I’m working on a paper for another class about how Cholera spread in India during the nineteenth century and how the British responded to it. What’s interesting is that religious pilgrimages were sites identified as places where the disease could easily be spread. Both in India and other parts of the world the British were afraid that religous gatherings would cause the disease to proliferate further. Oftentimes they identified the Hajj as a route of tranmission of the disease to Europe. Although they were entirely Eurocentric and they did not see how their actions in the world contributed to the spread of disease, the British were somewhat correct in saying that infectious disease could spread through close contact at religious gatherings(they blew things way out of proportion). This made me wonder, during the time before colonialism when Muslims ruled not only Mecca but lands surrounding it, did they see it as important to ensure hygenic conditions were upheld during the Hajj and journeys to it and that people were generally healthy. Alot is not written about this subject, but I feel that in all that wev’e learnt about medicine in Medeival Islam it would seem like physicians and rulers would want to promote healthy conditions at this time. That’s one thing which deserves attention-to look at how Medeival Islamic scholars, governments etc. promoted and organized public health beyond the upkeep of individual health.

Posted: 04|14|10 at 1:00 pm. Filed under: Uncategorized.
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