WESTERN PROGRESS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The progress that has been achieved by Western nations in this period has a close correlation with the development of the civilization of the Islamic world, both when Islam reached the peak of its progress in Europe or the progress achieved by the Islamic world in Baghdad. Western nations owe much to Muslim scientists who have succeeded in developing science and technology. Spain (Andalusia) is the most important place for Western nations to absorb Islamic civilization, both in the form of political, social and economic relations and civilizations between nations. Western nations witnessed the reality that when Andalusia was under Muslim rule, this country had left its neighbors in Europe too far behind, especially in the field of thought and science as well as the development and progress of physical buildings.
In this case, the thoughts of Ibn Rushd or Averroes (1120-1198 AD) were very influential in the European world. This thought is able to free the shackles of taqlid thinking and criticize all kinds of irrational thoughts. Islamic science and technology studied by Western scholars include medicine, history, sociology and other sciences. In addition to these sciences, there are other sciences that have a major influence on the development and progress of the West. This includes chemistry, arithmetic, mining (mineralogy), meteorology, etc. Due to the great hard work and creativity of western countries in studying the sciences created by Muslims, making the west find progress and progress. success
When western countries found their heyday by discovering various advances in science and technology, they wanted to organize expeditions to various countries outside Europe. They wanted to prove Galileo Galilei's idea that the Earth was round, meaning that if it continued west, it would return to its original position. That is why many European countries are competing to find new territories, such as Spain, Portugal, England, Netherlands, France, etc. Their goal is not only to prove the correctness of this theory, but also to try to take over the economy. the power of Muslims who dominated the world economy at that time.
At the beginning of the modern era, the situation of the Islamic world was politically under the influence of colonialism. Only in the middle of the 20th century AD. the Muslim world began to rise up to liberate their country from Western imperialism. The 20th century was a period of Islamic revival after the failure of the Middle Ages, when modernizing ideas began to appear in Islam. The modernization movement was born from the following two things. First, the awareness of Islamic scholars that many "foreign" teachings have come and been accepted as Islamic teachings. These teachings are contrary to the true spirit of Islamic teachings such as bid'ah, superstition and superstition. In their view, this teaching brought Islam backwards. Therefore, they started to rid Islam of such teachings or ideas. This movement is known as the reform movement. Second, the West dominated world politics and civilization during this period. Contact with the West made Muslim leaders realize that they were being left behind. Because of that they try to rise up following the example of the West in matters of politics and civilization to create a balance of power.
While the three major Islamic empires declined in the 18th century AD, Western Europe thrived. The Safavid Empire collapsed in the early 18th century and the Mughal (Mongol) Empire collapsed in the early 19th century. The British ruled the Indian subcontinent. The last Islamic state still respected by its opponents was the Ottoman Empire in Turkey. However, the latter suffered setback after setback, which is why the Ottoman Turks were nicknamed the sick man of Europe, the sick man of Europe. The weakness of the Islamic empire made it easier for Europe to control and colonize Islamic countries. The West conquered and colonized Muslim countries one by one
EUROPEAN REVISION
European nations faced a very difficult challenge at the start of the Awakening. In front of them was the Islamic army that was hard to beat, especially the Ottoman Empire which was centered in Turkey. There was no other way, they had to go through a path that previously was only seen as a barrier to movement. They carry out various investigations into the mysteries of nature, try to conquer the seas and explore continents that were previously still in the dark. After Christopher Columbus discovered America (AD 1492) and Vasco da Gama found his way east through Cape Town (AD 1498), the American and Indian islands soon came under European rule. These two discoveries were truly priceless, Europe was able to advance in the world of trade because it no longer depended on the old routes controlled by Islam.
In his book The New World of Islam, L. Stoddard describes the situation in these words: "Then in the twinkling of an eye the seawall became a highway, and cornered Europe became the ruler of the sea, and therefore the world. In the entire history of mankind, there has been an extraordinary turn of fortune. When Europe is faced with the desperate courage and endurance of Asia, which is impossible to defeat with a direct attack, the Europeans are now looking down. In addition, the balance of material resources has changed in favor of Europe. A new area will be opened. They can accumulate untold wealth to revive their country. Immediately after that progress from Europe to Asia began. What is the importance of these beautiful Eastern Islamic sources in comparison with the sources of the American and Indian islands that fell into the hands of Europe? This is how Western civilization began to live and develop. He melted the chains of the Middle Ages that held him back, seized the amulet of science and moved towards modernity.European countries also made progress in the economic field, because new fields opened up for them. They can acquire immeasurable wealth to increase the welfare of their country. Thus, the progress of the Western nation began to match the progress of the Muslim community, which gradually experienced setbacks. The development of western countries was accelerated by scientific discoveries and developments. The invention of the steam engine, which then started the Industrial Revolution in Europe, cemented their success.
Shipping and military technology developed rapidly. Thus, Europe became the ruler of the seas and was free to carry out economic and trade activities from and to the rest of the world without encountering significant obstacles from their opponents and competitors. In fact, one by one the Islamic countries fell under his rule as the conquered countries. The Islamic countries that first fell under European rule were countries that were far from the center of power of the Ottoman Empire, because even though this kingdom continued to decline, it was still respected and looked up to, still strong enough to deal with European military forces at that time. . The first Islamic countries to be controlled by the West were Islamic countries in Southeast Asia and on the Indian Subcontinent. Meanwhile, the Islamic countries in the Middle East which were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, were only occupied by Europe.
