Islam Creator of the Modern Age
2. Holding Sacred that which is not Sacred
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THE EMERGENCE OF SCIENCE
In the history of Europe the period from the sixth to
the tenth century A.D. is known as the Dark Ages.
This is a period when Europe was far from being
civilized. “For Europe it was a period of intellectual
darkness and barbarity.”
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The term ‘Dark Ages’ was applicable, however,
only to Europe; when Europe was enveloped in the
murk of the Dark Ages, the light of civilization
shone brightly throughout the world of Islam. As
Bertrand Russell puts it in his
History of Western
Philosophy,
“From India to Spain, the brilliant
civilization of Islam flourished.”
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This Islamic civilization, which entered Europe via
Sicily and Spain, exerted a strong influence there, so
much so that students from Western Europe started
coming to receive their education in the Islamic
universities of Spain. Many from the Muslim world
likewise went to Europe. When Europeans realised
that the Muslims had gone far ahead of them in
education, they began to render books written by
Muslim scholars into Latin. The
Encyclopaedia
