We must understand our Enemy #4

This week we will dispel the myth of the contributaions to society by Islam and the Muslims

We have all heard President Obama claim that Muslims built the very foundation of the United States of America.  Well, this is a practice that has been done by Muslims throughout time.  I’m so saying he’s a Muslim because that is for a different discussion.  What I am saying is Muslims often claim that Islam has fostered a rich heritage of scientific discovery, which paved the way for modern advances in technology and medicine.  This post will dispel that myth.

Muslims will usually cite the period between the 7th and 13th centuries when Europe was in its Dark Ages.  During this period the Muslim world was acquiring new populations and culture through violent conquest.

Although one cannot argue the Muslim world was relatively more advanced during that period than the Christian world, it had nothing to do with the Islamic religion itself.  In fact, the religion tends to discourage knowledge outside of itself (Quran 5:101-102), which is why the most prolific Muslim scholars are usually students of religion rather than science.

There are four basic reasons why Islam has little true claim to scientific achievement:

First, the Muslim world benefited greatly from the Greek sciences, which were translated for them by dhimmi Christians and Jews.

Secondly, many of the scientific advances credited to Islam were actually stolen from other cultures they conquered.  The algebraic concept of “zero” is erroneously attributed to Islam when in fact it was a Hindu discovery and was merely introduced to the West by Muslims.

Truth be told, conquered populations added greatly to the history of supposed Muslim science until gradually being decimated by conversion to Islam under the pressures of dhimmitude.  Muslims were never more than a minority in the Muslim world, and they were in fact merely claiming the accomplishments of others as their own.  It is no accident the Muslim world has had little to show for itself in the last 800 years, since running out of new civilizations to cannibalize.

Third, Muslim scientists and cultural icons were often considered heretics in their day.  Persian scientist and philosopher, al-Razi often has his impressive works held up as proof of Muslim accomplishment.  However, al-Razi was denounced as a blasphemer, because he followed his own religious beliefs which were in contradiction to teachings of traditional Islam.

Fourth, even the contributions credited to Islam and often inaccurately, are not terribly dramatic.  There is the invention of certain words, such as alchemy and elixir, even assassin, but not much else that survives in modern technology which is of practical significance.

In fact, the majority of Muslim achievements owe their true origins to the many conquered civilizations.  It’s quite amazing how the truth of these discoveries is often omitted.

So in conclusion, the significant achievements touted to have come out of the Islamic world were done by non-Muslims who lived under Islamic rule, or by heretics who had little interest in Islam.