Running head: EMERGENCE OF ISLAM

Emergence of Islam

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EMERGENCE OF ISLAM

Emergence of Islam
The way of life of each community in a society has a history that depends on historical,
social, and cultural contexts. This paper will analyze the emergence of Islam in its historical
context. Particularly, it will explore the history of Islam and how it is likely to differ from the
traditional narrative. Before the death of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, he established a movement
that would assist the Islam to make it through various challenges, such as political and cultural
systems (Cook 2004).
Historical Overview
Before the birth of Muhammad, the Zoroastrian Sassanian and Christians were highly
ignored by Arabs. They were recognized as nomads because they moved from one oasis to the
other looking for water and pasture for their animals. Thus, the only aspect that brought them
together was language unlike other tribes that were brought together by aspects like religion. The
Arabs would adore the moon, stars, moon, large shapeless large stones, as well as springs and
wells. Furthermore, they worshipped idols like Kaba located in Mecca with the intention of
bringing unity among worshippers (Brown 2001). The Mecca was cube-shaped and stored
approximately three hundred idols, which were reserved by Quraysh tribe and there was an
official guardian whose responsibility was to preside over it.
Later on, the Heraclius instigated a campaign to fight against the Persians. During the
same year, Muhammad, who was also an Arab trader, moved from Mecca to the northern town of
Yathrib. He was recognized as a good mediator and honest man. Additionally, individuals relied
on him when it came to religious matters because of his experiences like denouncing polytheism
and believing in one God (Silverstein, 2010).

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Angel Gabriel came to Muhammad and revealed the Quran to him when he was aged
forty. He began to preach the early series that were given to him by prophet Allah in 610. The
spiritual messages he got during his visits to the desert became part of his life. Because of this,
Muhammad became sure that he was a prophet and a perfect man. He strongly believed that
Allah was the only God and he personally referred to himself as a prophet (Guillaume 1955). His
preaching emphasized the fact that the three goddesses (Uzza, Lot, and Manat) were not in
existence. His preaching emphasized that individuals should worship Allah directly. Islam was
preached secretly for approximately three years.
After this, he began preaching Islam openly as a divine precept. During this period, he
got pleasure from the protection of the Qureshi tribe. In 619 A.D, his wife and uncle passed away
and Abu Zehel, who was the new chief of the tribe refrained from giving him protection. By the
time, Muhammad started opposing idol worship, the superstitious individuals of the tribe began
to oppose him, and he decided to move from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D (Irwin 1997).
This event was referred to as Hijira (moving from one place to the other). In Medina,
Muhammad found solutions to domestic problems facing the tribe, and this enabled him to
become popular and his religious ideas were highly valued. However, the enemies who were
opposing the economic and religious systems of Islam in Mecca were envious of seeing him as a
popular leader in an alien town. They then decided to take part in military activities to devastate
his popularity. Conflicts started at Badr in 624 where the Muslims in their large numbers, fought
their enemies and attained credibility for the religion. The Mecca town was taken over by the
conquerors in late 630. It because the head office of the new religious conviction where Muslims
would visit one or more times during their lifetime (Khalil & Bilici 2007). The prophet passed on
in 632, and by this time, the Arabian Peninsula was dominated by Muslims.

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How Emergence of Islam in Historical Context is different to the Traditional Narrative

Narratives are very significant in each society because it is through them that individuals
appreciate their political and living systems. It enables societies to express their political and
social groups, their interrelationships with others, which enable them to identify themselves and
the common things that they share. The dynamic narrative is regularly used to bring members of
a specific community together. In particular, individuals react to the arising traumatic events and
the challenges they are faced with (Funk & Said 2004). Other than dynamism, narratives are
constant all the time because members use them to relate their historical events and cultural
symbols. This permits them to have a good relationship.
For instance, the interrelationship between Muslims from the Middle East and America is
based on the images that they hold. In effect, this implies that both Americans and Muslims share
images that were formed by each group. There is a clear expression of the narratives and
explanation of narratives that exist between them. Therefore, when two communities cooperate,
their implication is evident in economic matters and political discussion (Mathiesen, 2013).
Although the western society and Islam have had a relationship through trade of goods
and services, their historical memories are used in differentiating adversarial roles of each
community (Abiola, 1978). In most scenarios, the Westerners and Muslims use others as their
role model, which is used to prove the independence and greatness of the other society.
Therefore, the lesser rival is dehumanized by the other (Riddell & Cotterell, 2003).
Other than the narrative of the image, other narratives like competition resulted in the
emergence of Islam. For instance, the narrative of competition between the people of Islamic and
West get the matters from the present geopolitical tensions and the previous legacies of a
politicized culture. The aspect of European Christians looking at the Islamic as the other gave

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them a platform for competition on of common political systems and share identity related
matters (Mathiesen, 2013). Muslims from the Middle East and other regions of the globe have
realized that they are supposed to have their own identity that can be used to compete favorably
with other groups like the Frankish, Western, and Christian. The competition has commonly
influenced the rate at which the community understands itself and the related measures that can
be used to win the other party.
Conclusion
The narratives of competition and image have contributed to the exisistence of Islam. The
aspects of referring to the other as an image usually assist the other to uphold the image of the
other partner. For instance, in the narrative of competition, every community should set high
objectives so that it can be better off than its competitor. Consequently, there is a difference in
the emergence of Islam based on the narrative and historical context. Conclusively, Islam is
based on Muhammad, who started the movement that resulted in the emergence of the present
Muslim society. The narratives tend to depend on the mode of competition among communities
and considering others as images.

EMERGENCE OF ISLAM

References
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Funk, N., & Said, A. (2004). Islam and the West: Narratives of conflict and conflict
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Guillaume, A. (1955). The life of Muhammad: A translation of Ibn Ishaqs Sirat Rasual Allah.
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Silverstein, A. (2010). Islam history: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press: Oxford.