Echoes in Eternity

"Ghazna (Ghazni), one of the important cities of Khorasan, was the capital of the Ghaznavid Empire (962 to 1187), ruled by the Ghaznavid Sultans, after the fall of the Empire of the Nasher Khans. Tombs of many poets and scientists are located in Ghazni, for example the Tomb of Al Biruni. The only ruins in Old Ghazni retaining a semblance of architectural form are two towers, about 43 m (140 ft) high and some 365 m (1,200 ft) apart. According to inscriptions, the towers were constructed by the Mahmud of Ghazni and his son. Ghazni is also famous for its minarets built on a stellar plan. They date from the middle of the twelfth century and are the surviving element of the mosque of Bahramshah. Their sides are decorated with geometric patterns." (Taken from the Wikipedia entry about the Afghan city of Ghazni)

A millennia ago, Middle Eastern cities such as Ghazni served as the center of the scientific and mathematical world. The ancient Babylonians were the first to invent/discover algebra. 300 years before Christ, Euclid, an Egyptian, was known as the "father of geometry." Yet as we near the fourth millennial anniversary of the Babylonian's discovery of the algebraic rules governing math, mobs in Ghazni attack, torture, and murder anyone who dares to teach algebra to girls.

This growing chasm between the Islamic culture and modern technology and discoveries will only serve to increase the resentment that Middle Eastern Muslims have toward America and other advancing societies. In turn, that feeling of resentment plays a large part (besides religious reasons) in fueling the terrorism that is so rampant in that region today. The solution: education, infrastructure, and evangelism; probably in that order. As the Islamic culture (notwithstanding Dubai) plummets into a civilizational and technological freefall, evangelism appears to becoming even more difficult.

Every culture and people group in the world has eventually had significant portions of its population won over by the power of Christ's salvation; every culture, that is, except for Islamic ones. Even Communist China has seen significant inroads made in the last 20 years by the Christian church. However, the Biblical enmity between the Jews and the Arabs continues to this very day, with many Christian missionaries seeing few Muslim converts even after years of service in an area. Thus, it would seem that by improving their way of life, we might help them become more receptive to Christians and, more importantly, the Gospel. Every time that the U.S. military puts up another school or hospital in Iraq, the Arabs there are brought one step closer to catching up with modern day civilization and trusting the West more.

Just some thoughts...