I have always suspected that the narrative of the "Islamic Golden Age", "Islamic Mathematics" or "Arabic Mathematicians" is just myth and propaganda. In this thread I explain why. (cc @GarudaPrakashan, @sankrant )

Sure, this age saw a lot of progress, but pretending it has something to do with Islam is the big hoax. Consider this:

People like Al-Khwarizmi were mathematicians who just happened to be Muslims, just like Gauss and Lagrange happened to be Christians. Yet we don‘t call the latter's mathematics as "Christian mathematics". So why "Islamic mathematics"?

If Islam inherently played a role in the "Golden Age", why was it localized only around Baghdad and Persia? Reason: it was a legacy of the knowledge tradition promoted by King Khusrow I of Persia, much before Islam was born.

Now you know why most of the "Arab mathematicians" were Persian, including Al-Khwarizmi! Arab invasions forced most of them to convert to Islam. Is it not dishonest to call it "Arabic mathematics" or "Islamic mathematics"?

The philosophy of the "Islamic Golden Age" was based on the Neoplatonic philosophy of Porphyry and Plotinus, which in turn was based on Vedanta philosophy. "Islamic mathematics" was based on Hindu mathematics of Aryabhata and Brahmagupta. How does "Islam" enter the picture?

Why was it localized in time from the 8th to the 13th century? Reason: it was a political phenomenon. Since the Abbasid Caliphate overthrew the Ummayad Caliphate in 750 with the help of Persians, it felt bound to support Persian traditions.

In contrast, in pre-Islamic India, knowledge developed no matter who was in power and it was not localized by region or time.

If it was indeed "Islamic mathematics", why did mathematics stop developing in regions in India that passed under Islamic rule and continued to develop in regions that were NOT under Islamic rule? (Think of Kerala mathematics in the Vijayanagara Empire.)

If it was indeed "Islamic mathematics", how come there was not a SINGLE Islamic mathematician in India in areas under Islamic rule? The "great" Mughals ruled vast areas of India for 200 years. Yet how come they did not produce a single Islamic mathematician?

If it was indeed "Islamic mathematics"during the "Islamic Golden Age" in Baghdad and Persia, why did it stop with the growth of Islam in the region?

And lastly, many "Islamic" philosophers were "bad" Muslims for going against Islamic doctrine. Culturally many were Zoroastrians forced to convert. Averroes was banished for his views that went against orthodox Islam.

In contrast, in India, Hindu thought, philosophy and the knowledge system played a key role in the development of mathematics. (This connection is one of the key topics of my upcoming book with @GarudaPrakashan ).