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THE
EXTRAORDINARY SPREAD OF ISLAM AND ITS MAIN DYNAMICS
Islam,
in the tenth century, was the main religion, or at least,
the religion of the majority of peoples in an area covering
more than half of the civilized world stretching over three
continents from the Pyrenees and Siberia in West and North
Europe to the farthest end of Asia, up to China and New Guinea
in the East; from Morocco in North Africa to the southern
tip of Africa, covering two-thirds of the African continent.
It is one of the most striking facts of human history that
the spread of Islam over such a vast area took place within
three centuries. Most striking of all, within half a century
after the Hijra, Islam had already conquered the whole of
North Africa from Egypt to Morocco, all the Middle Eastern
lands from Yemen to Caucasia and from Egypt to the lands beyond
Transoxiana. It was during the reign of the third Caliph Uthman
that the Muslim envoys reached the Chinese Palace, where they
were welcomed enthusiastically, an important event marking,
according to the historians, the beginning of Islam's entry
into this country. There are many reasons why peoples have
been, from past to the present, so ready to embrace Islam,
what is pointed out by Muhammad Asad, a Jewish convert to
Islam, probably being the foremost:
Islam
appears like a perfect work of architecture
Islam
appears to me like a perfect work of architecture. All
its parts are harmoniously conceived to complement and
support each other, nothing lacking, with the result of
an absolute balance and solid composure. Everything in
the teaching and postulate of Islam is in its proper place.
(Islam at the Crossroads, p.5)
Where
does the prejudice that Islam spread by force of the sword
lie?
Most
of Western writers, especially under the influence of the
Church, have never failed to accuse Islam of spreading by
force of the sword. The causes of this prejudice lie mainly
in the fact that the spread of Islam has often occurred at
the expense of Christianity. While Islam has for centuries
obtained numerous conversions from Christianity without much
effort or organized missionary activities, Christianity has
almost never been able to achieve conversions from Islam in
spite of sophisticated means and well-organized missionary
activities, and it has always been at a disadvantage in its
competition with Islam for fourteen centuries. This has caused
its missionaries and most of the orientalists to develop a
complex within themselves by depicting Islam and introducing
it as a regressive, vulgar religion of savage peoples. (John
Cogley, Religion of Secular Age; Muhammad Asad, The
Road to Mecca) The same attitude has unfortunately maintained
toward the Holy Prophet of Islam. This is clear in the confessions
of some unbiased writers of the West: According to P. Bayle,
Muslims,
according to the principles of their faith, are under
an obligation to use force for the purpose of bringing
other religions to ruin (probably he means Jihad
which is not for the purpose he suggests-T.F.U.); yet,
in spite of that, they have been tolerating other religions
for some centuries past. The Christians have not been
given orders to do anything but preach and instruct, yet,
despite this, from time immemorial they have been exterminating
by fire and sword all those who are not of their religion..
We may feel certain that if Western Christians, instead
of the Saracens and the Turks, had won the dominion over
Asia, there would be today not a trace left of the Greek
Church, and that they would never have tolerated Muhammadanism
as the 'infidels' have tolerated Christianity there. We
(Christians) enjoy the fine advantage of being far better
versed than others in the art of killing, bombarding and
exterminating the Human Race." (Bayle P., Dictionary,
'the article Mahomed', 1850)
To
what is Islam indebted its unequaled spread?
Islam
is indebted its unequaled spread to its religious content
and values, which is confessed by all objective Western intellectuals:
Many
have sought to answer the questions of why the triumph
of Islam was so speedy and complete? Why have so many
millions embraced the religion of Islam and scarcely a
hundred ever recanted? Why do a thousand Christians become
Muslims to one Muslim who adopts Christianity? Some have
attempted to explain the first overwhelming success of
Islam by the argument of the Sword. They forget Carlyle's
laconic reply. First get your sword. You must win men's
hearts before you can induce them to imperil their lives
for you; and the first conquerors of Islam must have been
made Muslims before they were made fighters on the Path
of God. Others allege the low morality of the religion
and the sensual paradise it promises as a sufficient cause
for the zeal of its followers: but even were these admitted
to the full, no religion has ever gained a lasting hold
upon the souls of men by the force of its sensual permissions
and fleshy promises...
In
all these explanations the religion itself is left out
of the question. Decidedly, Islam itself was the main
cause for its triumph. Islam not only was at once accepted
(by many peoples and races) by Arabia, Syria, Persia,
Egypt, Northern Africa and Spain, at its first outburst;
but, with the exception of Spain, it has never lost its
vantage ground; it has been spreading ever since it came
into being. Admitting the mixed causes that contributed
to the rapidity of the first swift spread of Islam, they
do not account for the duration of Islam. There must be
something in the religion itself to explain its persistence
and spread, and to account for its present hold over so
large of a proportion of the dwellers on the eath... Islam
has stirred an enthusiasm that has never been surpassed.
Islam has had its martyrs, its self-tormentors, its recluses,
who have renounced all that life offered and have accepted
death with a smile for the sake of the faith that was
in them. (Stanley Lane-Poole, Study in a Mosque,
pp.86-89)
A.
J. Arberry has also pointed out that the reason for the spread
of Islam is Islam itself and its religious values. (Aspects
of Islamic Civilization, p.12) He states:
The
rapidity of the spread of Islam, noticeably through extensive
provinces which had been long Christian, is a crucial
fact of history.. The sublime rhetoric of the Quran, that
inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men
to tears and ecstasy". (M. Pickhtal, The Meaning of
the Glorious Quran, p.vii)
Arberry
continues:
This,
and the urgency of the simple message carried, holds the
key to the mystery of one of the greatest catalysms in
the history of religion. When all military, political
and economic factors have been exhausted, the religious
impulse must still be recognized as the most vital and
enduring.
Brockelman,
who is usually very unsympathetic and partial, also recognizes
the religious values of Islam as the main factor for the spread
of Islam. (History of the Islamic Peoples, p.37) Rosenthal
makes his point as follows:
The
more important factor for the spread of Islam is religious
law of Islam (Sharia which is an inclusive, all-embracing,
all-comprehensive way of thinking and living) which was
designed to cover all manifestations of life. (Political
Thought in Medieval Islam, p.21)
The
exemplary life-style of Muslim individuals
Besides
many other reasons which are responsible for the spread of
Islam, it is the exemplary life-style and unceasing efforts
of individual Muslims to transmit the message of Islam throughout
the world which lie at the root of the conquest of the hearts
by Islam. Islamic universalism is closely associated with
the principle of Amr bi'l-ma'ruf (enjoining the good)
for Islam is to be spread by Muslims by means of Amr bi'l-ma'ruf.
This principle seeks to convey the message of Islam to all
human beings in the world and to establish a model Islamic
community on a world-wide basis. The Islamic community is
introduced by the Quran as a model community: "Thus, We
have made of you an Ummah justly balanced, that you might
be witnesses (models) for the peoples, and the Messenger has
been a witness for you." (The Quran, 2:143) A Muslim or
the Muslim community as a whole thus has a goal to achieve:
This is the spread of Islam, conveying the truth to the remotest
corners of the world, the eradication of oppression and tyranny
and the establishment of justice all over the world. This
requires the Muslim to live an examplary life, and thus the
moral and ethical values of Islam have usually played an important
part in the spread of Islam. Here follow the impressions of
the influence of Islamic ethics on black Africans had by a
Western writer of the nineteenth century:
How
does Islam change the peoples that have accepted it?
As
to the effects of Islam when first embraced by a Negro
tribe, can there, when viewed as a whole, be any reasonable
doubt? Polytheism disappears almost instantaneously; sorcery,
with its attendant evils, gradually dies away; human sacrifice
becomes a thing of the past. The general moral elevation
is most marked; the natives begin for the first time in
their history to dress, and that neatly. Squalid filth
is replaced by some approach to personal cleanliness;
hospitality becomes a religious duty; drunkenness, instead
of the rule, becomes a comparatively rare exception...chastity
is looked upon as one of the highest, and becomes, in
fact, one of the commoner virtues. It is idleness that
henceforward degrades, and industry that elevates, instead
of the reverse. Offences are henceforward measured by
a written code instead of the arbitrary caprice of a chieftain
- a step, as everyone will admit, of vast importance in
the progress of a tribe. The Mosque gives an idea of architecture
at all events higher than any the Negro has yet had. A
thirst for literature is created and that for works of
science and philosophy as well as for commentaries on
the Quran. (Quoted from Waitz by B. Smith, Muhammad
and Muhammadanism, pp.42-43)
The
tolerance of Islam
The
tolerance of Islam is another factor in the spread of Islam.
Toynbee praises this tolerance towards the Peoples of the
Book after comparing it with the attitude of the Christians
towards Muslims and Jews in their lands. (A Historian's
Approach to Religion, p.246) T. Link attributes the spread
of Islam to the credibility of its principles together with
its tolerance, persuasion and other kinds of attractions.
(A History of Religion) Makarios, Orthodox Patriorch
of Antioch in the seventeenth century, compared the harsh
treatment received by the Russians of the Orthodox Church
at the hands of the Roman Catholic Poles with the tolerant
attitude towards Orthodox christians shown by the Ottoman
Government and prayed for the Sultans. (T. Link, A History
of Religion)
This
is not the only example of preference by the followers of
the religions for Muslim rule over that of their own co-religionists.
The Orthodox Christians of Byzantium openly expressed their
preference for the Ottoman turban in Istanbul to the hats
of the Catholic cardinals. Elisee Reclus, the French traveller
of the nineteenth century, wrote that the Muslim Turks allowed
all the followers of different religions to perform their
religious duties and rituals, and that the Christian subjects
of the Ottoman Sultan were more free to live their own lives
than the Christians who lived in the lands under the rule
of any rival Christian sect. (Nouvelle Geographie Universelle,
Vol. IX) Popescu Ciocanel pays tribute to the Muslim Turks
by stating that it was luck for the Romanian people that they
lived under the government of the Turks rather than the domination
of the Russians and Austrians. Otherwise, he points out, "no
trace of the Romanian nation would have remained." (La
Crise de L'Orient}
How
did Muslims behave towards the people of the conquered lands?
The
Muslim's attitude towards the people of the conquered lands
is quite clear in the instructions given by the rightly-guided
Caliphs:
Always
keep fear of God in your mind; remember that you cannot
afford to do anything without His grace. Do not forget
that Islam is a mission of peace and love. Keep the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him) before you as a model of bravery
and piety. Do not destroy fruit-trees nor fertile fields
in your paths. Be just, and spare the feelings of the
vanguished. Respect all religious persons who live in
hermitages or convents and spare their edifices. Do not
kill civilians. Do not outrage the chastity of women and
the honour of the conquered. Do not harm old people and
children. Do not accept any gifts from the civil population
of any place. Do not billet your soldiers or officers
in the houses of civilians. Do not forget to perform your
daily prayers. Fear God. Remember that death will inevitably
come to everyone of you some time or other, even if you
are thousands of miles away from a battle field; therefore
be always ready to face death. (Andrew Miller, Church
History; Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Nahj al-Balagha)
A
historical episode which Balazuri, a famous Muslim historian,
tells about how pleased the native peoples were with their
Muslim conquerors is of great significance:
When
Heraclius massed his troops against the Muslims, and the
Muslims heard that they were coming to meet them, they
refunded the inhabitants of Hims the tribute they had
taken from them, saying: "We are too busy to support and
protect you. Take care of yourselves." But the people
of Hims replied: "We like your rule and justice far better
than the state of oppression and tyranny in which we were.
The army of Heraclius we shall indeed, with your help,
repulse from the city." The Jews rose and said: "We swear
by the Torah, no governor of Heraclius shall enter the
city of Hims unless we are first vanguished and exhausted."
Saying this, they closed the gates of the city and guarded
them. The inhabitants of other cities - Christians and
Jews- that had been capitulated did the same. When by
God's help the unbelievers were defeated and Muslims won,
they opened the gates of their cities, went out with the
singers and players of music, and paid the tribute. (Futuh
al-Buldan)
-
Abu'l-Fazl
Izzeti, An Introduction to the History of the Spread
of Islam, London,1976 (frequently quoted).
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Abdurrahman
Ahmad, Garbin Islam'dan Ogrendikleri (Turkish
trans.) Istanbul
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Davud
Dursun, Osmanli Devletinde Siyaset ve Din,
Istanbul,1989
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Balazuri,
Futuh al-Buldan, Istanbul,1965
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Edward
Said, Oryantalizm (Turkish trans.) Istanbul,1983
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Mustafa
Fayda, Hz. Omer Zamaninda Gayr-i Muslimler,1989
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Imam
Abu Yusuf, Kitab al-Kharaj, Istanbul,1973
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Sayid
Qutb, Islam'da Sosyal Adalet (Turkish trans.)
1980
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A.Hasan
al-Mas'udi, Muruj adh-Dhahab, Cairo,1964
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Shibli
Numani, Butun Yonleriyle Hz. Omer ve Devlet Idaresi
(Turkish trans.)1975
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I.Jarir
al-Tabari, Milletler ve Hukumdarlar Tarihi (Turkish
trans) 1955
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Osman
Turan, Selcuklular Tarihi ve Turk-Islam Medeniyeti,
1969
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Huseyin
Algul, Islam Tarihi, Istanbul,1987
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