History and religion

by Mubarak Al

I nterpreting Islamic history has been a point of dispute, starting from the suc
cession issue after the death of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Then, after the four p
ious Caliphs, even during Hazrat Ali s reign, Muslim groups fought against one ano
ther and shed the blood of their brethren in faith.
Some are of the opinion that it should be called Muslim history rather than Isla
mic history. They argue that the term Islam represents religion while Muslim ref
ers to ethnicity. Therefore, religion has nothing to do with the bloody conflict
s and clashes which occurred among Muslims over the centuries.
To analyse this difference, we need to take a look at history. First of all, the
terms Islamic and Muslim were both coined in modern time, probably by western O
rientalists. Early Muslim historians never used these terms. They categorised hi
story on the basis of dynastic rule, such as the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Sam
anids and the Ghaznavids.
Orinentalists, on the other hand, analysed history as one unit rather than dynas
tically and named it Islamic or Muslim. However, to them, Islamic history is the
history of the Arab rule. This ended with the fall of the Abbasids in 1258 when
Halagu Khan, the Mongol leader, conquered Baghdad and assassinated the last Abb
asid caliph.
The history of the emerging ruling dynasties in the eastern and western parts of
the caliphate were recorded on the basis of the ruling families such as the Ziy
arids, the Safarids and the Fatimids. The three dynasties which emerged in the 1
6th century, the Safavids, the Ottomans and the Mughals are not included in the
category of Islamic history; the same is the case as regards the history of Indo
nesia and Malaysia.
The Arab nationalist historians rejected both Islamic and Muslim prefixes in fav
our of history of the Arabs . Philip K. Hitti s book History of the Arabs is one such
example. Another radical change took place when nation states emerged in the Mi
ddle East. It ended the era of Islamic history and replaced it with nationalism.
For example, the history of Egypt includes the ancient period of the Pharaohs,
the medieval period as the rule of Muslim dynasties and the modern period. The s
ame pattern is followed by other Arab countries.
Whenever history is interpreted on the basis of religion, it creates problems an
d misunderstandings. History is closely related to power. Whenever Muslims were
involved in internecine wars in the early period, they were fighting not for rel
igion but for power and for this, they often violated religious teachings. Hajja
j bin Yusuf did not hesitate to bomb the Kaaba, the holiest sanctuary of Muslims
. Religion was used to gain political power by working on the emotions of the pe
ople. We find this exploitation of religion in every period of history.
During the Hundred Years war (1337-1453), which was fought between the French and
the English, a peasant girl called Joan of Arc, claimed to have been visited by
saints who told her she would lead the French to victory. Her story fired the F
rench morale and thus religion was again used to further a political aim. While
the French revere Joan of Arc as a saint, many literary works refer to her as a
crafty strategist, most famously Shakespeare, who depicted her as a villain in h
is famous play Henry VI.
The Crusades (from 11th to 13th century), when Christians went to war against Mu
slims, are another example in which religion was used as a tool to fulfil politi
cal and commercial demands of the rulers and traders. The church delivered passi
onate sermons, exhorting people to sacrifice for the cause of religion and liber
ate the Holy Land from the clutches of Muslim infidels . Thousands were thus persua
ded to join the European armies and travel to Jerusalem.
Modern historians point out that these wars were financed by the Italian states
Venice, Genoa and Florence, in order for them to develop new markets and safe tr
ade routes. Later on, the Catholic Church conducted crusades against its own her
etic sects to consolidate its political power. Pope Julius II (1443-1513) who wa
s known as the warrior pope, personally led armies into the battlefield to fight
against rival political powers.
In the medieval period there was the concept of holy war both in Christiandom as
well as the Muslim world.
Whenever a Muslim ruler fought against a non-Muslim power, he invoked religion t
o inspire his soldiers to fight for a holy cause, but in case of war with their
co-religionists, they avoided the mention of religion. One such example is Babur
who fought against Ibrahim Lodhi purely for political gains but in case of his
war against Rana Sangha, he called it a holy war against infidels.
In the early phase of European imperialism, when South and North America, Africa
n and Asian countries were conquered and occupied, the Europeans attributed thei
r victories to God. To them, it was due to His blessing that they defeated their
adversaries and succeeded in their mission. Therefore, political history should
be studied with reference to power and not religion. ¦