EWD 1041: By Way of Introduction (Science is hated)(cs.utexas.edu)

cs.utexas.edu

EWD 1041: By Way of Introduction (Science is hated)

https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/EWD1041.html

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Nice article. But this statement in it - .. the Moslims burned down the library of Alexandria - is a myth. The Islamic empires, at its peak, were a great repository of knowledge. It is now accepted that the myth of burning the books of Alexandria, was a "fake news" propaganda created by a muslim to defend his rulers actions (Saladin had to sell many of the precious books from famous libraries to raise money to fight the crusaders, for which he was heavily criticised), that was also lapped up and propagated by the crusaders to portray muslims as "savages":

> The most-notable reported event detrimental to a public library was during the great famine that occurred in Egypt about 1070 (about ah 460) when the Fāṭimid caliph al-Mustanṣir was forced to offer for sale thousands of books of the great Fāṭimid library in Cairo in order to pay the money due to his Turkish soldiers. On one occasion he sold “18,000 books on the ancient sciences.” On another, in one day, he carried out of the library 25 camel-loads of books to pay off debts to two of his ministers ... Another tragic war-related incident happened during the capture of Tripoli (now in Lebanon) by the Crusaders in 1102. After a siege of six years, the city offered to capitulate on the condition that lives and property be safeguarded, which the Crusaders promised. But after the surrender the Crusaders ... plundered the city and captured money, treasures from its people, and books from its schools beyond count.

> ... After establishing his rule in Egypt, Saladin found himself in dire need of money to carry on his campaigns against the Crusaders and to pay off those who had cooperated with him and served him. He therefore donated as well as offered for sale many of the treasures he had confiscated. On two occasions it is reported that among those treasures were great public libraries ... Thus Saladin liquidated what remained of a library that had once contained, according to Abū Shāmah, as many as two million volumes before the Fāṭimids themselves starting selling it ... Abū Shāmah reported a second incident, in his account of the fate of another library, of more than a million books, in the Syrian city of Amida (present day Diyarbakır) on the upper Tigris River, which Saladin in 1183 ce (ah 579) donated, for services rendered, to his chief supporters.

> ... A prevailing sadness also emerges from those accounts, which is an indication of the widespread feeling of resentment and discontent at the loss of such a priceless legacy of learning. Saladin was accordingly exposed to bitter criticism, especially by the survivors of the old regime whom he feared and sought to suppress. It was imperative, therefore, that the adherents of the new order should rise to the occasion and seek to justify the actions of the new ruler.

Source: The fate of the Library of Alexandria - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Library-of-Alexandria/The-f...