Peace in Diversity 147arch”). Arabesque became an art form in itself mastered by those who
practiced it.
In medicine, inoculation and instruments that were invented are used
today in our hospitals. There were some 2000 recipes discovered for
cures then. Out of this large number, European men and women of sci-
ence only took 200 of which modern medicine is comprised. The first
man to fly was the Cordoban Abbas Ibn Firnas. A bridge is named after
Ibn Firnas just outside Cordoba on the way to Madina Az Zahra. The
foundation of Sociology and Economics was explored by scholars like
Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406). Hospitals and schools were free. Knowledge
was highly respected and sought after. There were 70 libraries in Cordo-
ba alone with 400,000 books in one, while, western scholars have rec-
orded that, at the time in Europe in the biggest library there were no
more than a few hundred books. More than sixty thousand words from
Arabic were adopted into Spanish and, subsequently, into European cul-
ture. Here are a few examples: Ola from Wa Allah; Admiral from Amir
al Bahar, lemon from limun (in Persian) and orange from naranj, lilac
from lilac, and crimson from qirmizi—an Arabic word for the insect that
gives out the red dye. Even things that are so much a part of our every-
day life, like coffee and watches, came to us from that period.
Unfortunately, few people in Europe and elsewhere in the world
know of the details of Andalusia and its rich history. Therefore, it is
important to promote a better understanding of the time of Andalusia
and highlight the great contributions of the Andalusians to European
society and the world at large. This shows, regardless of any religious
bias, that (a) when there is knowledge there is respect for the other and
for human dignity and (b) that co-existence is possible and beneficial to
humanity. This documentary Journey into Europe does just that.