Woman Between Islam and Western Society
1. A Survey
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Here are two examples which illustrate, on the one
hand, the difference between science (knowledge)
and superstition, and on the other, how Islam was
originally responsible for putting an end to the age
of myth and superstition and heralding the new era
of enlightenment.
One of the phenomena of nature in our world is
the eclipse, sometimes the sun going into eclipse
and at other times the moon. Today we have
discovered the astronomical laws governing these
phenomena but, in ancient times, man was
ignorant of what these phenomena and their
causes actually were. Strange and wonderful
stories on the basis of conjecture were, therefore,
concocted to bring them within the realm of
human understanding. The Chinese account of the
eclipse and its “remedy” is one of the more
fanciful:
When an eclipse occurred, the Chinese
thought that the sun was being swallowed by
a huge dragon. The whole population joined
in making as much noise as possible to scare it
away. They always succeeded!
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