EARLY ISLAMIC EXPANSION – Colonialism or Conquest?

Islam has been accused of colonialism, of an expansion "By the Sword". But such a narrative doesn't address the nuances of the times, the 6th century onwards. Yet it judges Muslim conquests on the standards of a more civilised world of the 20th and 21st century, ignoring the realities of other faiths and civilisations who wreaked havoc either in the name of God or in the pursuit of power and glory.

This video looks at the Muslim conquests by analysing their accelerated expansion and how Islam ballooned quickly from both a following and geography. And subsequently how the Muslim leadership acted beyond conquering the various regions of the Middle East and then onwards into Asia, Africa and Europe.

#islam #conquest #muslim #colonialism #conversion #civilisation #peace #prosperity #empire #Arab #middleeast #islamisation #arabisation #language #religion #history #war #sword #invasion #rashidun #umayyad #abbassid #ottoman

[strifelord]

My Christian family survived 1400 years of Islamic "rule" in Palestine. All of my uncles died in exile since the founding of Israel and our family presence in Palestine today is a shadow of what it once was. So as a descendant of Christian Palestinians who heard first hand accounts from my grandfather about how Turkish rule vs British rule vs Zionist rule differed, the Zionists were by far the worst. Even the British were angels in comparison.

[josephkania]

Forcing subject peoples to pay a special kind of tax IS a form of resource extraction. If money can be used to purchase resources then taxation is a form of resource extraction.

[JamaalJesus]

Islam was spread by the sword. This is even found in Islamic sources. You're just biased.

Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), a Maliki jurist, renowned philosopher, historian, and sociologist, summarized these consensus opinions from five centuries of prior jihad:

In the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and (the obligation to) convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force…. The other religious groups did not have a universal mission, and the holy war was not a religious duty for them, save only for purposes of defense…. Islam is under obligation to gain power over other nations.

(Ibn Khaldun, The Muqudimmah: An Introduction to History, Vol. 1, p. 291)

Ibn Kathir wrote of Muhammad’s aggression:

When Allah, Most High, ordered the believers to prohibit the disbelievers form [sic] entering or coming near the sacred Mosque. On that, Quraish thought that this would reduce their profit from trade. THEREFORE, Allah, Most High, COMPENSATED THEM and ordered them to fight the people of the Book UNTIL THEY EMBRACE ISLAM OR PAY THE JIZYAH. Allah says… (At-Tawbah: 28-29)

Therefore, the Messenger of Allah decided to fight the Romans IN ORDER TO CALL THEM TO ISLAM…

(Ibn Kathir, The Battle of the Prophets, pp. 183-184)

The following is a source that reveals how the people of Mecca wanted to leave Islam but were forced to remain Muslim. `Attab Ibn Asid was the governor appointed by Muhammad over Mecca, and Suhayl Ibn Amr was the military leader who governed most of the soldiers who had conquered Mecca:

Ibn Hisham says: It is narrated on the authority of Abu `Ubaydah and others that when the Messenger of Allah [peace be upon him] died the majority of the people of Makkah intended to renegade from Islam so much that `Attab Ibn Asid feared them and concealed himself (from them). On that Suhayl Ibn Amr stood up and praised Allah and lauded Him, and made a mention of the death of The Messenger of Allah [peace be upon him] and then said: “No doubt, this (death of the Prophet) but increased the Islam in power. Whoever rouses doubt, we will chop off his head.” Thus the people retracted and desisted from what they intended to do and `Attab Ibn Asd appeared.

(`Abd Al Malik Ibn Hisham, The Prophetic Biography – Sirah of Ibnu Hisham, p. 670)

Muslims were sent out to conquer the surrounding nations. This is even recorded in the following hadith:

Narrated Jubair bin Haiya:

`Umar sent the Muslims to the great countries to fight the pagans. When Al-Hurmuzan embraced Islam, `Umar said to him. “I would like to consult you regarding these countries which I intend to invade.”… Our Prophet, the Messenger of our Lord, has ordered us to fight you till you worship Allah Alone or give Jizya (i.e. tribute); and our Prophet has informed us that our Lord says:– “Whoever amongst us is killed (i.e. martyred), shall go to Paradise to lead such a luxurious life as he has never seen, and whoever amongst us remain alive, shall become your master.”…

(Sahih al-Bukhari 3159, 3160)

One of the earliest surviving Christian texts from the Islamic period in Syria, dated around 640 AD, describes the rise of Islam in this way:

They take the wife away from her husband and slay him like a sheep. They throw the babe from her mother and drive her into slavery; the child calls out from the ground and the mother hears, yet what is she to do? And so it is trampled under the feet of the horses, camels and infantry …. They separate the children from the mother like the soul from within the body, and she watches as they divide her loved ones from off her lap, two of them to go to two masters, herself to another …. Her children cry out in lament, their eyes hot with tears. She turns to her loved ones, milk pouring forth from her breast: “Go in peace, my darlings, and may God accompany you.”

(Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey and Evaluation of Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian Writings on Early Islam, Robert G. Hoyland, p. 262)

[theallseeingeye]

5:00. Before one could agree whether it was conquest or colonisation, its important to realise not all defeated tribes were treated equally.

The 3 choices offered to the vanquished tribe only applied if they were deemed the people of the book, namely the Christians and the Jews.

All others were classified as idol worshippers.

The Idol worshippers were to be fought regardless whether they had acted in a hostile manner or were friendly and welcoming to muslims, period.

The idol worshippers that were not killed in battle had two choices.

They could choose between converting to Islam or be killed.

The historical experience of Hindus in India and the paganistic Sumateran tribes from the inlands of Indonesia is well documented to disapprove the assertion that Islam was spread peacefully and incidents involving violence was an exception.

In that manner, the Almighty in the Holy Quran mirrored the Supreme God described in all other religions, both monotheistic or politheistic.

A tribalistic war God that specified the chosen tribes cultural norms and the rules laws the tribe had to obey and observe.

The rest were enemy tribes who should be viewed as hostile.

[JerusalemIfigetU]

In anyway, whether I like it or not, or one likes it or not, this is how I see the development of the State of Israel in its modern inception. A small minority of a people (both globally & in the region as well) for protection from larger empires & entities, and even just coming off of an Industrial tier genocide. Attempted Negotiated agreements between land allotment between the 2 groups or even integration into the other (you can become citizens & keep your culture, language & religion) or have your territories which were drawn up. Then mutual conflict with one side winning & being victorious & thus conquests and acquirements of lands through that. And still, the point of citizenship & integration in Sovereign territories still stands

[frankcalloway]

Yahweh. Religious rights matter, indigenous rights matter. How are you accusing the French Spanish and English of colonizing the world, but omitting Arabs Muslims whatever you wanna call them and not calling yourself a bigot xenophobe?

[jacket]

It is also worth noting that during the abbasid caliphate, the Arab (arabs for arabia) element of the islamic empire become almost non existent
In the west we had amazigh taking control, in the middle turk, and persian, and the east afghans,
It is like having the entire British empire government and lords being from South Africa, india and Egypt

[navinkumarpk]

Islamic invasions of Indian subcontinent were not "humane" or "benevolent". The conquest of Sindh itself was a brutal affair and was resisted strongly for years before the locals were overwhelmed. The later Turkic invasions into the subcontinent were even worse. Please don't try to sugar coat these things...

[larryshepherd]

This is insulting for someone who knows Islamic history. There were forced conversions, throughout the expansion of Islam. You are paining an inaccurate picture of Islam being a noble and just colonial power. Black African slave trade was the most brutal of human trafficking under Islam. Til this day black Africans are seen as second class citizen.
To the people watching this I challenge you to read a book on Islam instead of this propaganda

[marcelleratafia]

Many now islamic lands, like Persia or Egypt, had a high culture before Islam, probably higher

[kuamir]

Islam came to south east asia, specifically my country malaysia and also Indonesia because of dawah effort of muslim merchants to convert rulers of the region, no forceful conversion by the sword was ever used...

[frankcalloway]

He completely went over the fact that people today will call Egyptians Arabs, even though they are Egyptians predating Arabia

[niazi]

No mention of the the Zanj rebellion and other authorities commited by arabs...

[kevintownsend]

Each time I see this man's videos, I watch and save them. Thanks for educating those of us who are new to Islam ☪️ and seek knowledge. May Allah keep you and bless you. InshaAllah

[SI-eipo]

Whenever I'm notified of your uploads, I immediately save it to my Watch Later playlist and I always make sure it's my first watch of the day!
Terrific content as usual ❤

[Nasraniksatria]

4:36 Still doesn’t justify stealing other people’s land.

[MetatronsRevenge]

From a historic standpoint, people used to do messed up stuff. We still do

[AshokGupta-oqhs]

Sir, the Arab religion's trademark was a warrior on a horse with a sword in hand.
This has not changed in 1400 years except guns replacing swords and armored vehicles/ 2 wheelers replacing horses.

[kolitmas]

What about the Dark Ages in Iran after the Arab conquest? The Iranians could not use their own language till 10th century and Ferdowsi.

[ishaqrahuya]

An important thing to also mention is that some of the early conquests were something the Muslims themselves actually wanted to avoid:

قال عمر: حسبنا لأهل البصرة سوادهم والأهواز، وددت أن بيننا وبين فارس جبلا من نار لا يصلون إلينا منه ولا نصل إليهم، كما قال لأهل الكوفة: وددت أن بينهم وبين الجبل جبلا من نار لا يصلون إلينا منه، ولا نصل إليهم.

تاريخ الرسل والملوك (٤/٧٩)

Conquest was a result of the status quo not being viable, with the aggressors being the Roman and Persian Empires. It was after the battle of Nahavand that the Muslims really were fully conquering territories with full force.