December 08, 2006

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.

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twenty five civilizations

Amazingly, historians have only identified twenty-five separate and distinct civilizations in human history - notable exceptions being both the American Indians and the Australian Aborigines on the basis that their cultures were considered to be a bit on the 'savage' side.

These cultures were not 'builders' of monuments and had not evolved enough in cultural and industrial developments to be considered 'civilized' - they neither developed sophisticated writing systems nor industries - and yet in all other respects they were far more 'civilized' than the white nations that judged them, decimated them and usurped their lands.

That no credence of civilization is given to these cultures - despite evidence of their complex social systems - is a shameless political decision.

Of the twenty-five historically identified civilizations, only seven remain and the distinctions between them - except for the Islamic and Hindu civilizations - are blurring. In lay terminology, in order of longevity, the seven remaining civilizations are:

  • the Chinese;

  • the Japanese-Korean;

  • the Western;

  • the Turkish Orthodox;

  • the Hindu;

  • the Russian Orthodox; and

  • the Islamic.

All seven of the surviving civilizations are related to former civilizations, notably the Sinic, Indic, Hellenic and Syriac.



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