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January7,2015

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8GreatInventionsCreatedby
Muslims
HuffPostGermany|BySebastianChrist(/sebastian

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christ/)
Posted:01/06/20154:31pmEST

Updated:01/06/20155:59pmEST

(javscript:void(0))

SUGGESTED FOR YOU

2."IMetGod,She'sBlack"

444

WhenthousandsofpatrioticEuropeanstooktothestreetsonceagaininDresdento
Share
protesttheIslamisationoftheWest,(http://www.bbc.com/news/worldeurope
(https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?
76
30685842)theiractionsweretheresultnotonlyofresentmentandfear,butalsoof
u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2015%2F01%2F06%2F8inventionswecan
ignorance.
Tweet
thank_n_6424836.html)
(https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?

0
Luckilyforus,ourcentralEuropeanculturehasbenefitedfromIslamicinfluencesfor
lang=en&text=8+Great+Inventions+Created+by+Muslims+http%3A%2F%2Fhuff.to%2F1HHUvec)
thousandsofyears.
(https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/06/8inventions
If,onMondayeveninginDresden,oneofthespeakersadjustshisglasses,heprobably

wecanthank_n_6424836.html)
doesn'tknowhe'sholdinganinventionfromtheArabworld.Ifoneoftheprotesters

3daysagohuffingtonpost.com
huffingtonpost.comAOLForexCarol
KuruvillaCarolKuruvillafashion
1.PastorWhoSpentAYearLiving
WithoutGodNoLongerBelieves

Comment

startssingingrightwingsongs,thenhemightbeaccompanyingthemonan
instrumentwithArabicoriginstheguitar.And,ontheirplacards,thesupposedly
horrifyingfiguresaboutimmigrationwillbewritteninArabicnumerals.
Here,theHuffingtonPostGermanypresentseightthingsweowetogreatMuslim
civilizations.
1.Thenumeralsystem
ManyWesterners,Germansinparticular,areproudoftheirfeatsoftechnologyand
engineering.Butwherewouldengineersbewithoutnumbers?Thenumeralsystemof
1to9whichweusetodaydatesbacktotheHouseofWisdominBaghdad.
(http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/pastexhibitions/travelingthesilkroad/takea
journey/baghdad/houseofwisdom)Itisthoughtthatournumeralsystemwas
inventedthereintheninthcenturyAD.
ThenumeralsbecameknowntoEuropeinthetwelfthcentury,whenBritishArabist
RobertofChestertranslatedthewritingsofArabscholarAlKhwarizmi.
(http://www.wilbourhall.org/pdfs/mbp/robertofchesters00khuw.pdf)AlKhwarizmi,

adayagohuffingtonpost.com
huffingtonpost.comLifestyle
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StedmanChrisStedmanconversion
3.KansasCity'sFirstFemale
CatholicPriest

16hoursagohuffingtonpost.com
huffingtonpost.com
HuffingtonPost.com(AOL)Carol

forwhomalgorithmsarenamed,isknownasthedeveloperofmodernalgebrayet
anotherinventionfromtheMuslimworld.

KuruvillaCarolKuruvillachristianity
4.10TellingNumbersAboutThe
StateOfFaithInAmericaThisYear

2.Thetoothbrush
Islamwastheoneofthefirstworldreligionstoplaceparticularemphasisonbodily
hygiene.TheQuranincludesinstructionsforritualwashing.Itisnowonder,
therefore,thatdentalhygienealsogrewinpopularityasIslamdid.Admittedly,the
ancientEgyptiansarethoughttohavechewedontwigsfromthetoothbrushtree.
However,thetwigs,alsoknownasmiswak
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3545237/),onlybecameknowntoa
widerpublicwhentheProphetMohammedregularlyusedthemtobrushhisteeth.
(http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/06/18/usafricatoothbrushes
idUSL1487199720070618)WhilethereisnomentionofmiswaktwigsintheQuran,
theyarementionedmanytimesinwritingsbyMuslimscholars.

6daysagohuffingtonpost.com
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LynnGrossmanCathyLynn
Grossman2014
5.PossibleSiteOfJesus'Trial
Uncovered

3.Marchingbands
MilitarymarchingbandsdatebacktotheOttomanMehterhane.Thesewerebands
whichplayedduringtheentirebattleandonlyceasedtheirmusicmakingwhenthe
armyretreatedorthebattlewasover.
DuringthewarswiththeOttomanEmpire,thebandsarethoughttohavemadea
considerableimpressiononEuropeansoldiers
(http://em.oxfordjournals.org/content/34/4/533.abstract)afterwhichthey
adaptedtheprinciplefortheirownuse.

adayagohuffingtonpost.com
huffingtonpost.comHuffingtonPost
MobileMicheleChabinMichele
Chabinjesusarchaeology
6.PopePicksNewCardinalsFrom
UnusualPlaces

4.Theguitar
Theguitar,asweknowittoday,hasitsoriginsintheArabicoudalutewithabent
neck.DuringtheMiddleAges,itfounditswaytoMuslimSpain
(http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0822/p09s02coop.html),whereitwasreferred
toasqitaraintheArabicofAndalusia.
ItissaidthatamusicteacherbroughtonetothecourtoftheUmayyadrulerAbdel
RahmanIIintheninthcentury.Themodernguitardevelopedasaresultofmany
influences,buttheArabiclutewasitsmostimportantpredecessor.
(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/719111/MiddleEasternmusic)
5.Magnifyingglass/glasses

2daysagohuffingtonpost.com
huffingtonpost.comHuffingtonPost
MobileByFRANCESD'EMILIOBy
FRANCESD'EMILIOMostPopular
onHuffPost
7.CongressIsWayMoreChristian
ThanTheRestOfAmerica

NotonlydidtheArabworldrevolutionizemathematicsitalsorevolutionizedoptics.
ThescholarAlhazen(http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~jeff/115a/history/alhazen.html)
(AbualHasan)fromBasrawasthefirstpersontodescribehowtheeyeworks.
Hecarriedoutexperimentswithreflectivematerialsandprovedthattheeyedoesnot
sensetheenvironmentwithsightrays,asscientistshadbelievedupuntilthen.He
alsodiscoveredthatcurvedglasssurfacescanbeusedformagnification.

adayagohuffingtonpost.com
huffingtonpost.com
HuffingtonPost.com(AOL)Antonia
Hisglassreadingstones(https://books.google.com/books?
BlumbergAntoniaBlumbergnew
id=v0oL8xDJ0VEC&pg=PA337&lpg=PA337&dq=alhazen+reading+stones&source=bl&ots=IT0h8sKJg4&sig=T7h6LiGhF60SxMc5NzWBlmYyhdY&hl=en&sa=X&
congress
werethefirstmagnifyingglasses.Itwasfromthesethatglasseswerelaterdeveloped.
8.SanteriaPriestsInCubaOffer
Furthermore,Alhazenwroteimportantscholarlytextsonastronomyand
PropheciesForTheNewYear
meteorology.
6.Coffee
CoffeeisthebestknownoftheMuslimworldsexports.Whileitoriginatedin
Ethiopia,itsoonfounditswayovertheRedSeatotheArabianpeninsula,
(http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine22190802)whereitgrewinpopularity.
ItisthoughtthatanOttomanmerchantbroughtthebeanbasedbeveragetoLondon
inthe17thcentury.Venicegaineditsfirstcoffeehousein1645,whileGermanygotto
knowthedrinkfollowingtheretreatoftheTurksfromAustriain1683.Legendhasit
thattheSultanssoldiersleftsackloadsofcoffeebehind.

3daysagohuffingtonpost.com
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TaniaValdsRosaTaniaValdscuba

FOLLOWHUFFPOST

7.Hospitals
ThefirstmodernhospitalwithnursesandatrainingcentrewasinCairo.Inthe
AhmedIbnTulunhospital(namedforthefounderoftheTuluniddynasty),whichwas
establishedintheyear872,
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/islamic_medical/islamic_12.html)allpatients
receivedfreehealthcareaMuslimtraditionwhichwasinstitutionalizedwiththe
adventofthehospital.

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SlightlymorebasichospitalshadexistedpriortothisinBaghdad.ButitwastheCairo
modelwhichwouldlaterserveasthetemplateforhospitalsallaroundtheglobe.
8.Surgery
TheAndalusianborndoctorAlbucasis(AbualKasim)wasoneofthemostsignificant
medicalfiguresoftheMiddleAges
(http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/albucasis.aspx).Inthe
morethan30volumeshewrote,thetenthcenturyArabscholardescribedhow
importantapositivepatientdoctorrelationshipis,andarguedforthesamestandard
ofmedicalcareforall,regardlessofsocialclass.
Healsoinventedmethodsforsurgicallytreatingdiseasesoftheurethra,theearand
theesophagus,andwasthefirstpersontodescribeanectopicpregnancy.Sogreatwas
hisinfluencethathewasstillbeingquotedbyleadingEuropeanphysiciansinthe16th
century.Hisideasshapedmodernsurgery.
ThispieceoriginallyappearedonHuffPostGermany
(http://www.huffingtonpost.de/2015/01/05/erfindungen
muslime_n_6415884.html?utm_hp_ref=germany)andwastranslatedintoEnglish.
ALSOONTHEHUFFINGTONPOST

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