Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 362
362 dynamic character of the guidance contained in the Quran is being recognised and appreciated to an increasing degree every day, more particularly in relation to the problems to which the astonishing advance of science and technology during the last quarter of a century has given rise. In a sense it may be affirmed that there has been a fresh revelation of some aspects of that guidance and of its application to the pattern and problems of human life in the era unfolding before our eyes. This has stimulated new yearnings and an eager reaching out toward moral and spiritual ideals. Muslim peoples everywhere feel themselves being drawn closer together through their recognition of, and devotion to, common ideals and the spiritual affinities that inspire and bind them. What is even more striking and encouraging is that there is evidence in the West of eagerness for better understanding of Islamic values and of a sympathetic approach to the problems and difficulties facing the Muslim peoples. An altogether new and welcome spirit of sympathy, understanding, and appreciation, is abroad, which is a good augury for the difficult times that lie ahead. Only through sympathetic understanding and appreciation can doubts and suspicions be laid at rest, trust and confidence generated, and beneficent co-operation fostered. The main groups of the Muslim peoples occupy, as it were, a middle belt from the Atlantic to