was arabic civilization founded on islam?

Arabic civilization is often confused with the Syriac and Iranic (later Islamic) civilizations. Both the Arabic and the Iranic (later Islamic) civilizations had roots in the Syriac civilization, but otherwise they were dissimilar.

The Syriac civilization existed from 1200 BC - 970 AD, and - contrary to what one might believe - it was not related to the ancient Sumeric civilization of Iraq that gave to the world, among other things, the invention of writing, and from which the Babylonian (predominantly Jewish) civilization emerged in 1500 BC.

Instead, the Syriac civilization was related to the same Minoan civilization that gave birth to the Hellenic civilization and as such it was more European than Middle Eastern. Arabic civilization existed from 975-1525 in Arabia, Iraq and Syria and it did not adopt Islam, universally, until 1516.

The Iranic (later Islamic) civilization commenced in 1320. It was initially centered in Iran and was related to the Syriac civilization. Unlike Arab civilization, it was based on Islam from the start.The birth of the religion of Islam is dated at 622 with Hegira - the flight of Mohammed to Medina; and although Islam later spread throughout the Middle Eastern nations it was not a distinctive feature of the Arabic civilization from the start.

At the time of the rise of western civilization in 675, neither the Arabic nor the Iranic (later Islamic) civilizations existed. It was, nevertheless, Arabic Islamic elements within the Syriac civilization that clashed with the West between 634-641 - culminating in the conquest of Jerusalem in 638 - and the clash was, of course, related to the different views of two religions, Christianity and Islam, that both owe their roots to Judaism.