Carly Fiorina on Islamic Civilization

Carly Fiorina, the architect of the merger of computer technology giants, Hewlett Packard and Compaq, has been forced to leave the company she helped shape, citing differences with the board of directors.The engineering community were not sympathetic to her departure, blaming her for wrecking two companies. One has to remember that Compaq swallowed Digital less than a decade ago, killing off the excellent DEC Alpha chip, and entire lines of computing as well. Compaq also swallowed Tandem and their NonStop line.One little known aspect of Fiorina is that she studied medieval history at Stanford University. She was also couragous enough to stand up and praise the Islamic Civilization, on 26 September 2001, just two weeks after the infamous 9/11 attacks. You can read the entire text, or just the relevant portion on the Jakarta U.S. embassy web site.Here is an excerpt:

I’ll end by telling a story. There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts. Within its dominion lived hundreds of millions of people, of different creeds and ethnic origins. One of its languages became the universal language of much of the world, the bridge between the peoples of a hundred lands. Its armies were made up of people of many nationalities, and its military protection allowed a degree of peace and prosperity that had never been known. The reach of this civilization’s commerce extended from Latin America to China, and everywhere in between. And this civilization was driven more than anything, by invention. Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the algebra and algorithms that would enable the building of computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined the human body, and found new cures for disease. Its astronomers looked into the heavens, named the stars, and paved the way for space travel and exploration. Its writers created thousands of stories. Stories of courage, romance and magic. Its poets wrote of love, when others before them were too steeped in fear to think of such things. When other nations were afraid of ideas, this civilization thrived on them, and kept them alive. When censors threatened to wipe out knowledge from past civilizations, this civilization kept the knowledge alive, and passed it on to others. While modern Western civilization shares many of these traits, the civilization I’m talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600, which included the Ottoman Empire and the courts of Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo, and enlightened rulers like Suleiman the Magnificent. Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage. The technology industry would not exist without the contributions of Arab mathematicians. Sufi poet-philosophers like Rumi challenged our notions of self and truth. Leaders like Suleiman contributed to our notions of tolerance and civic leadership. And perhaps we can learn a lesson from his example: It was leadership based on meritocracy, not inheritance. It was leadership that harnessed the full capabilities of a very diverse population–that included Christianity, Islamic, and Jewish traditions. This kind of enlightened leadership — leadership that nurtured culture, sustainability, diversity and courage — led to 800 years of invention and prosperity. In dark and serious times like this, we must affirm our commitment to building societies and institutions that aspire to this kind of greatness. More than ever, we must focus on the importance of leadership– bold acts of leadership and decidedly personal acts of leadership.

Whether she was a good hi-tech executive or not, one has to admire that stance.On March 29, 2005, HP announced that Mark Hurd, the CEO of NCR will take over the reigns at HP.