Status Updates From Lost Islamic History: Recla...

After the Crusades conquered Jerusalem, Italian states such as Genoa and Venice regularly sent fleets of merchants to the Holy Land.
The result was a huge influx of wealth and into the Italian peninsula. That wealth, coupled with knowledge gained from translations of Muslim scholarly works, would later help fuel the Renaissance, starting in the 14th century

The Seljuks established the Nizamiyyah school in Baghdad in the late 11th century. It was the largest university of the Middle Ages and charged no tuition

In contrast to the Abbasids and other Sunni dynasties, which were at least officially bound by Islamic laws, the Fatimid caliphs, as semi-divine beings, were allowed to exercise a much more personal form of authority. Thus each new caliph could radically change the character and direction of the empire, sometimes with disastrous results

Avicenna's greatest work was not simply a handbook on common ailments and cures. It was a complete medical encyclopedia. Descriptions can be found in it of anesthesia, breast cancer, rabies, toxins, ulcers, kidney disease, and tuberculosis. Beyond this, he wrote about the connection between mental and physical health and concluded that negative thoughts can cause illness just as much as other factors

In the 10th century Baghdad instituted a licensing exam that all doctors had to take before practicing as physicians

Common misperceptions about the history of medicine include the belief that it was mostly guesswork until the past few hundred years. However there exists a long medical tradition in the Muslim world based on earlier Greek knowledge that emphasized empirical study and clinical professionalism. Their work points to an era of medical enlightenment and advancement that forms the basis of modern medicine

There is mounting evidence of Muslim transatlantic voyages hundreds of years before Columbus. Al-Masudi's sailed from Muslim Iberia for months until he happened upon a very large previously unknown landmass. His account states that they traded with the locals and then returned home. Al-Masudi's world map even includes an unknown land across the Atlantic Ocean because of this account.

They also developed trigonometry and in astronomy they developed the astrolabe, an instrument first invented by the ancient Greeks. Its purpose was to determine one's latitude by using the stars. It combined the capabilities of the astrolabe with the more precise astronomical calculations of Muslim scientists and became a staple of navigation, particularly by ship.

Perhaps Al-Khwarizmi's greatest contribution was the development of algebra. In his monumental work: The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, he explains how algebraic equations can be used to solve everyday problems ranging from dividing up inheritances to geography. The word algebra itself derives from the title of his book al-jabr, meaning "completion” referring to balancing equations

Complex math problems involving non-integer numbers were nearly impossible with the Roman system but the Indian system (1,2,3,4…) allowed large and negative numbers to be more easily expressed, easing complex problems. Al-Khwarizmi not only borrowed the system from the ancient Indians but also added to it an important missing link: the zero.

The world's oldest university, the University of Karaouin, was established by a Muslim woman in Fez, Morocco, in 859

The 9th to 13th centuries in the Muslim world mark an era of scientific, religious, philosophical, and cultural development the scale and depth of which had never been seen in world history before or since. It not only served as a bridge between the knowledge of the ancients and Renaissance Europe but also laid the foundation for today's modern scientific world

Many of the early Indian converts to Islam were Buddhists and members of lower castes, who were attracted to the egalitarian nature of Islam

The fact that the Umayyads conquered most of Iberia in just four years with a few thousand soldiers indicates that they received support from the local population

In keeping with the precepts of Islamic law, the spoils [of war] were considered to belong to the entire muslim community and were divided among members of the Umma, from the earliest converts to Islam to the newest non-Arabs to accept the religion.

In 70 AD, the Roman Empire exiled jews from Jerusalem. It was not until the Muslim conquest in 637 that they were allowed back to the Holy City

[Abu Bakr warfare rules - stark contrast from Israeli rules]

Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful. Slay not any of the enemy's flock, save your food. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone

In a tribal nomadic society like this artistic expression becomes difficult. The resources and time necessary to complete great sculptures and paintings were almost non-existent. So the natural human desire to search for beauty took on a new form: language. Perhaps more than any other language in the world, Arabic itself is a form of artistic expression. Poetry thus naturally became the de facto art of Arabia

[how the turn tables]
Jews were waiting for a messiah and as Muhammad was declared to be the last prophet of a shared line of prophets, some jews accepted his message and converted to Islam. But many more rejected Muhammad

After Muhammed fled to Medina from the persecution in Mecca ans was elected leader there, it was revealed to him the Quran verses that deal with forms of worship, taxation, inheritance, relations with non-muslims, and many other aspects of society and order

Especially considering the fact that most of the early converts were those who were considered the lowest class of society. Slaves, servants, and the poor made up a large proportion of the early Muslim community, attracted by the equality of all people before God and the egalitarian nature of the new religion where wealth and social status did not determine a person's worth

The Muslim community was still small and weak enough that it could not yet come into open ideological conflict with those in positions of power

Once a year Arabs would travel to Mecca for a pilgrimage to honor hundreds of idols kept around the Kaaba. This meant big business for the clan Quraysh. Muhammad's message, however, denied the importance of the idols and without idols there would be no pilgrimage and with no pilgrimage there would be no business. For this reason there could be no mention of this new religion around the leaders of the tribe