List two (2) reasons for the economic decline of the Islamic society and discuss each concerning their effect on cultural conditions

One of the reasons as to why there was an economic decline in the Islamic society was due to the constant assaults on the Islamic centers of wealth on both land and sea by western Christian pirates immensely reduced the economic strength of the Muslim nations. Notably, North Africa turned economically poor as the Trans-Saharan traffic that had sustained it was changed to European vessels operating along the Atlantic coast of West Africa. As observed by Benson, J. (2016), the wealth of Islam community that was evident in cities including Alexandria, Palermo, and Tunis suffered much from the tenth-century attacks by the European Christian pirates. Due to these fixed effects, there was not enough food to sustain the Islamic community plus the constant destruction of crops that played significant roles in maintaining the society. Also, the Syrian and Egyptian coastal cities faced assaults from the Christian pirates thus making the landings and carrying of crops devastating.

The second reason for economic decline for the Muslim community is due to the rise of conservative religious forces that in turn led to narrow, tight and finally closed the excellent interpretation of Islam and affected the development of science. Also, some researches continuously argue that the operations of Al Ghazali typically led to the decline of the Muslim science (Benson, 2016). It is argued that the works of Al Ghazali led to the growth of mysticism and occasionalism within the Islamic society thus disconnecting people from the art of science. These, in turn, had adverse effects on the cultural conditions as there were no proper techniques of cultivation and irrigation hence low production of food.

Reference

Benson, J. (2016). Islamic revivalism in a changing peasant economy: Central Sumatra, 1784-1847. Routledge.