ABSTRACT
Once upon a time, the story of the Middle East was one of brilliant achievements. It was in the forefront of human civilization, and its cultural contributions were legendary, second to none. It was the golden age of al-Andalus, of the Abbasid Caliphate and the Ummayad in Spain, when Baghdad was known as Madinat as-Salam (the city of peace), the age of Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah, of Ibn Rushd and Ibn Sina, of the finest architecture, of leading in astronomy and mathematics as well as in philosophy and medicine. It excelled in the sciences and the arts flowered, the most advanced spirits in Europe such as Frederick II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (he was called “stupor mundi” the wonder of the world), surrounded himself with Arab advisers and teachers, learned their language and went to Palestine to be part of what was then, in many respects, the most advanced culture. It was in the vanguard not only of knowledge but also of civilized behavior; when Christian Europe was often immersed in religious fanaticism, Muslim thinkers and some rulers pioneered a new humanist spirit preaching tolerance.
