Islam By Karen Armstrong – A Short History

Any English book that attempts to give an overview of Islam targeted at the mass market will inevitably draw lots of criticism. The scholars and academics may question the credibility of Karen Armstrong and the historical accuracy of “Islam” while suggesting alternative titles, titles that the non-academics may find it hard to read. Other readers may feel that Karen Armstrong is being too politically correct and bias towards an idealistic view of Islam. But, I suppose we forget the fact that “Islam” is a short history of the religion from the days of the Prophet Muhammad to our modern day, a 161 pages of main content that attempts to help us in identifying some of the knowledge gaps we may have and to research further if we want to. It is not meant to be an in-depth analysis of the religion nor to primarily examine the modern day Islamic communities.

Being brought up in an environment of polytheism then turned atheist and now a Catholic, the first thing I observe from reading “Islam” is that I have this preconception based on the way I am being brought up.  If in the Christian Bible, Jesus Christ is the God-made man, what should the main human character in the Quran be?  If the Bible is being composed and cross-referenced and interpreted in a certain way, shouldn’t Quran be complied in a similar fashion in order to be deemed religiously worthy?  Of course, my initial impression with regards to Islam was largely incorrect.

Although Islam is one of the three faiths of Abraham, it evolves in a different way.  The 21 pages of chronology at the beginning of the book gives readers an idea of the constant political turmoil the people of Islam have lived under as the religion evolves.  Islam is indeed centered towards politics since the beginning.

Throughout the history of Islam, the concept of ummah (the Muslim community) is important to the fragmented tribal community in the land of scarce resource (oil was discovered much later).  Prophet Muhammad received the first revelation of the Quran in Mecca in the year of 610.  The Quran together with the prophet’s way of life have guided the ummah till today.  Upon the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632, a series of kahlifah or caliph were elected, and the ummah was guided and ruled by the ulama (guardians of the legal and religious traditions of Islam) and imam (the leader of the Muslim community) respectively.  What followed was a series of civil wars that relegated the power of the caliphs and transferred it to the local rules who established dynasties in various parts of the empire. Then came the first Crusader in 1095. In 1187, Kurdish general Saladin defeated the Crusaders and restored Jerusalem – the third holiest city – to Islam.

Although the invasion of the Mongol in 1220 has brought forth immense destruction to the Islamic cities, once they had achieved victory, the Mongols rebuilt the cities they had devastated on a magnificent scale. It was Mongol policy to build on local traditions once they had subjugated an area.  Soon, all the Mongol empires had converted to Islam.  This laid down the path of the continuation of militarization of the society that led to the “Islam Triumphant” – three major empires that arose after the Mongol empires dissolved in 1500.  They are: the Safavid Empire in Iran, the Moghul Empire in India, and the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia, Syria, North Africa, and Arabia.  Each empire has its own unique challenges – Shiism versus the Sunni Islam for the Safavid Empire, Islam being the minority in India for the Moghul Empire, and the variation of culture within the states of the Ottoman Empire.  Nevertheless, as the “Imperial Islam” progressed a great deal between 1500 to 1700, so was the religion.

The last chapter “Islam Agonistes” is one that I can personally relate to and have found some of my questions answered.  Born as a British subject, I often wonder what leads to where we (the colonists) are today.

The rise of the West is unparalleled in world history.  300 years of innovation and modernization of the society made them powerful enough to colonize other civilisations in a worldwide scale.  It was a painful process for those societies that have these 300 years of continuous progression taken away from them and were brought to face modernization imminently.  Raw materials were channeled into the West, products were made and sold back to the colonies.  No longer focus on the production of the raw materials, the West reinvest its future and created an economy that grew to what it is today.  Traditions of the colonies no longer survive the Western modernization and many of these traditions have become tourist spots instead.  The rest of the world was demarcated as and when the West colonized without taken consideration of the distribution of the race, culture, and religion of the people.  Countries were formed later with people having difficulties to identify with.  Violence continues as individual groups continuously seek for independence.  In the sub-chapter “The Way Forward”, Karen Armstrong subtly advances her theory of religious fundamentalism whereby fundamentalism is a child of modernity, and fundamentalists are fundamentally modern.  That, I found is refreshing.

“Islam” is best to be read in as few sittings as possible because the number of historical figures and Arabic terms introduced can be overwhelming.  Because the writing style is straightforward and engaging, it is generally accessible and can be a good starting point to get to know the history of the religion better.  I enjoy reading “Islam” as much as “The Bible” by the same author.

PS. My sincere apology if this blog entry is not entirely correct.  The mistake is all mine as this entry is written based on what I remember of or rather what I absorbed from reading the book.  All feedback is welcome.