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Period: Jan 1, 622 to Jan 1, 1517
First period.
Beginning of Islam to the Ottoman, Syria, Egypt and Western.This is a vast stretch of time which has seen the rise of Islam and its expansion from Spain to India, the effervescence of Arab/Islamic culture in the 9th–12th centuries, and its great contributions in religion, philosophy and science. For the Arabs, this is their Golden Age, which still lives in their memories as a source of pride and inspiration. -
Period: Jan 1, 1522 to
Second period
from the Ottoman Conquest to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War (1922). This is a period associated in the minds of most Arabs as their Dark Age. It has, however, injected into their lives some laws and regulations that continue in effect to this day. -
Period: to
Third period
From the collapse of the Ottoman Empire until the early 1950’s. The process of European colonialism continues: the French mandate over Syria. But this period is also the same period when independence was granted or received by individual states: Egypt , and the process continued, interrupted by the defeat of the Arabs, and the establishment of the state of Israel, followed by a period of turbulent military/ one man/one party/one family-dynasty rule. -
Period: to
Forth period
This is the period of exuberant hopes and painful convulsions and frustrations: Algerian war of liberation ; unity between Egypt and Syria and subsequent dissolution ; Arab/ Israeli wars, defeats and loss of territories ; rise of Palestinian Liberation Organization ; 15 years civil war in Lebanon (1975–1990); Israeli war on Lebanon (2006), Israeli war in Gaza (2006), and the continued popularity, influence, and controversy of militant Islam.