The ‘first true scientist’

By Professor Jim Al-Khalili University of Surrey Isaac Newton is, as most will agree, the greatest physicist of all time. At the very least, he…

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Looking back on the Golden Age of Muslim Science

With Syria in an almost apocalyptic state of civil war at the moment, it’s hard to remember that Damascus was once one of the great…

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Medical Education in Islamic Civilization

The practice of medicine was considered a noble profession by Muslims…

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Lessons from the past: science and rationalism in medieval Islam

British Humanist Association (BHA) President, physicist and broadcaster Professor Jim Al-Khalili gave the 2014 Voltaire Lecture at Conway Hall, London, on the theme of ‘Lessons…

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It’s Time to Herald the Arabic Science That Prefigured Darwin and Newton

In this era of intolerance and cultural tension, Professor Al-Khalili launched a hearty plea in The Guardian in January 2008 to appreciate the fertile scholarship…

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Mathematical Activities in North Africa 5/5

5. The mathematicians of the Maghrib after the 15th century To our knowledge, mathematical production of the period that extends from the beginning of the…

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Mathematical Activities in North Africa 4/5

4. Mathematical production in the Maghrib during the 14th-15th centuries In the history of scientific activities in the Maghrib, the 14th century constitutes a privileged…

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Mathematical Activities in North Africa 3/5

3. Mathematics in the Maghrib during the Almohad epoch (12th-13th centuries) The importance of the 12th century in the political and economic history of the…

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Mathematical Activities in North Africa 2/5

2. Birth and first developments of mathematical activities in the Maghrib (9th-11th centuries) Taking into account the very close economical, political and cultural links which…

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Islam and Science: concordance or Conflict? By Prof. Abdus Salam 2/5

Early Islam and Science How seriously did the early Muslims take these injunctions of the Holy Qur’an and of the Holy Prophetsa? Barely a hundred…

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Mathematics in the Medieval Maghrib: General Survey on Mathematical Activities in North Africa 1/5

Introduction The text that we will present here is the first part of a study which attempts to present the essential aspects of mathematical activity…

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Medical history without frontiers

What is ‘Islamic medicine’? It is a term fraught with limitations. No definitive definition exists, but most reputable historians of medicine have characterized it by…

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