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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)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
-
Abu'l-Fazl
Izzeti, An Introduction to the History of the Spread of Islam,
London,1976 (frequently quoted).
-
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
-
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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