#27 "The Moors of Spain, The Thousand Years of Islam"

The Thousand Years of Islam
Islam is the last of the three great monotheistic religions that sprang into being in the area known today as the Middle East. Founded on the Arabian Peninsula during the seventh century by Muhammed, Islam spread rapidly to become one of the predominant religions of the western hemisphere.

The Muslim Impact on Medieval Europe
Although contact between the Muslims and Europeans occurred from the fifth century onward, their contact had little influence on the narrow-minded thinking of most Europeans during the Middle Ages. In fact, warring ideologies between Christian and Muslims only bred misconceptions, virulent stereotypes, and prurient stories.

The Prosperity and Tolerance of Muslim Spain
The Moors controlled Spain for well over 700 years, but unlike the Christians whose education was censored by the Church, the followers of Islam embraced knowledge in all of its forms. From these modest beginnings, a Renaissance soon spread across Muslim Spain as the rest of Europe slept in the abyss of the Dark Ages.

Black Bird: The Arbiter of Style
If you have ever eaten asparagus or started your meal with soup and ended with dessert, or ever used toothpaste or styled your hair with bangs, you owe a debt of gratitude to one of the greatest black musicians in history: Ziryab, or 3Black Bird,2 who charmed the ninth-century Spanish royal court at Cordoba with his songs.