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The Spread of Islam in the World

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First published in 1896, "The Spread of Islam in the World: A History of Peaceful Preaching" by Professor Thomas Arnold concentrates on the spread of the religion, as opposed to Islamic society. It would be easy to consider this book out-of-date, considering all that has taken place in the Islamic world since it was published, especially in the period between World War II and present day. However, in many ways this weakness is actually a strength of the book, because the reader can be sure that the history included in this book is not colored by modern day events.

Professor Arnold separates the spread of Islamic society from that of Islam as a religion. The advance of Islamic societies was often by the sword, just as the spread of societies such as Greece, Rome, and Persia were done by conquest. This book, though, is about the spread of Islam, the religion. While there certainly were cases where attempts at forced conversion took place, Professor Arnold makes it clear that for the most part that was not the case and he demonstrates with many examples how ineffective such attempts actually were.

Even without forced conversion, there were pressures for people to convert to Islam, the largest one being the jizyah, which was a tax imposed on non-Muslim subjects. This tax was common to all regions, although the amount varied greatly depending on the period and region. In most cases the tax was fairly small, but during some periods it became oppressive enough to result in false conversions. Most of the time, the tax was fairly small and was also often waved if the non-Muslim subjects contributed to the defense of the society. Another form of pressure was that non-Muslims were forced to wear dress which would indicate their status. However, this was quite rare and usually did not last for long periods.

The most interesting part of the book is in the specifics of each of the different regions. Professor Arnold covers: Western Asia, Christian Africa, Christian Spain, the spread under the Turks, Persia and Central Asia, the Mongols and Tartars, India, China, Africa, and the Malay Archipelago. The history of Islam in Spain was the best example of how the three major monotheistic religions could live together in peace, prior to the 19th century. The section on the Mongols and Tartars covered the effects of the Mongol invasion and the devastation it caused Islam at the time. It also was interesting to read how the Muslims turned this around to convert their conquerors. He also discusses why the Christian attempts to do the same were much less successful.

Non-Christian Africa is the region where forced conversion was attempted the most, but with very few successes. The attempts at Muslims to convert the pagans there were largely ineffective until the 19th century. Interestingly enough, it was the development of colony states by Christian Europe in Africa which brought with them their laws which enabled the proselytizing of Muslims to have a large effect. Thus once again it was the peaceful efforts which resulted in success.

As I mentioned at the start, the weakness of the book is in its lack of a modern perspective to accompany the rest of the text. While this frees the reader from worrying about the spin factor which invades so much of what one reads today, the missing period and perspective does detract a bit from the final product.

This book is very good as it shows that Islam has been unfairly depicted as a religion spread through Jihad. Islam, the most unlikely of candidates, has been, throughout the centuries, a tolerant religion. It has never committed any form of religious genocide, nor has it had any inquisitions or crusades, as religions of many other parts of the world did. It has tolerated other faiths when it was in a position to dominate them, better than any other religion in history. It imposed a tax on non-believers for protection, similar to the tax that we pay in the U.S., while Christianity imposed torture and death at times. It was also done in the most gruesome fashion you can think of; Sawing, Disembowelment, the Stake, etc. Christians are quick to say that Jesus did not preach what they did. It doesn't really matter because they did it either way. There is not one instance in history where Muslims in total power have tortured non-believers for not accepting Islam. Muslims are the ones who were tortured by the Meccans in the Prophets time and by Christians during the Inqusition.

Islam, when closely examined has no history of imperialism, nor has it ever forced the conversion of mass people. It may have invaded a country for humanitarian purposes, but always gave the people the freedom to worship their own religion. Whatever violence its followers do, it is out of confusion and desperation. You will probably find one fanatical Muslim for every 10,000 peaceful Muslims.

The holy Prophet was born in a time when wars were fought between tribes all the time. He was forced to both defend his cities and forcefully stop aggression of his religious predecessors and oppressors, the pagans of the Middle East. The Prophet was only playing the card he was dealt, and it was a violent card. Not that he was violent, for he showed nothing but kindness to those who were less fortunate and mercy to all the poor people of his time. The religion of Islam came and changed the whole Middle East and made everyone equal in the eyes of God. Where poor people and slaves were looked down upon, where women had no respect, and where idols were being worshipped, the greatest Prophet of all time came along and with God's guidance, cleaned up house. We all must show humilty to God and gratitude for the work that our great Prophet did.

There is a difference between the spread of a civilization and the spread of a religion. Muslims may have spread their civilization by the sword but the religion of Islam was spread through the power of their words and deeds. This is the basic message Professor Arnold argues in this work. He dispels this Christian European notion of the past 1000 years that the religion of Islam was spread by the sword through forced conversion.

Dr. Arnold shows how Muslims were able to convert the local populations regardless of the situation they faced. It did not matter if the Muslims were the conquers (Middle East, North Africa, Spain, Turkey and India) or the conquered (Mongol invasions) or when they came as neutral traders (The Malay Archipelago and parts of Africa). In all circumstances conversion would follow through the power of their argument and the strength of their character.

Dr. Arnold explains how Islam is incessantly finding its outward manifestation in the life of the believer which is interwoven into the daily routine of the believer. This makes the Muslim an inadvertent and unwitting teacher of his creed. It was the strength of their character which won the hearts and minds of the people and the fact that ordinary Muslims completely submerged themselves into the local population accepting their language, customs and traditions (where it did not contradict Islamic teachings). This was in contrast to the paid professional missionaries employed by Christians who did not integrate into the local population like the Muslims and worked from the outside seeking to get in.

The Spread of Islam does not just deal in generalities or high level discussions. The arguments are supported by numerous individual examples and stories from each region covered. At times, the stories do get a little verbose but this does not take away from the book.

Dr. Arnold does an incredible job of explaining how the religion of Islam was spread through peaceful means.