ARAB CIVILIZATION AND ITS IMPACT ON THE WEST

By
Dr. ABDULLAH MOHAMMAD SINDI
(Ph.D. International Relations)

Dr. Abdullah Mohammad Sindi is a native
of Saudi Arabia where has was a Professor of
Political Science at King Abdulaziz
University in Jeddah. He now lives and
works in the US where he has also taught at 4
universities and colleges in Southern
California: The University of California at
Irvine, California State University at
Pomona, Cerritos College, and Fullerton
College. Dr. Sindi has published several
articles in different scholarly periodicals both
in Arabic and English. His book The Arabs
and the West: The Contributions and the
Inflictions is sold on Amazon.com.

INTRODUCTION

I
Arab Civilization before Islam
1. The Kingdom of Saba (or Sheba)
2. The Kingdom of Himyar
3. The Nabataean Kingdom
4. The Kingdom of Tadmor (or Palmyra)
5. The Kingdom of Kindah
6. The Kingdom of Lakhmid
7. The Kingdom of Ghassan
8. The Jahiliyyah (Pre-Islamic Arabia)

II
Arab Civilization after Islam
1. The Golden Arab Abbasid Civilization
2. The Glorious Arab Andalusian Civilization of Europe

III
The Legacy of Arab/Islamic Civilization and Its Impact on the West
1. Mathematics
2. Astronomy
3. Chemistry
4. Physics
5. Medicine
6. Pharmacy and Pharmacology
7. Zoology and Veterinary Medicine
8. Agriculture
9. Philosophy and Metaphysics
10. Geography
11. Sociology
12. Literature
13. Music
14. Art
15. Architecture

IV
The Horrors of the Spanish Inquisition after the End of Arab Andalusian Civilization

Notes





INTRODUCTION
It is in these hard times of post September 11 when Arabs and Muslims are being
bashed throughout the West that it becomes imperative to explain the various valuable
Arab contributions to the West. In fact, unlike any other region in the entire world, the
Arab region provided the West (and the rest of humanity) with 3 major contributions:
1. The Arabs Semitic ancestors in the Fertile Crescent and Egypt produced 5 brilliant
ancient civilizations, which benefited the earliest Western civilizations of Greece and
Rome. These 5 are: the Iraqi Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations; the Egyptian
Pharaonic civilization; the Lebanese Phoenician civilization; and the Palestinian
Canaanite civilization.
2. The 3 Semitic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were all born in the Arab
region.
3. The Post-Islamic Arab civilization (which is the subject of this article) contributed
handsomely to the European Renaissance.

I
Arab Civilization before Islam
Contrary to some popular Western misconceptions propagated by many Western
"experts" and "authorities" on the Arab world alleging that Arabs did not have any
civilization before Islam, or that Arabs were nothing more than a collection of nomadic
warring primitive tribes, confined solely to the Arabian Peninsula, who spent most of
their existence looking for food and water, the historical record proves otherwise. In fact,
centuries before the birth of Islam, the Arabs had several civilizations, not only in the
Arabian Peninsula itself, but also in the Fertile Crescent, some of which were highly
advanced with elaborate development and culture. Although Arab civilization before
Islam might not have had a noticeable impact on Greece and Rome, it is nonetheless
important to briefly mention here the following pre-Islamic Arab civilizations in order to
dispel this wrong conventional Western notion that Arabs had no civilization before the
birth of Islam, were nothing but wandering nomads, and were confined only to the
Arabian Peninsula.

1
The Kingdom of Saba (or Sheba)
One of the earliest and most important of all pre-Islamic Arab civilizations is the Qahtani
Kingdom of Saba or Sheba (10th century BCE 7th century CE), which had an
elaborate civilization, legendary in its reputation of prosperity and wealth. The Kingdom
of Saba was located in the southwestern mountainous rainy parts of the Arabian
Peninsula in what is known today as the regions of Aseer and Yemen. Envious of its
wealth, the Romans named it Arabia Felix (fortunate or prosperous Arabia).
The Sabaean capital, Ma'rib, was located near San'a, today's capital of Yemen, which
was reportedly founded by Noah's eldest son Shem (or "Sam" in Arabic) from whose
name the word "Sami" in Arabic or "Semitic" in English comes. In addition to their
domains in the Arabian Penisula, the Sabaean kings controlled for a long time some
parts of the East African coast across the Red Sea where they established the Kingdom
of Abyssinia, which is Eritrea today. It should be indicated here that the name
Abyssinia comes from the Arabic word Habashah. One of the most famous rulers of
the Sabaeans was Queen Balgais. This mystic Arab Queen of Sheba was well known
for her beauty, grace, wealth, charm, and splendor. She reportedly had a famous
impassioned encounter with the Hebrew King Solomon when she took a special trip to
Jerusalem
The Sabaean Kingdom produced and traded in spices, Arabian frankincense, myrrh,
and other Arabian aromatics. The Sabaeans excelled in agriculture and had a
remarkable irrigation system with terraced mountains, incredible huge water tunnels in
mountains and great dams including the legendary Ma'rib Dam, which was built around
2000 BCE. This Arab dam was considered to be one the greatest technological
wonders of the ancient world. However, the tragic breaking of the Ma'rib Dam around
575, as indicated in the Qur'an, was an event of very traumatic proportions in the
collective consciousness of all Arabs at the time and of later generations.

2
The Kingdom of Himyar
The Arab Kingdom of Himyar (115 BCE to 525 CE), which was also located in the
southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, had a sizable number of Arab Christians and
Arab Jews (not Hebrews). The most prominent Arab Jew of this kingdom was King Dhu
al-Nuwas who persecuted his Arab Christian subjects. He reportedly incinerated some
of them alive in retaliation for their persecution of Arab Jews in neighboring Arab
Christian Najran.
From their capital city, first at Zafar and later at San'a, the powerful Himyarite kings
executed military plans which resulted in the expansion of their domains at times
eastward as far as the Persian Gulf and northward into the Arabian Desert. However,
internal disorder and the changing of trade routes eventually caused the kingdom to
suffer political and economic decline. In fact, after several unsuccessful attempts, the
African Abyssinians finally invaded the Arab Himyarite Kingdom in 525. In 570, the year
Prophet Mohammad was born, the Abyssinian governor Abraha sent an army of
elephant-borne troops in an unsuccessful attempt to attack the city of Makkah (Mecca)
and destroy its Ka'bah. In 575 the Persians invaded Himyar and ended the Abyssinian
presence in Himyar. But the Persians did not last long there either. Soon thereafter
Islam swept the entire Arabian Peninsula.

3
The Nabataean Kingdom
The Arab Nabataean Kingdom was established in the 6th century BCE. It was located
south of the Dead Sea and along the eastern shores of the Gulf of Aqaba in the
northern parts of the Hejaz. The Nabataeans had their capital city in Petra that was a
flourishing center of commerce and civilization. The Nabataeans great achievements
and culture are still echoed in the magnificent carved-in-the-mountains monuments they
left behind. Thousands of tourists from all over the world are attracted every year to this
Arab region to see these monuments not only at Petra in Jordan but also in Saudi
Arabia's Mada'in Salih (i.e., Prophet Salih who warned the Thamud Arab Kingdom to
worship Allah before the birth of Prophet Mohammad). The small Arab neighboring
Kingdoms of Ad, Thamud, and Lihyan - all also with brilliant monuments and
achievements mentioned in the Qu'ran - came under the Nabataean suzerainty for a
while.
The Arab Nabataean Kingdom, which at its zenith ruled much of the Syrian interior
including Damascus, later became a vassal Roman state and eventually fell victim to
European colonialism when it was absorbed into the Roman Empire as the "Provincia
Arabia" in 195 CE. In fact, the Roman Emperor Philip, who ruled from 244 to 249, was
ethnically an Arab from this Arab Nabataean region. Incidentally, this Roman Emperor
who was known as "Philip the Arab", was preceded to the Palatine Hill in Rome by a
series of Arab empresses, half-Arab emperors, and the fully Arab Elagabulus of Emesa.
It is also believed by some scholars that Philip the Arab was really the first Roman
Christian emperor (244-249 CE) rather than Constantine I who ruled the Roman Empire
(312-337 CE) 63 years after him.

4
The Kingdom of Tadmor (or Palmyra)
Another important Arab civilization before Islam was the famous Kingdom of Palmyra
(or Tadmor in Arabic), which is now Hims in Syria. Although mentioned in some history
books as early as the 9th century BCE, Tadmor became only prominent in the 3rd
century BCE when it controlled the vital trade route between Mesopotamia and the
Mediterranean. The Tadmorians had a great civilization and excelled in international
trade. However, like the Nabataeans, they eventually came under the control of the
expanding Roman imperialism by becoming another client Arab state of Rome.
In 265 the Tadmorian Arab King Udhayna (or Odenathus) was rewarded by the Romans
to become a vice-emperor of the Roman Empire because of his assistance in their war
against Persia. However, King Udhayna's widow Zainab (aka az-Zabba or Zenobia), the
famous strong Arab queen wanted nothing less for Palmyra than a complete
independence from Rome. She succeeded in temporarily driving the Roman invaders
out of most of the Fertile Crescent and proclaimed her son Wahballat (or Athenodorus)
to be the true emperor of a new independent Arab Palmyra. Queen Zainab's Arabian
independent spirit, however, deeply angered the Romans and eventually resulted in the
destruction of the Tadmorian Kingdom in 273 by a powerful force of the Roman imperial
army. As part of the Roman victory celebration, queen Zainab was brutally taken to
Rome in golden chains.

5
The Kingdom of Kindah
Kindat al-Muluk (or the Royal Kindah) was a famous Arab kingdom, which originated in
the southern Arabian Peninsula near Yemen's Hadramawt region. Its capital city, al-
Fau, was excavated northeast of Najran in Saudi Arabia in 1972 by Saudi
archaeologists from King Saud University in Riyadh. The Kingdom of Kindah became
prominent around the late 5th and early 6th centuries CE when it made one of the
earliest and successful efforts to unite several Arab tribes under its new domain in Najd
in central Arabia.
The traditional founder and ruler of Kindah was Hujr Akil al-Murar. However, the most
renowned of all Kindah kings was al-Harith ibn Amr, Hujr's grandson, who extended his
kingdom's domain north by invading Iraq and temporarily capturing al-Hirah, the capital
city of the Arab Christian Kingdom of Lakhmid. But in 529 al-Hirah was liberated by its
Christian Arabs who killed King al-Harith along with 50 members of his family. After al-
Harith's death, the Kindah Kingdom split up into four factions - Asad, Taghlib, Kinanah,
and Qays - each led by a prince. The famous pre-Islamic Arab poet Imru' al-Qays (who
died around 540) was the prince of Qays. The continuing feuding between these Arab
factions, however, eventually forced the Kindah princes by the middle of the 6th century
to withdraw to their original place in southern Arabia next to Yemen. Nevertheless, after
Islam was established throughout the Arabian Peninsula, many descendants of the
Royal Kindah continued to hold powerful political positions within the Islamic state. In
fact, one branch of the Royal Kindah was even successful in gaining great political
influence in far away Arab Andalusia in the European Iberian Peninsula.

6
The Kingdom of Lakhmid
The Arab Christian Kingdom of Lakhmid, which originated in the 3rd century CE,
reached the height of its power during the 6th century under King al-Munthir III (503-
554). Its domain covered from the western shores of the Persian Gulf all the way north
to Iraq where its capital city, al-Hira, was located on the Euphrates River near present
day Kufah. Working in close cooperation with the Zoroastrian Persian Sasanian Empire
to which the Lakhmid Kingdom was a vassal state, al-Munthir III raided and frequently
challenged the pro-Byzantine Arab Kingdom of Ghassan in Syria. His son King Amr Ibn
Hind was patron of the legendary Arab poet Tarfah Ibn al-Abd and other poets
associated with the seven Mu'allaqat (the Suspended Odes") of pre-Islamic Arabia (see
"The Jahiliyyah" below). The Lakhmid dynasty eventually disintegrated after the death
of its great Arab Christian King an-Nu'man III in 602.

7
The Kingdom of Ghassan
As the Lakhmid Arab Kingdom was Christian so was its Arab neighbor to the west, the
Kingdom of Ghassan, whose capital city was Damascus. This Syrian Ghassanid
Kingdom was prominent in the 6th century and was an ally of the Byzantine Empire. It
protected the vital spice trade route from the south of the Arabian Peninsula and also
acted as a buffer against the desert bedouins.
The Ghassanid King al-Harith Ibn Jabalah (reigned 529-569), who was a Monophysite
Christian, supported the Christian Byzantine Empire against the Zoroastrian Sasanian
Persian Empire and successfully opposed the Arab Kingdom of Lakhmids, which sided
with Persians. As a result, King al-Harith was given the title of Patricius by the
Byzantine emperor Justinian.
Like the Lakhmids, the Ghassanids patronized the arts and many literary geniuses such
as al-Nabighah al-Thubyani and Hassan Ibn Thabit. Great Arab poets like them were
frequently entertained in the royal courts of the Ghassanid kings. After the emergence
of Islam in the 7th century, most inhabitants of the Kingdom of Ghassan became
Muslim. One of the most prominent poets of the Kingdom of Ghassan was Hassan Ibn
Thabit. Ibn Thabit, who espoused Islam, wrote several famous and beautiful poems in
praise of Prophet Mohammad.

8
The Jahiliyyah (Pre-Islamic Arabia)
Even in the period of Jahiliyyah (or "the ignorance" of pre-Islamic Arabia 500-622) the
Arabs also had a great cultural literary civilization. Its great classical belles letters could
very easily be compared to the best literary treasures developed during the later golden
age of the Arab/Islamic civilization of the Abbasids and Andalusia. The Jahiliyyah era
witnessed a vibrant golden age of Arab poetry and odes. Among the top pre-Islamic
Arab poets, whose poems are still studied in college and pre-college curricula
throughout the Arab world, are the seven legendary poets of the Golden Odes, known
as the Seven Mu'allaqat ("the Suspended Odes"). These seven pre-Islamic Arab poets
who belonged to different Arab tribes included: Prince Imru' al-Qays of the Kindah
Kingdom; Tarfah (by far the greatest pre-Islamic Arab poet); Zuhair; Labid (who became
so overwhelmed by the power and elegance of the Qur'an that he refused to compose
any poetry for the last thirty years of his life); Antar (the greatest cavalier warrior of pre-
Islamic Arabia); Amru' Ibn Kalthoom; and al-Harith Ibn Hillizah. Each one of these seven
great Arab poets wrote magnificent lengthy poems accentuated with passion, love,
eloquence, courage, and sensuality. Their seven golden odes, considered to be the
greatest literary treasure of pre-Islamic Arabia, were accorded the highest honor by the
critics of the times in the annual poetry fair in Ukaz near Makkah. Their works were
inscribed in gold letters and hung (or "suspended") on the door and walls of the Ka'bah
for the public to read, enjoy, and appreciate. To these seven incomparable Jahiliyyah
Arab poets one must add the following four geniuses in poetry: an-Nabighah al-
Thubyani, Hassan Ibn Thabit, al-Hutay'ah, and al-Khansa' (a female).
Although most of pre-Islamic Arabia during the Jahiliyyah period was largely nomadic
and tribal where bedouin wars and conflicts were the norms among the disunited Arab
tribes and where most people believed in pagan religions and superstitions, the two
important cities of the Hejaz, Makkah and Ukaz, stood as shining spots in the entire
Arabian Peninsula. In fact, Makkah was the religious, political, economic, intellectual,
and cultural center of pre-Islamic Arabia. The Ka'bah in Makkah and Mount Arafat
outside it (both of which were later incorporated in Islam) had been important religious
sites for annual pilgrimage centuries before the coming of Islam.

II
Arab Civilization after Islam
Within a very short period of time after the birth of Islam in the 7th century, the Arabs
built a vast empire that stretched from Spain and Portugal (Andalusia) in the west all the
way to the Indian subcontinent in the east. Covering almost half of the old known world,
the Arab empire was one and a half times the size of the Roman Empire at its peak.
Unlike earlier civilizations, the Arab civilization dominated the Mediterranean and made
it practically an Arab lake. The Arabs occupied Spain and Portugal in 711 and were on
the verge of engulfing all of France in 732 when Charles Martel stopped their advances
in the heart of Western Europe in the Battle of Tours, about 100 miles south of Paris.
Between the 7th and 15th centuries, the Arabs established a brilliant civilization the like
of which was not contemporaneously found anywhere in the world. However, since
Islam united all Arabs for the first time in their history, and rejected nationalism and
secularism (Islam united Arabs and non-Arabs under the banner of Islam), Arab
civilization and Islamic civilization were one and the same. The two could not be
separated. Several Arab powerful states were established each with its own distinct
Arab civilization. The most important of these are the following three, the last two of
which are considered to be the Arab golden age. These are: The Omayad State with its
capital city in Damascus (661-750); the Abbasid State with its capital city in Baghdad
(750-1258); and Arab Andalusia (711-1492) in the European Iberian Peninsula of Spain
and Portugal (a continuation of the Omayad State) with its capital city first in Cordoba
and later in Granada. For centuries Arab Andalusia represented Europe's main cultural
center. Although the Arab Abbasid State of the east and Arab Andalusia of the west
existed at the same time, they were not united because of the rivalry between their Arab
leaders.
In all of the above-mentioned three major Arab States, Arabic was the official language
and Islam was the official religion. However, Arabs, half-Arabs, and non-Arabs of all the
three Semitic religious faiths lived together in racial and religious harmony. There was a
great deal of tolerance towards Christians and Jews whether they were Arabs or not.
Within all Arab/Islamic empires, Arabs played the major role in all of the political,
economic, social, cultural, educational, and scientific affairs. Non-Arabs were deeply
Arabized both emotionally and culturally. In short, these three Islamic civilizations
(Omayad, Abbasid, and Andalusia) were by and large Arab.
However, after the destruction of the Arab Abbasid State in 1258 at the hands of the
Mongols and their ruthless leader Hulagu (a crushing defeat that the Arabs have never
completely recovered from), the Muslim Turks took over the leadership of the Muslim
world. In an affirmation of the political unity of the Islamic nation or Ummah (because
Islam rejects nationalism), the Turks established their Muslim Ottoman State (1258-
1922) with its capital first in Bursa and later in Istanbul (Constantinople), the former
capital city of the Holy Eastern Roman Empire (or the Byzantine Empire). It was only in
this last major Muslim Turkish State, which did not include either Persia or Andalusia,
that the Arabs did not play a dominant role in the political or cultural affairs of the Islamic
State. Nor was Arabic the official language of the Ottoman Empire in its last days.
Nonetheless, inspired by numerous exhortations of Prophet Mohammad to Muslims
such as: "Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave"; "Search for knowledge, even if
you must go to China to find it"; and "The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the
blood of the martyr", the Arabs excelled in science and art and provided the world with a
brilliant and unique civilization. Arab civilization contributed a great deal to the world in
general and to the West in particular by helping bring about the European Renaissance,
first in Spain and Portugal and later in Italy. As will be explained shortly, the West is
immensely indebted to the Arabs for many scientific, technological, and artistic
inventions as well as philosophical concepts. As the contemporary Western civilization
has enlightened the world, so did the old Arab/Islamic civilization.
However, while the brilliant ancient civilizations of Iraq and Egypt, and the Jewish and
Christian religions that emerged from Palestine, are all acknowledged in the West but
only as a part of what is strangely called "Western civilization", the great Arab/Islamic
civilization (like Islam itself) that emerged from the same Arab region is either ignored in
the West or, if mentioned, distorted and belittled by many European and American
"scholars" and "experts". In fact, these so-called "Arabists" or "Orientalists" cannot hide
their hatred, resentment, racism, and patronizing attitudes towards the Arabs and Islam.
[1]
Because Arab civilization - especially that of the Abbasid State - included some
contributions from half-Arab and non-Arab Muslims as well as from Arab Jews and Arab
Christians, many American "scholars", who like to demean or insult the Arabs, downplay
the vital Arab role in the Arab/Islamic civilization. They argue that Arab civilization was
copied from the Greeks and/or was nothing more than the civilization of Persians, Turks
and other non-Arab Muslims. Even the so-called American "left" and "open-minded
scholars" argue in a racist way that Arab contribution to the Islamic civilization was
minimal. For example, the following citation is a typical example of Western distortion of
Arab contribution to Islamic civilization. In an address given at a symposium on the
history of philosophy of science held at Boston University on September 22, 1994, Mr.
Dirk Struik said the following, which appeared in the American Monthly Review, the so-
called "left-wing and socialist" periodical: "Incidentally, we often speak of the Arabs. But
these "Arabs" were Persians, Tadjiks, Jews, Moors, etc., seldom Arabs [My
underlining]. What they had in common was their use of the Arabic language." [2] Also,
Mr. Struik wrongly referred to the Jews as a distinct nationality, forgetting the
elementary fact that "Jews" are nothing but the adherents of the Jewish faith regardless
of their race or language, and disregarding the basic fact that Arab Jews have always
existed even up to the present time. He also wrongly implied that Moors are not Arabs,
dismissing the simple fact that Moors are indeed Arabs. In addition, Mr. Struik even
ridiculed and belittled Arab contribution to human civilization by saying: "...the Arabs,
who were so kind [my underlining] as to keep the torch of Greek science ablaze to pass
it over to the Europeans..." [3]
However, unlike Mr. Struik and the many Western "scholars" like him who distort Arab
intellectual and scientific contributions to humanity, Professor Briffault in his book
Making of Humanity simply stated the basic facts: "Science is the most momentous
contribution of Arab civilization to the modern world." [4] In addition, historians Edward
Burns and Philip Palph concluded that: The intellectual achievements of the [Arabs]
were far superior to any of which Christian Europe could boast before the twelfth
century." [5] They also correctly acknowledged that: "In no subject were the [Arabs]
farther advanced than in science. In fact, their achievements in this field were the best
the world had seen since the end of the Hellenistic civilization." [6] In addition, Burns
and Palph wrote that Arabs:
"were brilliant astronomers, mathematicians, physicists, chemists, and physicians.
Despite their reverence for Aristotle, they did not hesitate to criticize his notion of a
universe of concentric spheres with the earth at the center, and they admitted the
possibility that the earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun... [The Arabs]
were also capable mathematicians and developed algebra and trigonometry... [Arab]
physicists founded the science of optics and drew a number of significant conclusions
regarding the theory of magnifying lenses and the velocity, transmission, and refraction
of light...[Arab] scientists were the first to describe the chemical processes of distillation,
filtration, and sublimation...The accomplishments in medicine were just as
remarkable...[The Arabs] discovered the contagious nature of tuberculosis, described
pleurisy and several varieties of nervous ailments, and pointed out that the disease can
be spread through contamination of water and soil." [7]
In fact, the Arabs were the world's pioneers in establishing the first major institutions of
higher learning. Arabs established the oldest universities in the world. The University of
Qeirawan in Fez, Morocco was founded in 859, and the al-Azhar Mosque-University
was established in 970 in Cairo. On the other hand, the oldest university in Europe is
the University of Bologna in Italy, which was founded in 1088.

1
The Golden Arab Abbasid Civilization
Arab civilization reached its golden age during the Abbasid era (750-1258). Baghdad,
the seat of the powerful Abbasid State - which the USA brutally and illegally occupied in
2003 - was the proud Arab capital city and the world's major center for the arts and
sciences. Abbasid's Baghdad was not only the largest city in the world in size, about
100 square kilometers, but was also the world's most crowded city, containing about 2
million people. During its heyday, Baghdad was the center of the richest and most
powerful country in the entire world. It contained two of the world's oldest and greatest
universities, the Nizamiyah and the Mustansiriyah.
Baghdad was also the seat of the legendary Bait al-Hikmah or ("the House of Wisdom"),
the most widely-respected "think tank" and the major research center in all of the vast
Abbasid Empire. From it came various important translations of Greek and other earlier
non-Arab scientific manuscripts; major breakthroughs in many scientific and artistic
fields; and different discoveries in various scientific fields that enriched Arab civilization
and in turn benefited the West and the rest of the world.
Moreover, Baghdad had many banks, where the world's first checking accounts were
established, with various branches all over the world even as far as China; an enormous
free general public hospital; a thousand physicians; many pharmacies; a large number
of schools and higher institutions of learning; a very well-organized postal service;
countless libraries and bookstores; an excellent water-supply system; a comprehensive
sewage system; and a great paper mill. Even though paper was invented in China, it
was the Arabs who introduced it to the West. The Europeans, who up to the 12th
century used only parchment for writing, learned for the first time the art of
manufacturing paper from straw after the brutal Crusaders invaded the Arab world. [8]
Among the great Arab inventions was the clock. Some Arab clocks had their timepieces
moved by water, others by burning candles or mercury. A beautiful Arab water clock
was given in 807 as a gift by the great Arab Abbasid Caliph Haroon ar-Rasheed (786-
809) to the French King Charlemagne who was totally impressed by it. In fact, the 13th
century Abbasid Arab genius, Ibn ar-Razzaz al-Jazari, invented impressive arrays of
water-operated monumental clocks such as the famous automated Peacock Fountain
and the Castle Water Clock.
The Abbasid Arab leaders, or Caliphs, were the most opulent rulers in the entire world.
Their palaces, halls, parks, and treasures were highly ostentatious. For example when a
diplomatic Byzantine delegation arrived in Baghdad during the reign of the Caliph al-
Muqtadir (908-32), they were highly impressed to see the outstanding treasures in the
store-chambers and the magnificent armies of elephants caparisoned in peacock-silk
brocade. The Byzantine delegation saw Caliph al-Muqtadir arrayed in brilliant clothes
embroidered in gold and sitting on an ebony throne which was surrounded on both
sides by nine hung collars of gems and other fabulous jewels. [9] In his elegant Room of
the Tree, they observed:
"a tree, standing in the midst of a great circular tank filled with clear water. The tree
has eighteen branches, every branch having numerous twigs, on which sit all sorts of
gold and silver birds, both large and small. Most of the branches of this tree are of
silver, but some are of gold, and they spread into the air carrying leaves of different
colours. The leaves of the tree move as the wind blows, while the birds pipe and sing."
[10]
In fact, the Arabs were so advanced in all of the scientific and artistic fields over the
West that they considered the Europeans to be inferior barbarians with uncouth
manners. In a language similar to the current racist propaganda perpetrated by many
Europeans and Americans against non-Europeans, especially Blacks, the famous 10th-
century Arab geographer/historian Abu al-Hasan al-Mas'udi of Baghdad (died 956)
wrote the following about the Europeans:
"The peoples of the north are those for whom the sun is distant from the Zenith... cold
and damp prevail in those regions, and snow and ice follow one another in endless
succession. The warm humour is lacking among them; their bodies are large, their
natures gross, their manners harsh, their understanding dull and their tongues heavy...
their religious beliefs lack solidity...those of them who are farthest to the north are the
most subject to stupidity, grossness and brutishness." [11]
In addition, in the 11th-century, an Arab judge from Toledo in Arab Spain made even
more racist remarks than al-Mas'udi's about the "stupidity" of the Europeans and their
lack of civilization. He wrote:
"their bellies are big, their colour pale, their hair long and lank. They lack keenness of
understanding and clarity of intelligence, and are overcome by ignorance and
foolishness, blindness and stupidity." Even as late as the 14th century the great Arab
sociologist and philosopher, Ibn Khaldun, made contemptuous remarks about the
Europeans. [12]
Before the European Renaissance (the start of the current Western civilization from
1350 to 1650), most of Europe was living in the feudalism of the Dark Ages. Europeans
lived in poverty, ignorance, hunger, diseases, violence, treachery, squalor, and
intolerance. Most Europeans lived in mud huts with filth, practically like animals. Dirty
roadside ditches throughout Europe, filled with stagnant water, served as public latrines.
[13] In fact, most Europeans did not even wash their own bodies with water for fear of
damaging their skins and health.

2
The Glorious Arab Andalusian Civilization of Europe
Arab entrance into Europe began with an "invitation". The governor of an outlying
province in the Iberian Peninsula sent his daughter to Toledo for schooling. She was
supposedly under the protection of King Rodrick (one of the Germanic ruthless Visigoth
occupying rulers in Spain) who instead of protecting her, violated and impregnated her.
As a result, her father appealed to the Arabs in North Africa for a redress of this injury.
[14] The Arabs complied, and thus began almost 8 centuries of Arab occupation and
civilization in Europe's most southwestern part. To be exact, the Arabs stayed in Europe
781 years during which they introduced to the West a wonderful civilization; religious
tolerance; racial harmony; public baths; and the novel idea of cleanliness expressed in
public and personal hygiene by washing the human body with water.
While most Westerners of the Dark Ages lived in filth, poverty, and ignorance, the Arabs
had a brilliant civilization in Andalusia, Europe's Iberian Peninsula. From 711, when
Tariq Ibn Ziyad landed with his Arab conquering army at Gibraltar (so named after him
from the Arabic words Jabal Tariq or "the Mountain of Tariq"), to 1492 when the Arab
presence in Europe ended, Andalusia was the most enlightened, civilized, racially and
religiously tolerant place in all of the West.
Before the Arabs arrived in the Iberian Peninsula, the barbarian Germanic occupying
Visigoths viciously persecuted Spanish and Portuguese Jews. The Arabs not only
treated local Jews with kindness and respect, but also treated their fellow Christians
with the same kindness and tolerance that Islam called for. In fact, the Iberian Jews
welcomed the Arab conquering army as a liberating force and joined it against the
Visigoths. [15] The intolerant Germanic Visigoths also heavily taxed and ruthlessly
treated the poor Iberian peasants, rendering them practically as slaves. The Arabs, on
the other hand, humanely treated the local peasants and drastically reduced their
taxation.
As early as the 10th century, the Arab Andalusian capital, Cordoba, was a magnificent
metropolitan center of progress. The pride of the Arabs in Europe, Cordoba had a half
million people living in it at a time when no European city could claim a population of
even 10,000. Indeed, Arab Cordoba was the largest and most cultured city in all of
Europe. Its jewelry, leather work, woven silk and elaborate brocades were highly prized
throughout the world. Cordoba's Arab women copyists excelled far better than most
European Christian monks in the production of religious works. A travelling German nun
by the name of Hrosvitha, who died in 1002, was highly impressed by Arab Cordoba.
She referred to it as "the jewel of the world". She wrote:
"In the western parts of the globe ... there shone forth a fair ornament ... a city well
cultured ... rich and known by the famous name of Cordoba, illustrious because of its
charms and also renowned for all resources, especially abounding in the seven streams
of knowledge, and ever famous for continual victories." [16]
Arab Cordoba was truly the jewel of the entire world. In contrast to the dust and mud
which would remain familiar features of the streets of London and Paris for 7 centuries
to come, Cordoba had miles of paved streets; street lights (even seven hundred years
later there was not so much as one public lamp in London); 113,000 houses with
lavatories and water drainage (even poor houses had them, something which was not
found at the time in most other European cities); 700 mosques; 300 public baths; 70
public libraries; numerous bookstores; parks and palaces; [17] and two major
magnificent treasures unequal for their sophistication in the known civilized world.
The first treasure was the Great Mosque of Cordoba, the most extraordinary religious
shrine, second in size only to the Great Mosque of Makkah. It was completed in 976
and took 200 years to build. This Great Mosque, which is still a major tourist attraction in
Spain today, is a vast rectangle with a deep sanctuary divided into 19 aisles by a forest
of 870 marble columns. The interior of this marvelous religious shrine was beautifully
decorated with gold; silver; precious stones; mosaics; colored tiles; contrasting green
and red marbles; carved plater; wall paintings; Qur'anic calligraphy; and 8,000 oil lamps,
to provide light, hung from two hundred chandeliers. The scent of burning aloes and the
perfumed oils in the lamps drifted through the arches of the long naves. The Mosque's
spacious seven-sided mihrab (the prayer niche which directs worshipers toward
Makkah) was lined with gold mosaics and marbles. Next to the mihrab stood the
beautifully carved minbar (or pulpit) with its several straight steps for the Imam to climb
up in order to give his Friday sermon. This wonderful unique pulpit, which took eight
talented craftsmen seven years to make, was laced with rails of gold and silver and
made of ivory, ebony, sandalwood, and citron wood. Unfortunately, this magnificent
pulpit was cut into pieces when the Spanish Christians took over Cordoba in 1236.
Today this great mosque is the Catholic Cathedral of Cordoba.
The second treasure in the Arab Andalusian capital city of Cordoba was the outstanding
enormous public library. Completed around 970, this wonderful library alone had over
440,000 books, more than all of the books in all of France at the time. In addition to this
gigantic public library, there were 69 other public libraries in Cordoba. These Arab
libraries had been using paper for over 200 years at a time when the few Europeans,
who could read or write, were still using animal skins for writing.
Just outside Cordoba, in the city of al-Zahra, the Arab ruler Abdul-Rahman III built his
famous magnificent Palace of Madinat al-Zahra. One of the great wonders of this
extraordinary Arab palace was the Room of the Caliphs, which had a gilded ceiling and
walls of multi-colored marble blocks. On each side of the hall were eight splendid doors,
which stood between columns of clear crystal and colored marble, decorated with gold
and ebony and inlaid with precious stones. In the center of this beautiful room was a
large pool filled with mercury, which produced dazzling reflections from the walls and
ceiling every time the sunrays shone on it. When the surface of the pool was quivered,
the whole room was shot through with rays of light, giving the impression that the room
was floating away. All experts and writers at the time agreed that the magnificence of
this Arab hall had never been equaled anywhere in the world. [18]
After the fall of Cordoba to the Spanish Christians, the Arabs moved their capital city to
Granada - in the south of the Iberian Peninsula - which also became famous as an Arab
center of arts and learning. Arab Granada was also renowned for its wealth and trade
especially in silk. To immortalize Grenada, its Andalusian Arab rulers built the
magnificent Palace of al-Hamra ("the red") or Alhambra Palace. This unique palace has
two splendid courts, the Court of the Lions and the Court of the Myrtles, considered to
be the most magnificent and glorious of all Arab monuments in Spain. The Alhambra
Palace, which was also an Arab fortress, took about 100 years to build and is today a
major tourist attraction attesting to the beauty and genius of Arab architecture. In
addition to Cordoba and Granada, Seville and Toledo also served as the greatest
houses of Arab Andalusian knowledge. In fact, Toledo was the main center of scientific
translation from Arabic to Latin.
The Andalusian Arabs also produced several exotic agricultural products (see
Agriculture below) and developed many great manufactured products, which were all
exported to Western Europe and the rest of the world. These industrial products include:
textiles; paper; silk; baked tile; glazed cups, dishes, and jars which rivaled Chinese
porcelain; pottery; sugar refining; gold; silver; ruby; silk; various crafted metals; marble;
ceramics; and the much-admired Cordovan ("cordwain") leather-work.
The sciences that the Andalusian Arabs excelled in and were taught at their universities,
which helped educate several generations of Western scholars and students from all
over Europe, included: mathematics, geometry, astronomy, physics, chemistry,
architecture, optics, meteorology, engineering, pharmacology, medicine, biology,
botany, anatomy, zoology, and philosophy. It should also be mentioned here that Arab
students in Andalusia were the first to use the cap and gown worn today by students all
over the world during graduation ceremony.

III
The Legacy of Arab/Islamic Civilization and Its Impact on the West
Thanks to Islam and Arab civilization, Arabic has become the richest of all Semito-
Hamitic languages (so-named after Noah's two eldest sons Sam and Ham), and one of
the world's greatest languages in history. As a major language of scripture and
civilization, Arabic has deeply influenced several world languages both in the East and
the West such as Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese, Maltese, Malay-
Indonesian; some African languages like Hausa and Swahili; and to a lesser extent
even the English language (see below). The Arabic alphabet, which contains 28 letters
(2 more letters than the English alphabet), is now - like the Latin alphabet - one of the
most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world used in the writing of the
languages of Muslim countries like Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Between the 9th
and 15th centuries, during the zenith of Arab civilization, Arabic was the international
language of science to a degree which has since never been equaled by any other
language including English. Arabic was not only the language of the Arab people, but
also the language of many other peoples and faiths. Neither Greek, nor Latin, nor even
English has ever attained the far-reaching unique historical dominance over human
civilization as Arabic had. Arabic was so important as the language of science that
European scholars had to learn it as they learned Latin. Today, Arabic is one of only six
official languages of the United Nations along with French, English, Russian, Chinese,
and Spanish. Arabic is also the Worlds fourth most popular language after Chinese,
English, and Spanish. And as the language of the important Arab oil-producing
countries, Arabic has also achieved a prominent status in the world of international
finance and economics.
In fact, the profound impact of the Arabs and their civilization on Western civilization can
be found in the many Arabic words that became part of the everyday language in the
West. While it is obvious that the influence of Arabic is much greater on Spanish and
Portuguese, both of which contain many thousands of Arabic words, than on any other
European language, at least some 4% of the English language came from Arabic. [19]
The following is a group of words from several scientific and cultural areas - presented
in alphabetical order - used today in English that originally came from the Arabic
language:
[aba, abelmosk, abutilon, Achernar, acrab, admiral, adobe, afreet (or afrit), albacore,
albatross, alcalde, alcazar, alchemy, alcohol, alcove, Aldebaran, alembic, alfalfa, alforja,
algarroba, algebra, Algol, algorism (or algorithm), alidade, alkali, alkanet, Allah,
almanac, alphabet, Altair, amalgam, amber, ameer (or amir), aniline, antimony, apricot,
ardeb, argan, ariel, arrack, arroba, arsenal, artichoke, assassin, atabal (or attabal),
attar, aubergine, average, azimuth, azure ...
baldachin, banana, barberry, bard (or barde), bark, barkentine, bedouin, benzoin,
berseem, Betelgeuse, bint, bonduc, borax, buckram, bulbul, burnoose (or burnous) ...
cable, cadi (or kadi or qadi), calabash, caliber (or calibre), caliph, caliphate, camel,
camise, camlet, camphor, canal, candy, cane, Caph, carafe, carat, caravan, caraway,
carmine, carob, carrack, Casbah (or Kasbah), check (from the Arabic word "sakk"),
checkmate, chiffon, cinnabar, cipher, civet, coffee, coffer, coffle, colcothar, Copt, cotton,
crimson, crocus, cubeb, cumin, curcuma ...
dahabeah, damascene, damask (from Damascus), damson, darabukka, Deneb, dhow,
dinar, dirham, djin (or djinn or djinni), dragoman, drub, durra ...
elixir, emir, emirate ...
fakir, fedayee (or fedayeen), fellah, fennec, fils, Fomalhaut, fustic ...
gabelle, galingale, garble, gauze, gazelle, genet, genie, ghibli, ghoul, Gibraltar, ginger,
giraffe, grab, guitar, gundi, gypsum ...
haik, hajj, hajji, hakim, halva (or halvah), hamal (or hammal), hardim, harem, hashish,
hazard, hegira (or hejiara), henna, hookah, houri, howdah ...
imam, imamate, imaret ...
jar, jasmine, jebel, jerboe, jereed, jessamine, jihad, jinn (or jinni), jubba (or jubbah), julep
...
Kaabah, kabob (or kebab), Kabyle, kafir (or kaffir), kantar (or qantar), kaph, kat (or qat),
kef, kermes, khamsin, khan, khanjar, kismet, kohl, Koran (or Qur'an)...
lacquer, lake, lapislazuli, latakia, leban (or leben), lemon, lilac, lime, lute ...
magazine, Mahdi, majoon, mancus, marabout, marcasite, marzipan, mascara, mask,
massage, mastaba, mate (as in checkmate in Chess), mattress, mecca (after Makkah
or Mecca), mezereon, minaret, Mizar, mizen (or mizzen), mocha (from Mocha, Yemen),
mohair, monsoon, mosque, muezzin, mufti, mullah, mummy, Muslim, muslin (from
Mosul), Mussalman (or Mussulman), myrrh ...
nabob, nacre, nadir, natron, nizam, noria, nucha, nuchal ...
oka (or oke), olibanum, orange, Ottoman, oud ...
pandore, pistachio, pherkard, popinjay ...
qintar, quintal ...
racket, realgar, ream, rebec (or rebeck), retem, retina, rial, ribes, Rigel, rice, risk, riyal,
rob, roc, rook, rotl...
safari, safflower, saffron, Sahara, Sahel, sahib, saker, salam, salamoniac, salep,
saloop, saluki, sambul, santir, saphena, sash, satin, sayyid, scallion, senna, sequin,
serendipity, sesame, shadoof (or shaduf), shaitan, shallot, sharif, sheik (or sheikh),
sherbet, sherbert, sherif (or sheriff), shish-kebab, shrub, simoom (or simoon), sinologue,
sirocco, sirup, sloop, soda, sofa, spinach, sudd, Sufi, Sufism, sugar, sultan, sultana,
sultanate, sumac (or sumach), sumbal (or sumbul or sumbal), sura, Swahili, syce, syrup
...
tabby, tabla, tabor (or tabour), taffeta, talc, talisman, tamarind, tambour, tambourine,
tangerine, taraxacum, tarboosh (or tarbush), tare, tariff, tarragon, tazza, timbal (or
tymbal), traffic, tutty, typhoon ...
ulama (or ulema) ...
Vega, vizier ...
wadi ...
xeba, xebec ...
yashmac (or yashmak) ...
zaffer (or zaffre), zareba (or zariba), zenith, zero, zibet (or zibeth) ...]
However, more important than the above Arabic words are the actual scientific
contributions and foundations that the Arabs provided for the West. As indicated earlier,
the European Renaissance was deeply indebted to the Arabs and their civilization.
From the Arabs the Europeans took the basic scientific, technological, philosophical,
and cultural foundations that put them on top of the world and eventually led them in
their global colonization of the non-European world, which started with Christopher
Columbus's voyage to the Western Hemisphere in 1492. In fact, one of Columbus's
main sea navigators was an Arab Muslim who upon sighting the land of the New World
joyfully shouted in Arabic: "Allah Akbar" (or God is the Greatest). [20]
Indeed, as will be revealed shortly, major works in various philosophical and scientific
fields were borrowed and/or copied from the Arabs by a number of leading European
scholars and scientists before, during, and after the European Renaissance. The
following is a brief summary of the Arab contribution to Western and human civilizations
in 15 major scientific and artistic disciplines. Only the top Arab and Muslim scientists (as
well as some occasional Arab Jews and Arab Christians) both from the Abbasid and
Andalusian civilizations are mentioned in this survey.

1
Mathematics
The Arabs and Muslims contributed more to the field of mathematics, the basic
foundation of modern civilization, than any other people in history. To the magnificent
Arab civilization the world owes algebra, algorithm (logarithm), arithmetic, calculus,
geometry, trigonometry, the decimal system, and the brilliant "zero". The revolutionary
"zero", which gave us what is referred to in the West as the Arabic decimal numeration
system, did not originate in India as some Western historians claim but was rather
developed in ancient Iraq by the Neo-Babylonians maybe as early as 500 BCE. [21]
American mathematics Professor Karl J. Smith indicated in his textbook, The Nature of
Mathematics, that while the ancient Indians developed mathematical digital symbols,
their numeration system offered no advantage over other earlier systems because it did
not contain a "zero" or use a positional system. [22] Although the Arabs Semitic
ancestors in ancient Iraq developed the zero, it was only through the great post-
Islamic Arab civilization that it was incorporated into the main body of the general
mathematical theory. It took Europe almost 300 years to finally accept the "zero" as a
gift from the Arabs. The Arabic numerals were simultaneously expressed in somewhat
two different figures or forms, one Abbasid (the eastern style which most Arabs
currently use) and one Andalusian (the western style which is used today in the Arab
Maghrib countries of Northwest Africa). It was this Arab Andalusian form of numerals
(i.e., 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) that the West and the rest of the world eagerly adopted; hence
the worldwide label "Arabic numerals".
Mohammad al-Khawarizmi (780-850), the giant genius scientist who was born and died
in Abbasid Baghdad, created modern algebra and made brilliant contributions in the
field of mathematics. In fact, the word "algorithm" is derived from his name, and the
Arabic word al-jabr (or "algebra" in English) comes from the title of his major work, Kitab
al-Jabr wa al-Muqabalah ("The Book of Integration and Equation"). Served for a number
of years as the Executive Director of the prestigious "House of Wisdom" in Baghdad, al-
Khawarizmi was also the first scientist in history to explain how passing light through
water particles creates rainbows.
Another Muslim genius in mathematics, also from Abbasid Baghdad, is Abu Arrayhan
al-Biruni (973-1048) who was a mathematician, astronomer, physician, physicist,
chemist, geographer and historian. He was probably the greatest scientist in all of
medieval Islam. Another great mathematician is Naseer al-Din at-Tusi (1201-1274). It
was in the super work of at-Tusi that trigonometry achieved the status of an
independent branch of pure mathematics, thus making it an invention of Arabic science.
At-Tusi's contribution was to combine the results of earlier investigators and to replace
Menelaus' complete quadrilateral by a simple triangle, thus freeing trigonometry from
spherical astronomy. [23]
Practically all of the advanced trigonometrical work in the world during the 12th and 13th
centuries were made by Muslim mathematicians and published in Arabic. Arabic
influence in this major scientific field did not only impact the West, but also other parts of
the world. It seemed that even the Chinese trigonometry as used by Kuo Shouching at
the end of the 13th century was also of Arab origin. [24]

2
Astronomy
The most important figure in this scientific field is the Arab Abu Abdullah al-Battani (aka
Albategius: 858-929) from the Abbasid era. He was the best-known Arab astronomer in
Europe during the Middle Ages. Al-Battani refined existing values for the inclination of
the ecliptic, for the length of the year and of the seasons, and for the annual precession
of the equinoxes. He showed that the position of the Sun's apogee is variable and that
the annular eclipses of the Sun are possible.
Al-Battani also improved the Greek Ptolemy's astronomical calculations by replacing
geometrical methods with trigonometry, thus becoming the chief responsible scientist
for the first notion of trigonometrical ratios as they are in use to the present day. He
carried out many years of remarkably accurate observations at ar-Raqqah in Syria. One
of al-Battani's major works in astronomy - a compendium of astronomical tables - was
translated into Spanish and was published in 1537 under the title De motu stellarum
("Our Stellar Motion"). [25]
The Abbasid mathematician al-Biruni also made valuable contributions in astronomy by
accurately determining the latitudes, longtitudes, geodetic measurements, specific
gravity, and the magnitude of the earth's circumference. In addition, the astronomer
Ahmad al-Farghani published a comprehensive treatise on astronomy from which the
famous Italian Alighieri Dante heavily borrowed both in his Vita Nuova and his Convivio.
[26] The great Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) also quoted several
Arab scientists in his famous De Revolutionibus Orbium Celestium - especially the great
Arab astronomer and instrument-maker al-Zarkali (aka Arzachel) of Andalusia. Al-
Zarkali not only invented a revolutionary astrolabe and wrote a major treatise about it
that influenced the entire astronomical sciences of the Middle Ages, [27] but also built a
fascinating water clock capable of determining the hours of the day and night and
indicating the days of the lunar month. [28]

3
Chemistry
The word "chemistry" itself comes from the Arabic word alchemy (or al-Keem'ya'). There
is no bigger name in the field of Muslim chemistry than the great alchemist Jabir Ibn
Hayyan (aka Geber: 721-815), the "father of Arab chemistry" of the Abbasid era. More
than 2,000 works are attributed to Jabir Ibn Hayyan. [29] Many of the chemical terms
used in English today come from Ibn Hayyan: "alkali", "antimony", "realgar" (red
sulphide arsenic), and "sal-amoniac" which he discovered. He was also the author of an
important work in chemistry on the use of manganese dioxide in glass making; the
dyeing of leather and cloth; the waterproofing of cloth; and the preparation of steel.
When European scientists began to turn their attention to chemistry, they accepted Ibn
Hayyan as their mentor. In 1144 the Englishman Robert of Chester translated Ibn
Hayyan's Book of the Composition of Alchemy into Latin, and Gerard of Cremona also
made another translation of Ibn Hayyan's other important work Book of the Seventy. Ibn
Hayyan's 17th century English translator, Richard Russell, called him: "Geber, the Most
Famous Arabian Prince and Philosopher". [30]
Also, the world's first explosive developed in the field of gunpowder known as black
powder - which is a mixture of salt petre (potassium nitrate), sulfur, and charcoal
(carbon) - was originally invented by the Arabs and not by the Chinese [31] as it is
commonly believed in the West. The Chinese took this invention from the Arabs, and by
the 10th century used it in their fireworks and signals. The Arab-invented black powder
was eventually adopted by the Westerners, (during the 14th century primarily for use in
firearms), who gradually discontinued it use in the middle of the 19th century in favor of
the guncotton (the first smokeless powder) and other forms of nitrocellulose. In addition,
around 1304 the Arabs invented the world's first real gun, a bamboo tube reinforced
with iron that used a charge of black powder to shoot an arrow. [32]

4
Physics
In the fields of physics and optics, no Arab scientist comes close to the legendary Abu
Ali al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham (aka Alhazen: 965-1039) who was born in Iraq and died in
Egypt during the golden Abbasid era. Ibn al-Haytham made the first significant
contributions to optical theory since the time of the Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy in
the 2nd century. In his book On the Burning Glass, he revolutionarized the nature of
focusing, magnifying, and inversion of the image.
Ibn al-Haytham was the world's first scientist to give an accurate account of vision,
correctly stating that the light comes from the object seen to the eye, and not the other
way around as was previously believed (i.e., from the eye to the seen object). [33] Also,
In his widely-acclaimed treatise on optics, translated into Latin in 1270 under the title
Opticae Thesaurus Alhazeni Libri VII, this great Arab physicist/optometrist published
revolutionary theories on reflection; refraction; binocular vision; focussing with lenses;
the rainbow; atmospheric refraction; spherical aberration; parabolic and spherical
mirrors; and the apparent increase in size of planetary bodies near the Earth's horizon.
In fact, so complicated and so advanced were Ibn al-Haythams theories in physics that
for a long time both Western and Eastern scientists were afraid to adopt them. But when
he was finally proven to be correct, Ibn al-Haytham's scientific pre-eminence throughout
the world was no longer in doubt. [34] The English Roger Bacon (1242-92) was not the
only Western scientist on optics to admit his indebtedness to Ibn al-Haytham. Both the
great Italian Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and the German astronomer Johannes
Kepler (1571-1630) were also deeply influenced by the scientific findings of this Arab
genius.

5
Medicine
The great Persian Muslim scientist Abu Bakr al-Razi (aka Rhazes: 865-925) of
Abbasid's Baghdad was the greatest medical authority in the entire Islamic civilization.
His major works were translated into Latin. A pioneering physician, al-Razi was the first
to describe pupillary reflexes; gave the world's first account of smallpox and measles;
discovered the contagious characters of diseases; and differentiated among colic pain,
kidney-stone pain, and the pains of the ileus. His ten-part treatise in Arabic on clinical
and internal medicine, at-Tibb al-Mansuri that was translated into Latin under the title
Medicinalis Almansoris, was widely influential in the West throughout the Middle Ages.
In it, he discussed drugs; diets; skin diseases; child and mother care; mouth hygiene;
toxicology and epidemiology; climatology and the effect of environment on health; a
regiment for preserving good health; and general medical theories and definitions. In his
brilliant treatise on psychic therapy written in Arabic, at-Tibb ar-Ruhani ("Psychic
Therapy"), and in his comprehensive medical encyclopedia, al-Hawi fi at-Tibb, al-Razi
provided considerable insight into the scope, methods, and applications of the clinical,
internal, and psychiatric medicine as well as the interpretation of the general health
precepts.
Another medical genius was Abu al-Qasim Az-Zahrawi (aka Albucasis: 936-1013), an
Arab from the great Arab Andalusian civilization. Az-Zahrawi is considered to be Islam's
greatest medieval surgeon who single-handedly shaped European surgical procedures
until the Renaissance. His 30-part medical encyclopedia, At-Tasrif ("The Method"),
which contained over 200 surgical medical instruments he personally designed, was a
surgical treatise that had a tremendous influence on Western medicine. Translated into
Latin in the 12th century by the Italian scholar Gerard of Cremona, at-Tasrif stood for
nearly 500 years as the leading textbook on surgery in Europe, preferred for its concise
lucidity even to the great works of the classical Greek medical authority Galen of
Pergamum.
A third Muslim medical giant, from the Abbasid's Baghdad era, is the Persian Abu Ali
Ibn Sina (aka Avicenna: 980-1037). Perhaps the most famous and influential
philosopher-scientist in all of Islam, Ibn Sina added to al-Razi by discovering the
contagious character of disease (e.g. through water). Ibn Sina wrote many medical
volumes in Arabic, the most important of which are the following two, both of which were
translated into Latin. The first is Kitab ash-Shifa ("The Book of Healing"), a vast
encyclopedia that included the science of psychology and is probably the largest work
of its kind ever written by one man. The second is an encyclopedia by the name of al-
Qanun fi at-Tibb ("The Canon of Medicine"), the most famous single book in the history
of medicine in both East and West. The Canon became the medical authority not only in
the Islamic world where it was used as a major reference until the 19th century, but also
in the Western world where it was used for more than 500 years. [35]
Arab and Muslim medical science came to a climax in the two famous treatises on the
plague by two great Arab physicians: Ibn al-Khatib (1313-1374) of Granada, and his
contemporary Ibn Khatima. Ibn al-Khatib who wrote more than fifty books on different
subjects, used some revolutionary medical terms for his time in his treatise on the
plague. On the other hand, Ibn Khatima's treatise on the plague was considered to be
"far superior to all the numerous plague tracts edited in Europe between the fourteenth
and sixteenth centuries". [36]
The Arabs founded the worlds first hospitals as well as travelling hospitals during the
Abbasid era. While hospitals were well established and widespread throughout the Arab
and Muslim world as early as the 9th century, they did not come into existence in the
West until the 13th century. As late as the 16th century medical studies in the West
were still largely based on the findings of Arab scientists. Actually it was due to contacts
with the Arabs that medical schools began to appear in the West. Even in the 17th
century we still find some Western scholars from France and Germany relying on Arab
medical writings rather than on any other. [37]

6
Pharmacy and Pharmacology
As a recognized profession, pharmacy is an Arab/Islamic institution. Under the
patronage of the Arab Abbasid rulers around 800 CE, pharmacology achieved the
status of an independent science, separate yet closely related to medicine. The first
privately owned and managed pharmacies in the world (where drugs, herbs, and spices
were sold) were established in Baghdad in the early part of the 9th century. Shortly
thereafter, pharmacy shops started to appear throughout the Muslim world. [38]
In pharmacology (or "as-Saydalah" in Arabic), the Arabs produced some of the best
pharmacists in the world at the time. The most famous pharmacist/botanist was an
Andalusian Arab by the name of Ibn al-Baytar (died 1248) who wrote the greatest of all
medieval books on botany called Collection of Simple Drugs and Food. Ibn al-Baytar
collected plants and drugs from all over the Muslim world and described over 1,400
medical drugs and their use. For hundreds of years, European dispensaries relied
heavily on recipes prepared by Arab pharmaceutists and took to the West some of the
Arabic medical terms such as sirup (sharab) and julep (gulab). [39] In fact, Arab
pharmacology in the West survived until the early part of the 19th century. [40]

7
Zoology and Veterinary Medicine
Depending on animals for food, war, and transportation, the Arabs and Muslims raised
the basic interest in animal husbandry to the level of a science. The first important
comprehensive zoological study of animals in Arabic was Kitab al-Hayawan (Book of
Animals), written by Abu Uthman Amr Ibn Bahr al-Jahiz (776-869) from Basrah, Iraq.
Covering animals in and around Iraq with their characteristics, this pioneering book was
written in an eloquent and interesting literary style. In it, al-Jahiz described the various
diseases that afflict animals and their treatments. Another important work in this field
was The Uses of Animals, written by an Arab doctor named Ibn Bakhtishu. This 11th
century book is a comprehensive account of the medicines that could be extracted from
animals for human use.
However, the greatest medieval work in veterinary medicine is the comprehensive work
by Abu Bakr al-Baytar of Cairo (died 1340) entitled Kamil as-Sina'atayn. This famous
work in Arabic covers animal husbandry, birds, breeding, horsemanship, and
knighthood. In it, al-Baytar also detailed animal diseases, the methods and drugs used
in their treatment, and the use of animal organs in therapeutics.
Also, during the 14th century, another Arab scientist from Egypt by the name of Kamal
al-Din ad-Damiri (died 1405) provided the world with a brilliant work in zoology and
animal husbandry entitled Hayat al-Hayawan (The Life of Animals). In this most
comprehensive major work, al-Damiri (who was also a philosopher/theologian) arranged
and discussed animals in alphabetical order. He listed their characteristics, qualities,
habits, and the medical values of their organs for humans. In addition, this brilliant work
by al-Damiri along with other Arabic texts on animals and natural sciences - which were
written over four centuries before the famous 1859 Origins of Species by the English
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) - contained rudimentary concepts of evolutionary theory,
including the doctrine of survival of the fittest and natural selection. [41]

8
Agriculture
Arab Andalusia had a highly advanced system of agricultural engineering, an elaborate
irrigation canal system, and fountains - the likes of which was not found anywhere in
Western Europe at the time. The Arabs made the Iberian land produce more and better
crops and introduced to Europe such exotic and valuable agricultural products as
oranges, cotton, eggplants, saffron, pomegranates, apricots, rice, sugar cane,
artichokes, peaches, date palms, and mulberry.
The Andalusian Arabs were the leading agricultural practitioners in all of Europe who
also developed the most advanced systems in canal and irrigation, land drainage, and
siphoning. Thanks to them, Spain was agriculturally the richest and most advanced
country in Europe. According to one American author, agriculture and horticultural
improvements "constituted the finest legacies of Islam, and the gardens of Spain
proclaim to this day one of the noblest virtues of her Muslim conquerors." [42]
The Arabs of Andalusia also produced some of the world's finest agricultural scientists
who benefited humanity. For example, during the second half of the 11th century, an
Arab scientist from Toledo by the name of Ibn al-Bassal wrote a brilliant book on
agriculture, which in 1955 was edited with a Spanish translation and notes under the
title Libro de Agricultura. [43] In addition, an Arab scientist from Seville named Ibn al-
Awwam wrote the most important agricultural treatise during the golden age of Arab
Spain in the 12th century. It was entitled Kitab al-Filahah ("Book of Agriculture") and
was translated from Arabic into both Spanish and French in the 19th century. Ibn al-
Awwam's brilliant book contained 35 chapters and covered 585 plants. It dealt with
agronomy, cattle and poultry raising, and beekeeping; made important observations on
soil, manures, plant grafting, and plant diseases; and covered such agricultural topics
as medical plants, farming techniques, husbandry, plant sex life, fertilization, tillage,
sharecropping, gardening, and landscaping. [44]

9
Philosophy and Metaphysics
Western Christian philosophy and theology owe a great deal to Arab thinkers and
philosophers. For example, The Italian theologian St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-74)
copied liberally from the Arabic writings of Abu al-Walid Ibn Rushd (aka Averroes: 1126-
98), the Arab Muslim genius of Cordoba who is considered to be the greatest
philosopher in all of Islam.The Summa of St Thomas, which was considered to be the
very citadel of Western Christian theology, was deeply influenced by the writings of
Arab philosophers, especially Ibn Rushd. The French philosopher, Rene Descartes
(1596-1650), was also deeply influenced by Ibn Rush. Also, St. Thomas' great
Dominican's most essential doctrines were copied practically word by word from the
Arabic work of an earlier great Turkish Muslim philosopher by the name of Abu Nasr al-
Farabi (878-950) of Abbasid's Baghdad. [45]
In addition, Italy's greatest poet, Dante (1265-1321), who hated Prophet Mohammad
and Islam, plagiarized his greatest work, the Divine Comedy, by copying from the works
of the mystic Arab genius Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240) of Arab Andalusia, and also from
Risalat al-Ghufran (The Epistle of Forgiveness) written by the great Arab philosopher
and poet Abu al-Ala' al-Ma'arri of Syria (973-1057). Dante's Divine Comedy's
fundamental concepts of Heaven and Hell very closely resemble Ibn al-Arabi's account
of Prophet Mohammad's ascent to Heaven from Makkah via Jerusalem. [46] Ironically,
however, the unthankful plagiarist Dante consigned Prophet Mohammad to the lowest
level of Hell in his Divine Comedy. On the other hand, the Spanish mystic Ramon Llull
(1235-1316) was also highly influenced by Arabic philosophy and Islamic mysticism
produced by such Muslim mystics as al-Hallaj (858-922) of Abbasid's Baghdad.
Actually Arab influence was so obvious on Western philosophy that many European
scholars and theologians openly admitted their great indebtedness to the Arabs. One of
those who admitted his gratitude to the Arabs is the Scottish theologian John Duns
Scotus (1266-1308) who was deeply influenced in his intellectual activities by the Fons
Vitae which was originally written in Arabic by a great Arab philosopher of Jewish faith
(not a Hebrew) from Cordoba by the name of Abu Ayyub Ibn Gabirut "or Gabirol" (aka
Avicebron: 1022-70). [47] Other great Andalusian Arabs of Jewish faith may include
such scholars as the philosopher/poet Abu Haroon Moussa (aka Moses Ibn Ezra: 1060-
1139), and the philosopher/physician Abu Imran Moussa Ibn Maymun (aka Moses
Maimonides: 1135-1204), the personal physician of the great Salah ad-Din who
liberated Palestine from the Crusaders.

10
Geography
Many Arabs and Muslims made valuable contributions in the field of geography. Abu al-
Hasan al-Mas'udi of the Abbasid era (died 956) - a geographer, historian, and traveler -
was the author of more than twenty major voluminous works many of which were
translated into Latin. He was the first Arab to combine history and scientific geography
in his widely acclaimed historical-geographical encyclopedia, The Meadows of Gold and
Mines of Gems. Al-Mas'udi's encyclopedia was one of the finest and richest medieval
sources not only in geography but also of geographical and anthropological information.
Al-Mas'udi also wrote another 30-volume encyclopedia on world history entitled Akhbar
az-Zaman ("The History of Time").
The Arabs who occupied Sicily, prior to its occupation by the Normans (Vikings) in the
11th century, made it major center of Arab sciences. Even during the occupation by the
Norman Kings, Sicilian coins were minted with Arabic inscriptions and Islamic dates;
many of the Sicilian records including those of the courts were written in Arabic; and it
was also fashionable for Christian Sicilians to dress like Arabs and to speak Arabic. [48]
When the Christian Norman King Roger II of Sicily (1130-54) needed a compendium of
the then known world, he entrusted no other geographer in the world except a
Moroccan descendant of Prophet Mohammad by the name of al-Sharif Abu Abdullah al-
Idrisi (1100-1166), the greatest of all Arab geographers. Al-Idrisi produced for King
Roger II not only a brilliant construction of a celestial sphere but also a disk-shaped map
of the known world (i.e., the world's Eastern Hemisphere), both of which were made of
solid silver. The silver map, which was one of seventy accurate maps he produced, was
based on his encyclopedic work, The Book of Roger, translated into Latin in Paris in
1619. After the death of King Roger II, al-Idrisi stayed on at the court in Palermo and
wrote, for his son King William I, another geographical treatise, The Garden of
Civilization and the Amusement of the Soul. [49] Al-Idrisi also wrote one of the greatest
works of medieval geography, The Pleasure Excursion of One Who is Eager to
Traverse the Regions of the World.
However, in the area of travelling and exploration no Arab geographer achieved the
fame of the legendary Moroccan Mohammad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Battutah (1304-1369).
Ibn Battutah documented his famous travels that covered over 75,000 miles in 28 years
throughout Africa, Arabia, Persia, India and China. In addition, the Arab geographer
Hassan al-Wazzan (aka Leo Africanus: 1485-1554) produced a major work titled, A
Geographical Historie of Africa, which was translated into Latin around 1600 and
subsequently appeared in 14 different editions. This scholarly work by al-Wazzan
served Europe almost up to the modern times as its main source of knowledge on
Africa. [50]

11
Sociology
The Arab legendary Abdulrahman Ibn Khaldun, sociologist and philosopher of history
(1332-1406) from Tunis, was an amazingly original genius. He was the world's first
historian to develop and explicate the general laws that govern the rise and decline of
civilizations. Ibn Khaldun wrote many books the most important of which is his brilliant
seven-volume encyclopedia on history and societies. This encyclopedia's first volume is
entitled al-Muqaddimah ("Introduction"), which gives a profound and detailed analysis of
human society and its cultural components. In it he fathered the sciences of sociology,
economics, anthropology, and political science.
Ibn Khaldun's greatest contribution to human civilization is found in his "positive"
philosophy of history and social evolution. It is to him that we owe the systematic
elaboration of a full-fledge theory of sociological determinism. Ibn Khaldun's study of the
nature of society and social change, as well as his deference to empiricism in general,
enabled him to develop "the science of civilization" which he clearly saw as a new
science. It was a totally new science without any parallel in the history of ancient and
medieval thoughts. Indeed, Ibn Khaldun had founded the discipline of Sociology over 4
centuries before the French Auguste Comte (1798-1857) who is credited in the West
with its establishment.
Ibn Khaldun called his new science Ilm al-Umran ("the science of culture"), which he
defined as: "This science ... has its own subject, viz., human society, and its own
problems, viz., the social transformations that succeed each other in the nature of
society." [51]
Robert Flint once eulogized Ibn Khaldun as follows: "As a theorist on history he has no
equal in any age or country until Vico [the great Italian philosopher of history
Giambattista Vico: 1668-1744] appeared, more than three hundred years later. Plato,
Aristotle and Augustine were not his peers..." [52] The great 20th-century British
historian Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) stated that Ibn Khaldun has founded: "a
philosophy of history which is undoubtedly the greatest work of its kind that has ever yet
been created by any mind in any time or place." [53]

12
Literature
Not only did the West learn from the Arabs the arts of making paper books, as indicated
earlier, but also the typically beautiful Arab art of leather binding with its luxurious
ornamentation in "gold tooling" and its flap that folds over to protect the front edges of a
book. [54] In addition to the thousands of Arabic words that entered the various Western
languages, especially Spanish and Portuguese, the rich Arabic literature itself has left
some of its general imprints upon Western literature.
Among the great works of Arabic literature that have impacted the West is the multi-
volume Alf Laylah wa Laylah ("The Thousand and One Nights" or "The Arabian Nights")
from the golden Abbasid era which is composed of a large collection of famous Arab
entertaining stories narrated by queen Scheherazad to her husband Scheherayar.
These include such famous legends as "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp", "Ali Baba and
the Forty Thieves", and "The Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor". The Arabian Nights was
translated early in the 18th century into many Western languages and immediately
introduced a distinct new element to Western fiction writing. For example, "The Voyages
of Sindbad the Sailor" became an inspiration for Gulliver's Travels published in 1726 by
the Irish author Jonathan Swift. The Arabian Nights was also a source of inspiration for
many other Western writers and poets. These include: the French writer Voltaire (1694-
1778) who modeled his famous work Zadiq on it; the English Samuel Johnson (1709-
84) who was influenced by it in his Rasselas; the English poet George Gordon Byron
(1788-1824); the English poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850); and the Argentinean
poet Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986). [55]
In fact, the influence of Arabic literature on Europe was so pervasive and widespread
that we find echoes of it in the Grail-saga, in the old French romance Floire et
Blanchefleur; in the allied German Rolandslied and the French Chanson de Rolandl and
in the more famous Aucassin et Nicolette, the name of whose male hero derives from
the Arab name Qasim. Obviously, both the oriental tales in Giovanni Boccaccio's
Decameron and Geoffrey Chaucer's Squieres Tale are of Arab origin. Also, the Arabic
apologies came to play an important role in medieval and later Western literature,
especially the Spanish and Portuguese literatures. For example, Arabic influence is very
clear on Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote published in 1605. [56]
The two best-known Arab characters in English literature are found in William
Shakespeare's Othello and The Merchant of Venice. While Othello is an Arab with all
the pride, passion, and nobility of his own cultural identity, the Prince of Morocco, in The
Merchant of Venice, is an Arab with a high distinction of soul and appearance hardly
matched by the Western characters against whom he was pitted. [57]
Moreover, Professor H. A. R. Gibb indicated that Arabic poetry contributed in some
measure to the rise of the new poetry of Europe [58], especially the Provencal
troubadours whose poetry and music owed so much to the Arabs. Arab poetry was
cultivated in the court of Alfonso the Wise of Castille and of the Norman kings and of
Frederick II of Sicily. The Arab poet Shushtari provided literary themes to many Western
writers such as St. John of the Cross and Ramon Lull. The Arabic poetry of ghazal
("love and romance"), especially as reflected in the idealized legendary love passion of
Qays and Layla, left a profound mark on the Western love lyrics of many European
writers such as the French communist poet Louis Aragon (1897-1982). [59]
Also, the love traditions of Jamil and Umar made their way into the French Provencal
courtly love whereby the Arabic word TaRiBa became TRoBar and TRouBadour. The
great Arabic literature of the genius Abu Mohammad Ibn Hazm of Cordoba (994-1064),
especially his chivalric love in Dove's Necklace, deeply influenced the French writer
Andre Le Chapelain's The Art of Courtly Love, published in 1185. [60]
In fact, we find Arabic and Islamic influences and elements in the works of many other
and more recent European authors and poets such as in the English author William
Beckford's (1760-1844) Vathek, published in 1786; in the English author Daniel Defoe's
(1660-1731) Robinson Crusoe, whose inspiration clearly came from the beautiful Arab
novel Hayy Ibn Yaqzan ("Living, Son of Awake") written by the great Arab Andalusian
philosopher/physician Mohammad Ibn Tufayl (1109-85); in the German poet Johann
Goethe's (1749-1832) West-ostlicher Divan, published in 1819; and in the works of
other great German poets of the 19th century such as August Platen (1796-1835) and
Friedrich Ruckert (1788-1866). [61]

13
Music
Even though orthodox Islam does not approve of music, it was with the advent of
Islamic mysticism, such as Sufism, that the Arabs and Muslims began to develop a
great deal of musical art, especially for religious observation. A talented Arab musician
by the name of Zaryab (died 850), who moved from Baghdad to settle in Andalusia,
established Europes first conservatory in Cordoba. Zaryab became a great singer, lute
player, and music teacher. The influence of the Arab music on European music can also
be found in the musical instruments the Arabs invented and/or introduced to the West.
For example, in 942, the Arabs introduced kettledrums and trumpets to Europe.
In fact, the West did not only adopt Arab musical instruments but also took their names
as well. These include such instruments as the lute (al-ude), pandore (tanbur), and
guitar (qitara). [62] The origins of many other Western musical instruments, such as the
oboe, trumpet, violin, harp and percussion instruments, can also be traced to Arab
Spain.
In addition, the Arabs and Muslims produced a large amount of literature on music,
mostly of scientific nature. For example, the great Arab philosopher/mathematician Abu
Yousif al-Kindi (801-873), known as "the philosopher of the Arabs", wrote important
works on the theory of music, including more than 270 works on different musical
subjects many of which were translated into Latin. Others who also wrote in Arabic on
music include the great Turkish al-Farabi and the brilliant Persian Ibn Sina. Actually, al-
Farabi's Grand Book on Music in Arabic was superior to anything produced anywhere at
the time. The Arab and Muslim writers on music not only influenced the West, but also
Africa, India, and the Far East. [63]
After the 12th century few of the Western authors, from the Spanish Domingo
Gundisalvo to the Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Kilwardy, Lull, George Reish, and
Adam de Fulda, omitted to quote from al-Farabi's musical writings in Latin translations,
especially his De Ortu Scientiarum and De Scientiis. Both Roger Bacon and Adelard de
Bath, of the 12th century, advised their fans and followers to abandon their Western
schools for those of the Arabs. [64]
Another major Arab contribution to Western music was the mensural music and
rhythmic modes such as the famous and beautiful Andalusian Arab Muwashshahat,
strophic poems performed with music. Arab music was spread all over Europe through
the wondering medieval minstrels, echoes of whose music have survived for hundreds
of years in Gypsy music. Many Arab musical terms are still used today in Spanish such
as huda, nourisca, zamra, and zarabanda. In fact, not only the famous Spanish
flamenco music and dance originally came from the Arab music of Andalusia, but also
even the English Morris dancers were deeply influenced by Arab music. Actually the
word Morris means Moorish or Arab. [65]
There are many outstanding Western musicians and composers, from the 19th and 20th
centuries, who found inspiration in Arab music and were influenced by it. These include
four French: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), Charles Saint-Saens (1835-1921), Jules
Massenet (1842-1912), and Claude Debussy (1862-1918); one French-Belgian: Cesar
Franck (1822-1890); four Russians: Aleksander Borodin (1833-1887), Mily Balakirev
(1837-1910), Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-
1908) who composed the famous symphonic suite Scheherazad in 1888; and two
Spanish: Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909) especially in his musical production Alhambra, and
Enrique Granados (1867-1916), especially in his songs Chansons Arabes and
Mauresques. [66]

14
Art
Because Islam forbids the portrayal of human figures and animals (for man must not
compete with God who alone has the power to create), Arab civilization produced not
only the beautiful and distinguished artistic forms of Arabic calligraphy, but also the
famous "arabesque", a unique stylish form of Arab art.
Arabesque is a most perfect style of decoration characterized by an elaborate
interlocking plants and abstract curvilinear motifs as well as intricate geometrical
designs. Because it represents visual art in its purest form, arabesque was copied
throughout Europe from the time of the Renaissance and up to the 19th century.
European artists used arabesque, as the Arabs did, for the decoration of walls and
ceilings; plaster panels; woodcarving; metalwork; pottery; textile; furniture; and
illuminated manuscripts. In fact, the Italian Renaissance used the term "arabesque" to
mean intricate design.
European artists, particularly in Spain and Portugal eagerly adopted the famous Arab
art of using the alphabet letters for purely decorative purposes, calligraphy. The
European Gothic script was used in the same fashion as Arabic calligraphy. Sometimes
Christian art itself used the actual Arabic letters as a form of decoration. For example,
Arabic artistic writing in Western art could be found in the paintings of the following
three great Italian painters: Giotto Di Bondone (1266-1337), Fra Angelico (1400-1455),
and Fra Lippi (1406-1469). In Lippi's great painting of the "Coronation of the Virgin",
housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, the yard-long scarf held by the angels has
Arabic words written all over it.
The Andalusian Arabs introduced to the West many beautiful artistically handcrafted
industries such as the unique Arabian jewelry; the manufacture and painting of
ceramics, including tiles; and the manufacture of crystal, a process discovered by the
Arabs in Cordoba in the second half of the 9th century. [67] Also, an 11th century
Spanish Catholic prince by the name of Alfonso VIII ordered the minting of a decorative
coin in which not only the inscriptions were written in Arabic, but also he referred to
himself on the coin as the "Ameer of the Catholics" and the Pope in Rome as the "Imam
of the Church of Christ". [68]
During the Renaissance, Arabian turbans and other articles of Arab apparel appeared in
many Western paintings, some of which even displayed Christian Saints looking like
Arab and Muslim notables. [69] Arab artistic influence could also be easily seen as late
as the 19th century in the great paintings of the French Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863)
who lived in Arab North Africa and was influenced by his experiences there.
In reality, the beautiful Arabian textiles; silk; damasks; inlaid tables; wood carving;
colored glass wares; lamps; bottles; enamelled glass; beakers; metal and leather works;
book-binding; and decorative colored glazed pottery were all considered great objets
d'art throughout Europe. They were copied and sometimes poorly imitated by European
artists, especially in Italy. Also, what was identified in Europe as the "Chinese Blue"
pottery, which was copied especially in Holland and Denmark, was in reality the Islamic
pottery known in China as the "Mohammadan Blue" which the Chinese potters
themselves had learned from the Arabs. Further, at the Canterbury Cathedral, the
mother-church of English Protestantism, the artistically made 13th century Arabian silk
bags were used to hold the seals of documents. [70]

15
Architecture
The style of Arab architecture was popular in the West and was copied by both
European and American builders. Both the plain Andalusian horseshoe arch and the
more complex cupsed arches of the mosques of Cordoba and Samarra in Iraq as well
as at those of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, served as models for many arches in
Perpendicular and Gothic churches in England and France.
The beautiful Arab brick tracery of the facades of both the well-known Islamic Giralda
Tower in Seville, as well that of its sister-minaret, the Kutubia in Morocco, were copied
with some minor variation in much of Gothic tracery throughout Europe, especially on
the Bell Tower at Evesham in England. [71] Many churches both in Sicily and Southern
Italy have a deep Arab architectural influence such as the church of Capella Palatina in
Palermo. The medallions of Christian saints that adorn its arches bear Arabic writings of
the Kufic style. Many European arches and battlements, such as the Palazzo Ca' d'Oro
(one of the greatest of 15th century palaces in Venice), also reflect Arab architectural
influence. The Italian cities of Siena and Florence provide the best available examples
of the Arab architectural influence of alternating white and black marbles on the facade
of churches. Other examples elsewhere include various churches and academic
buildings in England, such as Cromer Church in Norfolk and Christ Hall in Oxford. [72]
However, the very best example of the profound impact of Arab architecture on the
West is provided by the campanile that is nothing but a clear adaptation of the tall
graceful slender minaret. This adaptation can be found in the campaniles of the Torre
del Commune in Verona, the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, and the Piazza San Marco in
Venice. [73] Arab architectural influence touched even the early American city
architecture; especially those buildings designed by the great American architect Louis
Sullivan (1856-1924), the spiritual father of modern U.S. architecture. In fact, the
interest of American architects both in long ornamental friezes and in the severity of
American exteriors is due to the influence of Arab monuments, especially those of the
Madrasah ("religious school") of Sultan Hasan in Cairo. [74]

IV
The Horrors of the Spanish Inquisition after the End of Arab Andalusian
Civilization
In January 1492 Granada surrendered to the Christian Spanish forces of King
Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile. Although there was no final battle,
but rather a final surrender, the Pope declared their victory to be a "holy war" - a
crusade against Islam. Ironically, after almost 800 years of brilliant Arab civilization and
presence in Europe's Iberian Peninsula, the Christian Spaniards resorted back to the
old Western uncivilized religious and racial intolerance. By brutal and barbaric acts of
racism and religious intolerance, the Spanish "Christians" initiated the horribly violent
Inquisition (or holocaust) against both Muslims and Jews whether they were Arab or
not. The terrorist Inquisition in Spain, which was officially sanctioned by the Catholic
Church and the Papacy in Rome, was actually a continuation of the general European
Inquisition against non-Christians, which started some 200 years earlier during the
violent European Crusades against the Arabs and Muslims of the East. In fact, the
barbaric European Inquisition that started with the beginning of the Crusades in
Toulouse, France, in 1229 continued for over 600 years all over Europe. This Western
terrorism that included the horrors of witch-hunting and the killing and torturing of non-
Christians and Christians, as well as the censoring of scientific ideas, finally came to an
end in Spain in 1834.
The Spanish violent Inquisition of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries resulted in the
widespread killing and burning of Jews and Muslims; their brutal torture and
deportations from Spain; their denial to hold any public office whatsoever; and their
forced conversion to Christianity. In fact, even those who had been forced to convert to
Christianity (i. e., the "Moriscos") were also expelled from Spain. In all, over three million
Muslims were deported from Spain. [75] It was believed that all Hispanic names that
ended with "ez" were originally Arab-Muslim families who were "converts" to Christianity
and who fled the Spanish Inquisition to find new hopes in the New World. In fact, the
voyages of Christopher Columbus (who was an inquisitor, a slave-owner, and a slave-
trader) to the New World were financed with the revenues from the confiscated
properties of Muslims and Jews who had been brutally deported from their homes in
Spain. [76] Armand-Jean du Plessis (1585-1642), the famous French Cardinal and
Duke of Richelieu - who served as the chief minister to the French King Louis XIII from
1624 to 1642 - described the expulsion of the Arabs and Muslims from Spain in his
memoirs "as the most barbarous act in human history." [77]
During the Spanish Inquisition, many Christians also resorted back to the old dirty
European habit of avoiding washing their bodies with water, this time in order not to
imitate the heretic expelled Muslim Arabs! After the "uncivilized" Arabs were expelled
from Spain, all public baths were closed. The Spanish Christians rejected all forms of
bathing, public or private, because they associated them with Islam and regarded them
as "a mere cover for Mohammedan ritual and sexual promiscuity." [78] In fact, even until
today people throughout the civilized Western world, whether in Europe or in the
Americas, still clean up with only toilet papers after using the toilet bowl, whereas all
Arabs and Muslims have always used water to wash and clean up afterwards. In
addition to the sudden disappearance of the virtues, such as personal and public
hygiene, religious and racial tolerance, which the Arabs had introduced to the West,
intellectual academic freedom in Spain also suffered a major setback. In 1499 in
Granada the Spanish Cardinal and Grand Inquisitor, Francisco Jimenez (or Ximenes)
de Cisneros (1436-1517), ordered the public burning of over 80,000 Arabic treasure
books, and denounced Arabic as: "the language of a heretical and despised race." [79]
The Spanish Inquisition's violent ethnic cleansing outlawed Muslims and Jews (Arab
and non-Arab alike) from Spain until the 1890s.
However, not all Spanish people hated the Arabs. There were, and still are, many
Spanish who were grateful to the Arabs, for their religious and racial tolerance, and for
their wonderful civilization. The great Christian Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca
(1898-1936) once lamented the loss of Arab civilization and its religious and racial
tolerance in his own country by writing: "It was a disastrous event, even though they say
the opposite in schools. An admirable civilization and a poetry, architecture and delicacy
unique in the world - all were lost..." [80]


Notes:
1. For detailed information on Western "Orientalist scholars", see Edward W. Said,
Orientalism (New York: Vintage Books, 1979).
2. Dirk Struik, "Multicluturalism and the History of Mathematics," Monthly Review, 46,
No. 10 (March, 1995), 30.
3. Ibid., p. 28.
4. Quoted in Rom Landau, Arab Contribution to Civilization (San Francisco: The
American Academy of Asian Studies, 1958), p. 9.
5. Edward McNall Burns and Philip Lee Ralph, World Civilizations: From Ancient to
Contemporary. Their History and Their Cultures, 2 volumes (New York: W.W. Norton
and Company, Inc., 1964), p. 397.
6. Ibid., p. 398.
7. Ibid., pp. 398-99.
8. Amin Maalouf, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. Translated by Jon Rothschild
(New York: Schocken Books, 1984), p. 54.
9. Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1991), p. 34.
10. Ibid., p. 34.
11. Bernard Lewis, The Arabs in History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), p.
180.
12. Ibid., p. 181.
13. David E. Stannard, American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 58.
14. Catherine Young, An Introduction to Islamic History: A Teacher's Resource Book
Grades 7-12 (Fountain Valley, California: Council on Islamic Education, n.d.), p. 1 of the
section on Spain.
15. Lewis, The Arabs, pp. 131-32.
16. Duncan Townson, Muslim Spain (Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company,
1979), p. 24.
17. Ibid., p. 17.
18. Ibid., p. 19.
19. Mohammad T. Mehdi, Islam and Intolerance: A Reply to Salman Rushdie (New
York: New World Press, 1989), p. 21.
20. Ibid., p. 61.
21. Clifford N. Anderson, The Fertile Crescent: Travels in the Ancient Footsteps of
Ancient Science (Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Sylvester Press, 1972), p. 94.
22. Karl J. Smith, The Nature of Mathematics (5th ed.; Monterey, California:
Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1987), p. 176.
23. Abdelhamid I. Sabra, "The Exact Sciences," in The Genius of Arab Civilization:
Source of Renaissance, ed. by John R. Hayes (3rd ed.; New York: New York University
Press, 1992), p. 186.
24. Landau, Arab Contribution, p. 36.
25. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1989, vol. 1, p. 962.
26. Landau, Arab Contribution, pp. 35-36.
27. Ibid., p. 37.
28. Paul Lund, "Science in Al-Andalus," Aramco World Magazine (a Special Aramco
Knoxville World's Fair Issue, 1982?), p. 22.
29. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1989, vol. 6, p. 451.
30. Landau, Arab Contribution, pp. 50-51
31. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1989, vol. 5, p. 571.
32. Ibid., p. 571.
33. Ibid., vol. 1, p. 267.
34. Landau, Arab Contribution, pp. 46-47.
35. Hayes (ed.), The Genius of Arab Civilization, p. 226.
36. Quoted in Landau, Arab Contribution, pp. 42-43.
37. Ibid., pp. 47-49.
38. Sami K. Hamarneh, "The Life Sciences," in Hayes, The Genius of Arab Civilization,
p. 213.
39. Landau, Arab Contribution, p. 44.
40. Ibid., p. 49.
41. The entire section on "Zoology and Veterinary Medicine" is drawn from Hamarneh,
"The Life Sciences", p. 213.
42. Landau, Arab Contribution, pp. 52-53.
43. Hamarneh, "The Life Sciences", p. 217.
44. Ibid., p. 217.
45. Landau, Arab Contribution, p. 24.
46. Mounah A. Khouri, "Literature," in Hayes, The Genius of Arab Civilization, p. 66.
47. Landau, Arab Contribution, pp. 25-26.
48. Lewis, The Arabs, p. 130.
49. Hayes (ed.), The Genius of Arab Civilization, p. 266.
50. Landau, Arab Contribution, pp. 39-40.
51. Quoted in Encyclopedia Britannica, 1989, vol. 6, p. 222.
52. Quoted in ibid., p. 222.
53. Quoted in ibid., p. 222.
54. Landau, Arab Contribution, p. 58.
55. Khouri, "Literature", p. 70.
56. Landau, Arab Contribution, p. 55-56.
57. Ibid., p. 57.
58. Cited in ibid., p. 55.
59. Khouri, "Literature", p. 56.
60. Ibid., p. 67.
61. Landau, Arab Contribution, pp. 56-57.
62. Ibid., pp. 59-60.
63. Ibid., pp. 60-61.
64. Ibid., p. 61.
65. Ibid., pp. 61-62.
66. Ibid., p. 62.
67. Ragaei and Dorothea El Mallakh, "Trade and Commerce," in Hayes, The Genius of
Arab Civilization, p. 259.
68. Landau, Arab Contribution, p. 65.
69. Ibid., p. 65.
70. Ibid., pp. 66-67.
71. Ibid., p. 68.
72. Ibid., p. 68.
73. Ibid., pp. 68-69.
74. Oleg Grabar, "Architecture and Art," in Hayes, The Genius of Arab Civilization, p.
112.
75. Audrey Shabbas, "Living History With a Medieval Banquet in the Alhambra Palace,"
Social Studies Review, 34, No. 3 (Spring, 1996), 25.
76. Ibid., p. 25.
77. Quoted in Henry Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition (New York: The New American
Library, 1965), p. 115.
78. Stannard, American Holocaust, p. 161.
79. Quoted in Desmond Stewart, Early Islam: Great Ages of Man (New York: Time
Incorporated, 1967), p. 143.
80. Quoted in Shabbas, "Living History With a Medieval Banquet," p. 25.