ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION Peter Stearns, et al. World History Traditions and New Directions. Addison Wesley.

1990 With additions by C. Peek Before the rise of western European civilization, Islamic civilization was the major force spreading ideas, ways of life, and knowledge throughout the known world. Providing an important link between Africa, Europe, and Asia, Islamic traders not only brought the corners of the world closer together, but enriched their own lands and cultures with goods and customs from other lands. Muslims absorbed artistic styles and philosophical ideas from the Byzantines and the Persians. They learned mathematical concepts from India and new technology from China. Just as importantly, Islam created a cultural umbrella, under which diverse peoples from lands stretching from Africa to India could share their ways of life united by a common religion and common language. The diverse origins of Islamic civilization are one of the major foundations of its greatness and worldwide influence. The people of the Islamic world grew intensely proud of their achievements. They felt superior to many other peoples, including the western Europeans. CULTURAL DIFFUSION IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD Islam was able to combine and spread cultures so remarkably well for two major reasons. First, its geographic location was ideal. After 700, the Islamic rulers controlled much of the territory that separated Europe from Africa and Asia, giving Muslims a major role in the cultural exchange between the continents. Perhaps more important, however, was the character of the Islamic religion. Islamic beliefs led to at least four practices that enhanced cultural diffusion: Muslims tolerated other religions and cultures; they made pilgrimages to Mecca; they had to learn Arabic to read the Koran; and they valued trade as a livelihood. Religious toleration. The Muslim policy of toleration contributed to the greatness of Islamic civilization. People of most other faiths lived without persecution throughout the Islamic world, contributing their different traditions to Islamic society. Christians remained an important minority in Egypt and along the shores of the eastern Mediterranean. Several caliphs employed educated Christians as secretaries or court poets. Jews lived all over the Islamic world and made notable contributions, especially in Spain. In India, Muslims and Hindus generally lived side by side in peace. In the far-flung areas of Islamic influence, such as Indonesia, local customs and some traditional religions remained strong, combining with Islam to produce new and vital ways of life. The pilgrimage. The Muslim idea of the pilgrimage to Mecca helped bring together peoples from different lands and cultures. Since the pilgrimage was one of the Five Pillars, Muslims from all over the world journeyed to Mecca every year. Particularly during the special pilgrimage month, thousands of Muslims from such widespread lands as Spain, Zanzibar, Asia Minor, Egypt, India, and Malaya converged on Mecca. There, they exchanged ideas and learned of each other's different ways of life. After making the pilgrimage, Muslims earned the title of hajji (HAH-gee), a term of great respect. Hajjis carried news and ideas from other lands back to their own people. (Picture is Grand Mosque in 1911) The Arabic language. Because all Muslims had to learn Arabic in order to read the Koran, the Arabic language dominated the empire by 9th century. It was the official language of religion and government, as well as the language used by scholars. Although many Muslims outside the Middle East spoke their native languages in everyday life, they knew Arabic or a related language such as Swahili or Urdu for religious purposes. The existence of one common language throughout Islamic lands strongly aided cultural diffusion. Unlike

Europeans, who spoke dozens of different languages, Muslims everywhere could understand each other. Merchants and travelers spread ideas more easily, and also better understood the customs and values of the people they met in other lands. Arabic ensured that the thousands of people from three continents meeting in Mecca at anyone time could share ideas and views. Muslim trade. A lively economy, centered on trade, was another important cause of cultural diffusion in the Islamic world. Seaports, market cities, and government centers all bustled with trading activities. Muhammad himself had been a merchant, and so trading was one of the most respected ways of making a living in the Islamic world. Muslim ships controlled the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian 0cean until European merchants began to take over in Europe's late Middle Ages. From China, Muslims brought back spices, silk, and paper. From India came coconuts, tin, rubies, spices, and tropical woods. For centuries, most of the Asian imports prized in Europe passed through the hands of Muslim traders. Many important manufacturing techniques, such as paper making, also came to Europe from China by way of Muslim traders. Muslim traders sailed north into the Black and Caspian seas and brought back furs and slaves from Russia and Scandinavia. From Africa, Islamic merchants imported gold and slaves by means of camel caravans that included as many as 4,000 animals. The Islamic Empire learned about many fruits, spices, and grains from the lands it conquered and traded with. Through Muslims, these goods were later introduced into Europe and eventually into the Americas.

ISLAMIC SCHOLARSHIP Muslims were not just good merchants. Many Muslims were excellent scholars who traded just as expertly in words and ideas. One of Muhammad's sayings was, "The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of the martyr." This Muslim tradition established that intellectual activities were both important and based on Islamic faith. By recording, preserving, translating, and interpreting ideas from different cultures, Islamic scholars not only contributed to cultural diffusion, but also made many impressive intellectual achievements. Education. Islamic scholarship was based on a strong program of formal education that was set up for some city-dwelling children. In Islamic lands, education began as soon as children were able to recite the basic prayers of the faith, usually at the age of six. Elementary schools were attached to mosques. There, many boys and some girls learned to read from the Koran and to write by copying poetry. Pupils also studied grammar, arithmetic, and the lives of the prophets. The Islamic system of education helped make a high percentage of Muslims literate at a time when only a handful of western Europeans could read and write. After students finished their basic education, many went to universities. The oldest Islamic university was founded during the 10th century. By the 12th century, several dozen great universities existed throughout the Middle East and Spain. University scholars taught law, philosophy, history, geography, and science as well as religion and poetry.

Books and libraries. In 704, when the Muslims captured Samarkand in Central Asia, they learned about the Chinese art of making paper. Chinese paper makers were kidnapped and taken to Baghdad where they were forced to teach others the art of papermaking. By 794, the first Islamic factory to manufacture paper was set up in Baghdad. The invention of paper contributed to the establishment of public libraries throughout the Islamic world. Baghdad alone had 36 public libraries by the time of the Mongol invasions. In addition, most mosques contained excellent book collections. Philosophy. One of the important results of excellent Islamic scholarship was the development of Islamic philosophy. From the 9th century on, Islamic scholars were busy translating works of philosophy and science from Greek, Persian, and Indian sources. A special school of translators-called the House of Wisdom arose in Baghdad, with a library and a regular staff. Islamic scholars were familiar with classical Greek and Indian thinkers long before western Europeans were. The translation of Greek philosophy, especially the writings of Aristotle, spurred a debate among Islamic scholars about the best path to truth. Islamic tradition held that the only truth was through faith in the revealed word of Allah. Greek tradition suggested, however, that human beings could gain truth through reason. Islamic philosophers tried to combine the two approaches long before Christian thinkers in medieval Europe tried to do the same. Indeed, the scholastic philosopher Thomas Aquinas borrowed many of his ideas from the Islamic philosopher ibn-Rushd, known in Europe as Averroes (uh- VEHR-o-EEZ). LITERATURE Even before the Koran was written, Arabs had a strong tradition of storytelling. The Arabs were also particularly fond of poetry, which they used to recall past glories and to express religious ideas. These older traditions, as well as the influence of Persian verse and literature, survived into Islamic times. The Koran itself was a major contribution to literature. Written in a highly polished style, it helped establish Arabic throughout the Islamic world as an expressive literary language. Skilled reciters of Koranic verse could move an entire audience to tears, to anger, or to laughter. Written Arabic poetry began to appear during the Abbasid Dynasty. Many caliphs gathered poets at the court at Baghdad. By the 11th century, a great deal of poetry was being written in Persian as well as Arabic. The most famous Persian poet was Omar Khayyam (k- YAHM). Fictional adventure stories also played an important part in Islamic literature. The most famous of these is a collection entitled The Arabian Nights. The wonderful tales of Ali Baba and Sinbad the Sailor are known today all over the world. These stories probably originated in India and were brought to Persia in the 6 th century. By the 8th century they had become part of Arabic literature. THE ARTS Before the Arabs began their wars of expansion, they had little art or architecture. As they spread through Persia and Egypt, however, they borrowed elements of these cultures and blended them into a distinctive style. Art and architecture. Early religious leaders prohibited the depiction of living beings in Islamic art. As a result, artists developed the decorative style called arabesque, which used detailed geometric patterns entwined with stars, leaves, and flowers. This rule was later relaxed. Since architecture did not involve depicting humans or animals, it became the major Islamic art form. Mosques were the most important buildings in the Islamic world. They featured domes, towers called

minarets, clusters of marble columns supporting vaulted ceilings, and pointed arches. Both interior and exterior walls were often gilded or decorated in brilliantly colored mosaics and tiles. In other arts, the Muslims were especially noted for their textiles. The silk taftah created by the Persians became the taffeta worn by Europeans. Other fabrics such as damask linen from Damascus and cotton muslin from Mosul were also highly prized in Europe. So too were the magnificent wool carpets created by Persian, Egyptian, and Turkish weavers. Music. Muhammad considered the use of musical instruments "the devil's call to damnation." Thus, music was not part of Islamic prayer services. However, it was an important part of ordinary life. The 7 th century singer Tways created the high-pitched nasal style that is characteristic of Arab singing. He also introduced rhythm into Muslim music and was the first to accompany his singing with a musical instrument-the tambourine. In time, musicians used other instruments such as castanets, cymbals, drums, flutes, guitars, and harps. Arab instruments and rhythm influenced musical styles in Spain. These styles later spread to Latin America and influenced music in North America as well. SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS Muslims excelled in science. Many inventions and ideas important to later European scientists, doctors, and navigators were developed by Islamic scientists. As traders, Arabs had always been interested in using the stars to guide them in their travels across the desert. Although the Greeks are credited with the first astrolabe, an instrument through which time is measured and the position of stars computed, the Arabs perfected the astrolabe, which was used by European mariners until the 17th century. The Islamic scientist al-Biruni, who lived from 973 to 1048, accurately determined latitude and longitude. He also thought it likely that the earth rotated on an axis. Muslims also studied geography and mapmaking, or cartography. With knowledge gained from centuries of trade and travel in India, China, Russia, Africa, and Europe, geographers developed a composite map of the earth. This map helped persuade European explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries that the world was round. During the 1300s, one of the world's greatest travelers, ibn-Batuta, spent 30 years visiting the Middle East, India, China, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Traveling over 75,000 miles (120,000 kilometers), he recorded the geography and culture of all the places he saw. The scientific spirit extended, too, into the field of history. The Spanish Muslim ibn Khaldun not only described past events, he also tried to discover laws that might explain why people and nations behaved the way they did. He was the first historian to examine climate, geography, and economics as factors that influence human behavior. Some consider ibn Khaldun to be the founder of modem sociology. Islamic scholars were also greatly interested in mathematics, which they adopted from Indian and Greek sources. It was from India that Islamic culture learned about the decimal system and the numerals Europeans were to call "Arabic numerals." This numeration system greatly assisted the spread of commerce. The study of geometry and trigonometry, which came from the Greeks, enabled Muslim scientists to determine such things as the speed of falling objects. Evidence of Islamic contributions to modern science exists in the English language. English contains many scientific and mathematical terms from Arabic including alchemy, algebra, cipher, zenith, and zero.

ISLAMIC MEDICINE While doctors in medieval Europe still drained the blood of their patients to treat illness, Islamic physicians had developed such advanced techniques as performing successful surgery with anesthesia. At first, Muslim doctors borrowed medical knowledge passed on by ancient Greeks, the Hindus and others. However, through their own careful research and observation, Muslim physicians added greatly to the storehouse of information. It was the Muslims who first discovered many of the healing drugs and ointments that are taken for granted today. The Muslims also opened the worlds first school of pharmacy to train druggists. Likewise, a Muslim could not practice medicine without a diploma from a medical school. A helpful treatment for the dreaded smallpox and measles was devised in the late 9th century by one of the greatest Muslim doctors, al-Razi, (Rhazes [RY-zees] in Europe). He studied infectious disease carefully to find out how they differed from one another and how best to treat each one. In surgery, Muslims introduced the use of animal gut to stitch incisions. The doctors were particularly good at treating diseases of the eyes and they could remove cataracts, a clouding of the eye that prevents light from entering. Many patients from Europe and the Muslim world flocked to Cordova in Muslim Spain, where the surgeons had a reputation for being the best. The most famous was Abulcasis. He wrote the first illustrated guide to surgery, which doctors used for centuries. Fortunately, much of the Muslim work in medicine was preserved in books written by scholarly physicians such as Abulcasis and ibn Sina (Avicenna in Europe [AH-vih-SEHN-uh]). Ibn Sinas gigantic medical book, summing up all accomplishments of Muslim medicine, touches on such diverse topics as the treatment of fevers, the benefit of bathing, the use of cosmetics and skin care. So valuable was the book that it was still being used as a textbook in European medical schools 600 years after ibn Sinas death. HISTORY IN FOCUS Before Islam, other cultures and civilizations had risen and fallen in the Middle East and North Africa. Many civilizations, such as those in Persia and Egypt, had achieved greatness but had fallen to foreign invaders. Overall, there had been little contact between distant peoples, and cultures had remained relatively independent from each other. The great achievement of Islam was to bring together many Middle Eastern traditions and diverse peoples to form a lasting civilization. Islamic civilization endured because of its strong religious focus. Like Christianity, Islam's teachings of monotheism and devotion to the Supreme Being proved to be a force guiding its followers toward achievement and unity. Under Islam's spiritual focus, Muslims became the world's most active merchants, helping to spread ideas, values, and goods throughout the known world. Before the rise of Western civilization, Islam encouraged more cultural diffusion than any other civilization. Islamic civilization began to decline in the 13th century, weakened by invaders from Asia. Yet, far from falling, Islam remained a dominant force in a large part of the world and continues to be a major religious and cultural influence in today's world.