During the golden age of Islamic civilisation, the Islamic world led in practically every area of knowledge and culture. In it, people from every race and every creed, from Spain to China, travelled, traded and built up sciences, all living under the protection of Islamic law.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES, observatories and universities were born in Islamic civilisation all emerging from the mosque as the centre of learning. The contrast with the situation today is dramatic and begs for explanation.

This has been the subject of much debate and propaganda which has unfortunately left a legacy of distortions and misunderstandings. In The Golden Age and Decline of Islamic Civilisation, the author, Dr S E Zaimeche Al-Djazairi (also author of The Hidden Debt to Islamic Civilisation) uses his many years of expertise as an historian to provide the reader with a wealth of fascinating material describing the development of trade, industry and science in the Islamic world, how they were inspired and the alleged and real causes of their decline.

Historians often separate the rise and achievements of Islamic civilisation from their Islamic inspiration, while its decline is in turn blamed in various ways on the religion. In this book, Dr Al-Djazairi refutes these and related distortions convincingly and without compromise, giving clear descriptions of the real reasons for what happened.

This ground-breaking new book is set to become an indispensable standard reference work and is highly recommended. The Golden Age and Decline of Islamic Civilisation, by Dr S E Zaimeche Al-Djazairi, pub: Bayt Al- Hikma Press, July 2006, 832 pp.

For more information or to buy this book go to http://www.baytalhikma.co.uk or your local bookshop (ISBN: 0955115639 - £16.95 RRP)