MSIM Presentation

Professor Salim Al-Hassani's highly visual and compelling presentation will assess some of the Muslim contribution to civilisation using graphical simulations and some 3D animations of early Muslim inventions.

This article is taken from a flyer which is available here as a PDF file 

Our Modern Civilisation is rooted in Science and Technology. Popular summaries of history record that science began with the Greeks but suddenly went into hibernation for a thousand years as Europe regressed into the ‘Dark Ages’. However the period circa 600-1600 referred to in the West as the ‘Dark Age’ is a historical misnomer. In fact this was a period when Science was very much alive and flourishing in Europe and elsewhere. It was the period when Muslims flourished in science and it provided the springboard from which the renaissance emerged.

In his highly visual and compelling presentation Professor Salim Al-Hassani will cast a searchlight over the history of Science during a thousand years of Science and Technology and put to rest the myth of the ‘Dark Ages’.

Using graphical simulations and some 3D animations of early Muslim inventions Professor Al-Hassani will describe some of the Muslim contributions to civilisation. Key discoveries by Muslims in Science, Technology and Arts will be discussed and it will be demonstrated that these great faith-inspired inventors not only made a significant contribution to the sciences including Algebra, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, and Medicine in their time but also paved the way for many of today’s scientific achievements. Through raising awareness within the education system, this lost heritage can be reclaimed and celebrated by British students today who crave inspirational role models.

Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani was previously Professor of High Energy Rate Engineering at UMIST and is currently Emeritus Professor at MACE, The University of Manchester. His side interest in the History of Science and Technology has earned him a worldwide reputation. He is currently Honorary Chairman of The Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC).

Islamic Science Exhibition
This lecture is a prelude to a forthcoming exhibition on Muslim Science and Technology, taking place at the Museum in Autumn 2005 in partnership with the Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, the Faculty of Life Sciences at The University of Manchester and The Muslim Youth Foundation. E-mail info@fstc.co.uk for more information.

Cem Nizamoglu