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I guess a big question is whether Islam was as big a factor in the (rise and) fall of Arab civilization as the Catholic writer Hilaire Belloc believed Catholicism was in the rise of the West. We tend to see Arab culture as Islamic culture but is that a broad generalization or just a clear view from the outside?
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I'm definately going to have to read this Hilaire Belloc guy. Sounds interesting. I think the equivalent about Arab civilization is Albert Hourani's
A History of the Arab Peoples. I'm reading it right now, and it's excellent.
Anyway.
As far as your question goes...I'm not quite sure what you're asking (haven't been awake for very long). I think, though, you're asking about the relationship between Arabic culture and Islamic culture. Am I right, or am I just making myself look like an idiot?
The easiest way to put it is...Arabic culture is Islamic culture, but Islamic culture is not necessarily Arabic culture. The general definition for the Arab world is the Arabian peninsula and North Africa. This means that some of the most prominent Islamic societies are not included in the Arabic world, like Iran, Turkey, or the two largest concentrations of Muslims - Indonesia and India. So Islamic culture tends to be different in each of these places, especially since different sects are more prominent in different areas. Most of the Arab world, for example, is Sunni, with pockets of Shi'ism in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon; and bits of Sufism in Egypt and Syria. Outside of that, though, Sufism is huge in Turkey and Africa; Shi'ism is prominent in Iran, obviously, and parts of the Indian subcontinent.
On the other hand, Arabic culture is obviously influential in Islamic communities. Arabic is the 'revealed language' of the Koran, so Muslims are required to learn it. And as the first Arabian empires spread into Asia and Africa, they brought parts of their outlook with them.