German orientalist Eduard Sachau blamed the theology of Ash'ari and its biggest defender, Ghazali, specifically for the decline of Islamic science starting in the tenth century, and stated that the two clerics were the only obstacle to the Muslim world becoming a nation of "Galileos, Keplers and Newtons."[REF] .
Some authors have questioned the spiritual value of discussion methods employed by the Ash'aris and other dialectical theologians.