Islam has always destroyed any society it has taken over. Spain was, at a very bleak period during the barbarian invasions from the North, the heir to Rome and had a great scholarly tradition, particularly in Southern Spain, which had been the birthplace of many Roman thinkers, writers and even emperors. Then the Muslims invaded; of course, they took credit for the all of the intellectual activity of Spain, and then bit by bit they stifled it. Because Islam was still in its very earliest phases at that point, it was not consolidated and probably more intellectual activity was allowed than would later be the norm - furthermore, the original Islamic conquerors had only themselves been recently conquered, and were from the intellectually advanced parts of the ME (such as Baghdad and Persia). However, these Muslims themselves were later conquered by more orthodox Arab Muslims, which is the constant story of Islamic countries.
Whenever Muslims are "infected" by the intellectual advances of the countries they conquer, their more orthodox brethren come along and remind them of the meaning of True Islam. Which, in short, brings death, intellectual death, and decay to any culture it subjugates.
Exactly. It has oppressed and undermined the potential of it's own people which is why Islamic societies will NEVER compete, much less dominate Western cultures.
Just look at the nations they rule now. They are pathetic.
Is this why most Muslin countries are poor, racked with war, and culturally dead? Even Muslim countries are sit on piles of money (oil - but it might as well be money) are filled with poverty and misery.