The collections contained within the Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library are largely composed of digital versions of paper documents from the Combined Arms Research Library collections and student papers produced at the US Army Command and General Staff College. The documents in this collection cover the areas on the Vietnam Conflict, Korean War, and the U.S. Civil War, to name a few. This is one of those documents. Volume I of II, this volume provides in abbreviated form socio-cultural, economic, political and historical background material for a study of the Islamic World from the time of Muhammad to the eve of the first World war. It sets the stage for a companion volume in which the present regional situation is explored and introduces the student to a conceptual framework for the understanding of Middle East conflict and crisis management.