of Mohammed's
teaching was theism _plus_ certain practices. A strict belief in the
unity of God, an equally strict belief in the divine mission[2] of
Mohammed as set forth in the Koran, and certain clearly defined
duties--prayer, ablutions, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage--these,
and these alone, constituted the Islam of the Arab conquerors of the
Eastern world.

So simple a theology could not seriously fetter the Arab mind, alert,
curious, eager to learn, and ready to adjust itself to conditions ampler
and more complex than those prevailing in the parched environment of the
desert. Now, not only did the Arabs relish the material advantages and
luxuries of the more developed societies which they had conquered; they
also appreciated the art, literature, science, and ideas of the older
civilizations. The effect of these novel stimuli was the remarkable
cultural and intellectual flowering which is the glory of Saracenic
civilization. For a time thought was relatively free and produced a
wealth of original ideas and daring speculations. These were the work
not only of Arabs but also of subject Christians, Jews, and Persians,
many of them being heretics previously depressed under the iron bands of
persecuting Byzantine orthodoxy and Magism.

Gradually, however, this enlightened era passed away. Reactionary forces
appeared and gained in strength. The liberals, who are usually known
under the general title of "Motazelites," not only clung to the
doctrinal simplicity of primitive Islam, but also contended that the
test of all things should be reason. On the other hand, the conservative
schools of thought asserted that the test should be precedent and
authority. These men, many of them converted Christians imbued with the
traditions of Byzantine orthodoxy, undertook an immense work of Koranic
exegesis, combined with an equally elaborate codification and
interpretation of the reputed sayings or "traditions" of Mohammed, as
handed down by his immediate disciples and followers. As the result of
these labours, there gradually arose a Moslem theology and scholastic
philosophy as rigid, elaborate, and dogmatic as that of the mediaeval
Christian West.

Naturally, the struggle between the fundamentally opposed tendencies of
traditionalism and rationalism was long and bitter. Yet the ultimate
outcome was almost a foregone conclusion. Everything conspired to favour
the triumph of dogma over reason. The whole historic tradition of