Describe the cultural contributions made by Islam to Western Europe.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Many words in western languages have found there roots in words from Arabic origins. Nevertheless, the swiftness of Islam spreading throughout the world really brought and quickened the need for a renaissance, and therefore helped bring about the renaissance in western Europe. This really helped with the progression, of cleanliness and health (which was a great ideal in the Islamic world, especially with there beautiful bathhouses as depicted in there art). Math, especially the basics and strengths of Algebra and Geometry have been brought to the world due the great knowledge of the Islamic world. Roman Numerals and coherent numbering system were due to the great advancement of Islam. They also had a great influence in Spain, one of the dominant areas of the time in Western Europe. The Ummayyad dynasty was established in the 8th century. They set up many mosques and tried to spread there religion. Nevertheless, the crusades were also very influential in shaping the history and future of Western civilizations in Europe and really set up a period of distraught between the two worlds.

Christian scholars in the West eagerly studied Arabic translations of the works of Aristotle and other Greek scholars of antiquity during the 12th and 13th centuries. In the West, the Muslim architectural element, the horseshoe arch, was disseminated via the Crusades and the Spanish Umayyad dynasty. Arabic love lyrics and poetic descriptions of nature provided influential inspiration for early French troubadours. Arab scholars contributed greatly to the foundations of arithmetic and algebra and to the study of astronomy. They greatly influenced not only the study of medicine but also the practice of medicine shaping early Western methods and techniques. It can be said that not only did Islam impact Western Europe politically; but the cultural and architectural contributions were significant and long lasting as well.