Once again, the reason why the Arab / North African civilization declined 500 years ago has nothing to do with Islam, and much to do with plagues, crop failures in North Africa, etc. This allowed Christians to succeed in the Iberian
reconquista, thereby taking over the Muslim-initiated conquest of the Americas in 1492, writing the Muslim role out of the history books. (China too benefited from Muslim hegemony on high seas,
Zheng He being the most famous example, but they have chosen the path of isolation instead.) Wealth from the New World has been the engine of the Western Civilization's progress ever since, allowing them to hold back the
growth of the Ottoman Empire, and reverse it several centuries later, eventually leading to fragmentation, stagnation, and colonization.
One theory on why the Europeans have been able to succeed compares them to the rats that carried the bubonic plague - their strong immune systems made them carriers of infectious bacterial diseases that are lethal to others. Europe's cold climate, low urbanization, and technological backwardness discouraged regular bathing, while a diet that's high in animal products (especially pigs) exposed them to all sorts of germs. This, combined with natural selection from many centuries in the cold climate, has made them immune to diseases with which they were able to wipe out their enemies in their millions, both in the old world and the new.