Arab civilization

Author's name: Gustave Le Bon

Le Bon made use of the method of scientific analysis in particular, and in his book, The Civilization of the Arabs, he clarified the connection between the present and the past. He described the Arab race and their environment, and studied their morals, customs, natures, systems, beliefs, sciences, literature, arts, industry, and their influence in the East and the West, as well as the reasons for their greatness and decline.

The book was recently published in an edition by Al-Rafidain, translated by Adel Zaiter, among a distinguished collection of history books that includes a number of titles by Gustave Le Bon.

In writing Arab Civilization, Le Bon took a path that no one had ever taken before. He combined the elements of this civilization and its influence on the world, encompassing its wonders while prioritizing its factors. He investigated the rise of the Arab state and the reasons for its greatness and decline, distancing himself from traditional European delusions about Arabs and Islam.

The book addresses the glories of the Arabs from a rare European perspective, namely fairness. The phenomenon of fair Western writings began to appear in the nineteenth century and matured further in the twentieth century. Before that, most of what was written was unfair, based on racial hatred and racism against Islam, not to mention information and theories steeped in confusion due to the West's ignorance of the truth of Islam. Even those who knew it well did not do it justice.

The book's idea and topics are classified as writings that look at the bright side of Arab/Islamic civilization, such as the writings of Leopold Weiss, Sigrid Hunke's book: "God's Sun Shines on the West," the writings of Anatole France, and other Western writers who looked at the Arabs' production and history and were fair without changing the facts.

In his book, The Civilization of the Arabs, Gustave Le Bon examines the Arabs' origins, upbringing, and cultural development by tracing their Islamic/intellectual journey throughout its history. He praises their pioneering role in various fields of scientific, artistic, and human civilization.

It deals with the Arabs before and after Islam, with the era of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - and all the periods of the Caliphate, in the context of his continuous discussion of the Arabs in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Persia, and Spain - Andalusia - and discussing all aspects of life among the Arabs.