I. The Four Faces Of Islam

This chapter addresses the following questions: What is Islam? Is it the Ultimate Revelation tconfirmingt, i.e. superseding the two older monotheistic religions and denying the right of any other form of belief except monotheism to exist? Was it merely a Christian heresy or an Arabicized Judaism? Furthermore, it has become customary to use terms such as Islamic art, Islamic science, Islamic philosophy, which indicate that Islam denotes a whole civilization. If so, what is the specific character of this civilization, what are its roots and formative stages, and-is it still alive? The chapter answers these questions under four headings: Islam as the self-realization of the Arab nation; Islam as a great monotheistic religion; Islam as a body politic; and Islam as a civilization. With regard to each of these concepts the chapter finds out how they affect present day life and thought of the peoples concerned.Keywords: Arab nation; Arabicized Judaism; Christian heresy; Islam; monotheistic religion