How Muslims have helped to shape the world.

‘England is being invaded by fast breeding hostile Islamists whose barbaric practices will one day sweep our heritage and culture away!’- Statement by the BNP...

This statement is nothing new, we've heard plenty of these in the past, no big deal right?...Wrong. Its statements like this one that poison the minds of the public and manipulate people into hatred and anger. If only those people knew the beauty and intellect of the Islam civilisation. If only they knew how Islamic practises (which by the way are not barbaric in any way) have helped to shape the world in which we live and taught us better ways to survive.

Muslims Medics, astronomers, scholars, mathematicians and architects 'practises' are responsible for so many of the things we use today. Many of the world's discoveries and inventions, that are thought to have been done by westerners, which changed ideas and philosophies of the world, were actually given to us by Muslims. For instance it was not Galileo who discovered the vertical proximity of the sun from earth, but a Muslim astronomer 500 years before Galileo. We know this from scriptures of many studies that were carried out. But it doesn't stop there, no, Muslims are responsible for saving lives of millions of people globally, because it was Muslims who first developed the technique of inoculation (vaccinating).

This technique has changed the world and now saves thousands of lives every minute. Yet it was not invented by westerners or the "European Superiors". It was first used by Children in Muslim Turkey who were vaccinated with cowpox to fight the deadly disease, at least 50 years before the West discovered it. Without this practise being brought to the west, people would die from diseases and infections at a terrifying rate.

Here is a list of just a few out of 1001 inventions/discoveries Muslims have given to the world;

- The fountain pen was invented for the Sultan of Egypt in 953 after he demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes. It held ink in a reservoir as we see now with modern day pens.

- A Muslim astronomer discovered that the Sun is always vertical to a particular spot on Earth". It was 500 years before that realisation dawned on Galileo.

- The modern cheque comes from the Arabic saqq, a written vow to pay for goods when they were delivered, to avoid money having to be transported across dangerous terrain.

- The first compass was used in a mosque in Arabia, the Muslims used it as a direction for prayer.

- Many modern surgical instruments are of exactly the same design as those devised in the 10th century by a Muslim surgeon called al- Zahrawi. Al- Zahrawi invented more than 200 surgical tools and he even provided information on how to use each one. His scalpels, bone saws, forceps, and many of the 200 instruments he devised are used today.

- Muslims invented the first hospital which was in Cairo in 872 CE which was called the Ahmad ibn Tulun hospital and Muslim medics first described the circulation of the blood, 300 years before William Harvey discovered it. Muslim surgeons also devised the idea of having a person pass out before operations.

- Coffee, the first record of the drink is when Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk. The Arabic Qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English coffee.

- Qualifications were first awarded by Muslims, and the first schools and universities were opened in the Islamic world. As more students attended universities, ijazas, or certificates, were awarded to those who graduated, similar to the qualifications given today.

Others include:

-Gardens
-Quilts
-Castles
-carpets
-rugs
-Soap
-Parachute
-Sun Dials (later into clocks)
-Mail and post pigeons
-libraries
So when statement like this are made;

“We must preserve the white race, because it has been responsible for all the good things in civilisation”.
-Nick Griffin to 'Wales today'.

We know that no matter how many times Muslims are put down and Islamic practises are insulted, Muslims and their practises are the reason behind so many 'good things' in civilisation, and we know to continue to be strong as a community and continue to bring the inspiring Islamic 'practises' and Muslim heritage to a world which has benefited from them so much.

So Jazakallah to all the Muslims before us who have helped shape the world, and for showing us that we can achieve.

To discover our Muslim heritage in full depth, and to find out every discovery and Invention by Muslims (there are 1001, for every aspect of life), visit... This link. Find out things you never knew.

Written By: Sahrish Zaman. Sahrish Zaman is a Guest Writer on Muslimsinengland.com, the 12 year old sister of our very own Somia Zaman.