My previous post reminded me of something, to be precise the question in my title, that has been rattling around in the back of my mind like a pebble in my shoe and which, irritatingly, will not go away. Don't feel sorry for me because, of course, it is my own laziness that has stopped me from seeking an answer. Anyway and apropos my previous post, there must be a reason, or probably several, why Islam has barely changed over the centuries in the way that Christianity has. Together, both religions entered what is generally called the 'Dark Ages' but on the backs of a handful of truly great thinkers both began to enter the very early Renaissance. For example, for centuries Islam ruled in much of Spain and their societies were open and tolerant. Islamic thinkers added to the general knowledge of science and mathematics, and their craftsmen created works of art in architecture and design as you can see from these photos of parts of the 14th century Alcazar Palace in Seville, a place not to be missed if you are nearby on your summer holidays.
So when and where and why did it all go wrong? I do understand, and even sympathise to a degree, why they are so frenetic in their desperate resistance to the inexorable advance of social, political and religious mores that are hateful to them but still the question remains, when and where and why did they get stuck in stasis?
