Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad

The Essence of Islamic Education

Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad

The Muslim Influence on Europe and the West

Islam and Charles Dickens

Arab/Turkish/Islamic references in the literature of Charles Dickens

Seems a strange title, right? Well, it’s not as strange as the facts that we are about to present. As we all know the truth can be stranger than fiction. And in this case there are strange facts in fiction!


It is my belief that Europe was heavily influenced by writings in Arabic coming from their interaction with the Muslim world. This occurred for centuries much like western literature and movies do now until there was a deliberate move to remove anything that indicated that there was an outside influence. We think that it occurred somewhere in the 19th century or even earlier than that.


Here are the references that we have found:

There are references to the Arabian nights text which is interesting as the first translation was a French one then an English one in the 18th centuries. So what language were they reading it in?


David Copperfield

“Perhaps some Arabian-night magician opened the place for the day...” p.397 Penguin popular classics Chapter 33 Blissful.


A tale of two cities
'If thou be changed into this shape by the will of God,' say the seers to the enchanted, in the wise Arabian stories,108 'then remain so! ...p.317


Great Expectations
“Sketchy airy pictures of himself conducting Clara Barley to the land of the Arabian nights...”
P.230


Little Dorrit

“Brought for forty purses by one of the princes of Arabian Nights..”
P.447 Wordsworth classics


The Old Curiosity Shop
“Do you feel like the Grand Turk?”
p.52

The Ottoman Sultan?

“If this is not a dream. I have woke up, by mistake, in an Arabian Night.”
p.288


A somewhat fazed description of ablution

Oliver Twist
“A Turk turns his face, after washing it well, to the East, when he says his prayers...”
P.208


Hard Times
Nothing at all!


More ramblings

Barnaby Rudge

“And hear her child recommended to peruse the adventures of a Turk and a Mussulman.” P342. Penguins

“Mussulman: Muslim, follower of Islam, natural: One naturally deficient in intellect, a fool or idiot. natural children: Illegitimate children. ...” p.716

“... a fabulous bird of stupendous size that appears several times in The Arabian Nights. round-house: Lock-up or place of detention. runts, fantails...”(ibid)


Selected Short stories

“Abd-al-Kedir (1807-83) an Arab leader noted for his skilful battles against the French...” in note 3 on page 417 referring to page 142.

“A Tobbaco-smokey French man in Algerine wrapper, peaked hood behind, who might be Abd-el-Kedir..”
p.142 Penguin

Amir AbdulQadir who fought the French occupation of Algeria for many years. So he may have gained some notoriety in England because he defeated the French so much!


Christmas books

“The lady makes signs to the tow kings in the tree, who softy descend. It is the setting of the Arabian nights.”
Hurd and Houghton
p.286


Martin Chuzzlewit
“And there was Abudah, the merchant, with the terrible little old woman hobbling out of the box in his bedroom: and there was a mighty talisman – the rare Arabian Nights – with Cassim Babba.”
P. 78 Penguin classics

Baba Qasim?
“Arab Steed.”
p.204

Arabian Steed

Dombey and Son
“It’s an Arabian night: that’s what it is,” said Richard. “I am in Damascus or Grand Cairo.”
P.251 Binglow, brown and Co.


Nicholas Nickleby
Wordsworth Classics
"A silver spoon in a Morocco case.."
P.10
Another evidence of trade.

"Yellow turban..."
P.49
Yellow turbans were worn by the Angels at the Battle of Badr and this again shows proof of trade from either the Arab world or from India.

"He was dressed in a gorgeous morning gown, with a waistcoat and Turkish trousers..."
P.122

Relaxing again!

"Lounging on an ottoma..."
P.229
Where do you think Ottoman style of furniture comes from?!

"Timour the Tartar.."
P.270
A reference to Tamerlane (1336-1405.d).

"Ferocious Turk."
P.491
More bad press!


A Christmas Carol

"Why it's Ali Baba!" "It's dear old honest Ali Baba!"

"And the Sultan's groom turned upside by Genii,"
p.51


Food evidence of trade

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

"A Turkish sweetmeat, sir."
p.27


The influence of Islam runs so deep in the Europe that it takes some digging to find jewels but then again you are not going to find jewels on the ground you are going to find them deep in the ground!

Also note that it is very difficult to gauge a culture. He would not have put references to things that people had no knowledge of. Yes, he would've wrote about things that people had not known but if he gave a cultural reference to something then he would've expected it to be understood. Given that most of his works were published in parts in newspapers the readership must've known something about Islam.

Abd al-Rahman Al Sufi (d.986)

Here are some links to another lost scholar of Islam that the modern world owes an unpayable debt to.

"He identified the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is visible from Yemen, though not from Isfahan; it was not seen by Europeans until Magellan's voyage in the 16th century.[1][2] He also made the earliest recorded observation of the Andromeda Galaxy in 964 AD; describing it as a "small cloud".[3] These were the first galaxies other than the Milky Way to be observed from Earth."

http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/Bios/alsufi.html

http://seds.org/messier/more/m031_alsufi.html

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/A/Al-Sufi.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Rahman_al-Sufi

Sheikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller

What does science prove? Parts one and two

Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad

Islam in the new millenium parts one to six

Avenzoar or Ibn Zuhr (1091–1161)

Spanish Muslim surgeon.

Admired by contemporaries, his work advanced the practice of surgery in both the Muslim and Christian worlds. Avenzoar approached medicine in a practical manner and his works included advice on diet as well as information on surgical and medical treatments. He described the role of the oesophagus, pericarditis (inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart), tracheotomy (surgical opening of the windpipe), and procedures for the removal of cataracts in the eyes and kidney stones. He also discovered the parasite for scabies, a contagious skin infection, and described treatments for inner ear infection and tumours.

Avenzoar's Kitab al‐Taisir fi al‐Mudawat wa al‐Tadbir/Practical Manual of Treatments and Diet and Kitab al‐Aghziya/Book on Foodstuffs were translated into Latin in the late 13th century and used in European universities until the 18th century.

Avenzoar studied at the University of Córdoba in Spain before spending time in the great medical centres of Baghdad and Cairo. He later worked for the rulers of Muslim Spain. Unlike many of his contemporaries Avenzoar required proof in all things and did not just accept the ideas of classical theorists such as Galen, whose beliefs were widely considered infallible. A number of his anatomical discoveries were made through dissections of the human body, although this work was limited as it was forbidden under Islamic law.

http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/encyclopedia/article_show/Avenzoar/m0097002.html

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

Contributions of Islam to humanity parts one to four

Islamic spain

Skip the first few minutes!


You can view another video on Islamic/Muslim Spain
http://sheikhynotes.blogspot.com/2007/08/muslim-spain.html

Professor George Saliba

Islamic Science and the Making of Renaissance Europe

Please see this lecture on Yanabi.com. You will have to become a member.
http://www.yanabi.com/mediadb/player.cfm?file_id=5563

This is a similar lecture but you don't need to be a member to listen to it.
http://muslimheritage.com/features/default.cfm?ArticleID=693