Sunday, February 7, 2016

BBC's "Islamic History of Europe" and "Science and Islam"

BBC's  "Islamic History of Europe" and "Science and Islam"
by Heather Gray

In addition to the excellent documentary "When the Moors (Muslims) Ruled in Europe" I  recently shared (see note below from reader), there are other exemplary contemporary productions about Islam by the BBC and they are the following: the "Islamic History of Europe" that offers an intellectual history of Islamic contributions in Europe; and the three part series "Science and Islam". They are well worth watching and are posted below:

Islamic History of Europe

BBC Science and Islam 1 - The Language of Science


BBC Science and Islam 2 - The Empire of Reason


BBC Science and Islam 3 -
Discovering The Great Works of Islamic Astronomers




Note from a reader that is much appreciated

A reader kindly sent an email and I thank him for the correction and additional information about "Bettany" Hughes who produced the video "When the Moors Ruled in Europe". He makes reference to a message he found when going to this link on YouTube:  "video contains content from Channel 4 (in Britain), who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds". I, however, received no such note on YouTube and found that 753,043 have watched the video. Nevertheless, I do find this notification about copyright on many other videos on YouTube and of necessity I am, of course, attentive to the issue. If any others of you did find such a note about the Bettany Hughes video please let me know. Also, this film can be found in other places such as, for one, Top Documentary Films.

He also kindly sent further explanation about  copyright issues and that "there has always been incompatibility between the UK and the USA, for as long as I can remember, back to the mid-1960s." Regarding Bettany Hughes, he offers the following additional information:
Hello, Heather
"Brittany Hughes" is in fact BETTANY. Her own Page is: http://www.bettanyhughes.co.uk/ There is good information at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettany_Hughes from which you will see that she is a prolific and highly regarded writer and broadcaster.
Another note from a reader:
I am somewhat familiar with the history of the Muslim presence in Europe and also somewhat astonished by how it has been ignored by the American and perhaps also the Europeans. Their access to the Muslim libraries was the basis of the Renaissance and also the "discovery of the New World".  Thanks for sharing!

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