ABSTRACT
In reviewing a recently published book on the history of the Arabs,1 I concluded the review with the following observation:
‘Another myth which seems to be as ubiquitous as flying saucers, and as unreal, is the claim that among the factors which stand a barrier against the spread of Communism in the Arab world is Islam’s “hostility to a materialist, atheitsic creed and way of life”. The reviewer is inclined to believe that Islam, in spite of its hostility to materialist atheistic creeds, is no guarantee against the spread of Communism at all, but perhaps a preparation for it. The final answer
might come from wholly unexpected places-from Egypt, Iraq, and Indonesia, all predominantly Muslim.’
