Lost Islamic History | Book Review

First of all, it's embarrassing how little I know about my own background. I'm not talking about religion--which I admit, I'm lacking of as well. I'm talking about the history, about how my ancestors ended up here, in Indonesia. I don't know why it never occurred to me to learn more about that. I was satisfied enough with my Dad's story about trading being the main reason why my ancestor came all the way here. All I knew was they came, married local women, and settle. Turns out, it's a lot more historically as well as politically complicated than that.

Lost Islamic History by Firas Alkhateeb goes through the history of Muslim Civilisation in the last 1400 years. How Islam spread from one country to another starting from the very beginning: the geopolitical situation of the pre islamic Arabia. The explanation he gives is as objective as one can be talking about one of the most powerful religious, social, and political entities. He explains everything in such elegant pace, going from one dynasty to another, talking about the reason behind the success and the fall of Muslim empires, their great contribution to today's modern civilisations, and so on and so forth.

My most favourite part is chapter 5: Intellectual Golden Age. Of course I've heard about the contribution Muslims gave to the scientific world. To name a few; algebra, alchemist, numerical number that we use today. But I didn't know how great the contribution were--how monumental. From this book I learned that during the ninth through thirteenth centuries in the Muslim world mark an era of scientific, religious, philosophical and cultural development the scale and depth of which had never been seen in world history before or since.

Baghdad became the world centre for learning with its House of Wisdom that was at once a university, library, translation institute and research lab. While Europe was still in the Dark Ages, Muslim mathematicians were developing formulas and methods for the study of stars--yes, astronomy! Using trigonometry and spherical geometry, Muslim geographers calculated the earth's circumference with near accuracy (only 100km off of the actual earth circumference we now know). They did it without modern satellites or telescopes! There were also long list of contributions in medicine, physics, the invention of camera, the invention of washing machine, smallpox vaccination, and many more.

Did you know the world's oldest university, the University of Karaouin, was established by a muslim woman, Fatima al-Fihri, in Fez, Morocco in 859? #proud

My other favourite part is the story about Al-Andalus. How, like most Muslim conquests, they brought together diverse backgrounds and traditions. They did not impose Islam on the city's inhabitants. Christians, Jews, and everyone else were free to continue to practice religion as they did before the conquest. In 1492, Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II even ordered his military and governors to welcome any Jewish refugees from Spain where the government expelled all Jews from their lands. Moreover, Muslims were known for integrating well, usually by combining Islamic teachings with the local tradition and thru marriage with local women. This book briefly tells story about Zheng He, one of China's great explorers, who is emblematic of the nature of Islam in China: fully Chinese yet fully Muslim with no contradiction between the two identities.

Honestly, I won't remember half of the information this book gave. There are so many names, so many places, so many events. Names that are only mentioned once, places that are no longer on the map, or dynasties I've never heard before. Everything crammed together, as might be expected from a 200-ish book containing 1400 years of history. But that didn't stop me from reading it. Packed with information, Alkhateeb managed to deliver it not in confusing way, even to those who are unfamiliar with the history.

Do not think that not remembering what you read equals to waste of time--even worse, useless. Wrong. When you read a nonfiction book that is full of information, it might be overwhelming and you feel like you're bound to remember it all. No. Do not try to remember. Try to understand. If there are parts you find very confusing, move on. Keep reading. By the time you close the book, it's not possible for you not to gain something.

And those knowledge you've gained, good luck unremembering it.

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Lost Islamic History by Firas Alkhateeb
Goodreads: 4,41/5
Book-Bosomed: 4 stars out of 5