FIMA Year Book 2009 - Federation of Islamic Medical Associations

Muslim Contributionsswept across the Islamic world andEurope and thousands of people dieddaily. The population of Egypt, Syriaand Iraq was reduced to one third.Several epidemics of plague recurred inEgypt and Syria in 1363 and 1515 C.E.These recurring natural disasters anddisease epidemics affected agricultureand animal husbandry leading tocollapse of these industries due todeath of skilled workers. These factorsaccelerated the process of economicdecay. This, coupled with the declinein political stability, led to a lackconducive environment for knowledgeand science to thrive because society’spriority had to be refocused.Attacks from external enemiesThe Muslim world, at its height wasattacked by two sets of invaders, onefrom the West and the other from theEast. From the West came the EuropeanCrusaders. Seven Crusades werewaged against Syria, Palestine, Egyptand Tunisia between 1096 – 1291 C.E.These Crusades helped Western Europeto grow united on all fronts and helpedincrease trade and capital amongthemselves (32) . New maritime colonieswere developed under Crusaders`rule and they survived the Muslim reconquest(33) . Syria and Egypt struggledtogether under the Ayyubids and theMamlukes and adopted a militarysystem that defeated and expelledthe Crusaders. The efforts to stop theCrusaders weakened the Muslim worldand their economy for two centuries.After the unsuccessful Crusades, TheWestern forces also attacked the cradleof knowledge in Andalusia, carving outbit by bit the Muslim land until the lastbastion in Granada fell in 1492 C.E.While the Western front was busyrepelling the Crusaders, a bigger andmore formidable threat emerged, thistime it came from the East. By themiddle of the 13 th century, GenghisKhan united the nomadic tribes ofMongolia and attacked the EasternIslamic lands. Samarkand, Bukharaand Khwarizm were conquered anddestroyed by them. In 1221 CE theyentered Persia. Another invaderfrom East, Hulagu together with hisarmy of 200,000 men marched witha plan to conquer all Islamic lands asfar as Egypt. He managed to conquerBaghdad in 1258 CE and killed theAbbasid caliph al-Musta`sim andabolished the caliphate. The riverEuphrates was reported to be a mosaicof red and black from the blood ofMuslims killed and from the ink ofcountless books thrown into the river.This was the beginning of the end of thegreat Islamic civilization on the Easternfront, more than two centuries beforethe fall of Granada.These invasions and assault on theMuslim land led to massive massacresand significant loss in terms of humanand other valuable resources. TheMongols slaughtered up to 2 millionpeople in Baghdad alone (34) . Thiscontributed greatly to the processof depopulation and decline ofcivilization. The Muslims howeverFIMA YearBook 2009111