This is with reference to the article by Abdulateef Al-Mulhim (Nov. 26) “Fact… Columbus did not discover America.”

I agree with the views expressed by the writer. It is true that such debates hold no relevance today. What our illustrious ancestors achieved has become a thing of the past. We, Muslims, are stuck in the past. Nobody is suggesting them to forget their history. Instead, they should learn from the past and try to build a shining future. We should try to learn how early Muslims rose to such heights and what factors contributed to their decline. Study of history is very important but it should not deter us (as a nation) to stop thinking about the way forward and get stuck in the past. While driving a car, we use rear-view mirror every now and then but our focus remains on the road ahead. If one continuously keeps on staring into the rear-view mirror, he is bound to crash the car somewhere. Perhaps this has exactly happened with us as a nation. Earlier, Muslims were more open to accepting new ideas and were more focused on the promotion of art and science. While doing so, they did not ignore their religious obligations. That way they achieved a respectable position in the comity of nations.

Later on, we started fighting each other over petty issues and power struggles ensued rendering the entire nation ineffective. We are still on the same path. It is the path to self-destruction. If we consider the number of Muslim countries in the world and the resources they possess, we would be surprised to note that the entire Muslim bloc has been blessed by all kinds of natural resources. We just need to exploit the potential and form a strategy to share the benefits across the Muslim world. We should attach great importance to education. Without education we can never progress. We need an education system that could hone our analytical skills and bring out our latent talents.