I always get a bit of a kick out of the claim made that Islam preserved European science and culture, ie Greek writings etc. It was the Islamic world itself of course which from its beginnings out of Arabia made unprovoked wars of aggression on Europe, particularly on Byzantine, and which finally resulted in the destruction of Constantinople in 1453. Byzantium, being the Hellenic oriented continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire, had been doing a fine job of preserving its own history till then.
It would be about the same difference if an arsonist burned down a citys' fine arts museum, rescued a few of the pieces from the flames they themselves set, and then forever after boasted they were a benefactor and preserver of the arts.
