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Islamic History and
Civilizations
"When we study
Europe's Middle Ages, we seldom include Spain (at least not until
after the "reconquest"). Our libraries abound with books on
the Middle Ages, but try to find in any of them a single word about
daily life and customs in Spain. It is as if later historians, in
order to justify a uniquely "European history", ignored the
fact that a vibrant and brilliant civilization created by
"Others"—by Arabs, by Muslims, by Jews—by brown
and black people—not only existed in Europe, but without whose
contributions the region could not have become what it did. When we
talk about "Europe's" Renassiance, we never think of its
beginnings in Spain several centuries before it reached Italy. It's as
if we lopped off a good 1000 years of history—or at least
amputated it from Europe. Nothing could be farther from the
truth."
From the introduction to A Medieval Banquet in the Alhambra
Palace, Audrey Shabbas, editor, AWAIR, 1991.
In
praise of Islamic civilization
Extract from a speech by Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard.
Early
Islamic History
from Prophet Mohammed (pbuh)
to the Ottoman Empire.
Medicine
Science
Culture
and Arts
Architecture
Finance
 MuslimmHeritage.com
Educating people about the contributions of Islam towards today's
civilisation, culture and science.
Early
Islamic History
from Prophet Mohammed
(pbuh) to the Ottoman Empire.
(See also Companions of the Prophet)
Arabia at the time of Prophet Mohammed
Source: University
of Calgary
Islam:
Empire of Faith
PBS mini-series narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Ben Kingsley, airs
on PBS Tuesday, May 8, 2001, 8:00 p.m. ET (check
local listings). The two-and-a-half-hour program tells the story of the
great sweep of Islamic power and faith during its first 1,000 years — from
the birth of the prophet Muhammad to the peak of the Ottoman Empire under the
reign of Suleyman the Magnificent. Historical re-enactments and a remarkable
exposition of Islamic art, artifacts and architecture are combined with
interviews with scholars to recount the rise of early Islamic civilization.
Spain's Islamic past
"When the Christians recaptured Granada, they burnt all 80,000 books from the
palace library - as if to expunge the memory of Islamic rule."
By Gerald Butt
A BBC brief history of Islamic Spain (711-1492)
Mosque signals Muslims' return to Spain
It is more than 500 years since the Spanish conquered the Iberian peninsula,
killing or expelling every Muslim who could be found and conclusively ending 800
years of Islamic rule. But now a muezzin is calling Spanish Muslims to
prayer at the first mosque to be opened in Granada since 1492.
BBC News, 10 July, 2003,
Islamic History to 1600
This excellent multimedia introduction to the first millennium of
Islamic history, developed by the Department of History, University of
Calgary outlines Muslim beliefs and practices, as well as the history of
the Islamic world from the 7th to the 17th centuries, including the
expansion of the Islamic empires of Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Islam
and Islamic History in Arabia and The Middle East
Useful overview from Islami City. Chapters covering early
Islamic history through to the coming of the West.
Zheng
He (1371-1433), the Chinese Muslim Admiral
Through his seven voyages of discovery to the West, Zheng He helped
transform China into the superpower of his time.
The Adventures of Ibn
Battuta. Part 1
The fantastic journeys of the medieval Moroccan Muslim traveller who,
fifty years before Marco Polo, visited the equivalent of 44 modern countries
from West Africa to India.
Source ABCNews.com
Islamic
History from 570 to 633
From the book A Chronology of Islamic History: 570 - 1000 CE by H.U.
Rahman.
A
Chronology of Muslim history
From 570 to 1950.
Year by year with hyperlinks to articles on important events.
A
Brief Chronology of Muslim History
From 545 to 1990.
(A different site to the one above)
History
of the Muslim World
Written for children. Covers the first 50 years of Islam, the Ummayyad
and Abbassid caliphates, Cordoba, The Crusades, biographies of important
Muslims, various timelines.
Islam
Chronology 570 to 1918
Timelines and historical articles, developed by instructors and students at
the History Department of North Park University, Chicago.
Chronology:
Early Islam 570 to 1492
A timeline compiled by Anthony F Beavers, University of Evansville.
The
Muslim History of India and Pakistan
Timeline form the advent of Islam to 1858.
The
Ottomans
Richard Hooker of Washington State University charts one of the greatest and most powerful civilizations of the modern period.
The
Ottoman Empire
A brief overview.
Empire
of the Ottomans
A brief BBC historical overview of the Turkish Islamic empire which
lasted from the late 13th century until 1922.
Timeline of 15th Century Islamic History
Maps
Maps relating to Islam's historical development.
Internet
Islamic History Sourcebook
Large number of Internet links to information (some hostile) on
Islamic history. Compiled at Fordham University, New York, which is
run by the Jesuit religious order of the Catholic Church.
Rizwi's
Bibliography for Medieval Islam
Rizwi S. Faizer Ph.D. McGill brings significant books and
articles to the attention of students of Islam and the Middle or Near East.
The
Islamic Civilizations Of The Middle East, Africa, And Asia
A brief outline of relevant courses available at Boston University.
Map of the early spread of Islam
Source: University
of Calgary
Why Have Muslim Scholars Been
Undervalued Throughout Western History?
One of history's greatest crimes is the almost complete omission
of the debt the West owes to Islam and the Muslims. By Ahmad Bakir Tarabishy.
The Origins of the
Sunni/Shia split
in Islam
by Hussein Abdulwaheed Amin.
How and why the different schools
of Islamic law emerged
by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi
World
Muslim Population Distribution Map
from the University of Texas
Al Azhar university mosque, Cairo
Mohammed
The Prophet
By Prof. K. S. Ramakrishna Rao
A sympathetic biography by an Indian, Hindu academic.
The
Rightly Guided Caliphs
Articles on the Caliphates of Abu Bakr (632-634),
Umar (634-644), Uthman (644-656), Ali (656-661)
The
Four Caliphs
Four entire books giving an historical account of the reigns
of each of the four Caliphs.
Jerusalem's
Holy Sites
BBC News interactive guide.
World
Civilizations
Course at Washington State University.
Part III A covers the rise and spread of Islam.
Quotations
on Islamic Civilisation
from Napolean Bonaparte, George
Bernard Shaw,
Bertrand Russel, H.G.
Wells, Thomas Carlyle, James
Addison and others.
Quotations
on Moorish (Islamic) Civilization
Quotations
on Muslim Civilization in India
Quotations
from Famous Historians of Science
Tolerance
in Islam
by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, early 20th century English convert to Islam.
Islamic Morality in War
"Do not kill an old man, a woman or a child. Do not injure date palms
and do not cut down fruit trees. Do not slaughter any sheep or cows or camels
except for food. You will encounter persons who spend their lives in
monasteries. Leave them alone and do not molest them." - Caliph Abu Bakr
The Treatment of Minorities
- the Islamic Model
"Far from imposing Qur'anic laws on everybody, Islam permits and even
encourages every group (Jewish, Christian or other) to establish its own
tribunals presided over by its own judges. As far as issues of social and
cultural autonomy are concerned, the safeguard of the rights of non-Muslims in
Islamic territory goes even to the extent of giving them the liberty of
practising customs entirely opposed to those of Islam," explains Syed
Mumtaz Ali.
Race
and Slavery in the Middle East
By Bernard Lewis. Oxford University Press 1994.
The
Vice-President of Granada
by Eliezer Segal.
How a Jew rose to high office in Muslim Spain.
Alhambra
The most famous monument of
Islamic Spain.
From Encarta encyclopaedia.
Causes
of Rise and Decline of Islamic Civilisation
by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall.
Mosque by the Red Sea, Jeddah
Lahore's forgotten palace restored
Work has started on restoring a forgotten jewel of Pakistan's architectural
history.
BBC News, 11 July, 2003
Medicine
Islamic
Medicine: 1000 years ahead of its times
by Ibrahim B. Syed. Edited
by Shahid Athar, M. D.
Medical
Ethics Questions asked by Muslims in the USA and their Short Answers
By Shahid Athar, MD, FACP, FACE, Former Chair, Medical Ethics, Islamic
Medical Association of North America.
Islamic
Culture and the Medical Arts
by Emilie Savage-Smith, Oxford University.
The Online Version of a Brochure to Accompany an Exhibition In Celebration
of the 900th Anniversary of the Oldest Arabic Medical Manuscript In the
Collections of the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, 1994.
The
Origins of Islamic Hospitals and Medical Schools
"Assuredly the body too has a claim over thee." (Bukhari and
Muslim)
Al-Razi,
the Clinician
The contributions to medicine of Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya' al-Razi
865 to circa 925 CE. From the US National Library of Medicine at the
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
The
Arab Roots Of European Medicine
Remarkable insights into history by David W. Tschanz
Classical
Islamic Biomedicine
A large number of links compiled by the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
Islamic
Medicine Online
Huge website by Muslim plastic surgeon, Dr. Sharif Kaf Al-Ghazal.
Covers Muslims and medical history, Islam and medical ethics, Islamic
views on medical issues and more. Caution: please be aware that this
site includes some external links to
non-Muslim scientific sites which include graphics of the human anatomy.
Science
Islamic Civilization
and Science
Muslim Scientists, Mathematicians And Astronomers before European
Renaissance, 700 - 1500 C.E. A huge collection of fascinating articles.
Scientists
and Thinkers from the Islamic Golden Era
The Origin of
Life - an Islamic Perspective
Science must increase our faith. It is wrong for anyone to close their eyes
to what is right in front of them. For a Muslim the evidence of dinosaurs
and fossils is not a threat to our beliefs. Rather, it is a confirmation of the
power of Allah.
Adapted from the Book: What Islam is All About
By Yahiya Emerick
Seeds
for the Future
"I am a scientist and I am a believer. As a scientist, my interest goes to
the cosmos. I try to unravel the puzzles of the physical reality. As a believer,
my interest goes to God and to his action within the human. I try to accept the
mystery of the ultimate reality and the multiple ways it appears in the human
condition. I feel deeply concerned by our 21st century. The terrible events of
September 11 cast a dark shadow on it. Do we have reasons to hope again? Can we
prepare seeds for the future?"
A speech by French Muslim scientist, Dr. Abd-al-Haqq Bruno Guiderdoni, Director
of Research at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics, to the Science and the
Spiritual Quest Conference at Harvard University's Memorial Church, October 25,
2001.
(Click on the "printer friendly version" hyperlink for easier
viewing.)
Medical Notes: Alcohol
"Too much alcohol over a prolonged period can affect nearly every organ in your
body. Alcohol is essentially a poison, and the cumulative effects can be
horrific."
BBC News, 9 August, 2000
Culture
and Arts
Education in Islam - The
role of the Mosque
Salah Zaimeche PhD presents an historical overview.
Al-Azhar University, Cairo
The world's oldest university and Sunni Islam's foremost seat of
learning.
Al Azhar's library to get
wired up to the Internet
Middle East Times, Cairo, March 9, 2001
The
Cultural Academy of Islam
Competition entry by three American High School students. Covers Islamic history, art and architecture, literature, math and
science, culture.
An
Introduction to Islamic Art
A companion website to the Islamic galleries at the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art. Includes works from an area extending from southern Spain to
Central Asia, from the seventh through the nineteenth century. The text is
designed for readers who seek to go beyond the obvious surface beauty of Islamic
art to discover the rich historical and cultural traditions from which this art
emerged.
Islamic
Art
An Online Exhibition from the Ancient Art Department of the Detroit
Institute of Arts.
The
Islamic World to 1600
The Islamic Arts, Learning, and Knowledge section of an excellent
University of Calgary site.
Islamist
Intellectuals and Literature
A survey of the extensive corpus of Islamist fictional narratives,
covering all genres of literature, including poetry, the novel and
novella, the short story, and drama.
Islamic
Philosophy Online
An academic site dedicated to the study of the philosophical output of
the Muslim world.
Al
Ghazali's Website
Resources for studying the works of the great Muslim philosopher and
theologian, Ghazali of Tus (1058-1111)
Sacred
beauty
The Guardian (London), Saturday January 15, 2000
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown explores Muslim art in Britain
Visit the Peter Sanders
Photographic Library
High quality photographs of the Islamic World.
Presenting Islam to the general public in a very beautiful and positive way.
In
the Shade of the Tree
Online edition of a recent exhibition by Muslim photographer,
Peter Sanders,
whose camera has captured the many wondrous and exotic faces of the Islamic
world.
Architecture
Shalimar
A site devoted to Islamic architecture. Read about one of the
world's most inspiring artistic traditions and enjoy photographs of some of its
achievements.
Religious Architecture
and Islamic Cultures
A course by Professor Nasser Rabbat,
Department of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Finance
High
Street bank offers Islamic mortgage
In a new scheme which has the backing of the Muslim Council of Britain, HSBC has
become the first major UK bank to offer mortgages that comply with Islamic law.
BBC News, 1 July, 2003
First
Islamic stock broking service launched
The first UK stock broking service complying with Islamic law has been launched.
BBC News, 28 July, 2003
UK Muslims tackle
mortgage hurdles
A new initiative to allow thousands of British Muslims to get mortgages without
breaking Islamic law is to be proposed to the Treasury.
BBC, October 16, 2002
Case
study: Islamic mortgages
Market research suggests there is a potentially huge market for Islamic
mortgages in the UK - but how do they benefit Muslims trying to buy a home?
BBC, November 29, 2002
Pursuing
an American Dream While Following the Quran
SUSAN SACHS investigates halal finance for Muslims in the United
States
The New York Times, July 5, 2001
Online
investing for Muslims
A new financial service offers online investing with a difference
- strictly in line with Islamic principles.
BBC News, Monday, 27 March, 2000
IslamiQ
Islamic Finance
The latest news and articles on Islamic finance and investment.
MEF
Marketing
Pioneers of the "Contribute without donating" concept which harnesses
the purchasing power of the US Muslim community to generate money back to their
communities without any cost to the consumer.
IslamicLoot.com
promoting awareness, trade and interaction between Muslims living in
non-Muslim countries.
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