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There is an old debate going on as to weather the Islamic golden era was actual fact or if the Islamic Golden era is a myth and only happened becuase the Muslims united several cultures under the banner of Islam and simply gained knowledge but failed to produce anything of benefit to the world...
The Muslims were encouraged by the Prophet Muhammad himself to "seek learning even as far as China". In the area of medicine, the Prophet Muhammad also encouraged a scientific approach. He said, "For every disease, Allah has given a cure," and scientists were encouraged to find those cures. This attitude toward learning and research was a powerful reason that science developed so much under Islam. Moreover, Islam encouraged learning in order to read the Qur'an, which begins: "Recite!" (which is also translated: "Read!").
Here are some more Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) which encouraged learning:
"He who pursues the road of knowledge Allah will direct to the road of Paradise... The brightness of a learned man compared to that of a mere worshiper is like that of a the full moon compared to all the stars.... Obtain knowledge; its possessor can distinguish right from wrong; it shows the way to Heaven; it befriends us in the desert and in solitude, and when we are friendless; it is our guide to happiness; it gives us strength in misery; it is an ornament to friends, protection against enemies.... The scholar's ink is holier than the martyr's blood.... Seeking knowledge is required of every Muslim....
From Science in Medieval Islam by H. Turner, University of Texas Press, 1995. Page 17
B. Geographic Unity:
During this period the territory of the Muslim Empire included present-day Iran, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, North Africa, Spain, parts of Turkey and Turkey, and more! People came from all those lands to Baghdad. This brought about a sharing of ideas from different parts of the world.
The Abbasid Caliphate about 950 A.D.
C. Development of Paper
A third important reason for the Golden Age was the establishment of a paper mill (factory) in Baghdad. Paper was first invented in China and then the Muslims learned how it was made. (Actually Chinese papermakers were taken prisoner and forced to teach their captors how to make paper!) Soon paper replaced parchment (the skin of animals) and papyrus (a plant made into a kind of "paper" in ancient Egypt). The development of paper made it possible for a great many people to get books and learn from them. This was an important advance which affected education and scholarship.
Courtesy, Museum of Paper Making. Also see a map of the History of Paper which shows the slow spread of papermaking through the Middle East, across North Africa, and into Europe.
D. A Unified Language
Another important reason for the "Golden Age" was the development of Arabic into the language of international scholarship. This was one of the most significant events in the history of ideas. Scholars could communicate with one another, and ideas were translated from Greek, Latin, ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and languages from other parts of the world. In the ninth century the Caliph al-Mamun encouraged the translation of Greek and Byzantine knowledge. With the approval of the Byzantine emperor, the caliph sent scholars to select and bring back Greek scientific manuscripts (handwritten works) for translation into Arabic. This knowledge could be read and discussed by scholars from all over the Islamic Empire.
Arabic painting of Socrates, a Greek philosopher
E. "The House of Wisdom - Bayt al-Hikmah"
The House of Wisdom was a place where scholar-translators tried to translate into Arabic the important philosophical and scientific works of the ancient world, especially from Greece and Egypt. They also tried to show how Islam could include exloring new ideas and experiments (rationalism). The House of Wisdom was set up by Caliph al-Mamun in 1004 A.D. in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Empire. It was the greatest "think tank" the medieval world had ever seen! Without the translations and research that went on here, much of the Greek, Latin, and Egyptian knowledge would have been lost to the world.
The historian al-Maqrizi described the opening of the House of Wisdom in 1004:
" In 1004 A.D. 'The House of Wisdom' was opened. The students took up their residence. The books were brought from [many other] libraries ... and the public was admitted. Whosoever wanted was at liberty to copy any book he wished to copy, or whoever required to read a certain book found in the library could do so. Scholars studied the Qur'an, astronomy, grammar, lexicography and medicine. The building was, moreover, adorned by carpets, and all doors and corridors had curtains, and managers, servants, porters and other menials were appointed to maintain the establishment. Out of the library of Caliph al-Hakim those books were brought which he had gathered-- books in all sciences and literatures and of exquisite calligraphy such as no king had ever been able to bring together. Al-Hakim permitted admittance to everyone, without distinction of rank, who wished to read or consult any of the books.
(Cited by Stone in Sardar & Davies: The Legacy of Islam: A Glimpse from a Glorious Past )
F. The Importance of Books to the Muslims
Adapted from: Sardar & Davies: The Legacy of Islam: A Glimpse from a Glorious Past
"Within two hundred years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the book industry was to be found in almost every corner of the Muslim world. Indeed, the whole of Muslim civilization revolved around the book. Libraries (royal, public, specialized, and private) had become common. Bookshops were found almost everywhere and book authors, translators, copiers, illuminators, librarians, sellers, and collectors from all classes and sections of society, of all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, competed with each other in the making and selling of books.
"There were many libraries from which to borrow books in the Muslim civilization. Historians list thirty-six libraries in Baghdad alone around the middle of the thirteenth century, and that does not include the House of Wisdom!
"There were similar libraries in Cairo (Egypt), Aleppo (Syria) and the major or cities of Iran, Central Asia and Mesopotamia. In addition to the central government libraries, there was a huge network of public libraries in most big cities, and prestigious private collections which attracted scholars from all parts of the Muslim world.
"Of course, one could always buy books. A manuscript ... was about the size of the modern book, containing good quality paper with writing on both sides, and bound in leather covers. An average bookshop contained several hundred titles, but larger bookshops had many more ... The list of books sold in one bookstore was more than sixty thousand titles in many subjects: language and calligraphy, Christian and Jewish scriptures, the Qur'an and commentaries on the Qur'an, language books, histories, government works, court accounts, pre-Islamic and Islamic poetry, works by various schools of Muslim thought, biographies of numerous men of learning, Greek and Islamic philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, Greek and Islamic medicine, literature, popular fiction, travel (to India, China, Indochina), magic, other subjects and fables!"
From another historian/traveler Al-Wazan (also known as Leo Africanus) we learn that in the city of Timbuktu, Mali in West Africa, books were very precious. At the height of the city's golden age in the mid-16th century, Timbuktu boasted not only the impressive public libraries, but also private ones which included many of the rarest books ever written in Arabic. The libraries of Timbuktu grew through a regular process of hand-copying manuscripts. Al-Wazan commented that "hither are brought divers manuscripts or written books, which are sold for more money than any other merchandise." [See The Islamic Legacy of Timbuktu, Erols site.]
Above: The Public Library of Hulwan, Baghdad from a scene in Maqamat al-Hariri. The leather-bound books were stacked into niches cut into the wall. The last line in the Arabic text above is a common proverb still in use: "During an exam, a person is either honored or disgraced."
Posts: 8812 | From: The fear of his majesty had entered their hearts, they were powerless | Registered: Nov 2007
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Against http://www.mwillett.org/atheism/islamicgoldenage.htm Why is it that most people believe that Islam had a great Golden Age while Europe was burning dreadfully in its Dark Age? This is a historical misconception which needs to be addressed. Allow me to give you an analogy before I make my point. There are two rotten apples in my analogy –one of the apples is more rotten than the other one. Obviously, the less rotten apple looks more attractive when it comes to choosing one out of the two. This does not necessarily mean that the less rotten apple is not rotten.
Now, take the above analogy and apply it to the so-called Golden Age Islamic civilization compared to the Dark Age Europe. Obviously, the Islamic civilization looks very pleasing when you compare it to the European Dark Ages. This does not necessarily mean that the Islamic civilization was a great civilization. This simply means that the Islamic civilization was not as rotten as its European Dark Age counterpart.
Allow me to present a few true examples to illustrate my point regarding how Muslims of that era did so little to improve human life, even though, they controlled a large portion of the global power and wealth for almost a millennium.
As you may know, the earliest known treatise on Algebra is credited to Diophantus of Alexandria in 3rd century A.D. However, it was a Muslim named Kharazmi from Persia, who for the first time used the Arabic language (the official language of the time) to write a book called Algebra. What did Muslims do with Algebra, anyway? The answer is that they just introduced the writing down of calculations in place of using the abacus. Surprised perhaps? Despite having the knowledge of Algebra for centuries and they did not achieve any significant accomplishments towards improving quality of life.
On the other hand, when the West got hold of Algebra, it was Isaac Newton of England and Libnitz from Germany who invented and developed Calculus out of Algebra. With the newly invented Calculus and its mathematical outcomes, the secular West managed to send Man to the Moon; space crafts to distant planets, and space probes beyond our solar system. Over the centuries, it was the West that came up with Linear Algebra and its pattern in Graphs, Matrices, and Subspaces.
It is true that Muslims managed to come up with Algorithm (Thanks to Kharazmi). This fact comes as no surprise to me. After all, the scientists of the Islamic civilization had access to many global resources yet what they accomplished over the millennia with Algorithm was literally “NOTHING”. In contrast, when Algorithm was introduced to the West they invented electronics, digital computing, computers, robots, and the almighty Internet.
As a whole, mathematics was a tool to keep Muslim scientists busy counting and writing numbers to replace the abacus, and writing mathematical formulas to please their Caliphs. In reality, what the secular West did with mathematics was to find the mysteries of our universe by inventing Quantum Mechanics, General Relativity, Special Relativity, cosmology and modern astronomy.
Also, there is a big misconception that Muslims invented chemistry (Alchemy).
Having their hands on chemistry, Muslims did not do much with it either. Nevertheless, in the West, chemistry was used to discover over 100 chemical elements which make up everything in this universe, including us. Furthermore, it was the West which came up with organic chemistry and the science of Pharmaceutical with its miraculous drugs and medications.
I believe that the invention of glass was a hallmark in the history of mankind. Glass is thought to have been invented around 3000 BC during the Bronze Age. Modern glass originated in Alexandria during the Ptolemaic period in which slices of colored glass were used to create decorative patterns. Over time, Glassblowing was developed during the 1st century BC by the glassmakers of Syria. However, during the 15th century, in Venice, Italy the first clear glass called cristallo was invented and exported throughout the world. In 1675, glassmaker George Ravenscroft invented lead crystal glass by adding lead oxide to Venetian glass.
It was 1902, when Irving W. Colburn patented the sheet glass drawing machine, making the mass production of glass for windows possible. In 1904, a patent for a "glass shaping machine" was granted to Michael Owen that paved the way to the mass production of bottles, jars, etc. Look around and you will see it’s all around us.
What Muslims did during the Golden Age with glass was to make their holy mosques and shrines more decorative and beautiful to please their Caliphs and the nonexistent Allah. In this case, when the secular West got hold of glass, they invented the lens to improve the visually impaired. Thanks to Antony van Leeuwenhoek, the microscope was invented to see and explore the micro-universe. Consequently, the West invented microbiology (Thanks to Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch) and established modern medicine. At the same time, they used glass to invent telescope to explore the macro-universe (Thanks to Galileo Galilee) and to see that our universe is expanding (Thanks to Hubble).
As a matter of fact, Muslims had their chance for a millennium to contribute many milestones to the world. Yet much of their legacy is in the form of great mosques and shrines. Since the great Renaissance, the secular West seized upon its chance to shape the world and in my opinion, they have done so.
Within a couple of centuries, the West launched the industrial revolution with its great outcomes of our modern life. Just think about your life without electricity!
With these facts in mind, without Western ingenuity and creativity the Islamic Golden Age would only be one step above the Dark Ages of Europe. Hardly surprising, when its followers were brought up to believe that “paradise is under the shade of the sword”. What do you expect from a civilization that eulogize martyrdom and celebrate death with no respect for life on Earth? Moreover, what do you expect from a society whose spiritual leader (Khomeini) once said: “Economy is for the donkey”? Or, what do you expect from a society that dresses up a toddler as suicide bomber and take pride in their own ignorance? These are the principles pursued by the so-called Golden Islamic civilization.
Finally, I let you elaborate on other Western inventions and discoveries. You can start with textile, sewing and weaving machines. Try to imagine a world without these machines where the Ayatollahs, Imams, and mullahs have no turban to wrap around their heads. That would be a good start.
Posts: 8812 | From: The fear of his majesty had entered their hearts, they were powerless | Registered: Nov 2007
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This is a nonsense question that really boils down to a question of how much of a debt the West owes to the East. The point is that the West gets ALMOST EVERYTHING from the East and the Islamic world was simply the last of a long line of cultural traditions and civilizations that existed in the East and laid the groundwork for the arrival of "the West". Lets start from the beginning: civilization started in the East. Math, writing, art, science, sculpture, organized religion, philosophy, cosmology, astrology, industry, city planning, map making, architecture, music, warfare, armor, gunpowder, textiles and so on all started in the East. This is a CONTINUOUS tradition stretching from the time of the Islamic world all the way back to ancient Mesopotamia, China, Egypt and India. The WEST had nothing to do with it. It was through the Islamic world that the traditions of THE EAST, which includes ancient Greece in all actuality, was introduced to THE WEST. It was the EASTERN Roman Empire that maintained Greek as the official language. It was the EASTERN Roman Empire that had the works of the Greeks in their libraries. The Western Roman Empire spoke latin, not Greek and was AGAINST Greek culture and history.
The bottom line is that civilization flowed from East to West and that the West was ALWAYS in a dark age compared to the East. Greece and Rome were LATE COMERS to the game of civilization in 800 BC. By that time a great many civilizations had come, gone and had been forgotten. Greece and Rome were but the BEGINNINGS of civilization in Europe, whereas the east, civilizations were ancient and growing older every day.
The point here is that the "dark ages" as some special "intermediate" period of savagery in Europe is the myth, because most of Europe prior to 1000 AD WAS NOT CIVILIZED to begin with. And Greece and Rome were NOT the fonts of civilization for Europe or anywhere else in the world. The font or cradles of civilization were in East Asia, India, Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Americas. And it is from these places that civilization was transmitted to Europe, not vice versa. Islam was simply a vehicle for the transmission of this knowledge to Europe. For example, houses of Wisdom in Islam were actually based on OLDER "houses of Wisdom" in Persia which were in turn based on older examples from Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Yes there was a golden age of Islam, of that there is no doubt. But what is in doubt is whether it was ARABS who led the way during this time as opposed to Africans, Asians, Persians and other people who converted to Islam. Nobody in their right mind would claim that all the thinkers during the Islamic golden age were Arabs. They were not. But Islam provided the framework for sharing and transmission of ideas which allowed for widespread cultural exchanges between the Islamic far East and Islamic West that presaged the arrival of "globalization" by about 1000 years. In reality, this is just anti Islamic talk, because Christianity actually expanded to become a global force based on the model of Islam and was MORE INTOLERANT and MORE BLOODTHIRSTY than Islam EVER was. Taking of lands from the "heathens" in the Western hemisphere was a concept taken DIRECTLY from Islam, where all land was the under the domain of the Caliphate and Islamic law. In the West, this gave birth to the idea that all land was under the domain of the CHURCH and the CHRISTIAN KINGS who were given dominion over all they conquered IN THE NAME of Christ. Again, another concept taken from the EAST by the West.
The whole argument is stupid in reality as we know the WEST ain't all goodness and light to begin with, but that is what this nonsense is about.
Fundamentally, what all of this boils down to is power. Islam, Christianity and all the other religions are all about power. It has always been this way. The same reason why Islam became more conservative and ANTI intellectual is the SAME reason why Rome, the Byzantines and the Christian church ALL were AGAINST scholarship during the "dark ages". The reason is that with intellect and knowledge comes a challenge to AUTHORITY, plain and simple. But when the west did begin to promote scholarship and intellect, it wasn't really FREE and it wasn't really OPEN, like they try and pretend. Most of it was very much based around a STRICT pro European and pro WESTERN slant that FORCED everyone else to be viewed in a SUBSTANDARD light, no matter if Europe only RECENTLY became enlightened. And this pattern is what is behind such bogus arguments about the Islamic Golden Age.
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quote:Originally posted by Doug M: This is a nonsense question that really boils down to a question of how much of a debt the West owes to the East. The point is that the West gets ALMOST EVERYTHING from the East and the Islamic world was simply the last of a long line of cultural traditions and civilizations that existed in the East and laid the groundwork for the arrival of "the West". Lets start from the beginning: civilization started in the East. Math, writing, art, science, sculpture, organized religion, philosophy, cosmology, astrology, industry, city planning, map making, architecture, music, warfare, armor, gunpowder, textiles and so on all started in the East. This is a CONTINUOUS tradition stretching from the time of the Islamic world all the way back to ancient Mesopotamia, China, Egypt and India. The WEST had nothing to do with it. It was through the Islamic world that the traditions of THE EAST, which includes ancient Greece in all actuality, was introduced to THE WEST. It was the EASTERN Roman Empire that maintained Greek as the official language. It was the EASTERN Roman Empire that had the works of the Greeks in their libraries. The Western Roman Empire spoke latin, not Greek and was AGAINST Greek culture and history.
The bottom line is that civilization flowed from East to West and that the West was ALWAYS in a dark age compared to the East. Greece and Rome were LATE COMERS to the game of civilization in 800 BC. By that time a great many civilizations had come, gone and had been forgotten. Greece and Rome were but the BEGINNINGS of civilization in Europe, whereas the east, civilizations were ancient and growing older every day.
The point here is that the "dark ages" as some special "intermediate" period of savagery in Europe is the myth, because most of Europe prior to 1000 AD WAS NOT CIVILIZED to begin with. And Greece and Rome were NOT the fonts of civilization for Europe or anywhere else in the world. The font or cradles of civilization were in East Asia, India, Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Americas. And it is from these places that civilization was transmitted to Europe, not vice versa. Islam was simply a vehicle for the transmission of this knowledge to Europe. For example, houses of Wisdom in Islam were actually based on OLDER "houses of Wisdom" in Persia which were in turn based on older examples from Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Yes there was a golden age of Islam, of that there is no doubt. But what is in doubt is whether it was ARABS who led the way during this time as opposed to Africans, Asians, Persians and other people who converted to Islam. Nobody in their right mind would claim that all the thinkers during the Islamic golden age were Arabs. They were not. But Islam provided the framework for sharing and transmission of ideas which allowed for widespread cultural exchanges between the Islamic far East and Islamic West that presaged the arrival of "globalization" by about 1000 years. In reality, this is just anti Islamic talk, because Christianity actually expanded to become a global force based on the model of Islam and was MORE INTOLERANT and MORE BLOODTHIRSTY than Islam EVER was. Taking of lands from the "heathens" in the Western hemisphere was a concept taken DIRECTLY from Islam, where all land was the under the domain of the Caliphate and Islamic law. In the West, this gave birth to the idea that all land was under the domain of the CHURCH and the CHRISTIAN KINGS who were given dominion over all they conquered IN THE NAME of Christ. Again, another concept taken from the EAST by the West.
The whole argument is stupid in reality as we know the WEST ain't all goodness and light to begin with, but that is what this nonsense is about.
Fundamentally, what all of this boils down to is power. Islam, Christianity and all the other religions are all about power. It has always been this way. The same reason why Islam became more conservative and ANTI intellectual is the SAME reason why Rome, the Byzantines and the Christian church ALL were AGAINST scholarship during the "dark ages". The reason is that with intellect and knowledge comes a challenge to AUTHORITY, plain and simple. But when the west did begin to promote scholarship and intellect, it wasn't really FREE and it wasn't really OPEN, like they try and pretend. Most of it was very much based around a STRICT pro European and pro WESTERN slant that FORCED everyone else to be viewed in a SUBSTANDARD light, no matter if Europe only RECENTLY became enlightened. And this pattern is what is behind such bogus arguments about the Islamic Golden Age.
I agree 100 percent. I must admit I am some what "In TOO" medieval especialy Islamic/Muslim culture durong that time...sort of like orentalism I guess. I love to learn about the Eastern civilization, and I find it funny that some people seen to want to attack the Idea of a Islamic Golden Era. The Muslim Scholars of the era were the cream of the crop in the world. Before this time Ideas and Knowledge was either kept a secret or written down and distributed only throughout the territory of that persons nation or population. The West had NO intention of breaking this cycle. They had Thousands of years to incorporate Indian, Asian, African and other knowledge into their empires. Christianity did NOTHING to further advance the world. Christians focused on Rome. Christians shunned knowledge to the point where Justinian closed the philosophy schools in Athens.
It was the East that preserved the works of the Greeks. Those two sites are full of inaccuracies. They talk about great Western thinkers such as Issac Newton but fail to mention how Newton like almost all great western thinkers...was persecuted by the Christians for his beliefs. Not that Islam is perfect but I dont think all the Great Islamic Scholars had to hide their views and were persecuted. Even the article explains how the Caliphs would welcome the Islamic scholars.
All one has to do is look at Al-Andalus f
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