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"How Islam Kickstarted Science," by Keith Devlin. The Guardian, 5 September 2002.
This article provides a brief glimpse at the outstanding achievements of Islamic cultures to the development of mathematics. "[A]ll present-day mathematicians and scientists are children of Islam," Devlin writes. He describes the enormous influence of the Arabic mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, one of whose works Devlin calls "essentially an algebra text." In fact, the name "algebra" came from the title of that work. The contribution of Islamic scholars "paved the way for the scientific revolution in the 17th century," Devlin notes. He also meditates on "the ease with which a handful of fanatics can hijack not just a plane but an entire cultural heritage and its associated religion."
--- Allyn Jackson
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