You're right that the word algebra has Arab connections but the name of the person is generally agreed to be al-Khwarizmi. The actual connection between Arabic and Spanish is nothing new to me... I've been studying the relationship between Islam, the West and the Judeo-Christian religions since I was 12 but it's simply fascinating to discover 'new' connections. Wikipedia has some great stuff if you're interested too:
Al-Khwarizmi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Khwarizmi) The Influence of Arabic on Spanish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_influence_on_the_Spanish_language) Andalusi (read: Spanish) Arabic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andalusi_Arabic) Al-Andalus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus) The Caliphate of Cordoba (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taifahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliph_of_Cordoba) The Great Mosque of Cordoba"> - I've been waiting to visit it for over a decade now!
And so on and so forth... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezquita)
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Al-Khwarizmi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Khwarizmi)
The Influence of Arabic on Spanish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_influence_on_the_Spanish_language)
Andalusi (read: Spanish) Arabic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andalusi_Arabic)
Al-Andalus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus)
The Caliphate of Cordoba (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taifahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliph_of_Cordoba)
The Great Mosque of Cordoba"> - I've been waiting to visit it for over a decade now!
And so on and so forth... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezquita)