Was Islam Spread By the Sword ?

1. Preliminary Oral Defence: Was Islam Spread By the Sword? By: Hussein Rajan

2. What Is Islam? • An Abrahamic religion • Has sects: Sunni and Shi’a • Shi’a believe Ali was the proper successor to Muhammad • Sunnis believe Ali, and three Caliphate were the successors • Was initially spread by the Prophet Muhammad after the Angel Gabriel revealed the words of god to Muhammad. • Follow the book of the Qur’an similar to the Torah and Bible • Qur’an has teachings of Muhammad, which were revealed to him from Allah through the Angel Gabriel

3. Where Is Islam Practiced? • Everywhere- There are 1.4 billion Muslims practicing Islam in almost every part of the world today!

4. My paper will answer the following questions: 1) Did Muhammad’s family play a pivotal role in helping Muhammad spread Islam, or was he alone? 2) What were the main problems surrounding the spread of monotheism at the time? 3) Was it necessary to use violent force in order to spread a religion that values peace? 4) Were all the wars that resulted in the spread of Islam initially meant to spread the faith? 5) Did Muhammad garner power through war or his ability to convince others about Islam? 6) Who were the key contributors to the spread of Islam? 7) What did Muhammad do whilst in exile from Mecca? 8) Who was part of his first group of followers? 9)What were the main battles that lead to the spread of Islam?

5. Thesis Statement The initial spread of Islam through violence can be proven by examining Mecca’s submission to Muhammad, the Middle East’s belligerence to Islam and the influence of Islamic texts on Muslims at the time.

6. Argument 1: • Mecca’s submission to Muhammad • Mecca was overwhelmed by the size of Muhammad’s army of believers, and thus decided to accept Islam rather than fight it i) “Muhammad was not only a religious leader, but a military leader who waged war against his enemies as soon as he had the means” ii) “Eventually the harassment forced Muhammad to leave Mecca, so he fled to Medina. Here he gathered many converts who became his militant followers” * This was the early steps where Muhammad fled in order to protect himself and eventually get a good Islamic following

7. Argument 2: • The Middle East’s belligerence to Islam • Arab people’s belligerence towards Islam and its beliefs required Muslims to “force the faith” (fight/use violence) in areas where polytheism was dominant. i) “Arab polytheists fought against Muhammad because they hated his religion” *At this point, Islam was spreading throughout the Middle East, and Muhammad’s followers were facing animosity from Arab “idol Worshipers”

8. Argument 3: • Influence of Islamic Texts on Muslims of the Time • The Muslims who fought in the name of Islam were driven by the Hadith. These texts enforced violence on those who were believers of polytheism. “When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to [accept] Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them. ... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them.” *Showed that if the non-Muslims believed in polytheism, then they should be killed in name of Islam pending they did not pay the tax imposed on them.

9. Argument 3: Cont’d • “But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them: for God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. (9:5)” * This demonstrated that Muhammad showed mercy towards those who followed monotheism, but had little tolerance for non-believers. Thus strengthening his followers’ motives for battle.

10. Possible Counter Arguments! • 1) Islam is an Abrahamic religion just like Judaism and Christianity and thus does not promote violence. • 2) The Prophet Muhammad was a messenger of Allah and for him to fight would be contradictory to the revelations passed down to him by the Angel Gabriel. • 3) Verses from the Qur’an condone the use of violence on non-Muslims.

11. Works Cited • Barkati. History of Islam.. 26 Feb. 2007. <http://www.barkati.net/english/#01>. • Barton, James L. The Christian Approach to Islam. : Pilgrim Press, 1918. • BBC. The Early Rise of Islam. 20 Feb. 2005. 26 Feb. 2007. • <http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/earlyrise_1.shtml>. • Hamidullah, Muhammad. The Prophet of Islam - His Biography.. 27 Feb. 2007. <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/prophet/profbio.html>. • Lawton, Clive. Islam. Hong Kong: Young Library, 1995. • Nosotro, Rit. The Spread of Christianity and Islam. 26 Feb. 2006. 26 Feb. 2007. • <http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw11christislamexpand.htm • Shwartz, Stephen. The Real Islam. 23 Mar. 2003. 24 Feb. 2007. <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200303u/int2003-03-20> • Voll, John O. CQ Press: Islam. 2007. 27 Feb. 2007. <http://www.cqpress.com/context/articles/epr_islam.html>.