Google and Nasir al-Din Tusi

By Malik Merchant, Editor

One would think that Gerald Ferreira of 3d Car Shows would only focus on cars. Only my love for cars and what Ferreira’s website represents would take me there, but yesterday I went to his blog for a totally different reason – a short but accurate literary piece about Nasir al-Din Tusi, the great Muslim scholar, and some exciting news about how Google recognized him on February 18th. Little did I remember that it was Tusi’s 812th birth anniversary on February 18th, 2013 and until I read Ferreira I was not aware that Google had substituted the famous Google Doodle with a very classy image, below, which illustrates Tusi and his remarkable works and scholarship.

On February 18, 2013 Google decided to recognize Nasir al-Din Tusi by placing appropriate images of him and his works in place of the Google Doodle. Tusi was born on the 18th of February 1201 in Khorasan and died on the 26th of June 1274.

With quotes by Tusi, Ferreira’s brief post (please click 3d Car Shows) is educational. He concludes the post thus:

“The Google Doodle of Nasir Al Din Al Tusi is very colorful. In the Google Doodle there is a character sitting in the image, this character resembles Nasir Al Din Al Tusi….The objects in the doodle represents the legacy and works of Nasir Al Din Al Tusi that he left behind. One can see math, the earth and astronomy within the image. In our opinion Google have done a stunning job introducing the world to Nasir Al Din Al Tusi today, with a highly appropriate and representative Google Doodle.”

Gerald, I couldn’t agree more, and I thank you for informing your readers – including me – about Google’s recognition of this outstanding Islamic scholar. Some three years ago, in a series “I Wish I’d Been There” I published an imaginative account about Tusi. I invite everyone to click on Professor Arif Babul’s  Khawja Nasir Tusi’s Tales.