What Every Christian Should Know about Islam Part 4 The History of Islam 2016 George E. Blanford Jr.
The West of the 7 th Century The Mediterranean territories were part of the Byzantine Empire which succeeded the Roman Empire in the 5 th century In the 7 th century, the Byzantine Empire had won a long and decisive war with the Sassanid Empire (Persia) but, in the process, it was exhausted militarily and financially Controversies over heresies that had plagued Christianity for several centuries and the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon (451) were opposed by many, especially by some Semites and Copts Byzantine Empire Heretics and Jews were forbidden to worship openly and were deprived of civil rights enjoyed by the majority The Byzantine Empire was incapable of offering unified resistance to the forces of Islam Northern European territories were in the Dark Ages fighting among themselves for power
Rapid Spread of Islam In 635, Muslims temporarily took control of Damascus and by 640 they had permanent control of Syria and the Holy Land Between 639 and 646, Egypt was conquered In 649, Cyprus was conquered In 652, Sicily was attacked. Later it was conquered In 655, the Byzantine navy was virtually destroyed off the coast of modern Turkey By 655, Muslims had destroyed the Sassanid Empire, the other super power of its time Mohamed Ali Mosque in the Citadel of Cairo
Why? There appears to have been little resistance to a Muslim take over The people may have liked being removed from Byzantine oppression Muslims gained political control; they did not force conversions At this time, at least, Jews and Christians were considered protected minorities The people may not have fully appreciated the differences between Islam, Judaism and Christianity For example, St. John of Damascus (c. 650-754) thought Muslims might be heretical Christians because they believed in the one God of Christians and Jews and they held Jesus and Mary in high regard
North Africa The Muslim conquest of North Africa is not well documented They established a military base at Kairouan, Tunisia in 663 Their position was initially precarious, but by 710 they were strong enough to invade Spain Mosque and Cemetary at Kairouan, Tunisia
Spain Muslim forces quickly gained control of all but the northern coast of the Iberian peninsula Advance beyond the Pyrenees was stopped by Charles Martell at the Battle of Tours (Poitiers) in 732 Muslims ruled in parts of Spain until 1492 In al-andalus (Andalusia), philosophy, theology, and the arts and sciences flourished It was a center of learning, art and culture while northern Europe was in the Dark Ages Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in relative peace and prosperity The Patio of the Myrtles the Alhambra, Granada
Cordoba In the 13 th century, Cordoba was the capital of Andalusia With 250,000 people it was ~2.5 x larger than Paris, Florence, Venice or Milan at that time It was cleaner and more beautiful than other cities of the time It had street lighting Its mosque was third largest in the world The Great Mosque of Cordoba Floor Plan Arches
The Alhambra Cordoba fell to Christians in 1236 Then Granada grew in importance as a center of Islamic rule in 1238 In the 14 th century, they began improving a fortification that had existed since the 9 th century they created the Alhambra The Alhambra The Fountain of the Lions The Ladies Tower
Christian-Muslim Relations Up to the 10 th Century Muslims were on the attack Christians were on defense Christian understanding of Muslims First hand knowledge in the Middle East In Europe, knowledge was based on stories and polemic about their military successes and the assumption that these resulted from demonic forces al-hakim V (996-1021), who ruled Egypt and the Holy Land, imposed his puritanical beliefs on everyone Jews and Christians were persecuted from 1008-1013 He destroyed some churches and synagogues He burned the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem Although his successors helped rebuild the church, his actions provided one of the major motivations for the Crusades
The Crusades Should the Church engage in war? St. Peter Damian (c.1007-1072) taught that war was exclusively the role of the state St. Anselm of Lucca (1036-1086) developed a theological basis for defensive war under certain moral conditions He concluded that the Church had a right to persecute heretics His position was further developed into the right of the Church to wage war
The First Crusade In 1095, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade It was a sort of armed pilgrimage There was religious symbolism connected with knighthood Knights took vows and received indulgences They entered a semi-clerical state while on the Crusade The infirm, elderly, women and monks were forbidden to be Crusaders On this square, outside the cathedral of Clermont, France, Pope Urban II preached the first Crusade
The First Crusade The First Crusade was not a single military event, but a series of waves of Crusaders arriving in the east Some knights planned to colonize conquered lands a practice which would be followed for ~200 years Baldwin of Bourgogne (d. 1118) set up the first Latin government in the Middle East Logistics were a major difficulty Food was always in short supply Hardships were considered part of the penitential experience of the pilgrim Conquered cities and lands were plundered for supplies Crusaders were militarily successful and were offered little resistance The Siege of Antioch
The Conquest of Jerusalem Crusaders reached Jerusalem on June 7, 1099 The Muslims were prepared for a conventional attack and siege The first attack was anything but conventional Crusaders processed barefoot and unarmed around the city walls, stopping at holy sites to listen to sermons by Peter the Hermit After being worked into a frenzy, they hurled themselves at the city walls without equipment, discipline or tactics It was not successful However, successful attacks followed Siege of Jerusalem
The Massacre of Jerusalem On July 15, Crusaders breached the walls of Jerusalem They commenced one of the most brutal massacres in recorded history Body parts were piled up in the streets One had to pick ones way over the bodies of people and horses In the mosque, knights rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins More than 40,000 Muslims were killed in two days Stories of the conquest and massacre stoked crusading fervor among Europeans These events have burned themselves into the collective memory of Muslims Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem
Aerial View of the Temple Mount Dome of the Rock Western (Wailing) Wall al-aqsa Mosque
Muslim Retaking of Jerusalem Salah al-din (Saladin) decisively conquered the Crusaders at the Battle of Hittim in Galilee on July 3, 1187 He marched on Jerusalem and offered peace provided that they would unconditionally surrender Christians chose to fight Saladin swore to treat them as they treated Muslims in 1099 When the Christians realized that their situation was hopeless, they reentered negotiations When Saladin was informed that the Christians would destroy the al- Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, he offered to release prisoners for a ransom Saladin s behavior was in sharp contrast to the Christians There was no massacre He released prisoners who were too poor to pay a ransom He permitted Jews and Orthodox Christians to visit the holy sites whereas he excluded the Latin Christians because they had excluded Jews and Muslims when they were in control Crusaders held on to parts of Syria and Palestine (including Jerusalem) with varying degrees of success for almost another 100 years Saladin
Impressions Left by the History of the First 7 Centuries of Islam The rapid rise of Islam left Christians with the impression that Muslims spread their faith by the sword The Crusades left Muslims with the impression that Christians are violent, brutal, land-grabbing, but ultimately conquerable Besides the massacre of Jerusalem, the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) added to this image These impressions continue to be believed by many today
The Ottoman Empire Eastern Anatolia (modern Turkey) had been conquered by Sunni Turks as early as 1071 Near the end of the 13 th century, Ertoghrul and his son Osman began exerting power further west Their descendents continued moving west and began exerting imperialistic power Sultan Mehmet II the Conqueror laid siege on Constantinople on Easter Monday, April 2, 1453 On May 29, 1453, Constantinople was defeated, the last emperor killed, and the ~3000 year history of the Roman-Byzantine empire ended At the same time, the Renaissance was beginning in the West The Ottoman Empire also took over the weakened caliphates of Islam and ultimately controlled from Egypt to the Persian Gulf Hagia Sophia Christian Cathedral Mosque Museum
Ottoman Threat to Europe Ottoman expansionism did not stop with Istanbul (Constantinople) Suleyman the Magnificent waged brutal wars in the Balkans (1522) and Hungary (1526) He arrived at Vienna in September, 1529 The defenders inflicted a defeat Unprepared for winter, he withdrew in October Political and religious conflicts in western Europe prevented a unified response to the Ottoman threat Ottomans continued to harass central Europe during the 16 th and 17 th centuries They laid siege on Vienna for the last time in 1683 They lost control of the Mediterranean with the defeat of their navy at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 The Blue Mosque Instanbul
Ottoman Demise By the end of the 19 th century, the Ottoman Empire was the sick man of Europe It sided with the Central Powers in World War I and in defeat was carved up by Great Britain and France in the Treaty of Versailles Divisions were created for the benefit of France and Britain without regard to local needs, cultures and histories Ataturk managed to save the Anatolian home land for the Republic of Turkey Syria and Lebanon went to the French Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, the Transjordan and Kuwait went to the British Egypt was declared independent in 1922 Britain awarded her allied leaders in defeating the Ottomans with countries of their own Amir Hussein ibn Ali, Sharif of Mecca, was given the Hejaz Ibn Saud was the defacto ruler of central Arabia He defeated Amir Hussein in 1924 and exiled him to Cyprus where he died in 1931. The Hejaz became part of Saudi Arabia Faisal, son of Amir Hussein, was made King of Iraq from 1921-1933 Abdullah, another son of Amir Hussein, was made King of Jordan in 1946
Moves to Independence Lebanon was proclaimed independent by the French in 1941, but France continued to exercise control until a government was formed in 1943 Syria was granted independence in 1946 Indonesia, the largest Muslim country, was declared independent from the Netherlands in 1945 and became legally independent in 1947 Pakistan (split into East and West ) was granted independence by Great Britain in 1947 (along with India) Israel was created by United Nations mandate in 1948 Kuwait became independent in 1961 Iraq suffered many coups until the emergence of the Baathist Party in 1968 and the subsequent rise of Saddam Hussein East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971
Reactions to Colonization Although Muslim countries now have their independence, Muslims remain resentful over former foreign control Even now they feel that the West controls them economically Middle Eastern countries with large oil reserves believe that we foster good relations with them to exploit their oil resources The Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are viewed by many Muslims as meddling in their internal affairs
Reactions to Israel Muslims feel dispossessed by what had been a minority population before the influx of Zionists Initially, all Muslims rejected the United Nations mandate Today, many reluctantly accept the mandate, but those against it are a continuing force against peace Muslims have been humiliated by Israel s military victories They resent military support of Israel by the West Muslims resent Israel s continuing actions to thwart a peaceful settlement with Palestinians such as building settlements in the West Bank They do not understand why the West does not put more pressure on Israel to stop Muslims fear Israel is too powerful If Israel can be a nuclear power, why not Iran?