Arab Islamic Community example essay topic

Bernard Lewis is Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies, and Long-Term Member of the Institute for Advance Study, Princeton University. He was educated in the University of London, primarily but not entirely at the School of Oriental and African Studies, where He took both his B.A. (Honors in History) and his Ph. D. His B.A. degree was in History with special reference to the Near and Middle East; his Ph. D. in the History of Islam. His earliest interest was in medieval Islamic History, especially that of religious movements such as the Ismailis and Assassins. The war years awakened and nourished an interest in the contemporary Middle East, which he had retained ever since.

His major research interest for some time past has been the history of the Ottoman Empire. At the present time he is trying to combine all three by studying the history of the relations between Europe and Islam from early through Ottoman to modern times. He has published numerous books on the Middle East Some representative publications: The Arabs in History, London 1950; The Emergence of Modern Turkey, London and New York 1961 The Assassins, London 1967 (2) Introduction Bernard Lewis, the writer of the book The Arabs in History, describes issues that relate to Arab people, their place in history, their identity, their accomplishments, and their developments compared to the rest of the world. "What is an Arab? The Arabs may be a nation; they are not as yet a nationality in the legal sense". What Lewis here is trying to clarify is that it is very difficult to identify an Arab.

Can we call someone who speaks Arabic an Arab? Is language a strong enough aspect to unify people? How about religion? In some places people that can speak Arabic are usually described as Arabs. Years ago Arabs were portrayed as people that lived in the country, spoke Arabic, brought in the culture, and was proud to be one of them (an Arab).

Other people believe that Arabs are people that believe in Mohamed's mission, the Arabic language, and the cultural legacy. Mohamed and the Caliphate established an Arab Islamic community or Empire that extended across Asia, Africa, and Europe. Islam was their national religion. Arabs were mixed with people from diverse race, language, and religion. When this Empire was established, Arabs were known as people that spoke Arabic, members of a tribe through ancestors, and had originated in Arabia. (3) Author's Concerns I Arabia Before Islam In the beginning, the Arabian Peninsula and Mesopotamia were known as Arabia.

It mostly consisted of deserts and oases with nomads. Arabia was a very fertile land and a transit area with the Further East. Almost all trade routes passed through it. People that lived there were known as Semitic people. They had a lot of problems with overpopulation and invasions of neighboring countries. Finally the Arabs moved into Mesopotamia.

Arabic was their language and is the oldest in grammatical structure Arabs divided themselves into two stems; northern and southern. Northern Arabs had a different language, which developed into classical Arabic and was written in a different alphabet. Southern Arabians were very inactive; they had trade routes to India. In southern Arabia there were the Himyarite's (Jews) who persecuted Christians in order to take the Indian trade route. Arabians exported a lot of goods like spices and incense. It was known to be the land of "wealth and prosperity".

Southern Arabia was a monarchy with a feudal system in which there were many classes, the lowest being a peasant. Their religion was polytheistic and had many temples, which were significant for their life and affluence. Nomad's spread everywhere on the expense of trade and cultivation. Bedouin tribalism began in Arabia in which there social unit is the group. Their internal bond was their blood tie. They depended on flocks, herds, and raiding neighboring countries.

They didn't own anything or have any rights. They had an elected leader called Sheikh. The elders known as "the people of the house" elected him and the council was known as the Majlis, which were the public opinion. Their life was regulated by the practice of their ancestors. They had a common poetic language, which united them. In each town they had their own clan and Majlis and common symbol like the Ka " ba.

Arabia was still not civilized. However, They began to have more advanced military techniques. Other things like art, religion and monotheistic principales and moral ideas also influenced them. Their trade-routes shipped their history.

Sometime before the rise of Islam, a tribe known as Quraish occupied Mecca. It was an important trading community. Their population was diverse and they had a kind of "merchant aristocracy". Wealthy business men governed Mecca. They wanted to make their republic organized like the West yet they were still nomadic. Mohammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in this time.

II Muhammad and the Rise of Islam "Islam was born in the full light of history". The word of God was their guide to conduct. They practiced their traditions through Hadith, which covered Mohammed's life and thinking. Hadith was orally transmitted through generations. Through Islam, problems developed, yet Muhammad found a solution he reveled the word of God to the people.

Muhammad was born between 570 and 580 A.D. He was brought up as a poor orphan. He obtained wealth and position by marrying Khadija. He was also illiterate. Mecca was a trading city. There were a lot of Jewish and Christian influences. However Muhammad sought a purer form of religion, which came to him at the age of 40.

People considered it as harmless. He won little support in the beginning and his first converts were his wife and cousin Ali. Later he was considered as a threat as his supporters grew so he fled to Medina, which originally was settled by Jewish tribes. They did not have a stable government, so they appointed Mohammad as arbiter. His movement to Medina was called Hijra and was the starting point of the Muslim calendar.

People in Medina wanted Mohamed for his "spirit of unusual power" and Islam was useful to them for safety and discipline. People that were with Mohamed were known as Ansar and people that opposed him were known as Munafiqun. In Medina, people were able to practice Islam. Later he made an announcement that regulated the relations between the Mecca people, the Jews, and the people in Medina. This led to the creation of the Umma, which is the development of the pre-Islamic town and the first step to an Islamic autocracy. Each tribe had its own responsibilities and privileges.

It had Islamic practices in the matters of property, marriage, and relations. Mohamed dealt with civil and political relations. One of the most essential changes was that "faith replaced blood and the social bond". The Sheikh of the Umma was Mohammed. The source of authority was changed from public opinion to God. It was a religious community.

Expeditions against the Meccan community served a double objective. First it improved the strength, wealth, and status of the Umma. Second it helped maintain a blockade on the city. They adopted the Ka " ba in Mecca as a place of pilgrimage. In 630 Mecca was conquered and Quraish was submitted to the Umma; Mohammed's objectives were completed. He wanted to prevent friction with tribes and focus on military and political affairs, and leave religion to individual conversion.

He wanted no one to attack on Muslims and to pay Zakat. He wanted everyone to be equal. In 632 the Prophet died. He achieved an immense deal. He established a strong state that was organized and had an army, power, and prestige. He was the final and furthermost Apostles of God.

He brought the final revelation of God's word to mankind. The Age of the Conquest The prophet had left no provision for the succession of a council. The people wanted to elect a new tribal chief a sheikh. Abu bakr was the first successor of the prophet and was given the title of khalifa.

He was the head of the region and demanded political and military action. The first thing he did was a movement among tribes known as Rid da. It began as a war of recon version that developed into a war of conquest, which led far beyond the boundaries of Arabia. That year Abu Bakr defeated the Byzantines and captured Damascus and Palestine. However the Arabs became slower and eastern Persia was still not occupied. They had one choice, to use the desert as a weapon.

They established their towns on the edge of the deserts. They wanted to expand the Arab nation and not Islam. Their next step was a new system, which was a Muslim community with caliphs as their trustees. Different provinces and different laws and costumes yet they had no unified law of the empire. They did not interfere with the religion of the conquered people.

Even Christian population preferred the rule of Islam. The conquered people assisted in establishing the new regime. Newcomers can only enter the faith by becoming a Mawali. Even though they were supposed to be treated equal they were not and were even excluded from benefits. In 644 umar was murdered by a Persian slave. On his deathbed he elected a shura.

The third caliph was Uthman. He was known to be weak and a "terrible fault in Arab eyes". He fell under the influence of the dominant Meccan families. His weakness brought resentments among Arab warriors. The opposition always was there but under the weaker rule of uthman they all came into the open. It was a revolt of the nomads against any system of centralized control.

The attack came from Egypt yet his real opposition was in Medina itself. People were not concerned in the events of his murder. Ali was the next caliph for succession. It was a turning point in Islam. However a pro uthman party developed and wanted the punishment of the guilty. In 656 Ali marched out of medina.

This was the end of medina as a capital and never again was a caliph to reside there. It was the first time a caliph was leading a Muslim army against Muslims. It was known as the "battle of the camel". Ali won the battle. He returned to Kufa and became the master of the empire. In Syria, Mu " awiya was in strong position.

He united that state and had a strong army. Ali remained neutral and demanded justice. Mu " awiya wanted to punish the murders of Uthman and wanted to get rid of Ali. Ali went to war with mu " awiya, Ali was weakened by the khawarij and by the declining morale of his followers. Mu " awiya seized Egypt and deprived him from the wealth and supplies.

Ali was murdered by the kharijite in 661 IV The Arab Kingdom Mu " awiya's Empire was decentralized, indiscipline, no longer had religious and moral tie, instable, and lacked unity... The answer to his problem was to change the empire into an Arab monarchy. The Umayyad believed that Ali was the last Caliph, and any ruler after him would be called a Mulk. He transferred the capital to Syria. The monarchy idea was still difficult for the Arabs to comprehend. His empire grew steadily.

Arabs began to acquire a lot of land. They either purchased it from non-Arabs or they were a grant from the government. These lands were called maw at. They began to lease the land. They obligated the cultivation of land and the collection of taxes.

Non-Arab land owners had to pay full rate of taxation and Arab Muslim landowners paid only the user or tithe. These landowners were soldiers and townsmen etc... many of the Umayyad princes were land owners. All this created a new class called Mawali. Mawali now outnumbered the Arabs. The mawali organized a movement called Shi'a.

They opposed the state and the established order, Sunni. Kufa was the birthplace of Shi " sm. Their social revolt was against the Arab aristocracy. They had a messianic religious pretender called Mahdi. Mohamed Ibn al- Haifa organized a revolt in kufa.

After his death people thought that he would return to the world and establish justice on earth. The khawarij, supporters of Ali, demanded a solution by god. Their movement was first religious but developed into an aggressive anarchist opposition. The khawarij were crushed in Iraq after the death of Ali. In 696 the Arabic coinage was in place of the imitations of the Byzantine and Persian coins. There was a new Islamic system of taxation.

In 705-715 the regime of Walid was the supreme point of the Umayyad Empire. The empire expanded into 3 new areas: first into the Indian province of Sind, second into Spain, and the Iberian Peninsula. In 744-750 marwan II came into power. He was clever but he came too late to save the dynasty. The end came from the party known as the Hashim iya, which are Shi " ites and Mawali. Mohammed Ibn Ali Ibn al Abbas was in power later on.

The Arabs were a same population compared to the Persians. The Persians believed that the Arabs had brought their problems with them. They believed that the prophet's family was the rightful leaders of Islam. The Hashimite's mission was to attract new and more mawali. A period of inactivity followed then his son Ibrahim succeeded. In 747 the Abbasid Empire began with the representation of black flags and the ruler known as Abul Abbas with the title Saf fah.

V The Islamic Empire The Abbasid empire was more than a change of dynasty it was a revolution in the history of Islam. It was a victory of Persians over the Arabs. They changed the center of gravity to Iraq. Baghdad now became the "city of peace". It was the "most flourishing city in the world. The caliph now was an autocrat claiming a divine origin.

An official hierarchy placed the Arab autocracy. They had new titles for every position. The caliph was still subject to the rule of the Sharia. The Waz ir was under the Caliph and exercised immense power.

The army was no longer important and consisted of volunteers. It also consisted of trained slaves known as mameluks, most of them Turkish origin. People obeyed others and the government out of fear. The economy changed mostly in the Abbasid Empire.

Peasants had greater possessions yet their status was still bad. People had a lot of slaves. Their industry expanded too. They were famous for their textiles.

Under Harun al Rashid paper was introduced to Iraq. Trade was of vast extent. They traded with European countries all the way to Sweden. With Africa they traded gold and slaves. They traveled by sea and land.

This led to the development of banks. Wealthy traders usually supported them. They developed a system of cheques and letters of credit. Most of the bankers were Christians and Jews. Arabs led a movement in literary and intellectual circles. Everyone and all religions spoke Arabic.

The empire had a new ruling class, which were the rich and the learned. They held government jobs. The Dhimmi's were second-class citizens paying higher taxes and were subject to open persecutions. They enjoyed the free exercise of their religion and their rights. The decay began in the structure of political unity. After Ha runs death there were conflicts between his sons Amin and Ma " mun.

Amin was strong in Iraq and Ma " mun in Persia. Ma " mun later on won Tahir was his general. He was very ambitious. Moving the capital to the east caused political break ups. Spain, Morocco, Tunisia became independent.

Egypt and Syria became independent under the same rule. Baghdad was in control of all the trade routes, which still helped in the expansion of the economic and cultural life. The excessive luxury caused financial disorder leading the farmer governors in charge of the empire. Caliphs began to lose their power and lost even their army. These armies were made up of Turks. In 925 Iran destroyed the last of the caliphs.

The caliphs were at the mercy of the Persians and Turks. VI "The Revolt of Islam" The rapid economic development caused series of rebellions against the established order. They were mainly economic and social movements with some nationalism, yet they were religiously expressed. God was the source of power and law.

The Abbasid had to face the threats of the pro Umayyad parties The most important revolt was Mazda, which was a communist revolution. The sassanid emperor crushed it. In 755 another revolt happened including Muslim heretics and Zoroastrians. Yet Mansur defeated them.

Another happened by Muqanna' and spread all over. It practiced communism. Baba k is another movement that happened in 816-837. He ordered peasants to attack and plunder towns. He had alliances with the Byzantium emperor.

He defeated 4 of the caliphs Ma " mun. They were eventually defeated and crushed. Another revolt was of the Negro slaves known as Zanj. Tahari told the slaves that God would save them through him.

This movement was very weak since it didn't have any aim to abolish slavery. Zanj didn't join the Shi'a. Zanj regarded all the other Muslims as infidels'. The movement spread rapidly. Some peasants helped the Zanj leader.

Zanj's military was brilliant. They defeated the Imperial army. In 869 they attacked Basra yet failed to capture it. Later they built their own capital. Their movement was important and threatened the Empire since they dominated the important areas. In 871 they captured Basra, but evacuated it quickly.

They finally reached near Baghdad. The movements of the peasants didn't' leave any impact on the history of Islam. Between 901-906 a group called Carmathians ravaged Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia. They did a movement in Bahrain. There were many survivors from the Zanj. It was an Oligarchic republic.

They had no taxes and owned Slaves. The Ismaili won success in Yemen. Tunisia. In 908 Ubaidallah was the first Fatimid Caliph. They also came into conflict with the Carmathians.

Muzz was the real conquer of Egypt. Cairo was the capital of the Fatimid Empire. In 1056-57 they captured Baghdad. Their government was centralizes and divided into 3 branches. The greatest poets in Arabic literature, Mutanabi and About Ala al Ma arri were strongly influenced by Ismaili ideas. The Fatimids developed commercial relations with Europe.

They controlled the Eastern Mediterranean. The links between the dynasties grew weaker and weaker. Under the Turkish Seljuk "the revolutionary organization took on a new lease of life". VII The Arabs in Europe Before Islam Arabs weren't that familiar with the sea. They had little knowledge of sea and navigation. Yet they adapted themselves quickly to this new activity.

The conquest of Syria and Egypt brought them a long stretch of the Mediterranean Coastline. The navy belonged to Muawiya and Abdallah ibn Sad Abi Sarah. The first naval battle accrued in 655, There were Muslim navy fleets against the Byzantine islands of Cyprus, Crete, and Rhodes. In 649 Muawiya attacked Cyprus.

Under The Umayyad period, they were able to hold the peninsula of Cyzicus and they used it as a naval base. The real conquest began in 825, The Byzantine admiral was threatened so he rebelled against the Emperor and seized the island, yet he was defeated. He then fled to Tunisia. In 831, Muslins occupied Palermo. The war between the Byzantines and the Muslims continued by land and sea. Muslims also threatened Naples Rome, and Northern Italy.

With the transfer of the Fatimids to Egypt in 972, the government weakened and became hereditary. This hereditary government lasted till 1040. There was civil war between the Sicilians and Africa Muslims, which ended in the unity of the island. The Arabs affected the social life in Sicily.

They brought most of their goods to Sicily. The Normans adapted themselves to the culture. Roger II (1130-1154) favored muslims and he used Arabs Architects for his buildings: in Italy. Even Christians began to dress like muslims and spoke arabic. In the beginning of the 14th century, arabic was extent. Some Arabic books were translated into Latin.

In Spain, Arabs acheive d their greatest conquest in Europe, They captured Cordova and Toledo. They created a new regime in Spain which was more liberal. In 741 the Berbers revolted in Spain against the Arabs. The Syrians army defeated them. Cordova became the Arabs capital.

The first century of Umayyad rule in Spi an was a period of trouble as Berbers increased and they threatened the Arabs even more. The non muslims were numerous and were better organized. The Arabs speaking Spanish muslims formed a large part of the population. They also translated the BIBLE into Arabic. The regime of Abd ar -Rahman II (822-852) was a long period of peace. He strengthened the cultural connections between the spanish and the islamic civilisations.

They introduced oriental music and robes and rare vegetables. Every one in spain became proud of the independance and culture and politics. There where a lot of trade relations with Europeans. Al Hakim II (961-976) built a library. After the death of Mansur (976-1008) there was a break-up, there were problems between the Muslims Berbers and slaves.

This led to the invasion of the Muslim Spain by the Christians assisted by the Franks and the Berbers. They took the city of toledo, in 1236. By the end of the 13th Century the christians captured the whole peninsula. Arabs enriched the agriculture, industry, and economy. they had influence poetry, literature, art. The conquest and reconquest led spain into beeing far behind in political advancement compared to the other european countries. They believed it also led to the decline of the economy.

V Islamic Civilization A flourishing civilization grew up known as Arabic. This civilization was created after the conquest and it wasn't purely Muslim. Arabic was and still is the richest semantic language. Arabs developed a poetic language. It is not a "literature of abstraction" or pure thoughts. It was a language of "diverse culture" and an "Imperial language".

They borrowed words and expressions. There language was the only culture they had after the fall of the kingdom. Arabic was "subtle and abusive", not "intimate and personal", and not "epic and sub stained" people that spoke Arabic and were Muslims felt that they came from one community, yet they where still called nomads Arabs... Islam was also a system of state, law, society and art. Islam meant submission to the new faith and community; Shari' a regulated every aspect of life. The caliph became head of the community.

U lama were the semi-clerical class. A sultan was supreme secular ruler. There was also a Qadi who administrated he wholly law. The Islamic civilization was a mix of precious cultures merged together to form a new and original civilization. Poetry was by far one of their most important achievements under the Umayyad rule poetry was already transmitted. On the other hand under the Abbasid rule poetry was enriched by Persians and non-Muslims: of whom al-mutanabi (905-965) was one of the greatest poets, Ibn-Khaldoun (1332-1406) was considered to be the greatest historian of the Arabs.

Religious literature was influenced strongly by Christians and Jews. They were also influenced by Greeks in philosophy and all sciences. So many books were translated which produced a new growth of learning. The movement of translation began under the Umayyad. Under the Abbasid it was organized and officially encouraged Mammon established a school of translators. Then came onto Muslims writers whom arose mainly from Persia; Ibn-Sina The Arabs were united for a while by their military and political powers and longer by their language and faith.

Muslims rarely felt that they had imposed their faith on people. They felt the Christians and Jews were imperfect versions. The word "atomistic" is used to describe the civilization of Arabs. They are "too loosely linked and" they have no "organic interpretation of their own". Their society is made up of different groups.

Their language is "fragmentary". Their music is "modal and rhythmic". The art is a "perfection of detail". Their books are preserved in a 'chain of transmission". Their idealistic thinking of a perfect man and State is only in theory and is an imitation.

The impact of the west threatened the traditional structure of the Islamic society. IX The Arabs in Eclipse By the 11th century Islam was in "decay". There was no longer a central governmental and Caliphs became puppets. Buwaihids, a Persian dynasty, seized Iraq in 945. The economy was collapsing. They lacked organization.

There were series of attacks internally and externally. Christians took Spain and Sicily and the Crusaders attacked the near East. The Berbers took Africa... Turks were imported as slaves and for the army.

The Turks were more devoted in Arabia since they had no one there. Arabs relied on the Turkish commanders this increased their strength. By the 11th century the Turks entered the world of Islam. They conquered part of Persia and defeated the Buwaihids.

They also captured Baghdad. Nizam Al Mulk developed a new social order based on land instead of money. The opposition movement was the Ismailis. They refused to recognize the successor and they proclaimed their allegiance to Nizam. In 1090 Sabbah was in control of Persia. He carried out a series of daring murders.

They were feared in Europe. Yet in the 13th century the Mongols brought an end to them. In this period that the crusades arrived. This disunity made things easier for invaders.

Conquerors settled in Syria. The Europeans had many benefits from staying in Arabia. Saladin declared to end the Fatimid Empire and Seized Egypt and Syria. He united both countries and attacked the crusaders in 1187. By his death 1193 he recaptured jerusalem and expelled them to a narrow coastal strip. His United State didn't last long.

So it broke up into smaller states yet Egypt remained a strong monarchy. The crusaders captured the Holy land again. Later on the Mongols launched their conquest. They conquered all the lands of Slam and Egypt. They even crushed the Ismailis. In 1250 they captured Baghdad and banished the Abbasid.

This was the end of the Islamic history. Later in the 15th century Vaso De Gama found a route to the further East, and it was a safer one. This was horrible to the Mamm luk State. Europeans were able to destroy their ships and defeat the Egyptians. The Arabs had no other choice but to depend on the Turks. Napoleon invaded Egypt, later letting the center of attention being Iraq.

Iraq weakened rapidly. Persians and Turks developed their own cultural language. Syria and Egypt became the only Arabic speaking countries. In 1639 the Arabic speaking world was under the Ottoman Empire. In (1703-1791) a movement called Wahhabi in which they found a new sect. It spread over most Arabia.

In Lebanon there were Muslims Christians and D ruses. The Ottoman Empire brought corruption. There were many movements for independence. An example of a group was Sufis. They were more heretical than the Ismailis. Real change was going to come from outside and more aggressive.

X The Impact of the West Arabs always stayed in contact with the west. Their relations stayed external and had no effect on their culture. They describe Europeans as ignorant, and foolish and stupid. The Europeans progressed was the opposite.

They had better technology. And the Renaissance and Reformation helped them with new ideas. They forced everyone into their economy, politics and culture. The Ottomans Empire had a weak military and descending social order. No one wanted to change the economy.

Europeans had a common enemy, the Ottoman. They made a pact in the 1535 guarantying the safety of their traders in to Ottoman Empire. The French took advantage of everything and soon the English and Dutch followed. Europeans began to settle in their ports. Austrians and Russians also came into the Ottoman Empire.

Napoleon occupied Egypt in 1798. The French were able to occupy the country with no difficulties. Egypt and Syria were occupied several times by the Europeans. They tried making Egypt again a hereditary government with a European-type army.

They began to have closer relations with the west. The Europeans spread their languages and ideas through education. The British used Egypt and Red sea for Trading with India. Europeans wanted to build for their benefit of trading. In 1851 they built the first Egyptian railway.

Railways developed rapidly in Egypt and by opening of the Suez Canal after 10 years. In other Arab Countries it was slower because of French companies. There was a rapid development in irrigation. The changes in the 20th century were none radical. There were new internal communications making easier and faster exchange. They replaced camels with cars.

Then came the exportation of oil. This natural resource was very important for countries outside the Middle East. Yet in 1914 war broke out in Iraq and delayed. The Europeans culture penetrated the Christians. The French Jesuits were active in the Middle East. In this period that Arab nationalism was born.

Nationalism was strongest between the Christians. After the war in 1914 new states were set up Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan and Palestinians. They became either British or French mandates. Later all the states were independent and Palestine was considered a Jewish national home. In 1984 the British mandate was over and Palestine had an Arab / Jewish war.

The Second World War brought up new ideas and leaders. Islam was no longer a new faith. The new western ideas and products led to the destruction of the traditional structure of the economy. (4) Evaluation Bernard Louis has a very persuasive style of writing. He supports his ideas and thoughts with various examples. He also uses different points of view.

He always stated the positive and negative of influence and the pros and cons. He had many quotes from European writers. Towards the end of every chapter he had the negative impact of each era, empire, or decade. The only confusing thing about his writing was that he went back and forth with dates. It's easier to understand history when its in chronological order. (5) Conclusion The Arabs have several paths they can go by: they may become a modern civilization and merge their own culture and identity as a dominating whole, or turn their backs on the West, or the removal of the foreign interference and renew their society from within..