "wasn't so bad". Christian writers held such Moslem philosophers as Averoes in high regard. However, Wahabism (the current breed of Moslems, especially in the USA) believe that the medieval Moslems corrupted the true faith, and that anyone who doesn't see it exactly the way they do are worse than unbelievers. They truly believe that non-Wahabi Moslems should be killed along with everyone else. A religion from the pit of hell, to be sure.

[Joe Boucher]

No one says that the Arab or Mulim world hasn't contributed like all other civilizations to further mankind. What we are all saying is that the Muslims are trying to dispose of others that may not ascribe to their rather whacko wahabi version. That means that if you are say a Budhist or Christian and refuse to follow the teachings of Muhammad you should be killed.
If you have a problem with my live and let live Philosiphy and still care to kill me and mine because I happen to be Christian well prepare to go to battle.

[Ole Okie]

At one time Islamic culture led the world in many respects.

Our present method of counting evolved from Hindu-Arab roots. The Arabs are generally given credit for inventing the "zero".

I think they also invented al-zebra, much to the displeasure of high school freshmen the world over.

But that's been a long, long time ago.

[livius]

Oh, please. The Middle East - BEFORE Islam - was very advanced with regard to science, math and medicine. And not even in the more remote parts of the Middle East or Southeast Asia: even Greek pysicians - such as St. Luke - were legend.

What Islam did was take over advanced cultures and kill them. I would say that advanced cultures had an average of 100 years before Islam stifled them.

Some of them outside of the native territory of Islam may have survived longer, but they were under assault: Spain, because of its internal disorganization, was conquered by recently converted and not very zealous Muslims, but then these Muslims themselves were soon conquered by fanatical North African nutcases. The "Golden Age" existed only as long as Islamic rulers could be paid off enough to let the members of the native culture(Christian, Jewish or even pagan) continue to function.

Islam is an insane death cult.

[Gritty]

For a thousand years, Islamic physicians kept alive the traditions of classical medicine from Greece and Rome.

Maybe Islamic physicians did, but Islam has been utterly ruthless in it's destruction of cultures and peoples which did not reflect and honor Allah.

The Taliban blowing up Bhuddist statues in Afghanistan is not a first. Islamic conquerors completely destroyed the huge Library of Alexandria in Egypt, which contained an immense and ompletely irreplaceable treasure trove of ancient and classsical knowledge which was the largest collection in the world, ever. It is one reason we have so few existent texts today of these ancient periods. Today, only a few remaining texts from this period survived, and then only because they were accidentally saved from the Islamic jihads. The Islamics destroyed the literature and records because they had nothing to do with the Koran and might distract from the Word Of Allah and His Prophet!

[shotgun]

According to calypso louie, they also invented or came up with the concept every modern convienence know to exist in the western hemishpere. It was the evil white devils and their Jewish leaders that conspired to take it all away and claim it for themselves, while enslaving the peaceful and loving muslims...

PS: that is as PC as I can get on this subject...