As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam -- at places like Al-Azhar -- that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities -- (applause) -- it was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed.

То, что сделал Гутенберг, кажется, было не столько изобретением, сколько reverse engineering. Обычно считается, что он опирался на рассказы Марко Поло, но посредниками могли быть и арабы, как в случае с бумагой:

http://tahir-shah.blogspot.com/2009/04/paper.html