ducks and Islamic culture

[Wilmer Rivers]

Even Flood (who, I am relieved to learn, is 4 years older than I am, so
now I can continue reading Disney comics without guilt - thanks, Even!)
writes about Don Rosa's "Guardians of the Lost Library":
> The story would have gained by
> some reference to the great Muslim libraries in the middle
> ages. The biggest libraries around year 1000 were Muslim, for
> example the ones in Cordoba and Bagdad. To have included them
> in the story would have shown people the Muslim role in
> preserving the antique litterature and adding their own, and
> it would have given some alternative to the present
> disgustingly prevalent western view of Muslims as Ruhsdie
> haters.
>
I think I have mentioned in a previous posting that as a schoolboy I
was quite intrigued by Tony Strobel's one-shot comic "Donald in Math-
magics Land".  I do wish Disney, or someone, would re-issue it so that
a new generation of kids could experience the same fascination with
mathematics that I felt upon reading it.  Who knows, maybe they would
also pick up a new-found respect for Donald Duck.  Anyway, it should be
noted that this comic, which traced the history of math from the ancient
Greeks, paid appropriate tribute to Islamic contributions, especially
the invention of "al jabr" (i.e., algebra).  Maybe Disney should put
this comic out again to help repair their image among Americans of
Arabic descent, who protested against what they considered to be
derogatory song lyrics (about life in Baghdad) in "Aladdin".  (The
protests were successful, since the lyrics were changed for the video
release.)

Wilmer Rivers