The notion of desert ideology cannot applied to Islam at all. According to the traditional Muslim narrative, it was founded in an urban environment. Going by that notion, one of the elements it incorporated was traditional Arabic spiritualism, apart from "heretical" Christian and Jewish spiritual traditions. In addition to that, it sought to unite a deeply divided urban community where tribal affliliations often played a very important role. Whether or not that succeeded is up to debate. I'd say no.
Even the other narrative, which has recently been proposed by certain Islamologists and historians of the late antiquity seeks to place the crystallisation of Islamic tradition in ‘Abbasid Baghdad, taking traditions along the Silk Road and add Buddhist elements to that particular religion.
Apart from that, the notion of a "desert" religion is completely idiotic. I don't have enough words to describe how incredibly silly it is. It's arse gravy.
Oh, but Fragony, how many times do you need to realise that people that evidently know more about the issues you assume know everything about, disagree with you; whether it's about the European Union, Dutch colonialism or the Middle-East? It's okay not to know anything. What's far worse is to pretend you do.
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