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The Influence of Unknown Muslim Inventors in Modern Life

1) Introduction
a. What I Already Knew

When I heared about inventors, I think that all of inventors are from
Europe or American. My reason because in medieval ages at that place are
more advance than other. There are inventors like Archimedes, Alfa Edison,
Volta, Newton etc, they are jenius people who we have knowed. And what
I already knew is the key why they are so famous as the inventors from
medieval ages. They always put their history of their inventions or their
experiments into the book, so the next generation can find that history well.
With the different of culture, high enthusiasm, and creativity can make a
society to be an advance civilization.

But at one time, I was heard things like ancient battery which was
discovered in Iraq. It was claimed that ancient battery could save electric
with chemical reaction as modern batteries. That discovery was made the
ancient battery in Iraq would be the oldest ancient battery in the world. It
supposed was produced and used by ancient islam society at that century.
The first, I didnt belief it because what I already knew that the first battery
had been patented by Alessandro Volta and not just me who didnt belief it.
The fact that Alessandro Volta was the inventor from battery and I knew it
from handbook in my school. So the discovered ancient battery in Iraq that
was claimed that produced and used by ancient islam society at that
century. That fact made me surprise, and it made me enthusiasm to want to
know more about the moslem inventors that didnt famous in the world but
had great infuence toward modern technique, astronomy, science, etc.
b. What I wanted to know

From the discovered ancient battery in Iraq that produced and used
by ancient moslem society at that century. I want to knew more about who
the moslem inventors in the world. So I formulated some questions about
what I wanted to learn. That research questions are :

1. Who are the unknown moslem inventors ?

2. What are the great inventions they were invented ?
3. How big an impact of their inventions to modern life ?
And with that questions, I started to search and learn more about
the unknown moslem inventors that had great influence toward modern life.

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2) The Story Of My Search
a. What Did I do?

I started looking on the internet about it by keyword "Moslem

Invention". I didnt expect, there were many creations and the things that had
been made by Moslems in the world. Many of them works were made
scientists and archaeologists move into Islam. But among of us (moslem)
we didnt interest to reviewed their great history. We could find alot of muslim
inventors at there.

Second, I searched in some literature which I was found something

unique. Half of inventors that we known were taking inspiration from moslem
invention. Some of the renowned moslem inventors who influence in the
modern era are such as Ibnu Al-Haitham, Abbas Ibnu Firnas, al-zahrawi,
Ibn ismail ibn al razzaz Al-Jazari, and young princess named Fatima al-Firhi.
Did you know, what were their inventions? how their inventions could
influent in the technology development?. At first moment, I believe that we
didnt know it. So, thats why they called the unknown moslem inventors.
And through this I-search, we could know about them and what were their
inventions, and from their inventions could influent in the technology
development.

b. The Result of My Search

1. Ibnu Al-Haitham

figure 1. obscura camera figure 2. modern camera

The first moslem inventions in my search is camera. The first camera

comes from camera obscura that made by Abu Ali Muhammad Al-Hassan
ibnu Al-Haitham around the year 1000. When he made a invention to prove
that humans see objects by light reflecting off of them and entering the eye,
dismissing Euclid and Ptolemy's theories that light was emitted from the eye
itself. This great Muslim physicist also discovered the obscura camera
phenomenon that use to made camera in this modern life. Camera itself is

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an optical instrument for recording images, which may be stored locally,
transmitted to another location, or both. The images may be individual still
photographs or sequences of images constituting videos or movies. In this
modern life almost all of the person have a camera that included in his/her
smartphone.
2. Abbas Ibnu Firnas

figure 3. flying machine by ibnu firnas figure 4. flying machine by twin wright

The second moslem inventions is flying machine by abbas ibnu

firnas. Abbas ibn Firnas is the first person to make a real attempt to
construct a machine that will help him fly. During the 9th century, he
designed a winged apparatus that resembled a bird costume. When he
attempted to use his invention in the city of Cordoba, he flew for a few
moments before falling and partially breaking his back. this flying machine
is very important in aircraft development. From my article that I get this
invention has inspired for new inventors from Europe to made an aircraft
like Leonardo da vinci and wright brothers.

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 3. Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi

figure 5. the modern surgical instrument figure 6. al-Zahrawi with his patient

The third in my search is Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-

Zahrawi. He is the inventor for surgical instruments and surgical procedures.
Al-Zahrawi was born near Cordoba, Spain, when it was part of the Islamic
Empire. The great invention form Al-Zahrawi was wrote in his encyclopedia
of medicine, the Al-Tasrif li man ajaz an-il-talif (An Aid for Those Who Lack
the Capacity to Read Big Books), known as the al-Tasrif. This became a
standard reference in Islamic and European medicine for over 500 years. In
Europe, Al-Zahrawi was known as Albucasis, and was particularly famous
for his surgical knowledge. Al-Zahrawis encyclopedia included sections on
surgery, medicine, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, pharmacology and
nutrition. In it he described over 300 diseases and their treatments. He also
included detailed descriptions of numerous surgical procedures, and the
use of over 200 surgical instruments, many of which he developed. The
most famous section of the encyclopedia, on surgery, was translated into
Latin by Gerard of Cremona in the 1100s. From this time it also became a
standard text in Europe, and was still being reprinted in the 1770s and used
until now.

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 4. Al-Jazar

figure 7. the invention from al-Zarawi

And the last my search the unknown moslem inventor is Al-Jazar

(1136-1206), Al-Jazar was a prominent medieval polymath: an scholar,
inventor, mechanical engineer, craftsman, artist, mathematician and
astronomer from Diyarbakr, Turkey, who lived during the Middle Ages.He
is best known for writing the "Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical
Devices" in 1206, where he described fifty mechanical devices along with
instructions on how to construct them. Al-Jazari pioneered advances in
robotics and is credited with inventing the camshaft, the crankshaft and
segmental gearing - which are present in almost every machine today. From
that great invention, Al-Jazar was called as father of robotics.
5. Fatima al-Firhi

figure 8. Al-qarawiyyin the oldest university

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 The other invention that created by moslem is an University. It was
begun in 859 when young princess named Fatima al-Firhi founded the first
degree-granting university in Fez, Morocco. She and her sister Miriam
founded a mosque and together the complex became the al-Qarawiyyin
Mosque and University. Still operating almost 1,200 years later, and
became center for people to learn of the Islamic tradition. After al-
Qarawiyyin university, there are many another university was build in Arabic
and European.

3) Conclusions of My Search

From the research that weve done by looking for the answer that weve
made before the reasearch, we can conclude that :

1. There are many the unknown inventors in the world. Some of them have
inventions that give big influent in the modern life, or the other give a
little contribution in this modern life. When I search about Moslem
inventors, there are any unique fact. that fact is many unknown moslem
inventors that give big contribution in the modern life and they inspire the
Europe inventors to create the thing that we use every day in this modern
life. And the unique section is that Europe inventors is more famous than
the moslem inventors that have the first idea from that inventions. From
my search, The unknown moslem inventors that have big influence in
modern life with their inventions are Ibnu Al-Haitham, Abbas Ibnu Firnas,
al-zahrawi, Ibn ismail ibn al razzaz Al-Jazari, and young princess named
Fatima al-Firhi.
2. Ibnu Al-Haitham, Abbas Ibnu Firnas, al-zahrawi, Ibn ismail ibn al razzaz
Al-Jazari, and young princess named Fatima al-Firhi. There are some
moslem inventors that have big influent in the modern life with their
inventions. At first Ibnu Al-Haitham who founder the first obscura camera
which become the fundamental of modern camera, Abbas Ibnu Firnas
who founder flying machine that inspire wright brothers to build the first
plane, al-zahrawi who is the father of surgical science that found surgical
instruments and surgical procedures, and Ibn ismail ibn al razzaz Al-
Jazari who is founder the mechanical modern robotics.
3. The influent form their inventors is they can inspire the other inventors
to release the idea and concept to be a thing that we use today. From
that situation the moslem inventors be the unknown inventors.

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4) Reflections of My Search

According that informations from internet, paper and encyclopedia we

know that there are great inventions from muslim which give inspiration to
the next inventor (Europe and American). I can conclude many of the
present muslim inventions has brought many changes. The services of
Muslim inventors have provided inspiration and contribution of knowledge.
So that in future studies can developed and perfected step by step into
modern technology as it is today. After I finish it, I have learned how big the
influence muslem inventor. I hope this article can open up our insights about
history of islam and can be used as a spirit that we can.

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 Bibliography :

1) <http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/29/muslim.inventions/>C
NN, Muslim inventions that shaped the modern world,17th feb 2016:
20.21.
2) <http://lostislamichistory.com/5-muslim-inventions-that-changed-the-
world/>Lost Islamic History,5 Muslim Inventions That Changed The
World, 15th feb 2016: 19.10
3) Al-Hassani, Salim T S. Muslim heritage in our world second edition
foundation for science technology and civilization
4) http://www.1001inventions.com/media/video/clock >,1001 inventions ltd,
Al-Jazari's 800 year old automatic Elephant clock, 17th feb 2016
5) Al-ghazal, sharif kaf. Al-Zahrw(Albucasis)the Great Andalusian
Surgeon FSTC Limited, 2007