Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Series Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- List of Contributors
- Introduction and Overview
- Part I Core Ideas of Millennial Theory
- Part II Approaches to Millennial History
- The Beginnings of Islam as an Apocalyptic Movement
- Before and Beyond the Sioux Ghost Dance: Native American Prophetic Movements and the Study of Religion
- ‘The day is not far off…’: The Millennial Reich and the Induced Apocalypse
- Theorizing Radical Islam in Northern Nigeria
- Postmodernity and the Imagination of the Apocalypse: A Study of Genre
- Part III Millennial Hopes, Apocalyptic Disappointments
- Index
The Beginnings of Islam as an Apocalyptic Movement
from Part II - Approaches to Millennial History
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Series Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- List of Contributors
- Introduction and Overview
- Part I Core Ideas of Millennial Theory
- Part II Approaches to Millennial History
- The Beginnings of Islam as an Apocalyptic Movement
- Before and Beyond the Sioux Ghost Dance: Native American Prophetic Movements and the Study of Religion
- ‘The day is not far off…’: The Millennial Reich and the Induced Apocalypse
- Theorizing Radical Islam in Northern Nigeria
- Postmodernity and the Imagination of the Apocalypse: A Study of Genre
- Part III Millennial Hopes, Apocalyptic Disappointments
- Index
Summary
The Early Ecumenical State of Islam
The importance of the development of Islam in the land of Syria during the seventh and eighth centuries has frequently been under-appreciated by scholars seeking to divine what the nature of the new faith was during this crucial period. According to the traditional Muslim historical interpretation, Arab tribesmen swept out of the Arabian Peninsula shortly after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. Within the short time span of 10–15 years they conquered the lands of Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Persia, halving the territory of the ancient Byzantine empire based in Constantinople, and bringing the Sasanian Persian empire to a close. These tribesmen were inspired by the faith of Islam, and according to the Muslim interpretation of events, given divine aid to judge these two evil empires. The Byzantines and the Sasanians had engaged in a pointless war previous to the Muslim invasion lasting some 25 years and destroying nearly the entire region.
This interpretation, relying as it does upon divine intervention in human affairs, has not been well received by western scholars, who have offered more mundane interpretations. These range from the climatic changes, which apparently resulted in the desiccation of the Arabian peninsula (which according to this interpretation led to the exodus of tribesmen from the region), to the superior military tactics of the Bedouin against the trained armies of the Byzantines and Sasanians.
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- War in Heaven/Heaven on EarthTheories of the Apocalyptic, pp. 79 - 94Publisher: Acumen PublishingPrint publication year: 2005