By the time of the arrival of Islam in the early seventeenth century CE, what we now call the Middle East was divided between the Persian and Byzantine empires. But with the spread of this...

Arabic science throughout its golden age was inextricably linked to religion; indeed, it was driven by the need of early scholars to interpret the Qur’an.

I am a cuddly atheist… I am against creationism being taught in schools because there is empirical evidence that it is a silly notion… I am passionately concerned about the rise in pseudo-science; in beliefs...

Many historians regard him [Offa] as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon king before Alfred the Great. In the 780s he extended his power over most of Southern England. One of the most remarkable extantfrom King Offa’s...

In fact, for a period stretching over seven hundred years, the international language of science was Arabic. For this was the language of the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, and thus the official language...

The difference between my beliefs and having a religious faith is that I am prepared to change my views in light of new evidence, but someone of a religious faith will just stick their fingers...

I shall mention in passing just one example of a gift from the Arabs that I for one am rather grateful for: coffee — especially as it was originally banned in Europe as a ‘Muslim...