World of Islam
The Spread of Islam
From the oasis cities of Makkah and
Madinah in the Arabian desert, the message of Islam went forth with electrifying
speed. Within half a century of the Prophet's death, Islam had spread to three
continents. Islam is not, as some imagine in the West, a religion of the sword
nor did it spread primarily by means of war. It was only within Arabia, where a
crude form of idolatry was rampant, that Islam was propagated by warring against
those tribes which did not accept the message of God--whereas Christians and
Jews were not forced to convert. Outside of Arabia also the vast lands conquered
by the Arab armies in a short period became Muslim not by force of the sword but
by the appeal of the new religion. It was faith in One God and emphasis upon His
Mercy that brought vast numbers of people into the fold of Islam. The new
religion did not coerce people to convert. Many continued to remain Jews and
Christians and to this day important communities of the followers of these
faiths are found in Muslim lands.
Moreover, the spread of Islam was not limited to its miraculous early
expansion outside of Arabia. During later centuries the Turks embraced Islam
peacefully as did a large number of the people of the Indian subcontinent and
the Malay-speaking world. In Africa also, Islam has spread during the past two
centuries even under the mighty power of European colonial rulers. Today Islam
continues to grow not only in Africa but also in Europe and America where
Muslims now comprise a notable minority.
General Characteristics of Islam
Islam was destined to
become a world religion and to create a civilization which stretched from one
end of the globe to the other. Already during the early Muslim caliphates, first
the Arabs, then the Persians and later the Turks set about to create classical
Islamic civilization. Later, in the 13th century, both Africa and India became
great centers of Islamic civilization and soon thereafter Muslim kingdoms were
established in the Malay-Indonesian world while Chinese Muslims flourished
throughout China.
Global Religion
Islam is a religion for all people from
whatever race or background they might be. That is why Islamic civilization is
based on a unity which stands completely against any racial or ethnic
discrimination. Such major racial and ethnic groups as the Arabs, Persians,
Turks, Africans, Indians, Chinese and Malays in addition to numerous smaller
units embraced Islam and contributed to the building of Islamic civilization.
Moreover, Islam was not opposed to learning from the earlier civilizations and
incorporating their science, learning, and culture into its own world view, as
long as they did not oppose the principles of Islam. Each ethnic and racial
group which embraced Islam made its contribution to the one Islamic civilization
to which everyone belonged. The sense of brotherhood and sisterhood was so much
emphasized that it overcame all local attachments to a particular tribe, race,
or language--all of which became subservient to the universal brotherhood and
sisterhood of Islam.
The global civilization thus created by Islam permitted people of diverse
ethnic backgrounds to work together in cultivating various arts and sciences.
Although the civilization was profoundly Islamic, even non-Muslim "people of the
book" participated in the intellectual activity whose fruits belonged to
everyone. The scientific climate was reminiscent of the present situation in
America where scientists and men and women of learning from all over the world
are active in the advancement of knowledge which belongs to everyone.
The global civilization created by Islam also succeeded in activating the
mind and thought of the people who entered its fold. As a result of Islam, the
nomadic Arabs became torch-bearers of science and learning. The Persians who had
created a great civilization before the rise of Islam nevertheless produced much
more science and learning in the Islamic period than before. The same can be
said of the Turks and other peoples who embraced Islam. The religion of Islam
was itself responsible not only for the creation of a world civilization in
which people of many different ethnic backgrounds participated, but it played a
central role in developing intellectual and cultural life on a scale not seen
before. For some eight hundred years Arabic remained the major intellectual and
scientific language of the world. During the centuries following the rise of
Islam, Muslim dynasties ruling in various parts of the Islamic world bore
witness to the flowering of Islamic culture and thought. In fact this tradition
of intellectual activity was eclipsed only at the beginning of modern times as a
result of the weakening of faith among Muslims combined with external
domination. And today this activity has begun anew in many parts of the Islamic
world now that the Muslims have regained their political independence.
A Brief History of Islam
The Rightly guided Caliphs
Upon the death of the Prophet,
Abu Bakr, the friend of the Prophet and the first adult male to embrace Islam,
became caliph. Abu Bakr ruled for two years to be succeeded by 'Umar who was
caliph for a decade and during whose rule Islam spread extensively east and west
conquering the Persian empire, Syria and Egypt. It was 'Umar who marched on foot
at the end of the Muslim army into Jerusalem and ordered the protection of
Christian sites. 'Umar also established the first public treasury and a
sophisticated financial administration. He established many of the basic
practices of Islamic government.
'Umar was succeeded by 'Uthman who ruled for some twelve years during which
time the Islamic expansion continued. He is also known as the caliph who had the
definitive text of the Noble Quran copied and sent to the four corners of the
Islamic world. He was in turn succeeded by 'Ali who is known to this day for his
eloquent sermons and letters, and also for his bravery. With his death the rule
of the "rightly guided" caliphs, who hold a special place of respect in the
hearts of Muslims, came to an end.
The Caliphate
Umayyad
The Umayyad caliphate established in 661 was to
last for about a century. During this time Damascus became the capital of an
Islamic world which stretched from the western borders of China to southern
France. Not only did the Islamic conquests continue during this period through
North Africa to Spain and France in the West and to Sind, Central Asia and
Transoxiana in the East, but the basic social and legal institutions of the
newly founded Islamic world were established.
Abbasids
The Abbasids, who succeeded the Umayyads,
shifted the capital to Baghdad which soon developed into an incomparable center
of learning and culture as well as the administrative and political heart of a
vast world.
They ruled for over 500 years but gradually their power waned and they
remained only symbolic rulers bestowing legitimacy upon various sultans and
princes who wielded actual military power. The Abbasid caliphate was finally
abolished when Hulagu, the Mongol ruler, captured Baghdad in 1258, destroying
much of the city including its incomparable libraries.
While the Abbasids ruled in Baghdad, a number of powerful dynasties such as
the Fatimids, Ayyubids and Mamluks held power in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The
most important event in this area as far as the relation between Islam and the
Western world was concerned was the series of Crusades declared by the Pope and
espoused by various European kings. The purpose, although political, was
outwardly to recapture the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem for Christianity.
Although there was at the beginning some success and local European rule was set
up in parts of Syria and Palestine, Muslims finally prevailed and in 1187
Saladin, the great Muslim leader, recaptured Jerusalem and defeated the
Crusaders.
North Africa And Spain
When the Abbasids captured
Damascus, one of the Umayyad princes escaped and made the long journey from
there to Spain to found Umayyad rule there, thus beginning the golden age of
Islam in Spain. Cordoba was established as the capital and soon became Europe's
greatest city not only in population but from the point of view of its cultural
and intellectual life. The Umayyads ruled over two centuries until they weakened
and were replaced by local rulers.
Meanwhile in North Africa, various local dynasties held sway until two
powerful Berber dynasties succeeded in uniting much of North Africa and also
Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries. After them this area was ruled once again
by local dynasties such as the Sharifids of Morocco who still rule in that
country. As for Spain itself, Muslim power continued to wane until the last
Muslim dynasty was defeated in Granada in 1492 thus bringing nearly eight
hundred years of Muslim rule in Spain to an end.
After the Mangol Invasion
The Mongols devastated the
eastern lands of Islam and ruled from the Sinai Desert to India for a century.
But they soon converted to Islam and became known as the Il-Khanids. They were
in turn succeeded by Timur and his descendents who made Samarqand their capital
and ruled from 1369 to 1500. The sudden rise of Timur delayed the formation and
expansion of the Ottoman empire but soon the Ottomans became the dominant power
in the Islamic world.
Ottoman Empire
From humble origins the Turks rose to
dominate over the whole of Anatolia and even parts of Europe. In 1453 Mehmet the
Conqueror captured Constantinople and put an end to the Byzantine empire. The
Ottomans conquered much of eastem Europe and nearly the whole of the Arab world,
only Morocco and Mauritania in the West and Yemen, Hadramaut and parts of the
Arabian peninsula remaining beyond their control. They reached their zenith of
power with Suleyman the Magnificent whose armies reached Hungary and Austria.
From the 17th century onward with the rise of Westem European powers and later
Russia, the power of the Ottomans began to wane. But they nevertheless remained
a force to be reckoned with until the First World War when they were defeated by
the Westem nations. Soon thereafter Kamal Ataturk gained power in Turkey and
abolished the six centuries of rule of the Ottomans in 1924.
Persia
While the Ottomans were concerned mostly with the
westem front of their empire, to the east in Persia a new dynasty called the
Safavids came to power in 1502. The Safavids established a powerful state of
their own which flourished for over two centuries and became known for the
flowering of the arts. Their capital, Isfahan, became one of the most beautiful
cities with its blue tiled mosques and exquisite houses. The Afghan invasion of
1736 put an end to Safavid rule and prepared the independence of Afghanistan
which occured fommally in the 19th century. Persia itself fell into tummoil
until Nader Shah, the last Oriental conqueror, reunited the country and even
conquered India. But the rule of the dynasty established by him was short-lived.
The Zand dynasty soon took over to be overthrown by the Qajars in 1779 who made
Tehran their capital and ruled until 1921 when they were in turn replaced by the
Pahlavis.
India
As for India, Islam entered into the land east of
the Indus River peacefully. Gradually Muslims gained political power beginning
in the early 13th century. But this period which marked the expansion of both
Islam and Islamic culture came to an end with the conquest of much of India in
1526 by Babur, one of the Timurid princes. He established the powerful Mogul
empire which produced such famous rulers as Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan and
which lasted, despite the gradual rise of British power in India, until 1857
when it was officially abolished.
Malaysia And Indonesia
Farther east in the Malay world,
Islam began to spread in the 12th century in northem Sumatra and soon Muslim
kingdoms were establishd in Java, Sumatra and mainland Malaysia. Despite the
colonization of the Malay world, Islam spread in that area covering present day
Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Phililppines and southern Thailand, and is
still continuing in islands farther east.
Africa
As far as Africa is concemed, Islam entered into
East Africa at the very beginning of the Islamic period but remained confined to
the coast for some time, only the Sudan and Somaliland becoming gradually both
Arabized and Islamized. West Africa felt the presence of Islam through North
African traders who travelled with their camel caravans south of the Sahara. By
the 14th century there were already Muslim sultanates in such areas as Mali, and
Timbuctu in West Africa and Harar in East Africa had become seats of Islamic
leaming.
Gradually Islam penetrated both inland and southward. There also appeared
major charismatic figures who inspired intense resistance against European
domination. The process of the Islamization of Africa did not cease during the
colonial period and continues even today with the result that most Africans are
now Muslims carrying on a tradition which has had practically as long a history
in certain areas of sub-Saharan Africa as Islam itself.
Islam in the United States
It is almost impossible to
generalize about American Muslims: converts, immigrants, factory workers,
doctors; all are making their own contribution to America's future. This complex
community is unified by a common faith, underpinned by a countrywide network of
a thousand mosques.
Muslims were early arrivals in North America. By the eighteenth century there
were many thousands of them, working as slaves on plantations. These early
communities, cut off from their heritage and families, inevitably lost their
Islamic identity as time went by. Today many Afro-American Muslims play an
important role in the Islamic community.
The nineteenth century, however, saw the beginnings of an influx of Arab
Muslims, most of whom settled in the major industrial centers where they
worshipped in hired rooms. The early twentieth century witnessed the arrival of
several hundred thousand Muslims from Eastem Europe: the first Albanian mosque
was opened in Maine in 1915; others soon followed, and a group of Polish Muslims
opened a mosque in Brooklyn in 1928.
In 1947 the Washington Islamic Center was founded during the term of
President Truman, and several nationwide organizations were set up in the
fifties. The same period saw the establishment of other communities whose lives
were in many ways modelled after Islam. More recently, numerous members of these
groups have entered the fold of Muslim orthodoxy. Today there are about five
million Muslims in America.
Aftermath of the Colonial Period
At the height of
European colonial expansion in the 19th century, most of the Islamic world was
under colonial rule with the exception of a few regions such as the heart of the
Ottoman empire, Persia, Afghanistan, Yemen and certain parts of Arabia. But even
these areas were under foreign influence or, in the case of the Ottomans, under
constant threat. After the First World War with the breakup of the Ottoman
empire, a number of Arab states such as Iraq became independent, others like
Jordan were created as a new entity and yet others like Palestine, Syria and
Lebanon were either mandated or turned into French colonies. As for Arabia, it
was at this time that Saudi Arabia became finally consolidated. As for other
parts of the Islamic world, Egypt which had been ruled by the descendents of
Muhammad Ali since the l9th century became more independent as a result of the
fall of the Ottomans, Turkey was turned into a secular republic by Ataturk, and
the Pahlavi dynasty began a new chapter in Persia where its name reverted to its
eastern traditional form of Iran. But most of the rest of the Islamic world
remained under colonial rule.
Arab
It was only after the Second World War and the
dismemberment of the British, French, Dutch and Spanish empires that the rest of
the Islamic world gained its independence. In the Arab world, Syria and Lebanon
became independent at the end of the war as did Libya and the shaykdoms around
the Gulf and the Arabian Sea by the 1960's. The North African countries of
Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria had to fight a difficult and, in the case of
Algeria, long and protracted war to gain their freedom which did not come until
a decade later for Tunisia and Morocco and two decades later for Algeria. Only
Palestine did not become independent but was partitioned in 1948 with the
establishment of the state of Israel.
India
In India Muslims participated in the freedom
movement against British rule along with Hindus and when independence finally
came in 1947, they were able to create their own homeland, Pakistan, which came
into being for the sake of Islam and became the most populated Muslim state
although many Muslims remained in India. In 1971, however, the two parts of the
state broke up, East Pakistan becoming Bengladesh.
Far East
Farther east still, the Indonesians finally
gained their independence from the Dutch and the Malays theirs from Britain. At
first Singapore was part of Malaysia but it separated in 1963 to become an
independent state. Small colonies still persisted in the area and continued to
seek their independence, the kingdom of Brunei becoming independent as recently
as 1984.
Africa
In Africa also major countries with large or
majority Muslim populations such as Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania began to gain
their independence in the 1950's and 1960's with the result that by the end of
the decade of the 60's most parts of the Islamic world were formed into
independent national states. There were, however, exceptions. The Muslim states
in the Soviet Union failed to gain their autonomy or independence. The same
holds true for Sinkiang (called Eastem Turkestan by Muslim geographers) while in
Eritrea and the southern Philippines Muslim independence movements still
continue.
National States
While the world of Islam has entered into
the modern world in the form of national states, continuous attempts are made to
create closer cooperation within the Islamic world as a whole and to bring about
greater unity. This is seen not only in the meetings of the Muslim heads of
state and the establishment of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) with
its own secretariat, but also in the creation of institutions dealing with the
whole of the Islamic world. Among the most important of these is the Muslim
World League (Rabitat al-alam al-Islami ) with its headquarters in Makkah. Saudi
Arabia has in fact played a pivotal role in the creation and maintenance of such
organizations.
Revival and Reassertation of Islam
Muslims did not wish
to gain only their political independence. They also wished to assert their own
religious and cultural identity. From the 18th century onward Muslim reformers
appeared upon the scene who sought to reassert the teachings of Islam and to
reform society on the basis of Islamic teachings. One of the first among this
group was Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, who hailed from the Arabian peninsula and
died there in 1792. This reformer was supported by Muhammad ibn al-Sa'ud, the
founder of the first Saudi state. With this support Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab
was able to spread his teachings not only in Arabia but even beyond its borders
to other Islamic lands where his reforms continue to wield influence to this
day.
In the 19th century lslamic assertion took several different forms ranging
from the Mahdi movement of the Sudan and the Sanusiyyah in North Africa which
fought wars against European colonizers, to educational movements such as that
of Aligarh in India aiming to reeducate Muslims. In Egypt which, because of
al-Azhar University, remains to this day central to Islamic learning, a number
of reformers appear, each addressing some aspect of Islamic thought. Some were
concerned more with law, others economics, and yet others the challenges posed
by Western civilization with its powerful science and technology. These included
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani who hailed originally from Persia but settled in Cairo
and who was the great champion of Pan-Islamism, that is the movement to unite
the Islamic world politically as well as religiously. His student, Muhammad
'Abduh, who became the rector of al-Azhar. was also very influential in Islamic
theology and thought. Also of considerable influence was his Syrian student,
Rashid Rida, who held a position closer to that of 'Abd al-Wahhab and stood for
the strict application of the Shari'ah. Among the most famous of these thinkers
is Muhammad Iqbal, the outstanding poet and philosopher who is considered as the
father of Pakistan.
Reform Organizations
Moreover, as Western influence began
to penetrate more deeply into the fiber of Islamic society, organizations
gradually grew up whose goal was to reform society in practice along Islamic
lines and prevent its secularization. These included the Muslim Brotherhood
(Ikhwan al-muslimin) founded in Egypt and with branches in many Muslim
countries, and the Jama'at-i Islami of Pakistan founded by the influential
Mawlana Mawdudi. These organizations have been usually peaceful and have sought
to reestablish an Islamic order through education. During the last two decades,
however, as a result of the frustration of many Muslims in the face of pressures
coming from a secularized outside world, some have sought to reject the negative
aspects of Western thought and culture and to return to an Islamic society based
completely on the application of the Shari 'ah. Today in every Muslim country
there are strong movements to preserve and propagate Islamic teachings. In
countries such as Saudi Arabia Islamic Law is already being applied and in fact
is the reason for the prosperity, development and stability of the country. In
other countries where Islamic Law is not being applied, however, most of the
effort of Islamic movements is spent in making possible the full application of
the Shari'ah so that the nation can enjoy prosperity along with the fulfillment
of the faith of its people. In any case the widespread desire for Muslims to
have the religious law of Islam applied and to reassert their religious values
and their own identity must not be equated with exceptional violent eruptions
which do exist but which are usually treated sensationally and taken out of
proportion by the mass media in the West.
Education and Science in the Islamic World
In seeking to
live successfully in the modern world, in independence and according to Islamic
principles, Muslim countries have been emphasizing a great deal the significance
of the role of education and the importance of mastering Western science and
technology. Already in the 19th century, certain Muslim countries such as Egypt,
Ottoman Turkey and Persia established institutions of higher learning where the
modem sciences and especially medicine were taught. During this century
educational institutions at all levels have proliferated throughout the Islamic
world. Nearly every science ranging from mathematics to biology as well as
various fields of modern technology are taught in these institutions and some
notable scientists have been produced by the Islamic world, men and women who
have often combined education in these institutions with training in the West.
In various parts of the Islamic world there is, however, a sense that
educational institutions must be expanded and also have their standards improved
to the level of the best institutions in the world in various fields of leaming
especially science and technology. At the same time there is an awareness that
the educational system must be based totally on Islamic principles and the
influence of alien cultural and ethical values and norms, to the extent that
they are negative, be diminished. To remedy this problem a number of
international Islamic educational conferences have been held, the first one in
Makkah in 1977, and the foremost thinkers of the Islamic world have been brought
together to study and ponder over the question of the relation between Islam and
modern science. This is an ongoing process which is at the center of attention
in many parts of the Islamic world and which indicates the significance of
educational questions in the Islamic world today.
Influence of Islamic Science and Learning Upon the
West
The oldest university in the world which is still functioning is the
eleven hundred-year-old Islamic university of Fez, Morocco, known as the
Qarawiyyin. This old tradition of Islamic learning influenced the West greatly
through Spain. In this land where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived for the
most part peacefully for many centuries, translations began to be made in the
11th century mostly in Toledo of Islamic works into Latin often through the
intermediary of Jewish scholars most of whom knew Arabic and often wrote in
Arabic. As a result of these translations, Islamic thought and through it much
of Greek thought became known to the West and Western schools of learning began
to flourish. Even the Islamic educational system was emulated in Europe and to
this day the term chair in a university reflects the Arabic kursi (literally
seat) upon which a teacher would sit to teach his students in the madrasah
(school of higher learning). As European civillization grew and reached the high
Middle Ages, there was hardly a field of learning or form of art, whether it was
literature or architecture, where there was not some influence of Islam present.
Islamic learning became in this way part and parcel of Western civilization even
if with the advent of the Renaissance, the West not only turned against its own
medieval past but also sought to forget the long relation it had had with the
Islamic world, one which was based on intellectual respect despite religious
opposition.
Conclusion
The Islamic world remains today a vast land
stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with an important presence in
Europe and America, animated by the teachings of Islam and seeking to assert its
own identity. Despite the presence of nationalism and various secular ideologies
in their midst, Muslims wish to live in the modern world but without simply
imitating blindly the ways followed by the West. The Islamic world wishes to
live at peace with the West as well as the East but at the same time not to be
dominated by them. It wishes to devote its resources and energies to building a
better life for its people on the basis of the teachings of Islam and not to
squander its resources in either internal or external conflicts. It seeks
finally to create better understanding with the West and to be better understood
by the West. The destinies of the Islamic world and the West cannot be totally
separated and therefore it is only in understanding each other better that they
can serve their own people more successfully and also contribute to a better
life for the whole of humanity.
See Chronology of
Islam
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