Historian Jona Lendering just republished his book ‘Vergeten erfenis. Oosterse wortels van de westerse cultuur’ (Lost Legacy. Eastern Roots of Western Culture) in which he confirms two strong suspicions of mine, namely that Islamic Law was in fact the basis for the modern State — with its fabled separation of State and Church–, and that the Greek origins of our civilisation are an artificially created myth. I differ with Lendering in his statement that Hellenism was founded in the 18th century; I see the Renaissance itself as the moment where this myth was created. Nonetheless, enjoy the summaries of some of the chapters of his book from his website Livius.org

Islamic Law 
Islam was born in the seventh century. The faithful were less skeptical towards the quest for knowledge than the Christians. At the same time, they were a bit more skeptical about Greco-Roman culture, which resulted in the creation of a law system of their own that did not resemble earlier systems. The jurists involved demanded freedom to discuss important issues, organized themselves in madrassas, and set professional standards.

Origins of the Modern State
In this age of close cultural contact [the 11th-15th centuries, SC], Roman Law was reintroduced in Western Europe, but even though Medieval Law was inspired by ancient forms, it is in fact a pragmatic selection from existing traditions, which became a structuralizing element. At the same time, new elements were introduced, like the ideal of equality, which has no roots in ancient or feudal society, but is derived from Islam. The separation of Church and State, another important structuralizing element, could not be created without philosophical theories from the Islamic world.

Ideology and Science
European civilization is a fusion of elements from earlier cultures. The incorrect idea that it had its roots in Greece, goes back to the eighteenth-century art historian J.J. Winckelmann. Under normal circumstances, his ideas — which are not very logical — would have been forgotten, but they played a role during an educational reform in Prussia. Types of education that were created in Germany spread all over Europe, enabling the ideas of Winckelmann to become the basis of the ideology of the emerging bourgeoisie, which was still looking for, and actually gained, respectability. Three developments have dismembered this ideology:

– In the second half of the nineteenth century, cuneiform was deciphered, and it became clear how influential ancient Babylonia has been;

– In the first half of the twentieth century, the social sciences created a new concept of culture;

– Since the decolonization, there is greater interest in the contribution to Western civilization from texts written in Arabic.

Lost Legacy ends with some recommendations about the Dutch educational system.