Islamic golden ages were not that golden

Submitted by Rajeev (United States), Sep 18, 2010 at 21:07

Dear Dr Pipes:

Muslims often tend to believe that many middle-eastern societies entered a golden age after Islam was introduced to them. That may not be true. If you look at the history all ancient Islamic empires in central Asia, North Africa, Persia, and Middle East were constantly in a state of war with their non-Islamic neighbors. By modern standards being in a state of raids and counter-raids is not exactly a description of golden age.

Further, building rich societies by plundering other nations may be a good idea in the past, it is not sustainable in the modern world. Huge ancient monuments (castles, churches, and mosques) of the west and of the Islamic world that we admire today, may have been funded by atrocities and wars.

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