GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: CONTRIBUTIONS OF ARABIC CULTURE TO WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Doing some research on the web, stumbled across some interesting factoids.

As an atheist, I despise stereotypes. As a human being, I fall prey to foolish concepts on occasion. Lately, my fellow atheists, in their zealousness, overlook important contributions that many religions have given us, and this does indeed include the Arabic culture.

No, not an apologist, so shut yer piehole.

So the next time you sit your fat American ass on a sofa, stop and think about where that piece of furniture came from. Yep: you guessed it - the Middle East. Likewise, when you sit down and play a game of chess, or backgammon. Or even play cards. Or have a strong cup of java.

And while you're at it, consider this: the concept of ZERO originated in India, transmigrated to Arabia, and from there was introduced to Europe. Before you dismiss that with a wave of your hand, remember the binary language? It consists of ZEROS and ONES. So consider that next time you boot up your PC, and start ranting and raving about them 'savage Muslims'.

Let's throw animal husbandry into the list. Or have we forgotten that Arabian horses are about the best in the world? Let's include spices, perfumes, carpetry. Oh, and falconry.
And architecture. And clocks and mirrors. Let's include pharmacology, botany, chemistry, gemology, medicine. And they had bathhouses while most of our ancestors practiced little or no hygiene whatsoever.

And here's a small list of Arabian folks who kept the light alive in the Dark Ages:

Averroës , Arabic Ibn Rushd, 1126-98, Spanish-Arab philosopher. He was far more important and influential in Jewish and Christian thought than in Islam. He was a lawyer and physician of Córdoba and lived for some time in Morocco in favor with the caliphs. He was banished for a period, probably for suspected heresy. Averroës's greatest work was his commentaries on Aristotle. The Averroistic interpretation of Aristotle remained influential long after his death and was a matter of intellectual speculation well into the Renaissance. He attempted to delimit the separate domains of faith and reason, pointing out that the two need not be reconciled because they did not conflict. He declared philosophy the highest form of inquiry. He had the same Neoplatonic cast to his metaphysics as Avempace, to whom he was certainly indebted for his ideas on the intellect. Averroist doctrines on personal immortality and the eternity of matter were condemned by the Roman Catholic Church. St. Thomas Aquinas was respectful of Averroës, but he attacked the Averroist contention that philosophic truth is derived from reason and not from faith

And here:

750 First public pharmacy opens in Baghdad.

800 Al Batriq translates the works of the 2nd century Greek Galen into Arabic.

10th century Ar-Razi used mercurial compounds as topical antiseptics, described the function of the veins and their valves. Writes critique of Galen.

Muslim chemists, pharmacists and physicians produced thousands of drugs and/or crude herbal extracts. In the 14th century Ibn Baytar writes a monumental pharmacopeia listing some 1400 different drugs.


Ibn Zuhr correctly described the nature of pleurisy, tuberculosis and pericarditis. Az-Zahrawi (d. 1013), accurately documented the pathology of hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and other congenital diseases and performed hundreds of surgeries under inhalation anaesthesia with the use of narcotic-soaked sponges.

Ibn al-Quff and Ibn an-Nafs describe the diseases of circulation.

973 -1048 Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, the Persian polymath, in the train of Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi, the conqueror of India, writes the Kitab-al-Saidana, an extensive compendium of Arab and Indian medicine. He describes various 'monstrosities', including 'Siamese' twins. He also writes the first scientific work of comparative religion Kitab al-Hind (India).

From the 9th - 15th century, the Medical School of Salernum (Salerno), Italy, reestablishes in Europe the medical science of antiquity that had been preserved and refined by the
By the end of the 13th century there are flourishing medical schools at Montpellier, Paris, Bologna and Padua and, as a result of contact with the Arab world, the first apothecary in Europe in Florence.

979-1037 The Persian/Turkish Ibn Sina (aka 'Avicenna') produces a compilation of Hippocrates and Galen. His major work is an encyclopedic compilation of ancient medical wisdom which forms the curriculum of European medical schools until the 17th century.

As an alchemist Ibn-Sina improves the distillation process and 'essential oils' are used extensively in his practice.

'Saint' Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) Benedictine nun and 'visionary' writes 'Causae et Curae', an early compendium on herbalism. She records that cannabis relieves headache.

The 13th-century Arab physician al Samarqandi writes on aromatic baths, aromatic salves and powders. For sinus or ear congestion he suggests steams, vapours, and incenses of marjoram, thyme, wormwood, chamomile, fennel, mint, hyssop and dill and the burning of herbs in a gourd.

By the end of the 9th century, Abbasid administrators had amassed a great deal of information on their the vast empire. Official reports were mixed with geographies, travellers' journals and tales of natural marvels. Historical interpretation became possible.

Historical writing began with accounts of the life of the Prophet. Regard for 'authoritative' sources ('isnad' ) rather than creative embellishment provided a measure of accuracy.

Idrisi, in 12th century Sicily, was commissioned to compile the 'Book of Roger' for the Norman King of Palermo, with accompanying maps. 13th century Yaqut wrote a large geographical dictionary, compiled from many sources.

15th century Ibn Khaldun, a Tunisian government official, who served at Arab courts all the way from Granada to Egypt, established a new standard of historiography with his great work 'Muqaddimah,' in which he noted sociological and natural influences - climate, social customs, food, superstitions - as well as rulers and battles.

Oh, and while we're at it, let's not forget the Sufis, an apparent offshoot of the Meccan (non-jihadist) branch of Islam. I will be reviewing a book on the matter in the very near future.

So the next time you start in with the 'savage barbarian' Muslim schtick, bear in mind: they were obviously WELL ahead of the xtian nations during the Middle Ages, far more tolerant of other religions than is thought, and we owe them a tremendous debt, philosophically, scientifically, and for that matter, in many, MANY other ways.

No, nobody gets a free pass. No excuses for the events transpiring. This is an effort to shed some light, in the dark shadows cast in our society.

I leave this with the reader to consider: so be honest with yourself, and ask this: what changed? Think about that, and get back to me.

Till the next post, then.