Were the Jewish and Muslim Scientists of Islamic Spain the catalyst for the Renaissance in Europe ?

Question

Muslims, Jews and Scientists from Europe created a cosmopolitan society of peace and mutual co-existance in the Islamic Spain (Andalus).

Islamic scholars of Religon (Mullahs,Imams,Ulama) were also scientists since the Quran encouraged the Muslims to look into science to see the power of God.

Muslim and Jewish scholars along with some Heretic Christians or "enlightened" scientists created a "JEWEL" in Europe.

Science, Mathematics,Astronomy, Philosphy etc. were discussed and studied with all three faiths living in harmony and peaceful coexistance.

This islamic attitude to science, mathematics and learning was so foreign in Europe that it was considered heresy and blasphemy.

This got the Christians so UPSET they hunted down all the Muslims/Heritics and converted them by force or killed them.

The Church was so fanatically against free thought and scientific research that they blamed the Renaissance on Islam.

In revenge for undermining the awesome power of the Church (and planting a seed for Europe to emerge out of the Dark Ages) ,the Pope killed or baptised by force all the Muslims (and Jews) in Spain.

Then the Church along with loyal Kings started the Crusades to make sure Islam would not reach any further into Europe with their "heretical views".

The Islamic view of One God, no original sin, and the belief that there should be NO Religious hierarchy and NO organized church was a total slap in the face of Christiandom.

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“The Renaissance of Europe did not take place in the 15th century. Rather it began when Europe learned from the culture of the Arabs. The cradle of European awakening is not Italy. It is the Muslim Spain.” (Robert Briffault, The Making Of Mankind)

“The Christian World came to wage crusades against Muslims but eventually knelt before them to gain knowledge. They were spellbound to see that Muslims were owners of a culture that was far superior to their own. The Dark Ages of Europe were illuminated by nothing but the beacon of Muslim Civilization.” (F.J.C Hearushaw, The Science of History.)

“The greatest crimes, the greatest “sin” of Mohammed in the eyes of Christian West is that he did not allow himself to be slaughtered, to be “crucified” by his enemies. He only defended himself, his family and his followers; and finally vanquished his enemies. Mohammed’s success is the Christians’ gall of disappointment… He did not believe in any vicarious sacrifices for the sins of others.” (Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.)


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Answer 1

Absolutely! The whole notion of scientific inquiry--testing hypotheses with experiments rather than relying myth, legend, or untested deductions--was developed by an Arab Muslim named Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham.

Born in Basra (located in what is now Iraq) in 965, Ibn al-Haytham wrote more than 200 books and treatises on a wide range of subjects. He was the first person to apply algebra to geometry, founding the branch mathematics known as analytic geometry.

Ibn al-Haytham created discreet, verifiable experiments to test the validity of ideas. To test his hypothesis that “lights and colors do not blend in the air,” for example, Ibn al-Haytham devised the world's first camera obscura, observed what happened when light rays intersected at its aperture, and recorded the results. This is just one of dozens of “true demonstrations,” or experiments, contained in Kitāb al-Manāzir (Book of Optics).

Kitāb al-Manāzir was translated into Latin as De aspectibus in the late thirteenth century in Spain. Copies of the book circulated throughout Europe. Roger Bacon wrote a summary of it entitled Perspectiva (Optics). So did John Peacham and Erazmus Witelo. This spirit of inquiry and discovery launched the scientific revolution and sparked the Renaissance.

Answer 2

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the history from your personally biased point of view, with quotes from other biased sources. Interesting... The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy. But let's just say for the sake of argument that Islamic scholars were the wise sharers of knowledge that you claim, and I'm sure there were some. Thanks for giving the Jewish scholars some credit, too, by the way. But what has happened since? Why are the greatest universities in the world in the west? Why have all the greatest and most advanced inventions been invented --in the west? Why is modern medicine, in the west, advanced and saved so many lives? Why have farmers --from the west--grown and developed crops that have been feeding the entire world? Why were the first people on the moon from the west? Automobiles, planes? The west. It's great that your culture contributed to a cultural and educational renewal within Europe about 500 YEARS AGO. But it's not enough to sit and rest on those laurels. If a culture does that and only looks back, it is bound to stagnate and decay. And from a humanitarian outlook, the Catholic church started, maintained and supported more charitable hospitals, orphanages, hospices, schools than any other religious organization? The Catholic church known as a church that works diligently for social justice issues, more than any other religious organization in the world? I'm not Catholic, but the reasons you offer for your anti-Catholic bigotry are obsolete. It is a historical fact that as well as the forced baptisms you mention, countless people were also forced to accept Islam or lose their lives. I hope you also realize that educated people are recognizing bias when they read it. Peace

Answer 3

Muslims werent innocent in the crusades and in terms of fighting with their neighbors. All sides wanted more land and power. Crusades wasnt just a holy war by the christians against the muslims.

What happened to the middle east? How did they go from being the pinnacle of modern civilization to now one of the most backwards of societies? You can blame the christians all you want, but the fact is that it only took the US a few hundred years to get their stuff together and after thousands of years this section of the world still hasnt figured out how to advance their societies into peaceful productive nations. If these nations didnt have oil they would have practically nothing.

The middle eastern nations need to stop blaming the past for what their nations are like now. You people condmen the US for her actions and dont bother blaming Hussein for anything. So many people on here stood up for Irans president coming to the US and you wonder why the middle east cant turn around their attitudes and progress into the 21st century.

Answer 4

They were among the catalysts of not only the 15th cent Italian Renaissance(La Rinascita)but of the 13th cent university revivals of learning throughout Western Europe(which were also a catalyst of the Italian Ren).
Byzantine learning and passing on of greek scientific texts to Islam and directly to the West was also a very impoertant catalyst
A number of Western Catholic Christian Saints and religious leadres like Albertus Magnus or other friars like Roger Bacon were also scientists who saw no conflict between their faith and science and questioning exploration of the universe.

Most of the Christians who were visiting or native scholars in Medieval Iberia were Catholic or Orthodox.

Many of the monasteries of the Mediteranean West (and East) were pillaged by Muslim pirates or invaders and their priceless manuscripts and art were destroyed

Answer 5

Mohammed wouldn't have had opposition if he hadn't been trying to impose his religious ideas on others ! He and the early caliphs conquered vast swathes of lands: Arabia(Mo), Iraq, Persia, Syria, Judaea, Egypt, North Africa(first 4 caliphs). I don't believe he had the right to impose his ideas on others. If he was peaceful, people would have been peaceful: instead he wanted to rule.
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As for Western Europe, we had barbarian waves from 400 AD - 1000 AD on and off; tribes who didn't even have written scripts or books initially, and very violent.

Muslim empire conquered very civilised areas - so gained Greek, Egyptian, Persian and Babylonian know-how.

We did gain from Arab scholars in Sicily and Spain, but probably most from classical knowledge that came from Byzantium being overthrown by the mohammedan Turk in 1453.

Our freedom of thought, relative to Islam, is probably one of the reasons why we have developed intellectually much better. Your clerics unfortunately have censored too much - due to Mohammed's teaching which wants to impose Islam as a system on states.
I think a Darwin in a muslim land would have had his head chopped off ! Even a Newton would have faced disapproval.

Answer 6

There are many reasons that contributed to the Renaissance in Europe. Among them MAY have been some of the countributions made by Muslims and Jews in Andalusian Spain.

But many scholars also see the artists, scientists and philosophers of the Byzantine empire who were fleeing the Ottoman Turks as a catalyzing force.

Answer 7

Yes, It was Muslims who are responsible for the Renaisance of Europe. The Christian Church was against anyone thinking for themselves, and therefore Europe fell into The Dark Ages.
Islam encourages it practitioners to understand the world around us through the use of our minds. One of the teachings of Islam is to seek knowledge.

Answer 8

No. Read history from somewhere other than Islamic websites for a change.

You see, the inquisition was about expelling all non-Christians. Those who pretended to be Christians, but were in fact Muslims, were seen as spies and executed for treason.

I don't see much Islamic "renaissance art". I wonder why.

Answer 9

My brother yes the Jewish and Muslim Scientists of Islamic Spain the catalyst for the Renaissance in Europe.Islam encourage us to knpw more and more about the life and universe.In fact there are a strong relation between Islam and sciences visit this site http://www.55a.net/firas/english which contains scientific miracles in Quran
There are some examples for these miracles:
1-Are there other universes ?Are there other universes other than ours , what does science say and what does the Holy Quran want to say ? read here
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=250
2-complete suckling between science and the Glory Koran
The Holy QUran , prior to science stresses the importance of natural suckling..read here http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=248
3-Is the Universe Static The claim of atheists is declined by science and the Holy Quran , both are
in conformity... read here http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=240
4-The Birth time of the prophet , his kingdom , the time of his advent in the ancient holy books:
Unprecedented study in the ancient Books refers to the prophet of Islam... read here
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=241
5-Symbiosis: In this Universe , design everywhere .In this universe, there are a lot of evidence to
God's creativity... read here
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=237
6-Prostration before Allah: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are
severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and falling down
prostrate (in prayer), seeking Bounty from Allah... read here
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=20&select_page=8
7-“ In every number, there is a miracle”: The numbers that Allah has chosen for His holy book (The
Koran) no human kind can ever produce like ..... read here
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=65&select_page=9
8-Sphericity of the Earth: Glory to Allah (he who said): (He draweth the night as a veil O'er the
day, each seeking the other in rapid succession ...... read here http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=46&select_page=69
9-Noah’s Deluge Story: read here
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=26&select_page=2
10-Islamic Banking System:
Islamic banking is the solution to the usury banking which caused a lot of miseries ... read here
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=255
There are more and more miracles visit this site to read more http://www.55a.net/firas/english

Answer 10

i don't think so

there are many converts from different cultures and this can help them to get different ideas, the real muslims or arabs are lazy people.