"Many have sought to answer the questions - why was the triumph of Islam so speedy and complete?
Why have so many millions embraced the religion of Islam and scarcely a hundred ever recanted?
Why do a thousand Christians become Muslims to one Muslim who adopts Christianity?
Some have attempted to explain the first overwhelming success of Islam by the argument of the Sword.
They forget Carlyle's laconic reply, first get your sword. You must win men's hearts before you can induce them to imperil their lives for you; and the first conquerors of Islam must have been made Muslims before they were made fighters on the Path of God.
Others allege the low morality of the religion and the sensual paradise it promises as a sufficient case for the zeal of its followers; but even were these admitted to the full, to say that such reasons could win the hearts of millions of men, who have the same hopes and longings after the right and the noble as we, is to libel mankind.
No religion has ever gained a lasting hold upon the souls of men by the force of its sensual permissions and fleshly promises.
It is urged again that Islam met no fair foe, that the worn-out forms of Christianity and Judaism it encountered were no test of its power as a quickening faith, and that it prevailed simply because there was nothing to prevent it; and this was undoubtedly a help to the progress of the new Creed, but could not have been the cause of its victory.
"In all these reasons the religion itself is left out of the question.
Decidedly, Islam itself was the main cause of its triumph...Islam not only was at once accepted (by many peoples and races) by Arabia, Syria, Persia, Egypt, Northern Africa and Spain, at its first outburst; but, with the exception of Spain, it has never lost its vantage group; it has been spreading ever since it came into being, hi quite recent times, it has been spreading in wide and swiftly-flowering waves over Africa.
Admitting the mixed causes that contributed to the rapidity of the first swift spread of Islam, they do not account for the duration of Islam.
There must be something in the religion itself to explain its persistence and increase, and to account for its present hold over so large a proportion of the dwellers on the earth.
Men trained in European ideas have always found it difficult to understand the moving qualities of Islam and say there is nothing in it to move the heart.
Yet Islam has stirred an enthusiasm that has never been surpassed.
Islam has had its martyrs, its self-tormentors, its recluses, who have renounced all that life offered and have accepted death with a smile for the sake of the faith that was in them.
It is idle to say that the eternity of happiness will explain this.
The truest martyrs of Islam as of Christianity did not die to gain paradise. And if they did, the belief in the promises of the Creed must follow the hearty acceptance of the religion.
Islam must have possessed a power of seizing men's belief before it could have inspired them with such a love of its paradise".[199]
A. J. Arberry also has pointed out that the cause of the spread of Islam is Islam itself and its religious values.[200]
He states: "The rapidity of the spread of Islam, noticeably through extensive provinces which had long been Christian, is a crucial fact of history...
The sublime rhetoric of the Koran, 'that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy'".[201]
Arberry continues, "This, and the urgency of the simple message carried, holds the key to the mystery of one of the greatest cataclysms in the history of religion.
When all military, political and economic factors have been exhausted, the religious impulse must still be recognized as the most vital and enduring".
Brockleman, who is usually very unsympathetic and partial, also recognizes the religious values of Islam as the main factor for the spread of Islam and suggests that Islamic monotheism to a considerable extent is the basis of the proselytizing power of Islam.[202]
Rosenthal put this point as follows: "To suggest that the spread of Islam by conquest was part of the general movement of migration of peoples only partly accounts for this astounding historical phenomenon, as does the prevailing political situation. The more important factor is religious law of Islam (Sharia which is an inclusive, all-embracing, all comprehensive way of thinking and living) for which a divine origin is claimed and which was designed to cover all manifestations of human life".[203]
We can thus conclude that it was Islam that helped it spread. Islam is a combination of diverse but coherent values, beliefs, qualities and ideals and realities. It is mainly some of these which are being examined in the following chapters as the factors and causes helping its spread.
RE:what some other Western scholars have said concerning the causes of the spread of Islam.
by Secular Indian on Mar 20, 2007 05:08 AM Permalink
The answer to your question is that if Islam was not spread by the sword it would have been still born. Islam is nothing more than Arab imperialism disguised as a religion. Regarding Sharia, it may have served well for the primitive Arabs but is of no relevance to the modern world. The very concept Kafir and Kuffar are abhorrent to any civilized person. It is the very basis of the discriminatory nature of Islamic thought, no amount of chicanery or sophistry is going to change this simple fact.
RE:RE:RE:what some other Western scholars have said concerning the causes of the spread of Islam.
by Secular Indian on Mar 20, 2007 06:22 AM Permalink
Dear Mr. Azeez,
Peace be upon you too.
Unfortunately this type of rambling probably makes you feel better that you follow a religion that actually advocates slavery and sexual exploitation, secondly it was started by a pedophile.
It's difficult and dangerous for the brainwashed followers of violent cults to see any fault in their own dogma and ideology. After all the punishment for apostasy in Islam is death and a rather unpleasant at that. It is this fear that obstructs the path to the truth for most Muslims. The day you have the courage to face up to the reality that will probably be the start of a more tolerant Islam.
Regarding converting of untouchables to Islam, you are again gently reminded to read Dr. Ambedkar's book, "The partition of India" especially the chapter "Muslim Society is even more full of social evils than Hindu Society is". Mr. Azeez your claims are hollow, since Islam acknowledges and promotes slavery.
RE:RE:what some other Western scholars have said concerning the causes of the spread of Islam.
by Ekalavyan on Mar 20, 2007 04:41 PM Permalink
YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM ISLAMOPHOBIA!!! ELECTRO CONVULSIVE THERAPY IS MOST URGENT!!!
RE:RE:RE:what some other Western scholars have said concerning the causes of the spread of Islam.
by Secular Indian on Mar 21, 2007 03:49 AM Permalink
Yes I'm scared of terrorists.
