FACTORS BEHIND
THE DECLINE OF ISLAMIC SCIENCE
AFTER THE
SIXTEENTH CENTURY [1]
Nature, the international journal of
science, with headquarters in London, has published on 2 November 2006 an issue devoted mainly to Islam and Science. The
articles and items are written by Muslim and non-Muslim writers who express
mainly the official points of view of some international organizations.
Although some of the presented ideas are useful, yet they badly miss the point
about the factors behind the decline of science in the Muslim countries.
Therefore, we deemed it useful to publish here our analysis of the factors
behind the decline of Islamic science after the sixteenth century. What was
true in the last few centuries is still true in the present day world of Islam
Introduction
The
contributions of Islamic scientists and technologists in the varied fields of
knowledge were fascinating and are discussed in the various histories of
science[2]. These
contributions, using mainly the medium of Arabic, were made by a wide variety
of individuals — Muslim and non-Muslim — living in a multinational and
multiracial society.
The universal
religion of Islam provided the matrix within which the multiracial and
multicultural Islamic society could subscribe to a universal science. The
ethnic and cultural diversity of the Islamic world was a source of strength and
creativity to the movement of scientists, ideas and products.
The
introduction of efficient and extensive means of transportation facilitated
the expansion of trade and the movement of people and ideas. These advances in
transport and trade gave force to the universal precepts of Islam by
facilitating the transfer of knowledge within the Islamic world; and also to
the widely different cultures of India, China and Europe.
The locus of
scientific creativity in the Muslim world was not fixed. Centres of
considerable scientific activity flourished at different times and were
generally closely associated with the seat of power. During the Umayyad and
Abbasid periods, the capitals of the Islamic world attracted scholars and
scientists. In modern parlance, there was a brain drain to Damascus and
Baghdad. Once the centres of power moved to Cairo, Spain, Persia (Mongolian
period) and Istanbul, the flow of scientists followed there.
During the
first centuries of Islam, the rulers pursued policies which promoted
rationality, communications, trade and economic prosperity. These policies
increased the demand for science and technology. Almost every aspect of life —
from agriculture to health and prayers — depended on some scientific or
technical activity.
The decline,
which set in after a combination of internal and external circumstances and
conditions, caused a decrease in the demand for science and technology.
Science Thrives
Only in Affluent Societies
The Thesis of
Ibn Khaldun
The challenging
question that is always asked is: what were the causes of the decline of
scientific work in Islam, and why did the gap in modern science and technology
become so great between the West and Islam from the end of the sixteenth
century? This is a complex question which cannot be dealt with fully in this
paper, but we shall venture to discuss some aspects of the decline which, it is
hoped, will stimulate further research into this question.
At the time
when scientific communities in Europe were on the increase, all the regions of
Islam were witnessing the decline of science and of scientific communities.
This phenomenon is discussed by Ibn Khaldūn in more than one chapter in his
Introduction (al-Muqaddima).[3] He discusses
the factors which are essential to the flourishing of the sciences and the
other professions, and the factors which lead to their decline. One chapter
carries the title: `That the Professions are Perfected and Become Plenty when
the Demand for them Increases.' [4] He says that
if a profession is in great demand, people will try to learn it, whereas if
there is no demand for a profession it will be neglected and will disappear.
`There is here another secret, and it is that the professions and their
perfection are demanded by the state, which is the greatest marketplace for the
professions', and the needs of the state are so great that the demands of
private individuals are too small in comparison, which means that when the
state declines all professions decline as well. Another chapter carries the
title: `That Regions which Approach a Ruinous State will Become Devoid of the
Professions.' [5] When a region becomes weakened, loses its affluence, and its population
decreases, the professions will diminish, because they can no longer be
afforded, until they finally disappear. He devotes a special chapter to the
sciences under the title: `That the Sciences Increase with the Increase in
Prosperity and with the Greatness of Civilization in a Region.' [6] After a discussion of his theory he says: `Let us consider what we have
known about conditions in Baghdad, Cordoba, al-Qairawan, al-Basra, and al-Kufa.
When these cities became populous and prosperous in the first centuries of
Islam and civilization became established in them, the seas of science rose and
overflowed and scientists marvelled in the terminology and the technicalities
of learning and of the various sciences, and in devising various problems and
theories until they excelled over the ancients and surpassed those who came
after. But when the prosperity of these cities and their civilization decreased
and when their population was dispersed, that carpet, with all that was on it,
was completely folded and science and learning were lost in them and moved to
other regions of Islam.' In discussing the rational sciences, Ibn Khaldūn gives
the same analysis, and he remarks that when the empire became established, and
when Islamic civilization surpassed all others, Muslims studied eagerly the
rational sciences of the ancients until they excelled over them. He remarks
that during his time (the second half of the fourteenth century), the rational
sciences in the Maghrib and in al-Andalus were diminishing because prosperity
in these regions was at a low level, whereas in the Eastern regions of Islam,
especially in Persia and beyond to Transoxania, the rational sciences were
flourishing because of the prosperity of these regions and the stability of
their civilization. Ibn Khaldūn was aware also that during his time, the
rational sciences in Rome, and in Europe in general, were in great demand, and
that there existed in these countries active scientific communities. [7]
The ideas of
Ibn Khaldun are repeated by modern scholars. Thus Bernal in his book Science in
History [8] repeats in a
similar argument that `Science's flourishing periods are found to coincide with
economic activity and technical advance. The track science had followed - from
Egypt and Mesopotamia to Greece, from Islamic Spain to Renaissance Italy,
thence to the Low Countries and France, and then to Scotland and England of the
Industrial Revolution - is the same as that of commerce and industry. Between
the bursts of activity there have been quiet times, sometimes periods of
degeneration. These coincide with periods when the organization of society was
stagnant or decadent.'
Stagnation of
Medieval Science and the Need for a Revolution
The above discussion
helps to explain why the Scientific Revolution did not take place in Islam.
Until the end of the fifteenth century, scientific knowledge was dominated by
few major systems which became dogmatic and static. The main ones were
Aristotelian physics, Ptolemaic astronomy, Galenic medicine, and Jabirian
alchemy. Science had reached a point where further progress became extremely
difficult or even impossible.[9] This explains the scarcity of important scientific progress both in Islam
and in medieval Europe between the thirteenth and the fifteenth centuries. To
achieve major breakthroughs in science, it was necessary to overthrow the old
dominant systems. In other words, a revolution in science was necessary. Such a
revolution requires the existence of a large community of scientists who are
working diligently within a flourishing economy and a stable atmosphere over a
long period of time. Contrary to the world of Islam, this community existed in
Europe after the fifteenth century and it continued on the rise with the
increase of European wealth and population, and the domination by Europe of
other parts of the world.
Islam and
Science
The Wrong
Diagnosis – I - The Theologians
From the
nineteenth century, some writers have suggested that the decline of science in
Islam was caused by the negative attitude of Muslim theologians. Thus Sachau
says, `The fourth century (Islamic calendar) is the turning point in the history
of the spirit of Islam. But for al-Ash`ari and al-Ghazali, the Arabs might have
been a nation of Galileos, Keplers, and Newtons [10] Speaking about
al-Ash`ari, E.G. Browne compared the destructiveness of his influence to that
of Jenghiz Khan and Hūlāgū. [11] A similar point of view is adopted by George Sarton, who labels the
views of al-Ash`ari and al-Ghazālī as scholasticism, which ‘were obstacles to
the progress of science in the Middle Ages.[12]. Sarton says
that until the sixteenth century, developments in science were taking place
both in the East and the West, but after that time Western science began to
grow at an accelerated pace, while Eastern civilization remained at a
standstill, or even deteriorated. He concludes that the essential difference
between East and West is that the latter overcame scholasticism, while the
former did not.
It is true that
the divergence between Islam and the West in science continued to increase
after the sixteenth century, but the assumption that the opposition of
theologians to science was the cause of this, cannot be supported. The real
causes are both political and economic, as was demonstrated by Ibn Khaldun; the
decrease of interest in the rational sciences and the continued interest in the
study of the religious sciences are unrelated. The former was a symptom of the
economic weakness of the Islamic states and of their decreasing political
power. Had there been a need for science and technology, as was the case
during the Golden Age of the Islamic Empire, the rational sciences would have
continued to progress without interruption. In Islam, there was no single
religious authority that controlled the whole educational system, and this left
the system free and not dominated by orthodoxy. The rise of scientists and the
flourishing of the rational sciences in the Golden Age reflected the prosperity
of the empire and its strength, and the large number of mathematicians,
astronomers, physicians, engineers and other kinds of scientists was in
response to the needs of society and of the empire in that period. It conformed
to the law of supply and demand.
It is not our
purpose here to defend the theologians. It should be pointed out, however, that
the debate which took place between them and the philosophers was not over the
rational sciences. From the beginning, the study of mathematics, astronomy,
medicine, alchemy and the other sciences was greatly encouraged, and it was
mostly undertaken by scholars who were non-philosophers and non-theologians
themselves. The Golden Age of science took place at the same time as the debate
between theologians and philosophers was taking place. The study of the
rational sciences was not affected by such a debate, since the pursuit of these
sciences was independent from both the theological and the philosophical
studies. To illustrate our statement, let us take the reigns of al-Ma'mun and
of al-Mutawakkil. Al-Ma'mun (813-833) was a staunch supporter of the
Mu`tazilites and the rational sciences flourished during his reign. Contrary to
him, al-Mutawakkil (847-861) was, according to one orientalist, [13] `of the strictest orthodoxy and fanatical in his orthodoxy...'. During his
time `the forces of orthodoxy began to gather momentum', and the orthodox
theologians , whose front was led shortly later by al-Ash`arī,put up an
organized front against the Muctazilites But, with his `orthodoxy and
fanaticism',, al-Mutawakkil like al-Ma'mun `was a patron of science and
scholarship and reopened the Dar al-Hikma, granting it fresh endowments. The
best work of translation was done during his reign... He was a generous patron
of scientific research... The best work of Dar al-Hikma was done under him, for
by that time experience told, and Hunayn was surrounded by well-trained
pupils.'
The Wrong
Diagnosis – II -The Madrasa System
In a similar
line of thinking, the decline of the rational sciences in Islam is attributed
by some writers to the fact that the madrasa system which flourished after the
founding of the Nizāmiyya Madrasa in Baghdad by Nizām al-Mulk. in 459/1067
favoured the study of theology and law.[14] But the study of the rational sciences in Islam was always undertaken
independently, and the theological studies were not usually undertaken under
the same teachers or at the same institutions. Astronomy and mathematics were
pursued mostly in the observatories, within a community of mathematicians and
astronomers, where a specialized library was available and observational
instruments were in constant use. The medical sciences were studied, as they
should be, in the medical school of a bīmāristān (hospital). The other sciences
were studied under individual renowned scientists, most often patronized by the
rulers, to whom students travelled from the far realms of Islam. The existence
of these individual renowned teachers constituted what may be called a college
of professors within a certain large city or a region. Let us not forget also
the libraries and the academies, like Dār al-Hikma in Baghdad, which were
devoted to research and to the study of the rational sciences. Most of the
madrasas, on the other hand, were established by persons in power or by pious
and wealthy individuals who endowed a part of their wealth to a waqf which
supported the school. The purpose was always religious, and the studies were
naturally mainly those of law and theology. It can be said therefore that the
madrasa was mainly a college of theology and law, and it was, according to
recent studies, the forerunner of the college system in Western universities.[15] But the
universities which appeared in the West and which comprised several colleges
for theology, law, arts and sciences, and medicine, did not develop in Islam in
the same period. This is due to the fact that the madrasas which were supported
by the waqf system, and with them the study of law and theology, continued to
exist without interruption, whereas the centres for the study of the rational
sciences, which were dependent on the strength and the prosperity of the state,
deteriorated and ceased to exist with the decline of the Islamic states, and
for this reason scientific knowledge did not keep in line with the quick
advances of science in Europe after the Scientific Revolution. In the period
preceding this revolution it was possible to speak about the achievements of
Muslim scientists and compare them to those of medieval Europe. Advances in
both areas were parallel and there was not a significant difference between
them. But after the new discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo and Newton and the
fall of the old systems of knowledge, the university in the West became the
centre of the new scientific activities. For the Scientific Revolution which
took place in Europe to have happened in Islam at the same time, there would
have to have been in existence at that time in history an efficient system of
communications between members of the scientific communities in both cultural
areas. But such a system did not exist; there were no Islamic universities which
comprised all branches of knowledge, and the Islamic scientific community was
almost non-existent. It was only in modern times that universities on the model
of the European ones started to appear in the Islamic countries. Some of the
older universities, such as al-Azhar, which followed the madrasa system and
were devoted to the study of Islamic law and theology, have only recently
introduced science, engineering and medicine into their curricula.
Having thus
established the link between the decline of Islamic science and the decline of
the Islamic lands both in political power and material wealth, the question
which remains to be answered is: what are the factors behind the decline of the
Islamic lands? And although the discussion of this subject lies in the domain
of political and economic history, and not in the scope of the history of
science, yet we shall summarize what we think are the major factors in the
decline.
Factors behind
the Decline of Muslim Power and Prosperity
The Nature of
the Land
Most of the
core Islamic countries, or the lands of the Islamic Middle East, are composed
of arid or semi-arid lands with some scattered inhabited lands and large
uncultivated or desert areas.[16] Taking the
lands of the early Islamic empire, excluding Spain, the inhabited area did not
exceed one quarter of the total, the rest being barren or desert lands. Even
the inhabited areas are mostly dependent on irrigation for their cultivation,
since the rainfall in most of the areas is not sufficient to support
agriculture. This ecology of the Middle East meant that its most productive
agriculture was confined mainly to the basins of the great rivers of the Nile,
the Euphrates and the Tigris. But the harnessing or utilization of the waters
of these rivers could not be attempted by individuals, and this job had been
undertaken since the days of the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Babylonia
by the strong central governments. Also in the first centuries of the Islamic
empire, during the Umayyads and the Abbasids, the caliphs and the governors of
the provinces gave great attention to the construction and the maintenance of
the irrigation systems. And it is well known that an agricultural revolution
took place in the first centuries of the Islamic empire. When the central
government was weakened or disappeared, the irrigation works were neglected,
and when, in addition, these works were destroyed by the Mongol invasions, as had
happened in Iraq in the thirteenth century, agricultural lands became arid or
turned into marshes and the whole economy and civilization of the region were
destroyed.
Some changes in
climate and in the rate of rainfall contributed also to the conversion of
agricultural lands into arid. At the beginning of the Islamic period and until
the middle of the thirteenth century, the area east of Antioch in Syria was one
of high rainfall, and it saw the founding of many cities and much farming was
taking place. Yet within a few centuries, the territory became arid.
The important
consequence of this ecology is that the area is considered a poor one from an
agricultural point of view. It cannot depend only on agriculture for its
prosperity and for the development of its civilization.
The Nomads
Another result
of the ecology of the Middle East is that the semi-arid nature of the region,
and the decline and the destruction of its irrigation systems, resulted in a
phenomenon which is also peculiar to it. There existed throughout the history
of the civilizations of the area, nomadic tribes who utilized the peripheral
lands as pastures for animal breeding. The nomadic tribes always affected the
stability of the central government and the economy of the region. When the central
government was strong and the economy was prosperous, the nomads were usually
kept under control. Whenever the central government was weakened, the nomadic
tribes would prevail and influence or dominate the various individual
governments in the region causing further disorder and anarchy. With the
destruction of the irrigation works and the transformation of irrigated lands
into pastures or marshes, the nomads increased the areas under their immediate
control, and thus the decline of civilization was further accelerated. This
process of the conversion of irrigated lands into arid or marsh lands and the
encroachment of nomads into previously settled areas led also to the
depopulation of Iraq and Syria from the thirteenth century until the modern era.
Natural
Disasters
Another
important phenomenon in the social and economic history of Egypt, Syria and
Iraq in the Middle Ages was the drastic depopulation caused by natural
disasters.[17] In 968, the low level of the Nile caused a terrible famine which resulted
in the death of about 600,000 people. Similar famines followed. One terrible
famine, which was caused also by a low level of the Nile, lasted seven years
between 1066 and 1072. Peasants deserted their villages and agricultural
production was diminished severely. These famines heralded the beginning of a
series of natural disasters which resulted in the depopulation of Egypt. In
1201 and 1202 a terrible famine was followed by plague and large numbers of
people died. In many villages only empty houses remained; and in some quarters
in Cairo all the inhabitants died. This was one of the major demographic
disasters which befell Egypt in the Middle Ages.
However, the
greatest catastrophe in the Middle Ages was the plague of 1347, 1348 and 1349,
which was known in Europe as the Black Death and which swept across the Islamic
world and Europe. Thousands died every day, and the population of Egypt, Syria
and Iraq was diminished by one third. The Black Death was followed by a series
of plagues which continued into the nineteenth century. It was estimated that
between 1363 and 1515 alone, sixteen epidemics occurred in Egypt and fifteen
in Syria.
These recurring
famines and plagues were instrumental in diminishing agricultural production.
Death wiped out a large proportion of peasants and domestic animals. Industry
collapsed with the deaths of great numbers of skilled workers. This also had
adverse effects on the administration and the government. The Mamelukes no
longer had sufficient resources to maintain their military organization. This
led to instability, corruption and oppression which helped further to
accelerate the economic decay.
The
Geographical Location and the Geography of the Region
The
geographical factor made Iraq, Syria and Egypt the targets of continuous
external attacks, aggression or intervention from the First Crusade in AD 1006
until modern times. Geographical location gave a prime strategic asset to some
countries such as Japan and the British Isles, since their insular location
offered protection from overland invasion. The geography of Europe and its
location in the west protected it also from similar invasions. Europe's
landscape was much more fractured, with mountain ranges and large forests
separating the scattered population centres in the valleys, and its climate
varied considerably. This had minimized the possibility that the continent
could be overrun by an external force like the Mongol hordes.[18] In contrast, Iraq, Syria and Egypt were central between East and West and
their flat geography made them vulnerable to external invasions from both
sides.
The Crusades
Between 1096
and their final defeat in 1291 no fewer than seven Crusades were mounted
against the Arab lands; one Crusade was mounted against Constantinople. The
first three (1096, 1147, 1189) focused on Syria, including Palestine. The
Fourth Crusade (1204) pillaged Constantinople, while the Fifth, Sixth and
Seventh Crusades (1218, 1244, 1250) were directed against Egypt. The last one
(1270) was directed against Tunisia.
Palestine,
especially Jerusalem, was considered holy for the three religions of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. The declared object of the Crusades was to occupy the
Holy Land, especially Jerusalem, and to replace the native Muslim population by
a Latin one. During the conquest, the Muslim population of the captured Syrian
towns was annihilated by mass slaughter, and was replaced by the members of the
invading armies and those who accompanied them, such as adventurers, merchants
and pilgrims.
There were also
other motives behind these wars. Around AD 1000, the population of Europe was
growing, whereas that of the Islamic world was on the decline. The population
of Europe was estimated at 38.5 million while that of the Islamic lands did not
exceed 12.5. Some historians are of the opinion that `the Crusades were essentially
an early experiment in expansionist imperialism, motivated by material
considerations with religion as a psychological catalyst.' [19]
The period of
the Crusades was one of growth on all fronts in Western Europe. There was a
growth in population and in production. The growth in profits led to the
accumulation of capital and this stimulated all who engaged in trade, notably
the members of the Italian commercial and banking houses.[20] The Crusades offered huge opportunities for the expansion of the great
maritime cities of northern Italy — Venice, Pisa and Genoa. The conquest, and
the concessions given to these cities, allowed the establishment of Italian colonies
in the towns of the Syrian coast.[21] These colonies
flourished under the Crusaders' rule, and they survived under the Muslim
re-conquest and developed a considerable trade both for export and import.
They were instrumental in the transfer of the manufacturing technologies of
some Near Eastern industries and the establishment of these industries in
Italy. There came a time when the process was reversed and the Italian products
of these industries started to be exported to the Near East. This was probably
the chief permanent effect of the Crusades in the Near East.[22]
The efforts to
confront and oust the Crusaders, which lasted for two centuries, sapped the
local economies and weakened the Arab urban centres. This enormous task
required formidable military strength which could not be provided by Syria
alone, with its limited human and economic resources. It was only through the
unity of Syria and Egypt under the Ayyubids and the, Mamelukes, and through the
military system that was adopted, that the Crusaders were finally defeated and
expelled.
The Mongols
In the middle
of the thirteenth century, and while the core Islamic lands were still busy
with the expulsion of the Crusaders, another terrible invasion came from the
East. Genghis Khan united the nomadic tribes of Mongolia and launched a
devastating assault against the Eastern Islamic lands. By 1220/1221 Samarkand,
Bukhara and Khwārizm fell into their hands and were cruelly devastated. In
1221, they crossed the Oxus River and entered Persia. Genghis Khan died in
1227. In the middle of the century, a new plan to conquer all the lands of
Islam as far as Egypt was entrusted to Hūlāgū, who marched with an army
numbering 200,000 men according some Arabic sources. [23] In February 1258 Baghdad fell into their
hands. The Abbasid caliph al-Musta`sim was killed and the caliphate was
abolished. This marked the end of a remarkable era in Islamic civilization.
The most
disastrous effect of the Mongol invasion was depopulation. The capture of
Baghdad and several towns was followed by horrible massacres. The number of
inhabitants who were slaughtered in Baghdad after its conquest according to
Arabic sources ranged between 800,000 and 2 million; non-Arabic sources give
lower figures, but it probably exceeded 100,000. [24] There were
massacres in every other city. It is beyond doubt that the conquest of Iraq by
the Mongols was a demographic catastrophe. Many towns remained desolate, and
there was carnage in the countryside too. According to Rashid al-Din, most of
the towns on both sides of the Euphrates were devastated and destroyed.[25]
Under the
Ilkhanids, there was a general and progressive decline of Iraq's population [26] The decrease
of the population of Iraq and the consequences of the Mongol conquest were so
catastrophic that Hamd Allah al-Qazwini observed that `there can be no doubt
that even if for 1,000 years to come no evil befall the country, yet it will
not be possible completely to repair the damage and bring back the land to the
state in which it was formerly.[27] Modern research has revealed that the population of the province of Diyala,
including Baghdad, had declined from 870,000 in AD 800 to 60,000 after
1258.
Immediately
after the fall of Baghdad, the Mongols continued their march and overtook Syria
and according to their plan, they were heading towards Egypt which was
threatened also with annihilation and destruction. The Mamelukes realized the
immensity of this danger, and they stood up to the challenge. In the battle of
`Ayn Jālut in Palestine, in 1259, the Mongols were defeated decisively, and
their tide was checked. The Mamelukes gradually wrested all of Syria from
Hulāgu and his successors. The last encounter in this era between the Mongols
and the Mamelukes took place in 1304 when Ghazan,
who was already
converted to Islam, was defeated. The final expulsion of both the Crusaders and
the Mongols from Syria was achieved at the same time.
Timur
(Tamerlane, ruled 1370-1405) followed in the footsteps of Genghis Khan in
ruthlessness, and in conducting worldwide conquests. Although he was a Muslim
and claimed that his campaigns were made in the name of Islam, yet they
inflicted all the horrors of barbarian devastation on the Islamic world. In
1400-1401 he invaded Iraq and Syria and sacked and pillaged Baghdad, Aleppo
and Damascus. His spoils from Damascus included the learned men and the
artisans whom he took back with him to his capital in Central Asia. This was a
further blow to the civilization of the region.
The Loss of
International Trade
The economy of
the core Islamic lands during the Golden Age of Islam was a commercial and a
monetary one which could quite easily have continued to match that of Europe
had it not been beset by various adverse factors. A main element in the
prosperity of the Islamic economy was international trade. The strategic
location of the Islamic lands between East and West and their military strength
enabled them to be the masters of international trade until the end of the
fifteenth century.
It is not a
mere coincidence that the year 1492 witnessed the fall of Granada, and the
expedition of Columbus in an effort to find a route to India which could bypass
the Islamic lands where Ottoman power was on the rise. Thus Columbus discovered
the New World and Spain established its authority on the greater part of the
newly discovered continent. In this same period, the Portuguese were seeking
also to bypass the Islamic lands to reach the East and bring its riches
directly to Lisbon. The Portuguese discovered the route around Africa. There
was virtually no Islamic naval power in the Indian Ocean, and they were able to
occupy all the important Islamic trading posts in the East and to establish
their colonies.
The Portuguese’
presence in the East enabled them to establish direct trade with Europe, and to
levy taxes on Muslim merchants and Muslim ships, but the supply of the Islamic
lands with Eastern goods remained in Muslim hands.
The situation
changed at the end of the sixteenth century with the rise of Holland, England
and France as the dominant forces in world trade. These countries enjoyed uninterrupted
political stability and economic, technological and scientific progress. Each
of them established a worldwide commercial empire based on advanced gunnery and
sailing techniques, in addition to utter ruthlessness in the pursuit of
profits.
The discovery
of the New World and the new routes to the East brought untold riches to
Europe, which prospered on the captured gold, silver, spices and other
products. The distribution of wealth between Europe and the Islamic lands had
changed dramatically, and the centre of international trade had shifted from
the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean to the Baltic and the Atlantic.
The rise of the
commercial empires created a system of exploitation in which Europe became the
supplier of high-value manufactured products and the colonized or dominated
countries, including the Islamic lands, produced raw materials.[28]
The
Capitulations
The core
Islamic lands did not encounter a frontal military assault from the West
similar to that of the Crusades until the nineteenth century. But during the
intervening period, they were penetrated and invaded economically in an
indirect and a more insidious and damaging manner. Even when the Muslims were
victorious following the expulsion of the Crusaders, the Italian maritime
cities which established their presence during the Crusaders occupation of the
Syrian coast continued their presence and activities in Egypt and Syria under the
Mamelukes, with damaging economic effects for both Egypt and Syria. The Ottoman
sultans adopted even more harmful policies. Immediately after the capture of
Constantinople in 1453, the Genoese in that city were given trading privileges.
These privileges and immunities, which were given to foreign non-Muslim trading
communities living in Muslim cities, came to be known as the Capitulations. The
word means submission, surrender and subordination, which is contrary to
sovereignty and independence. The Ottoman sultans thought that these
concessions to foreigners would benefit the empire's economy. In 1535, the
French secured commercial concessions in the empire, in addition to other
important privileges. The English Levant Company acquired comparable privileges
in 1580.[29] In
Persia, Shah Abbas I, who was a powerful ruler, acted in a similar manner. He
granted the English East India Company similar commercial concessions. These
concessions granted by Muslim rulers gave Europeans the opportunity to gain
control over a large share of the economic life of Islam.
With the
declining power of the Ottoman Empire, the Capitulations were confirmed and
extended to give foreign powers non-commercial concessions as well, such as the
right of foreigners to have their own consular courts, and the right to guard
Christian holy places. In the Levant, France was granted the right to protect
all native Latin Catholics. Russia and Britain claimed similar protective
rights over other sectors of the native population.
The nineteenth
century witnessed the rise of European imperialism led by Britain. Although
British goods were invading the Ottoman Empire, yet Britain exerted powerful
pressure on the Ottoman Empire and forced it to abolish the system of state
monopolies. In 1838, an Anglo-Turkish treaty was signed giving Britain and the
European powers the right to trade in the empire in return for a duty of 3 per
cent only.[30] This treaty,
known as the Commercial Code, deprived the Ottoman government of its revenue
from state monopolies. It opened the door for the foreign economic domination
of the empire. Cheaper European goods invaded the markets, and the local
industries were virtually destroyed. The Ottoman economy declined into that of
a satellite in its relationship with Europe, supplying it with raw materials
which were Manufactured in Europe and then sold back in the empire.[31]
Western
Military Intervention to Thwart Modernization [32]
In the
nineteenth century, some Muslim rulers realized the weakness of their economies
and became aware of the urgent need to introduce reforms and to modernize.
These attempts took place in the Ottoman Empire, in Egypt, and in Tunisia, and
all of them were thwarted by direct or indirect intervention by European
powers.
The story of
Mohammad Ali is an example of direct military intervention by Western powers to
foil the attempt to modernize by a Muslim ruler. Mohammad Ali, who was
described by Brockelmann [33] as the most important
man in the history of modern Islam, came to power in Egypt in 1805. He realized
from the start wherein lay the power of Western Europe. So he spent his
lifetime in an attempt to modernize and to build the economy of Egypt. He
realized that military strength does not lie in the number of men in the armed
forces or the amount of amassed imported military equipment, but in the
possession and control of the means of production and not being dependent on
Europe. So he undertook a massive programme of modernization and
industrialization.
He started by
abolishing the Mameluke military system and establishing a modern army of about
180,000, in which the sons of the Egyptian peasants were recruited. He
introduced a land reform in which he abolished the iqtá system and
consolidated the agricultural lands as state property, and allotted them to the
peasants. He encouraged agriculture and introduced the cultivation of cotton
into Egypt as an export crop for securing the foreign exchange which was much
needed for his reforms. He made foreign trade a state monopoly and refused to
apply the Commercial Code which was imposed by Western powers on the Ottoman
Empire, because he believed that it would destroy the economy of Egypt.
Mohammad Ali
built many industrial factories to produce a wide range of products which were
needed for the country as a whole and for the army and the navy. These included
textiles, clothing, paper, dyes, sugar, chemicals, leather, glass, machine
tools, pumps, guns and ammunition, and many other products. He even built
naval vessels in Alexandria. The number of industrial workers reached about
400,000. He sent workers to Europe to be trained in European factories and
hired foreign technicians for some industries. Missions of Egyptian students
were sent annually to Europe to study and specialize. Many modern schools were
built for the first time in Egypt, such as the schools for medicine, veterinary
medicine, engineering, languages, secretarial services, infantry and artillery.
At one time, the number of students in these schools reached 10,000, all of
whom were supplied with lodging, food and stipends. The aim was to create the
cadres needed to run and supervise a modern government and a modern economy,
and to provide the army with the needed trained manpower.
Muhammad Ali
created a united Arab state which included Egypt, Greater Syria, Hijaz and the
Sudan all of which were neighbours. Syria in particular was of immense
importance as was evident to him from the history of Egypt and Syria during the
previous Islamic periods.
The major
Western powers became increasingly concerned and alarmed by the threat that
this rising Islamic power posed to their interests. Britain in particular
regarded Muhammad Ali as a dangerous menace to its interests. Palmerston in an
official correspondence to his ambassador in France wrote: `I hate Muhammad Ali
whom I consider him nothing better than a barbarian. I believe that he is a
great tyrant and oppressor.' Britain was seriously alarmed by the spread
of Muhammad Ali's power along the whole eastern coast of the Red Sea and along
a part of the southern coast of Arabia in which they saw a threat to their
route to India and the East. All the major powers saw in his economic policies
and his expanding power a threat to their interests and to their markets in the
Islamic lands.
Britain set
about organizing the five major powers of Europe, Britain, France, Prussia,
Austria and Russia, to join an alliance to oust Muhammad Ali from Syria and to
curtail his power. Even though these powers had conflicting interests, yet in
this case they agreed to unite against Muhammad Ali. In 1840, the fleets of the
allies led by the British, assembled off the Syrian coast to attack Ibrahim
(his son). They instigated a local revolt exploiting the religious differences
among the population, and then landed in Beirut. Ibrahim was obliged to
retreat. Then Acre was besieged, bombarded and captured. This was followed by
the siege of Alexandria. Muhammad Ali realized that he was beaten. His French
allies deserted him, and he could not fight the European powers alone.
Through the
terms of the Treaty of London of 1841, Muhammad Ali was obliged to leave Syria
and Hijaz, and to reduce his forces to 18,000 only from 180,000 (or 250,000
according to some reports.) He had to acknowledge the validity of the treaties
concluded between the Ottoman Empire and the foreign powers, including the
Commercial Code.[34]
The Rise and
Decline of the Ottoman Empire
Coping with
Overextension, Sustained Crusade and the Cultural Barrier
When the
Ottomans were on the rise, they were always keen to encourage economic
activities in the new areas which were added to their empire. In the new
cities, all the trades and crafts were established as an important support for
the military effort.[35] During the
sixteenth century, the Ottomans were the superior military power. Their
artillery and armaments were unchallenged.[36] The Ottoman
and Islamic civilization in general developed unaided until it reached the
point where it could not develop any longer without a great new advance or a
revolution in science and technology. The Ottomans were a great power as long
as their gunpowder technology was superior. Gunpowder technology was developed
by the Islamic civilization from the thirteenth century until the end of the
sixteenth, Nothing of significance in this technology was borrowed from the
West. We can even safely say that, in general, Islamic technology in the
sixteenth century represented the best that was known in that age. This is
illustrated in the mechanical engineering books of Taqì al- Din, who flourished
at the end of the sixteenth century in Istanbul, and who established also the
advanced Istanbul observatory which was the last one in Islam. In that same
age, an English traveller in Syria was studying why people in England were
under the impression that the Turks were superior to people in the West.[37]
How can we
explain then the decline which followed, and why the West overtook and then surpassed
the Ottomans after the sixteenth century? We have given above various factors
which led to the decline of the Islamic lands including the Ottoman Empire,
notably the capitulations.
The Ottomans
lost their advantage in military technology after the sixteenth century, and
their economy and their science and technology did not advance beyond medieval
standards. In Europe, things began to change dramatically. The sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries saw the emergence of a European economy on a large scale.
The geographical discoveries brought to Europe great riches from the New World
and from the newly discovered trade routes with India and the Far East. Other
internal factors were behind the economic progress of local trade and industry.
The fertility of the land in Europe and the growth of population were among the
factors behind this economic growth.
By about the
middle of the nineteenth century, the population of the Ottoman Empire was
barely 17 million.[38] This included
more than 5 million in the European part which was more of a liability, 6
million in Anatolia and Istanbul, 2-3 million in Egypt, about 1 million in each
of Syria and Iraq, and 2-3 million in North Africa. The population of Western
Europe in this same period was about 190 million which is more than 11 times
the population of the Ottoman Empire.[39] And with
Russia and Eastern Europe the total was 274 million or more than 16 times the
size of the Ottoman Empire. Each of the following West European countries was
larger than the Ottoman Empire in population: Great Britain (28.9 million),
France (36.5), Spain and Portugal (19.7), Italy (23.9), Germany (31.7), and
Austro-Hungary (31.3).
In face of this
growing prosperity and power of Europe, the Ottoman Empire was to falter, and
to turn inward. The Ottoman army, however well administered, became increasingly
unable to maintain the lengthy frontiers without enormous cost in men and
money; and the Ottoman Empire, unlike that of the Spanish, Dutch, and the
British later, did not bring much in the way of economic benefit. By the second
half of the sixteenth century, the empire was showing signs of strategic
over-extension,[40] with a large
army stationed in central Europe, an expensive navy operation in the Mediterranean,
troops engaged against Persia, in North Africa, the Aegean, Cyprus, and the Red
Sea, and reinforcements needed to hold the Crimea against a rising Russian
power.
An important
element in the decline was the cultural barrier which existed between Christian
Europe and the Ottomans and which isolated the empire from the revolutions
which took place in science and technology. This resulted also in a hostile
relationship with Europe, which was considered as a continuation of the
Crusades and which sapped the energy of the empire.
The gap between
the levels of development continued to increase, and when the Ottomans realized
in the nineteenth century the need to modernize, it was not as much the forces
of reaction which delayed the reforms, but the obstacles which were created by
the Western powers.
The Future of
Islamic Science
After the
Second World War, most Islamic lands became independent once again, but the
scars of long colonial rule remained. These are evident in the further
fragmentation of Islamic and Arabic countries into smaller states, in the
injustice and oppression inflicted against the Palestinians, in the destructive
invasion of Iraq, in the renewed activities to strengthen the cultural barrier
between the West and Islam and to distort the image of Islam, in the current
sectarian and ethnic feuds and devastating civil wars within some countries. in
the economic and political dominance of foreign powers, and in the cultural
domination exemplified in the use of foreign rather than national languages in
higher education.
But despite all
the adversities and obstacles facing the Islamic lands, the future holds hope
and promise. These lands have been the cradle of some of the richest
civilizations ever known. Science appeared in the Nile Valley, Syria and
Mesopotamia. It continued uninterrupted over thousands of years, reaching its
peak during the Islamic period. It flowed on incessantly, and the wide gap of
today started only since the Industrial Revolution, less than 200 years ago.
Thus there is a solid substratum to the civilization of the Muslim world, which
has indigenous and inherent cultural traditions and customs, deeply rooted in
the peoples of the area. In addition, there are the crafts and industrial
skills inherited over thousands of years. These inherited skills proved their
importance in the wake of independence and after the Second World War, when
some Islamic countries started to industrialize and thousands of workshops and
industrial plants were established in all Muslim cities. Craftsmen in even the
smallest machine shops were able to manufacture the most delicate modern
machinery, in no way inferior to imported or imitated versions.
In approaching
modern science and technology, we must remind ourselves of those lessons of
history that help us to look to the future. For history shows that there is
nothing in the content of any part of science, or indeed of technologies high
or low, that cannot be nurtured and developed by any people of any type of
culture. Almost no society or set of cultural conditions is hostile: on the
contrary, almost all the great groups of mankind have throughout the ages made
significant contributions to the common heritage of knowledge and techniques.
Among the foremost of them are the peoples of Islam.
Once we realize
that the content of science and technology finds no cultural barriers, we
arrive at another lesson of history. It has been established that in the past,
as now, science and scientists flourish in large communities and linguistic
groups rather than small, in affluent areas better than in poor. During
historic times, science has indeed flourished only when an empire or a nation
became mighty and rich, because it depends on the infrastructure provided by
the existence of affluence. This is amply demonstrated throughout Islamic
history.
The Islamic
world is rich in human resources, and some areas are rich in petroleum and
other natural resources. This is fortunate because the future of science in
Islamic countries depends upon the successful utilization of a combination of
these two ingredients. Development in all fields within a community depends
significantly on the scientific size, which is itself proportional to the size
of the population and the gross national product.
Individually,
most of the oil-rich countries are small in size. Each cannot by itself create
an effective science and technology, or an independent industrial economy.
Similarly, those Muslim countries which are endowed with human resources lack
the capital essential for the development of science and technology and,
indeed, for their general development.
Though most
individual Islamic states now realize the importance of science and technology
for their future development, and though some have achieved considerable success
along this road, future progress in all Muslim countries, rich or poor, depends
on the extent of economic co-operation and integration among them on a regional
basis.
[1] This paper is a revised
version of the Epilogue to Science and Technology in Islam, Part II,
UNESCO, 2001, edited by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan, with Maqbul Ahmad and Albert Zaki
Iskandar as co-editors. A first version was published in Islam and the
Challenge of Modernity, edited by Sharifa Shifa Al-Attas, Kuala Lumpur,
1996, pp. 351-389. Related papers by the author on this general theme are the
following: ‘Science and the Islamic World ” in Sience and the Factors of
Inequality, edited by Charles Moraze, UNESCO, 1979, pp. 214-225; ‘Science
and Technology in Islam’ in Cultures, vol. VII, No. 4, UNESCO, 1980, pp.
89-89; “Some Obstacles Hindering the Advance of Science and Technology in
the Arab Countries,’ in The Islamic World and Japan, Tokyo, 1981;
“L’Islam et la science”, La Recherche, Paris, 1982, and in the
Epilogue to Islamic Technology, an illustrated history, by Ahmad Y.
al-Hassan and Donald Hill, UNESCO and CUP, 1986.
[2] Notably in Science and Technology in Islam,. Parts I and II, being
Volume IV of The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, edited by Ahmad
Y. al-Hassan and Maqbul Ahmad and Albert Zaki Iskander as co-editors, UNESCO,
2001.
[3] Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddima, fifth offset reproduction, Beirut, 1984
(Arabic
edition).
[4] Ibn Khaldūn, ibid., p. 403.
[5] Ibn Khaldun, ibid., p. 403.
[6] Ibn Khaldūn, ibid., p. 434.
[7] Ibn
Khaldun, op. cit., p. 481.
[8] J. D. Bernal, Science in History, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth,
1969, I, p. 47.
[9] Aydin Sayili, The Observatory in Islam, New York, Arno Press, 1981,
p.410.
[10] Sayili, The Observatory..., op. cit., p.408.
[11] E. G. Browne, Literary History of Persia, 1,
1908, p. 286; see G. Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, New
York, Krieger, 1975, I, p. 626.
[12] G. Sarton, Introduction..., op. cit., I, pp. 28-29.
[13] De Lacy O'Leary, How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs, London,
Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980, pp. 168-169.
[14] Sayili, The Observatory..., op. cit., pp.414-415.
[15] George Makdisi,`On the Origin and Development of the College', in Islam and
the West, Articles in Islam and the Medieval West, ed. by Khalil I. Semaan,
New York, 1980, pp. 26-49.
[16] Nikki R. Keddie, `Socioeconomic Change in the Middle East since 1800: A
Comparative Analysis', Chapter 24 in The Islamic Middle East, ed. by A.
L. Udovitch, Princeton, The Darwin Press, 1981, p.762.
[17] E. Ashtor, A Social and Economic History of the Near East in the Middle
Ages, London, 1976.
[18] Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Fontana Press,
London, 1988, p, 21.
[19] Bernard Lewis, The Arabs in History, London, 1977, p. 150.
[20) Jacques Bernard, `Trade and Finance in the Middle Ages 900-1500', article 7
in The Fontana Economic History of Europe — The Middle
Ages, edited by Carlo Cipolla, Collins/Fontana, London,
1977, pp. 274-275.
[21] Jacques Bernard, ibid., p.292.
[22] Bernard Lewis, The Arabs..., op. cit., p. 153.
[23] Ibn Kathir, al-Bidāya wa-l-nihāya, Beirut, 1982, Arabic edition,
XIII, p.200.
[24] Abd al-`Aziz al-Duri, 'Baghdad', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, I,
p.902.
[25] The recent invasion of Iraq and its destruction is reminiscent of the
Mongol invasion of the 13th century, but with more disastrous
results
[26] Ashtor, A Social and Economic History..., op. dt., p.253.
[27] Al-Qazwīnī, Hamd Allah. The geographical part of Nuzhat al Qnlub,
composed
in AD 1340, was
published in two volumes: 1. Text ed. by Guy le Strange. 2. English translation
by le Strange, Leiden, Brill, 1915, p.34.
[28]
Ira M. Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, Cambridge, 1991, pp.
267-275.
[29] William McNeil, The Rise of the West, Chicago, 1963, p.614.
[30] P. Mansfield, A Histoy of the Middle East, London, Viking, 1991, p.
57.
[31] B.S. Turner,Weber and Islam, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul,
1978, p. 133.
[32] This paper was written several years before the recent tragic invasion of
Iraq. History is repeating itself. The thesis of the author in this respect is
thus firmly established.
[33] C. Brockelmann, History of the Islamic Peoples, English translation,
London, Roudedge & Kegan Paul, 1980, p. 347.
[34] A good account of the achievements of Muhammad Ali is given by W. R. Polk, The
Arab World Today, Harvard, 1991, pp. 73-81. The European coalition against
Muhammad Ali is cited in most histories including Polk, op. cit., Brockelmann, History...,
op. cit., and Mansfield, A History..., op. cit.
[35] Halil Inalcik, `The Ottoman Economic Mind and Aspects of the Ottoman
Economy', in Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East, ed. by
M. A. Cook, Oxford, 1970, pp. 207-218.
[36] John Francis Guilmartin Jr., Gunpowder and Galleys, Cambridge, 1974,
p. 255.
[37] Henry Maundrell, A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, Beirut, Khayat,
1963, p.196.
[38] Charles Issawi, `The Area and Population of the Arab Empire', in The
Islamic Middle East, ed. A. L. Udovitch, op. dt., pp. 389-390.
[39] Elias Tuma, European Economic History, Palo Alto, 1971, p.202.
[40] Paul Kennedy, The Rise..., op. dt., p. 13.
Ulasan
Artikel ini menceritakan tentang faktor disebalik kejatuhan sains
islam selepas abad ke 16. Kejatuhan sains dalam Islam adalah disebabkan oleh
beberapa perkara Antara faktornya ialah sifat tanah. Apa yang dimaksudkan
disini ialah keadaan tanah di wilayah Islam terutamanya di timur tengah,
terdiri daripada tanah yang gersang atau separa gersang Faktor yang kedua pula ialah bencana alam. Berlakunya
pengurangan penduduk pada 986, kawasan pengairan Nil menaglami kemarau yang
menyebabkan berlakunya kebuluran yang mengakibatkan kematian seramai 600,000 orang.
Faktor yang ketiga pula ialah Llokasi dan geografi wilayah . Wilayah-wilayah
Islam sering dijadikan serangan oleh barat terutamanya golongan Kristian iaitu
Perang Salib. Hal ini kerana wilayah jajahan Islam begitu strategik. Manakala bagi
faktor yang keenam pula ialah campur tangan tentera Barat untuk menggagalkan
pemodenan tamadun Islam Faktor yang diberikan
ini tiada banyak beza dengan faktor seperti yang diperlajari didalam kuliah.
Cuma ada beberapa perbezaan seperti Klafisifikasi ilmu kepada ilmu fitrah
(fardu ain) dan ilmu asing (fardu kifayah), ada ilmu yang bertentangan dengan syariat
Islam atau ilmu yang merugikan telah dibawa masuk ke dalam masyarakat, Menurunnya
pegangan umat Islam kepada al-Qur’an, Keruntuhan akhlak dan Pendemokrasian ilmu
dan patronage.
Tiada ulasan:
Catat Ulasan