What happened to the greatness of the Muslim world?

Question

It seems that by the 20th century the Muslim world had fallen into chaos and became a shadow of the greatness it once was. What lead to this?

I don’t mean to say Islam isn't great today, but it once was the world's super power. During the European dark ages the Muslim world was a bastion of science, literature, and unification. What happened?

Answer 1

muslim was once the world's super power?

no way on earth.

the chines was sitting here in asia closed their country during the dark age (long before the dark age actually), and the muslim ottoman did not even dare to touch them.


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Answer 2

Unfortunately, the Muslim world operates from a very different set of rules. Check this out.

A Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding
By Sam Solomon
Foreword by Gerard Batten
UK Independence Party
Member of the European Parliament for London
December 2006

Article 9

We the signatories request all Islamic institutions and all of its
associates, affiliations and outlets in co-operation with the
signatories to this Charter:
a) To discard all texts that discriminate with impunity against
Christians and Jews by describing them as Kaffirs,
apostates, polytheists, the children of apes, and swine, and
prohibit any inciting, insulting, and all discriminatory
references based on their religion
b) To abandon the practice of takffir (infidel) against
anybody, be that a Muslim or a non-Muslim. (Once a
Muslim leader declares anyone as such, it is for the faithful
ones to see that person eliminated.)
c) To prohibit and abolish the practice of Takkiya (Islamic
doctrine of legitimate lying and deception of others) to
advance the cause of Muslims and Islam.
This insulting, inciting, discrimination, and deception is not to be
upheld or practised.

And so far, nobody is stepping up to the plate. It's pathetic.

Answer 3

Well, you are laboring under a common misconception...that Islam promotes thinking and truth. The Islamic Empire you speak of is most likely the one we westerners fought against in the defensive actions commonly known as the Crusades. It is true that the Muslims at the time had preserved the ancient philosophies of Greece, had advances in medicine that far surpassed anything in the West, and had scientific and mathematic discoveries that have influenced the world to this day. The truth of it is that none of these breakthroughs can be credited to Muslims; they only served to preserve discoveries made by other peoples - usually Christians, Greeks and Jews, in their midsts. Islam allows for no innovation. It is due to this prohibition that the Islamic world has not advanced socially, scientifically or in any other appreciable way in 1400+ years. Conquering various cultures and then claiming their advances as your own is hardly admirable.