In reading this book, I was amazed to learn how incredibly much the Islamic culture of the 9th through the 13 century AD has contributed to the modern world of arithmetic, chemistry, trigonometry, physics, gelology and medicine, and more.
We have never been told, in school, about the tremendous contributions Islamic peoples of the past gave the world. This was during the Dark Ages, in part, and as Europe recovered from them, it chose not to give credit to the Islamic greats who made so many discoveries in so many fields, and even credited many of these discoveries to its own people, instead of giving the credit where it was due--to the Islamic scientists, mathematicians, chemists, etc.
Although I am not a Muslim, Dr. Khaleel gave a very readable and interesting synopsis of the tremendous contributions the Islamic society long ago, especially in Spain, gave to the world. The back of the book lists numerous areas that are still used, today, such as vocabulary, medicines, foods and herbs,clothing and textiles, medical devices,
business and industrial items, architecture, musical items, military items, and I could go on and on...there are so many areas where we benefit from the ancient Islamic studies.
Sadly, a lot of the knowledge of the ancients was lost, when most of the vast libraries were destroyed, in ancient times. Western conquerors destroyed millions of books, brutally killed the Islamic scientists, and burned to the ground its centers of scholarship. Due to the marauding Vikings, Franks and Crusaders, the glories of ancient Islamic Spain were returned to a level of ignorance, from which it has never recovered.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims were killed, by the invaders, and in one city, alone (Cordova, Spain), a city of a million people, it was exterminated, with few survivors.
As if that wasn't enough, the Mongols picked up where the above invaders left off, and pretty much wiped out the last vestiges of the once brilliant Islamic culture. That was the final blow to that illustrious civilization.
Fortunately, there were European scholars who knew about the many contributions of the Islamic culture before its ruination, and they studied and preserved much of the intellectual genius, hence much of it was credited to the correct scholars.
Dr. Khaleel is a very prolific writer....he has also penned many books on staying well and helping the body to heal itself, through the use of herbal products. On top of that, he has appeared as a guest on several radio shows, talking about alternative health methods. I am amazed at his vast knowledge of both health issues and the history of Islam!
