Arabic Heritage Midterm MCQs

Some of the external factors that have been considered by some scholars to have greatly contributed to the decline of sciences in Islam included

• The crusade invasion

• The christian reconquista of al-andalus

• Mongols’ destruction of Baghdad

Forgetting the Arabs: A writer who stressed the importance of the Arabs in pulling the West out of the Dark Ages was:

Dante

Along with a few works on poetry, al-Idrissi’s work was the last great work to be written in Arabic in Europe

True

According to the film ‘From Arabic to Latin,’ from the 12th century onwards there was a shift in power between the christian and the islamic worlds

True

In an attempt to explain the decline of sciences in islam, scholars indicated some internal factors such as

• The rise of the orthodox theology after Ghazzali (d. 1111)

• The lack of institutionalization of the culture of science, which was essentially subject to the caliphs’ whims

• The absence of real universities or institutions of higher education with an autonomous status

According to the author of the article, nidhal Guessoum, the reasons for the decline of science in Islam are most probably

- A combination of both, internal and external factors

Forgetting the Arabs: The loss of Andalusia to King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castille:

Led to the persecution of Arabs and Muslims

Forgetting the Arabs: What does the documentary claim would happen, beginning in the 10th century?

- The breakup of the Muslim world

From the 10th century onwards, the abbasid caliphate in Baghdad was challenged by

- The umayyad caliphate in cordoba and the fatimid caliphate in cairo

From Arabic to Latin: Kitab-al-Shifa, which was translated into Latin in order to be used by Europeans, was authored by

Ibn Sina

Forgetting the Arabs: According to the documentary, the Reconquista was followed by:

The capture of Al-Hambra

From Arabic to Latin: What is the primary purpose of the documentary?

An analysis of how the knowledge discovered by Arabs were slowly translated into Latin and then influenced the Renaissance

Forgetting the Arabs: According to the documentary, the decline of the Arabs’ power and knowledge was due partly to:

A decline in the interest of philosophy during the 11th century

From Arabic to Latin: The decline of the Arab Islamic powers in Andalusia occurred at approximately the same time as:

Pope Urban II’s attempt to capture Jerusalem in the first crusade

From Arabic to Latin: The main center of scientific translation from Arabic to Latin was

Toledo

After the fall of cordoba to the christians, the arabs moved their capital city to Granada.

True

According to deen, the medieval islamic higher educational system, which consisted mainly of madrasas, largely contributed to the progress of various field of science in islam.

False

The “density” of major scientists and achievements was during

10th and 11th centuries

The beginning of the decline that happened in the 12th century is accepted by all.

False

Except the field of astronomy, after the 13th century, we find no scientific progress of note

True

Among the external factors of the decline that were considered by some scholars

• The Spanish reconquista

• The crusades

• Monghol's invasion

Some believe that science in the arabic and islamic world never declined

False

Some argue that the rise of the orthodox after ghazzali

Resulted in the decline of sciences

Many muslim religious scholars adopted a selective stand with regard to

Sciences that were considered without direct benefit

Some conservative scholars have expressed hostility towards non-religious sciences

True

In the 12th century, the word “translation” was synonymous with the translation

- From arabic to latin

The most important center of translation from arabic to latin was

Toledo

The most important prolific translator in the 12th century was

Gerard of Cremona

The canon of medicine is a medical enclopedia written by

Ibn Sina

By the end of the 11th century the madrasas were established

They mainly taught Islamic religious sciences

- They were established by Saljuk Turks

- Al-Ghazali graduated from and taught in the madrasas

Petrarch mentioned at the end of the movie “forgetting the arabs”

- Wanted to erase all traces of Arab influence on Europe

Forgetting the arabs movie shows how europe asserted itself by the exclusion of arab culture -

True

Scholars unanimously agree on explaining the decline of sciences in Islam by indicating external factors only.

False

All scholars agree that the decline of scientific production in the Arabo-Islamic civilization started in the 11th century

False

The first European map was drawn by

Al-Idrissi

The Seljuq turks were hired by the Abbasids as mercenaries to maintain order but ended up seizing power for themselves

True

The Mongol invasion of the eastern side of the Islamic world happened in the:

13th Century

After the 14th century the most important scientific contributions were in the field of

Astronomy

Women were not allowed to practice astronomy in Andalusia

False

After the 14th century, the most important scientific contributions were in the field of

Astronomy

According to John Freely, who was the first writer in any language to complain about discrimination against women?

Ibn Rushd

There is absolutely no doubt that the conservative religious scholar al-Ghazzali was the cause for a quick decline in Islamic science activity after the 11th century

False

The gap between the culture of the elites and the ordinary Muslims contributed to the fact that the masses were unaware of the importance of the non-religious scientific fields, which according to some scholars have contributed to the decline of sciences in Islam

True

According to some, Islamic civilization and science did not so much decline as simply get overtaken by the rapidly rising European civilization and more importantly that this western rise was almost entirely due to economic factors

True

Some observers downplay the presumed consequences of the destructions and losses that presumably led to the decline, pointing to the facts that major scientific works not only did occur after these cataclysms so works in Islam were produced during

None (9th and 11th centuries)

- The options were 8th and 9th centuries, 7th century, 13th and 14th century

The Europeans stopped translating books on medicine at the beginning of the 13th century

True

The first great Andalusian city to be taken by the Catholics was:

Toledo

In the ____ century the word translation meant translation from Arabic to Latin

12th

Which of the following is not a reason for an outburst in people's interest in Islamic science, particularly in the west?

An increase in the number of Qur'an copies

His work allowed Kepler to correctly take atmospheric refraction into account, and thus produce more accurate data and deduce correct planetary laws.

Ibn al-Haytham

He invented algebra and gave us the concept of and name of algorithm

Al-Khawarizmi

It is unclear whether that simple historical scenario which had been accepted by many and repeated in stereotypical fashion about the Islamic civilization having, for the most part, only "preserved and transmitted" the Greek heritage, sometimes with some "enrichments" is incorrect.

False

There is absolutely no doubt that the conservative religious scholar alGhazzali was the cause for a quick decline in Islamic science activity after the 11th century.

False

Why does the author of this article prefer to use the phrase "Islamic science" rather than "Arabic science"?

Because the civilization is almost invariably referred to as "Islamic civilization".

The "translation movement" started during the Umayyad caliphate, after the Abbassid period, although in the latter era it took on much greater dimensions and proceeded more systematically.

False

Muslims found their inspiration in the Qur'an and the Hadith where they found messages demonstrating the importance of knowledge and encouraging them to reflect on the elegance and beauty of creation and the order in nature as well as to observe and seek to understand the wisdom behind all that. the importance of scholarship is clearly presented

True

The development of science in the Islamic civilization was inevitable for there was the need for certain types of knowledge directly related to some religious practices, such as

• prayer times and the direction of Mecca

• the construction of an Islamic calendar for both holy occasions and civil purposes.

• the division of lands and monies among heirs

According to the reading, the first hospital was established by an Abbasid caliph

False

When did the Islamic civilization reach its peak?

During the dual period of the Abbasid caliphate in the East (centered in Baghdad) and of the Andalusian (Umayyad) caliphate in the West.

Known as "the philosopher of the Arabs", being probably the first and only great philosopher of Arab ethnic origin, he is widely considered as one of the greatest minds of the Islamic civilization. He is

Al-Kindi

He is probably the most famous scientist of Islam and one of the most famous in all of history.

Ibn Sina

According to the reading, the density of major scientists and achievements (i.e. their number per decade or century) reached a high peak in the 10th-11th century and decreased to a very low level of activity by the

16th century and beyond

There is a set of reasons that led to the decline of Islamic science, internal and external, amongst which is/are

• the rise of the orthodox theology after Ghazzali.

• invasions of the Mongols and the Christians.

• the absence of real universities with and open and liberal curriculum

Cordoba, the Muslim capital of al-Andalus, fell to the Christian reconquista in

1236

In the article called “ A short history of islamic science,” Ibn rushd quoted saying: “Our society allows no scope for the development of women’s talent…” However, the author of the article criticized ibn rushd saying that this is the one place where a woman became a well-known scholar of astronomy…

True

The andalusian city that became known as “the brilliant ornament of the world” is

Cordoba

During the zenith of arab civilization, arabic was so important as the language of science that European scholars had to learn it as they learned latin

True

) Al ghazzali wrote a famous work attacking the philosophers and named it the incoherence of the philosophers and in turn received a repost by an andalusian scholar who wrote the incoherence of the incoherence. What is the name of the andalusian scholar?

Ibn Rushd

A polymath who is regarded to be the father of the scientific method is

Ibn al-Haytham

While everyone agrees that there has been a decline of islamic science, strong… Select the correct statement in relation to the note above

There is a set of reasons that lead to the decline of islamic science…culture (OR ALL)

Who discovered the minor circulation of blood?

Ibn al-Nafis

According to the film, “ulema and philosophers”, to become one of the ulama one had to

Be recognized by his peers as someone who possesses a certain religious knowledge

A great arab astronomer and instrument-maker of andalusia who produced an improved astrolabe

Al zarqali

In the 13th century the chart of the sciences that was used by universities in europe belonged to

Ibn Sina

The abbasid caliph who made the house of wisdom a public institution is

Al ma’moun

If someone asked you about the golden age of islam and its significance, what would be the best answer?

• The golden age of islam was parallel to the dark ages of europe. This was the best…

• The golden age of islam spanned over 500 years, between 750 and 1258. This was the time…

• The golden age of islam was the era of translation and scientific contributions…

As stated in the documentary the conflict between the ulema and the philosophers started in the…

9th century

As early as the 12th century, spain attracted scholars from france, england, italy and germany

True

He is a physician and a philosopher famous for a novel called hayy ibn yaqdhan. Who is he?

Ibn Tufayl

The presence of Arabs in Andalusia

• Started in AD 711

• Ended in AD 1492

• Lasted for 781 years

According to the film ‘When the World Spoke Arabic: Everything under the sun: Astronomy, Mathematics and Islam’, all the geometrical models and the whole geometric system that Copernicus used was, in fact, that of Ibn Shatir apart from putting the sun at the center of the universe.

True

Bimaristan is the name

Muslims used for hospital

After the fall of Cordoba to the Spanish Christians, the Arabs moved their capital city to Granada.

True

The first translation of the holy Qur’an into a western language was made into Latin in 1143.

True

He crossed the strait from North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula to conquer Spain and the strait was named after him.

Tariq ibn Ziyad

According to the film "Ulema and Philosophers", the ulama were

• mediators between those in power and the people

• sometimes leaders of rebellions against those in power -

• sometimes sided completely with those in power

The fight for influence between the philosophers and the ulama began in the 9th century AD and continued until the end of the 12th century AD.

True

The philosophers were the guardians of religious knowledge

False

At the end of the 11th century the Madrasa was created for teaching

Qur'an and Islamic law

'Caliph' is the English term for Arabic khalifa, which means (the Arabic term means)

Successor

Abu Arrayhan al-burini created modern algebra and the arabic word al-jabr (or algebra in english) comes from the title of his book

False

The Azhar is

• a mosque

• a seminary (teaching institute or university)

• built by the Fatimids

Al-Khawarizmi

• created algebra

• developed geometry

• introduced 'zero' to the West

Granada was the last Arab kingdom in Andalusia.

True

In the 10th century Cordoba was the most civilized city in Europe.

True

Bayt al-Hikma was a translation institute established by the Fatimids in North Africa.

False

He is a great surgeon from Muslim Spain.

Al-Zahrawi

The Spanish Christians took over Cordoba from the Arabs in the :

1236

The greatest medical authority in the entire Islamic civilization was :

Al Razi

During the first half of the 11th century a monumental work on optics was made by

Ibn al Haytham