‘Without the achievements of Muslim civilization, the Renaissance could never have happened.' That is the message behind a new exhibition that recently launched at one of England's most respected centers of learning. “1001 Inventions: Discover The Muslim Heritage In Our World” launched its world tour at London's Science Museum last month, and will continue to dozens of cities in Europe and North America over the next four years. This eye-opening experience provides the layman with an understanding of the debt the modern world owes to little known pioneers of science from the Muslim world. The Enlightenment signaled the end of the ‘Dark Ages' - the medieval period when scientific and cultural progress appears to stall and for some, even declined. Tourists flock to European museums in their millions to explore and experience astounding cultural achievements from the Greek and Roman periods, and from the Renaissance to the present day. However, the thousand-year period in between these eras is a blank page for the West. It is only recently that efforts to fill in the gaps in history have come to the fore. Those endeavors have lead us all to a greater appreciation of the achievements and importance of the Arab and wider Muslim world. The “1001 Inventions” exhibition finally answers the question: what happened to human knowledge and creativity between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the rekindling of European cultures in the 16th century? The legends of “1001 Nights” present us with a glimpse into Muslim culture that fails to recognize how the scientists, scholars and engineers of Muslim civilization helped lay the foundations of the European Renaissance and ultimately, the modern world. The exhibition counters the misconceptions perpetuated by “1001 Nights,” by highlighting the scientific and cultural heritage the West shares with the Muslim world. Through soaring structures, interactive exhibits and electronic games, the ‘blockbuster' exhibition covering a period from 700 to 1700 AD shows how this remarkable culture gave rise to numerous concepts, technologies and innovations still in use today and reintroduces long-forgotten role models like Ibn Al-Haytham, Al-Jazari, Fatima Al-Fihri and Merriam Al-Astrulabi. However, its sponsor, the Abdul Latif Jameel Foundation, are keen to stress the multi-faith nature of scientific endeavor during the lost thousand years and emphasises the importance of scholars of all faiths in the story of Muslim civilization. As Fady Jameel explains: “One of the most important aims of Abdul Latif Jameel Foundation is to promote global education projects and encourage social mobility as a result. “1001 Inventions” helps promote awareness of a fascinating period of history and will also inspire young people to pursue careers in science and technology. Bringing this exhibition to one of Europe's most prestigious museums is an excellent opportunity to achieve our wider aims and reach a wide audience.” Indeed, more than twenty thousand people have already seen the exhibition within days of its launch, many of them students from British schools. And there is hope that, for this new generation, polymaths like Al-Biruni, Ibn Sina, Ibn Al-Haytham and Al-Zahrawi will be appreciated alongside European giants of science like Aristotle, Newton and Einstein. As a consequence, the Jameel Foundation believes that awareness of the shared heritage of diverse civilizations will engender respect and appreciation for the Muslim world too. The response from the British establishment has been particularly positive. The arrival of a Muslim Heritage exhibition at the country's flagship science museum has generated dozens of reviews by national broadcasters and newspapers, and in turn has led to interest from international news media like CNN and Al-Jazeera. Many have focused on the exhibition's promotion of female role models, with stories unknown to both Muslim and non-Muslim public alike. Others have taken forward the broader message that scientific advancement is a gift from one generation to the other, and indeed one civilization to another. Part of the success of “1001 Inventions” is down to the credibility of the academics behind the project. The British-based Foundation for Science, Technology and civilization (FSTC) and its founder Professor Salim Al-Hassani have spent the best part of two decades bridging the history of Muslim civilization with the European Renaissance that followed. FSTC's network of (mainly non-Muslim) academics from Europe, America, Africa and the Arab world have raided the vaults of Universities, Libraries and Museums across the globe – diligently translating, editing and unearthing the journey of scientific progress through the ages. The extensive process of academic oversight and rigorous peer review has ensured the veracity of the exhibition's content is beyond doubt amongst the academic community. Professor Al-Hassani, who began this journey in the early 1980's, believes the process of historic re-discovery is still in its infancy. “There are more than five million manuscripts sitting unread, untranslated and unappreciated across the world,” he explains. “So far, less than 50,000 have been explored in any depth, so there is more to this story than we appreciate today. However, we have made a great start, and our work is already changing the hearts and minds of a once-cynical establishment, as the facts will always speak for themselves in the end. The world we enjoy today exists thanks to the efforts and men and women of many different faiths and numerous cultural backgrounds. A scientific discovery by a Muslim scholar does not give ownership of that discovery to ‘Islamic science'. The very notion is absurd. Scientific truth can never belong to one community or culture. It belongs to us all.” One of the iconic features of the exhibition is a five-meter high replica of the ‘Elephant Clock'. This imposing reproduction of an exquisite medieval water clock incorporates elements from many ancient cultures and features alongside a short feature film starring Oscar-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley as the inventor Al-Jazari. As Chairman Professor Al-Hassani explained: “The Elephant Clock is an early 13th century machine...This engineering marvel featured an Indian Elephant, Chinese Dragons, a Greek water mechanism, an Egyptian Phoenix, and wooden robots in traditional Arabian attire. It embodies the cultural and scientific convergence of civilizations and is an appropriate center-piece for...the exhibition.” – SGOther exhibits include: • Model of an energy efficient and environmentally-friendly Baghdad courtyard house. • A large three-meter reproduction of Al-Idrisi's 12th-century world map. • Model of Zheng He's Chinese junk ship – originally a 15th century wooden super structure over 100 meters long. • Medical instruments from a thousand years ago, many of which are still used today. • Model of a 9th-century dark room, later called Camera Obscura, which Ibn Al-Haytham used to change our understanding of vision and optics. London's Science Museum will host 1001 Inventions until the end of April 2010, when the exhibition is expected to travel to North America for a two-year tour of the United States. Entry is free of charge and further information is available through the official website 1001inventions.com. The Jameel Foundation is a British charity whose patron, Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, is also responsible for supporting the Jameel Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
