Paste your essay in here…Sera Chang
12 May 2017
Greek And Islamic Civilization's Impact On Modern World
Many of the words often used today stemmed from the Arabic and Ancient Greek languages. The word "algebra" the branch of mathematics that deals with general statements of relation, utilizes letters and other symbols that come from the Arabic word "al-jabr". Even words like "guitar" and "lemon" have their original roots in the Islamic words "qitar" and "laymun." These examples tell how modern day language and concepts come from the influence of ancient world– such as how modern science took shape from ancient knowledge (medicine, philosophy, and more). So it is clear that both Greek and Islamic civilization greatly impacted modern society– the ways both cultures have exerted on the course of modern society differs significantly by its outcome. Greek and Islamic civilization have established a foothold for remarkable development modern world now has gone through.
Ancient Greek influence on modern politics is notable among all of the contributions. Certainly, the greatest is democracy, which is itself a Greek word meaning "people power." Ideals of the democratic tradition in city-states such as Athens generally covered legal equality, personal freedom, and governance by the people. These principles influenced many places around the globe by shaping political institutions and revolutionary movements. Alexis de Tocqueville, a well-known French diplomat, political scientist, and historian has famously observed regarding the U.S., even the spirit of society itself has been largely affected by Greek revolution. Beforehand, inequality of citizens caused many of the intense political problems, because Greek politics relied on aristocracy, where only people in high social ranks were allowed to have their own free will when voting and expressing their own thoughts– whether or not they were political. However, once Solon, the poor aristocrat, was elected archon (a chief magistrate of the polis) in 594 BCE and set about reforming the constitution, the Greek form of civic rights began to change. Solon's reform provided the citizens with more of their own rights, and invited them to participate in making crucial choices that had been made by aristocrats. This revolutionary change to democracy affected not only Greece itself, but also many other countries all over the world back then. It still has an impact on modern countries, from the West to the East. Ancient Greece not only gave the world democracy, but also shaped modern political philosophy. The reason is that the many of the philosophies that were necessary in order to discuss modern philosophy such as atomism, materialism, and mechanism were already present in ancient Greece, introduced by thinkers like Democritus, Epicurus, Lucretius, and some of the sophists.
Along with Greek influence on modern ideas and rules, Islam has also had an effect on norms and notions. Probably the most well-known laws that are still practiced by many people have their deepest roots in Ancient Sumeria, which gave birth to many other ancient legal systems' including Greece, Rome, and Persia. Surprisingly, this legal code was also impacted by Islamic laws long ago. Islamic law represents one of the world's great legal systems. Just like how Judaic law did on western legal systems, Islamic law put out many of the important parts of the religion. When Muslims are asked which law code defines the laws of Islam today, many would respond by saying "Sharia", which means "the right path" in Arabic. Sharia refers to the traditional law of Islam, and it comes from the Koran, the sacred book of Islam. Sharia not only has its basis in the Koran, it also has roots in the Prophet Muhammad's teachings. Again, knowledge gained from education is greatly stressed in these laws. This is clear from the interpretation of the Koran, where it displays the fact that the civil and religious laws of the Arabs are mostly representing in a single body of knowledge. Sharia, Koran, and teachings of Muhammad are not the only ones that made the laws of Islam today. There are four rites– Hanafite, Shafi’ite, Malekite and Hanbalite that made up the fundamental law of the people of Islam. These four rites are not only believed in Islam, but also in many other countries around the world. The Malekite rite is followed in Africa, the Hanafite in Turkey and India, the Shafi’te in Egypt and Arabia, while Egyptian courts base their rulings on the Hanafite rite. From this interpretation, it can be said that the foundation of the democratic way of the ruling has its roots in Greek civic rights.
Islamic civilization has directly led the world by trade, large fields of science, and most importantly, education. Islamic influences helped to shape the tangible structures of the modern times. Among many of the impacts, Islam has especially contributed in the field of science related to medicine. According to Zia Ur Rahaman, the writer of the article titled "Contributions of Islamic Civilization to the world (science and technology)†from the site academia.edu, the Arab contribution in the area of medical science is immense, especially the great achievements in the medical field made by Al Razi, a Persian who wrote an important encyclopedia of medicine, Al Havi, later known to Europe in Latin translation as Continens. This book analyzes and sums up the knowledge of medicine possessed by the Arabs in the tenth century and the impact it had on Greece, Persia and India. It was translated and published in Sicily in 1279 A.D. After Sicily's edition, further editions were printed and circulated for centuries with great effect in Christian Europe and all over the globe.
Along with the influence on current medical field, there is one thing that has directly involved and resulted in the spread of Islamic culture over the world: the Silk Road. The Silk Road refers to the loose network of overland trade routes stretching from the Mediterranean to East Asia. During the 19th century when the Silk Road was first coined by German explorer Ferdinand von Richtofen, most of the Silk Road traders coming from western Eurasia were Muslim, and they brought their beliefs and unique culture to millions of people. Islamic scientific and medical advancements also had significant connection to Silk Road travelers, which is that travelers coming from many different areas of world adopted much of the Islamic medical knowledge. Therefore, it can be seen that the majority of knowledge from the medical field has its roots in Islamic civilization, and more precisely, the Silk Road helped to spread this new medical knowledge to vast regions under its trade routes.
During the Islamic civilization, Muslims not only played the crucial role on spreading their knowledge on medical science, they also made many different progressive achievements by inventing in and creating many useful inventions, such as the Persian wheel and the water pump, which inspired the modern wheel and pump. Specifically, irrigation systems with water flowing through canals was introduced in Al-Andalus, in present day Spain, by Muslims. There was one famous inventor, who was originally a musician. His name is Ibn Nafi, and he even replaced the ostentatious gold and silver goblets with crystal glasses. Along with these noticeable changes he brought to the modern world, he also taught Europeans how to live with style and elegance by inventing sophisticated designs of creation. From the past, hygiene and cleanliness was greatly valued in Islam. This can be found in the five daily obligatory prayers where it does not allow for it to be said without washing and being clean. Therefore, many of the inventions that are made to maintain hygiene, such as deodorants and improved detergents, are mainly from Islam community.
Finally, and most importantly, the primary thing that is always prioritized in Islamic culture is education. The current system of education is also one thing greatly influenced by Islam. The most notable example of Islamic contribution to education is great centers of learning. The first centers were founded in Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo and Cordoba, which later served as models for the European universities. Along with the first centers for learning, another great intellectual center, the Al-Azhar was founded in 970 in Cairo. It started as a mosque and became the largest academy in the Islamic world. If not for these intellectual buildings first built during the Islamic civilization, there might not be the concept of academies, schools, or centers for learning in a modern day. From the part where there were many appreciation for and emphasis on education and learning in Islamic culture, it is obvious that Muslims think that the place and the environment that are made for people to gain knowledge are important.
Thus, both Greek influence and Islamic influence served as the two great pillars of knowledge for modern day people and their lives. But they took different shapes, with more tangible and material changes (science and technology) occurring because of Islamic influence, while the ancient Greek influence affected the way people think and live (politics and philosophy).
Works Cited
Allan Plauché, Geoffrey. "Ancient vs. Modern Political Thought." Gaplauche.com. Accessed on May 8, 2017. http://gaplauche.com/blog/2011/04/09/ancient-vs-modern- political-thought/.
Constitutional Rights Foundation. "The Origins of Islamic Law." Crf-usa.org. Accessed on May 11, 2017. http://www.crf-usa.org/america-responds-to-terrorism/the-origins-of- islamic-law.html.
Emmons, James. "Greek Citizenship." In American Government, ABC-CLIO, 2000.
Accessed April 18, 2017. https://americangovernment.abc-clio.com/
Search/Display/1301897.
Green, John. "Five Things That Ancient Greece Has Contributed to Modern Culture." Classroom. Accessed May 8, 2017. http://classroom.synonym.com/five-things- ancient-greece-contributed-modern-culture-10933.html.
Islam Mufti, Siraj. “Contributions of Islamic Civilization to the Modern World.†In Islam
City, Islam City, 2015. Accessed April 12, 2017. http://www.islamicity.org/
6388/contributions-of-islamic-civilization-to-the-modern-world/.
Le Bon, Gustave. The World of Islamic Civilization. Spain: Tudor Publishing
Company, 1974.
Rahaman, Zia UR. “Contributions of Islamic Civilization to the world (science and
technology).†Academia.edu. 2017. Accessed April 12, 2017. http://www.academia.edu/
12085180/Contributions_of_Islamic_Civilization_to_the_World_Science
_and_technology_.
Ziech, Martin. "Exhibition: Islam in Asia: Diversity in Past and Present: The Silk Road & Islam Spread." In Spread of Islam along the Silk Road, Cornell University Library, 2016-2017. Accessed May 8, 2017. http:// guides.library.cornell.edu/IslamAsiaExhibit/SilkRoadIslam.