Tariq Mahmood’s Reviews > A History of Medieval Islam > Status Update

Arabs were able to maintain their control on the new colonies with the strength of their Arabic culture, primarily their language. Islam cannot be understood outside of the Arabic culture. It is inherently tribal in nature. It succeeded initially in an era of no states, when it was able to form a united tribes of Islam. Can the model ever succed when the states and nations are so strong now?

The regicide of Uthman seemed the biggest incident in the history of early Islam, which has not been openly debated within Islam. The war of accession after his death between Muwayya and Hadhrat Ali, makes intriguing reading.

The mongols tried the same much later, but their shamanism was not developed enough to counter Buddhism or Islam, the religion of their conquered people.

The egg first or hen first question is pretty pointless, because Christianity became popular long after Jesus's death. The new Arab conquerors must have some version of Islam which they must have decided to use to counter the religion of their subjugated people. So the proto-Islam version was developed to counter Christianity.

Difference between Arab and Western historians when interpreting the rapid conquest of Arab armies is simple; Arabs maintain that they conquered inspired by the power of their new faith, Islam, while the Western ones claim that Islam was created only after the Arabs had overpowered their Christain and Pagan enemies, in order not to get assimilated into Christian cultures like the earlier Anglo-Saxons and Franks.

The first militarist campaign against Meccans was conducted in the Holy month of Ramadhan by the Muslims. These unjustified facts of history are still repeated by the likes of ISIS today.Isnt it the job of the Ulema to explain these hosorical events?

That Islam was born in the full light of history cannot be sustained because there are no contemporary witnesses to its birth and propagation? Why hasn't this question ever answered by the Muslim scholars?