Islamic Thought and its Place in History Binding: PB De Lacy O'Leary An effort has been made in this book to trace the history of medieval Muslim thought as to show the elements which it had in common with Christian teaching, and to account for the points of divergence. Influenced initially by Hellenistic thought, Islamic thought brought about enormous influence on the culture of medieval Latin Christendom, directly leading to the Renascence and the death of medieval culture.