Sure, but today's standards have been THE standard since at least the siege of Jerusalem and were widely held before that. Whether or not these standards are the correct standards would require a much deeper understanding of Islam than I currently have, but the fact that this understanding has always had a strong presence and the fact that it has dominated since the 12th century does explain what happened.
Later caliphs f.ex. among the Ottomans were quite progressive particularly politically. But you are right. I just note that there have been different standards, and for a time the prevalent standard was not opposed to science, learning and culture.
