Political History of Islam

This article outlines the history of the politically significant interactions between Islam and the rest of the world, particularly what is now considered "the west".

Muhammad

Muhammad was born around 570 AD in Mecca, which at the time was a key site for an annual pagan pilgrimage, during which warring tribes declared a truce. The pagan Kaaba shrine held 360 idols f tribal pagan deities. There were also significant numbers of Jews and Christians in the area. Although a relatively barren area, it lies about 1000km south of the birthplace of western farming civilisation in modern day Iraq, which occurred about 10000 years earlier. Muhammad was orphaned at an early age, raised by his tribe, and became a relatively succesful trader.

Muhammad received his first revelation in 607 and began preaching publicly in 610. His early teachings were more peaceful and tolerant than his later teachings, reflecting his weak position in Mecca. He and a small band of followers migrated to Medina in 622 after facing persecution in Mecca. This persecution resulted from Muhammad revealing verses that condemn polytheism and idol worship, as well as love of wealth (a significant declaration in a city built on trade). Muhammad's own tribe were the guardians of the pagan Kaaba, so his denunciation of their religion would have been particularly insulting to them, as well as being a risk to their income. An additional story relates that Muhammad recieved verses acknowledging three pagan Goddesses, and that this helped to reconcile him with the Meccans. However, he later recanted them as "satanic" verses. Most orthodox Islamic interpretations reject this authenticity of this particular story. In 619, leadership of Muhammad's own tribe was inherited by a tenacious enemy of Muhammad, and his tribe removed its protection of Muhammad (which took the form of the promise of blood vengence for tribal members). Muhamme dinitially tried to gain protection in Taif, another prominent city.

Muhammad negotiated his way into a position of authority in Medina, which until then had no centralised political authority and was deeply divided. This was based on Muhammad's status as a neutral outsider. They were also jelous of Mecca's religious importance and hoped to gain power over the city with Muhammad's help. Muhammed created a constitution of sorts between 8 Medina clans and the new Muslim arrivals. There is no evidence of the other parties actually agreeing to the constitution, and the text implies acceptance of Muhammed as God's messenger. The constitution does not mention the three large Jewish tribes of Medina (Watt - Islam and the integration of society, p20), leading some scholars to believe that it dates from after Muhammed expelled them. The constitution specifically emphasised blood money and ransom payments, enshrined freedom of religious beliefs, and established women as second class citizens who were entirely at the mercy of the tribal group they belonged to. It declared Medina as a sacred place where the blood of people who were party to the treaty may not be spilled. The constitution also compels non-Muslims to participate in Islamic religious wars. In 624, Muhammad proclaimed that Muslims should face Mecca rather than Medina while praying.

Medina was an agricultural oasis. Although Mecca was barren, it had grown into the wealthiest town in the region through trade. In Medina, Muhammad revealed Koranic verses permitting his followers to rob Meccan caravans. They became very successful at this. They also ransomed prisoners captured in ensuing battles with forces sent by Mecca to protect the caravans. Muhammad also killed many prisoners, but generally released the poor ones for no charge. Koranic verses from this period focus on political issues, such as how to divide spoils of war.

Muhammad's success lead to rapid conversions by pagans. Embittered by this, two pagans composed poetry that mocked Muhammad. They were killed by Muslims, with Muhammad's blessing.

Hostility towards Jews

In Mecca, Muhammad's attitude towards Christians and Jews was initially very positive, but their unwillingness to convert to Islam soured the relationship. It went rapidly downhill in Medina. Muhammad initially proclaimed several ordinances to win over the numerous and wealthy Jewish population. These were soon rescinded as the Jews insisted on preserving the entire Mosaic law, and did not recognize him as a prophet because he was not of the race of David. There were three large Jewish tribes in Medina when Muhammad arrived. The first to fall victim to Muhammad were the Banu Qaynuqa, who were wealthy artisans and traders. In addition to being Jewish and rejecting Muhammed's prophethood, they close links to Mecca and were the least likely to support his agenda of revenge against Mecca, posing a political threat to Muhammad's quest for power. Anecdotally, a Banu Qaynuqa goldsmith assaulted a Muslim woman, causing her to be stripped naked. He was killed by a Muslim, which sparked a series of revenge killings. Under the constitution, Muhammad's role was supposedly to resolve this conflict using the tradition of blood money and to protect religious freedom. However, having been strengthened by a recent military victory over Meccan traders, Muhammad sought to consolidate his power. Muhammad gathered the tribe in the market and addressed them as follows:

"O Jews, beware lest God bring on you the like of the retribution which he brought on Quraysh. Accept Islam, for you know that I am a prophet sent by God. You will find this in your scriptures and in God's covenant with you."

The Quraysh were Muhammad's tribe from Mecca, and the retribution is a reference to his recent military victory over them. Here, Muhammad clearly abandons his promises under the constitution of Medina, which was the initial basis of his authority. Muhammad besieged them until they surrendered, then expelled them from Medina. A muslim who convinced Muhammad not to slaughter them, and then argued that they ought be allowed to stay in anticipation of an attack from Mecca has forever been dubbed the leader of the hypocrits. This was also the first time that Muhammad's Islamic state took 20% of the spoils of war. Following this was a second major battle with the Meccans, which the Muslims lost.

There were now two large Jewish tribes in Medina. Muhammed assassinated the chief of one of them (the Banu-Nadir), who had written erotic poetry about Muslim women, then expelled them about a year later. As the Muslims did not defeat the Banu-Nadr militarily (they were even allowed to take some possessions) Muhammed claimed 100% of their remaining possessions on behalf of God. Following this, Muhammed attempted to prevent his enemies from uniting against him, by attacking smaller Arab groups one at a time with overwhelming force.

The next time the Meccans attacked, Muhammad built a trench around parts of Medina open to cavalry attack. The Meccan siege was a failure and the Meccans returned home. During the siege, the Meccas attempted, but failed, to negotiate an alliance with the last of the three large Jewish tribes in Medina - the Banu Qurayza. After the battle, Muhammed laid siege to the Banu Qurayza, who surrendered unconditionally. Muhammed slaughtered every male in the tribe who had reached puberty, with the exception of a small few who converted to Islam. Between 600 and 1000 men were executed in a single day. The women and children were enslaved. Today, Muslims cite the failed negotiations with the Meccans, or alleged attacks by the Banu Qurayza, or claims that the Banu Qurayza violated the constitution of Medina (despite it not even mentioning them) as justification for the genocide. Instead of acknowledging the "convert or die" choice given to the Jews, modern Muslims spin this incident as Muhammed showing mercy to any Jews who agreed to cease hostilities towards Muslims and re-enter the constitution of Medina.

Muhammed then went on to attack and defeat the Jewish community of Kaybar, where many of the Banu Nadir had sought refuge. Under the terms of their surrender, Muhammed took possession of all of their lands as a collective possession of his Islamic state, and required them to provide 50% of their annual produce as a tax.

There is a disputed account of Muhammed lighting a fire on the stomach of a Jewish captive who happened to be the treasurer of his tribe, in order to encourage him to reveal the location of the Jew gold.

Hostility towards Pagans

Muhammad's hostility towards jews was largely born of their reluctance to accept him as both a political and religious leader. Pagans tended to convert to Islam the most readily and Muhammed wa sinitially tolerant of them in order to facilitate this. As his power grew, Muhammad became increasingly aggressive towards pagans also.

In AD 628, Muhammed and 1400 Muslims travelled to Mecca with sacrificial animals in order to demonstrate to them that Islam is an Arabic religion. He negotiated the right of Medinese Muslims to travel to Mecca for pilgrimage to the pagan shrine of the Kaaba. The peace treaty involved a cessation of hostilities and an agreement by Muhammed to return any Meccans who converted to Islam without permission. It was during this truce that Muhammad attacked the Jewish community of Kaybar and sent letters to many foreign rulers asking them to convert. Two years later, in AD 630, he marched on Mecca with 10 000 men and captured it with minimal casualties. He destroyed all the pagan statues and paintings in and around the Kaaba.

That same year, Muhammed had a military victory against the Hawazin. He then marched north with thirt thousand men, half of whom returned home on the second day. It was at this time that Muhammad received many verses damning Muslims who were reluctant to engage in warfare on behalf of the Islamic state.

Muhammed then ordered the destruction of all pagan idols in eastern Arabia. Muhammed ordered several wars with the specific purpose of killing pagans and destroying their religious monuments.

The last city in western Arabia to fall to Muhammed was Taif. Here again Muhammed decided to give them the stark choice of convert to Islam or die. He also ordered the men to destroy their statues of the goddess Allat.

Many bedouins, as well as the Banu Thaqif, submitted to Muhammed to avoid being attacked, and also to share in the spoils of war.

In 632, Muhammed elivered a speech commanding Muslims to abandon many old traditions and pledges in acknowledgement of the new Muslim community.

Women's rights

Muhammed never tried to abolish slavery. He bought, sold and owned his own slaves. Women made up the bulk of Islam's slaves, and the owners were permitted to have sex with them. Modern Muslims often make a distinction between sex slaves and "slaves that you can have sex with", in order to differentiate Muhammed's practice from modern sex trafficking for the purpose of prostitution.

The capture of land, spoils of war and women in combat was a key nation building strategy for Muhammad. Polygamy and sex slavery created a shortage of women. The purchase of female captives helped to fund war, while the prospect of being rewarded with a wife or a sex slave became a strong motivator for young men to participate in war. During one battle in which a village was being slaughtered, a Muslim archer prevented the escape of the women by firing an arrow over them so it landed in front of them, causing them to stop in fear of their lives. he was congratulated by muhammed.

In the 632 speech, Muhammed cemented the inferior status of women in Islam. Muhammad asked his male followers to "be good to women, for they are powerless captives (awan) in your households. You took them in God's trust, and legitimated your sexual relations with the Word of God, so come to your senses people, and hear my words ..." He told them that they were entitled to discipline their wives but should do so with kindness.

Muhammed's favourite wife, the child bride Aisha, was accused of adultery for which Muhammed imposed the death penalty. Muhammed recieved a revelation that she was innocent of the charge, and thereafter insisted on four eye-witnesses (or a confession) to adultery charges. Muhammed married Aisha when she was six years old, and she is regarded as the "mother if Islam" because of her status as Muhammed only virgin bride. According to Aisha, Muhammed first has sex with her when she was 9 years old. It is unlikely that Aisha had even reached puberty at this stage. Contrary to frequent claims by Muslims who wish to introduce an older age of consent under Islamic law, puberty is actually delayed in the harsh conditions experienced at the time, and there is not a single statement in Islamic literature stating that she had reached puberty.

Muhammed had 13 wives in total, 11 of them from after the migration to Medina. There is however some ambiguity as to whether two of them were wives or concubines. Muhammed's first marriage was to an older, wealthy widow whom he married prior to his career as a religious leader. This was a monogomous marriage until her death. Muhammed's other wives were the widows of men Muhammed and his Muslims had killed, the widows of slain Muslims, or were married for political reasons.

Muhammed died in 632, having brought the entire Arabian peninsula into his Islamic state. On his death, Aisha's father Abu Bakr became leader after being chosen by a small group called the Ansar. Many Muslims thought the role should have gone to a relative of Muhammed. Abu Bakr had to put down several rebellions from groups who had joined the Islamic state claiming only allegiance to Muhammed, as well as from other leaders claiming to be prophets. Abu Bakr was successful in forcing them to resubmit to Islam.

Curiously, Muhammed had few descendants. His first wife produced four daughters and two sons, who died in childbirth. Three of the daughters died before Muhammed. The other, Fatimah, is considered by some to be Muhammad's only daughter. A son to another wife died at the age of two. Fatimah's descendants are respected by Muslims, especially the Shiah. his favourite wife, Aisha, worked to cement his legacy through the Koran.

Relevant Verses

Quran (4:34) - "Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great." Contemporary translations sometimes water down the word 'beat', but it is the same one used in verse 8:12 and clearly means 'to strike'.

Quran (38:44) - "And take in your hand a green branch and beat her with it, and do not break your oath..." Allah telling Job to beat his wife (Tafsir).

Sahih Bukhari (72:715) - A woman came to Muhammad and begged her to stop her husband from beating her. Her skin was bruised so badly that it is described as being "greener" than the green veil she was wearing. Muhammad did not admonish her husband, but instead ordered her to return to him and submit to his sexual desires.

Sahih Bukhari (72:715) - "Aisha said, 'I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women'" Muhammad's own wife complained of the abuse that the women of her religion suffered relative to other women.

Sahih Muslim (4:2127) - Muhammad struck his favorite wife, Aisha, in the chest one evening when she left the house without his permission. Aisha narrates, "He struck me on the chest which caused me pain."

Sahih Muslim (9:3506) - Muhammad's fathers-in-law (Abu Bakr and Umar) amused him by slapping his wives (Aisha and Hafsa) for annoying him. According to the Hadith, the prophet of Islam laughed upon hearing this.

Abu Dawud (2141) - "Iyas bin ‘Abd Allah bin Abi Dhubab reported the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: Do not beat Allah’s handmaidens, but when ‘Umar came to the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and said: Women have become emboldened towards their husbands, he (the Prophet) gave permission to beat them." At first, Muhammad forbade men from beating their wives, but he rescinded this once it was reported that women were becoming emboldened toward their husbands. Beatings in a Muslim marriage are sometimes necessary to keep women in their place.

Abu Dawud (2142) - "The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife." The authenticity of this verse is characterized as daif (weak), however, a similar verse from Sunan Ibn Majah 3:9:1986 is said to be hasan (sufficient).

Abu Dawud (2126) - "A man from the Ansar called Basrah said: 'I married a virgin woman in her veil. When I entered upon her, I found her pregnant. (I mentioned this to the Prophet).' The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: 'She will get the dower, for you made her vagina lawful for you. The child will be your slave. When she has begotten (a child), flog her'" A Muslim thinks he is getting a virgin, then finds out that she is pregnant. Muhammad tells him to treat the woman as a sex slave and then flog her after she delivers the child.

Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 969 - Requires that a married woman be "put in a separate room and beaten lightly" if she "act in a sexual manner toward others." According to the Hadith, this can be for an offense as petty as merely being alone with a man to whom she is not related.

Kash-shaf (the revealer) of al-Zamkhshari (Vol. 1, p. 525) - [Muhammad said] "Hang up your scourge where your wife can see it"

Religious apartheid and ethnic cleansing

Muhammed gained control of Medina by ethnically cleansing it of the three powerful Jewish tribes. The first two were evicted and then attacked wherever they sought refuge. The third was slaughtered, with the women and children being enslaved.

Shortly before his death, Muhammed achieved his lifelong dream of seizing control of Mecca. He kept the pagan Kaaba as Islam's holiest site, and made the pagan pilgrimage to the Kaaba one of the five central pillars of Islam. However, he destroyed all pagan artifacts and to rub salt into the wound, banned pagans from the kaaba:

Koran 9:28 O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach al-Masjid al-Haram after this, their [final] year. And if you fear privation, Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise.

Al-Masjid al-Haram Great Mosque of Mecca, which surrounds the Kaaba, the pre-Islamic centrepiece of pagan worship in Arabia.

Muhammed was still not satisfied:

Sahih Muslim, 21: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.

Muwatta Malik: Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Two deens shall not co-exist in the Arabian Peninsula." Malik said that Ibn Shihab said, Umar ibn al-Khattab searched for information about that until he was absolutely convinced that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had said, 'Two deens shall not co-exist in the Arabian Peninsula,' and he therefore expelled the jews from Khaybar." Malik said, Umar ibn al-Khattab expelled the jews from Najran (a jewish settlement in the Yemen) and Fadak (a jewish settlement thirty miles from Madina). When the jews of Khaybar left, they did not take any fruit or land. The jews of Fadak took half the fruit and half the land, because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had made a settlement with them for that. So Umar entrusted to them the value in gold, silver, camels, ropes and saddle bags of half the fruit and half the land, and handed the value over to them and expelled them."

The 'deens' referred to by Muhammed (Two deens shall not co-exist in the Arabian Peninsula) are religions, or creeds.

Umar was successful in ethnically cleansing all non-Muslims from the Hijaz region, which includes Mecca, Medina and Kaybar - where under the terms of a surrender agreement to Muhammed the Jews were permitted to stay, albeit with an absurdly onerous taxation arrangement.

http://www.ozpolitic.com/images/hejaz-hijaz.jpg

This was achieved through forced conversions, slaughter, and forced mass migration.

Although Muhammed was succesful in taking Mecca and banning pagans, his did not personally achieve his broader agenda of ethnically cleansing the entire Arabian pensinula. This was partly achieved his immediate succesors, such as Umar. When the current nation of Israel was created, there were very few Jews remaining on the Arabian pensinsula. A small population remained in Yemen. They were expelled, and many ended up in Israel. After WWII, there were in fact more Jewish immigrants to Israel from nearby Arab Muslim nations than from Europe.

Saudi Arabia

Modern Saudi Arabia (which includes Mecca) is a reflection of Muhammed agenda of ethnic purity.

Non-Muslims public religious activities are banned in Saudi Arabia. The definition of "public" is left deliberately ambiguous. Jews are forbidden from entering Saudi Arabia. Non-Muslims are banned from Mecca and part of Medina. Non-Mulims clergy are forbidden from entering the country to perform religious rituals. Non-Muslim proselytising, including book distribution, is banned. Members of the Shi’a minority are the subjects of officially sanctioned political and economic discrimination.

Under the provisions of Shari’a law as practiced in the country, judges may discount the testimony of people who are not practicing Muslims or who do not adhere to the official interpretation of Islam. Legal sources report that testimony by Shi’a is often ignored in courts of law or is deemed to have less weight than testimony by Sunnis. Sentencing under the legal system is not uniform. Laws and regulations state that defendants should be treated equally; however, under Shari’a as interpreted and applied in the country, crimes against Muslims may result in harsher penalties than those against non-Muslims. Information regarding government practices was generally incomplete because judicial proceedings usually were not publicized or were closed to the public, despite provisions in the criminal procedure law requiring court proceedings to be open.

Customs officials regularly open postal material and cargo to search for non-Muslim materials, such as Bibles and religious videotapes. Such materials are subject to confiscation.

Islamic religious education is mandatory in public schools at all levels. All public school children receive religious instruction that conforms with the official version of Islam. Non-Muslim students in private schools are not required to study Islam. Private religious schools are permitted for non-Muslims or for Muslims adhering to unofficial interpretations of Islam.

In 2007, Saudi religious police detained Shiite pilgrims participating in the Hajj, allegedly calling them "infidels in Mecca"

Ahmadis are officially banned from entering the country and from performing the Hajj to Mecca.

Saudi Arabia has criminal statutes forbidding apostasy, which is punishable by death.[33][34] On 3 September 1992 Sadiq 'Abdul-Karim Malallah was publicly beheaded in Al-Qatif in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province after being convicted of apostasy and blasphemy. Sadiq Malallah, a Shi'a Muslim from Saudi Arabia, was arrested in April 1988 and charged with throwing stones at a police patrol. He was reportedly held in solitary confinement for long periods during his first months in detention and tortured prior to his first appearance before a judge in July 1988. The judge reportedly asked him to convert from Shi'a Islam to Sunni Wahhabi Islam, and allegedly promised him a lighter sentence if he complied. After he refused to do so, he was taken to al-Mabahith al-'Amma (General Intelligence) Prison in Dammam where he was held until April 1990. He was then transferred to al-Mabahith al-'Amma Prison in Riyadh, where he remained until the date of his execution. Sadiq Malallah is believed to have been involved in efforts to secure improved rights for Saudi Arabia's Shi'a Muslim minority.

In 1994, Hadi Al-Mutif a teenager who was a Shi’a Ismaili Muslim from Najran in southwestern Saudi Arabia, made a remark that a court deemed blasphemous and was sentenced to death for apostasy. As of 2010, he was still in prison, had alleged physical abuse and mistreatment during his years of incarceration, and had reportedly made numerous suicide attempts.

In 2012, Saudi poet and journalist Hamza Kashgari became the subject of a major controversy after being accused of insulting Muslim prophet Mohammad in three short messages (tweets) published on the Twitter online social networking service. King Abdullah ordered that Kashgari be arrested "for crossing red lines and denigrating religious beliefs in God and His Prophet.

Saudi Arabia uses the death penalty for crimes of sorcery and witchcraft and claims that it is doing so in "public interest"

Saudi Arabia's treatment of religious minorities has been described by both Saudis and non-Saudis as "apartheid" and "religious apartheid".

The branch of Imam Mohamed Bin Saud University in Fairfax, Virginia instructs its students that Shia Islam is a Jewish conspiracy.

The Saudi Ministry of Education Islamic studies textbooks ... continue to promote an ideology of hatred that teaches bigotry and deplores tolerance. These texts continue to instruct students to hold a dualistic worldview in which there exist two incompatible realms – one consisting of true believers in Islam ... and the other the unbelievers – realms that can never coexist in peace. Students are being taught that Christians and Jews and other Muslims are "enemies" of the true believer... The textbooks condemn and denigrate Shiite and Sufi Muslims' beliefs and practices as heretical and call them "polytheists", command Muslims to hate Christians, Jews, polytheists and other "non-believers", and teach that the Crusades never ended, and identify Western social service providers, centers for academic studies, and campaigns for women's rights as part of the modern phase of the Crusades.

Invasion of North Africa

After Muhammed's death, Abu Bakr began what is known as the Riddah wars. He sent out 11 main military corps. In addition to specific missings, the commanders were given the following orders, which basically amount to conversion by the sword and follow a tradition established by Muhammed himself:

1) Call the Azaan (Islamic call to prayer).

2) If the tribe answers with the Azaan, do not attack. After the Azaan, ask the tribe to confirm its submission, including the payment of zakat. If confirmed, do not attack.

3) Those who submit will not be attacked.

4) Those who do not answer with the Azaan, or after the Azaan do not confirm full submission, will be dealt with by the sword.

5) All apostates who have killed Muslims will be killed.

6) With these instructions Abu Bakr launched the forces of his Caliphate against the apostates.

From 632 to 661, the Rashidun Caliphate spread halfway across North Africa, as well as east to the modern border of Pakistan. The next Caliphate captured the rest of the North African coastline by AD 750, bringing the bread basket of the Roman empire into the Caliphate. Despite capturing the largest land empire that had ever existed and an important trade route between east (China) and west, living standards did not increase. They remained well below the living standards of the previous Roman Republic and Empire, even during what Muslims call Islam's 'golden age'.

Christians and Jews became second class citizens, facing a variety of dscriminatory laws, as well as outight hostility from muslims. Conversion often happened under threat of death or as the result of ongoing persecution. Renouncing Islam attracted the death penalty. Women were captured as sex slaves. Muslims established the central African slave trade, paying locals to obtain women for them.

A community of coptic Christians survived in Egypt, today making up approximately 10% to 20% of the population. The jizya tax on non-Muslims was only abolished in Egypt in the 19th century, when they were also permitted to enroll in the army. In law, the testimony of non-Muslims was considered inferior to that of Muslims (as was the testimony of women). This meant they had no effective legal representation and were at the mercy of their Muslim neighbours. More recently Egyptian copts have been forced to flee Islamic state militants after many were killed. They are still forced to obtain permission to repair Churches. Churches, crops and houses are occasionally burned. In 2013, 40 churches were looted and burned and 23 more heavily damaged. The Muslim brotherhood used their facebook page to further foment hatred of copts. Police typically arrive to the scene of hate crimes and larger scale attacks after the violence is over, and no arrests are made. Members of U.S. Congress have expressed concern about "human trafficking" of Coptic women and girls who are victims of abductions, forced conversion to Islam, sexual exploitation and forced marriage to Muslim men. Conversion to Christianity is technically legal, but made difficult and often prevented by officials in case it provokes violence. This often extends to detaining those who apply for new identity papers.

Paganism largely ceased to exist in North Africa.