WAS ISLAM SPREAD BY SWORD?

ARE YOU STILL IN DOUBT THE POPULAR NOTION THAT ISLAM WAS SPREAD BY SWORD?

The first few who embraced the 'new' religion at the hands of the Prophet were his wife Khadijah, his servant Zaid and his eleven year old cousin Ali. Among the ones who later joined this faith in Makkah were the honest merchant, Abu Bakr, the iron man of Arabia, Omar, the shy businessman, Othman, the Prophet's brave uncle Hamza and a poor slave, Bilal. Had those early Muslims been threatened by any sword!?

A negligible group of Muslims fled the atrocities of the unbelievers of Makkah to Abyssinia, a Christian eastern African state, seeking refuge under the guardianship of its kind King. The King of the state declared Islam upon hearing the Muslim refugees witness in his court. This was a unique event in the history of mankind whereby a King converted to the religion of a handful of refugees in his own land. Was there any 'Sword' involved in this scenario!?

Later, the negligible minority of the true Believers in this new Faith were soon driven away from Makkah with 'SWORDS' on their necks, not in their hands. In the city of their migration, Madinah, the early Muslims were brotherly welcomed and peacefully integrated with their new community. No steel 'SWORD' was involved since the early Muslims arrived as refugees to Madinah which soon became the first capital of the Islamic state. If there was a sword in this occasion then it was the 'Sword of Truth' which conquered the hearts and minds of the people just like light wipes away darkness.

Read below the impressions of some who were recently conquered by the 'Sword of Truth.' They are from different countries, speak different languages and have different backgrounds:

1. AHMED HOLT: British Civil Contractor; traveled extensively in search of the divine truth; spent much time in research and comparative study of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; embraced Islam in 1975: "The 'Sword of Islam' is not the sword of steel. I know this by experience, because the sword of Islam struck deep into my heart. It didn't bring death, but it brought a new life; it brought an awareness and it brought an awakening as to who am I and for what I am here?"

2. VANGATACHALAM ADIYAR: (Now Abdullah Adiyar); Indian, noted Tamil writer and Journalist; worked as a News Editor in Dr. M. Karunanidhi's daily 'Murasoli' for 17 years; worked with three former Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu; received Kalaimamani Award (Big Gem of Arts) from T N Government in 1982; embraced Islam in 1987: "In Islam I found suitable replies to nagging queries arising in my mind with regard to the theory of creation, status of women, creation of the universe, etc. The life history of Holy Prophet attracted me very much and made it easy for me to compare with other world leaders and their philosophies."

3. HERBERT HOBOHM: (Now Aman Hobohm); German Diplomat; missionary and social worker; an intellectual who has been serving the German diplomatic mission in various parts of the world; embraced Islam in 1941: "I have lived under different systems of life and have had the opportunity of studying various ideologies, but I have come to the conclusion that none is as perfect as Islam. None of the systems has got a complete code of a noble life. Only Islam has it; and that is why good men embrace it. Islam is not theoretical; it is practical. It means complete submission to the will of God."

4. CAT STEVENS: (Now Yusuf Islam); British; formerly Christian; world famous pop singer; embraced Islam in 1973: "It will be wrong to judge Islam in the light of the behaviour of some bad Muslims who are always shown on the media. It is like judging a car as a bad one if the driver of the car is drunk and he bangs it with the wall. Islam guides all human beings in the daily life-- in it's spiritual, mental and physical dimensions. But we must find the sources of these instructions: The Qur'an and the example of the Prophet. Then we can see the ideal of Islam."

5. MARGARET MARCUS: (Now Maryam Jamilah); American; formerly Jewish; essayist and journalist; author of many books; embraced Islam in 1962: "The authority of Islamic Morals and Laws proceeds from Almighty God. Pleasure and happiness in Islam are but the natural by-products of emotional satisfaction in one's duties conscientiously performed for the pleasure of God to achieve salvation. In Islam duties are always stressed above rights. Only in Islam did I at last find all that was true, good, beautiful and which gives meaning and direction to human life and death."

6. WILFRED HOFMAN: (Now Murad Hofman); Ph.D.(Law) Harvard; German social scientist and diplomat; author of the book 'Islam: The Alternative'; former German Ambassador to Morocco; embraced Islam in 1980: "For some time now, striving for more and more precision and brevity, I have tried to put on paper, in a systematic way, all philosophical truths, which, in my view, can be ascertained beyond reasonable doubt. In the course of this effort it dawned on me that the typical attitude of an agnostic is not an intelligent one; that man simply cannot escape a decision to believe; that the createdness of what exists around us is obvious; that Islam undoubtedly finds itself in the greatest harmony with overall reality. Thus I realise, not without shock, that step by step, in spite of myself and almost unconsciously, in feeling and thinking I have grown into a Muslim. Only one last step remained to be taken: to formalise my conversion. As of today I am a Muslim. I have arrived."

7. CASSIUS CLAY: (Now Muhammad Ali Clay); American boxer; three times world heavyweight champion, formerly Christian; embraced Islam in 1965: "I have had many nice moments in my life. But the feelings I had while standing on Mount Arafat on the day of 'Hajj' (Muslims pilgrimage), was the most unique. I felt exalted by the indescribable spiritual atmosphere there as over a million and a half pilgrims invoked God to forgive them of their sins and bestow on them His choicest blessings. It was an exhilarating experience to see people belonging to different colours, races and nationalities, kings, heads of states and ordinary men from very poor countries all clad in two simple white sheets praying to God without any sense of either pride or inferiority. It was a practical manifestation of the concept of equality in Islam." (Speaking to the daily 'Al-Madinah', Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 15 July 1989).

8. SAHIB MUSTAQIM BLEHER: German; formerly Christian; journalist; founder member and general secretary of the Islamic Party of Britain; embraced Islam in 1980: "The Qur'an, unlike other Scriptures, has its own unique style of language: simple and crisp, its basic meaning easy to understand for everybody who wishes to do so, whether a lettered person or not. Yet these simple, often allegorical sentences of the Qur'an open up upon closer contact, bringing to life the truth about ourselves and our environment in each sphere of life with an infinite depth of meaning. In fact, the language of the Qur'an is not only preserved in its originality, it is alive today as it was at the time of its revelation, it gives the reader as much as he can take, it responds to his needs as a very personal guiding companion. This book is like an on-going revelation, and whoever opens it with the sincere intention to discover the truth about it will find it impossible to put it down."

FURTHER REMARKS OF SOME PROMINENT NON-MUSLIMS REFUTING THE BASELESS ASSUMPTION, AS SUCH, ISLAM WAS SPREAD BY SWORD:

1. MAHATMA GANDHI: "... I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These, and not the sword, carried everything before them and surmounted every trouble." Young India, 1924.

2. EDWARD GIBBON: "The greatest success of Mohammad's life was effected by sheer moral force without the stroke of a sword." History of the Saracen Empire, London, 1870.

3. A.S. TRITTON: "The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword in one hand and the Qur'an in the other is quite false." Islam, London, 1951, page 21.

4. DE LACY O'LEARY: "History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims, sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated." Islam at Crossroads, London, 1923, page 8.

5. K.S. RAMAKRISHNA RAO: "My problem to write this monograph is easier because we are not generally fed now on that (distorted) kind of history and much time need not be spent on pointing out our misrepresentations of Islam. The theory of Islam and sword, for instance, is not heard now in any quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam that 'there is no compulsion in religion' is well known." Mohammad the Prophet of Islam, Riyadh 1989, page 4.

6. JAMES A. MICHENER: "No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam ... The West has widely believed that this surge of religion was made possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts that idea, and the Qur'an is explicit in support of the freedom of conscience." Islam - The Misunderstood Religion, Reader's Digest (American Edition), May 1955.

7. LAWRENCE E. BROWNE: "Incidentally these well-established facts dispose of the idea so widely fostered in Christian writings that the Muslims, wherever they went, forced people to accept Islam at the point of the sword." The Prospects of Islam, London 1944.