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Article: Tracing cultural face of Islam.
- Article from:
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)
- Article date:
- April 1, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Chicago Tribune. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Ron Grossman
Apr. 1--Once, two sprawling religious communities sat side by side. One revered the Greek classics upon which Western civilization is based. It subjected articles of faith to rigorous philosophical examination and was accepting of religious minorities. The other was quite the opposite: Ignorant of ancient learning, its theology scarcely rose above the level of superstition. Anyone who didn't subscribe to its doctrines was persecuted as a heretic.
The latter religion was Christianity. The first was Islam.
In the 8th and 9th Centuries, literacy reached a such low point in the Christian West that its mightiest ruler, the ...