{"id":2640,"date":"2012-01-27T19:05:41","date_gmt":"2012-01-27T19:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/?p=2640"},"modified":"2021-08-05T20:12:18","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T20:12:18","slug":"ibn-fadlan-meet-a-world-class-international-arab-man-of-mystery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/ibn-fadlan-meet-a-world-class-international-arab-man-of-mystery\/","title":{"rendered":"Ibn Fadl\u0101n: Meet a World-Class International Arab Man of Mystery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Way before the world had the pleasure of being introduced to\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Google Earth<\/strong><\/span>, the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>iPhone<\/strong><\/span>, <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Wikipedia<\/span><\/strong>, the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>GPS<\/strong><\/span>, and other technological niceties, people&#8217;s best shot at learning about far away nations was through the dispatch of intrepid explorers, who would then pave the way to diplomatic special envoys, ultimately followed by full-fledged ambassadors.<\/p>\n<p>Today, you&#8217;ll be pleased to meet Mister <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong><em>Ibn Fadl\u0101n\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span>(<span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>\u0627\u0628\u0646 \u0641\u064e\u0636\u0652\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0644\u0627\u0646<\/strong><\/span>), an &#8220;International Man of Mystery&#8221; in his own right, who combined the rare qualities of being both\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>\u0631\u064e\u062d\u064e\u0651\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0644\u0629\u064c\u00a0<\/strong><strong>\u062c\u064e\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631\u0650\u064a\u0621<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(an intrepid traveler) and &#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>\u062f\u0628\u0644\u0648\u0645\u0627\u0633\u0640<strong>\u0640\u0640<\/strong><strong>\u0640\u0640<\/strong><strong>\u0640\u0640<\/strong><strong>\u0640\u0640<\/strong>\u0640\u0640\u064a \u0645\u064f\u062d\u064e\u0646\u064e\u0651\u0640<strong>\u0640\u0640<\/strong><strong>\u0640\u0640<\/strong><strong>\u0640\u0640<\/strong>\u0640\u0640\u0643<\/strong><\/span>&#8221; (a skillful diplomat.)<\/p>\n<p>His larger-than-life adventures left a score of European and American scholars utterly speechless with admiration, and were among many other things the inspirational basis for a\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Michael Crichton<\/strong><\/span> best-seller and an epic Hollywood motion picture starring <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Antonio Banderas <\/strong><\/span>(as &#8220;<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>The 13th Warrior.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The Oriental-style\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\">\u0645\u064f\u0648\u0633\u0650\u064a\u0642\u064e\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0649 \u062a\u064e\u0635\u0652\u0648\u0650\u064a\u0631\u0650\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629<\/span><strong>\u00a0(<\/strong>soundtrack) of &#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The 13th Warrior<\/span>&#8221; was composed by the late\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Jerry Goldsmith<\/span> (also known for his work in the &#8220;Rambo&#8221; trilogy and the &#8220;Star Trek&#8221; films, among countless box-office hits.) The theme was to be featured again in Ridley Scott&#8217;s &#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Kindom of Heaven<\/span>&#8220;&#8212;Two movies which remarkably broke with the age-old Hollywood tradition of portraying purely stereotypical images of Arabs (the &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/video.google.com\/videoplay?docid=-223210418534585840#=\">reel bad Arabs<\/a>&#8220;, as coined by Professor <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Jack Shaheen<\/span>) \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">To have some kind of idea about this &#8220;International Arab Man of Mystery&#8221;, and the era he enjoyed living in, let us jump counterclockwise in time.<\/p>\n<p>Let us roll back some 11 centuries in the past.<\/p>\n<p>The time when the Arab <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Abbasid Caliphate<\/strong><\/span> (<span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>\u0627\u0644\u062e\u0650\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0644\u0627\u0641\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u064e\u0628\u064e\u0651\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0633\u0650\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629<\/strong><\/span>) still reigned supreme over a large part of the world.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Baghdad<\/strong><\/span>, the capital city founded by the Abassids in a hot Summer day of the year<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>\u00a0762 AD<\/strong><\/span>, quickly grew into the epicenter of <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>\u0627\u0644\u062b\u064e\u0651\u0642\u064e\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0641\u064e\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u062d\u064e\u0636\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0631\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u064e\u0631\u0628\u0650\u064a\u064e\u0651\u062a\u064e\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0646\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>(Arabic culture and civilization.)<\/p>\n<p>In spite of a rather bloody inception of their Caliphate (some would say &#8220;precisely because&#8221; of it) at the expense of their <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Umayyad<\/strong><\/span> predecessors, the Abbasid leaders came to appreciate the utmost importance of diplomacy in the conduct of world affairs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>On the East, they established several strategic alliances with <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>\u0627\u0644\u0635\u0650\u0651\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u064a\u0646 <\/strong><\/span>(China), which proved crucially decisive in China&#8217;s own domestic issues (as with the <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>An Lushan<\/strong><\/span> 8-year major revolt, defeated thanks to the support of the Abbasids.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>On the West, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>H\u0101r\u016bn al-Rash\u012bd<\/strong><\/span>, the legendary Caliph immortalized in \u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>\u0623\u0644\u0641 \u0644\u064a\u0644\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629 \u0648\u0644\u064a\u0644\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0(&#8220;The One Thousand and One Nights&#8221;, aka the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Arabian Nights<\/strong><\/span>), concluded equally important treaties of friendship and alliance with <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Charlemagne<\/strong><\/span>, whose Holy-Empire at the time had very little to envy the current European Union&#8230; Such strategic treaties sealed between the Muslim Caliph and the French Emperor preempted any wild ideas of launching any &#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>War on Terror<\/strong><\/span>-type&#8221; Crusades for at least 200 years, as they safeguarded Christians hailing from the four corners of Europe in their trade with (and travels to) the Holy Land.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Although details of his life remain shrouded in mystery, we know that young\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Ibn Fadlan<\/strong><\/span> &#8220;cut his teeth&#8221; in one of those Arab military expeditions sent by the <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Abbasids<\/strong><\/span> in support of their allies, the Chinese\u00a0<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>Tang Dynasty<\/strong>.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">His intellectual and diplomatic acumen earned him the respect and admiration of the <span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>Caliph Al-Muqtadir<\/strong><\/span>, who made him a personal\u00a0<em>prot\u00e9g<em>\u00e9<\/em><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In comparison to the previous Abbassid rulers, the <span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>Caliph Dja&#8217;far<\/strong><\/span> (the name &#8220;<strong><span style=\"color: #339966;\">Muqtadir<\/span><\/strong>&#8220;, or &#8220;Mighty by the help of the Lord&#8221;, being only his title, as &#8220;The Great&#8221; in &#8220;Peter the Great&#8221;, or &#8220;The Sun King&#8221; for Louis XIV) was a rather weak leader.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>His rulership was in fact<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>\u00a0\u0646\u064f\u0642\u0637\u0629\u064c \u062d\u064e\u0631\u0650\u062c\u064e\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629 <\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(&#8220;a critical point&#8221;, as in the mathematical sense of derivatives) in the history of the Abbasids. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>He easily fell prey to the deceptive intrigues of foreign elements within his court, and ignored at his own peril the contemporary works of brilliant intellectuals living in the Caliphate, such as <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>\u0627\u0644\u0641\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0631\u0627\u0628\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u064a\u200e\u200e\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u200e\u200e\u00a0(Al-Farabi), the world-renown mathematician who authored &#8220;<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>\u0622\u0631\u0627\u0621 \u0623\u0647\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u062f\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0646\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0641\u0627\u0636\u0644\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0629 \u0648\u0645\u0636\u0627\u062f\u0627\u062a\u0647\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;, translated in English as &#8220;<span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong>The Virtuous City<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;, widely perceived as an Islamic equivalent of Plato&#8217;s <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Republic<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">At any rate, diplomacy became increasingly vital of an instrument to check the Bulgars in the north. That is how it was decided that\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Ibn Fadlan<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0would take part in the diplomatic mission headed by the Abbasid ambassador\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>\u0646\u0630\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u064f\u0631\u064e\u0645\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u064a\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>(Nadhir\u00a0Al-Hurami) to the State of\u00a0<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Volga Bulgaria<\/span><\/strong>, in what is today the\u00a0southeastern part of\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>European Russia<\/strong><\/span>, which would embrace Islam around the same time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The mission eventually led Ibn Fadlan further up north, where he would meet and befriend people he called <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>al-Rus&#8217;<\/strong><\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">: <strong>Vikings<\/strong><\/span> who came all the way from Scandinavia and the Baltic region, and who started settling in the area some 50 years before Ibn Fadlan&#8217;s field trip would bring him there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Those Norsemen are often referred to as the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Varangians<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, who were to found a dynasty that was destined to last to almost the turn of the 17th century.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In a way, Ibn Fadlan had met the &#8220;founding fathers&#8221; of today&#8217;s <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Russia<\/strong><\/span>, and was the first to offer the world a historically accurate written account of them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The 13th Warrior (Theatrical Trailer)\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/geo.dailymotion.com\/player.html?video=x9m4t2&#038;\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>In &#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The 13th Warrior<\/span>&#8220;, the 1999 Hollywood adaptation of <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Michael Crichton<\/span>&#8216;s bestseller &#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Eaters of the Dead<\/span>&#8220;, itself a fiction novel based on Ibn Fadlan&#8217;s historical journey, <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">John McTiernan<\/span> (Director of &#8220;Predator&#8221;, &#8220;Die Hard&#8221;, &#8220;Last Action Hero&#8221;, &#8220;Rollerball&#8221;, etc., who recently got into some serious trouble in the Hollywood &#8220;Private Eyes&#8221; Anthony Pellicano affaire) suggests in this trailer that Ibn Fadlan was &#8220;summoned&#8221; to leave the court after he allegedly fell in love with the wife of the Caliph (It must also be noted that the Caliph was severely criticized by his people for his notorious philandering, as reported in many early history books)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/t0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRx1yRUXQBqcYoinvWfqKYy4okshJC-YqugEjOvuDkRGGqJ_ELy\" alt=\"\" width=\"141\" height=\"229\" \/><br \/>\nInterestingly enough, <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Michael Crichton<\/span>, the author of &#8220;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Jurassic Park<\/span>&#8220;, has famously lambasted the &#8220;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">man-made global warming<\/span>&#8221; theory and the <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Green Environmentalist movement\u00a0<\/span>as it is today. In &#8220;<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Eaters of the Dead<\/span>&#8220;, he depicts the villain &#8220;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Wendols<\/span>&#8220;,\u00a0fiercely fought by Ibn Fadlan and his Viking buddies, as\u00a0<strong>anthropophagic Shamans,<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>a cohort<\/strong>\u00a0of primitive &#8220;intra-terrestrials&#8221; who worshipped a &#8220;<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Mother Earth Goddess&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/t0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQBzcNGboLeO2Q5AwLLuGeA4Er54eXiDjps6qTNboPIffvfNHbW_Q\" alt=\"\" width=\"56\" height=\"57\" \/> <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The account of Ibn Fadlan&#8217;s journey, more than being simply &#8220;ethnographic&#8221; in its most intricate details, turns out to be\u00a0an invaluable source of information for the emergence of <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>\u0631\u0648\u0633\u064a\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627<\/strong><\/span> (Russia) as a state.<\/p>\n<p>It is also the earliest first-hand written description ever made in history and in any language of the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Vikings<\/strong><\/span>, their customs, and their presence in northern and eastern Europe, in addition to other nations such as\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>\u0627\u0644\u0635\u064e\u0651\u0642\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0644\u0650\u0628\u064e\u0629\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>(the Slavs) and the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Khazars<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/t1.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRAIKv6EdfSJJzVKULiJ1tdO9nxLTKZYlKW90Sgfyj38jzLuldHNQ\" alt=\"\" width=\"110\" height=\"165\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In addition, some of\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>\u0627\u0644\u0646\u064e\u0651\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0648\u0627\u062f\u0650\u0631\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>(the anecdotes) regarding his initial interaction with the Scandinavians can prove to be particularly colorful.<\/p>\n<p>At first, the cultural gap between the Abbasid envoy and the Norsemen was, as one can imagine, quite huge:<\/p>\n<div>According to one legend, drawing a cultural comparison between the Viking and the Islamic burials, a Norseman teasing Ibn Fadlan pretty much said:<br \/>\n<em><br \/>\n&#8220;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">You Arabs are stupid! You would take the most revered and beloved among your men,\u00a0<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>and cast him into the ground, only to be devoured by creeping creatures and worms. We, on the other\u00a0<\/em><em>hand, burn him in a twinkling, so that he instantly enters Valhala (Paradise.)<\/em><\/span>&#8220;<\/div>\n<div>On the other hand, Ibn Fadlan, who as a Muslim was accustomed to washing himself at least five times a day by performing\u00a0<em>Woudou<\/em>&#8216; (<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>\u0648\u064f\u0636\u064f\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0648\u0621<\/strong><\/span>), said of the Vikings he mixed up with:<\/div>\n<div><em><br \/>\n&#8220;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">I never saw people with such well-built bodies, as tall as towering palm trees [But&#8230;] I&#8217;ve never seen dirtier people either: They never wipe themselves after going to the toilette, and in fact don&#8217;t even\u00a0<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><em>wash themselves after that, anymore than if they were wild donkeys!<\/em><\/span>&#8220;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>&#8220;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">\u0627\u0644\u0648\u064f\u0636\u064f\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0648\u0621<\/span>\/<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Ablation<\/span>&#8220;: Mandatory before each Muslim prayer<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">Despite their numerous cultural differences, however, the <em>Risalat\u00a0<\/em>of Ibn Fadlan historically establishes that the Muslim Arab diplomat and the Norsemen did not &#8220;go medieval&#8221; on each other, but instead learned from each other.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">They respected each other, and eventually learned to find several cultural common grounds.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/t3.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTJ8kHKqAXPsM6atZFJjQTzrnCzipR52As9Eb89_QPb7IZDnDA3gw\" alt=\"\" width=\"109\" height=\"166\" \/>In doing so, they\u00a0were comparatively more wise and,\u00a0to use a modern term, much more &#8220;civilized&#8221; than, say, some of the Danish Neocons of the 21st century (involved in the unfortunate\u00a0<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>2005 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy<\/strong><\/span>), together with their &#8220;ideological counterparts&#8221; in the Muslim world, each from their own artificial side of the barricades would be so irresponsible as to call for the breakout of an all-out &#8220;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>\u0635\u0650\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u062f\u064e\u0627\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u064e\u0636\u064e\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0631\u064e\u0627\u062a<\/strong><\/span>&#8221; (&#8220;Clash of the civilizations&#8221;.)The Ibn Fadlan journey of the early <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>10th century<\/strong><\/span>, throughout which the intrepid Arab traveler befriended <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Slavs<\/strong><\/span>, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Khazars<\/strong><\/span>, and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Vikings<\/strong><\/span>, serves as a reminder that &#8220;barbarians&#8221; were not necessarily the ones living in Medieval times&#8212;<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>!\u0628\u0644 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u064e\u0643\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0633<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(quite to the contrary!)<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/t3.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR9h7O0x7TJi9wST_KHaOySiRZDUEfOu7JoUfcKqUo76rLTRpWq\" alt=\"\" width=\"81\" height=\"81\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0645\u0642\u062f\u0645\u0629 \u0645\u0633\u0644\u0633\u0644 \u0633\u0642\u0641 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0627\u0644\u0645\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/be4zg_TEZgE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<strong><strong>Just as <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Shakespeare<\/span>&#8216;s <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Hamlet<\/span>\u00a0proverbially &#8220;smelled something rotten in Denmark&#8221;, and\u00a0<strong><strong>i<\/strong>n response to the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">2005 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy<\/span>\u00a0initiated by some Danish right-wingers,\u00a0<strong>which then threatened to take international dimensions,<\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0both <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Danish<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Arab<\/span>\u00a0intellectuals joined efforts to bridge the cultural gap between Scandiavians and Arab minorities. As a result,\u00a0<\/strong>Syrian Director <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Najdat Ismail Anzour<\/span>, previously famous in the Arab world for his two &#8220;epic&#8221; series &#8220;<span style=\"color: #008000;\">\u0627\u0644\u062c\u064e\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0648\u064e\u0627\u0631\u0650\u062d\/<\/span><span style=\"color: #008000;\">The Falconidae<\/span>&#8221; and&#8221;<span style=\"color: #008000;\">\u0627\u0644\u0643\u064e\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0648\u0627\u0633\u0650\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0631\/The Predators<\/span>&#8220;, released his new &#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u0633\u064e\u0642\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0641\u064f \u0627\u0644\u0639\u064e\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0627\u0644\u064e\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0640\u0645<\/span>&#8221; (&#8220;<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">The Roof of the World<\/span>&#8220;), a TV series based on the adventures of Ibn Fadlan, in which participated both <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Arab<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Danish<\/span> actors. The TV show premiered in the Ramadan season of <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">2007<span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8212;<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It yet remains to be available in English<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Way before the world had the pleasure of being introduced to\u00a0Google Earth, the iPhone, Wikipedia, the GPS, and other technological niceties, people&#8217;s best shot at learning about far away nations was through the dispatch of intrepid explorers, who would then pave the way to diplomatic special envoys, ultimately followed by full-fledged ambassadors. Today, you&#8217;ll be&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/ibn-fadlan-meet-a-world-class-international-arab-man-of-mystery\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3525,3,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2640","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-arabic-language","category-culture","category-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2640"}],"version-history":[{"count":203,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21496,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640\/revisions\/21496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}