Soren wrote on Feb 22
nd, 2013 at 9:48am:
First of all, it was the Muslims who blocked the West's access to ancient Greek knowldge when they overran the Eastern Roman Empire. The Islamic hordes were, in reality, the greatest barbarian force that finally destroyed the Empire.They sacked Rome and were halted in 732 in southern France.
Secondly, the translations into Arabic were done by the conquered peoples, not the invading Arabs.
Thirdly, the translations were stricktly limited to texts that were compatible with Islam. Nothing that may have been construed as a challenge was translated - so no literature, poetry, poetics, histories, drama. These were finally taken to the West when Islam conquered Byzantium and there was an influx of Greek scholars and texts to the West, to the Italian city states and princedoms in particular, triggering the renaissance in the second half of the 15th century.
Even the limited translation program was seen by strict Islamic rules as incompatible with Islam so it was halted. What kepts it strong was its the military, expansionist, conquering spirit. And when that was finally broken at Vienne in 1683, Islam sank into stupor and stagnation we know it for today. We can see today that its revival is fuelled by an attempt to recover its expansionist, conquering mojo.
It has no taste or motivation for scientific, artistic, social or any other kind of innovation.
Whitewash islamic achievements all you want Soren, the fact is without islam, the western world wouldn't be as prosperous as it is today.
Yes, the islamic world was a cultural and learning hub: situated at the crossroads of several cultural centres including the hindu world, china and the Greek sphere. But your contention that the arabs retained and advanced science and culture
despite islam, and not because of it simply doesn't hold water. The great cultural centres in the arab world only became great after islam took over: Baghdad became the largest city in the world, and during the cultural flowering under the Abbasids, science and arts were not merely tolerated, they were actively promoted and expanded. Also, under islamic rule, Spain was alone in Europe in being a thriving cosmopolitan cultural centre. Of course this all changed after the christian reconquest, and jews were driven out and fled to - guess where? - thats right, the muslim world.
The standard meme that you are repeating about the "islamic hordes" smashing their way into the civilized Greek world is revisionist nonsense. One historian, Dr. Gustav LeBon, describes the muslim conquests thusly:
Quote:However, the early Caliphs, who enjoyed a rare ingenuity which was unavailable to the propagandists of new faiths, realized that laws and religion cannot be imposed by force. Hence they were remarkably kind in the way they treated the peoples of Syria, Egypt, Spain and every other country they subdued, leaving them to practice their laws and regulations and beliefs and imposing only a small Jizya in return for their protection and keeping peace among them. In truth, nations have never known merciful and tolerant conquerors like the Arabs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Alexandria_%28641%29
The reality is, islam created the most tolerant, cosmopolitan societies of its time - and this was the key to the great cultural flowering that occured in the muslim world, which was so instrumental in creating western prosperity later on.
Forum
Pages: 
