>>63824726
Mostly comes down to unified groups under a Caliphate of some sort between the 8th-12th centuries. Which were quite wealthy and open to accepting new things, trade, science, ideas and intellectualism was basically state-sanctioned. So all the arts, sciences, maths and ability to translate texts was funded and actively worked on. Now, that's not to say they invented nothing and borrowed everything they came across, but there was a fair bit of both and the region was a fairly significant area between asia and europe with a lot of things, people and ideas coming through, so they could pick up those things and people to add to the state.
Then came Secularism
You get different sects of the religion branching off, being adopted regionally and they get smashed up by the euro's and asians who get sick of their shit and throw them out. Their world becomes smaller, less influential and there's no real incentive to be more than studying the koran, fighting and that's pretty much it until if you go far enough along- the Taliban and ISIS are sort of the modern equivalents of that tribalism. They don't integrate anything, they only study the koran and they don't accept outsiders, criticism and any kind of intellectual education.
The latter in particular is why they don't ever seem to go anywhere
They don't have that depth of intellectual property to draw on and they don't want to accept anyone else who may have those qualities. You stay dumb, ignorant and do what you're told by elders who 'interpret' the koran and how you should live your life.
Its pretty fucking grim really, as much as we make fun of women being a fucking PIA in western socity, they do contribute to economy, childcare and workforces in some capacity. They don't even have that, half their population is reduced to staying home, making shitty flatbread, sweeping and putting up with screaming brats so they can't even tap into that for any kind of assistance.
Essentially, they're at a cultural dead end
