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| Surrender of King Guy of Lusignan to Salah ad-Din in 1187 at Hattin |
Introduction
‘Lost Islamic History’ is a book by Firas Alkhateeb
that seeks to dissect modern attitudes toward Islam, from non-Muslims and Muslims
alike, that often cloud our understanding of the history of the Islamic World.
As the title suggests, it is ‘Lost’ because after an intellectual drainage of
Muslim thought following colonialism and the war on terror, the world has
largely forgotten about the glorious Muslim past and the many achievements it
had to offer to humanity. Moreover, this book is a perfect starting point for
any non-specialist in history as it provides a holistic account of Muslim
history from the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to the subjugation of
Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli settler-state. Therefore, this book is
ideal for anyone seeking to unpack Islamic history and the diverse cultures it
encapsulates from the shores of the Atlantic to the Gangetic plains.
The expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate from 632 to 656
Summary
Lost Islamic History explains the history of the
Muslims in the context of the pre-Islamic Middle East, dominated by the
Byzantine and Sassanid Empires who ruled north of the deserts of Arabia, giving
rise to the movement of Islam led by the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Eventually,
the State of Medina expanded inside Arabia, transforming into the Rashidun
Caliphate that burst onto the scene, defeating the Byzantines and the Sassanids
after dealing with apostates following the death of the Prophet. The Caliphate
expanded, encapsulating the environs of Carthage to the borderlands of the
Indus Valley. The Rashidun Caliphate was replaced by the Umayyad Caliphate that
had taken over after a civil war between Muslims. They continued the expansion
and conquered Iberia and the Indus Valley. However, a string of oppressive
taxation policies resulted in the Abbasid revolution that saw the Umayyads only
be weathered by Abdul Rahman’s Emirate in Cordoba.
Alkhateeb puts emphasis on the Abbasids, who he claims
ushered in an era of scientific, technological, and intellectual Golden Age in
the Muslim world, laying the foundations for the Renaissance centuries later.
The author then takes a turn and talks about the perils faced by the Muslim
world that materialized during the Golden Age, such as the Shia Century, the
Crusades, and the Mongol invasions. Following this period, the book paints the
image of a ravaged Muslim world that needed a revival, accomplished by the
Ottoman Empire that ruled for six centuries before meeting its stagnation and
inevitable downfall. The author takes a break from the chronology from this
point to narrate the history of al-Andalus and the lesser-known aspects of
Islamic history, such as the regions of West Africa, East Africa, China, and Southeast
Asia. The later parts of the book cover the decline of the Muslim world, from
the collapse of the Mughals, the decay of the Ottomans, and the rise of the
West, to the ideas of nationalism and secularism that came to the Muslim world
with it, and how they influence Islamic reform movements today.
Main Themes & Aspects
Perhaps the most important aspect and theme of this
book is its clinical relation of the history of Islam, with all its diverse
peoples across different corners of the world, to the Prophet Mohammad,
creating a narrative of Pan-Islamist unity over secular nationalism, for
example, the vast borders of the Umayyad Caliphate:
“The Umayyad caliphate stretched
from Spain to India, making it the largest empire in the world.”
The expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate from 656 to 750
This
book does not view history from the modern lens of secular nationalism and
identity-based politics, but rather from a standpoint of truth with a capital
T, that is independent of any race or nation, and more intricately related to
religion. Moreover, the chronology of events from the rise of Islam in the
deserts of Arabia to the modern Muslim world is well-knit, allowing us to view
Islamic history in explicit themes.
The author borrows his primary theme from Ibn Khaldun’s
cyclic theory. This theory states that typically, a cohesive dynasty rises to
power and conquers a region, consolidating its hold. It then renders plenty of
wealth, allowing for stature, identity, and legitimacy. As a result, the rulers
begin patronizing scholars, resulting in intellectual flourishment, as
mentioned in the book:
“Muslim and
non-Muslim from across the world flocked to Baghdad to be part of Al-Ma'mun's
project ‘Bait Al-Hekmah’ or ‘House of Wisdom’”
Eventually,
the dynasty would stagnate with frail rulers popping up, who would trigger their
deterioration. This would result in another dynasty taking over, continuing the
cycle. The author applies the same theme to the Islamic world. Muslims made advancements
when their rulers followed Islam and fell into decline when their rulers
neglected the teachings of Islam and engaged in debased behavior.
Scientific and literary progress became another pattern
after conquests and conversions. Islamic scholars were rewarded for their work
with tremendous swathes of land and glut of gold. The Muslim kingdoms of West
Africa are cited as an example by the author:
“Both Mali and the Songhai
Empire, which replaced Mali in the late 1400s, granted special benefits to
Islamic scholars, commonly giving them tracts of land and charters of
privilege.”
Another theme that the book depicts Islamic history
with are the patterns of religious tolerance that attracted religious
minorities from other civilizations, as shown by Ottoman conquests:
“Although
he took Constantinople by force, Mehmet did not impose Islam on the city's
inhabitants. They were free to continue to practice religion as they did before
the conquest.”
The arrival of Islam did not mean the eradication of
indigenous cultures, but rather it was a genuine intermixing of the local
culture with Islamicate culture. Another theme repeated in the book is the
promising idea that Muslims were rarely unified during history. Therefore, it
is not something to be demotivated and disenchanted about, but something to
take inspiration from as the Muslim world has gone through similar trials
before and has remained resilient.
Unique Features
The best feature of the book is its simple vocabulary
and compactness. It is a complete package of fourteen centuries of Islamic
history at its disposal. From historians to laymen, this book benefits everyone, as
it is not merely a narration of history from the 7th century to the 20th
century. But an attempt to shift the paradigms set by Orientalist literature
several centuries ago, whose tropes persist today. Moreover, the book
illustrates neglected parts of the Muslim world such as Southeast Asia or West
Africa. Alkhateeb also comes up with interesting ideas. The fun fact notes that
are sprinkled across the book often provide refreshing and fascinating
information with a near-perfect balance of detail and precision. For example,
here is an excerpt on the humility of the Arabs:
“The royal standard of the
Sassanids was captured at Qadisiyya and taken to Medina. Rather than keep it as
a symbol of Islam’s victory over Persia, ‘Umar ordered that it be destroyed and
its jewels and gold be sold to feed the poor.”
Criticism
As much as scientific progress is great for a
civilization’s repertoire, it is not a standard to judge it by. The book makes
the apparent assumption that scientific and intellectual progress is what makes
a civilization great and falls into an inferiority complex that Muslims need to
be similar to the West to be great, and since the West is known for its
intellectual progress, the author tries to make Islamic civilization look
similar the West to make it look ‘great’. In reality, vigor, self-confidence,
virility, resilience, commitment to religion, strong moral values, and optimism
made Islamic civilization great, not scientific and material progress.
Furthermore, if we take intellectual success as a cornerstone of a successful
civilization, then it creates a dilemma where we have materialistically
successful non-Muslim societies and Muslim societies that are not so
scientifically advanced, something that the author has fails to reconcile.
The author also seems to manifest a victimhood
mentality, where Islamic Civilization is portrayed as a contributor to the
Renaissance so that Muslims can be validated to a Western audience. This also
perpetuates the idea that one needs to be Western to be civilized, as mentioned
earlier. The book does the same by perpetuating the idea of a ‘Golden Age’ of
Islam, which is an Orientalist construct only attributed to a period that gave
the most benefit to the West. In reality, there were periods where Muslims
reached greater heights, in terms of material and also spiritual achievements.
The Muslim 'Golden Age' in 762
The book is an outstanding summary of glorious Muslim
history fits into a little above 250 pages. But, like all summaries, it does
lose a bit of appeal as it has too many clichés and common knowledge rather
than nuance. This book aims to revive the Muslim world’s ‘lost’ history, but
instead, the author finds himself reconstructing Muslim history in light of
victimhood, Orientalism, and otherization. As a result, true Muslim history
remains lost and unclaimed.
Conclusion
Despite its numerous issues, Alkhateeb’s Lost Islamic
History breaks the deadlock that existed in academic literature on the lack of
an unapologetically Muslim presentation of their history. It does a splendid
job of cramming the galaxy of the Muslim world into an easily accessible book.
It not only gives an account of the rise of Islam with the Prophet Mohammad
(PBUH), the Rashidun, Umayyad, and Abbasid Caliphates, the intellectual Golden
Age, Crusades, Shia revolutions, Mongol invasions, the rise of the Ottomans,
and so on but also provides us with a narrative that aims to characterize much
of the annals of Muslim history into common themes, with its aim to fight
neo-Orientalist stereotypes. With its excellent features providing us with
plenty of fascinating information, and its numerous shortcomings exposing the
problematic victim mentality held by the author, this book remains the go-to
source for anyone, Muslim or not, seeking to familiarize themselves with Muslim
history and civilization.
Similar Books
After reading the book, we should have a general idea
about most aspects of Muslim history and we are then presented with a choice to
go deeper into any of its vast cultures. The Edinburg History of Islamic
Empires is one particular series of well-written books that is perfect for the
next step. They have books on the Seljuks, Fatimids, Almohads, Almoravids, and
many more upcoming titles. If our curiosity was sparked by reading about the
life of the Prophet, then Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by
Martin Lings is one of the best pieces of literature on it. Similarly, the
First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate by G.R. Hawting is another book
one would enjoy if one liked the Umayyads. For the turbulent period between the
rise of the Seljuks to the Mongol invasions between the 11th and 13th
centuries, Ibn Athir’s al-Kamil fi’l Ta’arikh is a fascinating medieval account
that not only contains historical details about these events but also contains
anomalous information regarding the day-to-day life in the medieval Islamic
world, giving us a fantastic feel of the atmosphere of those times. There is
also the 100 Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi for those interested in
modern Islamic history, particularly the plight of the Palestinians.
Book Rating
A quantified evaluation of this book will also be
provided keeping in view the historical accuracy, the themes, and the simplicity
of the text.
For historical accuracy, this book would get a 3/5 as
it contains several chronological errors where the author disconnects from the
main timeline rather often. It also contains several historical inaccuracies
and lack of nuance. For example, the author claims that the Seljuks had
collapsed by the 11th century, which is not true, as they had
survived till the 14th century. Moreover, he also mentions that the
Mongols had never been defeated until Ayn Jalut: “Sultan Baybars led the
Mamluks in a pitched battle where he used the Mongol’s own cavalry tactics
against them, leading to the first Mongol defeat since they arrived in Muslim
lands”. This is not true, as the Khwarezmians had famously defeated the Mongols
at the Battle of Parwan in Afghanistan.
For the themes, this book gets a solid 4/5 as it does a
commendable job of breaking away from traditional secular scholarship and portraying
Muslim history through the lens of Islam itself. However, the book fails to
explore the themes that make Islamic history unique which are their emphasis on values and law as interpreted by traditional Muslim scholarship. Therefore, it would be a 4/5 and not a 5/5.
This book gets a 5/5 for accessibility, simplicity, and
readability. This book can be picked up and read within a few weeks by anyone,
something that is not true for most academic works today. Therefore, a final
average rating would be a 4/5.
