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An 11th-century book by a revered Baghdad Muslim scholar turns out to be a tongue-in-cheek guide for party crashers, according to the researcher who translated the book into English.
The tome was originally authored by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, a well known scholar of the Prophet Mohammed's teachings.
According to Emily Selove of the University of Manchester, who did the translation, he wrote the book to remind readers "that every serious minded person needs to take a break."
She continued, "This book, which contains flirtation, profanity, and even a little drunkenness, is a lot of fun and offers a rather different perspective to the austere image Islam has from that period. The reality is that the Baghdad of 1,000 years ago was actually rather Bohemian -- it wasn't perfect by any means -- but not the violent and repressive society you might imagine it was."
Once a man crashed another man's party. "Who are you?" the host asked him. "I'm the one who saved you the trouble of sending an invitation!" he replied.
Someone asked a party-crasher, "What's four times four?" "Sixteen loaves of bread," he said. "What is two times two?" "Four loaves of bread," he replied. And another time he said, "I waited the amount of time it takes someone to eat a loaf of bread."
A party-crasher walked into a gathering, and they said to him, "Nobody invited you!" "But if you didn't invite me and I didn't come," he replied, "think how lonely that would be!"
Bunan (a popular rogue at the time that Selove likens to a cross between Falstaff and Robin Hood) had eaten and eaten well, and someone said to him, "Slow down! You'll kill yourself!" "If it is time to die," Bunan replied, "I want to go well fed and well watered, not parched and hungry."
Once a party-crasher walked in the house of a man who had invited a gathering of people. "Hey, you!" the man said. "Did I say you could come?" "Did you say I couldn't come?" the party crasher replied.
Originally posted by jburg6
Once a man crashed another man's party. "Who are you?" the host asked him. "I'm the one who saved you the trouble of sending an invitation!" he replied.
Originally posted by 3NL1GHT3N3D1
reply to post by SisyphusRide
You know the Romans were conquerors too, right? They conquered, pillaged, and converted others by force for a thousand years. Weren't they the ones who established Christianity? I'd say Christianity is just as guilty as Islam in this situation.
During the rule of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (reigned 306–337), Christianity became a dominant religion of the Roman Empire.
Originally posted by 3NL1GHT3N3D1
reply to post by svmpua
I didn't think so either until he brought up how the religion of Islam stole their culture. But I guess since I'm talking about Christianity it's off-limits now, huh?
Ever heard of the Crusades? Those were pretty violent too and they were commissioned by the Pope himself.
Originally posted by 3NL1GHT3N3D1
reply to post by grey580
I'm not sure I understand your point. Yes, Constantine established Christianity about 300 years after Jesus' death
Originally posted by 3NL1GHT3N3D1
reply to post by svmpua
I apologize for assuming something about you, my mistake. Your point about the crusades being a defensive war for Christianity doesn't make any sense. If they were trying to defend themselves then why order the attack like they did?