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I think what GP is referring to is Arab scholars' role in preserving classical science and literature after the fall of the Roman Empire in the west (so that, as the narrative goes, it could be brought back by European explorers to trigger the Renaissance).

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There's this book, Aristotle at the Mountain of Saint-Michele, that has caused some controversy around the idea that only muslim scholars have preserved ancient greek knowledge.

https://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3732

Why assume that the Greeks themselves were not able to preserve their own heritage? The Eastern Roman Empire survived well into the second millennium.

1) I'm referring to a commonly known narrative, not necessarily the truth (I've recently been trying to encourage myself to recognize when my "knowledge" is of limited veracity). 2) I think the assumption is less that they were unable and more that they did not. I'm not familiar enough with the history of library science to judge this.

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