Monday, September 15, 2014

Religion of Peace?

On a Facebook thread today, a friend asked, “Was Islam founded on war and forceful conversion?” Here’s my reply:

Saladin Islam was obviously founded on war: Muhammad's battles with the Quraysh are documented in the Quran, and after his death the Muslims burst the seams of Arabia and made war on the surrounding peoples.

However forced conversion, although it existed, was rare. For the first five centuries or so, with some exceptions, the Muslims didn't care that the Jews and Christians living among them were unbelievers, as long as they submitted to the government and paid the Jizya tax. Indeed, there is some evidence that in the early years, the intent was that the Muslims would be an elite warrior caste, living off everyone else. They'd just as soon the others remained unbelievers and continue paying the Jizya. There were even incidents of Jewish and Christian communities wanting to convert, and the Muslims not wanting them to.

Around 1100, things started to change - we see more of an effort to convert non-believers to Islam, but it was accomplished mainly by economic pressure and not the sword - they made it difficult to get a job if you weren't Muslim. There were incidents of forced conversion, such as when Alp Arslan and his son Malik Shah invaded Georgia, or among the Templars and Hospitallers that Saladin captured in the wake of the Battle of Hattin (1187). Many refused and a massacre followed. But like I said, these were the exception rather than the rule.

Michael Isenberg is the author of Full Asylum, a novel about politics, freedom, and hospital gowns. Check it out on Amazon.com

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