@z0z0,
Why do you say it is BS?
I have seen a few documentaries that show that Islam (Arabic World) was more advanced. The area of 750 AD to 1050 AD is considered the Golden Age of Islam. For example:
[INDENT]1. Here are some a Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) which encouraged learning: "He who pursues the road of knowledge Allah will direct to the road of Paradise... The brightness of a learned man compared to that of a mere worshiper is like that of a the full moon compared to all the stars.... Obtain knowledge; its possessor can distinguish right from wrong; it shows the way to Heaven; it befriends us in the desert and in solitude, and when we are friendless; it is our guide to happiness; it gives us strength in misery; it is an ornament to friends, protection against enemies.... The scholar's ink is holier than the martyr's blood.... Seeking knowledge is required of every Muslim.... (They seem to have forgotten this one)
2. They had a common language and started using paper so that knowledge could be easily spread. Arabic turned into the language of international scholarship. This was one of the most significant events in the history of ideas. Scholars could communicate with one another, and ideas were translated from Greek, Latin, ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and languages from other parts of the world. In the ninth century the Caliph al-Mamun encouraged the translation of Greek and Byzantine knowledge. With the approval of the Byzantine emperor, the caliph sent scholars to select and bring back Greek scientific manuscripts (handwritten works) for translation into Arabic.
3. Built the largest library in the world. The House of Wisdom was set up by Caliph al-Mamun in 1004 A.D. in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Empire. It was the greatest "think tank" the medieval world had ever seen! Without the translations and research that went on here, much of the Greek, Latin, and Egyptian knowledge would have been lost to the world.
4. Chemistry - Jabir Ibn Haiyan, known in Europe by the name Geber, is generally known as the Father of Chemistry. He was one of the leading scientists in Kufa (in present day Iraq) around 776 C.E. In his early days, he was supported by the advisor to the Abbasid Caliph. Jabir died in Kufa in 803 C.E. Jabir's (Geber's) major contribution was in the field of Chemistry. He is famous for writing twenty-two books on chemistry and alchemy. He introduced experimental investigation into alchemy which led to modern Chemistry. Jabir emphasized experimentation and development of methods to show the same result when an experiment was repeated.
5. Medicine / Hospitals - While European "hospitals" at this time were usually simply monasteries where the sick were told they would live or die according to God's will, not human intervention, Muslim hospitals pioneered the practices of diagnosis, cure, and future prevention. The first hospital in the Islamic world was built in Damascus in 707, and soon most major Islamic cities had hospitals, in which hygiene was emphasized and healing was a priority. Hospitals were open 24 hours a day, and many doctors did not charge for their services. Later, a central hospital was established in Baghdad by order of the Abbasid ruler, the first of thirty-four hospitals throughout the Muslim world, many of them with special wards for women.
6. Biology - The 13th century Syrian scholar and physician Ibn al-Nafis was first to discover the pulmonary circulation of the blood. In doing so he had to reject the views of one of his predecessors, Avicenna - himself an important medical thinker who, among other things, identified that disease could be spread by drinking water. Ibn al-Nafis died in his bed at an advanced age. Compare his fate to that of the second person to propose the theory of circulation, the Spaniard Michael Servetus. In 1553 he was arrested by the Protestant authorities of Geneva on charges of blasphemy, and was burned for heresy at the insistence of Calvin after refusing to recant.[/INDENT]
Today - Muslims (Arabic World) are in their own Dark Ages.
Some would say that the only reason the West needed The Enlightenment was because Christianity / Church took society into the Dark.
I think this proves the fallibility of all the Religious Institutions.