The Golden Age of Islam

The Caliph al-Mahdi and Patriarch Timothy I had a famous debate at the height of the Abbasid Caliphate about the differences between Christianity and Islam, over a thousand years ago. It stands as one of the greatest examples of mutual understanding and respect between the two faiths.

One of the first Christian writers to write about Islam was the Orthodox monk, St. John of Damascus. Writing from the center of the Umayyad Caliphate, he offered harsh warnings about Islam in his book of heresies. It was the first of many attempts of Christian Europe to deal with the coming of Islam, but John is still quoted today as an authority.

In this episode, we look at the early biographies of The Prophet Muhammad from his origins to the beginning of his prophetic ministry.

On the eve of Islam, Arabia was a mixture of hundreds of competing tribal gods, monotheism, Christianity and Judaism. Sorting the history from the legends of this pre-Islamic past remains a challenging task.

Like any religion, Islam was shaped by the culture in which it emerged. The rules and values of the Bedouin - from the treatment of women to concepts of honor and leadership - would impact the Islamic society that grew out of Arabia. In this episode, we take a look at that culture to understand what Islam preserved and what it changed.

In this episode, we look at the third of the founding sultans of the Ottoman empire, Murad I, whose victory over the Serbs at Kosovo would be invoked 600 years later as a cause for war.

As a divided Europe fights among itself, the Ottoman state continues to establish itself as the new power of the age. In this episode, we discuss Orkhan I, second of the three founding sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

The great empire that would rule from North Africa to Arabia and threaten the gates of Vienna started from the most humble origins. The leader of a small Turkish tribe escaping the Mongol advance, Osman the First would lay the foundations of the last great empire of the Golden Age of Islam.

The richest merchant of Mecca and the first person to convert to Islam, Khadija was one of the most important people in the early history of Islam.

In 1492, seven centuries of Muslim rule in Spain come to an end and History takes a very sharp turn. Today we discuss the reasons for the fall of Granada and its implications on all sides.

Despite the constant threat of the Christian Reconquista from the north, the last Muslim foothold in Spain, the Emirate of Granada, managed not only to survive, but to flourish for over two centuries, leaving some of the greatest symbols of Muslim culture in Europe. Hear how skillful leadership managed to defy the odds and sustain a mini-Golden Age.

The fighting in Spain and Portugal turns into a bona fide Crusade, with both sides seeing themselves appointed by God to save the true religion. In this episode, we look at the lesser known, but at times, higher priority crusade against Islam: the battle for Iberia.

Almost immediately after the Muslims conquered Iberia, the long fight for control began. What would be called by Europeans a "Reconquest" would take nearly eight centuries and leave lasting marks on both sides. In this episode, we look at the beginnings of this long battle.

A thousand years ago, the mysterious philosophical group Ikhwan al-Safa' imagined humankind put on trial for its treatment of the animals. Far ahead of their time in thinking about rights and compassion, the Ikhwan remain controversial and inspiring.

The Brethren of Purity, or Ikhwan al-Safa' were one of the most mysterious, yet influential groups of philosophers. A secret society of eclectic thinkers, they attempted to reconcile all the world's knowledge--from Greek, Hindu, Persian, pagan, Christian and Muslim sources--into a single system that explained everything. How did they do? We will see in this episode.

Before Dante and long before Bill and Ted, the great Arab writer Abu 'Alaa' al-Ma'arri described a mythical journey into Heaven and Hell that challenged the views of religious officials of his day. He remains as popular and controversial today as ever.

Proper values and behavior of the elite in the Golden Age capitals of Baghdad and Cordoba was not just a matter of trial and error. Detailed manuals of adab taught what was expected in respectable society. Today we look at one of the greatest of these, The Unique Necklace of Ibn Abd Rabbih

In the conflict between philosophers and religious writers of the Golden Age, no question was more divisive than the eternity of the world. Although it may seem abstract today, this was the ultimate litmus test back then. In this episode, we look at how both sides lined up on this issue and why they considered the others infidels.

In this episode, we look at the conflict between religious traditionalists and rationalist philosophers for the upper hand in Islamic society. What was at stake in the heated debates about the role of religion vs. science, revelation vs. logic and the philosophers against the traditionalists? How would the outcome of that conflict shape the direction of society in the future?

The battle between Philosophy and Religion; Reason and Revelation; it has been at the heart of debate within Muslim circles throughout the Golden Age. This episode looks at one of the last, and most influential voices on this subject: the Andalusian intellectual Ibn Rushd. He is one of the few Muslim thinkers to be as famous in the West as in the Muslim world. Known as Averroes in Latin, he was a major influence on European philosophy, but managed to get himself declared a heretic by the Pope.