The
History of Islam:
The
Arabian Peninsula the birthplace of Islam is one of the hottest
and driest regions in the world, consisting mainly of deserts.
Since ancient times tribes of the nomadic race had populated the
region. Considered the descendents of Noah’s third son Shem they
are called Semites. Over the centuries theses Semitic people
have migrated into the Fertile Crescent and were assimilated to
into existing civilizations.
In the
sixth century AD, north of the Arabian Peninsula two great
powers were locked in a seesaw power struggle. The Christian
Byzantine kingdom, successors of the Roman Empire
was to the Northwest and controlled the Mediterranean Sea, North
Africa and the lands of Palestine. In the northeast lay the
Zoroastrian Persian kingdom. Both the Byzantine and Persian
kingdoms had client Arab tribes allied to their cause of trade
and conquest.
The
Arabian Peninsula became a land of refuge for those seeking
escape from both of these empires. Heretic Christian sects like
the Nestorians, and Jewish tribes escaping the oppressive
Byzantines found refuge in the protective deserts and cities of
the Peninsula.
Arabia
was divided into tribes and cities. Each city had gods and
goddess. Once a year the tribes and cities of Arabia would meet
in the city of Mecca during an event known as the Hajj. In
Mecca, the Kaba (Cube), a large cube shaped building housed 360
idols from all the tribes of Arabia. The Kaba was the center of
Arabian religious life. Here all the warring tribes would put
aside their differences as they circled the Kaba. From the Kaba
they would proceed to the other shrines outside of Mecca
during this five day religious event. The Hajj was a tradition
that Arabs of the peninsula remembered going back hundreds of
years.
Mohammed
It was in
this world Mohammad Ibn Abdallah was born in the year 570 AD in
the city of Mecca. His father died before he was born and his
mother Amina died when he was 6 years old. Al-Muttalib his
grandfather took charge of the youth and died 2 years later. Abu
Talib his uncle adopted young Mohammed into his family and
raised him as his own son. At the age of 12, young Mohammed was
taken on a caravan-trading venture to Syria and experienced the
world outside of Arabia for the first time. Here Islamic
tradition informs us that a Christian monk named Buhaira,
proclaimed Talib’s young nephew is the last prophet and warns
him about the Jews. For the next 13 years little is known of his
life except that he was involved in caravan trading in and out
of Arabia.
At the
age of 25, Mohammed marries a 40 year old wealthy, widow named
Khadijah who owns trading caravans. During the next 15 years of
his life he interactes with Arabs known as the Hanefites.
Hanefites were Arabs who rejected idol worship and were
searching for the true religion. They looked to the religion of
the Jews and Christians as being close to the goal. The
Hanefites abandonded their idols and would retreat to the caves
of
Mecca
in meditation and prayer.
At age 40
Mohammed had his first vision in the year 610 AD. He was in a
cave on Mt. Hera and thought he was demon possessed. He went to
Khadijah and told her about the event. She consulted with her
uncle Waraca, a Hanefite who converted to Christianity, who
assured them Mohammed vision was from God. Waraca declared
Mohammed was a prophet to the Arab peoples, Waraca died 2 years
later never becoming a Muslim.
Mohammed
proclaimed Allah as the one true god and rejected the idol
worship of Mecca. Khadijah, his wife, was Mohammed first convert
to Islam. Few listened to Mohammed’s message and animosity grew
against him as he confronted the idol worshippers and preached
his religion to Mecca. Abu Talib his uncle and his tribe the
Hasims protected him during this early Meccan period. In 619
Khadijah and Abu Talib died. Abu Talib headed the Hasim clan,
which Mohammed was a member. The new leader of the Hasim tribe
his uncle Abu Lahab refused to protect Mohammed. During the next
3 years Mohammed would fear for his life. He sought refuge and
protection in nearby cities from those seeking his life.
Then in
621 during the Hajj, Arab tribes from the city of Yatrob later
to be called Medina, came for the annual pilgrimage. They met
Mohammed and thought him to be a prophet and invited him to
their city to bring peace and settle disputes between the
warring tribes. Yathrob was founded by three Jewish tribes and
the idea of monotheism was familiar to its Arab tribesmen. The
Arabs of Medina had been told by Jewish tribesmen about the
coming Messiah who would one day conquer the world including the
Arabs. The Arab tribes hoped to find this individual before the
Jews. Meeting Mohammed they thought he was the one.
The
Hejira (Flight)
The next
year the situation became intolerable for the Muslims and in in
June 622 they made what has become known as the Hejira or
flight. In small groups the 150 Muslims of Mecca left for the
city of Medina
280 miles to the north. When word reached those of Mecca
about the escape to Medina they
tried to kill Mohammed. Mohammed and Abu Bakr were able to sneak
out of the city and escape to Medina by another route in
September 622.
In Medina
the warring Arab tribes submitted to Mohammed leadership and
prophet-hood. The Jewish tribes rejected his claims of prophet
and ridiculed his revelations. With most of the new arrivals
from Mecca without work they needed to earn a living. Ghazu or
caravan raiding was a way tribes would prevent one tribe from
becoming to powerful. The Muslims in Medina began to rob the
caravans heading toward Mecca.
This is where the Muslim doctrine of Jihad was created.
With
their caravan business being threatened, Mecca
responds with one thousand solders at the battle of Bedr in
March 624 the Muslims fielded 300 warriors. The battle went to
the Muslims. Mohammed proclaimed his victory was a sign from
Allah and his status in Medina was
magnified. The lack of enthusiasm by one of the Jewish tribes
caused them to be expelled by the victorious Muslim army. The
direction of prayer was also changed from Jerusalem to Mecca as
the Jews rejected Mohammad’s prophet-hood.
Exactly
one year latter Mecca amassed 3000 solders at the battle of Uhud
and the Muslims fielded 1000 solders. The battle did not go as
planned. The Muslims defeated by Mecca
retreated to Medina.
Disheartened, Muslims blamed the second
Jewish tribe as conspirators against their cause. Their homes
and possessions were confiscated, and they are expelled from the
city in 626 AD.
The
Meccans in the hope of ending the caravan raids by the Muslims
assembled 10,000 solders to attack the city of Medina
in the year 627. After a two weeks siege in the hot sun they are
unable to penetrate the fortress like city. They returned to
Mecca. After this unsuccessful attack, Mohammed and the Muslims
attacked the last remaining Jewish tribe. The tribe surrendered
to the mercy of Mohammed. The men were killed and the women and
children were sold into slavery.
The
Muslims then begin to consolidate their power with the
surrounding Arab tribes and cities.
Mecca
began to feel the economic impact of its trading losses and
Mohammed’s power grew in the north. They reluctantly signed the
10 year Hudaybiah peace agreement with Mohammed and the Muslims
in march 628. Muslims are allowed to return to Mecca
and worship at the Kaba once a year. The people of Mecca would
leave their city so the Muslim could come and worship.
Two years
later, in January 630, Mohammed leads 10,000 warriors to Mecca
and nullifies the treaty of Hudaybiah because Muslims have been
killed. The city submits to Mohammed and his warriors and
accepts him as prophet. Mohammed goes to the Kaba and destroys
the 360 idols in the structure. From Mecca, the “Muslims” wage
Jihad on the surrounding cities forcing them to accept Islam as
their religion and Mohammed as their prophet.
Mohammed
made his final Hajj in 632 and died unexpectedly 3 months later
in June. His friend and father in law Abu Bakr (Father of Aisha)
succeeded him as leader of the Muslims
After
Mohammad
Abu Bakr
received the title “Caliph” or successor of Mohammed. Their was
a struggle for about who would succeed Mohammad, some felt Ali
the husband of Fatima,
Mohammed’s daughter deserved the position. Under Abu Bakr
Islam's power in Arabian
peninsula was completed. In 634 AD Abu Bakr died and was
succeeded by Umar (Omar) the 2nd Caliphate.
Umar
advanced the Muslim armies against Syria
and Palestine. In 637 A D, the armies of Byzantium lost control
of Jerusalem to Islam. Uthman the 3rd Caliph
succeeded Umar. Uthman ordered a complete revision of the Quran,
this would cause a mutiny. He was killed and his death was
considered justified because the mutineers claimed he ceased to
be a Muslim. Following Uthman’s There was a struggle between
rival factions of Islam about who was the rightful successor to
lead Islam.
Ali the 4th
Caliph, Mohammad’s son-in-law and husband of Fatima, succeeded
Uthman everybody did not accept him as rightful Caliphate. War
broke out between the rival groups, his succession was short
lived, 2 years later he was killed, the Shi’a (Party of
Ali) mourned the death of Ali, and his two sons (Grandsons of
Mohammed). Ali is revered as a saint by the Shi’a who are
dominate in Iran and Iraq. The Shi’a feel Ali was the rightful
successor to Mohammed and don’t recognize the three earlier
Caliphs. The Sunnis accept Ali and the first three
Caliphate as
legitimate.
After
the defeat the Byzantines and Persian kingdoms in successive
battles, the armies of Islam advanced on Europe. Within 100
years of Mohammad’s death the armies of Islam reached the city
of Tours, in France. In Tours the Muslim advance was
stopped.
In
the Battle of Tours Charles Martel the grandfather of
Charlemagne defeated the advancing Muslim armies. From Tours
Muslim power in Europe
retreated and in the 1489 Fredinand and Isabella of Spain
defeated the last remaining forces in Spain.
Later, the Ottoman Empire would retreat from the rest of Europe.
In the
East, Islam was also expanding by the 13th century; Islam had
reached the Pacific
Ocean. The Islamic faith now spanned from the Atlantic
to the Pacific. Ferdinand Magellan, in his attempt to bypass
Muslim controlled areas in the Indian
Ocean, found the passageway to Asia via the Atlantic Ocean. His
desire was to bring Christianity to Asia,
before Islam. Magellan was successful in introducing
Christianity to the Philippines (Named after King Philip of
Spain) Islam and Christianity met in the Philippines as the
Northern Islands were converted to Christianity and the Southern
parts of the Philippines and Indonesia were converted to
Islam. Islam and Christianity became the two major rival
religions in the world.
Islam
Today
Islam today is in conflict, between western secular
culture and traditional Islamic culture. The growth of Islamic
Fundamentalism is an attempt to reach back to the glories of
Islamic history. Many Fundamentalist (Muslim) ask themselves the
question, If Islam is the religion of Allah, why are we being
defeated by the West (United States) and Israel. The
fundamentalist sees the problem with the failure of Islamic
nations to live as the Quran commands. This view of not living
the life required by Allah, as specified in the Quran and
traditions and therefore being defeated by the West, is the
spark of fundamentalism. Today in Islam there is a struggle
between moderate and fundamentalist ideology.
Understanding the books of the Islamic faith is just
as important to understanding its history. The books of Islam
shape both the culture and philosophy of the Muslim world.
Fundamentalism
is a hard-line literal view of the world through the eyes of the
Quran. Islam is at war with Jews and Christians for world
domination in the cause of Allah. As the earlier Muslims were at
war with cities refusing to accept Mohammed as the prophet,
Fundamentalist see themselves involved in a Jihad
