Originally Posted by
Seahawk
Did Islam cause the Dark Ages?
Did Islam, not barbarians, destroy classical civilization?
Henri Pirenne and others have promoted the theory that 7th century Islam, not 5th century barbarian conquest, was the main force that destroyed classical civilization. The theory is that the "barbarians" preserved much of classical civilization in culture, if not in politics. But then in the 7th century Islam destroyed that culture in North Africa and the Middle East. And even the areas it did not actually conquer, in Europe, were cut off from what had been for centuries a vast area of free trade and civilization around the Mediterranean. These now-isolated non-Muslim areas became backwaters, without access to the trade and products they had long relied on, and they went into decline.
Islam preserved much of classical culture. Islamic civilization was as much the successor to Roman civilization as the western or eastern Christians.
"Do not think that I came to bring peace... I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34
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