now what? david koeller september 2005. the spread of islam
TRANSCRIPT
Now What?
David Koeller September 2005
The Spread of Islam
The Ottoman Empire
European Modernization
In the 19th century Europe saw: Industrial Revolution Growth of Nation-State Expansion of Liberal political
institutions Increasing reliance on science and
technology
Muslim Countries attempt to respond
19th Century Ottoman Reforms
Sultan Selim III (1789-1807) Reforms the army to make it more like
those of Europe Introduces new weapons and tactics Army is trained by Europeans Defeats Napoleon at the Battle of Acre
(1799) Janissary revolt in 1807 ends reforms
19th Century Ottoman Reforms
Mahmud II (1808-39) Begins reforms in 1826: Emphasizes artillery Changes government to be more
bureaucratic and organized Creates some local legislatures Centralizes administration
19th Century Ottoman Reforms
Abdulmecid I (1839-61) and the Tanzimat Reforms It adopted the Western philosophy that a
state was to o do for its people what the people wanted or needed and could not do for themselves....
Tanzimat Reforms
Reform of Tax system (ended tax farming)
New Commercial Code based on a French model
Judicial reforms 1846: First meeting of a parliament
Young Turks
Wanted constitution and democratic government
Come to power in a 1909 Revolution
Islam and Democracy
Umma—the community of believers Ulema—there are no clerics in Islam However: law comes from God
Ottoman Empire and War Goals
•The Ottoman Empire was one of two areas that had not been claimed by one Great Power or another.
•The fate of the Ottoman Empire was one of the •important concerns during the war.
The Fourteen Points
XII. The Turkish portions of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development, and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under international guarantees.
British Commitments
The Sykes-Picot agreement Divided the Ottoman Empire between
Britain and France Hussein ibn Ali, Emir of the Hejaz:
would be made Caliph Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, Emir of the Nejd:
would be king of an Arab national-state Balfour Agreement
November 2nd, 1917 Dear Lord Rothschild, . . .
"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may Prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours sincerely, Arthur James Balfour
Treaty of Sevres
The Arabic speaking portions of the Ottoman Empire were to be divided between France and Britain. Palestine and Mesopotamia to
Britain. Syria and Lebanon to France
Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf coast would be under British influenced monarchs.
Treaty of Sevres
Turkey under Attaturk
British occupy Turkey Greece invades Turkey to “liberate”
Greek city-states Mustafa Kemal regroups Turkish army
and begins war against occupying forces
Kemal [Attaturk] tries to establish a secular state on a European model
Covenant of the League of NationsARTICLE 22. [Mandates]To those colonies and territories which as a
consequence of the late war have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied the principle that the well-being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilisation and that securities for the performance of this trust should be embodied in this Covenant.
Covenant of the League of NationsThe best method of giving practical effect to this
principle is that the tutelage of such peoples should be entrusted to advanced nations who by reason of their resources, their experience or their geographical position can best undertake this responsibility, and who are willing to accept it, and that this tutelage should be exercised by them as Mandatories on behalf of the League. The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage of the development of the people, the geographical situation of the territory, its economic conditions and other similar circumstances.
Covenant of the League of Nations
Certain communities formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire have reached a stage of development where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory.
Mandates inArabia
Iraq (Mesopotamia) An ethnically and culturally diverse
region. Tribal groups: Kurds and Bedouin Arabs, both Sunni and Shi’ite Nestorian (Assyrian) Christians Jews
No sense of national identity. For local leadership, the British had to rely
on former officers of the Ottoman army.
Ba’thism
Socialist. Pan-Arabic. Third-world Republicanism.
Pan-Arabism
A response to the problems of modernization.
Looks to the unification of all Arabs into a single national state.
The “United Arab Republic:” Egypt, Syria and Iraq.
1956 Nasser Nationalizes Suez Canal
Canal Company was owned by British and French stockholders.
Britain, France and Israel join in a war to take back the canal and to overthrow Nasser.
US and Soviet Union intervene. Egypt pays reparations for the canal.
1967: Six-Day War
Israel in 1967
1973: Yom Kippur War
Egypt and Syria attack Israel to recover lost territory.
Peace with Egypt
1977: Pres. Sadat visits Jerusalem 1979: Camp David Agreement Why?
Humiliation of war with Israel Cost of war Possibility of aid from US
Abandons other Arab nations
The Islamist Alternative
After Yom Kippur War, Egypt looses its leadership position.
Secular nationalism and the Ba’th party are discredited.
New emphasis on Islamic identity, not Arab identity.
Theorists
Sayyid Qutb—Egypt Mawlana Mawdudi—Pakistan Ruhollah Khomeini—Iran
Wahabbi
Mohammed Ibn Abd al-Wahab(1703-1791)
return to the basic Islam of the seventh century, that is, to a purely Arabic Islam
He formed an alliance with Mohammed Ibn Saud
This led to forming Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia and Wahabism
With Yom Kippur War, Saudi Arabia becomes very wealthy.
This money is used in part to support its brand of Islam around the world.
Both mosques and schools are subsidized.
Problems for the Constitution
Federation or National Government? Secular State? Islamic State? Role of Women? Oil Revenues
Political Identity
Which comes first? Muslim Iraqi Shi’ite or Sunni Arab or Kurd Family or Tribe
Ethnic Divisions
Sunni Kurds Sunni Arabs Shi’ite Arabs Christians (Assyrians) Turkmen
Problems of Federation:Possible Breakup of the Country
Turkey fears the formation of a Kurdish state
US fears that Shi’ite state could become subordinate to Iran
Sunni Arabs could join with Saudi Arabia
Problems of Federation:Oil Revenues
Oil deposits are located in the Shi’ite region in the South in the Kurdish region in the North
The Sunni region in the center is without oil reserves
De-Ba’athification
Ba’athism Secular and nationalist movement Socialist and pan-Arabic Hussein turned it into a personality cult
Problems of De-Ba’athification
Not all joined the Ba’ath party because they believed in its views
All government officials were Ba’athists
The elite army units were Ba’athist
Problems of De-Ba’athification
Remove too many Ba’athists and you remove people who have the technical expertise needed to run the country
Remove too many Ba’athists and you have a large unemployment problem
Remove too few Ba’athists and you have criminals at large
Problem of US and Imperialism
To many the constitution is already suspect because it appears to be imposed by the US
This perception will be strengthened if: US insists of separation of Mosque and
State US insists on equal rights for women
Robert Pape: Suicide Terrorism
“ . . .[M]odern suicide terrorism is best understood as an extreme strategy for national liberation against democracies with troops that pose an imminent threat to control territory the terrorist view as their homeland.”
Suicide Bombings
Pape finds that suicide terrorism: Is almost always directed against
democracies Is a strategy consciously chosen by a
weak group facing a stronger enemy Has a specific strategic objective Is nationalist, rather than religious Is almost always directed against an
occupying foreign power
Opposition Elements
Iraqi nationalists see US as occupying force
Islamists see US as a crusader state Sunni muslims who would be a
minority in an democratic Iraqi state
What are the US options?
Stay the course How long a commitment? Will the US be perceived as an imperial
power? How will this be perceived by Muslims in
other states?
What are US options?
Pull troops out now Could lead to civil war Civil war could easily expand into
regional war
Points
Islam and Democracy can be compatible
Problem of a post-colonial state remain
Need to allow the Iraqi state to evolve
Islam had been one of the dominant cultures of the world
Muslims regard themselves as the inheritors of the biblical tradition.
Muslims created one of the world’s great civilizations.
While Europeans were in their Dark Age, Islam dominated Eurasia.
The Qur’an
<qur’an> “Recitations”Believed to be literally the
word of God
Teachings
Radical Monotheism<Muslim>: “one who
submits” <umma>: the Community of
all Muslims
Five Pillars of Islam <Shahadah>: “There is no god but Allah
and Mohammad is his prophet” Prayer five times a day. <Zakat>: giving alms to the poor Fasting during Ramadan <Hajj>: if possible, a pilgrimage to Mecca
once in one’s life
Jihad
<jihad> “struggle” Struggle against one’s desires Struggle against society’s
pressures Dar al’islam Dar al harb
Shari’a: Islamic Law
<Shar’ia>: “The path to be followed” Law is regarded as divine Humans must submit to God’s law Law addresses one’s actions Rewards and punishments in the
afterlife
Sources of Shar’ia
Qur’an Sunna from the Had’ith Consensus of opinion <Ijma> Analogy <Qiyas> Personal application of intellect
<Ijtahad>
Jurisprudence
Worship: purification, salah (prayer), zakah (tax), sawm (fasting), Hajj, Jihad.
Finance: trade, interest, purchase, leasing & hiring, debts, gifts, endowments, deposits, hoarding
Jurisprudence
Penal: murder, theft, adultery, slander, robbery, drinking, oaths, coercion.
Family & Personal: marriage, divorce, custody, support, inheritance, freeing of slaves
Ulema: Legal Scholars
They are not a priesthood or clergy They are recognized for their learning
and piety They are not officers of the
government The government can enforce the
rulings of the ulema <fatwa> A legal opinion
Fiqh: Jurisprudence
Four schools of Law Hanafi Maliki Shafi’i Hanbali
Agreement on about 75% of decisions
Sects: Sunni
The majority of Muslims are Sunni
<Sunnah>: “Path” or “way”
Sects: Shi’a
Recognize Mohammad’s son-in-law as legitimate successor
Look to the example of Ali’s son Hussein
Twelver Sect regards 11 “Imams” as successor
Tend to place emphasis on poor and oppressed
Sects: Shi’a
Traditionally regard politics as profane. The ulema (mullahs) therefore have little to do with the government.
Sects: Sufi
Islamic Mysticism “Mystical union” with Allah could be
taken as a claim of divinity Sufi can be Sunnis or Shi’as