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In the minds of ordinary Americans, all Muslims around the world are the same—they recite the Quran, carry automatic rifles, women cover their heads, and men grow long beards. However, this film tells the audience that the world's hospital system was created by Muslims, and they were the first to master diamond cutting techniques. Ancient Greek philosophical works were preserved by the Arabs and then passed on to Europeans. They taught Europeans printing technology hundreds of years later. When the Germanic people living in the northern forests of Europe wore raw leather jackets, rarely washed their faces, and ate raw meat and porridge, the Muslim world had already built magnificent palaces and mosques. People there bathed daily, wore silk, used perfume, and sat on thick carpets to enjoy delicious meals while discussing astronomy, geography, Greek philosophy, and more. This is the first documentary in the United States about Islamic culture, describing the cultural development and scientific progress during the first millennium, starting from the year 570 when the Prophet Muhammad began spreading Islam and ending in 1566 during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. After the rise of Islam, the Arabs established a powerful empire, focusing on the development of the economy, culture, trade, and technology. Muslims invented the mathematical principles using Arabic numerals and led the world in science, medicine, optics, astronomy, philosophy, and law for over a thousand years.Amazon.comIslam:EmpireofFaithistheepicPBSdocumentarythatchartsthehistoryofIslamfromitsbeginningsinMeccaandMedinaintheseventhcenturytothegloryoftheOttomanEmpire1,000yearslater.ThedemonizationofIslambytheWesthasalonghistory,stretchingbacktotheFirstCrusadeattheendofthe11thcentury.ThisdocumentaryredressesthebalancebyshowingtherichesofIslamiccultureandthevitalroleplayedbyIslaminpreservingandbuildinguponancientwisdomfromEastandWestatatimewhenmostofEuropewasstumblingthroughtheDarkAges.Muslimphysicians,mathematicians,andastronomersstretchedtheboundariesofhumanknowledge,andMuslimarchitectscreatedsomeofthemostbeautifulbuildingsintheworld.Islamalsooffersfascinatinginsightsintokeypersonalities,fromMuhammadhimself--asimplemerchantwhosevisionofasingledeityforgedwarringtribesintoanation--togreatconquerorssuchasMehmedandSuleyman,whopresidedoveranempirethatstretchedfromSpaintoIndia.Thefaithitselfisclearlyexplained,andinterviewswithhistoriansandreligiousscholarsbringhomebothitssimplicityandthewaythatitsurvivedhugeculturalchanges(liketheMongolinvasionsofthe13thcentury)toemergestrongerthanever.IslamhasoftenbeenmisunderstoodintheWest,butthissplendiddocumentaryhelpstosettherecordstraight.--SimonLeake