Islam in History

Islam in History
This is an excerpt from the paper... Bernard Lewis in his book Islam in History sets out to correct the record on the role of Islam through history and on the nature of Islam today. That record has been shaped by scholars, writers, leaders, and travelers who have looked at Islam from a Western point of view that may not present a full or accurate picture. Lewis writes a different account of Islam by going back to original sources and by looking at the role of Islam in history from a more objective point of view. In part, he writes a historiography and analyzes some of the ways Islamic history has been presented, but at the same time he offers his own analysis of Islamic history and of the forces that have led to the current conflicts in that part of the world.
He begins by noting how many of the outward manifestations of Islam were changed in the Muslim countries in the nineteenth century as the "forms, language, and to some extent even the structures of public life" (3) were given a Western appearance and so a secular appearance. One result has been that the West has viewed Islam through a distorted lens based on European and American terms and categories. Lewis finds that this has affected and distorted how Westerners view Islam. He also finds that scholarship has been one source of information but that it is only as good as the translation and understanding of Islamic texts. Another source of information for the Westerner has been accounts by travelers who have journeyed through the countries of the
. . .usses Mohammed's career in Medina and the political power he gathered to himself during this time. Certain pre-Islamic practices were retained, and the ideas of the Umma were incorporated into the structure of tribalism that already existed. The Umma had a political aspect, but it also had a religious meaning as a theocracy. Fighting between Medina and Mecca was averted by a ten-year truce, but after a Muslim was killed by a Meccan, Mecca was conquered. A pro-Muslim movement started among the more distant tribes, a testimony to the strength and prestige of the Umma. Mohammed died in 632 after achieving a great deal. He had brought a new religion, and he provided it with a revealed book, the Koran. He established a community and a state. For the traditional Muslim, he was the greatest of the Apostles of God, sent to bring the final revelation of God's word to mankind. It might be charged that he had borrowed numerous elements from other religions and even from pagan customs, and it has also been pointed out that his own life was not a sterling example of the piety he expected from others: But no man understood his fellowmen better than he. And, for all his weaknesses, it was his understanding that enabled him to triu . . . Some common words found in the essay are:Iraqi Jews, Saddam Hussein, Nadhim Kzar, Muslims Indeed, Middle East, History Mohammed, Islam Western, Mohammed Little, French British, Freedom Socialism, arab world, middle east, islam history, islamic history, saddam hussein, islam lewis, own history, arab people, role islam history, ba'thi party, arab tribes, Approximate Word count = 3983 Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page)
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