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Originally posted by nenothtu
"The Al Andaluz"? That's like saying "the the Adalusia" I guess Arabic isn't your first language.
Navigation: several previous civilizations that had oceangoing capabilities would be interested in hearing your asessment, I think.
Libraries: the most famous, at Alexandria, seriously predates Islam period, much less Andalusia, and was DESTROYED by the conquering muslims. I hardly consider libraries to be an Andalusian innovation.
Art: also predates Andalusia in southern Europe, and of higher quality, too. Of course, quality of art can be considered to be in the eye of the beholder, eh?
Civilization: You're attributing this to the Moors? HOW?
Tolerance: yeah, as long as the one tolerated was a muslim. The rest of the population either entered dhimmitude, or died. Dhimmitude carried some ridiculously odd restrictions of it's own, designed to keep the dhimmis in their proper place.
Medical, fashion, invention, commerce, music, poetry, and so on: NONE of these were introduced or improved by the Moors. Frankly, I have to wonder where an odd notion like that comes from.
The Reconquista of Al Andalus is what should be celebrated and remembered, serving as an example of the triumph of freedom over the servitude of foreign conquest.
To the folks praising the Andalusian invention of alcohol: This is one of my all time favorites! The name alcohol is Arabic, the substance is not. It was around LONG before Islam, in diverse places, and the fact that what we call it now is Arabic serves me no end of amusement, since intoxicants are forbidden by Islam. How ironic it is that the most common name we give it now was bestowed by a people villifying it!
Originally posted by TheWalkingFox
Originally posted by centurion1211
Otherwise, instead of just starting to become muslim nations now, the countries of western europe would already be praying to mecca.
And that's tragic how? In fact had Islam taken Europe, the Industrial revolution would have likely kicked off about 1400 AD, and Islam worldwide would have been moderated by adding a huge population of christian converts who would influence the worldwide 'ulema.
The horror you feel towards islam is actually a product of the west's repeated attempts to conquer the middle east.
Interesting that some things never seem to change. The text says that although the exact number of soldiers on both sides is unknown, it is accepted that the muslim forces greatly outnumbered the franks that were defending what is modern-day france. In modern times, muslim armies are routinely defeated by much smaller forces in battle after battle.
What happens when you take a large army of men and animals from North Africa, and put them in close-quartered military camps in a cold, rainy portion of a subcontinent famous for outbreaks of bubonic plague?
Same thing that happens when you take a large number of Europeans from a cold rainy place and put them in the middle of a hot continent famous for its malaria outbreaks.