Salim Al-Hassani
Encyclopedia
Salim T S Al-Hassani is Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering and currently an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Manchester. He is Chairman of the Foundation of Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), founder of the academic portal www.MuslimHeritage.com; the 1001 Inventions
touring exhibition, built as a global education initiative which includes a book, award winning film and teacher’s pack; and the Curriculum Enrichment company, CE4CE.
) in 1991 and was an acknowledged world expert in the decommissioning of offshore installations and in major plant-related accident investigations. He also researched into, and is widely published on, the computational modelling of biomedical processes.
Since 1968, Professor Al-Hassani, has published over 200 papers in international journals and books. He has supervised 40 PhD students, 50 MSc students and numerous post-doctoral fellows from all parts of the world and holds patents on engineering.
Over the past 20 years Al-Hassani’s interest has turned to promoting the cultural roots of science as a platform for community cohesion, intercultural appreciation and world peace. In order to do this, he has created a global movement aspiring to fill the 1000 years amnesia in our knowledge during the period commonly known as the Dark Ages, the Golden Age of the Muslim Civilisation, and to show their connectivity to present society.
Now an Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the School of languages, Linguistics and Cultures, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Manchester, Al-Hassani’s work on the history of science and technology has earned him worldwide reputation.
He made his mark by utilising applied modern engineering analysis to recreate, in virtual 3D space, ancient machines, especially those invented by Muslims during the Golden Age
such as the machines of Al-Jazari
and Taqi al-Din
which later became the foundation of modern science and industry.
Al-Hassani has authored and edited more than 300 publications on Muslim Heritage, including the book 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in our World. This book is considered to be essential reading for all those interested to learn about the role of Muslim inventions in today’s schools, universities, homes, hospitals, markets, cities, world and universe.
Al-Hassani is a highly recognised international speaker on the Muslim contribution
to building the foundations of modern civilisation delivering more than 150 lectures at reputable national and international venues. These include a keynote speech entitled Learning from the Past to Design the Future delivered at the Intellectual Capital Conference organized by the World Bank in Paris ; 1000 years Amnesia and the Identity Crisis at the UK Parliament in London , Muslim Heritage and Education presented to Education and Culture Committee of the EU Parliament in Brussels on the 5th November 2008 and Strategic Importance of Muslim Heritage in our World and its Impact on Diplomatic, Educational and Socio-Economic Developments given at the exhibition on Multi-Faith Scientists in Islamic Civilization organized by the FSTC at the United Nations, New York, 12–14 November 2008.
These initiatives have been successful in promoting greater cohesion, respect and understanding between faiths and cultures. Their major value is not only in closing the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims in the UK and worldwide, but also in promoting the concept of scientific and technological innovation as a positive and constructive channel for the personal expression of belief, as an alternative to religious isolationism and extremism and more particularly in facilitating greater understanding of the past positive role of Muslim women in society with particular emphasis on their participation in science, technology, art and culture. Furthermore, it reveals a past when Muslims, Christians, Jews, Sabians
and others worked closely together and in harmony to develop society.
In September 2009, Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani was granted an Honorary Fellowship of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, now the British Science Association for his work to promote the scientific and technological achievements within Muslim cultures. The Honorary Fellowship of the British Science Association is a distinguished honour, conferred to date on about 90 people.
In February 2009, Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani was presented the Building Bridges Award by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists.
1001 Inventions
1001 Inventions is an award-winning international educational project dedicated to the history of science and technology in Muslim civilization during the period known as the Golden Age. The project encompasses online and traditional publishing, films and both static and traveling exhibitions...
touring exhibition, built as a global education initiative which includes a book, award winning film and teacher’s pack; and the Curriculum Enrichment company, CE4CE.
Biography
Salim Al-Hassani was raised in Baghdad, but has lived, studied and worked in the UK since the early 1960s. He became Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMISTUMIST
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research...
) in 1991 and was an acknowledged world expert in the decommissioning of offshore installations and in major plant-related accident investigations. He also researched into, and is widely published on, the computational modelling of biomedical processes.
Since 1968, Professor Al-Hassani, has published over 200 papers in international journals and books. He has supervised 40 PhD students, 50 MSc students and numerous post-doctoral fellows from all parts of the world and holds patents on engineering.
Over the past 20 years Al-Hassani’s interest has turned to promoting the cultural roots of science as a platform for community cohesion, intercultural appreciation and world peace. In order to do this, he has created a global movement aspiring to fill the 1000 years amnesia in our knowledge during the period commonly known as the Dark Ages, the Golden Age of the Muslim Civilisation, and to show their connectivity to present society.
Now an Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the School of languages, Linguistics and Cultures, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Manchester, Al-Hassani’s work on the history of science and technology has earned him worldwide reputation.
Work on Muslim Heritage
Al-Hassani established, and is Honorary Chairman of, the Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation, (FSTC Ltd). Through FSTC his work promoting the cultural roots of science, and especially that of the Muslim Civilisation, has spread across the globe with initiatives such as www.muslimheritage.com and the 1001 Inventions global education initiative.He made his mark by utilising applied modern engineering analysis to recreate, in virtual 3D space, ancient machines, especially those invented by Muslims during the Golden Age
Islamic Golden Age
During the Islamic Golden Age philosophers, scientists and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to technology and culture, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations...
such as the machines of Al-Jazari
Al-Jazari
Abū al-'Iz Ibn Ismā'īl ibn al-Razāz al-Jazarī was a Muslim polymath: a scholar, inventor, mechanical engineer, craftsman, artist, mathematician and astronomer from Al-Jazira, Mesopotamia, who lived during the Islamic Golden Age...
and Taqi al-Din
Taqi al-Din
Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf al-Shami al-Asadi was an Ottoman Turkish Although his family al-Asadi, which can still be found throughout present-day Iraq and Syria, suggests descent from a Yemeni tribe...
which later became the foundation of modern science and industry.
Al-Hassani has authored and edited more than 300 publications on Muslim Heritage, including the book 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in our World. This book is considered to be essential reading for all those interested to learn about the role of Muslim inventions in today’s schools, universities, homes, hospitals, markets, cities, world and universe.
Al-Hassani is a highly recognised international speaker on the Muslim contribution
Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe
Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe were numerous, affecting such varied areas as art, architecture, medicine, agriculture, music, language, and technology. From the 11th to 13th centuries, Europe absorbed knowledge from the Islamic civilization...
to building the foundations of modern civilisation delivering more than 150 lectures at reputable national and international venues. These include a keynote speech entitled Learning from the Past to Design the Future delivered at the Intellectual Capital Conference organized by the World Bank in Paris ; 1000 years Amnesia and the Identity Crisis at the UK Parliament in London , Muslim Heritage and Education presented to Education and Culture Committee of the EU Parliament in Brussels on the 5th November 2008 and Strategic Importance of Muslim Heritage in our World and its Impact on Diplomatic, Educational and Socio-Economic Developments given at the exhibition on Multi-Faith Scientists in Islamic Civilization organized by the FSTC at the United Nations, New York, 12–14 November 2008.
These initiatives have been successful in promoting greater cohesion, respect and understanding between faiths and cultures. Their major value is not only in closing the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims in the UK and worldwide, but also in promoting the concept of scientific and technological innovation as a positive and constructive channel for the personal expression of belief, as an alternative to religious isolationism and extremism and more particularly in facilitating greater understanding of the past positive role of Muslim women in society with particular emphasis on their participation in science, technology, art and culture. Furthermore, it reveals a past when Muslims, Christians, Jews, Sabians
Sabians
The Sabians of Middle Eastern tradition were a monotheistic Abrahamic religious group mentioned three times in the Quran: "the Jews, the Sabians, and the Christians." In the Hadith they are nothing but converts to Islam, while their identity in later Islamic literature became a matter of...
and others worked closely together and in harmony to develop society.
Awards
In 2001, Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani received the Fazlur Rahman Khan award for excellence in engineering, science and technology.In September 2009, Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani was granted an Honorary Fellowship of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, now the British Science Association for his work to promote the scientific and technological achievements within Muslim cultures. The Honorary Fellowship of the British Science Association is a distinguished honour, conferred to date on about 90 people.
In February 2009, Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani was presented the Building Bridges Award by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists.