From Local to Global

In 2006, we began a new gathering at Mesa Community College (in Arizona), using the model of the House of Wisdom. Pursuing a variety of themes (such as "What is charisma?" and "Playing God"), we invite students, faculty and staff from across the college to bring new perspectives. All questions are welcomed, all ideas are pursued.

This fall, our own House of Wisdom is being transformed into a global experience. Students and teachers from Latin America, China, Morocco and other colleges in the United States will be invited into our conversations. Our blog becomes a multi-lingual, multi-cultural hub for conversations on the idea of "progress," the (im)possibility of real peace, the biases of language, and much more.

The conversations can start anywhere, an idea that we should all think about, posted on the blog. Then we take that conversation into our own close circle, our students, our teachers, our classmates. But that local conversation is only a step. We bring it back from there to the blog, where we share our ideas, our questions, our different points of view. You can post in English, Arabic, French, Spanish or Mandarin. Use it to practice a new language or work with the one you are most comfortable with. Together, we will try to translate the ideas into as many of the other languages as possible. We resolve not to let language get in the way Engagement.

Can we somehow lift the many voices in many languages into a conversation profound enough to measure up against al-Ma'mun's House of Wisdom? We honestly believe it is possible ...

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En 2006, comenzamos un nuevo tipo de reunión en Mesa Community College (en Arizona). Utilizando el modelo de la Casa de Sabiduría, exploramos una variedad de temas (por ejemplo, “¿Qué es el carisma?” y “Asumir el rol de Dios”). Invitamos a los alumnos, los maestros, y el personal de todos departamentos, y ellos traen muchas perspectivas nuevas. Todas sus preguntas y todas sus ideas son importantes.

El otoño del 2008, nuestra Casa de Sabiduría se convierte en una experiencia mundial. Invitamos a alumnos y maestros de universidades de America Latina, China, Marruecos, y otros colegios en los E.U. a las conversaciones. Nuestro blog será un centro multilingue y multicultural. Juntos, vamos a explorar los temas de “el progreso,” la posibilidad (o imposibilidad) de la paz, las parcialidades de los lenguajes, y más.

Se pueden empezar las conversaciones en cualquier lugar. Una persona en cualquier país puede sugerir un tema en el blog. Entonces, compartimos ese tema en nuestro círculo local con nuestros alumnos, nuestros maestros y nuestros compañeros de clase. Pero la conversación local es un paso solo. Después, devolvemos la conversación al blog, y compartimos nuestros ideas y preguntas y perspectivas con el mundo.

Puedes poner una mensaje en el inglés, el árabe, el francés, el español, o el mandarino. Puedes usar tu puesto para practicar un idioma nueva, o puedes escribir en tu propio idioma. Juntos, vamos a tratar a traducir las ideas en tantos idiomas como sea posible. No vamos a permitir que los idiomas obstruya el “Engagement.”

¿Se pueden juntar las voces de muchos idiomas en una conversación suficiente profunda que merezca el título de la Casa de Sabiduría? Creemos que sí …

(traducción por Tom Shoemaker)

They did it once before ...

1200 years ago, the caliph of Islam established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. No doubt, as the story of this institution gets told, it takes on a fantasy-like air. But taking the human flaws into account, it was truly a high moment for human experience.

The House of Wisdom was part library, part university, part colloquium ... it was a meeting place for all scholars of the the vast Muslim Empire. Al Ma'mun (the caliph) was motivated by the Qur'an's principle that to know the creation is to know the Creator. Hence, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, linguistics -- all of it was a window into the nature of God. Such insights could (and do) come from all sorts of religious settings. Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians all added to the intellectual moment. Al Ma'mun was clear: he was far more interested in unfolding the truth of the creation than in differing claims to "right."

The House of Wisdom didn't last long. Political in-fighting was, perhaps, inevitable in such a large empire. After al Ma'mun''s death, the attentions turned to the normal human endeavors of politics and conflict. There is today no physical remains of the vast holdings of the library -- or even the buildings themselves. But the memory ... the memory is still there.

Today, we need a new House of Wisdom. It could start large -- some great economic power could make the commitment. But it could also start small. A half-dozen people here. Another eight there. Someone must insist that all truth is truth, regardless of the religion that wants to claim it as their own. We must demand that the intellectual walls that religions put up between them must come down.

We want engagement.