Europe’s classical knowledge of the East was preserved and returned by Islamic scholars

Evidence

Various Muslim empires not only initiated a period of translation of the great works of various cultures but also oversaw a period of development. For instance, Muslim scholars built on Persian and Greek scientific concepts, and their work then paved the way for the Renaissance and the development of modern science. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 56 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

A person that I truly admire in the world of academe is Professor Glen Cooper, a BYUand Columbia-trained expert on discoveries and inventions arising from Islamic civilizations. According to his well-documented research, it was Islamic civilizations which gave the West its blueprint for university education today. In eighth century Baghdad, Muslim intellectuals first translated Greek and Indian science and philosophy into Arabic texts that, when later translated into Latin, catalyzed the European renaissance that we all praise today. It was also these same Islamic scientific texts which transformed Western science and ushered in a period of European dominance which many believe ultimately led to the Industrial Revolution. — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 803 (#expands, via linked claim)

Mohammedan civilization in its great days was admirable in the arts and in many technical ways, but it showed no capacity for independent speculation in theoretical matters. Its importance, which must not be under-rated, is as a transmitter. Between ancient and modern European civilization, the dark ages intervened. The Mohammedans and the Byzantines, while lacking the intellectual energy required for innovation, preserved the apparatus of civilization—education, books, and learned leisure. Both stimulated the West when it emerged from barbarism—the Mohammedans chiefly in the thirteenth century, the Byzantines chiefly in the fifteenth. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1634 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Muslim scholars’ work paved the way for the European Renaissance. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 56; Islamic translations of Greek and Indian texts catalyzed the European Renaissance. — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 803; Islamic civilization preserved ancient learning and stimulated Western scholasticism — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1634 (+5 more)

Related

• Muslim scholars’ work paved the way for the European Renaissance. (similarity 0.93)
• Islamic translations of Greek and Indian texts catalyzed the European Renaissance. (similarity 0.93)
• Medieval Europe’s intellectual labor was transmission of Arabic-held knowledge rather than invention (similarity 0.91)
• Islamic empires established libraries that preserved and built on Greek science. (similarity 0.91)
• European science built directly on Muslim scholarship and Copernicus drew on Arabic sources (similarity 0.89)
• Arabic scientific writings served as medieval European textbooks for centuries. (similarity 0.88)
• Islamic civilization preserved ancient learning and stimulated Western scholasticism (similarity 0.86)
• Andalusian translators saved much classical Greek learning for Europe (similarity 0.86)
• The first European universities were founded on Arabic translations of classical knowledge (similarity 0.81)
• Muslim scholars invented decimal fractions, trigonometry, and the basis for Copernicus. (similarity 0.81)
• Non-Western civilizations achieved major rational-scientific discoveries before Europe (similarity 0.80)
• Renaissance scholarship long coexisted with unrevised medieval views of Islam. (similarity 0.80)
• Medieval contempt for Islamic philosophy coexisted with massive intellectual debt to it. (similarity 0.80)
• Renan explained away Muslim scientific achievement by attributing it to Persians and Greeks (similarity 0.79)
• Egyptian thought seeded Greek intellectual and scientific development (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Muslim scholars’ work paved the way for the European Renaissance. #corroborates (0.95) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 56
• Islamic translations of Greek and Indian texts catalyzed the European Renaissance. #expands (0.95) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 803
• Islamic civilization preserved ancient learning and stimulated Western scholasticism #corroborates (0.95) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1634
• Medieval Europe’s intellectual labor was transmission of Arabic-held knowledge rather than invention #expands (0.90)
• Andalusian translators saved much classical Greek learning for Europe #corroborates (0.85) — , A Year of World Stories, 3376
• Islamic empires established libraries that preserved and built on Greek science. #expands (0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 186
• The Silk Princess story illustrates a cultural exchange from East to West. #exemplifies (0.72) — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 789