People like this are at the root of a great deal of Western science - and they were doing this while Europe was lost in the dark ages. Indeed, migration from Istanbul west may be a large part of what caused Europe to emerge from the dark ages.

The programmes on BBC4 last night about Islam and Europe, Islam and Science were wonderful.

The next one covers faith and reason. The first programme on science did a remarkable job of illuminating how the two are inseparable.