Byond the baisic facts online11/10/2023 He it is who created the heavens and the earth in six days then mounted the throne. The richness of Arab Islamic culture in the arts and sciences and the dissemination of Arab Islamic culture throughout the Mediterranean basin and Asia Minor and into Europe and portions of Asia and Africa has served to make it one of the foundations of today's civilizations. The ebb and flow of their conquests enriched the cultures with which they came in contact through the intermingling of peoples and the transfer of values and knowledge. Then from the seventh to the eighteenth centuries AD the Arabs extended their presence to Europe and Asia. In the first century BC the Greeks and then the Romans through conquest established their presence in the region. Their peoples spoke a number of languages including Akkadian, Aramaic, Syriac, Sumerian, Hebrew (the language of the Torah), and Arabic (the language of the Qur'an). The most important of these ancient civilizations were the Sumerian, Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Assyro-Babylonian, Aramean, Phoenician, Carthagenian, Canaanite, Hebrew, Philistine, Chaldean, Hurrian, Hittite, Kassite, and Mitani. As a result, they were periodically transformed as they came in contact with different cultures and peoples. The Nile-centered Egyptian civilization was largely self-contained those of the Tigris-Euphrates valley had more frequent contacts with other civilizations. witnessed the birth of the great civilizations along the Tigris-Euphrates valley (Turkey, Syria, Iraq). The oldest of these civilizations, the Egyptian, extended over five millennia. The Middle East region is the cradle of all the ancient civilizations. The races which inhabited these territories were the Semites, Hammites, Aryans, and the Indo-Europeans. To the west of Egypt lies the Sahara Desert. To the southeast it is bordered by the Indian Ocean, which encircles the Arabian Peninsula, and to the east by the mountains of Iran and Turkey. The Middle East straddles Africa and Asia Minor It is bordered on the north from Turkey to Tunisia by the Mediterranean. Moses lived in Egypt, as did Jesus for a brief period in his infancy Muhammad traveled throughout the Arabian Peninsula. Muhammad was born in Mecca (Saudi Arabia) in 570 A.D. Abraham was born in the city of Ur, Mesopotamia (Iraq), some 1900 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Palestine). The world's three monotheistic faiths-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-were born and developed in that small region called the Middle East. An estimated 3 million Muslims reside in the United States. Many live in the Arab World (estimated at 120 million), but many more live in countries such as Iran, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, the USSR, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Sudan. It is estimated that there are over 900 million Muslims today. Whether all or some of these expectations will be fulfilled is some thing the reader will have to judge. But as a member of the family of humankind I would feel gratified if this book can lead to a better understanding among peoples of the world and thus contribute to peace and harmony in our universe. As an educator that is all I can ask for and as a Muslim, that is all I can aspire to. The primary goal of this book is to inform those who know little or nothing about Islam and to enhance their understanding. These aspects are dealt with in a way which at times may seem cursory but this does not forsake accuracy or depth. This is both an informative and an artistic book which covers many aspects of Islam: religious, historical, geographic, social, legal, political, economic, cultural, scientific, and artistic. My translation was done with a view to make the non-Arabic reader better understand the intended meaning. Most of the Qur'an quotes were translated by me in reliance upon several published translations, especially The Holy Qur'an translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (Khalil Al-Rawaf, 1946). The Arabic text of the Qur'an was also included because no translation can do it justice. Relevant verses of the Qur'an and sayings of the Prophet (Hadith) have been included where appropriate, as support for the narrative, and their interspersing sets out their relevant importance. The mix of an easy-to-read text and visual representations including maps, charts, pictures, and drawings with informative captions explains the important message of Islam in a way that the reader will hopefully find thoughtful and appealing. The purpose of this book is to convey to a non-Muslim audience an understanding of Islam, its history, culture, and contribution to civilization.
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