Blindsiding Us With Islamic 'Science' (Again)

I just finished reading The Closing of the Muslim Mind, Robert R. Reilly's brilliant elucidation of the struggle that wrapped up in the 10th Century between those Muslims who wanted to bring reason into the faith (an import from the Greeks) and those who were insistent that to do so would inhibit Allah's "free will" (Allah having all the free will--being pure will, in fact--and man, therefore, having none and being Allah's puppet). The free-will-for-Allah forces triumphed, the cataclysmic result being that Islamic science was stopped dead in its tracks, never to be revived. (The reason being that if Allah's will trumps all, nothing can be predicted--not gravity, not cause and effect, not even the germination of seeds; if Allah controls all, he could just as easily decide to, say, make things fall up--or even sideways--instead of down, just to keep us on our toes and prove who's in charge.)

A search of the Toronto Public Library catalogue shows that this valuable book is not in the system. More's the pity. Instead, the TPL has joined the shilling-for-Islamic "science" crowd, and Torontonians have to put up with this:

Science and Technology in the Medieval Islamic World

Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. 90 mins: Northern District

During the eighth and ninth centuries, while Europe was locked in the Dark Ages, Muslim civilization was at its zenith. Were if not for the scientists and thinkers of the medieval Islamic world, the modern world would not have algebra, modern medicine, astronomy and much else. Guest speaker: Dr. Ingrid Hehmeyer, Associate Professor, History of Science and Technology Ryerson University.

Hilariously (unintentionally so, of course), this program is part of the "Thought Exchange" Series.

Update: BTW and FYI, last month the TPL had as its featured speaker Karen Armstrong, a noted apologist for Islam.