Ghamidi on Ghamidi

Ghamidi on Ghamidi

In Pakistan everybody who watches TV knows Ghamidi. Outside of Pakistan he is perhaps not as well-known as he should be.  Like any one who becomes popular enough,  he has become controversial  enough.

I have not heard or read him enough to make a well informed opinion about him. Whatever I have heard, I can say that he speaks very well, lays out argument in a scholarly way and compels viewers and listeners to keep the dial where it is.  Opinion about him has ranged from a modern scholar, a reformer, a liberal, clever tele evangelist, to outright innovator of religion.  He had to leave Pakistan and now lives in Malaysia, in order to safeguard his ministry and people around him.

Hearing him piecemeal, one gets very bold and provocative statements like sporting a beard is a part of culture, not Islam. 

He limits the role of offensive war to the time of Prophet. War cannot be waged now unless it is in defense or waged by the oppressed. Muslims do not have a duty to form an Islamic state etc.

He has to his credit the first (if not the only) scholar to openly oppose Taliban government in Afghanistan.  

He resigned from the Council of Islamic Ideology basically against the issue of women’s right.

Once talking about nuclear weapons, a source of pride for most Pakistanis, he said that weapons of mass destruction are not compatible with the spirit of Islam and it was our misfortune that we have made those people heroes who have worked on that.

Contemplating on whether to read more by him or not, I was given a suggestion. It was by a dear class fellow of mine, an ardent supporter of his. He suggested Ghamidi’s video message on the home page of new website. 

I am thankful to him as it was immensely helpful in forming an initial opinion about him and his work.

What follows here is my summary of his video lecture, presented as objectively and as honestly as possible by me.  It is followed by my own comments, which are obviously biased.

I give credit to Ghamidi to lay it out in open. He does not let the viewer speculate where he is coming from.  Not everyone in this field may do that. People are here mostly to win as much readership and supporters and may bent the words here and there. I do not see that here in Ghamidi.  

It also helped me know that he is not the person I thought he was.

For a summary of his views presented by a friendly supporter, visit Wikipedia at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javed_Ahmad_Ghamidi

Summary of the video:

http://www.al-mawrid.org/

The human time is divided into two:  The times of the Prophets and the time after that. The time of the prophets ended with the Prophet Muhammad.  Now there is no direct contact with the creator.

So there has to be a party of Muslims to spread the good word, (9:122). That gave rise to the institution of religious scholarship. 

We see these scholars in Companions, the Successors and the Successors of the Successors.  Here the prime source was Quran.

With time things deteriorated. Ghamidi describes them as a tale of two tragedies. 

The first tragedy was that the Quran stopped being the prime source. Four things led to that:

1. Different Qirats (recitations). Some say from 30 to 10 to 7. People started to say that Quran can be (and has been) recited in a different way than the one being used commonly.
2. The concept of argumentative logic. If we reach some decision based on our own intelligence, it should take precedence over the perceived interpretation of the words of Quran, meaning that meanings may be hidden and different than what one thinks they are
3. As it is mentioned in Quran that some verses are clear and others are ambiguous. As it is not clear which is which, one can call any verse as ambiguous.
4. Hadith became the final word. If a hadith is different from Quran, the verses of Quran have to be interpreted in the light of the Hadith

It all lead to the secondary role of Quran to the above various issues.

Second tragedy:  Infiltration of human thoughts in the core of the religion. After the establishment of Muslim Empire beyond the Arabian Peninsula many non-Arabs were brought in its folds.

1. It created the need of Ijtihad. It was not a bad thing but these human effort to explain Quran became a part of the religious creed.
2. The infiltration of Greek, Persian, Indian and Egyptian philosophies in the philosophy of Islam.
3. Need to use logic to defend Islam  ie Ilm Kilam (Muslim scholasticism).
4. Infiltration of mysticism. Sufism ie the philosophical minded people tried to reach God directly. Buddhism and Hinduism are examples of that. It was added to Islam. It was very attractive as there is a concept of kashf. 

Ghamidi quotes Ghazali and his seminal work, "Ahya alum" which dominated Islamic thought for almost a thousand years as a carrier of all these influences, including Asharia’s influence, philosophy and the final impact of mysticism.  He  acknowledges in his autobiography 'Muntiqul minal dilal' (deliverance from the error)  and in his book of summary kemia e saadat ( alchemy of success) that he found the final light in tasawwaf.

Ghazali has influenced Muslims for centuries. Shah Wali Ullah subscribed to the same thought process in his 'Huggatul Baligha' and "Tafhimatul ilahiya". Iqbal's "Reconstruction of Religious Thoughts in Islam" carries the same concept. It takes you through three steps iman, fikr and Irfan. 

Ghamidi deplores all these influences. 

There were others who tried to stay the course and presented Islam without any additions. Reference to the famous Hadith recited in every Friday Khutba, "Inna khairul amure awazimuha, wa sharul amure mudisatuha, was kullo bidatun dalalatun wa kullo dalalatin fil naar"   Good things are the firm (original) ones, and Bad things are those introduced later on. And everything introduced later (in religion) is innovation. And every innovation is a deviation, and every deviation is bound to Hellfire.

Here Ghamidi praises the example of Ibe Tayemah who said that Ghazali entered the belly of philosophy and never came out of it. Tayemah's student Ibn Qayyum has a great stature in this regard also

Big names from both sides have been in the last two centuries also

Then Ghamidi takes us through his personal journey. When he started to learn his first inclination was with the first school of thought i.e., philosophy, history, Sufism, fikr and Irfan. At some point he realized something was wrong. If he wanted to make a statement personally he could have done that through ilm and irfan,  but if he wanted to say anything related to God, it could only come from God as what He has relayed through his prophets

That is when he met his teacher Amin Ahsan Islahi (himself influenced by Imam Hamidduin Farahi). Ghamidi commits himself to be a part of this educational and reformist tradition.

He is in the process of fulfilling his duty by setting three priorities.

First priority :

To have a tafseer of Quran based on the prominence of Quran on everything including philosophy, hadith and mysticism.

Tadabarul Quran of Amin Islahi is one such book. He thought that the translation was not good enough and the personal views of the writer were interfering. So he wrote Al Bayan, with a new translation and new notes. It is almost finished

Second Priority: 
To explain what is Deen.  That is reflected in the book which  took 17 years to write : Meezan

According to Ghamidi, it is comparable to Ghazali's Ahyae alum, Shah Waliullah's huggatul baliga and Moududi's Islami nizam e zindagi,  He claims he has presented a correct explanation of religion but admits it is a human effort and he could be wrong.

Third priority: 
Now Ghamidi wants to do work on Hadith. While acknowledging the great Hadith tradition, he wants to sift the true representative words of the Prophet from the impurities. Dirayat (critical analysis of text) is needed.

My Comments:

According to Ghamidi Quran has to be interpreted as it is. Role of any explanation of Quran including the words of the Prophet, knowledge about history and philosophy, and human argument, should be secondary. If anything seems to be a contradiction, one has to let all other sources of knowledge take a back seat.  

For me what is hard to accept is the relegation of human intelligence and power of argument to the bottom. Basically he is agreeing with the traditional stand that if you have trouble being at ease with someone in the Book, it is your problem.

He speaks against Ghazali and that may sound exciting. He puts Shah Wali Ullah and Iqbal in the same category.  They all incorporate knowledge, philosophy, ilm and Irfan as the ways to reach God.

The person who stands out for praise in Ghamidi’s eye is Ibn Tayemma, and his student.  Ghamidi’s own influence is Hamiduddin Farahi and his student Amin Islahi,  both eminent ghair muqalid scholars.

In essence, he may come across as a modernizer, who wants clean the religion, as it is today, from the effects of human contamination over a thousand and a half years. In doing so, he looks like a reformer who speaks against many innovations in the religion and wants to take it back to its pristine source.

But in doing so he brushes aside any role of human intelligence and  logic. If something bothers you and you have difficulty understanding or believing in it, Ghamidi is not there to help.

In effect, if we live long enough to see a world free of all the militant fundamentalists and there is all peace, it will be Ghamidi and his followers who be the flag carriers of conservatism.

So, in closing, here are my conclusions. I may be totally wrong.

If you are someone who wants a peaceful and tolerant Islam, and want to get rid of many ills it carries as it is practiced today, Ghamidi is one you should listen to.

But if you believe in the supremacy of human intellect and accept or reject ideas and creeds based on reason and logic, you may find one day Ghamidi standing in your way.

I Miss You Abbaji

Today is the 21st death anniversary of Abbaji.

I wrote the following two years back. I am posting it again with minor changes.

http://ghareebkhana.blogspot.com/2013/11/miss-you-abbaji.html

May his soul rest in eternal peace.

The more I grow older the more I realize what a guy he was.

Carefree, funny, witty, caring, sensitive and honest.

He was unable to achieve many worldly goals.

In fact he settled for a lot less than what was expected of him by his family.

He was content with what he had. 
What he did not have did not seem to bother him.

Always managed to bring some fruit on daily basis on his way home. 
We always had sweets at home.

Perhaps that is why mother always thought he had more than he actually had.

When mother got sick, he took care of her for a long time, assisting her in all activities of daily life.

She perhaps did not know that he was not that well either.

He never let me know what problems and humiliation he had to go for me for my issues with the authorities.

He made sure all of us siblings knew if either of us were unaware of the expectation of the others.

Worked behind the scenes to keep us together.

He was a good man. 

Wish I had known him more when he was around.

I miss you Abbaji.

Be Well.

Muharram 6th, 61 AH

Tradition has it:

Shimr ordered that Hussain's party should leave the river bank and pitch their tents away from it. 

Abbas and others refused, but Hussain told them to comply and move tents about 200 yards away. 

River bank was immediately occupied by the Kufan soldiers.

Hussain's 'Army':

Some say 72, among them were men of over 80 and children of 13 and 11 and even a 6 month old baby. 

The youngest son of Hussain was only a month old when he left Madina 5 months back.

خیمے سے نکلے شہ کے عزیزان  خوش خصال

جن میں کئی تھے حضرت خیر النسا کے لال

قاسم سا گلبدن ، علی اکبر سا خوش جمال

اک جا عقیل و مسلم  و جعفر  کے نونہال

سب کے رخوں کا نور سپہر بریں پہ تھا

اٹھارا آفتابوں کا غنچہ زمیں پہ  تھا  

Hakim Sanā'ī

Not much is known about Hakim Sanai. He lived in early 12th century and had profound impact on later day poets including Attar and Rumi. He hailed from the present day Afghanistan 

Urdu poetry owes a lot to Persian traditions. 
Naeem Ahmed Rathore, General Secretary of Halqa e Arbab e Zauq NY  presented a paper on Hakeem Sanai' creative work. It is a treat to read it. The pdf version of the paper is available on Facebook at the link. Click Here 

6.1

Colosseum

Ave Caesar! we who are about to die salute you!

Photo album click here

That is how the gladiators entering the arena for the game of death, or freedom used to salute the king.

Like most of the first time visitors to Rome, our first stop was at the Colosseum. I am not a ball game fan, and have not visited ball parks unless there was a graduation or a musical show I had to go to.

If you have ever watched The Gladiators, this is a place you don't want to miss.
gladiators movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTT29cavKo

Much like the present day American Football, the Roman Gladiator games, borrowed from Etruscan and Greek culture, when it was mostly a funeral rite game, are as much as an entertainment as much a deflection of public pent up emotions away from the powers to be. Although Romans considered everybody else as savages, these sports would be as savage as anything can be. 

Knowing how organized the corporate sports is today, it is surprising that it was not much different two thousand years back. The Gladiators, like the present day football players, have to suffer and inflict suffering on their competitors for the entertainment of the masses and the pockets of their handlers. These 'entertainers' then and now are both paid handsomely, traded like slaves, and are celebrities. The name, fame, money and the adrenaline of the sports made many freemen and nobles to be a gladiator and enter in voluntary servitude for five years, not much different from the football players of today. Money earned in one bout of game could be equal to the annual salary of a Roman soldier. 

Now we have owners of teams, and then they had lanistas, the owner of the Gladiator schools. Half of the players were contractual, rest were slaves. Many of these slaves were not born slaves, but were freeman of the conquered lands and colonies who ended as slaves at the end of wars. For an able bodied man who can fight well, being a gladiator was a god given opportunity to earn freedom and much more; although there was a risk of death. In reality very few of the losers had to pay with their lives. It was the will of the king, with a thumb up or down to let the gladiator live or die. Ninety percent was the chance to survive. There was an economic side of it too. If a gladiator dies, the sponsor has to pay for the replacement.

Sports medicine has its roots in these games as the doctors taking care of wounded gladiators were experts in fractures and treatment with opium and immobilization. 

A POSTHUMOUS INSULT TO NERO:

The Colosseum was build on a site where a lake was build by Nero. It seems that Nero is the punching bag for all the things wrong with Ancient Rome. Probably he was not as bad as history has made him. 

Yes, he may have orchestrated the death of his mother, who had orchestrated his rise to throne, and he had married his half sister, was the first Roman king to commit suicide, had a freedman castrated so he can marry him as he resembled his dead wife; yes all of that may be true but he never played fiddle while the Rome burnt. Fiddle was perhaps not invented by that time. He may have wanted the fire to burn Rome so he can rebuild it the way he wanted. He also used the fire as an excuse to punish Christians, but he opened his palace gates for the ordinary Romans to find shelter after the fire. He had made a lake where the Colosseum now stands, and perhaps after his death, Romans wanted to erase many of the landmarks attributed to Nero so the lake was gone. 

King Vespasian as a general, along with his son Titus had led the First Jewish Roman war which ended in the destruction of the Second Temple ( see the Arch of Titus in Roman Forum). When he became king, he came with the idea of building a colossal stadium for gladiator games. It was to be called Flavian Amphitheatre. It will be a place for him to meet and address Romans and control their thoughts and release there pent up emotions. 

It was to be 150 feet high and would accommodate 50,000 people. Arena( means sand) is oval shaped 280 by 165 covered with a wooden floor and then sand on top of it. The basement was below the arena, where the gladiators and hungry animals were kept, and brought up by lifts.

Vespasian died in 79 AD and his son Titus was left with the task of completing it. During his reign there were two national catastrophes, the volcanic destruction of the southern city of Pompeii ( covered in a later blog) and another fire of Rome. It was becoming clear that he is on the wrong sides of the gods and he needed the Colosseum to turn the tide against his probable fall from grace. 

Given this he wanted a great opening Inaugural Games of the Colosseum. Held in 80 and lasted for one hundred days. 9000 wild animals were killed in these inaugural games. 

Like the Superbowl it was a big extravaganza. There was the pre-game show but without dancing cheer leaders.  Instead there were loins, kept hungry and fed human flesh to develop tastes for human, and common criminals to face them and be eaten alive. Some times the loins got scared by the cheering crowds and then the game-master, the beast trainer had to pay with his life. 

The middle of the day, when the elite may retire to each lunch was reserved for the killing of criminals by crucifixion. And then of course the prime time was for gladiators games.

One of the most vividly recorded game is between Verus and Priscus a Balkan and a Celt. who were both declared winner, a rarity, by Titus and both earned freedom. BBCmovie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR8H4mWItlk

Some myths about the Colosseum is that it was the place where many Christians were executed. 

After the Fall of Roman Empire it slowly got vandalized and used by many Romans, poor and rich as a place to life, steal and hide. The Popes and Catholic Church, the real power left behind in the city after the Fall, were not interested for a long time in preserving the place. Eventually it was claimed to be a site to be preserved and a big cross was put in it where perhaps the Caesar used to sit, along with the Nuns.

Walking around the Colosseum on the outside does not make you realize the enormity of it. You realize it only when you enter it and reach the second level. Amazingly today's ball parks are not much different than the mother of all stadia. Amazing to realize that it was built in 5 years fro 75 to 80 AD. Elliptical in shape 187 meters at its longest and 155 at its shortest.

There ware 80 arches and all the 'gates' are numbered except the four reserved for the royal and elite. Entry was free but it was a privilege. The ticket had the seat number and the route to reach the seat. a total of 50,000 seats, allotted on rigid social division. 

All the glory of Rome would have come alive in this amphitheatre. Strange to think that the citizens and leaders of the most civilized empire loved the savagery of killing sports and were not apologetic about it.

Next: The Vatican

ROMAN FORUM

All Roads Lead to Rome (rather to Roman Forum)

 Italyblogpost.5

Photoalbum

Growing up, this was amongst the first few English language proverbs I learnt. I presumed it meant one would achieve the desired goal what ever way one takes, as long as one is actively engaged. 

But why Rome. It turns out there was a reason this proverb would make sense in Italian peninsula. Rome was a city state, turned eventually into a colonial empire and it needed roads to communicate, conquer and control its colonies.

These roads were made of flat rock, many were lava stones, wide enough to accommodate two carriages, (dual highway) lined with trees on both sides, mostly pine, and had stations every 15 miles or horse change and 30 miles for night stay. Originally laid for military purposes, later used for trade and eventually for commoners to travel. 

This is 500 BC, safely two thousand years before Sher Shah Suri built upon the old Maurya Empire road in early 16th century.

So all the roads originated from Rome to the rest of the world they knew as theirs, and hence if you travel back on any of these roads, you will sooner or later enter Rome, or more specifically the Roman Forum. All these roads had these milestones which told the travelers how far away they were from Roman Forum. Like now we have milestones (at least in my childhood) informing the miles away from the local GPO)

Mile stone

Example of one mile stone in Roman Forum. 

Roman Forum was where Romans lived. literally.  Rome was a city of one million people, a very large number by any standard, definitely the largest for a very long time, considering that we are talking about two thousand years back. 

Rich lived in their palaces and mansions, and poor lived in small cabins around the city, but everyone thrived in the public space. Here you have the public spaces for every activity, religious, civic, senate, official work, and public debate.

Rome has given us concepts and words on all activities of daily civic life. Words like palace (Palatine Hills), Senate, President, Forum, Rostrum. Coliseum, Basilica. all is here.

It is the valley between two of the seven hills of Rome, Palatine Hills and Capitol Hill.

The best example one can imagine the grandeur of Roman Forum is watching the segment of the movie Cleopatra when she enters Rome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNjrfXOgZkM


This ancient Rome, once vandalized by the Vandals at the fall of Roman Empire in 476, and the population of 1 Million was reduced to 10,000,   it slowly deteriorated as the focus shifted from Rome to other areas of power. Even if the Papacy remained intact in Rome as a client state of other kingdoms, the central interest in Roman forum was gone, Over centuries it was neglected, and eventually buried under the dirt and debris of time. Later only the tops of certain monuments and structures were visible, and rest was underground. It was being uses as a grazing ground, Many artifacts and building materials including copper and other minerals were stolen or recycled and it was not until the British Gibbons in 1700, who realized it and it was gradually excavated.

There are more than one way to enter Roman Forum, but the more common is through the Arch of Titus as it takes you from the Coliseum to the Forum. This arch is of particular importance and one of the few places I recommend you spend some time.

This arch is to commemorate the final victory of Romans over Jerusalem. Judea as it was perhaps called was already a Roman province for long time, but the Romans allowed the Jewish Temple to function as long as it did not interfere with the Roman rule. 

Ultimately the Zealots rebelled and Rome responded by siege and final destruction. This arch was perhaps the oldest Arch build to commemorate a victory and has been used as inspiration for many triumphal arches including the famous Paris Arc de Triomphe.

Siege of Jerusalem was in 70 AD which led to the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple, ( only the Western Wall of which remains). This Arch was build ten years later by the brother of the king Titus. By that time Saint Peter was already crucified 64, and there would have been presence of Christians in Rome, but this artifact does not show any mention of that.

Two sides on the inner side show two different scenes. Entering the Forum, the left side shows the Jewish Slaves being brought in the city, carrying their belongings, the most prominent being the menorah candle.

 On the opposite side, shows the Romans and their King, Titus entering the city triumphantly on horses. Until the State of Israel was founded in 1948 there was a rabbinical prohibition to walk under the arch and many Jews refused to walk under it. 

The menorah depicted in the Arch is perhaps the oldest relic of a menorah and was used as a model for the menorah on the emblem of the State of Israel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblem_of_Israel#/media/File:Arch_of_Titus_Menorah.png

VESTAL NUNS:

Many pagan cultures have the concept of celibate men and women giving up pleasures of normal life for deities. Perhaps the catholic church's concept of nuns grew form the Roman vestal nuns. After all Catholicism is basically a Roman phenomenon. 

Some how a woman's chastity has always fascinated men of god.

So there is this temple of Vesta. Nuns were from the families of elite, the patricians, from age 6-10 and chosen by the High Priest, Pontifex Maximus (the same name taken by the Pope) and offered 30 years of service. She would remain celibate, have certain privileges like special seating in Colosseum, voting and property rights. She would have special duties like keeper of the wills and keeping the fire on at the temple and after 30 years of service could be free to marry.

If however she did not remain chaste she would lose her life. She would be buried alive, as shedding blood was prohibited in the confines of Rome. In fact burying alive was also prohibited in Rome so they would be buried with some food so that the eventually die in the underground tomb.

Temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta represents the site of ancient cult activity as far back as 7th century BCE

And then there is the Temple of Caesar. It was here that Julius Caesar was cremated and later deified. He the first Roman made into a deity. There was a comet appearance in Rome at the time of his death and it was considered that Caesar's soul has joined other gods in the sky as one of them. That is the reason that the sign of comet, ie a star with a tail became the official mark for Rome.

Now the tradition of making 'saints' in Catholicism is perhaps the modification of the same old cult of deification?

Then you have the actual Senate and the Rostrum. Rostrum as the name suggests was the actual Speaker's Corner and gave the Romans the freedom to express their views openly and freely.

The Temple of Saturn,  temple to the god Saturn has the most iconic picture looking at the bare columns from the East side to the rest of the Roman Forum and with Arch if Titus and Coliseum in the background

Next: Killing people for sports, The Colosseum 

The House of Worship for All, The Pantheon

The Most Influential Building in Art History

 Italy.blogpost4

Photo album

I always thought of pagan as a bad word, meaning uncivilized and uncultivated. Perhaps used pejoratively, pagan religion or culture would be something preceding organized religion, be polytheistic and would have left much to be desired.
 
Later I learned many pagan ethics and morals are rooted in human nature and are quite altruistic.

Pantheon, perhaps was not the name given to it by its makers, is the grandest example of paganism. Built, over an older temple of 27 AD, by Roman Emperor Hadrian from 118-125 AD, this is the only relic of Ancient Rome which still stands intact. However the numbers of dieties worshiped here is reduced to Trinity.

Like many religions who either completely neglected shrines of previous religions or consecrated them as their own, Ancient Christians of Rome were not much different. This is yet another church in the long list of Roman churches. That is the reason it survives intact, much like the Cordoba Mosque; otherwise it would have been neglected or demolished.

Usually the pagan houses of worship are dedicated to one deity, but here is an example of (at least) seven known deities, all being worshiped at the same time, much like Kaaba in pre Islamic Mecca. In fact Kaaba would have existed as a similar house of pantheistic worship as this Pantheon.

In one way it is the ancient world corollary to the modern interfaith houses of worship. One could worship any deity of interest, like an equal opportunity provider.

Architecturally it is a marvel. On the outside there is a porch, Portico which is rectangular building with large columns, leading to the actual building.

 Inside what you see is the Mother of all domes. It is perhaps the most influential building in art history. Many domes in the later history were inspired by it, including Michelangelo's St Peters Cathedral, Florence Cathedral and even the US Capitol.

It is a big and simple dome, with seven niches in it. the walls of the circular building are tall and then there is a big dome sitting on it. It is the largest structure of reinforced concrete anywhere in the world, built in second century and still stands on its own. 

In order to have as less weight as possible, the width of the wall of dome was highest at the bottom, 21 feet and gradually is decreased as it reaches the top, where it is on 3.9 feet. On top there is a big hole, yes it is open. 

 Eyes to the Heavens

Oculus, The hole on the top of the dome is 9 meters feet wide in diameter. As you enter you see the sunlight beaming in and as the day goes by the beam shifts. Only in the midday it is straight down.

The height of the oculus is equal to the diameter of the dome's largest circle ie 142 feet. In other words, the whole building can accommodate a big ball equal to the diameter of its dome's largest diameter.

One myth is that it never rains in the Pantheon. Possible explanation is that in the old days, it was lit up by candles and the hot air collects at the top of the dome. So in case of rain the water was heated by the hot water and vaporized before it reached the ground. However, there are twenty two strategically places holes in the ground mosaic which drain the rain water so that there is never accumulation of the rain.

Rome officially got Christianized in the fourth century. After the Fall of the Roman Empire much of the Rome was under the indirect rule of Eastern Rome and the Byzantine Emperor gave the building away to the Roman Pope who finally converted Pantheon into a church in 609 in the name of holy martyrs. Remains of martyrs from the catacombs were brought in here and buried near the base of the holy Alter.  Rumor is that once the place was bathed for purification, seven winds blew as if the seven pagan gods ran away out of the building.

The importance of the place continued as many notables are buried in it. The fist king of united Italy, Emmanuel, decided to be buried there. He is like the George Washington of USA or Quaid e Azam, M A Jinnah of Pakistan; and here is where he thought he should rest eternally.

The famous painter Raphael, whose work adorn Vatican Museums and is considered second to Michelangelo in his contributions to Vatican wished to be buried here. A few centuries after his death, there was a question whether it was his remains or not; his body was exhumed and reburied after confirmation.

Pope did change the direction of the worship and now the original niche is the main place of worship, adorned by Madonna and Child.

Copper was used much by Ancient Romans, the pagans,  and was stolen or 're-cycled' by Medevil Romans, the Christians. The prime example of that is in Pantheon. Its dome was originally covered with copper plates with outside covering of bronze and copper tiles. These tiles were stolen by Constans II in 663 and were on route to Constantinople but re-stolen by Saracens en route. Thousand years down the road Pope Urban VIII needed copper for currency and churches and removed copper plates from the roof, giving him 200 tons of copper sheets and 4 tons of copper nails. Re-cycling, or repossessed from one god for the other.

Out of may copper and bronze from Ancient Rome, only the bronze doors  of Pantheon remain unmelted. 

Waiting for someone! I hope not.


Next: The Roman Forum. All roads lead to------
-------------------------------------------- 
Ref: 
http://www.copper.org/education/history/60centuries/greece_rome/copperin.html
 http://www.findingancientrome.com/PantheonUnexplained.shtml