The Golden Age of Islam: Imam Bukhari and His Gnosticism, by Baroness Saeeda Warsi

 In this episode of 'Sinhra Islami Dur', the first Muslim member of the British Cabinet, Baroness Saeeda Warsi, takes a brief look at the life of Imam Bukhari. This series covers the period from 750 AD to 1258 AD. The series will cover the period's important developments in subjects such as architecture, work in the field of medicine, inventions, and philosophy. (This article was first published in August 2020)

We Muslims are at our best when we value knowledge and erudition and it is at its worst when a minority of them follow the path of intolerance and extremism due to misinterpretation of religion.

The best examples of the tradition of enlightenment and scholarship in Islam can be found in its golden age, which spanned from the mid-8th century until 1258 when Baghdad was invaded and destroyed by the Mongols.

During this period, the direction of Islamic civilization was determined not in the fire of war but in the libraries of knowledge and wisdom. Its place was in increasing human understanding of ancient civilizations such as Greece and Iran. In the nine centuries, the Arab world had the status of 'center for excellence' in the field of science, philosophy, medicine, and education. During this period, not only a high standard of knowledge was established, but also the tradition of cooperation between Muslims and different faiths was established.

Even in Andalusia or Islamic Spain, where people of different faiths lived side by side, education flourished during this period of Islamic enlightenment.