PRESENTATION OUTLINE
OUTSIDE INFLUENCE ON ISLAM
The Sufis influenced Islam because they were missionaries that we're spreading the religion. They did songs and dances to show their devotion for Allah and they did not believe in a thorough understanding of Allah but they wanted people to have an emotional connection with him.
Literature and poetry was brought by the Persians. Works such as The Arabian nights, The Thousand and One Nights, and quatrain poems were just a few of the literary elements the Persians brought.
Muslims took an interest in Greek philisophical, scientific, and medical writings. They also took a special interest in Aristotle and Plato. Muslim philosophers sought to create a harmony between the philosophy of Plato and the teachings of Islam. This attempt to synthesize the two philosophies was met with backlash. The theologian Sufi al-Ghazali considered Greek philosophy a completely unreliable guide to the ultimate truth since it relied on human reason. Due to these attacks on Plato, the Muslim philosophers developed a new interest in Aristotle. Bin Rushd was a Muslim philosopher who best exemplified this development, Rushd was a firm believer in a rational understanding of the world and the importance of logic. His work eventually helped shape Islamic philosophy. During the thirteenth century, Muslim thinkers used Greek philosophy to advance their society's understanding of the world.
Indian mathematics were quite sophisticated and influenced Muslims quite significantly. The Muslims readily accepted their concept of "Arabic Numerals" which included a symbol for zero which resulted in calculations being more flexible. As a result, Muslims were able to concentrate on algebra (an Arabic word).
