Secularism and Fundamentalism Part 1 p.s. It has come to my attention that some Pointblank readers confused Hiruy Tewelde with Herui T Bairu . I want to make it clear that they are two distinct individuals and that my responses were directed at Hiruy Tewelde and not Herui T Bairu.
Every civilization builds on the achievements of previous civilizations.
This was, of course, a simple historical fact but believe it or not, I was taken to task for mentioning an Islamic civilization . Many Eritrean intellectuals had no inkling of what I was talking about since they never heard of any Islamic civilization much less of anything Islamic that inspired western civilization. Ignorance of Islam and Muslims abounds not only among non-Muslims but also among Muslims themselves. The more ignorant a person is of Islam and its history, it seems, the more stereotypical his view of Islam becomes. This is because the version of Islamic history taught in much of the world is a history written from a western perspective with its deep-rooted rivalry with Islam dating back to crusades.