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.
