Product Description

In these troubled and extremist times, when the religion and culture of Islam are under seemingly perpetual attack, it is salutary to consider how much we, in the Christian West, have in common with, and how much we owe to, the spiritual insights of that great culture. Religious tolerance, respect for learning, the concepts of chivalry and brotherhood - these principles were brought by the Islamic Moors when, in medieval Spain, they acted as "Beacons of Light" in the Dark Ages of European religious arrogance, intolerance and persecution. The Moors gave Europe an architectural and artistic heritage that is still a source of wonder to the modern world. It was in translation from Arabic, not the original Greek, that knowledge of Greek philosophy became prominent in Christian thought. Western mathematics are based on Arabic numerals and calculations, and the first effective medical school in Europe was founded by Jewish doctors who had been trained in Moorish Spain and North Africa. Tim Wallace-Murphy shows how over the last century it was European Western powers who laid the foundations for the chaos that reigns in the Middle East. We need to find a just and equitable solution to these problems and we should begin by acknowledging our common spiritual heritage and the profound debt that Western civilization owes to Islamic culture.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105925 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Synopsis
In these troubled and extremist times, when the religion and culture of Islam are under seemingly perpetual attack, it is salutary to consider how much we, in the Christian West, have in common with, and how much we owe to, the spiritual insights of that great culture. Religious tolerance, respect for learning, the concepts of chivalry and brotherhood - these principles were brought by the Islamic Moors when, in medieval Spain, they acted as "Beacons of Light" in the Dark Ages of European religious arrogance, intolerance and persecution. The Moors gave Europe an architectural and artistic heritage that is still a source of wonder to the modern world. It was in translation from Arabic, not the original Greek, that knowledge of Greek philosophy became prominent in Christian thought. Western mathematics are based on Arabic numerals and calculations, and the first effective medical school in Europe was founded by Jewish doctors who had been trained in Moorish Spain and North Africa. Tim Wallace-Murphy shows how over the last century it was European Western powers who laid the foundations for the chaos that reigns in the Middle East.

We need to find a just and equitable solution to these problems and we should begin by acknowledging our common spiritual heritage and the profound debt that Western civilization owes to Islamic culture.

Customer Reviews

Read it before giveing openion
Like a typical fanatic he writes without reading the book and without even understanding what the book is about.
It is not about Islam, it is about Muslims.
With a large number of Muslims like him we can understand why they are so backward.

a good read
I bought have read this book, and also used it especially for the part on muslim spain.

have found this very helpfull as other books do not realise the vast impact islamic civilisation has had on the western world. here are some extracts from the book:

« Caliph (prince) Al-Hakam (961-76 CE) a peace loving and scholarly man surrounded himself with scientists and scholars, creating a library of 400,000 books (pg 108 Tim Wallace Murphy)
« Price Al Hakam established schools and centre¡¦s of learning open to people of every social class. (pg 108 Tim Wallace Murphy)
«
« ¡§Religious tolerance in Muslim Spain ensured education for many regardless of their faith.¡¨ (Pg129 ¡V Tim Wallace-Murphy)
« Classical learning crossed from Spain into Christian Europe with the help of Jewish scholars who could easily translate between Arabic, Hebrew and Latin (pg113 Tim Wallace Murphy)

« It was well known and respected colleges in Al-Andalus that became the models on which Oxford and Cambridge were based (T.W.Murphy pg 119)

Comment, not review
I have not read this book, but rather the controversial reviews about it.

All I would like to say is that if you want to learn about Christianity, read the Bible;
If you want to learn about Judaism, read the Torah;
And if you want to learn about Islam, read the Quran.

These seem to be the most logical and accurate ways to learn about any religion, avoiding any opinion or bias.