Revisionist History: Islam as a Foundation of European History

I am surprised at how often I hear Westerners observe that Islam was
foundational to Western (especially European) progress.

The idea is
that Islam should be able to take some (or all) of the credit for the scientific
and economic successes of the West. Of course one looks at Islamdom
today and one sees corrupt governments and unproductive economies
(aside from oil and natural gas) and an inability to engage in critical thought. So, what of the genius of Islam,
which is of course the superior civilization in the world? Well, the Europeans
should be thankful, their respect for human rights, the scientific
revolution, democracy--all of what is good in Europe goes back to Islam.

This is the revisionist and completely unsound history that is being peddled today. And people are buying it.

Here is a good example from the Guardian (or shall we say Al Guardian :-) I hate to stoop to the level of ridicule, but the Guardian has become such a blatant tool and unthinking limb of Islamdom. Shame on them.

Might post some responses later.

Al Guardian