salem, the Holy City, until the expiration of the time prophesied in our Bible, twelve hundred and sixty years.
So it is evident that the Western idea of Muḥammadanism is gained from the operations of these corrupt caliphs, not from the remnant of truly holy souls in every dispensation who have not “bowed the knee to Baal.”
I was hoping to hear you speak of the contribution which the Muḥammadans have made to science and art, and of its value, particularly during the “dark ages.” In a little book of excerpts which I have gathered for many years, I find the following. I do not know its origin, but I think it is from an encyclopedia:
“It is well known that many of the sciences and arts enjoyed today were introduced into Europe during the ‘middle ages’ through a Muḥammadan seat of learning, Cordova, Spain.
“The Arabs and Moors were an industrious people and the agriculture of Spain was in a most flourishing condition during their occupation of the country. They introduced plantations of sugar, rice, and cotton.
“The Moors of Spain made the finest paper manufactured in Europe, and their carpets and silks, gold and silver embroidery, manufactures in steel and leather, were long unrivaled.
“We are indebted to the Saracens of Spain for the elements of many of the useful sciences, especially chemistry. They introduced the simple Arabic figures which we use in arithmetic. They taught mathematics, astronomy, philosophy and medicine, and were so superior in knowledge to the Christian nations of Europe that many Christians of all nations went to be educated in the Arabian schools of Cordova.”*
Muḥammad taught that the earth revolved around the sun hundreds of years before the fact was discovered by Copernicus.
Referring again to Muḥammad’s attitude towards women, it is claimed by the Muslim women themselves that the degradation of the past centuries cannot be attributed to Him or His teachings, but rather to the aforesaid corrupt leaders who thus kept the people in subjection. Thank God, a New Day has dawned and our Muslim sisters throughout the Orient are becoming enlightened and educated, are laying aside their veils and breaking away the shackles that have bound them for centuries.
I wish you much success in your work of breaking down the prejudices which have kept God’s people apart. I feel that the dawn is truly breaking and that a New Day of unity, co-operation, mutual understanding and love is being ushered in.
Sincerely yours,
Henrietta C. Wagner
[*Seignobos, in his Histoire de la Civilization devotes many pages to the contributions of Muḥammadan culture to medieval Europe.—Editors.]