علم الزمن والوقت
As I am reading two books at the same time: first is entitled “The History of Arab Heritage”, astronomy chapter, by professor Fuat Sezgin. The second is entitled “Time and Place Today” written by a group of French thinkers, and translated by Muhammad Wael Al-Atassi.
The first book proves with documents, manuscripts, and through long-term research for decades that Muslims produced many sciences and created authentic theories. In the field of time and astronomy for instance, it is attributed to them the development or the establishment of “Trigonometry”, “science of determining Qibla direction” and “astronomy” etc.
As for the second book, it focuses on one thing, which is the fact that “the West” is the initiator and the restorer in establishing time and place sciences. Western scholars alone formulated theories, shaped terminology, established curriculums and built sciences. Others are just margins, subordinate and have no main role to play at all.
As for the second book, it focuses on one point, which is that “the West” is the initiator and restorer, and is the only master, in the creation of sciences of time and space. Western scholars alone formulated theories, shaped terminology, established curricula, and built sciences. Whereas others, they are just the margins, the explainers and the followers. They do not have any roles, rather, they should not have a role at all.
In the introduction of the book of “Time and Place Today”, the authors announced that at the end of the book they would allot a chapter on “the other”, its vision towards time and place. However, when I ended up to this chapter, I found that the other was examined using “anthropological” approach. This is what Seyyed Hossein Nasr calls «colonial pseudoscience», by giving an example of one of the primitive communities “Euroqivi” in New Guinean regions. And of course, time and place for these people is in its primitive forms, which shows the West is superior in terms of accuracy, depth and approach etc.
As a serious researcher, I ask:
Does a scholar from the East have the right to claim to have formulated a concept, established a science or invented an approach?
Or is it the mission of the Master, the message of the colonizer, and an exclusive right that none disputes about.
It does not hurt me to read books and articles written by Western specialists who take this approach. It is not surprising that something of its kind exists, as intellectual and scientific colonization preceded political and miliary colonization. “But what pains me is that among us in the East are scholars or those engaged in science are “more monarchist than the king”, “more Western than the West”. Their only criticism comes from admiration, ignorance of the truth of the matter, and a lack of patience in reading, comparison, and investigating.
The question remains open, as I am addressing the appeal to establish “time science”.
May Allah guide us to the truth.
Dr. Mohamed Babaami
Bassa Oufdal, Beni Isguen
16 Muharram 1444 A.H/ 14 August 2022.
Written by: Dr. Mohamed Babaami
Translated by: Toufik Achour
Date:28/11/2023
The Article title in Arabic:الغرب والآخر (هل يحق للشرق أن يؤسس علمًا)
