How did Islam help preserve and add to classical thought?

Answer 1

Before the Crusades, Muslims and Christians co-existed on the borders. In many Persian empire border towns, freedom of religion is practiced. Trade with outside was encouraged, and many cities are known for its intellectual communities of scholars and libraries and such. Also, a lot of the classical knowledge found its way east during the conquest of Macedonia (Alexander) and later, the Roman conquest of the east (they call it Parthia, I think). Thus, in many "Muslim" cities, you will find synagogues, churches, and temples, and more, each serving their own group of believers. And many kept their own piece of knowledge. I believe recently in Cairo they found in a synagogue a collection of documents that made the Dead Sea Scrolls look insignificant.

Unlike Europe, the Middle East did NOT suffer from the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages. At least it did not regress as far back as Europe did. A lot of the knowledge that went east remained and was preserved by the scholars there. Most of the knowledge in Europe was lost or destroyed, often in religious fervor. A great example was Archimedes's treatise. It was ruined by monks who ran out of paper to write their prayers. They disassembled the book, bleached the pages, cut the pages in half, and restitched the books so they can write more prayers. Only through modern technology and work of some of the best scholars in ancient Greek is this classical text now being restored, and even then, this book will never be complete, for many pages were lost forever.

So there's your answer. :)

Answer 2

i wish i could answer that here

Answer 3

like how to murder christans

Answer 4

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