We have all heard of Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 – 1519) the great Italian inventor, painter and scientist. That is the way it should be; there is no doubting his unparalleled genius. But how many of us know that the person, who can rightly be called the father of automation predated Da Vinci by two hundred years, and was a Muslim? Ismail Al-Jazari (1136 – 1237), a mechanical engineer and scientist, laid the foundations of automation and robotics through his prodigious inventions.

In fact, it is more chronologically correct to call Da Vinci the Al-Jazari of Europe. Today, we worry about robots taking our jobs, and automation has definitely undermined the need for manual workers in many industries. Anxieties about automation go back centuries, and indeed, Al Jazali invented machines that were not just playthings for the rich, but devices with practical applications.

First, we need to make some observations about our own Anglophone culture, so we can better approach an enormous gap in our understanding of science and society.

In our Anglophone nations, we regard ourselves as the products, and inheritors of, western civilisation. We have defined our origin story from the philosophical and cultural legacies of Ancient Greece and Rome. We like to think that our contemporary philosophy, for instance, traces its origins back to the thinkers of ancient Athens and Greek city states.

That is all well and good – and we have gained numerous insights from the cultural and scientific contributions of Ancient Greece. Marx and Engels themselves were fascinated by the achievements of Greece, and the associated Greek city states that made up Ionian civilisation. However, this point of view completely ignores the historic and no less remarkable contributions of non-European and nonwhite civilisations.

In our time, if there is one nonwhite culture that is demonised and vilified, it is the Islamic world. Maligned by harmful stereotypes of bearded fanatics waving guns, the Muslim communities in the West are targeted as an ‘enemy within.’ This rampant Islamophobia, heavily promoted by a corporate media owned by a financial oligarchy, blinds us to the incredible innovations, both scientific and philosophical, of the Islamic civilisation.

Ismail Al-Jazari, a mechanical engineer by trade, lived through turbulent political times as a loyal servant of the Artuqid dynasty. The latter was a 12th century Islamic Turkmen dynasty that ruled in what is today central southern Turkey, northern Iraq and Syria. Al Jazari’s birthplace, Diyarbakir, was a central stronghold of the Artuqids.

Every car driver today can tell you all about the crankshaft, a crucial feature of the internal combustion engine. Al Jazari was the first to design a basic crankshaft, elaborating the mathematical principles in converting reciprocating motion into rotational motion. His purpose in designing such a device was to come up with an effective water-drawing machine to assist farmers with irrigation.

Using a wheel which set in motion several crank pins was an innovation of Jazari’s. While wheels and crank pins had been used for centuries, it was Jazari’s connection of transforming rotary motion into linear movement that was crucial for the future emergence of steam engines as well as the internal combustion engine.

It is true that Jazari built upon the inventions of his predecessors. He was familiar with engineering techniques in China, Persia and so on. But it was his unique mindset and toolkit that made possible innovations which had a lasting impact. He documented his extensive efforts in a book of knowledge that has survived and been translated down the ages.

He also invented what can be regarded as the world’s first ‘robot’ – a musical device that automated the different functions of a musical quartet. Well, okay, he designed four robot musicians; a flautist, a harpist and two drummers. Much like a modern day music box – prior to digital music and Spotify – Jazari’s contraption could be programmed to play different melodies and tunes. This musical robot band, operated by hydraulic switching, is the earliest example of a ‘programmable’ instrument.

He also designed a water-driven hand washing device, with humanoid type servants offering soap and towels. The ‘peacock fountain’ was a hydraulic automaton, an early ‘robot’ to assist in the function of handwashing hygiene. A major portion of Jazari’s Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices was devoted to fountain mechanisms.

All this groundbreaking work and innovation in the field of mechanical automata make a strong case for regarding Al Jazari as the ‘father of robotics.’

Before any readers through seemingly clever yet monotonous retorts my way – ‘what about Al Qaeda?’ is one screaming red herring that gets tossed around when talking about Islam – denunciations of jihadist groups is not my concern. If you wish to condemn Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Boko Haram – be my guest. You may find shrill denunciations of these groups in the mainstream media echo chamber provided by Fox News and Murdoch’s News Corp propaganda outfit.

In our Anglophone community, the Global South is largely ignored, or treated as just a passing curiosity. Sure, we hear about Israel in the Middle East, particularly in the context of that nation’s military attack on Gaza. Maybe South Korea and Japan get a mention, because they are integrated into the US military apparatus.

This deliberately manufactured systemic cultural ignorance deprives Anglophone audiences of information regarding the accomplishments of nonwhite cultures. Redressing this imbalance is a necessary component of challenging the dysfunctional role of the corporate media in our hyper-consumerist society.

No disrespect is intended to Leonardo Da Vinci. Let’s give Ismail Al-Jazari the credit he deserves.