Islam is the newest of any of the major world religions. It was founded in Arabia in the 600’s by a man named Muhammad who sought to unify his people by giving them not just a religion but a “deen”, a way of life.
Pre-Islamic Arab society consisted of many tribes or clans with separate local deities – all loosely unified by the singular deity, Allah, which is simply the Arabic word for God. By doing away with the local deities and concentrating solely on the oneness of God, Prophet Muhammad unified the Arab people and unleashed upon the world a political and social force never before seen in history.
This is the story of Muslim civilization, successes and failures.
Nomenclature
All dates cited are using the predominant calendar used today, Anno Domini.
Islam – the name of the religion, meaning “submission to the will of God”.
Muslim – a practitioner of Islam ie, “one who submits to the will of God”.
Allah – the Arabic word for God. Not the Arab god.