IMPMS AT A GLANCE
History of The Institute of Medieval and Post-Medieval Studies (IMPMS) 2001-2022
The accomplishments of the Muslim scholars of the past were eloquently described by Carly Fiorina, the former Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard:
“There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean and from northern climes to tropics and deserts. Within its dominion lived hundreds of millions of people, of different creeds and ethnic origins. One of its languages became the universal language of much of the world, the bridge between the peoples of a hundred lands. Its armies were made up of people of many nationalities, and its military protection allowed a degree of peace and prosperity that had never been known. The reach of this civilization’s commerce extended from Latin America to China, and everywhere in between.”
“And this civilization was driven more than anything, by invention.
Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the algebra and algorithms that would enable the building of computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined the human body and found new cures for disease. Its astronomers looked into the heavens, named the stars, and paved the way for space travel and exploration. While modern Western civilization shares many of these traits, the civilization I am talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1500, which included the Ottoman Empire and the courts of Baghdad, Damascus, and Cairo.”
“It is permissible … to ask oneself why Muslim civilization, after having thrown such a live light on the world, suddenly became extinguished; why this torch has not been relit since; and why the Muslim world still remains buried in profound darkness.”
I have asked several graduate students about Carly Fiorina’s quote regarding the great advances that Muslim scientists and scholars made during the medieval centuries. Contrary to my expectations, none of the students had neither any knowledge about these Muslim scientists of the medieval era nor their contributions to world civilization.
As a Muslim, I am embarrassed to admit that in the last five hundred years, the contributions by Muslims in the field of science and technological innovation were too sluggish to mention. Muslims did not even make an effort to preserve the treasures left behind by their forefathers and past scholars. We estimated losing about 60% of their valuable work in every field spanning the sciences and technology.
Scores of European and American historians accessed the translations of the scholarly work of Muslims and started writing about their scientific contributions in the medieval era in the late19th and 20th centuries.
With the persistent negligence of the contributions made by Muslim scholars in all fields of knowledge, the new Muslim generations lost this knowledge and in fact, grew up with a sense of inferiority – assuming that the Western scholars are the only preceptors of all science and technology. This is what made the Muslim world incapable of serious thinking, research, analytical work, and creative thinking.
In 2001, the late professor Dilnawaz Siddiqui, past president of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), visited Dallas to explore the possibility of organizing regional conferences for AMSS in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolis. The goal of the conferences was to disseminate the contributions of the medieval Muslim scholars.
In pursuit of this objective in the year 2001, Ambassador Syed Ahsani, Dr. Basheer Ahmed, Dr. Yusuf Zia Kavakci, and Dr. Dilnawaz Siddiqui established an organization with AMSS of North America; it was then incorporated as the Institute of Medieval and Post-Medieval Studies (IMPMS). Amb. Ahsani and Dr. Ahmed formed the board of directors with interested individuals to develop programs for sharing and spreading information about the seminal contributions made during the Islamic civilization – especially, the medieval period. Amb. Ahsani, Dr. Ahmed, Dr. Kavakci Dr Sodiq, Mr. Edward Thomas, Mr. Aziz Budri, Mr. Moazam Syed, Mr. Usman Ghani, and Mr. Muhsin Shaheed became the founding members.
Goal and Objectives of IMPMS.
The central goal of the IMPMS is to help generate a climate of mutual understanding and respect among people, especially between Muslims and people of other faiths and cultures. In this way, our aim has been to vanquish what has been labeled as a clash between the Islamic and Western civilizations. In pursuit of this noble integrative goal, IMPMS reaches people of all ages above kindergarten with information regarding the great contributions (and the contributors) of the Islamic world in all fields of knowledge (as well as the arts). We give talks to varied audiences including: students and teachers at schools and universities, congregations at churches, mosques, synagogues, and other places of worship, and organizations promoting peace and fostering non-violence. We also publish written materials like our own newsletters and selective articles in newspapers and journals. We also organize forums and also participate in local, national, and international conferences respecting Muslim contributions to world civilization.
The great medieval Muslim scholars were artists, engineers, historians, philosophers, scientists, and technological innovators. They made many discoveries, developed inventions, pioneered leading-edge works in many areas: astronomy, aviation, chemistry, geography, history, literature, mathematics, medicine, photography/optics, physics, surgery, botany, philosophy, and more. Examples: they made the first fountain pen, the first hospital, the first university, etc., and effected hugely beneficial changes to humanity at large. IMPMS dispels the myth, the erroneous misbranded notion of “clash between Islamic and Western civilization.” On the contrary, our mission is to show the congruency among Islamic and Western civilizations, even in the current toxic environment as knowledge and education transcend the web of confusion in a purported negative hype, by bringing clarity and understanding that establish mutual respect, harmony, peace, and human dignity for all people worldwide.
The related aim of IMPMS is to motivate Muslim youth to follow in the footsteps of their able forefathers and passionately pursue the arts, humanities, science, and technology. And, to do this collectively in all cultures and disciplines.
We made a major leap in 2018 by collaborating with Discover STEM, an organization devoted to training the young to become innovators and scientists. IMPMS affiliated with Discover STEM to enlighten and motivate Muslim youth. Discover STEM, the only institution of its kind was founded by Mirza brothers. Its CEO, Faizan Mirza is on IMPMS Board, and has added another valuable dimension to our institution. Collaborating in the past years, we have held joint seminars attended by hundreds of students, educators, physicians, and professionals.
Since 2001, IMPMS held major conferences inviting international speakers to address large audiences supporting our mission and share the rise and fall of the Muslim civilization, so we can restore Muslims’ intellectual tradition of the medieval years. A few of these renowned speakers included: Prof. Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman from Malaysia Univ. (and IIIT), Prof. Sulayman S. Nyang from Howard Univ., Prof. Ilai Alon from Tel Aviv Univ., Prof. Robert Hunt of Southern Methodist Univ., Prof. Nazeer Ahmed of U. of California, Dr. Carol Bargeron from Texas State University, Prof. John Esposito from Georgetown Univ., Dr. Lodi of Texas Tech Univ., Mr. Saeed Khan of Wayne State Univ., Kevin Krisciunas from Texas A&M Univ., Joseph Bender from Pennsylvania, Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed, Dr Muktadar Khan, Prof. Dilnawaz Siddique, Prof. Ali Mazrui, Dr. Ibrahim Syed, Dr. Michael Hamilton Morgan (Author of “Lost History”), and internationally respected peace and physical scientist Prof. Pervez Hoodbhoy from Pakistan.
Between 2007-2009, Mr. Edward Thomas, an IMPMS Board Member, taught a continuing education course, entitled “Great Thinkers of Islamic World,” at SMU. In 2003, in the 38th conference of International Congress of Medieval Studies (ICMS), IMPMS presented its first paper on Muslim contribution to the world civilization. This was a first contribution on the global scale addressing the 700-year Golden age of the Muslim era. In subsequent years, Dr. Basheer Ahmed, Amb. Ahsani, Prof. Dilnawaz Siddiqui, and other scholars continued presenting additional papers at the ICMS. IMPMS presented papers at numerous seminars and conferences, e.g.: Texas Medieval Association Annual Conference (TEMA), at SMU, at Baylor University, and at U. of Houston. In 2010, Basheer Ahmed and Edward Thomas were panelists at Texas A&M University on “Contributions to the History of Science by the Islamic Civilization.”
At the International Meeting on Renaissance at St. Louis University, in the year 2012, Dr. Basheer Ahmed presented a paper on “The Influence of Ibn Rushd’s Philosophy on the West.” In March 2015, IMPMS organized a program on the great Sufi philosopher, Jalaluddin Rumi, at SMU. Dr. Ori Soltes from Georgetown Univ. was our Keynote Speaker. In March 2016, IMPMS celebrated the “year of light” by recognizing the great Muslim physicist Ibn Haytham’s work. The Keynoter was Prof. Charles Falco, VP of Ibn Haytham International Year of Light.
In August 2018, IMPMS organized the presentation for young students on “Stay In STEM-Supporting Today’s Aspiring Youth”. Dr. Basheer Ahmed and Mr. Faizan Mirza were Keynote Speakers providing a historical perspective on Muslim scholars and their contribution. And Mr. Faiza Mirza’s educational program fostered training students to become future scientists and innovators.
In April 2019, IMPMS presented “Young Muslim Innovators in the Footsteps of their Ancestors” at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). Prof. Hoodbhoy (then Visiting Professor at Princeton University) and Professor Rana Tajani (world-respected biologist then in Jordon) were our Keynote Speakers.
In Feb 2020, IMPMS seminar was held at UTD; narrowly escaping the “Shelter in Place” orders – by about three weeks! It was attended by 700 participants including students, teachers/professors, parents, and professionals in several areas. Highlights of this program included an exhibition of portraits of 25 medieval Muslim scientists. Illuminating speakers such as senior program scientist at NASA, Dr. Hashima Hassan; USAF Col. (Rtd.) Richard Graham, the first SR-71 pilot; Dr. Basheer Ahmed of IMPMS; and Faizan Mirza of Discover STEM. This popular program also presented certificates of patents to 60 students of Discover STEM, ranging in ages from 10 to 18 years.
We strive to start with Muslim youth, particularly by making high school students familiar with the work of medieval scientists. For them, we organized essay competitions during the pandemic. IMPMS partnered with Discover STEM and STEM Matters, two pioneering institutions in the DFW metropolis, who are training students to become inventors in science and technology and to earn patents. Students from these organizations have registered many patents for their inventions, and are now converting these into innovations beneficial to society.
IMPMS’s essay contest was among middle- and high-school students. Students were given the names of 4 scholars of the medieval era (i.e., Jabir Al Hayyan, Ibn Sina, Al Zahrawi, and Ibn Al Haytham). Contestants were free to select any one from this list and write their findings. This was the first contest of its kind for U.S. school students.
With the phenomenal success of this first contest, IMPMS held a second contest for high school students in April 2021. Students could write about any one of 3 Muslim Noble Laureate (i.e., Dr. Abdus Salam, Dr. Ahmed Zewail, and Dr. Aziz Sancar) of their choice and also write a second article on any one of the 21st-century scientists (i.e., Maryam Mirzakhani, Nergis Mavalvala , Mutlu Pakdil, Mahmut Gazi Yasargil, Dr. Moncef Mohamed Slaoui, and Dr. Rana Dajani). Beyond the biographies of chosen scientists, we encouraged contestants to explore how they were impacted by these scientists and were inspired to follow their footsteps.
Published Books:
Dr. Basheer Ahmed, IMPMS Past President, has edited two books,
“Muslim Contributions to World Civilization” published by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists & IIIT; 2005.
“The Islamic Intellectual Heritage and its Impact on the West” published by IMPMS 2008.
“ The Rise and Fall of Muslim Civilization: Hope for the Future”, Published by IMPMS 2022.
Our Heritage
M Basheer Ahmed, MD.
For eight centuries, 7th – 15th Muslims have produced thousands of scientists, philosophers, and scholars in every field of knowledge. Some of their works were translated into European languages, laying the foundation for the European renaissance. Some of their books are still locked in libraries scattered in the Muslim world, and others are lost. Muslims have not paid attention to discovering all these books since we stopped educational scientific and philosophical subjects in all universities in the Muslim world in about the 15th century.
I have given here the names of some prominent scientists and scholars in various fields of knowledge.
Astronomers
Ibrahim al-Fazari (d. 777), Muhammad al-Fazari (d. 796 or 806), Al-Khwarizmi (d. 850), Sanad ibn Ali (d. 864),
Al-Marwazi (d. 869), Al-Farghani (d. 870), Al-Mahani (d. 880), Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (d. 886), Dīnawarī (d. 896),
Banū Mūsā (d. 9th century), Abu Sa'id Gorgani (d. 9th century), Ahmad Nahavandi (d. 9th century),
Al-Nayrizi (d. 922), Al-Battani (d. 929), Abū Ja'far al-Khāzin (d. 971), Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi (d. 986)
Al-Saghani (d. 990), Abū al-Wafā' al-Būzjānī (d. 998), Abu Al-Fadl Harawi (d. 10th century), Abū Sahl al-Qūhī (d. 1000)
Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi (d. 1000), Al-Majriti (d. 1007), Ibn Yunus (d. 1009), Kushyar ibn Labban (d. 1029)
Abu Nasr Mansur (d. 1036), Abu l-Hasan 'Ali (d. 1037), Ibn Sina (d. 1037), Ibn al-Haytham (d. 1040), Al-Bīrūnī (d. 1048)
Ali ibn Ridwan (d. 1061), Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī (d. 1087), Omar Khayyám (d. 1131), Ibn Bajjah (d. 1138)
Ibn Tufail (d. 1185), Ibn Rushd (d. 1198), Al-Khazini (d. 12th century), Nur ad-Din al-Bitruji (d. 1204), Sharaf al-Dīn al-Tūsī (d. 1213)
Mu'ayyad al-Din al-'Urdi (d. 1266), Nasir al-Din Tusi (d. 1274), Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī (d. 1310)
Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi (d. 1311), Sadr al-Shari'a al-Asghar (d. 1346), Ibn al-Shatir (d. 1375)
Shams al-Dīn Abū Abd Allāh al-Khalīlī (d. 1380), Jamshīd al-Kāshī (d. 1429), Ulugh Beg (d. 1449), Ali Qushji (d. 1474).
Psychologists
Ibn Sirin (654–728), author of work on dreams and dream interpretation[1]
Al-Kindi (801–873) (Alkindus), pioneer of psychotherapy and music therapy[2]
Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari (9th century), pioneer of psychiatry, clinical psychiatry and clinical psychology[3]
Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi (850–934), pioneer of mental health, [4] medical psychology, cognitive psychology, cognitive therapy, psychophysiology and psychosomatic medicine[5]
Al-Farabi (872–950) (Alpharabius), pioneer of social psychology and consciousness studies[6]
Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (936–1013) (Abulcasis), pioneer of neurosurgery[7]
Ibn al-Haytham (965–1040) (Alhazen), founder of experimental psychology, psychophysics, phenomenology and visual perception[8]
Al-Biruni (973–1050), pioneer of reaction time[9]
Avicenna (980–1037) (Ibn Sīnā), pioneer of neuropsychiatry,[10] thought experiment, self-awareness and self-consciousness[11]
Ibn Zuhr (1094–1162) (Avenzoar), pioneer of neurology and neuropharmacology[7]
Averroes, pioneer of Parkinson's disease[7]
Ibn Tufail (1126–1198), pioneer of tabula rasa and nature versus nurture[12]
Chemists
Khalid ibn Yazid (–85 AH/ 704) (Calid), Jafar al-Sadiq (702–765),
Jābir ibn Hayyān (d. c. 806–816) (Geber, not to be confused with pseudo-Geber)
Al-Khwārizmī (780–850), algebra, mathematics, Abbas Ibn Firnas (810–887) (Armen Firman)
Al-Kindi (801–873) (Alkindus), Al-Majriti (fl. 1007–1008) (950–1007), Ibn Miskawayh (932–1030)
Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973–1048), Avicenna (980–1037), Al-Khazini (fl. 1115–1130), Nasir al-Din Tusi (1201–1274)
Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406), Economists and social scientists[edit], Further information: History of Islamic economics
See also: List of Muslim historians and Historiography of early Islam
Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man (699–767), Islamic jurisprudence scholar
Abu Yusuf (731–798), Islamic jurisprudence scholar
Al-Saghani (–990), one of the earliest historians of science[13]
Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973–1048), Anthropology",[14] Indology[15]
Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) (980–1037), economist
Ibn Miskawayh (932–1030), economist
Al-Ghazali (Algazel) (1058–1111), economist
Al-Mawardi (1075–1158), economist
Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī (Tusi) (1201–1274), economist
Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), sociologist
Ibn Taymiyyah (1263–1328), economist
Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406), forerunner of social sciences[16] such as demography,[17] cultural history,[18] historiography,[19] philosophy of history,[20] sociology[17][20] and economics[21][22]
Al-Maqrizi (1364–1442), economist
Geographers and earth scientists[edit]
Further information: Arab Agricultural Revolution
Al-Masudi, the "Herodotus of the Arabs", and pioneer of historical geography[23]
Al-Kindi, pioneer of environmental science[24]
al-Hamdani, Ibn Al-Jazzar, Al-Tamimi, Al-Masihi, Ali ibn Ridwan, Muhammad al-Idrisi, also a cartographer,
Ahmad ibn Fadlan
Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī, geodesy,[14][17] geology and Anthropology[14]
Avicenna, Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, Averroes, Ibn al-Nafis, Ibn Jubayr, Ibn Battuta, Ibn Khaldun, Piri Reis,
Evliya Çelebi, Mathematicians[edit], Further information: Mathematics in the medieval Islamic world
Ali Qushji, Al-Hajjāj ibn Yūsuf ibn Matar, Khalid ibn Yazid (Calid)
Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī (Algorismi), algebra[25] and algorithms[26]
'Abd al-Hamīd ibn Turk
Abū al-Hasan ibn Alī al-Qalasādī (1412–1482), pioneer of symbolic algebra[27]
Abū Kāmil Shujā ibn Aslam, Al-Abbās ibn Said al-Jawharī, Al-Kindi (Alkindus), Banū Mūsā (Ben Mousa)
Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir, Al-Hasan ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir, Al-Mahani, Ahmed ibn Yusuf, Al-Majriti
Al-Battani (Albatenius), Al-Farabi (Abunaser), Al-Nayrizi, Abū Ja'far al-Khāzin, Brethren of Purity,
Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqlidisi, Al-Saghani, Abū Sahl al-Qūhī, Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi, Abū al-Wafā' al-Būzjānī
Ibn Sahl, Al-Sijzi, Ibn Yunus, Abu Nasr Mansur, Kushyar ibn Labban, Al-Karaji, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen/Alhazen)
Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī, Ibn Tahir al-Baghdadi, Al-Nasawi, Al-Jayyani, Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī (Arzachel)
Al-Mu'taman ibn Hud, Omar Khayyám, Al-Khazini, Ibn Bajjah (Avempace), Al-Ghazali (Algazel), Al-Marrakushi
Al-Samawal, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Ibn Seena (Avicenna), Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Ibn al-Banna', Ibn al-Shatir
Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (Albumasar), Jamshīd al-Kāshī, Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī
Muḥyi al-Dīn al-Maghribī, Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi, Muhammad Baqir Yazdi,
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, 13th century Persian mathematician and philosopher, Qāḍī Zāda al-Rūmī,
Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī, Sharaf al-Dīn al-Tūsī, Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf
Ulugh Beg, Al-Samawal al-Maghribi (1130–1180),
Philosophers
Further information: List of Muslim philosophers
Al-Kindi, Averroes, Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Ibn Arabi, Rumi, Jami, Ibn Khaldun
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi,
Physicists and engineers]
Mimar Sinan (1489–1588), also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ
Jafar al-Sadiq, 8th century, Banū Mūsā (Ben Mousa), 9th century, Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir
Ahmad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir, Al-Hasan ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir, Abbas Ibn Firnas (Armen Firman), 9th century
Al-Saghani (d. 990), Abū Sahl al-Qūhī (Kuhi), 10th century, Ibn Sahl, 10th century, Ibn Yunus, 10th century
Al-Karaji, 10th century, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen), 11th century Iraqi scientist, optics,[28] and experimental physics[29], Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī, 11th century, pioneer of experimental mechanics[30]
Ibn Sīnā/Seena (Avicenna), 11th century, Al-Khazini, 12th century, Ibn Bajjah (Avempace), 12th century
Hibat Allah Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdaadi (Nathanel), 12th century
Ibn Rushd (Averroes), 12th century Andalusian mathematician, philosopher and medical expert
Al-Jazari, 13th century civil engineer, Nasir al-Din Tusi, 13th century, Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, 13th century
Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī, 13th century, Ibn al-Shatir, 14th century
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