Mongol Conquest Of Islam

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, consisting of 1.6 billion in 2010 with the projected growth of 2.76 billion in 2050 . Islam originated in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in the seventh century. The Arabic word “jihad” is translated as struggling or striving . It is most often associated with the concept of a spiritual or “holy war”. It is a religious duty used to portray a believer’s devotion to Islam. Throughout history the spread of Islam has been categorized between three periods, most commonly known as the “Three Jihads”. The first jihad was the imperialism in five continents between 700-1000 AD, the second jihad involved the Christian Crusades as well as the Mongol conquest of Islam between 1000-1300 AD and the last and final
jihad is the modern state of Islam’s vision for western civilizations, specifically America.
To elaborate, the First Jihad occurred during the beginning of the Muslim Empire. It began with the imperialism of five continents between 700-1000 AD. Soon after Muhammad’s death in 632 AD his successors Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali began to rapidly expand Islam. These caliphs were politically motivated to conquer lands beyond their borders. Tolerance of any other religion was nonexistent, which was vastly different from the Charter of Medina that Muhammad had established years earlier. The leadership became hereditary, and the Umayyad dynasty emerged out of the aristocracy of the Quraysh . Muslim armies began to move out of Arabia into the Fertile Crescent, Central Asia, North Africa, and westward into Italy, Spain and Portugal . The wars of expansion were encouraged by the devotion of the faithful. Muslims then and now are obliged to protect their religion from attack and to extend their faith to non-believers .
Next, the second wave of jihad involved the Christian Crusades as well as the Mongol conquest of Islam between 1000-1300 AD.
In 1258 under the leadership of Hulago Khan, the Mongolian army threatened the Muslim Empire by decimating the city of Baghdad. After one week, the Mongols destroyed mosques, hospitals, libraries, and so much more. Approximately 200,000 to 1,000000 people were slaughtered. The city was virtually destroyed, and would take many years for the city to regain its prominence . They continued to move through the Muslim Empire by conquering Syria but was defeated by The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt once they reached Palestine. Although the Mongols were defeated in conquering the Muslim Empire, they successfully destroyed their political and economic institutions. The Christian Crusades began when the Turks invaded the Balkans which spread to Vienna, Austria. Papal authority sent crusaders to the Holy Land (Byzantine Empire) and previously owned Christian territory, to recapture it from Muslim control. Overtime Muslim and Christian armies fought viciously in the name of their religion. Much like the fate of the Mongolian armies, the Mamluk forces were too much for the Crusaders. In 1453 Muslim armies successfully conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, which permitted the spread of Islam into southeastern Europe
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The last and final wave of jihad addresses the modern state of Islamic views for western democracies.
Radical Islamists wants the West to understand, that Islam is the “one true religion”. Jihad is not a new concept that gain publicity after the 9/11 attacks, but had been occurring for centuries around the world. According to Omar Bakri Muhammad, “Jihad is a foreign policy to expand the Islamic authority all over the world.” Their goal is to ultimately infiltrate, dominate and implement the law of Allah in western democracies. In the words of Osama Bin Laden “The nature of the war is simply religious and radical islamists won’t not stop until the world is under Sharia law”. Their quest is for Islam to be the law of the land. The persecution of women, non-believers, and homosexuals from their perspective is a threat to Islam. Western democracies are known for being a refuge for freedom of expression and human rights. The existence of any society that differentiates from Sharia law is a threat and shall be destroyed. Radical Islamist are growing at an alarming rate. Many are converted while they are incarcerated, and women are encouraged to reproduce to build the “Islamic armies”. Radical Islam is expanding and western democracies have to be honest that it poses a major threat to their societies. Instead of assimilating into the culture of their new countries, many would like for the country in which they live to adopt the Muslim way of life. Many radical islamists
infiltrate western societies and began to destroy them from within. The last wave of jihad is essentially the last major expansion of Islam to obtain world dominance under Allah.