The interaction of the Arab Culture Withother culturesThe Arab-Islamic culture interacted with the cultures ofother nations and peoples that embraced Islam or flocked underits banner, or those with whom Moslems established contact.This open-minded and flexible cultural interaction was one ofthe most powerful elements in the Arab-Islamic culture, and adriving force towards openness on other cultures which it haddigested, assimilated, and adapted to the spirit of theArab-Islamic culture. Likewise, this element motivated interestin other nations and peoples and in understanding theircharacteristics, in probing the depths of their nature, and inpursuing wisdom in their civilizations, in realization of theQur’anic principle of acquaintanceship and in confirmation ofthe deeply established Arab-Islamic civilizational and culturalidentity.The interaction of the Arab-Islamic culture with othercultures was a means of freeing peoples and nations fromsuperstition, paganism, tribalism, and injustice, and a way ofarousing awareness and feelings and of liberating the mind andthe soul. As a result, these cultures embraced the true religionof Islam, and drew their fundamental values from the HolyQur’an: religious observances, cohabitation, morals, socialsystem, and a way of life that reconciles mind and heart, souland body, religion and science, this world and the hereafter(12).The result of the interaction of the Arab-Islamic culturewith the cultures of other nations and peoples was that thisculture had many feeder sources and various branches at its(12) Ibid. 528.16disposal, which was yet another potent source of interaction inthe Arab-Islamic culture. Indeed, cultural interaction was acharacteristic of Islamic civilization. Never in its variousepochs had human history witnessed a triumphant and dominantculture accept interaction with conquered cultures, establishcommunication with falling civilizations while safeguardingtheir sources and traces, and be so tolerant with their religionsand beliefs.Interaction with other cultures opened the door for theArab-Islamic culture to scoop directly from the sources of thesecultures, the centers of which were in Damascus, Egypt andPersia and from their original source in Greece. This extremelyrich cultural environment produced the cream of men andresearchers, of schools of thought and culture that nourished themind and enriched the feeling. The coming of Islam providedthis rich environment with good seeds which Islam neverceased to nourish through an inexhaustible flow of thought andknowledge. Hence the emergence in such a flourishingenvironment of groups of eminent men of science andphilosophers, whose numbers were in the hundreds, not tens.Having interacted with the Arab-Islamic culture, these schoolsproduced the kind of soil on which Moslems could plant theseeds of a new culture, a philosophy, religious sciences,medicine, and mathematics, etc., from which they acquiredwell-founded and flourishing sciences(13).

The interaction ability of the Arab-Islamic culture was oneelement that helped to disseminate it, to expand its branchesand to strike its roots in various environments and numeroussocieties. This interaction took on diverse forms and shapes, all(13) Ahmed Shabli. Encyclopedia of Systems and Islamic Civilizations. Vol.1, pp. 37-8. Maktabat al-Nahda al-Misriya. Cairo, 3rd. Edn. 1971.17of which crystallized into patterns of behavior, schools ofthought, and styles of expression. All of these reflected thegeneral demeanor of the Arab-Islamic culture. These variousaspects were the natural outcome of the interaction of othercultures with the Arab-Islamic culture which, while clinging toits sources and origins within the framework of a distinguishedcivilizational and cultural identity, was characterized byflexibility, tolerance, and openness.

The impact of the Arab Culture onEuropean RenaissanceIn his article “The Cultural Contribution of Islam toChristendom,” T.C. Young says: “The great cultural debt wehave for Islam since we, Christians, used, within thismillenium, to travel to Islamic capitals and to Moslem teachersto learn from them arts, sciences, and the philosophy of humanlife should always be brought to mind. Amongst this is ourclassical heritage which Islam preserved in the best waypossible until Europe was once again able to understand it andto look after it. All this must blend into the spirit with whichwe, Christians, turn towards Islam, carrying to it our cultural,spiritual gifts. Let’s then go to it with a feeling of equality topay Islam an old debt. We will not overstep the bounds ofjustice if we pay back what we owe Islam by winning it over.We will be true Christians only if we forget about theconditions of exchange, and we give for the sake of love andgratitude(14).”(14) This quotation is taken from a long article entitled “The CulturalContribution of Islam to Christendom.” Quoted in The Impact of The Arabsand Islam in The European Renaissance. p. 5. Published by the EgyptianNational Division of Education, Science and Culture, Cairo, 1987.18The Arab-Islamic culture played its leading part in the bestway possible in building world scientific renaissance. Arab andMoslem scholars translated Greek heritage and other kinds ofscientific heritage which had preceded them in history into theArabic language which was the language of science and culture.Arab and Moslem scholars left their mark on the EuropeanRenaissance. The imprint of the Arab-Islamic culture waspredominant, noticeable and effective in many scientific,intellectual and cultural fields. Arab and Muslim scholars inventedthe numerical system; the figure Zero; the decimal system; thetheory of evolution - one hundred years before Darwin; pulmonarycirculation - three centuries before Harvey. They discoveredgravity and the relationship between weight, speed and distance -several centuries before Newton; they measured the speed of light,calculated the angles of reflection and refraction, computed thecircumference of the earth, and determined the dimensions ofheavenly bodies. They invented astronomical instruments,discovered high seas, and laid down the foundations of chemistry.

One might say that, in general, the Arab-Islamic culture wasat the center between ancient sciences and cultures and theEuropean Renaissance. The Arab-Islamic thought and theArab-Islamic culture are chains of connected links extending fromancient civilizations - Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Chinese tothe civilizations of Greece and Alexandria - all the way to theIslamic era whose scholars were influenced by their predecessorsand who, in turn, influenced those who followed them, namely thescholars of the European Renaissance. These scholars studied theworks of their Arab counterparts in their books which weretranslated into Latin and European languages(15).(15) Ibid. p. 231.19The Arab-Islamic culture preserved the Greek culture andsafeguarded it from loss and destruction. Had it not been forArab intellectuals and scholars, people would not have beenable to get hold of many Greek works, the original version ofwhich was lost. These works were preserved in Arabic. TheWest had been very busy studying the Arab culture even afterits prestige declined in Spain, two or more generations later,until it reached modern times. The Arab-Islamic culturefascinated a great many Westerner, for translation from Arabicdid not cease during and after the Renaissance in spite of thedirect contact with the Greek world and civilization as of themiddle of the thirteenth century A.D. when Greek books beganto be translated directly into Latin without help from Arabictranslations. The Arab culture had its own worth andpersonality. It produced many a thing which the Greek culturecould not produce in all fields: additions, commentaries,inventions, and Arab discoveries unknown to the Greeks(16).The translation movement from the Arab-Islamic culture,which helped Europe pull out of the dark Middle Ages into themodern enlightened age, was not confined to the translation ofancient knowledge only - Greek, Indian, Babylonian, andEgyptian - from Arabic books into Latin. Christian Europe alsotranslated purely Arab knowledge and transferred patterns fromIslamic civilization and from Islamic faith into its public andprivate life. Had the Catholic Church not put its weight behindthe Europeans in the Battle of Tours in 114 A.D. (732 Hegira),the Islamic civilization and the Arab culture would have beenprevalent in Europe since that early age, and church would havespared the world a long, grueling and bitter conflict(17).(16) Simon al-Hayek. Taarrabat … wa tagharrabat: Or the Transfer of ArabCivilization to the West. pp.13-5. Al-Matbaa al-boulissya. Beirut, 1987.(17) Omar Farrukh. Islamic Culture. p. 105. al-Maktaba al-Asriya. Sidon, Beirut,1988.20The Arab-Islamic culture spread in the Western world.European scholars quaffed from authentic Arab sources, anddiscovered that they were a great scientific heritage. So theystudied and analyzed it. The Arabs and Moslems were the epitomeof modern science in every sense of the word. They were thepioneers of modern scientific methods. From the Arab-Islamicculture, European intellectuals and scholars acquired more thanjust information. They acquired scientific mentality, with all itsempirical and inductive character, for they found in the

Arab-Islamic heritage the object of their long-cherished wish; theywere, therefore, bent on spreading it(18).It was the dazzle of the magnitude of influence which theArab-Islamic culture had on European Renaissance, culture andsciences which prompted a German thinker and scientist tocome out openly with the truth and say: “That flourishingcivilization, whose enlightenment had inundated Europe formany centuries, is truly amazing; for this civilization was not anextension of the vestiges of past civilizations, or of localcivilizational skeletons of some importance, or a borrowingfrom, or an imitation of an existing civilizational mode, as wasthe case with other cradles of civilization in other countries inthe East. It is the Arabs who, with their culture, contrived thismagnificent civilization(19).”While Europe was buried in the darkness of the MiddleAges, the Islamic civilization (the cradle of the Arab-Islamicculture) was at its apogee. Islam greatly contributed to theadvancement of science, medicine and philosophy. As WillDurant said in his book, The Age of Faith, “Moslems(18) Abdulfattah M. al-Ghunaimi. Islamic Civilization and the Challenges ofthe 21st Century. p. 53. Maktabat Madbuli. Cairo, 1995.(19) Zigrid Honika. God Is Not Like That! p. 54. Dar al-Sharq. Cairo, 1995.21contributed effectively in all fields. Avicenna was one of thegreatest scientists in medicine, al-Razi a most eminentphysician, al-Bayruni a most distinguished geographer, Ibnal-Haitham a most celebrated optics scientist, and Ibn Jabir amost famous chemist.” Besides, the Arabs were the pioneers ofeducation and teaching. On this point, Durant had this to say,“When Roger Bacon presented his theory in Europe fivehundred years after Ibn Jabir, he said that he was indebted tothe Maghrebis in Spain who took their knowledge from theMoslems in the East. European Renaissance thinkers andscholars owed their advent, genius and progress to the giants ofthe Islamic world(20).

The sources of strength of the ArabcultureWithin this broad and comprehensive perspective, we maysay, based on the preceding background, that the Arab-Islamicculture is a culture of strength and might, not weakness andimpotence. Strength leads to order, harmony and concordwhereas weakness can result in disorder, conflict and clash.Therefore, the Arab-Islamic culture is the culture of dialogue,mutual understanding and communication. Never did it keepaloof from mutual enrichment, intermixing and interacting with(20) Richard Nixon, the former US President, Seize The Moment. p. 138. TheArabic edition. Translation: Ahmed Dadqi Murad. Dar al-Hilal. Cairo. Nodate. The Age of Faith is the 2nd Part of 4th volume in English. Translation:Mohammed Badran. Volume 13-14 in the Arabic translation of theencyclopedia The Story of Civilization by the American author Will Durantof the Arabic edition which contains 42 Parts (12 volumes) publishedby the Cultural Section of the Arab League (The Arab Organization forEducation, Culture and Science Today). This encyclopedia, which wastranslated into several languages, contains fair testimonies of the influenceof the Arab-Islamic culture on the European Renaissance.22other cultures, while all cultures of ancient nations and peoples

tended to lean towards isolation and detachment, racism andbigotry. On the whole, they were not open cultures, willing togive and take.Culture is an effective force in the civilizational buildingin its comprehensive, philosophical, literary, political, social,economic, and developmental import. It is a creative energy inmany fields of human activity. Moreover, a constructive,purposeful, and effective culture must be in the service ofpolicies that seek to enhance the human’s feeling, purge hissoul, refine his talents, and utilize his energies and faculties inconstructing and innovating so as to achieve progress,advancement, and prosperity(21).Culture cannot acquire strength and immunity, andshoulder its responsibilities in the most desirable manner unlessit has fulfilled three conditions. These are considered not onlyas sources of strength in the Arab-Islamic culture and as basicelements of its functions, but also as the basis of culturalrenaissance. The conditions are:First, culture must have solid foundations and must rest onsound principles. It should not grow roots; nor should it be withno specific identity or distinctive characteristics.Second, culture must have a wide range of vision and acomprehensive outlook, with a disposition to interact with othercultures and a latent readiness in its origins to interact withhuman cultures from these bases.Third, culture must have a human approach with which itcan transcend local and regional spheres towards international(21) Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri. On The Civilizational Building of TheIslamic World. Vol. 2, p. 265. Rabat 1997.23horizons, without affecting its own particularity or nature. Inthis way, culture would be one of human communication anddiscussion, of understanding that would lead to coexistenceamong nations, and of cooperation that would achieve solidarityamong peoples(22).When it has fulfilled these conditions, the Arab-Islamicculture not only acquires strength and immunity, it alsoachieves the potential for glory and progress; for a strongculture, capable of building, is the one that can elevate thehuman to the loftiest station. As President Alija Izetbegovicsays: “The bearer of culture is a man as an individual, and thebearer of civilization is society. Culture means gaining power torule oneself whereas civilization is power over nature throughscience.” Culture tends to reduce human needs or to keep thedegree of satisfying these needs in check. In so doing, culturewidens the scope of the human’s inner freedom(23).” This is thekind of spiritual, psychological and intellectual strength thatenables the human to perform his functions in life in a way thatsatisfies his Creator first, and him second.In our view, stressing these traits and characteristics,unique to the Arab-Islamic culture, is crucial in any talk aboutthe Arab culture and other cultures, whether for the purpose ofcomparison which seeks to draw similarities, to bring outcorrespondences, and to bring to light points of convergenceand discrepancies, or which draws the limits of the relationship

that is supposed to hold between the Arab-Islamic culture andother cultures.(22) Ibid. p. 266.(23) Alija Izetbegovic. Islam Between East and West. Vol. 2, p. 96. Trans.Mohammed Yussef Adas. Mu’assasat al-Ilm al-Hadith. Beirut, 1994.24In both cases, the bases for a search for the sources ofstrength of the Arab-Islamic culture, for its characteristics,functions, message and objectives, and for its aspects, rest onthree fundamentals:Fundamental One: the Arab-Islamic culture, through itsprinciples, foundations, concepts, and symbols, expresses theessence of the tolerant message of Islam. This makes it a humanculture, in the real sense, as it opens up to the cultures ofnations and peoples with which it is impregnated, assimilated,and infused. Unique in human cultural history, thischaracteristic is the source of the wealth, strength and immunityof the Arab-Islamic culture.Malik Ibn Nabi has defined four pillars of theArab-Islamic culture. They are:1. Moral constitution2. Aesthetic taste3. Scientific logic4. Craft (technique)(24)

The culture which Westerners generally call Man’sPhilosophy Malik Ibn Nabi defines as “a set of moralcharacteristics and social values which the individual acquiressince his birth as an initial capital within the milieu in which hewas born,” that is to say, the environment in which theindividual’s character and personality are shaped. On this basis,culture is more of a theory on behavior than a theory on(24) Malik Ibn Nabi, The Question of Culture. Trans. Abd as-Sabur Shahin. p,117, quoted in “The Fundamentals of Progress in the View of The Thinkersof Islam in The Modern Arab World,” by Dr. Fahmi Jadan. 2nd Ed, 1981. Al-Mu’assassa al-Arabiya li-ad-Dirassat wa an-Nashr. Beirut, pp. 417-8.25knowledge. The difference between culture and science lies inthis definition; culture is behavior whereas science is knowledge.In this sense, culture is closely related to history and education. Anation that has no culture has no history, and a people that havelost their culture inevitably lose their history; for culture is themilieu in which a society’s historical characteristics take shape:genius, customs, tastes, and feelings. Also, culture, with itseducational content is “a code required by public life with all itsmodes of thought and social diversity(25).”This unique characteristic contains the elements ofstrength in the Arab-Islamic cultures, the sources of vitality andenergy, and what we may call self-powers which make of it astrong culture deeply-seated in the environment and in themilieu, effective and affecting both the individual and society.Fundamental Two : In its essence, the Arab-Islamicculture is a culture of struggle, not of conflict. Struggle is one ofthe norms of life whereas conflict, or fighting, is a concept thatbelongs to Greek, Roman and Hellenic heritage whosemythology is replete with conflicts between the gods, andwhich does not express human nature and innate character.

Struggle is another source of strength and vitality, and of theability to be present in the cultural arena. Cultural struggle is asource of strength whereas conflict, or cultural conflict, is asource of weakness. It weakens the self, bears upon capabilitiesand faculties, and runs against the noble human aims.Its being averse to conflict does not mean that theArab-Islamic culture suffers from a weakness in its constitutionor a defect in its fundamental components. It is a civilized wayof life and a sign of maturity, awareness, and health. The trait of(25) Ibid. p. 120.26leaning towards struggle instead of conflict has most certainlyenabled the Arab-Islamic culture to withstand cultural,intellectual and sectarian whirlwinds which it confrontedthroughout the ages.Fundamental Three: At its current levels and in itspresent state, many of the aspects of the Arab-Islamic culturedo not unfortunately express the identity of the Arab-Islamicsociety, the reason being that these aspects are weak and thatthere is an apparent discrepancy between the sources and thenovelties. By this we mean that the basis of these aspects is notwholly derived from the original sources, and that thisphenomenon is the source of the general weakness from whichthe Arab-Islamic culture suffers today.The Arab-Islamic culture is a culture of continuousdiligence and creation within the framework of the legitimatenorms and moral values that distinguish the civilization ofIslam and assert the identity of the Umma. Therefore, thisUmma’s contribution is regenerated according to situations andto the diversity of issues and acts.We should not be deceived into believing that culture isfirst and foremost a creation and an innovation; that creativepower springs from an intellectual creative mind and from itsimagination and feelings; and that no relationship holdsbetween all this and the values and components. This is one ofthe illusions that prevail in our intellectual lives and in ourcultural spheres. The Arab-Islamic culture cannot face thedangers that threaten it and the challenges that confront it unlessit draws its strength from its origins and sources and from theUmma’s values and components. In this there is no prohibitoryrule against creativity or ban on thought and expression