William Tyler
The Christian and Muslim Enlightenment
Summary
Since the Renaissance, the Christian West, including its Jewish citizens, tended to view the Muslim East as backward. Contemporary historians have challenged this perception in favour of a more nuanced understanding of how the Renaissance and the Enlightenment impacted the Ottoman Empire and its Arab subjects.
William Tyler
William Tyler has spent his entire professional life in adult education, beginning at Kingsgate College in 1969. He has lectured widely for many public bodies, including the University of Cambridge and the WEA, in addition to speaking to many clubs and societies. In 2009, William was awarded the MBE for services to adult education, and he has previously been a scholar in residence at the London Jewish Cultural Centre.
It’s usually referred to in the Haskalah. That’s why they call it the Jewish Enlightenment. And in fact, you can translate the word haskalah as enlightenment if you wish. I think the origin of the word is intelligence.
Yes, and If enlightenment is finished, what do we put in its place? I don’t think tolerance is something that we should abandon. I don’t think reason is something we should abandon. And I don’t think the importance of the individual in society is something we should abandon. But there are people who want us to redefine the enlightenment in terms of 21st century.
They are highly critical of the West in the way that they are critical of the modern west imperialism, colonialism, et cetera. Remember that Hamas describes Israel as a colonizing power and they have turned in their opposition back to the Koran. I’ve read it and expect some of you had, the Koran is a very strange document indeed and Mohammed advocates war.