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Islam A World Civilization
"Thus We have appointed you a middle nation, that you may
be witnesses upon mankind." (Quran, Surah II: 143)
General Characteristics of Islamic Civilization
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 Caliphates
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.
Islamic History after the Mongol 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.
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