Question

how do you understand the resurgence of Islamic influence in the 20th century throughout the world?

Answer 1

Islamic Resurgence in Europe

Islamic resurgence is manifesting itself all over the globe today and the causes are not fully understood by most people. Many people, including politicians and world leaders do not appreciate the full significance of this resurgence; a movement more dynamic and sinister than the Crusades or Nazism or Communism ever was. We will examine the birth and the driving force of this movement to better understand the the causes of this resurgence and its potential consequences.

Abrahamic Faiths were/are Exclusive and Irreconcilable

The history of the Abrahamic faiths suggests that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have never been comfortable with with each another ever since the inception of these separate faiths. Each faith created an image of an “exclusive God,” and thus the righteousness of their peoples who worshipped that God. As acts of self-preservation and survival, each built insurmountable fences around their ideologies that ensured growth and excluded subversion. And like the tribal nomadic desert tribes of their origins, have ensured their survival by exclusivity, protectionism, and aggression which was part of their nomadic tribal culture. This is best understood by studying the Time line of these faiths.

While the pious and fundamentalists of each faith believed that their doctrines were the ONLY PATH to Heaven/Paradise so much so that many of the faithful and devout followers were prepared to convert others by coercion or even at the point of the sword, or even to martyr themselves for their cause. There were subtle difference between these faiths. While Judaism and Christianity believed that the word of God was conveyed through Moses, and Jesus, to be disseminated to the people, this permitted some degree of flexibility in its interpretation since it was not the literal word of God but the conveyance of the message from God. Jesus, the first protestant to Judaism paved the way for a more liberal interpretation of Gods commands. Islam, on the other hand, has proclaimed that the Qur’an contains the literal word of Allah and thus it is immutable. This difference differentiates the faiths. Islam’s ideology is locked in a time capsule of the 7th century with no room for flexibility especially since it was declared by the Islamic scholars that “the doors of Ijtihad was closed” in the 10th century CE in Sunni fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).

Hence, the Islamic codes of ethics that applied at the time of the Prophet Muhammad have not altered from then till today. Islam gauges the world with the wisdom and strict perceptions of the 7th century mores and ideologies. This is the main divide in the Abrahamic ideologies. There is no room for compromise between these different ideologies.

Nostalgia for Empire or Caliphates

It seems that with all cultures men who ruled have always dreamed of an everlasting empire under their rule leaving a legacy for posterity. I will attempt to confine the discussion here strictly to “religious empires” (Abrahamic, rather than political empires) and then only discussing events that are recent enough for it to be contemporary.

THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE – 330-1453 AD (1123 YEARS)

The Byzantine emperors were direct successors to the ancient Roman emperors and the Byzantine Empire was the Roman Empire of the Middle Ages with its capital in Constantine. The distinction between the Byzantine Empire and the Roman Empire is a modern convention. Perhaps the defining date of separation could be allotted to 324 AD when Constantine I transferred the capital from Nicomedia (Anatolia) to Byzanitium (on the Bosphorus) that later was renamed Constantinople.

Abrahamic Faiths were/are Exclusive and Irreconcilable

The history of the Abrahamic faiths suggests that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have never been comfortable with with each another ever since the inception of these separate faiths. Each faith created an image of an “exclusive God,” and thus the righteousness of their peoples who worshipped that God. As acts of self-preservation and survival, each built insurmountable fences around their ideologies that ensured growth and excluded subversion. And like the tribal nomadic desert tribes of their origins, have ensured their survival by exclusivity, protectionism, and aggression which was part of their nomadic tribal culture. This is best understood by studying the Time line of these faiths.

Heaven/Paradise so much so that many of the faithful and devout followers were prepared to convert others by coercion or even at the point of the sword, or even to martyr themselves for their cause. There were subtle difference between these faiths. While Judaism and Christianity believed that the word of God was conveyed through Moses, and Jesus, to be disseminated to the people, this permitted some degree of flexibility in its interpretation since it was not the literal word of God but the conveyance of the message from God. Jesus, the first protestant to Judaism paved the way for a more liberal interpretation of Gods commands. Islam, on the other hand, has proclaimed that the Qur’an contains the literal word of Allah and thus it is immutable. This difference differentiates the faiths. Islam’s ideology is locked in a time capsule of the 7th century with no room for flexibility especially since it was declared by the Islamic scholars that “the doors of Ijtihad was closed” in the 10th century CE in Sunni fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Hence, the Islamic codes of ethics that applied at the time of the Prophet Muhammad have not altered from then till today. Islam gauges the world with the wisdom and strict perceptions of the 7th century mores and ideologies. This is the main divide in the Abrahamic ideologies. There is no room for compromise between these different ideologies.

Nostalgia for Empire or Caliphates

It seems that with all cultures men who ruled have always dreamed of an everlasting empire under their rule leaving a legacy for posterity. I will attempt to confine the discussion here strictly to “religious empires” (Abrahamic, rather than political empires) and then only discussing events that are recent enough for it to be contemporary.

THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE – 330-1453 AD (1123 YEARS)

The Byzantine emperors were direct successors to the ancient Roman emperors and the Byzantine Empire was the Roman Empire of the Middle Ages with its capital in Constantine. The distinction between the Byzantine Empire and the Roman Empire is a modern convention. Perhaps the defining date of separation could be allotted to 324 AD when Constantine I transferred the capital from Nicomedia (Anatolia) to Byzanitium (on the Bosphorus) that later was renamed Constantinople.