The Arabs invented it, the West invented it, the Hindu invented it, they all lived around the same time, so what's the difference?
Is that your contention?
Talk about a "disingenuous argument."
That's like saying that the US and Britain were both around when the Nazi movement rose therefore they are equally guilty of the crimes committed in that movement's name, or there were others alive when anything was invented so if anyone from that time claims credit (or can be blamed) we must grant the claim legitimacy. Talk about relativism! Reality versus propaganda is never moot. That's Orwellian. It's even Gorian.
Arab civilization is based on being a trader and, in fact, a scavenger. They don't invent. They don't create. They steal learn what others have done and then claim it for their own.
Are there inventive, creative and even genius individuals within that community? Of course. As many as in any other human community. Study Sargon, the "law giver" and his daughter En' Heduana, the first named author in history (and a truly original thinker who introduced the concept of a personal relationship with a Deity) as I have, and you'll learn a thing or two about this question. The difference is that the geniuses, the creative and the inventive have been systematically suppressed or slaughtered by their fellows within that culture, particularly when Satan's prophet came along and institutionalized hate crime as a way of life in the 7th century.
And the Scotsman is a notoriously anti-Western rag, so posting something from them as an opening argument is the most disingenuous thing of all. Remember, this is the paper that treats George (Oil for Food is a profitable program... for me) Galloway as a national hero.
I think I understand your intent and generic position and don't question your motives, even though I disagree and think that you are basing your reaction on PC propaganda. This, however, is a subject I've had my nosed rubbed in due to personal association with numerous people and cultures from the region, including many from Persia (Iran) and India (among them Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, who is running the Gandhi center with the majority of his papers).
Forgive me if I'm a bit emphatic on this subject at least, but always remember my tag line.