THE MUSLIM WORLD

THE MUSLIM WORLD

The Dynamics of Early Islamic Empire
hen Islam made its frst appearance in the 7th century, the
time was ripe for it to fourish. To the students of history, who
may not all be Muslims; it was the right moment for a new religion.
For Muslims, though, it was a divine moment. Islam, in fact, came
as a secret! before it became a factor of power or strength of
armies. More importantly, it was also the right time for this new
idea, which actually was an ideology or, in other words, theology!
of liberation" #
$
Islam celebrated some completely new concepts li%e the total
e&uality of men irrespecti'e of caste, colour, creed, boundaries of
geography et cetera. It also brought with it an unprecedented %ind
of egalitarianism. The polity and political structures that it
'isualised broo%ed no distinction between man and man, e(cept in
terms of 'irtue. )nly the &uality of one!s character and moral fbre
set one higher than the other. *t the heart of Islam was the
concept of +ustice , personal as well as social +ustice. This is
summed up in the phrase *dal-o-Ehsan. It is this basic concept of
+ustice and e&uity that made it a radical and re'olutionary religion
at its beginning. This ga'e it a uni&ue initial thrust that enabled it
to successfully see% a large number of con'erts in a 'ery short
period of time.
The other factor, which must not be o'erloo%ed, was that it o-ered
an unprecedented empowerment to the *rab people. The *rabs,
as such, were a dis+ointed nation of fragmented tribes without a
sense of purpose or direction. They were suddenly and 'aguely
empowered by the strength, 'igour and resilience that comes
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from a new faith. This led to the *rabs becoming the
torchbearers!, the e'angelists or crusaders! of the new faith.
In a non#religious historical analysis, it was, again, the right
moment for Islam to come because certain other impressi'e
empires had gone into decline around that time. *mongst these
was the .y/antine 0mpire, which was faced with internal
contro'ersies. The fault#lines that had emerged in the world of
1hristianity and in other reigning ideologies in the region left a
decline or 'acuum which the new power was to fll. )n the other
hand, the pre#Islamic 2ersian 0mpire also had a similar
confguration and, later in history, the battle of 3uadsia decided
the supremacy of Islam on the Iranian dispensation or that of the
*rab on the Iranian. Then, the con&uest of 0gypt also brought to
Islam another e(traordinary e(pansion in terms of %nowledge,
s%ills and arts and crafts of military or ci'ilian nature. 0gypt was
an ancient ci'ilisation stretching far bac% into time. It was a ri'al
to the ci'ilisations before it that lay between Tigris and 0uphrates
ri'ers in the area of Mesopotamia. This, as such, was another
boost to the power of Islam and the *rab world.
*mongst other factors was the uni&ue way in which the scripture,
the 3uran, shifted the attention of its followers from an e(clusi'e
focus on another! world, a supernatural world, to the world of
nature. The 3uran repeatedly urges its readers to consider their
own environment; for instance, the earth and what is below it and
the s%y and what is abo'e it. It urges its followers to in'estigate
and en&uire. The importance of this new message 4which we
Muslims need to redisco'er5 must not be underestimated
because, in the historical conte(t, it came at a time when other
faiths and ideologies had settled into rigid orthodo(ies. The
Muslim con&uest of 6pain, for instance, occurred at a time when
the 1hristian theologians of 6pain were hotly debating, often to
e(tent of using force, such abstruse &uestions as, 7ow many
angels could stand on the head of a pin8! To such a world, Islam
brought a challenging new reality # a reality of empiricism, of
e(amining things and of collection of data and its interpretation in
an earthy sort of way. In Islam, there is a large and o'erarching
framewor% of ideas, but the rest is the realm of obser'ation and
e(amination. Islam e(horts a Muslim to see for yourself! and
e(plore. Thus, Islam became a new human energy for the re'i'al
of learning. This was the reason that in the two hundred years
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that followed the ad'ent of Islam, the Muslims were to lay the
foundations of modern science and technology. *s it always
happens in human ci'ilisations, this new thin%ing tra'elled in all
directions and became a new milestone in the e'olution of
man%ind. For 0urope, it was a gift because it had cut itself o- from
the 'ery sources of its own learning under the orthodo(y of the
1hurch. The common man was not e'en allowed to study 9ree%
philosophy and sciences or the Great Masters because their ideas
were not always compatible with the ideas of the 1hurch.
The e(tent of Islamic e(pansion was e(traordinary. From
Mauritania, Morocco and 6pain to Indonesia and Malaysia, the new
religion had established its sway in a matter of few decades.
:aturally, when power is e(tended o'er such a large area, the
&uestions of polity enter. Islam began with a idea of unifed
caliphate as a centre but, without the modern means of
communication and transportation, this was something which
could not be perpetuated in its pristine form once the faith spread
out to 'ast regions and di'erse people. These large new societies
had di-erences not only in language but also in culture, which
ranged from tribal or pre#tribal e(istence to highly sophisticated
ci'ilisations li%e 1onstantinople, Iran and 0gypt. 1onse&uently,
there was a %ind of e'olution of power and, while the heartland
remained frmly wedded to the caliphate or the central source of
authority, there de'eloped other independent sources of power.
$ithin these, some areas continued to owe a certain nominal
obedience to the centre, while the others completely bro%e away.
The reasons for this brea%ing away 'ary and are specifc to
situation but, ne'ertheless, there was a %aleidoscopic change.
0'en within the caliphate, the centre had shifted, by and large,
according to a certain formula. There was an ethnic change in the
2raetorian 9uard of the caliphate; for instance, from *rab to Tur%.
The locus had, therefore, started shifting. There were, of course, a
host of other factors as well. The power earlier centred in .aghdad
shifted to ;amascus. *nother 'ery independent and distincti'e
phenomenon occurred. The western Muslim empire which was, in
some ways, unli%e anything that had happened in the heartland,
de'eloped and sustained itself for nearly eight hundred years in
Maghrib 4Tunisia, Morocco and *lgeria of today5 and *ndalusia
46pain5. In each case, the interaction with the immediate
en'ironment and neighbouring ci'ilisations produced a 'ery rich
THE MUSLIM WORLD
tapestry of Islamic ci'ilisation. The )ttoman 0mpire, one of the
great empires of the world, which rose to its /enith and then, li%e
all other empires, went into a long period decline that continued
well into the frst &uarter of the <=th century. It fnally ended
somewhere in >?<<#<@, though by the year >?>< it had lost most
of its legitimacy and strength. In 6outh *sia, the Muslim rule was
at frst limited. It gradually e(panded to e'entually pa'e way for
another great empire, the Mughal 0mpire.
Its own armies and secure its own defence in its specifc security
en'ironment, which was then hostile, +ust as it is today. In doing
so, the ideology that 2a%istan, ne'ertheless, pitched itself against
was 1ommunism, which had nothing to do with Islam. In the world
of reality, though, the progressi'e *rab group which had ta%en up
the banner of socialism and nationalism did not see 2a%istan as
their friend, but as a friend of their enemy.
Then, in a dramatic turn of e'ents, the world of *rab#Islamic
people simply collapsed. 0'ents of the greatest setbac%
happened. In >?A7, the *rabs faced what was probably the
greatest debacle of their history when they completely lost a war
to Israel. They lost territories that they ha'e not been able to
reclaim to this day. In 6outh *sia in >?7>, .angladesh bro%e away
from 2a%istan. *gain, in >?7?, the time#honoured rules of the
game were 'iolated when .re/hne' in'aded *fghanistan. In >?B=,
another set of rules collapsed when a secular .aathist Ira&
in'aded Iran, which had newly undergone an Islamic re'olution. In
>?B<, as if it was not enough, Israel in'aded Cebanon and went
right up to .eirut. *ll these e'ents, in such a defning period of
history, must engage a student of history and politics. *s a result
of these tumultuous e'ents, all the isms that the Islamic#$orld
was obsessed with earlier simply became inade&uate to address
their concerns. The people from one end the Muslim $orld to the
other deduced that these new ideologies had aggra'ated their
situation, mush less sol'e it. The *rabs, in particular, and Muslims,
in general, who had in'ested hugely in their defence were
distraught because when the time came, their military policy did
not wor%, their security policy crumbled and, more importantly,
'ery negati'e economic conse&uences further impo'erished the
&uality of life and compounded the social and economic problems
in 'irtually the whole of the *rab#Islamic $orld.
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)ut of this disenchantment from *rab nationalism and socialism,
new forces emerged. In the Middle 0ast, we saw disillusionment
with 2C), which was replaced by the new message of 7ammas,
i.e., the capacity to sacrifce one!s life in the name of 9od rather
than socialism or nationalism. 6imilar mo'ements occurred all
o'er the Islamic $orld. In *fghanistan, 2a%istan indulged in
ceaseless round#the#cloc% diplomacy. This certainly had its uses
but what truly determined the outcome, i.e., the withdrawal of
Dussian forces from *fghanistan was not so much the diplomacy
as the capacity of hundreds of thousands of people to lay down
their li'es. It was they who made the occupation untenable. In
Cebanon, a similar thing happened; a few suicide bombings too%
place and Israel withdrew 'irtually bac% to its borders 4though it
still occupies a part of southern Cebanon5. The E6 marines too left
as a result of these acts of terror!. The new message was that if
Islam is to liberate and deli'er itself from its enemies, it will ha'e
to gi'e up the ideological baggage of the preceding thirty years ,
the legacy of :asser, the reformists and the nationalists. That it
must rely completely on re'i'al of the old concepts li%e
martyrdom, sacrifce and use of 'iolence to meet 'iolence. This
belief in it self is one of the biggest sources of troubles in the
*rab#Islamic $orld today. The 'ery success of these strategies has
gi'en them a new lease of life. In *fghanistan, for instance,
though the +ehad! against the Dussians came to an end, it left
behind a new fgure and personality of the eternal jehadi, one who
is constantly engaged in one &uest or the other in the belief that
what he does will sa'e his people, his part of the world and Islam
in general.
The Challenge and the Response
There were, on the contrary, di-erent %inds of attempts which
brought some en'iable unity and cohesion in the Islamic $orld.
These came to the forefront in >?7@" #
>?7@ is an important year. *fter a long time, the *rab army of
0gypt demonstrated that it could successfully ta%e on Israel. The
crossing of the .ar#Ce' line was not an ordinary achie'ement. .ut
for a 'ery acti'e assistance, an air bridge through which massi'e
supplies and intelligence data was transferred to Israel by E6 in
real time, the 0gyptian and 6yrian armies might ha'e succeeded
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e'en better than they actually did. .ut, then again, there was a
stalemate that did not go 'ery well for 0gypt and 6yria. 1ertain
ob+ect lessons, though, were drawn. For instance, that if they had
the resources, training and technology, 'ictory could be achie'ed.
Importantly, with this e'ent came the )il 6hoc%!, the phenomenal
increase in the oil prices which opened opportunities that were not
present before. In such a situation, the Islamic#$orld tried to
create a common forum or a minimal programme on things that
stri%e at the 'ery heart of the Islamic $orld. This was the creation
of )I1 4)rgani/ation of Islamic 1ountries5, which was a great
pro+ect. The founding fathers of the pro+ect saw in it a forum that
would one day create a common security policy, a common
foreign policy and a common economic policy.
Man proposes, 9od disposes. *s it happens, an indi'idual or
community may plan one thing but the actual course of the
following e'ents may not be what they wish them to be. There
were, in fact, certain e'ents which contained the seeds of further
problems and disruptions. Two of these had a 'ery serious impact.
$hile the Islamic world had the charter of )I1 on one hand, it also
had on the others the reality of Iran#Ira& war which so di'ided the
Islamic $orld for eight years as nothing else has di'ided in recent
history. This also led to a phenomenal competition, ri'alry and
hostility between the two great Muslim powers, Iran and 6audi
*rabia. This specifc strain is being resol'ed only now, i.e.,
beginning with the last Islamic 6ummit in Islamabad. 6o, while the
pro+ect of )I1 was worthy and glorious, it had had to content itself
with realities such as Iran#Ira& confict and 6audi#Irani
competition.
The other great disruption has been the reality in the Middle 0ast.
In >?7@ *rab#Israel $ar, though it was demonstrated that an *rab#
Islamic army could ta%e on the army of Israel successfully, the
actual articulation of e'ents also demonstrated that if a
superpower was on the opposite side, the success could only be
limited. This led to a basic strategic decision by 0gypt that military
option would not wor%. 0gypt bro%e ran%s and sought peace. *fter
1amp ;a'id, 0gypt was ostracised and it too% the *rab#Islamic
$orld se'eral years to ha'e 0gypt brought bac% to its fold.
2a%istan played a ma+or role in this respect" it was 9eneral Fia#ul#
7a&!s initiati'e at 1asablanca that set the stage for 0gypt!s
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return. .ut by that time, all that had happened had certainly
slowed down the scope of )I1 as en'isaged at its inception.
There are still other factors and a host of regional problems that
stand in the way of unifcation of the *rab#Islamic $orld.
Meanwhile, and on the contrary, the potential of the *rab#Islamic
$orld has not diminished. 6audi *rabia has the largest oil
reser'es in the world, along with huge reser'es of gold and other
minerals. Iran, Ira& and Guwait also account for a huge share of
that wealth. * third source, which was not a'ailable before the
dissolution of E66D, has opened limitless possibilities in the
1aspian 6ea. .ut in each case, hostile factors are in operation as
well. 6audi *rabia has the wealth but it has to content with the
politics of the region. It is not a neutral country but is hea'ily
committed to the $est. Guwait is aHuent but e'er since it was
in'aded by its *rab Muslim neighbour, which sought to obliterate
its 'ery e(istence, it does not fnd its security in the Islamic
Emmah but in the capacity and readiness of the $est to defend it.
These e'ents ha'e created a new confguration where a country
has wealth but it also has a huge foreign presence in its midst.
The 2ersian 9ulf is the most hea'ily policed area in the world
today. 0ruptions occur from time to time, mostly in Ira&, because
what began with the in'asion of Guwait has not been sorted out to
this day. 6o the Islamic Emmah has a mi(ed bag of factors" it has
the resources, capabilities and the pro+ect but a large number of
factors oblige indi'idual states to create and craft their own
policies in their own national interest and not in the larger
collecti'e interest of the Emmah. This will ha'e to be o'ercome.
Finally, a new challenge of globalisation means whether a country
is a part of it or it is marginalised and left out. If a country is
marginalised in this open mar%et system, it has absolutely
nowhere to turn to. 2art of the protection against this has come
from regionalism. $e are not certain today whether the *rab#
Islamic $orld will fnd it easier to unite in the Islamic 1onference
and a common economic mar%et or prefer to wor% out its own
regional deals. The agenda is well#%nown. If the Middle 0ast peace
process succeeds, the $est would li%e to integrate that part of the
$orld with countries li%e 0gypt, 6yria, Cebanon, Iordan, Tur%ey and
Israel into a sub#system of a larger 0uropean system. They will
reach out across the Mediterranean 6ea to create another
confguration. The same will be true elsewhere. In Far 0ast and
0ast *sia, the Muslim states of Malaysia and Indonesia possibly
fnd it more proftable to be acti'e members of *60*: than to
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pursue an Islamic economic /one or community. *ll told, it is yet
diJcult to analyse and predict what the impact of globalisation
would be.
Conclsion
*s we enter a new century, we stand at a point, which is full of
promise but also full of perils. There are se'eral roads ahead and it
is going to ta( the intellectual, diplomatic and economic resources
of the *rab#Islamic countries to decide what their course of action
should be. 9lobalisation and a multi#polar world would come and
how the Muslim world ma%es its choice with regard to these two will
greatly determine its future.