Barb
Carpe Scrotum
Islam did not invent algebra, they learned it from pagan Persia, who learned it from the Babylonians, when Islam invaded Persia in a plan of military conquest, and then they added to its applications and passed it on to Europe.
Words matter.
By the way those Christian crusaders were only going back to a place that was Christian before Islamic warriors invaded it.
And that philosophy passed on, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, well that was European, Greek. Sadly, much of Islam today has little time for it.
Go to Saudi Arabia today and try to talk about Socrates notions of religious fallibility and see what happens to you.
Go and try and talk freely as a woman at all about anything.
There is enough guilt to go around in history for everyone.
The bold? We can agree, and my post did not say that they invented algebra, but that they translated and improved it, then passed it on to the west. If it weren't for Islam, we wouldn't have HAD an enlightenment. The Western religions imposed the veil and convinced the Muslim male to stifle half their talent. If they're running behind now, that would be why. The Western male had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into whatever century was (is) present. They didn't drag themselves, women had to do it.