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Mahathir Speaks Highly of Ancient Innovations of China
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Saturday the Muslims would be more advanced today if they had obeyed Prophet Muhammad's injunction to seek knowledge in China.
The prime minister said the Westerners had become more advanced today because they had gone to China earlier to acquire knowledge and the sciences developed by the Chinese.
"The Chinese (then) had already learnt to make explosives although at that time they used it not to destroy people, but instead to make as much noise as possible in order to chase the dragons or chase the devils," he said while opening the "Six Centuries of Islamic Art In China" exhibition here.
"Of course the Europeans saw the potentials of the explosives in hurling weapons to greater distances and from that beginning of the acquisition of the knowledge of making explosives, today we see rockets reaching to the moon and the planets and to the other stars," he said.
The West, he said, had also learnt the skills of making paper from China.
The prime minister said the Chinese were also known to be very artistic in producing art objects and they had applied their skills to their acquired faith of Islam.
Mahathir hoped that the exhibition would also help to cement closer relations between Malaysians and the Chinese people.
The exhibition at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, which will last to October 28, has on display some 200 artifacts which include historical and cultural documents, crafts, musical instruments and costumes of the minority of the nationalities in China.
It aims to provide an insight into the coming of Islam to China, the comparative influences between the Islamic and Chinese world and the rich cultural diversity of its vast lands.
The exhibition is being held in collaboration with the Museum of Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing and the North West Minorities University, Lanzhou, China.
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