þ7<—8899999999ˆ::3:3D<w<w<w <—<—<—<— Chapter 4 The Arab Conquests and Islamic Rule: The Struggle for a Unified Umma MuhammadÕs Heirs Before he died in 632 c.e., Muhammad had not left instructions as to the governance of the umma, nor, according to majority Muslim opinion, had he designated a successor to lead the Muslims. Some of the old guard quickly gathered to decide how to hold the people together and provide stable leadership and some form of continuity. Abuø Bakr, ÔUmar, and Abuø ÔUbayda took it upon themselves to select Abuø Bakr as the first khalõøfa, Òdeputy,Ó of the Prophet. They presented this decision in a peremptory manner to the Medinan community, and it was accepted, but not without some degree of resentment. This rather authoritarian and preemptive move on the part of the inner circle of companions went against the old Arabian ideas of tribal leadership, in which the shaykh was selected by a wider consensus as a first among equals who could fairly easily be overruled if he became overbearing. Muhammad had no male heir, and even if he had had one old enough to assume leadership, it is unlikely that even the ProphetÕs prestige could have smoothed the way for a sonÕs rule unless that son had had enormous native ability. Being of the ProphetÕs immediate line probably would not have been sufficient, as seems to have been proved by certain features of the subsequent history of persons who had the closest ties to MuhammadÕs family. The ShõøÔõøs, strong supporters of ÔAlõø, who emerged during the early post-Muhammad years when the Muslim government was centered at Medina, came to claim that Muhammad had designated ÔAlõø as his successor well before the ProphetÕs death. This claim has never been accepted by the majority of Muslims, who eventually evolved into the Sunnõøs and consider themselves the mainstream of Islamic faith and practice. The ShõøÕ at ÔAlõø, Òparty of ÔAlõø,Ó developed a peculiar view of Islamic governance centering in the infallible imaøms, who descended from Muhammad by way of ÔAlõø and Faøtima. The Ridda The caliphate (khilaøfa), as the new form of government soon came to be known, had much to do. After Muhammad had passed from the scene, Arab tribes near and far began to reassess the close associations that they had maintained with Medina under MuhammadÕs leadership. This development came to be called the ridda,1 Òapostasy,Ó and where it took the form of withdrawal from the Medina-centered Muslim rule, it was met by stern military measures on Abuø BakrÕs initiative and, even more, ÔUmarÕs, who emerged as the real power broker. Muhammad had never succeeded in uniting all of Arabia, either politically or religiously. The regions surrounding Mecca and Medina seem to have been quite well islamized and subjugated, but more distant territories, such as eastern Arabia, Yemen, and the Hadramaut, had to be forcefully incorporated into the umma during the caliphate of Abuø Bakr. But the wars of the ridda should not be thought of exclusively as a struggle to reclaim what had been lost after MuhammadÕs death. In a real sense, they were the first wave of the great Arab-Muslim conquests that were to extend within a generation the new order into all the Near East. The great foreign conquests were important economically for the reunited Arab tribes, which not only realized enormous wealth from them in the form of booty but also soon began to migrate into the new lands as administrators, military garrisons, and settlers. The MuslimsÕ Foreign Conquests The lands lying closest to Arabia were taken relatively easily.2 Egypt was conquered by the great general ÔAmr ibn al-Aøs in 640 c.e. What began as a raid on EgyptÕs eastern frontier in 639 ended with the surrender of the Byzantine army, which had long occupied Egypt. The Arab conquest of Egypt was a costly loss to the Byzantine Empire, because of its great value as a major producer of ConstantinopleÕs agricultural products. The Egyptians were not opposed to the Arab conquest and viewed it as potentially a brighter prospect than continued life under the oppressive Byzantine rule. Similar attitudes existed in other regions that came under Arab rule. The Greek forces retook Alexandria in 645, but they held it for only a short time before Egypt settled permanently into the Islamic and Arabian orbit. The process of arabization and islamization in Egypt was very gradual; until the present there has been a substantial Christian (Coptic) minority in the country. The Islamic movement brought a new religion and new patterns to Near Eastern life, but it also wisely and profitably encouraged the subject peoples also to continue many of their old ways. The old citied life of the region continued with new cities taking root and participating in a new internationalism that was made possible by the Arab-Islamic empire, centered in Damascus, and the even more cosmopolitan order of the Abbasids, with its capital in Iraq, at Baghdad. The centers of power and culture of the ancient Near EastÑEgypt, Mesopotamia, and SyriaÑonce again became prestigious and powerful under Islamic rule. It was soon seen to be impossible to manage a vast governmental bureaucracy and administer far-flung regions from so remote a place as Medina. Thus the old centers of Near Eastern influence and trade were revived before long, and business continued as usual, albeit with a new international language (which was fortuitously close to the Aramaic that was still spoken in many parts of the Fertile Crescent) and a universal religion that was quite tolerant of the older faiths, which it resembled in significant ways. Egypt In Egypt, the center of power shifted from the Mediterranean coast and Alexandria to the interior and the Nile city of Babilon, next to which Cairo was eventually founded by the ShõøÔõø Faøtimid dynasty in 969. With the abandonment of the great old Hellenistic cultural and intellectual center of Alexandria at the borders of the Daør al-Islaøm, the ÒAbode of Surrender,Ó a long and distinguished era ended. Egypt henceforth looked to the East for political associations and cultural contacts. Large numbers of Arabs eventually migrated to the land of the Nile and intermarried and intermingled with the native Egyptians, to the point that Egyptians to this day regard themselves as both Egyptian and Arab. For centuries, the indigenous Christian Egyptians, the Copts, continued to be numerically dominant, but under Muslim governments. The Dhimmõøs Throughout the regions that the Islamic governments came to rule, many of the indigenous peoples gradually converted to the new religion. But this process was slow, and there were always significant groups that retained their traditional faiths. But Islam eventually became the majority religion, and the Muslim governments were fairly tolerant, though condescending toward Christians and Jews, especially. Peoples of the Book, whether Jewish, Christian, or Zoroastrian (in the Iranian regions), were granted dhimmõø, ÒprotectedÓ status, in their own enclaves and with their own community rules governing internal matters.3 These dhimmõøs came in time to be restricted by a law known as the ÒCovenant of ÔUmarÓ attributed to the second caliph, although actually enacted long after his time. The ÒCovenant of ÔUmarÓ applied only to People of the Book. Polytheists were offered either conversion to Islam or death (although later the Hindus were included among those religious communities possessing sacred books, because of the existence of Vedas and other scriptures as well as the practical political necessity of dealing with a vast and varied people). The dhimmõøs were forbidden to build new houses of worship on new sites, but they could repair existing ones. They were not allowed to publicize their religion in order to attract new adherents, but they had the freedom to maintain their own forms of worship and belief, passing them down from generation to generation. They were required to wear distinctive clothing, to treat Muslims with respect and deference, and to pay a poll tax, known as jizya. The jizya was paid in lieu of the zakaøt, which the Muslims were required to pay. In addition, there was a land tax known as kharaøj. The dhimmõøs could not bear arms, ride horses, or serve in the military, but they were granted protection from enemies of the state. For many generations in the early centuries of the Islamic movement, the dhimmõøs often occupied high and honored positions in government. Their talents and long experience in the civilized centers of the Muslim empire were sorely needed, indeed often indispensable. It was some time before the rougher tribal peoples, who constituted the leadership of government, would be able to deal with the complex and subtle details of advanced bureaucracies and cultural institutions. Gradually, however, the vigorous new people from Arabia intermingled with the sophisticated and sedentary older ones, and a true Islamic civilization came into being. When this had been achieved, the dhimmõøs and other minorities dwindled into regional ethnic groups, though sometimes of significant sizeÑas in EgyptÑbut without political or military power. Although the letter of Islamic law regarding the dhimmõøs was somewhat harsh, the application of it varied greatly from place to place and period to period. For the greater part, the People of the Book have been treated tolerantly and respectfully by the Muslims, far more so than could be said of non-Christians in predominantly Christian lands over the same centuries (the Western Middle Ages down...
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