Sowing and Reaping of Destiny

HISTORIC REALITIES
For analytical review of the related aspects, we have to recall some historic
realities.
It is recognized that evolution of human societies, the rise and fall of great
civilizations and development of cultures and traditions generally take time to
mature to leave any lasting impact. Great civilizations and cultures develop
over a long period of time. Their eventual decline, at times much faster than
their development phase, is generally accentuated as a result of a steady erosion
of moral values and discipline.
The word 'morality' is often narrowly viewed in terms of sexual morality only.
Here we are talking of morality in the broadest sense of the word encompassing
overall human behaviour in all walks of life.
A close look at the rise and fall of great empires and civilizations, Greek,
Roman, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Persian and Chinese civilizations are
examples of this pattern. In more recent times, history records Arab expansion,
emergence of the Islamic civilization and the rise and fall of the Arab and
Muslim empires such as the Umayyad, Abbaside and Fatimid. After the fall of
these dynastic powers, the Turkish Ottoman Empire emerged in 15th century to
rule over the Balkans and much of the Muslim world in the Middle East until
the first quarter of the twentieth century.
Simultaneously, with the emergence of Ottoman rule in Turkey, Safavid reigned
in Iran and Moguls consolidated their hold in India.
Despite wielding so much power and influence over a vast expanse of the
Muslim world, Ottoman rule is remembered today for being the “sick man of
Europe” - an expression of its decadence towards its end.
As Europe woke up to the age of renaissance that ushered in the industrial age,
the period that followed is known as 'modern age'. Today we are living in what
is aptly described as 'post modern age.'
At a critical period in human history, introvert outlook of the Ottoman
Caliphate and the Islamic clergy within its domain left behind a legacy that has
contributed much to the widespread backwardness witnessed in the Muslim
world today.
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