What, Exactly, are the Great Achievements of the Islamic World?

moi

[ml/nj]

Today in the WSJ, Karen Elliot House reviews a new book from Bernard Lewis entitled What Went Wrong. She begins this way:

How has it come to pass that a civilization that for centuries led the world in science, medicine, and the arts ...

Does anyone know what contribution the Islamic world made to science besides giving us our number system (admittedly a biggie) and naming a bunch of stars (less big)? Algebra may have Arabic roots linguistically, but I cannot think of a single concept or theorem that we credit to the Arabs. The Greeks are all over geometry. The Arabs supposedly preserved this and passed it along, but did they contribute? I don't know. I'm asking.

Ditto for medicine. What did they do? (Stop the bleeding when they chopped off someones hand?)

And if House just said "Art," maybe, but Arts? The Islamic architecture should certainly be considered "leading," but is there any philosophy or literature that anyone pays attention to along the lines of Maimonades or Aquinas?

ML/NJ

[My2Cents]

I think what went wrong was that some started taking the teachings of Mohammed seriously.

Of course, the "victimization" crowd within Islam blame the Crusades, western colonialism, and the Jews for every failure within their own societies.

[ExpatCanuck]

IMO, one of Islam's more dubious achievements was to destroy the achievements of the pre-Islamic Arab world, setting the stage for the eventual European domination of science, the arts, culture etc...

[Redbob]

Led the world in science? - How to sleep with camels and survive!

Led the world in medicine? - How to sleep with camels and not get camel VD!

Led the world in art? - Camel dung art, perhaps!

[lormand]

"What, Exactly, are the Great Achievements of the Islamic World?"

I'd have to say only one thing.

They were the librarians for the West during the Dark Ages.

Thats it!

[Redbob]

Let me amend that: They have made whining an art form!

[WRhine]

They pioneered modern day terrorism.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Star Based Navigation. Inventing the kamal and refining the astrolabe.

[ken5050]

obviously, you are not familar with the very important lifestyle direction, to wit: "...go pound sand."

[True Capitalist]

Algebra may have Arabic roots

invented algebra?...damn them Arabs!...I for one can't think of a better reason for bombing them!!!

[kezekiel]

PBS produced a film about this called "The Empire of Islam." Here's a link to the section of the website that recaps their contributions in Algebra and Trigonometry, Engineering, Astronomy, Medicine, and Paper & Publishing. No comment on the content from me, because I took the time to look it up but now I have to get back to work, so I don't have time to read it.

[Salgak]

The Mathematical concept of "Zero" can be attributed to the Islamic World. Prior to that numbering systems worked similar to the familiar "Roman" numbering system. MMII isn't that tough for 2002, but try MCMLXXXXIX for 1999. . . . Zero made positional notation, and modern mathematic possible

[DJ MacWoW]

Arabian architecture is/was lovely. There's an online tour of the Al Hambra. Their mosaic art was also lovely as were their irrigated gardens and fountains. Granada, before Spain took it over, was very advanced in medicine. I read they were even doing brain surgery in the 1200's and doing it successfuly. Arab culture was much more advanced 500 years ago than it is now but their laws were just as brutal.

[6323cd]

I think the credit for preserving written records could more fittingly be given to Church archivists on the coast of Ireland during that time period. Erin go Bragh!

Colleen

[Maceman]

In a word, "ZERO,' but nothing ince then.

[denydenydeny]

When even pro-Islam spokesmen talk about the achievements of Islam, the speech is always preceded by the phrase, "Eight hundred years ago..."

The achievements of Islamic civilization are all on the far corners of the Islamic world, products either of non-Arab peoples long ago(the mosques of Sinan in Turkey; the poetry and painting of Persia; the Taj Mahal in India) or in synthesis with other peoples (as with the Muslim/Christian/Jewish culture of Moorish Spain).

"Arabic numbers" are of Hindu origin.

[LoisHunt]

So you're saying WHAT? Bomb them to kingdom come? I personally didn't invent anything.

[Fighting Irish]

ah.....death and pain at the expense of the civilized world.

[DaughterOfMordor]

Wasn't it the Mayans or some other South American people that invented the concept of zero?