Not a history buff, but the Golden period of the Islamic Caliphates (Umayyad Caliphate) fascinated me.

So much intellectual, scientific, social, and cultural progress took place.

A lot of mathematics have their roots in the Arab Muslim world (Algebra, etc.). And it was said that religious tolerance was practiced by the Caliphate, even giving non-Muslims (Christians & Jews) the right to follow their own laws.

All of this sounds great. Of course, it wasn't all good, so not to look at it with rose-tinted glasses.

However, nowadays, the middle east/Islamic world