Pages of the first Koran discovered --in England

Scientists think the pages belong to the first ever Koran.

It's being called "the most important discovery in the Muslim world," the discovery of two pages of manuscript thought to be from the first Koran. Possibly dating back to the middle seventh-century, the pages could have been handwritten by Mohammed's best friend, Abu Bakr, who ordered everything be written down.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Two fragments of a document, dated to be 1,370 years old, have been found in a collection of works stored at the University of Birmingham library. The fragments were rediscovered last July. Originally, the fragments were recovered by a British expedition in the 1920s and brought to Birmingham where they were put into the pages of another Koran and forgotten.

Following their rediscovery in June, they were carbon dated to 1,370 years old. This would date them to the time of Mohammed, making them possibly the first ever Koran in existence.

Additional evidence come from the quality of the handwriting, which suggests these pages were written for someone very important. If the Koran belonged to Abu Bakr, it would qualify, since Abu Bakr was the first Muslim caliph. He was the first person to convert to Islam outside of Mohammed's family.

Within a century after Mohammed's death, Islam spread across Asia, North Africa, and into the Middle East. Islam threatened France through invasion, but Muslim army was defeated in the battle of Tours in France in 732.

After this period of rapid expansion, Islam became more peaceful and academic. Algebra, and other advancements in science, philosophy, architecture, and medicine were made by Islamic scholars.

The pace of advancement from Islamic nations fell off during the crusades and afterwards. Today, the Middle East, which is the heart of Islam, remains a backwater, except for oil. Few innovations today are credited to Islamic thought and education. Secular contributions, particularly from China and the West, continue to overshadow the Islamic world. It is perhaps in backlash to this, that entities like ISIS and Boko Haram (Boko Haram as a term means western teaching is forbidden) have arisen.

The discovery of the pages gives historians a glimpse into the dawn of the Islamic world. It may be among the most important discovery ever for Muslims around the world, who can now see with their own eyes, a copy of the Koran written by someone who likely knew Mohammed personally.

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