If you look at a map of the spread of Islam prior to the Industrial era, it seems to follow the deserts and dry areas. Could this be something to do with the cleanliness rules being more useful in these areas?

freediver wrote on Feb 11^th, 2009 at 10:49am:



FD,

I came across this info a few years ago,

Apparently, the land which constituents the state of Israel was once very fertile and forested.

But it was the custom of muslim overlords to tax land on the basis of the number of trees on the land.

Hence the canny landowners, wishing to minimise taxes.......


Another example of 'clever' ISLAMIC culture again.




I don't have a ready link available [for this info], but i am sure a little Googling would yield results.

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I don't know when exactly you consider to be the industrial era, but I always thought it was from the late 18th. century. Islam didn't really spread much after the commencement of the industrial era (in fact it mostly shrunk, geographically speaking) so I don't even see the point in mentioning pre/post industrial era??

Is the Iberian peninsula desert and dry? Is Pakistan/India desert and dry? Is central asia desert and dry? Is Anatolia desert and dry? Are the Balkans desert and dry? Is the Caucasus desert and dry? All these regions were part of the Islamic world, WELL before the Industrial era (unless of course you've got a different idea on when the industrial era is than most other people). Perhaps you're just not actually aware of the lands that were part of the Islamic world pre-industrial era?? Have you actually examined a map to come to these conclusions?

Most of the Middle east has been pretty much desert for a lot of it's known history. The word desert is mentioned 42 times in the Bible, right from the very early books of the Pentateuch. The Arabs are also mentioned as being desert dwellers, long before the advent of Islam.

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Yeh I'm sure when Muslim generals debated whether or not to open a land, they'd sit and debate how much use the 'cleanliness rules' would be utilised in that particular land....

Are you normal fd? Have you just run out of arguments, and this was the best you could come up with?

Bottom of the barrel eh..

Muslims expanded into all of north Africa, and some of central Africa, so that probably destroys your argument then and there.

I'd say if you look at a map of Islamic expansion, it stretches out quite evenly in ALL directions from where it began, just so happens most of the lands close to it are also desert.

Proximity.. proximity.

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I hardly think Judaism could be considered one of the 3 largest religions in the world. Sure it 'sprouted' Christianity, but that doesn't make it big.

However, considering you're Euro-centric view of the world mozza, I guess it's not that surprising you'd be thinking in this kind of mindset. You're views are probably much more influenced by Christianity than you'd care to admit.

Judaism is actually 12th. on the list, size wise. Just behind Juche and Spiritism, and I'm sure you know a lot about them.

Islam and Christianity are the only 2 religions in the top 10, that come from the Middle East. Most of them come from much further east on the other side of Asia... nevermind it sounded good in theory anyway.

mozzaok wrote on Feb 12^th, 2009 at 8:35pm:



Yes...of course you were.

:D:D

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Not really Abu. I'm talking about hygeine here, not brick walls.

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That's not what I see in the map.

Why are you so hostile to this idea? I thought you'd leap at the chance to say that Islam beat science based medicine to these ideas, like when you tried to claim Islam came up with round earth theory first.

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Actually, Europeans did too. It was not a brick wall. This is not about absolute ecological determinism.

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But that is not what the theory is about.