Islam Creator of the Modern Age
2. Holding Sacred that which is not Sacred
~ 91 ~
GREEK SCIENCES
The modern age of progress began in Europe
between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.
This age is generally referred to as the Renaissance,
which means revival, or rebirth. The Europeans
associate this age of renaissance with Greece, a
European country. They present the modern age of
Europe as being, in fact, a revival of the ideas of
Greek antiquity. But the truth is that Europe went
through a period of awakening, rather than of
rebirth or revival. And this was the first time in the
history of Europe that this had happened. Now
scholars have accepted that the Renaissance of the
West is a direct gift from the Arabs. Briffault writes:
The debt of our science to that of the Arabs
does not consist in startling discoveries of
revolutionary theories. Science owes a great
deal more to Arab culture. It owes its
existence.
42
He goes on to say:
