10 thoughts on “There Was No Islamic “Golden Age””
Another point: two of the forgotten points in “Islam’s” preservation and transmission of Hellenic classics were translation from Greek into Syriac, and from Syriac into Arabic. Syriac is the literary/religious language of Middle Eastern Christians.
I’m glad Dr. Warner made this video; and he’s spot on about how some of our myths of Islamic “golden ages” and “tolerance” were inventions of 18th century European malcontents whose actual knowledge of Islam was quite limited.
The most fabulous book that completely debunks islamic mythology – Golden Age & Co – is the one written by Norbert Pressburg:
“What the Modern Martyr Should Know – Seventy-two Grapes and Not a Single Virgin”. I read the book a second time right after I first finished reading.
Yes, Norbert Pressburg is a revelation. Don’t overlook Bat Ye’Or’s The Decline of Eastern Christianity. Pressburg illustrates the absurdity of Islamic myth, and Be Ye’Or completes the historic summary of Dr. Warner.
The first part of the video concerns modern contributions by Muslims, not the Golden Age, so it’s irrelevant to the point. The second half suggests that war means it’s not a Golden Age, but nearly all national Golden Ages refer to periods of imperial expansion, often accompanied by wars and the taking of slaves. Furthermore, contrary to his claim, there was a Golden Age of Rome, and a Golden Age of Greece, though they sometimes refer to different periods.
As for the Islamic Golden Age, like many such civilizations, they absorbed the knowledge of those they conquered, including Greek science and philosophy. Then they built upon these foundations, making their own unique contributions. Islamic scholarship was extremely influential on European late medieval scholars, who recognized the clear technological and scientific advantage of the Islamic world. While there was frequent opposition by the Church, scholars would secret Islamic manuscripts for study.
Gates of Vienna: We allow a variety of opinions here at Gates of Vienna.
Is it the policy of this blog to delete respectful disagreement?
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The first part of the video concerns modern contributions by Muslims, not the Golden Age, so it’s irrelevant to the point. The second half suggests that war means it’s not a Golden Age, but nearly all national Golden Ages refer to periods of imperial expansion, often accompanied by wars and the taking of slaves. Furthermore, contrary to his claim, there was a Golden Age of Rome, and a Golden Age of Greece, though they sometimes refer to different periods.
As for the Islamic Golden Age, like many such civilizations, they absorbed the knowledge of those they conquered, including Greek science and philosophy. Then they built upon these foundations, making their own unique contributions. Islamic scholarship was extremely influential on European late medieval scholars, who recognized the clear technological and scientific advantage of the Islamic world. While there was frequent opposition by the Church, scholars would secret Islamic manuscripts for study.
Gates of Vienna: We allow a variety of opinions here at Gates of Vienna.
Guess that doesn’t include respectful disagreement. Good luck with that.
Zachriel —
It’s a pity you couldn’t have been more patient. If you’d read my post on Wednesday (which I doubt), you’d have known that I was away for a couple of days. I just got back this afternoon.
And if you read our blog regularly (which I also doubt), you’d know that Dymphna, my wife and the co-owner of this blog, is chronically ill with fibromyalgia, inter alia. As a result, when I’m gone it’s difficult for her to take care of all the tasks associated with running this blog, and that includes monitoring and approving comments.
If you had been patient and more gracious, you might have held off with your rancorous comeback until after I came home, so that you could see whether or not your comments were eventually approved.
But it seems you couldn’t do that. Oh, well…
If you’re looking for instant gratification, this may not be the best place for you to spend your time.
Baron Bodissey: It’s a pity you couldn’t have been more patient.
They were in moderation, then they disappeared. That usually indicates they were being deleted. Sorry if that was not the case, and we spoke too soon.
Thank you. Again, we apologize. (You may delete this subthread, if you choose.)
The first part of the video concerns modern contributions by Muslims, not the Golden Age, so it’s irrelevant to the point. The second half suggests that war means it’s not a Golden Age, but nearly all national Golden Ages refer to periods of imperial expansion, often accompanied by wars and the taking of slaves. Furthermore, contrary to his claim, there was a Golden Age of Rome, and a Golden Age of Greece, though they sometimes refer to different periods.
As for the Islamic Golden Age, like many such civilizations, they absorbed the knowledge of those they conquered, including Greek science and philosophy. Then they built upon these foundations, making their own unique contributions. Islamic scholarship was extremely influential on European late medieval scholars, who recognized the clear technological and scientific advantage of the Islamic world. While there was frequent opposition by the Church, scholars would secret Islamic manuscripts for study.
Another point: two of the forgotten points in “Islam’s” preservation and transmission of Hellenic classics were translation from Greek into Syriac, and from Syriac into Arabic. Syriac is the literary/religious language of Middle Eastern Christians.
I’m glad Dr. Warner made this video; and he’s spot on about how some of our myths of Islamic “golden ages” and “tolerance” were inventions of 18th century European malcontents whose actual knowledge of Islam was quite limited.
The most fabulous book that completely debunks islamic mythology – Golden Age & Co – is the one written by Norbert Pressburg:
“What the Modern Martyr Should Know – Seventy-two Grapes and Not a Single Virgin”. I read the book a second time right after I first finished reading.
Yes, Norbert Pressburg is a revelation. Don’t overlook Bat Ye’Or’s The Decline of Eastern Christianity. Pressburg illustrates the absurdity of Islamic myth, and Be Ye’Or completes the historic summary of Dr. Warner.
The first part of the video concerns modern contributions by Muslims, not the Golden Age, so it’s irrelevant to the point. The second half suggests that war means it’s not a Golden Age, but nearly all national Golden Ages refer to periods of imperial expansion, often accompanied by wars and the taking of slaves. Furthermore, contrary to his claim, there was a Golden Age of Rome, and a Golden Age of Greece, though they sometimes refer to different periods.
As for the Islamic Golden Age, like many such civilizations, they absorbed the knowledge of those they conquered, including Greek science and philosophy. Then they built upon these foundations, making their own unique contributions. Islamic scholarship was extremely influential on European late medieval scholars, who recognized the clear technological and scientific advantage of the Islamic world. While there was frequent opposition by the Church, scholars would secret Islamic manuscripts for study.
Gates of Vienna: We allow a variety of opinions here at Gates of Vienna.
Is it the policy of this blog to delete respectful disagreement?
–
The first part of the video concerns modern contributions by Muslims, not the Golden Age, so it’s irrelevant to the point. The second half suggests that war means it’s not a Golden Age, but nearly all national Golden Ages refer to periods of imperial expansion, often accompanied by wars and the taking of slaves. Furthermore, contrary to his claim, there was a Golden Age of Rome, and a Golden Age of Greece, though they sometimes refer to different periods.
As for the Islamic Golden Age, like many such civilizations, they absorbed the knowledge of those they conquered, including Greek science and philosophy. Then they built upon these foundations, making their own unique contributions. Islamic scholarship was extremely influential on European late medieval scholars, who recognized the clear technological and scientific advantage of the Islamic world. While there was frequent opposition by the Church, scholars would secret Islamic manuscripts for study.
Gates of Vienna: We allow a variety of opinions here at Gates of Vienna.
Guess that doesn’t include respectful disagreement. Good luck with that.
Zachriel —
It’s a pity you couldn’t have been more patient. If you’d read my post on Wednesday (which I doubt), you’d have known that I was away for a couple of days. I just got back this afternoon.
And if you read our blog regularly (which I also doubt), you’d know that Dymphna, my wife and the co-owner of this blog, is chronically ill with fibromyalgia, inter alia. As a result, when I’m gone it’s difficult for her to take care of all the tasks associated with running this blog, and that includes monitoring and approving comments.
If you had been patient and more gracious, you might have held off with your rancorous comeback until after I came home, so that you could see whether or not your comments were eventually approved.
But it seems you couldn’t do that. Oh, well…
If you’re looking for instant gratification, this may not be the best place for you to spend your time.
Baron Bodissey: It’s a pity you couldn’t have been more patient.
They were in moderation, then they disappeared. That usually indicates they were being deleted. Sorry if that was not the case, and we spoke too soon.
Thank you. Again, we apologize. (You may delete this subthread, if you choose.)
The first part of the video concerns modern contributions by Muslims, not the Golden Age, so it’s irrelevant to the point. The second half suggests that war means it’s not a Golden Age, but nearly all national Golden Ages refer to periods of imperial expansion, often accompanied by wars and the taking of slaves. Furthermore, contrary to his claim, there was a Golden Age of Rome, and a Golden Age of Greece, though they sometimes refer to different periods.
As for the Islamic Golden Age, like many such civilizations, they absorbed the knowledge of those they conquered, including Greek science and philosophy. Then they built upon these foundations, making their own unique contributions. Islamic scholarship was extremely influential on European late medieval scholars, who recognized the clear technological and scientific advantage of the Islamic world. While there was frequent opposition by the Church, scholars would secret Islamic manuscripts for study.