Renaissance
. . . after the Renaissance, in a dramatic reversal of roles, the West became world conquerors and subdued all other cultures and civilisations, including Islam. This transformation ushered in the modern world, a world unlike any that had existed before.
The Enlightenment
. . . A key development in this transformation took place when, during the Enlightenment, a narrative was produced which introduced the idea of human progress. This was a revolutionary concept that would replace the Christian narrative of salvation.
The Atomic Bomb
. . .We were the first generation to live in the knowledge that we could destroy ourselves and all life on earth. This new power separates our generation from all previous generations. Since the creation of the atom bomb, many other ways of total destruction have been developed.
World of Islam Festival
In 1976, a festival celebrating the civilisation of Islam took place in London. The World of Islam Festival, as it was called, included a dozen exhibitions coordinated by the Arts Council of Great Britain and was inaugurated by Her Majesty the Queen. At the time, little was known about Islam and the response to the Festival was overwhelming. The beauty, humanity and intelligence of a civilisation that dominated Afro-Eurasia for more than a thousand years was a revelation, and was warmly received by a public keen to learn about an unfamiliar world.