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Since the seventh century, A.D.,
the culture of the Arab world has been
dominated by the last of the three great
monotheistic religions to have emerged
from that region: Islam. Islam, faith of
the vast majority of Arabs, is more than
just a religion; it is the focal point of
Arab society for Muslims and non-Muslims
alike permeating that culture at every
level-political, social, economic, as
well as private. To appreciate the
enormous force of Islam in the Arab
world, one must understand the basic
tenets of the faith, how it emerged and
grew.
Islam originated in the Arabian
Peninsula, present-day Saudi Arabia in
622 A.D. According to Islamic tradition,
God (Allah) conveyed to Muhammad,
a tradesman, a series of revelations
which were to form the basis of the new
faith. Islam means submission-submission
to the will of God; a Muslim, in turn, is
one who has submitted to Allah and who
acknowledges Muhammad as His prophet.
Muslims consider Muhammad to be the last
in a series of prophets which included
Abraham, Moses and Jesus, to whom God
revealed His Divine Message. Islamic
tradition, in fact, takes into account
the doctrines of both Judaism and
Christianity which preceded it; for
example, Muslims believe, as do both Jews
and Christians, in one God and in
an afterlife. Islam also acknowledges
Jews and Christians as "people of
the Book" (ahl alkitab), "the
Book" meaning the Bible, and grants
them privileged status from the early
days of the Islamic empire into modern
times. For this reason, religious
minorities throughout the Arab world have
survived and flourished during periods of
severe cultural and religious repression
elsewhere.
The body of revelation which Allah
delivered to Muhammad through the Angel
Gabriel is contained in the Qur 'an, the
holy book of Islam. The Qur 'an, written
in Arabic, the language of Allah's divine
transmission, provides the Muslim
believer with all he or she needs to know
to lead a good and pious life. In
addition to its obvious religious |
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