Islam and Science: Difference between revisions

These past few years have seen many inventions claimed and attributed to Islamic inventors, which in fact either existed in pre-Islamic eras, were invented by other cultures, or both. However, this detail has not halted Muslim and non-Muslim apologists from perpetuating these false claims. Such claims have even been forced upon the general public in a nationwide tour which opened with an exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester and the University of Manchester, England.  

To celebrate this series of events, an article titled “How Islamic inventors changed the world” was written by Paul Vallely and published in The Independent. This inaccurate piece of writing has received much praise from Muslims and is still being widely circulated on Islamic websites, forums and blogs. This article lists and examines all twenty of these “Islamic inventions that changed the world”, and in doing so, it reveals their actual inventors and the true role of Islam/Muslims, if any, behind the inventions.  

In short, we find that Paul Vallely's article is fundamentally misleading. It omits, distorts, and makes blunders concerning the most basic of historical facts to give the reader a false impression. It leaves you wondering what could have possibly motivated him into writing such a deceptive piece of journalism? This exhibition claimed to have shown 1001 Islamic inventions. If the best twenty are proven false, what of the other 981?