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Lack of Original Greek Texts
From the middle of the eighth century to the end of the tenth century, a very large amount of non-literary and non-historical secular Greek books were translated into Arabic. These included books that were accessible throughout the Eastern Byzantine Empire and the near east, according to the documentation from a century and a half of Graeco-Arabic scholarship. The Greek writings from Hellenistic, Roman, and late antiquity times that did not survive in the original Greek text were all vulnerable to the translator and the powers they had over them when completing the translation. It was not uncommon to come across Arabic translators who added their own thoughts and ideas into the translations. Ninth century Arab Muslim philosopher al-Kindi, for example, viewed Greek texts as a resource in which he was able to employ new ideas and methods off of, thus, re-inventing philosophy. Al-Kindi used the Greek texts as outlines used to fix the weaknesses and finish what they left unfinished. Translating also meant new information would be added in, while some could potentially be taken out depending on what the translator’s goal was. Another example of this is found in the Arabic translator’s approach to Ptolemy’s astronomy in the Almagest. The Almagest was critiqued and modified by Arabic astronomers for many generations. The modifications were made based off of Greek thought, most coming from Aristotle. As a result, this led to many new developments. When discussing the development of Arabic science, Greek heritage is an important area to cover. At the same time, in order to receive a complete understanding of Greek science there are parts that have only survived in Arabic that must also be taken into account. For example, Apollonius’s Conics books V to VII and Diophantus’s Arithmetica books IV to VII. The two listed are items of Greek origin that have only survived in their Arabic translation. The circumstance is the same for the relationship between Latin and Greek science, which requires the analysis of Greek texts translated into Arabic and then into Latin. Translation entails viewpoints from one angle, the angle of the one performing the translation. The full analysis and journey of the translated pieces are key components in the overarching theme behind the piece.

Relationship Between Western Europeans and Arabs
In this day and age, many western Europeans are not aware of, have disavowed, or have forgotten about the Islamic contributions when it comes to translations and the access to knowledge that occurred many years ago. The ideas that were formed during the translation movement became part of the genealogy of Western knowledge. Western Europeans first thought of Arabic thinkers with ample amounts of admiration and awe. This was during the time western Europeans saw themselves in a position of a less advanced culture with the enthusiasm to learn from the Arabic. As time passed, this viewpoint changed as the western Europeans began to see themselves as of equal importance to the Greek and Islamic thinkers, and eventually as superiors. This created two groups of western thinkers by the time of the Renaissance. One group focused on seeking insights from the Arabic intellectual tradition as a continuation from Greco-Roman, to Arabic, to Byzantine, and to Latin Europe but viewed themselves as the beneficiaries of this tradition. The other group, referred to as the humanists, chose to bypass the Arabs and Byzantines and thought of them as corruptors. They pursued a more immediate route to reaching the Greco-Roman heritage. The disparity in knowledge between the West and Islam was so immense, with the significantly less advanced civilization of Latin Europe creating defensive demeanors towards Islam for many years. By the time of the Renaissance, the humanists called for a removal of Arabic translations from the classical traditions and for a revisit back to the original Greek texts. Although the Graeco-Arabic translations played a major role in building the foundation of the Renaissance, the authors and Arabic translators were eradicated and forgotten from the intellectual history of the western civilizations.