Cancer

No plastic containers in micro

No water bottles in freezer

No plastic wrap in microwave


A dioxin ! chemical causes cancer, especially breast cancer

Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic.

Recently, Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.
He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers...

This especially applies to foods that contain fat.

He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body...
Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heat! ing food... You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.
Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc.
He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons...

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food.
Cover food with a paper towel instead.

Man was created tall

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Sinus headache relief

home remedies for treatment of sinus headaches.




Dip a small towel in cold water, rinse, and apply to forehead. Once the towel gets warm, flip it to the other side, or dip it into cold water again.

Lying down, in a dark room, maybe getting a 1/2 hour of sleep,will always make you feel better.

Back
A decoction of half a teaspoon mustard seeds powder and three teaspoons water, if instilled in the nostrils, redresses migraine.

The juice of ripe grapes is an effective home remedy for a migraine.
For a sinus headache, eat a jalapeno pepper as soon as possible. Within minutes your sinuses will start to drain and the sinus headache will subside.

A peppermint steam inhalation provides quick relief for sinus headaches. Peppermint acts as a decongestant, and the combination of warm steam and the essential oil is doubly effective for opening up the sinuses.

Mix 1 teaspoon finely ground cinnamon (called dalchini in India) in 1 teaspoon water and apply on the forehead. It is very effective in headache due to exposure to cold air.

Make a paste from dry ginger with a little water or milk, apply to the forehead for sinus relief.

Grind 10-15 Basil leaves with 4 cloves and 1 teaspoon dried ginger into a paste and apply to forehead for sinus cure.


For a painful sinus headache, try a hot footbath along with a cold compress on the forehead

Myths and Facts About Gaza

Face-covering scarf, gun, stone, fence, rocket ? these may construct the typical perception in the minds of many when it comes to Gaza; yet, what exactly is myth and what are the realities about the humanitarian and militant turbulence in the Gaza Strip.
Are Gazans no more than a militant group shooting rockets at civilians in Israel? How did it all start, and where is the situation now heading?

1. Is Hamas a terrorist organization?
2. Was Hamas' takeover of Gaza justified?
3. Does Hamas have a complete control over Gaza?
4. Are Gazans held hostage in the hands of Hamas?
5. Are all Gazans Hamas members?
6. Is Hamas accepting no peace deals with Israel?
7. Why isn't there an agreement between Hamas and Fateh?
8. Who represents the Palestinian people now?
9. How human are Gazans?
10. What is the humanitarian situation in Gaza?
11. Does Israel have the right to attack Gazans to protect itself?
12. Is the current siege effective in halting the missile attacks over Israelis?


1. Is Hamas a terrorist organization?
Until today, there is no agreed upon definition for terrorism that groups and actions can be measured upon. Thus, the label "terrorist" can easily be abused for political gains and interests.
The famous quotes: "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" can apply here perfectly. While 62% of Palestinians hold a favorable view of Hamas, as the Pew Global Attitude Survey found in 2007, and given that Hamas was democratically elected for parliament in 2006, it has been listed by Canada, Israel, Japan, and the US as a "terrorist" organization.
In an interview with the Der Spiegel, Khaled Meshaal, Hamas' political leader, affirmed, "we are a national resistance movement, not a terrorist organization. We have the right to resist the occupation."
Mahmoud Al-Zahar, prominent Hamas leader, wrote in the Washington Post, "our movement fights on because we cannot allow the foundational crime at the core of the Jewish state ? the violent expulsion from our lands and villages that made us refugees ? to slip out of world consciousness, forgotten or negotiated away." (Washington Post)

2. Was Hamas' takeover of Gaza justified?
To the surprise of Fateh and international observers, Hamas was able to secure the majority of votes in the first elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) since 1996. Accordingly, Hamas was legally asked to form the majority government and rule over Gaza and the West Bank. However, since its victory in January 2006 till mid-2007, the internal scene was not stable with confrontations between Hams and the Fateh movement. In addition, international pressure played on the side of Fateh to alienate the democratically elected members of Hamas, which is considered as a terrorist organization by the US, Israel, Japan, and Canada.
Among the main reasons that helped in the failure of the anticipated unity government was the international attitude.
Sanctions were imposed and foreign aid was held away from the Palestinians, who depend mainly on it, by the main donors ? the US, EU, and several Western states.
In February 2007 the Saudi government spent significant efforts to unite the Palestinian factions under one government in order to end the sectarian division. Ministerial positions were distributed among the different factions and a Palestinian national unity government was was on its way to succeed. However, among the main reasons that helped in the failure of the anticipated unity government was the international attitude. The US announced its boycotting of the Hamas members in such government, Israel did not recognize it, and the EU hanged its position on the new government's actions. (Aljazeera)
Clashes erupted once again and Hamas took over control of Gaza. Legally, the government in Gaza in not considered a legal one, nor the one in the West Bank ? emergency government ? formed by Fateh, is, according to Dr. Ahmed Mubarak Al-Khaldi, the former Minister of Justice of the Palestinian National Authority.

3. Does Hamas have a complete control over Gaza?
A recent report (March 2008) by the International Crisis Group found that the Hamas has almost a complete monopoly over the use of force and political activity in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has also been able to refashion the legal and legislative systems and now "enjoys freer rein to shape society through management of the health, education and religious sectors," the report stated.
Within little time after seizing control over Gaza in June 2007, Hamas was able to fill in the gaps left behind as a result of the absence of Fateh in the Strip; its mission was to defend Gaza from internal and external threats.

4. Are Gazans held hostage in the hands of Hamas?

Hamas supporters take part in a protest calling on Egypt to reopen the Rafah border crossing, near the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, Apr. 25, 2008. (Reuters Photo)

Analyzing the current situation, it is very clear that the 1.5 million Gazans along with Hamas are held hostage by external forces through the complete control of the borders mainly by Egypt and Israel. The 365-square-kilometer Gaza strip is bounded by the Mediterranean sea from the north, state of Israel from the east, and Egypt from the west. Such geographical characteristics of the Gaza strip make it more or less the "world's largest open-air prison" with multi-party prisoners.
Every now and then, Egyptian-Israeli negotiations ? or unilateral action ? allow some injured victims to pass out of Gaza, yet other vital humanitarian needs are held in many times from getting inside the strip.
Hamas, rather, tried early in 2008 to pierce in a hole in the boarders for Gazans. The Gaza-Egypt borders were breached by Gazans with the help of the Hamas forces in January and hundreds of thousands of Gazans poured into Sinai, Egypt to buy consumer goods; 10 days later, the borders were sealed with less hopes for an agreement that would release Gazans out of their prison.



5. Are all Gazans Hamas members?In April 2008, some Israeli reports estimated the number of the Hamas forces in Gaza to be up to 20,000 armed men, nearly half of them from in Hamas' military arm, Izz-Eddin Al-Kassam group; such claims were refuted by Sami Abou-Zuhri, the spokesman of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Besides the estimates of the Hamas armed members, the number of civilian sympathizers is way far from estimation. It is important to mention that Hamas is originally a social/political movement and not a militia; along with several branches and arms, Hamas has its military wing Izz-Eddin Al-Kassam.
In 2004, 300,000 Palestinians marched in the funeral of Abdel-Aziz Al-Rantisi ? who was Hamas' leader in Gaza.
As mentioned above, 62% of Palestinians hold a favorable view of Hamas, according to a 2007Survey by the Pew Global Attitude Project.
In addition, a recent study by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research noted the increase in Hamas' popularity as the siege went tighter. "Findings show continued decrease in the level of satisfaction with the performance of [ President Mahmoud] Abbas and a greater positive evaluation for the performance of Haniyeh?s government over the performance of Fayyad's government," the study said.

Hence, it would be fallacious to include the number of the Palestinian civilians that sympathize with Hamas in the members' count. Out of the 1.5 million Palestinian in Gaza, very minute percentage are actual members in Hamas.

6. Is Hamas accepting no peace deals with Israel?
"A 'peace process' with Palestinians cannot take even its first tiny step until Israel first withdraws to the borders of 1967; dismantles all settlements; removes all soldiers from Gaza and the West Bank; repudiates its illegal annexation of Jerusalem; releases all prisoners; and ends its blockade of our international borders, our coastline and our airspace permanently," Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a prominent Hamas leader, made it clear in his Washington Post opinion piece.
In a live chat session with IslamOnline.net's readers, Dr. Ahmed Bahr ? the current head of the legislative council in Gaza ? said in response to a question about Hamas' willingness to negotiate with Israel, "there are the five Nos that they announce and consider as strategies; No for the establishment of the Palestinian state on the 1967 boarders, No for Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, No for the return of refugees, No for the stop of the wall and the settlements, No for the release of prisoners ... So what shall we negotiate about with the Israelis?"

After the recent efforts exerted by the former US President Jimmy Carter, Carter said that Hamas told him that "they would accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders if approved by Palestinians ... even though Hamas might disagree with some terms of the agreement."

7. Why isn't there an agreement between Hamas and Fateh?
Currently, Fateh controls the West Bank and is led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas is controlling the Gaza Strip and so far no efforts have been successful in reuniting them.
Several failing attempts have been conducted to bring along a unity government that would solve the Gaza-West Bank division. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other parties were faced with the conditions that the two parties, Hamas and Fateh, place ahead of negotiations.
Fateh, currently controlling the West Bank and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, condition negotiations with Hamas on the return of Gaza under the former's rule, while Hamas desires negotiations with Fateh while keeping the status-quo as is.
In the midst of the mediation efforts, tensions rose on both sides as a result of the several provocative announcements by leaders and media stations. Imprisonment of the other's group members also contributed much to entangling the agreements' efforts.

8. Who represents the Palestinian people now?
With 1.5 million in Gaza and 2.5 million in the West Bank, Hamas was chosen democratically to represent Palestinians in the 2006 Parliamentary elections. Hamas was able to secure for itself more than the minimum required 50% of seats in a 78%-turn-out-election that was described as fair and clean by observers. ( Guardian)
However, that does not give Hamas the full legitimacy to speak for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, especially after the recent division of powers between the two territories.
Currently, President Mahmoud Abbas (leading Fateh figure) holds on to that role; he did it in Annapolis despite Hamas' firm rejection of him representing the will of all Palestinians. After all, his party did not win a majority in the 2006 elections.
One main resolution that former President Jimmy Carter was able to achieve in his recent (April 2008) visit to the Middle East was that Hamas agreed to pass over the representation of Palestinians to President Abbas to be able to negotiate a peace agreement with Israel; Hamas' decision was conditioned on the approval of the majority of Palestinians to negotiate a 1967 Palestinian state through a mass referendum.

9. How human are Gazans?

Bodies of four children and their mother arrive at Al-Awda mosque after Israeli fire hit their house in the northern Gaza Strip, Apr. 28, 2008. (Reuters Photo)

Hitler dehumanized Jews to be able to genocide them, and now Palestinians, especially Gazans, are being more and more deprived of their basic human rights, which is pushing them into a bigger "shoah" or Holocaust, as described by Israel's deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai on Army Radio on Friday, February 29, 2008.
Besides the mounting death toll of the direct Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza, 136 Palestinian patients died for not being allowed by the Israeli forces to leave Gaza to get treatment outside. "The right to health appears to be optional for Palestinians," Ambrogio Manenti, the head of the WHO's West Bank and Gaza office, told a press conference in April 2008.
In the period between February 28 and March 2, 2008, 104 Palestinians were murdered and 215 injured by the Israeli forces in comparison to only 3 Israelis deaths and 27 injuries for the same period of time, according to an April 18 UN Report .
Children are among the victims of the bigger "shoah." Ra'd Abu Saif narrates the last moments of his 12-year-old daughter Safa after she was shot by an Israeli sniper: "I put my hand on her chest to stop the streaming blood. She told me that she could not breathe, her body trembled and she closed her eyes." ( Electronic Intifada )
Safa was shot in the left side of her chest while she was inside her home in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. An ambulance tried to reach her but Israeli soldiers opened fire at it, wounding a paramedic and causing the tires to lose air, and so she bled to death three hours after she was wounded.
"Dad, I cannot breathe, all of you leave me please, let me breathe, enough, enough," were Safa's last words.
Speaking numbers, Hamas in the Gaza strip also carries on regular missile attacks on southern Israel, yet throughout the last four years, the less advanced rockets killed 13 Israeli civilians.
Watch more about the "Palestinian Holocaust"here

10. What is the humanitarian situation in Gaza?
More than 1.1 million people, about 80% of Gaza's residents, are now dependent on food aid, as opposed to 63% in 2006. Unemployment is close to 40% and almost 70% of the 110,000 workers employed in the private sector have lost their jobs, according to a report ? entitled: "The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion" ? released in early March 2008 by a coalition of Human Rights organizations, Haaretz reported.
The current situation in the Gaza Strip "is worse now than it has ever been since the start of the Israeli military occupation in 1967. The current situation in Gaza is man-made, completely avoidable and, with the necessary political will, can also be reversed," the report stated.
According to the latest updates, educational services in Gaza have gone down in capacity by 50% because of the lack of the means to transport students to their schools and colleges. Because of cutting fuel of the Gaza strip, the Israeli government has caused 20% of the ambulances to go off service and 60% to be expected to park by the end of the week, forcing patients and doctors to reach hospitals on foot (Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights report).
For more about the humanitarian situation in Gaza check IOL's special coverage: Gaza: The World's Largest Open Air-Prison

11. Does Israel have the right to attack Gazans to protect itself?
As mentioned before, by no means are all Gazans Hamas members; those involved in rocket launching belong mainly to the military wing of Hamas that is at most 10,000 men, according to some Israeli sources.
Israeli raids in Gaza, claimed to be directed at rocket launchers, leave children, women, and elders dead with almost no noticeable affect on the frequency of rockets launching on Israel.
Collective punishment, including siege and raids, that does not differentiate between civilians and militants are clearly against international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Israel's early raids in Gaza were described by the UN as war crimes. "It violates one of the basic principles of international humanitarian law that military action must distinguish between military and civilian targets," John Dugard, UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied territories, said.
12. Is the current siege effective in halting the missile attacks over Israelis?
Before using siege as a strategy to halt the rocket firing on the Israeli areas near the Gaza boarders, Israel was implementing direct air strikes on the areas where rocket-launchers were believed to be hiding. The older policy proved its failure and Israel was forced to find some new effective tactics to "protect" itself.
Of the main indications of Israel's failure in the old tactics was the fact that strikes were increasingly killing civilians, which led to the rising sympathy with Hamas and resistance in general among Palestinians. Currently, under the siege strategy, figures still show increasing popularity for Hamas; plus, rockets are still being launched towards Israel. In fact, Hamas has been able to develop more advanced operations that drove the confrontation inside Israel.
On April 19 2008, Hamas underwent an operation near the southern end of Gaza killing 13 Israeli soldiers. "This is a far more complex attack than the incident in which Cpl. Gilad Shalit was captured," said an Israeli spokesman, referring to a soldier captured in June 2006 by Palestinian fighters in a cross-border raid to use him as a bargaining chip to free Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
It seems that the only way out is for Israel to start talking to Hamas.
Yossi Sarid wrote in Haaretz, "The losses on the Palestinian side, mostly innocent civilians, will only increase solidarity and the willingness to sacrifice. Hamas rule will not be weakened; it certainly will not fall ... There is no choice but to talk to Hamas, indirectly or directly, and without preconditions. On the agenda: a cessation of hostilities and a total, long-term halt."
According to a survey published in Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday, February 27, most Israelis think their government should hold direct talks with Hamas to reach a ceasefire.
In conclusion to his recent visit to the Middle East, Carter, the architect of the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, said, excluding Hamas "is just not working."

By Abdelrahman Rashdan.
He is a staff writer for the Muslim Affairs section of IslamOnline.net. A graduate of the American University in Cairo, he holds a BA in political science with a specialization in political economy and international relations.

Setting the Record Straight: The Miracle of Islamic Science

Excerpted from: Appendix B of 'The Miracle of Islamic Science' by Dr. K. Ajram, Copyright © 1992

The concept that the sciences are exclusively the products of Western minds remains unquestioned by most individuals. A review of any of the standard texts or encyclopaedias regarding the history of science would support this view. As these books are perused, it becomes evident that the only contributors given significant mention are Europeans and/or Americans. It is hardly necessary to repeat the oft-mentioned names: Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, Bacon, Newton, Da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, etc. The unavoidable conclusion is that major contributions to the development of the modern sciences by other cultures is minimal. Most texts give little or no mention of the advancements made by ancient Indian, Chinese or, particularly, Muslim scholars.

Western civilization has made invaluable contributions to the development of the sciences. However, so have numerous other cultures. Unfortunately, Westerners have long been credited with discoveries made many centuries before by Islamic scholars. Thus, many of the basic sciences were invented by non-Europeans. For instance, George Sarton states that modern Western medicine did not originate from Europe and that it actually arose from the (Islamic) orient.

The data in this section concerning dates, names and topics of Western advances has been derived from three main sources: World Book Encyclopedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Isaac Asimov's 700 page book, Chronology of Science and Discovery. Supportive data for the accomplishments of Islamic scholars is derived from the miscellaneous references listed in the bibliography of this book.

What is Taught: The first mention of man in flight was by Roger Bacon, who drew a flying apparatus. Leonardo da Vinci also conceived of airborne transport and drew several prototypes.

What Should be Taught: Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain invented, constructed and tested a flying machine in the 800's A.D. Roger Bacon learned of flying machines from Arabic references to Ibn Firnas' machine. The latter's invention antedates Bacon by 500 years and Da Vinci by some 700 years.

What is Taught: Glass mirrors were first produced in 1291 in Venice.

What Should be Taught: Glass mirrors were in use in Islamic Spain as early as the 11th century. The Venetians learned of the art of fine glass production from Syrian artisans during the 9th and 10th centuries.

What is Taught: Until the 14th century, the only type of clock available was the water clock. In 1335, a large mechanical clock was erected in Milan, Italy. This was possibly the first weight-driven clock.

What Should be Taught: A variety of mechanical clocks were produced by Spanish Muslim engineers, both large and small, and this knowledge was transmitted to Europe through Latin translations of Islamic books on mechanics. These clocks were weight-driven. Designs and illustrations of epi-cyclic and segmental gears were provided. One such clock included a mercury escapement. The latter type was directly copied by Europeans during the 15th century. In addition, during the 9th century, Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain, according to Will Durant, invented a watch-like device which kept accurate time. The Muslims also constructed a variety of highly accurate astronomical clocks for use in their observatories.

What is Taught: In the 17th century, the pendulum was developed by Galileo during his teenage years. He noticed a chandelier swaying as it was being blown by the wind. As a result, he went home and invented the pendulum.

What Should be Taught: The pendulum was discovered by Ibn Yunus al-Masri during the 10th century, who was the first to study and document its oscillatory motion. Its value for use in clocks was introduced by Muslim physicists during the 15th century.

What is Taught: Movable type and the printing press was invented in the West by Johannes Gutenberg of Germany during the 15th century.

What Should be Taught: In 1454, Gutenberg developed the most sophisticated printing press of the Middle Ages. However, movable brass type was in use in Islamic Spain 100 years prior, and that is where the West's first printing devices were made.

What is Taught: Isaac Newton's 17th century study of lenses, light and prisms forms the foundation of the modern science of optics.

What Should be Taught: In the 1lth century al-Haytham determined virtually everything that Newton advanced regarding optics centuries prior and is regarded by numerous authorities as the "founder of optics. " There is little doubt that Newton was influenced by him. Al-Haytham was the most quoted physicist of the Middle Ages. His works were utilized and quoted by a greater number of European scholars during the 16th and 17th centuries than those of Newton and Galileo combined.

What is Taught: Isaac Newton, during the 17th century, discovered that white light consists of various rays of colored light.

What Should be Taught: This discovery was made in its entirety by al-Haytham (1lth century) and Kamal ad-Din (14th century). Newton did make original discoveries, but this was not one of them.

What is Taught: The concept of the finite nature of matter was first introduced by Antione Lavoisier during the 18th century. He discovered that, although matter may change its form or shape, its mass always remains the same. Thus, for instance, if water is heated to steam, if salt is dissolved in water or if a piece of wood is burned to ashes, the total mass remains unchanged.

What Should be Taught: The principles of this discovery were elaborated centuries before by Islamic Persia's great scholar, al-Biruni (d. 1050). Lavoisier was a disciple of the Muslim chemists and physicists and referred to their books frequently.

What is Taught: The Greeks were the developers of trigonometry.

What Should be Taught: Trigonometry remained largely a theoretical science among the Greeks. It was developed to a level of modern perfection by Muslim scholars, although the weight of the credit must be given to al-Battani. The words describing the basic functions of this science, sine, cosine and tangent, are all derived from Arabic terms. Thus, original contributions by the Greeks in trigonometry were minimal.

What is Taught: The use of decimal fractions in mathematics was first developed by a Dutchman, Simon Stevin, in 1589. He helped advance the mathematical sciences by replacing the cumbersome fractions, for instance, 1/2, with decimal fractions, for example, 0.5.

What Should be Taught: Muslim mathematicians were the first to utilize decimals instead of fractions on a large scale. Al-Kashi's book, Key to Arithmetic, was written at the beginning of the 15th century and was the stimulus for the systematic application of decimals to whole numbers and fractions thereof. It is highly probably that Stevin imported the idea to Europe from al-Kashi's work.

What is Taught: The first man to utilize algebraic symbols was the French mathematician, Francois Vieta. In 1591, he wrote an algebra book describing equations with letters such as the now familiar x and y's. Asimov says that this discovery had an impact similar to the progression from Roman numerals to Arabic numbers.

What Should be Taught: Muslim mathematicians, the inventors of algebra, introduced the concept of using letters for unknown variables in equations as early as the 9th century A.D. Through this system, they solved a variety of complex equations, including quadratic and cubic equations. They used symbols to develop and perfect the binomial theorem.

What is Taught: The difficult cubic equations (x to the third power) remained unsolved until the 16th century when Niccolo Tartaglia, an Italian mathematician, solved them.

What Should be Taught: Cubic equations as well as numerous equations of even higher degrees were solved with ease by Muslim mathematicians as early as the 10th century.

What is Taught: The concept that numbers could be less than zero, that is negative numbers, was unknown until 1545 when Geronimo Cardano introduced the idea.

What Should he Taught: Muslim mathematicians introduced negative numbers for use in a variety of arithmetic functions at least 400 years prior to Cardano.

What is Taught: In 1614, John Napier invented logarithms and logarithmic tables.

What Should be Taught: Muslim mathematicians invented logarithms and produced logarithmic tables several centuries prior. Such tables were common in the Islamic world as early as the 13th century.

What is Taught: During the 17th century Rene Descartes made the discovery that algebra could be used to solve geometrical problems. By this, he greatly advanced the science of geometry.

What Should be Taught: Mathematicians of the Islamic Empire accomplished precisely this as early as the 9th century A.D. Thabit bin Qurrah was the first to do so, and he was followed by Abu'l Wafa, whose 10th century book utilized algebra to advance geometry into an exact and simplified science.

What is Taught: Isaac Newton, during the 17th century, developed the binomial theorem, which is a crucial component for the study of algebra.

What Should be Taught: Hundreds of Muslim mathematicians utilized and perfected the binomial theorem. They initiated its use for the systematic solution of algebraic problems during the 10th century (or prior).

What is Taught: No improvement had been made in the astronomy of the ancients during the Middle Ages regarding the motion of planets until the 13th century. Then Alphonso the Wise of Castile (Middle Spain) invented the Aphonsine Tables, which were more accurate than Ptolemy's.

What Should be Taught: Muslim astronomers made numerous improvements upon Ptolemy's findings as early as the 9th century. They were the first astronomers to dispute his archaic ideas. In their critic of the Greeks, they synthesized proof that the sun is the center of the solar system and that the orbits of the earth and other planets might be elliptical. They produced hundreds of highly accurate astronomical tables and star charts. Many of their calculations are so precise that they are regarded as contemporary. The AlphonsineTables are little more than copies of works on astronomy transmitted to Europe via Islamic Spain, i.e. the Toledo Tables.

What is Taught: The English scholar Roger Bacon (d. 1292) first mentioned glass lenses for improving vision. At nearly the same time, eyeglasses could be found in use both in China and Europe.

What Should be Taught: Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain invented eyeglasses during the 9th century, and they were manufactured and sold throughout Spain for over two centuries. Any mention of eyeglasses by Roger Bacon was simply a regurgitation of the work of al-Haytham (d. 1039), whose research Bacon frequently referred to.

What is Taught: Gunpowder was developed in the Western world as a result of Roger Bacon's work in 1242. The first usage of gunpowder in weapons was when the Chinese fired it from bamboo shoots in attempt to frighten Mongol conquerors. They produced it by adding sulfur and charcoal to saltpeter.

What Should be Taught: The Chinese developed saltpeter for use in fireworks and knew of no tactical military use for gunpowder, nor did they invent its formula. Research by Reinuad and Fave have clearly shown that gunpowder was formulated initially by Muslim chemists. Further, these historians claim that the Muslims developed the first fire-arms. Notably, Muslim armies used grenades and other weapons in their defence of Algericus against the Franks during the 14th century. Jean Mathes indicates that the Muslim rulers had stock-piles of grenades, rifles, crude cannons, incendiary devices, sulfur bombs and pistols decades before such devices were used in Europe. The first mention of a cannon was in an Arabic text around 1300 A.D. Roger Bacon learned of the formula for gunpowder from Latin translations of Arabic books. He brought forth nothing original in this regard.

What is Taught: The compass was invented by the Chinese who may have been the first to use it for navigational purposes sometime between 1000 and 1100 A.D. The earliest reference to its use in navigation was by the Englishman, Alexander Neckam (1157-1217).

What Should be Taught: Muslim geographers and navigators learned of the magnetic needle, possibly from the Chinese, and were the first to use magnetic needles in navigation. They invented the compass and passed the knowledge of its use in navigation to the West. European navigators relied on Muslim pilots and their instruments when exploring unknown territories. Gustav Le Bon claims that the magnetic needle and compass were entirely invented by the Muslims and that the Chinese had little to do with it. Neckam, as well as the Chinese, probably learned of it from Muslim traders. It is noteworthy that the Chinese improved their navigational expertise after they began interacting with the Muslims during the 8th century.

What is Taught: The first man to classify the races was the German Johann F. Blumenbach, who divided mankind into white, yellow, brown, black and red peoples.

What Should be Taught: Muslim scholars of the 9th through 14th centuries invented the science of ethnography. A number of Muslim geographers classified the races, writing detailed explanations of their unique cultural habits and physical appearances. They wrote thousands of pages on this subject. Blumenbach's works were insignificant in comparison.

What is Taught: The science of geography was revived during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries when the ancient works of Ptolemy were discovered. The Crusades and the Portuguese/Spanish expeditions also contributed to this reawakening. The first scientifically-based treatise on geography were produced during this period by Europe's scholars.

What Should be Taught: Muslim geographers produced untold volumes of books on the geography of Africa, Asia, India, China and the Indies during the 8th through 15th centuries. These writings included the world's first geographical encyclopedias, almanacs and road maps. Ibn Battutah's 14th century masterpieces provide a detailed view of the geography of the ancient world. The Muslim geographers of the 10th through 15th centuries far exceeded the output by Europeans regarding the geography of these regions well into the 18th century. The Crusades led to the destruction of educational institutions, their scholars and books. They brought nothing substantive regarding geography to the Western world.

What is Taught: Robert Boyle, in the 17th century, originated the science of chemistry.

What Should be Taught: A variety of Muslim chemists, including ar-Razi, al-Jabr, al-Biruni and al-Kindi, performed scientific experiments in chemistry some 700 years prior to Boyle. Durant writes that the Muslims introduced the experimental method to this science. Humboldt regards the Muslims as the founders of chemistry.

What is Taught: Leonardo da Vinci (16th century) fathered the science of geology when he noted that fossils found on mountains indicated a watery origin of the earth.

What Should be Taught: Al-Biruni (1lth century) made precisely this observation and added much to it, including a huge book on geology, hundreds of years before Da Vinci was born. Ibn Sina noted this as well (see pages 100-101). it is probable that Da Vinci first learned of this concept from Latin translations of Islamic books. He added nothing original to their findings.

What is Taught: The first mention of the geological formation of valleys was in 1756, when Nicolas Desmarest proposed that they were formed over a long periods of time by streams.

What Should be Taught: Ibn Sina and al-Biruni made precisely this discovery during the 11th century (see pages 102 and 103), fully 700 years prior to Desmarest.

What is Taught: Galileo (17th century) was the world's first great experimenter.

What Should be Taught: Al-Biruni (d. 1050) was the world's first great experimenter. He wrote over 200 books, many of which discuss his precise experiments. His literary output in the sciences amounts to some 13,000 pages, far exceeding that written by Galileo or, for that matter, Galileo and Newton combined.

What is Taught: The Italian Giovanni Morgagni is regarded as the father of pathology because he was the first to correctly describe the nature of disease.

What Should be Taught: Islam's surgeons were the first pathologists. They fully realized the nature of disease and described a variety of diseases to modern detail. Ibn Zuhr correctly described the nature of pleurisy, tuberculosis and pericarditis. Az-Zahrawi accurately documented the pathology of hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and other congenital diseases. Ibn al-Quff and Ibn an-Nafs gave perfect descriptions of the diseases of circulation. Other Muslim surgeons gave the first accurate descriptions of certain malignancies, including cancer of the stomach, bowel and esophagus. These surgeons were the originators of pathology, not Giovanni Morgagni.

What is Taught: Paul Ehrlich (19th century) is the originator of drug chemotherapy, that is the use of specific drugs to kill microbes.

What Should be Taught: Muslim physicians used a variety of specific substances to destroy microbes. They applied sulfur topically specifically to kill the scabies mite. Ar-Razi (10th century) used mercurial compounds as topical antiseptics.

What is Taught: Purified alcohol, made through distillation, was first produced by Arnau de Villanova, a Spanish alchemist, in 1300 A.D.

What Should be Taught: Numerous Muslim chemists produced medicinal-grade alcohol through distillation as early as the 10th century and manufactured on a large scale the first distillation devices for use in chemistry. They used alcohol as a solvent and antiseptic.

What is Taught: The first surgery performed under inhalation anesthesia was conducted by C.W. Long, an American, in 1845.

What Should be Taught: Six hundred years prior to Long, Islamic Spain's Az-Zahrawi and Ibn Zuhr, among other Muslim surgeons, performed hundreds of surgeries under inhalation anesthesia with the use of narcotic-soaked sponges which were placed over the face.

What is Taught: During the 16th century Paracelsus invented the use of opium extracts for anesthesia.

What Should be Taught: Muslim physicians introduced the anesthetic value of opium derivatives during the Middle Ages. Opium was originally used as an anesthetic agent by the Greeks. Paracelus was a student of Ibn Sina's works from which it is almost assured that he derived this idea.

What is Taught: Modern anesthesia was invented in the 19th century by Humphrey Davy and Horace Wells.

What Should be Taught: Modern anesthesia was discovered, mastered and perfected by Muslim anesthetists 900 years before the advent of Davy and Wells. They utilized oral as well as inhalant anesthetics.

What is Taught: The concept of quarantine was first developed in 1403. In Venice, a law was passed preventing strangers from entering the city until a certain waiting period had passed. If, by then, no sign of illness could be found, they were allowed in.

What Should be Taught: The concept of quarantine was first introduced in the 7th century A.D. by the prophet Muhammad, who wisely warned against entering or leaving a region suffering from plague. As early as the 10th century, Muslim physicians innovated the use of isolation wards for individuals suffering with communicable diseases.

What is Taught: The scientific use of antiseptics in surgery was discovered by the British surgeon Joseph Lister in 1865.

What Should be Taught: As early as the 10th century, Muslim physicians and surgeons were applying purified alcohol to wounds as an antiseptic agent. Surgeons in Islamic Spain utilized special methods for maintaining antisepsis prior to and during surgery. They also originated specific protocols for maintaining hygiene during the post-operative period. Their success rate was so high that dignitaries throughout Europe came to Cordova, Spain, to be treated at what was comparably the "Mayo Clinic" of the Middle Ages.

What is Taught: In 1545, the scientific use of surgery was advanced by the French surgeon Ambroise Pare. Prior to him, surgeons attempted to stop bleeding through the gruesome procedure of searing the wound with boiling oil. Pare stopped the use of boiling oils and began ligating arteries. He is considered the "father of rational surgery." Pare was also one of the first Europeans to condemn such grotesque "surgical" procedures as trepanning (see reference #6, pg. 110).

What Should be Taught: Islamic Spain's illustrious surgeon, az-Zahrawi (d. 1013), began ligating arteries with fine sutures over 500 years prior to Pare. He perfected the use of Catgut, that is suture made from animal intestines. Additionally, he instituted the use of cotton plus wax to plug bleeding wounds. The full details of his works were made available to Europeans through Latin translations.

Despite this, barbers and herdsmen continued be the primary individuals practicing the "art" of surgery for nearly six centuries after az-Zahrawi's death. Pare himself was a barber, albeit more skilled and conscientious than the average ones.

Included in az-Zahrawi's legacy are dozens of books. His most famous work is a 30 volume treatise on medicine and surgery. His books contain sections on preventive medicine, nutrition, cosmetics, drug therapy, surgical technique, anesthesia, pre and post-operative care as well as drawings of some 200 surgical devices, many of which he invented. The refined and scholarly az-Zahrawi must be regarded as the father and founder of rational surgery, not the uneducated Pare.

What is Taught: William Harvey, during the early 17th century, discovered that blood circulates. He was the first to correctly describe the function of the heart, arteries and veins. Rome's Galen had presented erroneous ideas regarding the circulatory system, and Harvey was the first to determine that blood is pumped throughout the body via the action of the heart and the venous valves. Therefore, he is regarded as the founder of human physiology.

What Should be Taught: In the 10th century, Islam's ar-Razi wrote an in-depth treatise on the venous system, accurately describing the function of the veins and their valves. Ibn an-Nafs and Ibn al-Quff (13th century) provided full documentation that the blood circulates and correctly described the physiology of the heart and the function of its valves 300 years before Harvey. William Harvey was a graduate of Italy's famous Padua University at a time when the majority of its curriculum was based upon Ibn Sina's and ar-Razi's textbooks.

What is Taught: The first pharmacopeia (book of medicines) was published by a German scholar in 1542. According to World Book Encyclopedia, the science of pharmacology was begun in the 1900's as an off-shoot of chemistry due to the analysis of crude plant materials. Chemists, after isolating the active ingredients from plants, realized their medicinal value.

What Should be Taught: According to the eminent scholar of Arab history, Phillip Hitti, the Muslims, not the Greeks or Europeans, wrote the first "modern" pharmacopeia. The science of pharmacology was originated by Muslim physicians during the 9th century. They developed it into a highly refined and exact science. Muslim chemists, pharmacists and physicians produced thousands of drugs and/or crude herbal extracts one thousand years prior to the supposed birth of pharmacology. During the 14th century Ibn Baytar wrote a monumental pharmacopeia listing some 1400 different drugs. Hundreds of other pharmacopeias were published during the Islamic Era. It is likely that the German work is an offshoot of that by Ibn Baytar, which was widely circulated in Europe.

What is Taught: The discovery of the scientific use of drugs in the treatment of specific diseases was made by Paracelsus, the Swiss-born physician, during the 16th century. He is also credited with being the first to use practical experience as a determining factor in the treatment of patients rather than relying exclusively on the works of the ancients.

What Should be Taught: Ar-Razi, Ibn Sina, al-Kindi, Ibn Rushd, az-Zahrawi, Ibn Zuhr, Ibn Baytar, Ibn al-Jazzar, Ibn Juljul, Ibn al-Quff, Ibn an-Nafs, al-Biruni, Ibn Sahl and hundreds of other Muslim physicians mastered the science of drug therapy for the treatment of specific symptoms and diseases. In fact, this concept was entirely their invention. The word "drug" is derived from Arabic. Their use of practical experience and careful observation was extensive.

Muslim physicians were the first to criticize ancient medical theories and practices. Ar-Razi devoted an entire book as a critique of Galen's anatomy. The works of Paracelsus are insignificant compared to the vast volumes of medical writings and original findings accomplished by the medical giants of Islam.

What is Taught: The first sound approach to the treatment of disease was made by a German, Johann Weger, in the 1500's.

What Should be Taught: Harvard's George Sarton says that modern medicine is entirely an Islamic development and that Setting the Record Straight the Muslim physicians of the 9th through 12th centuries were precise, scientific, rational and sound in their approach. Johann Weger was among thousands of Europeans physicians during the 15th through 17th centuries who were taught the medicine of ar-Razi and Ibn Sina. He contributed nothing original.

What is Taught: Medical treatment for the insane was modernized by Philippe Pinel when in 1793 he operated France's first insane asylum.

What Should be Taught: As early as the 1lth century, Islamic hospitals maintained special wards for the insane. They treated them kindly and presumed their disease was real at a time when the insane were routinely burned alive in Europe as witches and sorcerers. A curative approach was taken for mental illness and, for the first time in history, the mentally ill were treated with supportive care, drugs and psychotherapy. Every major Islamic city maintained an insane asylum where patients were treated at no charge. In fact, the Islamic system for the treatment of the insane excels in comparison to the current model, as it was more humane and was highly effective as well.

What is Taught: Kerosine was first produced by the an Englishman, Abraham Gesner, in 1853. He distilled it from asphalt.

What Should be Taught: Muslim chemists produced kerosine as a distillate from petroleum products over 1,000 years prior to Gesner (see Encyclopaedia Britannica under the heading, Petroleum).

For biographies of Muslim Scholars mentioned in this article, visit the Web Site: Muslim Scientists and Islamic Civilization.

For authors and books mentioned in this article, refer to the author's book 'The Miracle of Islamic Science'. Also, Refer to Dr. Ajram's companion book 'Incredible Islamic Scientists: Incredible Facts About Incredible Men - 500 Multiple Choice, Short Answers and True-False Questions', 1992, p. 136. ISBN 0911119485.

Setting the Record Straight: The Miracle of Islamic Science

Excerpted from: Appendix B of 'The Miracle of Islamic Science' by Dr. K. Ajram, Copyright © 1992

The concept that the sciences are exclusively the products of Western minds remains unquestioned by most individuals. A review of any of the standard texts or encyclopaedias regarding the history of science would support this view. As these books are perused, it becomes evident that the only contributors given significant mention are Europeans and/or Americans. It is hardly necessary to repeat the oft-mentioned names: Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, Bacon, Newton, Da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, etc. The unavoidable conclusion is that major contributions to the development of the modern sciences by other cultures is minimal. Most texts give little or no mention of the advancements made by ancient Indian, Chinese or, particularly, Muslim scholars.

Western civilization has made invaluable contributions to the development of the sciences. However, so have numerous other cultures. Unfortunately, Westerners have long been credited with discoveries made many centuries before by Islamic scholars. Thus, many of the basic sciences were invented by non-Europeans. For instance, George Sarton states that modern Western medicine did not originate from Europe and that it actually arose from the (Islamic) orient.

The data in this section concerning dates, names and topics of Western advances has been derived from three main sources: World Book Encyclopedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Isaac Asimov's 700 page book, Chronology of Science and Discovery. Supportive data for the accomplishments of Islamic scholars is derived from the miscellaneous references listed in the bibliography of this book.

What is Taught: The first mention of man in flight was by Roger Bacon, who drew a flying apparatus. Leonardo da Vinci also conceived of airborne transport and drew several prototypes.

What Should be Taught: Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain invented, constructed and tested a flying machine in the 800's A.D. Roger Bacon learned of flying machines from Arabic references to Ibn Firnas' machine. The latter's invention antedates Bacon by 500 years and Da Vinci by some 700 years.

What is Taught: Glass mirrors were first produced in 1291 in Venice.

What Should be Taught: Glass mirrors were in use in Islamic Spain as early as the 11th century. The Venetians learned of the art of fine glass production from Syrian artisans during the 9th and 10th centuries.

What is Taught: Until the 14th century, the only type of clock available was the water clock. In 1335, a large mechanical clock was erected in Milan, Italy. This was possibly the first weight-driven clock.

What Should be Taught: A variety of mechanical clocks were produced by Spanish Muslim engineers, both large and small, and this knowledge was transmitted to Europe through Latin translations of Islamic books on mechanics. These clocks were weight-driven. Designs and illustrations of epi-cyclic and segmental gears were provided. One such clock included a mercury escapement. The latter type was directly copied by Europeans during the 15th century. In addition, during the 9th century, Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain, according to Will Durant, invented a watch-like device which kept accurate time. The Muslims also constructed a variety of highly accurate astronomical clocks for use in their observatories.

What is Taught: In the 17th century, the pendulum was developed by Galileo during his teenage years. He noticed a chandelier swaying as it was being blown by the wind. As a result, he went home and invented the pendulum.

What Should be Taught: The pendulum was discovered by Ibn Yunus al-Masri during the 10th century, who was the first to study and document its oscillatory motion. Its value for use in clocks was introduced by Muslim physicists during the 15th century.

What is Taught: Movable type and the printing press was invented in the West by Johannes Gutenberg of Germany during the 15th century.

What Should be Taught: In 1454, Gutenberg developed the most sophisticated printing press of the Middle Ages. However, movable brass type was in use in Islamic Spain 100 years prior, and that is where the West's first printing devices were made.

What is Taught: Isaac Newton's 17th century study of lenses, light and prisms forms the foundation of the modern science of optics.

What Should be Taught: In the 1lth century al-Haytham determined virtually everything that Newton advanced regarding optics centuries prior and is regarded by numerous authorities as the "founder of optics. " There is little doubt that Newton was influenced by him. Al-Haytham was the most quoted physicist of the Middle Ages. His works were utilized and quoted by a greater number of European scholars during the 16th and 17th centuries than those of Newton and Galileo combined.

What is Taught: Isaac Newton, during the 17th century, discovered that white light consists of various rays of colored light.

What Should be Taught: This discovery was made in its entirety by al-Haytham (1lth century) and Kamal ad-Din (14th century). Newton did make original discoveries, but this was not one of them.

What is Taught: The concept of the finite nature of matter was first introduced by Antione Lavoisier during the 18th century. He discovered that, although matter may change its form or shape, its mass always remains the same. Thus, for instance, if water is heated to steam, if salt is dissolved in water or if a piece of wood is burned to ashes, the total mass remains unchanged.

What Should be Taught: The principles of this discovery were elaborated centuries before by Islamic Persia's great scholar, al-Biruni (d. 1050). Lavoisier was a disciple of the Muslim chemists and physicists and referred to their books frequently.

What is Taught: The Greeks were the developers of trigonometry.

What Should be Taught: Trigonometry remained largely a theoretical science among the Greeks. It was developed to a level of modern perfection by Muslim scholars, although the weight of the credit must be given to al-Battani. The words describing the basic functions of this science, sine, cosine and tangent, are all derived from Arabic terms. Thus, original contributions by the Greeks in trigonometry were minimal.

What is Taught: The use of decimal fractions in mathematics was first developed by a Dutchman, Simon Stevin, in 1589. He helped advance the mathematical sciences by replacing the cumbersome fractions, for instance, 1/2, with decimal fractions, for example, 0.5.

What Should be Taught: Muslim mathematicians were the first to utilize decimals instead of fractions on a large scale. Al-Kashi's book, Key to Arithmetic, was written at the beginning of the 15th century and was the stimulus for the systematic application of decimals to whole numbers and fractions thereof. It is highly probably that Stevin imported the idea to Europe from al-Kashi's work.

What is Taught: The first man to utilize algebraic symbols was the French mathematician, Francois Vieta. In 1591, he wrote an algebra book describing equations with letters such as the now familiar x and y's. Asimov says that this discovery had an impact similar to the progression from Roman numerals to Arabic numbers.

What Should be Taught: Muslim mathematicians, the inventors of algebra, introduced the concept of using letters for unknown variables in equations as early as the 9th century A.D. Through this system, they solved a variety of complex equations, including quadratic and cubic equations. They used symbols to develop and perfect the binomial theorem.

What is Taught: The difficult cubic equations (x to the third power) remained unsolved until the 16th century when Niccolo Tartaglia, an Italian mathematician, solved them.

What Should be Taught: Cubic equations as well as numerous equations of even higher degrees were solved with ease by Muslim mathematicians as early as the 10th century.

What is Taught: The concept that numbers could be less than zero, that is negative numbers, was unknown until 1545 when Geronimo Cardano introduced the idea.

What Should he Taught: Muslim mathematicians introduced negative numbers for use in a variety of arithmetic functions at least 400 years prior to Cardano.

What is Taught: In 1614, John Napier invented logarithms and logarithmic tables.

What Should be Taught: Muslim mathematicians invented logarithms and produced logarithmic tables several centuries prior. Such tables were common in the Islamic world as early as the 13th century.

What is Taught: During the 17th century Rene Descartes made the discovery that algebra could be used to solve geometrical problems. By this, he greatly advanced the science of geometry.

What Should be Taught: Mathematicians of the Islamic Empire accomplished precisely this as early as the 9th century A.D. Thabit bin Qurrah was the first to do so, and he was followed by Abu'l Wafa, whose 10th century book utilized algebra to advance geometry into an exact and simplified science.

What is Taught: Isaac Newton, during the 17th century, developed the binomial theorem, which is a crucial component for the study of algebra.

What Should be Taught: Hundreds of Muslim mathematicians utilized and perfected the binomial theorem. They initiated its use for the systematic solution of algebraic problems during the 10th century (or prior).

What is Taught: No improvement had been made in the astronomy of the ancients during the Middle Ages regarding the motion of planets until the 13th century. Then Alphonso the Wise of Castile (Middle Spain) invented the Aphonsine Tables, which were more accurate than Ptolemy's.

What Should be Taught: Muslim astronomers made numerous improvements upon Ptolemy's findings as early as the 9th century. They were the first astronomers to dispute his archaic ideas. In their critic of the Greeks, they synthesized proof that the sun is the center of the solar system and that the orbits of the earth and other planets might be elliptical. They produced hundreds of highly accurate astronomical tables and star charts. Many of their calculations are so precise that they are regarded as contemporary. The AlphonsineTables are little more than copies of works on astronomy transmitted to Europe via Islamic Spain, i.e. the Toledo Tables.

What is Taught: The English scholar Roger Bacon (d. 1292) first mentioned glass lenses for improving vision. At nearly the same time, eyeglasses could be found in use both in China and Europe.

What Should be Taught: Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain invented eyeglasses during the 9th century, and they were manufactured and sold throughout Spain for over two centuries. Any mention of eyeglasses by Roger Bacon was simply a regurgitation of the work of al-Haytham (d. 1039), whose research Bacon frequently referred to.

What is Taught: Gunpowder was developed in the Western world as a result of Roger Bacon's work in 1242. The first usage of gunpowder in weapons was when the Chinese fired it from bamboo shoots in attempt to frighten Mongol conquerors. They produced it by adding sulfur and charcoal to saltpeter.

What Should be Taught: The Chinese developed saltpeter for use in fireworks and knew of no tactical military use for gunpowder, nor did they invent its formula. Research by Reinuad and Fave have clearly shown that gunpowder was formulated initially by Muslim chemists. Further, these historians claim that the Muslims developed the first fire-arms. Notably, Muslim armies used grenades and other weapons in their defence of Algericus against the Franks during the 14th century. Jean Mathes indicates that the Muslim rulers had stock-piles of grenades, rifles, crude cannons, incendiary devices, sulfur bombs and pistols decades before such devices were used in Europe. The first mention of a cannon was in an Arabic text around 1300 A.D. Roger Bacon learned of the formula for gunpowder from Latin translations of Arabic books. He brought forth nothing original in this regard.

What is Taught: The compass was invented by the Chinese who may have been the first to use it for navigational purposes sometime between 1000 and 1100 A.D. The earliest reference to its use in navigation was by the Englishman, Alexander Neckam (1157-1217).

What Should be Taught: Muslim geographers and navigators learned of the magnetic needle, possibly from the Chinese, and were the first to use magnetic needles in navigation. They invented the compass and passed the knowledge of its use in navigation to the West. European navigators relied on Muslim pilots and their instruments when exploring unknown territories. Gustav Le Bon claims that the magnetic needle and compass were entirely invented by the Muslims and that the Chinese had little to do with it. Neckam, as well as the Chinese, probably learned of it from Muslim traders. It is noteworthy that the Chinese improved their navigational expertise after they began interacting with the Muslims during the 8th century.

What is Taught: The first man to classify the races was the German Johann F. Blumenbach, who divided mankind into white, yellow, brown, black and red peoples.

What Should be Taught: Muslim scholars of the 9th through 14th centuries invented the science of ethnography. A number of Muslim geographers classified the races, writing detailed explanations of their unique cultural habits and physical appearances. They wrote thousands of pages on this subject. Blumenbach's works were insignificant in comparison.

What is Taught: The science of geography was revived during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries when the ancient works of Ptolemy were discovered. The Crusades and the Portuguese/Spanish expeditions also contributed to this reawakening. The first scientifically-based treatise on geography were produced during this period by Europe's scholars.

What Should be Taught: Muslim geographers produced untold volumes of books on the geography of Africa, Asia, India, China and the Indies during the 8th through 15th centuries. These writings included the world's first geographical encyclopedias, almanacs and road maps. Ibn Battutah's 14th century masterpieces provide a detailed view of the geography of the ancient world. The Muslim geographers of the 10th through 15th centuries far exceeded the output by Europeans regarding the geography of these regions well into the 18th century. The Crusades led to the destruction of educational institutions, their scholars and books. They brought nothing substantive regarding geography to the Western world.

What is Taught: Robert Boyle, in the 17th century, originated the science of chemistry.

What Should be Taught: A variety of Muslim chemists, including ar-Razi, al-Jabr, al-Biruni and al-Kindi, performed scientific experiments in chemistry some 700 years prior to Boyle. Durant writes that the Muslims introduced the experimental method to this science. Humboldt regards the Muslims as the founders of chemistry.

What is Taught: Leonardo da Vinci (16th century) fathered the science of geology when he noted that fossils found on mountains indicated a watery origin of the earth.

What Should be Taught: Al-Biruni (1lth century) made precisely this observation and added much to it, including a huge book on geology, hundreds of years before Da Vinci was born. Ibn Sina noted this as well (see pages 100-101). it is probable that Da Vinci first learned of this concept from Latin translations of Islamic books. He added nothing original to their findings.

What is Taught: The first mention of the geological formation of valleys was in 1756, when Nicolas Desmarest proposed that they were formed over a long periods of time by streams.

What Should be Taught: Ibn Sina and al-Biruni made precisely this discovery during the 11th century (see pages 102 and 103), fully 700 years prior to Desmarest.

What is Taught: Galileo (17th century) was the world's first great experimenter.

What Should be Taught: Al-Biruni (d. 1050) was the world's first great experimenter. He wrote over 200 books, many of which discuss his precise experiments. His literary output in the sciences amounts to some 13,000 pages, far exceeding that written by Galileo or, for that matter, Galileo and Newton combined.

What is Taught: The Italian Giovanni Morgagni is regarded as the father of pathology because he was the first to correctly describe the nature of disease.

What Should be Taught: Islam's surgeons were the first pathologists. They fully realized the nature of disease and described a variety of diseases to modern detail. Ibn Zuhr correctly described the nature of pleurisy, tuberculosis and pericarditis. Az-Zahrawi accurately documented the pathology of hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and other congenital diseases. Ibn al-Quff and Ibn an-Nafs gave perfect descriptions of the diseases of circulation. Other Muslim surgeons gave the first accurate descriptions of certain malignancies, including cancer of the stomach, bowel and esophagus. These surgeons were the originators of pathology, not Giovanni Morgagni.

What is Taught: Paul Ehrlich (19th century) is the originator of drug chemotherapy, that is the use of specific drugs to kill microbes.

What Should be Taught: Muslim physicians used a variety of specific substances to destroy microbes. They applied sulfur topically specifically to kill the scabies mite. Ar-Razi (10th century) used mercurial compounds as topical antiseptics.

What is Taught: Purified alcohol, made through distillation, was first produced by Arnau de Villanova, a Spanish alchemist, in 1300 A.D.

What Should be Taught: Numerous Muslim chemists produced medicinal-grade alcohol through distillation as early as the 10th century and manufactured on a large scale the first distillation devices for use in chemistry. They used alcohol as a solvent and antiseptic.

What is Taught: The first surgery performed under inhalation anesthesia was conducted by C.W. Long, an American, in 1845.

What Should be Taught: Six hundred years prior to Long, Islamic Spain's Az-Zahrawi and Ibn Zuhr, among other Muslim surgeons, performed hundreds of surgeries under inhalation anesthesia with the use of narcotic-soaked sponges which were placed over the face.

What is Taught: During the 16th century Paracelsus invented the use of opium extracts for anesthesia.

What Should be Taught: Muslim physicians introduced the anesthetic value of opium derivatives during the Middle Ages. Opium was originally used as an anesthetic agent by the Greeks. Paracelus was a student of Ibn Sina's works from which it is almost assured that he derived this idea.

What is Taught: Modern anesthesia was invented in the 19th century by Humphrey Davy and Horace Wells.

What Should be Taught: Modern anesthesia was discovered, mastered and perfected by Muslim anesthetists 900 years before the advent of Davy and Wells. They utilized oral as well as inhalant anesthetics.

What is Taught: The concept of quarantine was first developed in 1403. In Venice, a law was passed preventing strangers from entering the city until a certain waiting period had passed. If, by then, no sign of illness could be found, they were allowed in.

What Should be Taught: The concept of quarantine was first introduced in the 7th century A.D. by the prophet Muhammad, who wisely warned against entering or leaving a region suffering from plague. As early as the 10th century, Muslim physicians innovated the use of isolation wards for individuals suffering with communicable diseases.

What is Taught: The scientific use of antiseptics in surgery was discovered by the British surgeon Joseph Lister in 1865.

What Should be Taught: As early as the 10th century, Muslim physicians and surgeons were applying purified alcohol to wounds as an antiseptic agent. Surgeons in Islamic Spain utilized special methods for maintaining antisepsis prior to and during surgery. They also originated specific protocols for maintaining hygiene during the post-operative period. Their success rate was so high that dignitaries throughout Europe came to Cordova, Spain, to be treated at what was comparably the "Mayo Clinic" of the Middle Ages.

What is Taught: In 1545, the scientific use of surgery was advanced by the French surgeon Ambroise Pare. Prior to him, surgeons attempted to stop bleeding through the gruesome procedure of searing the wound with boiling oil. Pare stopped the use of boiling oils and began ligating arteries. He is considered the "father of rational surgery." Pare was also one of the first Europeans to condemn such grotesque "surgical" procedures as trepanning (see reference #6, pg. 110).

What Should be Taught: Islamic Spain's illustrious surgeon, az-Zahrawi (d. 1013), began ligating arteries with fine sutures over 500 years prior to Pare. He perfected the use of Catgut, that is suture made from animal intestines. Additionally, he instituted the use of cotton plus wax to plug bleeding wounds. The full details of his works were made available to Europeans through Latin translations.

Despite this, barbers and herdsmen continued be the primary individuals practicing the "art" of surgery for nearly six centuries after az-Zahrawi's death. Pare himself was a barber, albeit more skilled and conscientious than the average ones.

Included in az-Zahrawi's legacy are dozens of books. His most famous work is a 30 volume treatise on medicine and surgery. His books contain sections on preventive medicine, nutrition, cosmetics, drug therapy, surgical technique, anesthesia, pre and post-operative care as well as drawings of some 200 surgical devices, many of which he invented. The refined and scholarly az-Zahrawi must be regarded as the father and founder of rational surgery, not the uneducated Pare.

What is Taught: William Harvey, during the early 17th century, discovered that blood circulates. He was the first to correctly describe the function of the heart, arteries and veins. Rome's Galen had presented erroneous ideas regarding the circulatory system, and Harvey was the first to determine that blood is pumped throughout the body via the action of the heart and the venous valves. Therefore, he is regarded as the founder of human physiology.

What Should be Taught: In the 10th century, Islam's ar-Razi wrote an in-depth treatise on the venous system, accurately describing the function of the veins and their valves. Ibn an-Nafs and Ibn al-Quff (13th century) provided full documentation that the blood circulates and correctly described the physiology of the heart and the function of its valves 300 years before Harvey. William Harvey was a graduate of Italy's famous Padua University at a time when the majority of its curriculum was based upon Ibn Sina's and ar-Razi's textbooks.

What is Taught: The first pharmacopeia (book of medicines) was published by a German scholar in 1542. According to World Book Encyclopedia, the science of pharmacology was begun in the 1900's as an off-shoot of chemistry due to the analysis of crude plant materials. Chemists, after isolating the active ingredients from plants, realized their medicinal value.

What Should be Taught: According to the eminent scholar of Arab history, Phillip Hitti, the Muslims, not the Greeks or Europeans, wrote the first "modern" pharmacopeia. The science of pharmacology was originated by Muslim physicians during the 9th century. They developed it into a highly refined and exact science. Muslim chemists, pharmacists and physicians produced thousands of drugs and/or crude herbal extracts one thousand years prior to the supposed birth of pharmacology. During the 14th century Ibn Baytar wrote a monumental pharmacopeia listing some 1400 different drugs. Hundreds of other pharmacopeias were published during the Islamic Era. It is likely that the German work is an offshoot of that by Ibn Baytar, which was widely circulated in Europe.

What is Taught: The discovery of the scientific use of drugs in the treatment of specific diseases was made by Paracelsus, the Swiss-born physician, during the 16th century. He is also credited with being the first to use practical experience as a determining factor in the treatment of patients rather than relying exclusively on the works of the ancients.

What Should be Taught: Ar-Razi, Ibn Sina, al-Kindi, Ibn Rushd, az-Zahrawi, Ibn Zuhr, Ibn Baytar, Ibn al-Jazzar, Ibn Juljul, Ibn al-Quff, Ibn an-Nafs, al-Biruni, Ibn Sahl and hundreds of other Muslim physicians mastered the science of drug therapy for the treatment of specific symptoms and diseases. In fact, this concept was entirely their invention. The word "drug" is derived from Arabic. Their use of practical experience and careful observation was extensive.

Muslim physicians were the first to criticize ancient medical theories and practices. Ar-Razi devoted an entire book as a critique of Galen's anatomy. The works of Paracelsus are insignificant compared to the vast volumes of medical writings and original findings accomplished by the medical giants of Islam.

What is Taught: The first sound approach to the treatment of disease was made by a German, Johann Weger, in the 1500's.

What Should be Taught: Harvard's George Sarton says that modern medicine is entirely an Islamic development and that Setting the Record Straight the Muslim physicians of the 9th through 12th centuries were precise, scientific, rational and sound in their approach. Johann Weger was among thousands of Europeans physicians during the 15th through 17th centuries who were taught the medicine of ar-Razi and Ibn Sina. He contributed nothing original.

What is Taught: Medical treatment for the insane was modernized by Philippe Pinel when in 1793 he operated France's first insane asylum.

What Should be Taught: As early as the 1lth century, Islamic hospitals maintained special wards for the insane. They treated them kindly and presumed their disease was real at a time when the insane were routinely burned alive in Europe as witches and sorcerers. A curative approach was taken for mental illness and, for the first time in history, the mentally ill were treated with supportive care, drugs and psychotherapy. Every major Islamic city maintained an insane asylum where patients were treated at no charge. In fact, the Islamic system for the treatment of the insane excels in comparison to the current model, as it was more humane and was highly effective as well.

What is Taught: Kerosine was first produced by the an Englishman, Abraham Gesner, in 1853. He distilled it from asphalt.

What Should be Taught: Muslim chemists produced kerosine as a distillate from petroleum products over 1,000 years prior to Gesner (see Encyclopaedia Britannica under the heading, Petroleum).

For biographies of Muslim Scholars mentioned in this article, visit the Web Site: Muslim Scientists and Islamic Civilization.

For authors and books mentioned in this article, refer to the author's book 'The Miracle of Islamic Science'. Also, Refer to Dr. Ajram's companion book 'Incredible Islamic Scientists: Incredible Facts About Incredible Men - 500 Multiple Choice, Short Answers and True-False Questions', 1992, p. 136. ISBN 0911119485.

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Contact lenses - FAQs

Who can wear contact lenses?

Most people can. Recent advances in contact lenses include astigmatism-correcting lenses, bifocals, daily disposables, and frequent-replacement lenses. Whether you're nearsighted or farsighted, older or younger, you can probably wear some type of contact lens.

Are contact lenses good for my eyes? Can they cause damage to the cornea?


Contact lenses have proven to be a healthy vision option for millions of people. But only your eyecare professional can determine if they are healthy for you. If you follow all prescribed steps for inserting, removing, and caring for them, contact lenses will continue to be safe and effective. You also need to see your eyecare professional regularly to insure long-term corneal health.

At what age can contact lens wear begin?

As soon as the need for vision correction is identified, contact lenses are a viable option. In fact, they have frequently been used in premature infants, who sometimes have vision problems. With proper care and lens maintenance, infants, young children, teens, and adults of all ages can wear contacts effectively. If you're a parent, click here for more information.

Should I wear contact lenses while playing sports?


Sports vision doctors agree that contact lenses are the best vision correction option for athletes. They can enhance visual skills like depth perception, peripheral awareness, and eye-hand/eye-foot coordination. Unlike glasses, contacts offer athletes a competitive advantage because they stay in place under dynamic conditions, provide a wider vision field, and eliminate the risk of glasses-related injuries. Contact lenses also make it easy to wear protective goggles.

Is it true that some contact lenses can actually slow or control nearsightedness?

Many contact lens specialists agree that GP contact lenses, which are made of firm plastic, may slow the progression of nearsightedness (myopia), whereas spectacles or soft contact lenses offer no such benefit. Myopia control is one reason why GP contacts are an excellent choice for many school-aged children and teens. Various eyecare practitioners are continuing research in this area.

If I have astigmatism, can I wear contact lenses?


Yes. Astigmatism is distorted vision caused by an irregularly shaped cornea. Contact lenses that correct astigmatism are called torics, and they come in both soft and GP contact lens materials. GP contacts tend to work better for astigmatism, because they are custom-fit to your eyes' particular shape; also, their firm material keeps its original shape more when you blink. In addition, small amounts of astigmatism may be corrected with a regular, non-toric GP contact lens.

Aren't soft contact lenses the newest and best technology?

No. When they were first available in 1971, soft contact lenses were a giant leap in technology and comfort over old-style hard contact lenses. But GP contact lenses, first marketed in 1979, are a next-generation advancement. New, recently developed materials and designs make them a state-of-the-art option for contact lens wearers, offering sharper vision, better corneal health, longer lens life, and greater ease of care than most soft contacts.

Are contacts hard to take care of?


It differs from lens to lens. GP contacts, which last for years, need daily cleaning and disinfecting but generally no enzyming, since their slick surface resists deposit buildup. Daily disposable lenses are worn once, then discarded, with no maintenance required. Weekly soft disposables are cleaned at the end of the day, then soaked in disinfecting solution until they're worn again. Since they're discarded before deposit buildups occur, they don't need to be soaked in an enzyme solution. Other soft lenses usually require daily cleaning/disinfection and weekly enzyming.

How can I get contact lenses that change the appearance or color of my eyes?



Soft contact lenses are available that will change the color of your eyes, even if you don't require vision correction. Costume lenses for Halloween or theatrical purposes are also available. Both are still a prescribed medical device that must be fitted and followed up by your eyecare professional. And remember, even though such lenses might provoke curiosity by your friends and family members, never share them with anyone. Sharing lenses can lead to dangerous health problems.

Who should I see for contacts -- an optometrist or an ophthalmologist?

It is your choice. Optometrists (Doctors of Optometry, or O.D.s) perform eye examinations, treat eye disease, prescribe vision correction, fit contact lenses, and dispense eyeglasses. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors (M.D.s) who specialize in eyes. Many concentrate on eye surgery and treatment of disease, but some specialize in contact lenses. Also, in some states specially trained opticians or contact lens technicians are licensed to fit contact lenses. Since they must fit the lenses from an optometrist's or ophthalmologist's prescription, they often work with them in the same office.

How much do contact lenses cost?

The cost of contact lenses can vary greatly. If you have a difficult prescription or need correction for problems like astigmatism, your lenses will be more expensive. If you have no special requirements, your options will range from daily disposables (fairly high cost) to GP contacts, which are thought by many to provide the greatest value. GP contacts, though initially more expensive, can last for years and are inexpensive to care for. Consumer Reports called GP contact lenses a better buy "because they're more durable and cheaper to maintain." Fortunately, GP contacts can also accommodate any prescription, no matter how difficult, because they are custom-made for each individual wearer.

Can I sleep in contact lenses?


Ask your doctor. It depends on the type of lens you're wearing, the composition of your tear film, your general eye health, and other factors. GP contact lenses and certain soft lenses can be slept in, but never wear them while sleeping unless your eyecare practitioner says you can.

I've never worn contact lenses, and the thought of putting something in my eye is a little scary.

This is a typical concern with first-time wearers, but your eyecare professional will be able to help. Here are some of the most common worries:

# "I can't get my eye open wide enough." Yes you can. Grasp the upper eyelashes between your thumb and index finger and gently pull the eyelids apart.

# "My eyes are too small." They aren't. Hold the top lid up and rest the edge of the lens inside the lower lid with the lens slanting out. If you look down, the lens usually moves right onto the eye.

# "What if I put the lens in the wrong place?" You can't. The lens won't fit right unless it's centered, and it has a natural tendency to move to the center of your eye. Your eyecare professional can show you how to move it into position if you do get the lens off the cornea.

# "What if the lens slides to the back of my eyeball?" Don't worry, this is completely impossible.

# "The lens won't stick in place." Usually it's because the lens is attr acted to the wettest surface, and your finger is wetter than your eye. Dry your finger, and let your lens air-dry for a few seconds before insertion.

# "I'm afraid I'll put my lens on inside-out." The good thing about GP contact lenses is that they can't flip inside-out. But if it's a soft lens, look at it closely. If the edge is flared out, it's probably inside-out. Some soft lenses have little marks to help you know if they're inside out.

# "How do I get the lens out again? Isn't it stuck to my eye?" No. If you're wearing a GP contact lens, just pull your eyelid taut to the side and blink. It pops right out. For a soft lens, use a few drops of rewetting or solution to keep the lens wet. Look up, touch the lens, and let it slide down and over to the outside corner of the eye. The lens will bunch up, so it's easy to fold out.

# "Will I give myself an eye problem by touching the lens?&q uot; No. Just make sure to wash your hands first.