Codswallop. In the past, the wealth and splendor of such cities as Istanbul, Damascus, Baghdad, Samarkand and Tashkent was legendary (and this without oil money). The cities of Arabia boasted many of the greatest libraries and universities in the world. The Arabs led the world in the fields of mathematics and astronomy. They produced great works of literature (such as The Arabian Nights, which I heartily recommend in the Burton translation). They developed musical and artistic traditions--not to mention a cuisine--that are as complex and varied as any in the world. Their trade ships covered the known world. In short, it met all the criteria of a great civilization.
Much of that genius is wasted, now, but to deny that it ever existed is simply knee-jerk xenophobia.
Or lack of coffee. You're right. What do you think happened to make them so primitive (and unproductive) today?