The Story of Islam 1983 Documentary of the World's Fastest Growing Religion

[Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] ah six centuries after the birth of christ a barely known nomadic people emerging from arabia were on the point of thrusting themselves into history they will travel far beyond the limits of the desert to make their mark on the rich land of europe and of north africa they were arabs the followers of a new faith islam and one century later this faith will hold its way over a large area of our world they will threaten and conquer part of the christian empire of byzantium a barbarous europe spain sicily southern france and part of italy and of the newly planted christian faith already dispossessed of some of its oldest strongholds what does it mean to us what was islam before our time what do we know of it today what is this religion which our western world out of fear pride or indifference has most often refused to acknowledge and which it has for a long time looked at only through the distorting glass of the crusades what islam says today is said by nearly a billion human beings who are muslims in arabic the muslim moon those who profess the islamic faith they are in the arabian peninsula in cairo egypt in damascus syria in baghdad iraq [Music] more in new delhi india in lahore pakistan in samarkand in the soviet union [Music] in kuala lumpur malaysia in istanbul between europe and asia [Music] in sarajevo in yugoslavia [Music] and likewise in timbuktu in the heart of africa in paris just as they are in the modern cities of america [Music] this mosque is in the city of washington [Music] geographically the muslim religion reaches over an extensive portion of the earth between the atlantic and the pacific its frontiers are not sharply defined here and there they are taking non-muslim minorities while even beyond them the faith is spreading islam has conquered some of the most isolated deserts in the world from the indian to the sahara [Music] and in contrast some of the most populous spots on our globe the valleys of the nile and the ganges and the islands of indonesia muslim civilization extends from the unshaded eastern deserts to the high steps of iran afghanistan and central asia here muslims call themselves kurds turkmons caregives or patans some nomadic some settled forming a mosaic of peoples and customs the same varieties all the way from snows to the warm seas of indonesia malaysia and the southern philippines millions of people living on far away islands millions more muslims but beyond nationality and the difference of cultures beyond all division of politics faith is a strong bond which links together these [Music] souls [Music] at every moment of the day there are muslims somewhere in the world turning towards mecca to pray [Music] the sacred core where pilgrims are to be found every year bearing witness to the spiritual unity this brotherhood which knows no frontiers the faith of islam is gaining new territory it is spreading in africa from senegal to somalia from mauritania and chad into cameroon and southern equatorial of africa but it encompasses other contrasts besides those of country those of manner of life at one extreme rural communities with closely guarded traditions and the other modern cities progress [Music] industry [Music] in some countries islam is the inspiration for every aspect of political life as in arabia where the king is also the prime minister and commander-in-chief of the army and where the sole source of the law is the quran where and how god whose prophet is muhammad as he revealed himself to man where did this civilization begin [Music] in arabia or as its own people call it the island of arabia it is virtually an island in the past to travel a real knowledge of navigation was required across the waves of sand and stretches of rock in the north over the waters of the red sea to the west [Music] over the indian ocean and the persian gulf to the south and to the east cut off from asia and africa by sea and from the ancient lands of persia and the eastern mediterranean by the desert this half continent three times the size of france shows many faces but forms in its occupants a sort of common consciousness on the west along the red sea rises a frontier of mountains over a mile high in the south and southwest chains of yet higher mountains form the more fertile regions of yemen and hadra mount sloping down in the center to the persian gulf a huge desert plateau a giant tableland [Music] [Music] history already had numerous and long-established relationships with the settled part of arabia we find evidence of these contacts in the valley of the nile here in fibs in upper egypt thirty-five centuries ago lived queen hatshepsut who sent out an expedition against what was then known as the land of punt situated on both sides of the mouth of the red sea the story of the whole expedition is related along the walls of the queen's tomb the landings the offerings the welcoming ceremonies in the south close to the sources of the nile in ethiopia archaeology has proved that people from southern arabia crossed the red sea in the sixth or fifth century before christ and settled here in the highlands of ethiopia which were in so many ways like the territories they have left here the arabs established a great independent kingdom more and more traces of which are being discovered each year the greatest settlement of the arab civilization in ethiopia was at axum the capital of the kingdom which began arab and became ethiopian and christian in the 16th century a.d a kingdom which was able to survive in complete isolation well beyond the year 1000 all these traces bear witness of what was certainly a great arab civilization which we know so little about but it is not only stones that remind us the memory of man is recorded in the manuscripts of christian ethiopia continued to describe to us the life of this queen of sheba whose huge kingdom stretched along both sides of the red sea she is the lady as we are told in the biblical book of kings who gave a large quantity of spices and precious stones to solomon in craft more imposing the leaves but perhaps of the same model the red sea carried men and products between africa and asia for many centuries across the sea the trade was carried on turning southern arabia into a cradle of [Music] civilization this was the arabia felix the happy arabia of antiquity the country of perfumes incense and more an enchanted and fabled land if this arabia had sailors and kings it had more important than all peasants by their efforts the land became rich irrigated and fertile people said that the areas of cultivation were so thick that the horsemen could ride for a month without leaving the shade the whole agricultural and hydraulic system depended upon a huge dam at maddim of which not a trace [Music] remains it is here at sana the capital of yemen that we can visualize what the towns of this old civilization were like by themselves these palaces of stone reveal the originality of the settled countries of the south proud of their strength and their traditions here can be learned something of the golden age of the southern arabia before the coming of the prophet between 7th century bc and 2nd century a.d there were also fabrics perfumes and different woods which the harbors today seeming so modest received from india and eastern africa gathered into the towns these products were carried by caravans along the routes to egypt to syria to the roman west and to mesopotamia the vast trade from which southern arabia was the starting point changed fundamentally the relations between the nomads of the center and the settlers of the south the antiquity between two worlds between two ways of life gave way to an inevitable collaboration the nomad could not do without the merchant who paid him for the right of crossing his territory and a merchant couldn't do without the nomad who guided his caravans soon the ports and warehouses of the south were in touch with the great markets of the north the city-states of petra and palmyra centuries at the gates of arabia nudging the economic and cultural borders of the mediterranean [Music] jordan a narrow path 12 miles long and at the end an enormous half circle of cliffs this town which can only be reached via a single road this walk town in petra this town which arab tribes called nabataeans founded in the fifth century before christ was influenced by greek culture but even if written in aramaic the spoken language was arabic generations of bedouins have stopped here these temples these stores these tombs these ruins bear witness to the busy life of a large town a caravan port petra became the capital of an arab merchant state which redistributed the produce of the east throughout the mediterranean rome objected made sure of her control over the town and then absorbed it for good under trajan in the first century of our era another great desert port created by arab nomads turned settlers palmyra in syria at the crossroads of roots coming from the south and the east itself a relay point on the route to central asia and china in the time of its splendor between the first and third century a.d palmyra or as it is called here tatmur was governed by a local aristocracy which made it one of the great forces in the eastern mediterranean the history of palmyra which ends with queen zenobia in arabic zainab is that of a merchant aristocracy which believed it could rival rome and persia [Music] in the second half of the third century palmyra which governed all the caravan traffic to asia minor mesopotamia arabia egypt and western mediterranean palmyra the proud rebelled against rome a few overwhelming victories and then the roman war machine reacted the emperor aurelian captured queen zenobia and led her away in chains of gold nonetheless it is in relation to persian and roman empires in its context of politics and international trade of those times that they began in central arabia in the area of the red sea the economic ascendancy of a country called the jazz [Music] it is in the central regions in the areas faster than say all france shaped in large part by mountains gorgeous cliffs and craters it is in this land formed by the wind and heat with sand that the bedouin nomads live exactly as they have done for thousands of years amongst them we are in the heart of a country that seems to have no history but today the nomad always on the move finds his biggest challenge in these mountains the peaks rise very high more than a mile in the region of southern arabia but these same mountains have found favor with the bedouin tribes helpful in the defense of their independence they permit them to hold on to their two means of existence water and pasture it has always been as it is today the water in this desert was to be found at distances which measured by days of travel from here to the nearest well is two days journey and sometimes you arrive there and find no water either for yourself or for your camel bedouin pasture land scatty pastorage which to us appears to be as arid as the rest of the desert and yet bunches of this dirty plant are enough to banish the hunger of the bedouins camels and goats [Music] whenever the pasture appears the tents spring up and thus for centuries little islands of life have arisen out of nothing in the midst of hostile environment before the coming of the prophet bedouin society lived just as it does today the daily life of a bedouin family simple austere patriarchal has gone on for centuries in the shade of a tent raised on the top of a bare hill a few reserves of food which dry in the sun the milk and cheese of goats a little rice and flower procured at some oasis now forgotten in exchange of dairy products in some yard here daily life begins before dawn by sunrise the men are already some way off leaving the old people to light the fire and the women to make the bread no mad women have always been less confined and freer than those who live at the oasis in the towns and above all they have had their roles as mothers in a society otherwise extremely patriarchal for the real wealth is the children from 8 of 10 children are taught to lead and guard the animals and they say there is nothing to shape character more than this unending solitude according to complex social attitudes and moral conventions based on the moruva manly honor this honor means pride in the closeness of the group respect for the elder and the weak generosity and forgiveness a tribe is an association of families who trace their beginnings back to a common ancestor hospitality is the chief virtue the arrival of a guest is the signal for celebration an opportunity to show one's generosity no matter what time of day or night by unanimous and unspoken consent they acknowledge the authority of a sheikh a chief chosen from among themselves the sheik has no force at his disposal only his moral influence and his skill in speaking for everybody in the class can make his authority prevailing [Music] the theme is unchanging through all the joys and struggles and great events of the people the song exalts the glory of the tribe this is their greatest sensitivity poetry serves to express the vital need of the communal life which we'll meet with throughout islam the group alone allows the individual to survive in a hostile environment loners and outcasts are rarely met with and those few are inevitably led to a life of solitude listen to one of them the old poet shan how many weary days did i live through in the merciless heat without shelter and its drags before my tribe finally banished me forever and condemned me to perish in solitude here am i brought down to nothing tormented forever in the midst of the desert do not bury me i do not want the sands to heap over my head thou o wind blow over me and release me from the spot of the sands and at last my head will be covered and my body abandoned in the field of combat [Music] there is another aspect of the desert life the necessity of survival in those regions where an increased dryness upsets the delicate balance of life and causes a sudden raid the gazo rarely murderous against the rival tribe or against the people settled at the oasis these oasis on the fringes of the desert where some nomads have settled to enjoy a secure way of life guaranteed by the water [Music] it was in this region in the city of mecca in 570 a.d that a boy was born into the bani hashem family of the quraish clan he was named mohammed an ordinary child like any other child muhammad lost his father abdullah and his mother amene very early in childhood he was raised first by his grandfather abdul muttalib and then by his uncle abu talam it is believed that muhammad was sent to a nomadic tribe to be raised according to his clan's tradition in the desert like this child like these bedouin children the young orphan was carrying on responsibilities like other boys in the bedouin tribes looking after animals and performing other duties young muhammad was looking after the animals on the hillside where two angels appeared in a golden cloud and took hold of him with secret gestures they reached to his chest and washed his heart from a golden goblet this action placed in him the breath of god muhammad passed most of his youth here close to the route which caravans took to carry the goods leaving mecca for the north the caravan traders of mecca controlled the routes to the mediterranean it is believed that muhammad with his uncle abu taleb a merchant traveled along the caravan routes to the north and to syria through the years the caravan routes from mecca led muhammad out of the limits of the arabian peninsula into the mediterranean where at that time not only trade was spreading but also the great ideas were at hand the ideas of christianity and monotheism the startling doctrine of one and only god muhammad talked to rabbis monks and christian merchants and learned about christianity and of hebrew doctrine and of the final day of judgment [Music] in muhammad's time hermits lived in caves throughout the hijaz later on muslim tradition would say that these arab hermits foreshadowed what was to come they were early followers of monotheism which would become the true religion at age 25 muhammad was a young merchant whose wisdom and honesty had already won him the nickname al-amin the trustworthy he was unlettered but sophisticated haditha a rich merchant widow had heard of muhammad she asked his cooperation mohammed led her caravan to syria and brought back goods to be sold in mecca haditha heard admiration from the other and more experienced caravan members about him through a friend khadija proposed to marry the young mohammed she was 15 years older than he khadija became his wife thus muhammad gained an important position but wealth and business could not satisfy his concern about religions he seeks a deeper meaning for his society and god the concept of allah the one and only muhammad felt the need to find solitude often he climbed to a small cave amongst the rocks of mount hera just north of mecca fasting and meditating in order to get close to his god in the light of what he had learned the old pagan idols of arabia looked shameful one night in the middle of the month of ramadan the moment of revelation came the archangel gabriel appeared to muhammad a blinding vision of thunder and light that frightened him to his knees and said to him recite muhammad heard the angel as commanding him three times recite in the name of allah who created man from a clot who teacheth man that which he knew not muhammad quietly replied but i do not know how to recite muhammad deeply troubled in fear and trembling at his destiny brought himself down out of the mountain he questioned himself would i be the same as one of those clairvoyants who finds lost animals he returned home bewildered to his wife who calmed him and was first to believe muhammad was to lead his people to the right path for three years after this day muhammad returned to mount hera and the revelation continued it was clear to him that the voice was a messenger of allah the supreme being the god of jews and christians the creator of everything the creator of stars and sky mountains and seas moon and heaven and man who must appear before allah on the day of final judgment at the time the ka'ba was dedicated to many gods the chief of which were the three in one allah muhammad begins preaching to his people is a sacred house built by abraham the prophet of one god the father of jews arabs and christians it must be cleansed of man-made idols punishment soon comes to those who have refused to hear the word of allah those of you who worship these idols are pagans a few close friends of the prophet understood this message but more important it went straight to the heart of the poor people slaves the laborers and all the others who were humiliated by the class conscious merchants of mecca meccans are threatened they react harshly muhammad has discredited their gods and called them pagans and most of all he has threatened their pocket books muhammad says a moral life is a life which a man uses his wealth for a just cause and the wealthy and powerful must give to the poor and oppressed [Music] man should not marry to more than four wives at the same time and must treat them equally and respectfully women have the right to inherit property the rich must pay taxes to the poor and no one should lend money for profit making the meccans receive these messages as threatening ideas the merchants and the rich men of mecca whose great source of income was the kaaba with its old idols were afraid to lose their benefits they decided to plot against muhammad time and time again openly muhammad and his followers were harassed meccans were afraid to kill muhammad because of the powerful quraysh clan who might revenge him but the increasing harassment had threatened muhammad's followers in addition to these problems now his wife khadijah dies muhammad gathered his followers quietly and told them to leave mecca they went and crossed the red sea to abyssinia where the quraysh clan had been trading for many years this was the first muslim community outside the arabian peninsula lonely and sad muhammad prays to his god at kaaba suddenly the archangel gabriel appeared again took him up gently placed him on the wing of a fabulous creature among other angels flew him to jerusalem and then lifted him up into the seventh heaven where muhammad spoke to the past prophets abraham noha moses and jesus the angels brought him back to kaaba where muhammad proved the truth of messages of other prophets was busy plotting against muhammad and each tribe took part in the conspiracy to kill muhammad and his followers it was a time for yearly pilgrimage to mecca [Music] yathrib an oasis 200 miles to the north had already heard of muhammad's messages of brotherhood they decided to send a delegation to mecca as pilgrims but secretly they must meet with muhammad and invite him and his followers to their town the delegation met with him secretly meccan conspirators became aware of these and set the time for action for the next day but they were too late muhammad and his followers slipped away from mecca under the veil of moonless night mounting camels they embarked for the oasis of yatrib this immigration which is called an arabic hedrah starts the first year of the muslim calendar it took muhammad and his followers several days to reach the safety of yathrib they had traveled fast avoiding the main caravan route and water wells people of yathrib were alerted of his coming a small band of muslim converts living at the oasis were waiting for him when muhammad arrived there they shouted he has come he has come tears staining their cheeks they offered him their homes but muhammad said god will guide my camel to a chosen spot his camel stopped and kneeled near a small barn here muhammad with his own hands with help of his followers built the world's first mosque from then on the oasis at yathrib became known to the world as medina tall nabi city of the prophet or simply medina the extraordinary personality of muhammad the small muslim community began to flourish and became a political force muhammad marries and has children the revelation continued and was written down these revelations form the quran the muslim holy book now the quran sets the guidelines on the practical matters such as taxes trades marriage divorce and military matters and details how a muslim should conduct his prayers allah commands muhammad to make a war against non-believers the first target was the annual caravan moving south from damascus a thousand camels full with goods the meccan merchants were forewarned of the muslim plans and they rushed in reinforcements to defend the caravan [Music] at the walls of battered near the red sea coast they surprised muhammad's army of 300 muhammad shouted all who died today will enter paradise outnumbered three to one the muslims fought bravely and fiercely and triumphed [Music] a year later at mount uh near medina the meccans retaliated history records 27 raids slowly by treaty and skirmish muhammad converted the bedouin tribes of the surrounding desert mastering their swords to the cause of islam after almost two decades muhammad the prophet re-entered his native city mecca now leading an army of ten thousand mecca was surrendered without a fight the prophet walked to the ka'aba touched the black stone and made the prescribed seven circuits he ordered to smash the idols he declared a general amnesty and meccans swore allegiance to the prophet of god [Music] mecca joins islam and ka'aba becomes the holy shrine of islam in respecting the kaaba muhammad avoided hurting the feelings of his compatriots of mecca the old forms of pilgrimage were kept but quietly changed within two years much of arabia was united under the banner of islam but the prophet's mission was nearing its end back in medina he fell ill weakening in each passing day and finally on june 8 632 in the arms of his favorite wife aisha muhammad whispered his last devotions then peacefully surrendered to allah's will aisha's father abu bakr gave the news of his death men may all those who knew muhammad learned that he is dead may all those who worship the god of muhammad know that he is alive and immortal the one and only god is the god of biblical tradition muslims believe in god in what has been revealed in abraham in esmael in isaac in jacob in what was given to moses and jesus in what was given to the prophets on the part of the lord muhammad always said that abraham moses and jesus were his predecessors the quran is quite clear about jesus by denying him a divine nature it is this which divides islam from christianity with their faith in jesus christ the only son of god born of the father at the beginning of the world in effect through the quran god says god cannot be penetrated he has no offspring he has no father none is equal to him the muslim community deeply believes that everything that is taking place is the divine will and is best for the community destiny after all is in the hands of allah and every muslim will be fulfilled of his expectation by god even if this fulfillment is deferred to the day of judgment the way muslims think of themselves and the way they interpret the meaning of life is the fact that human beings are created like everything else in the universe by force which neither they understand nor control men come into existence and pass away not by their own choice and decision but by an overwhelming power beyond their comprehension [Music] [Music] [Music] i bear witness that there is no god but allah and i bear witness that muhammad is the servant and apostle of allah the profession of the faith the first pillar of islam means to believe that there is no god but the divine supreme creator of everything the second pillar is prayer which holds this community together by means of certain common gestures in their worship and turns men's minds towards their creator islam has fixed the number of daily prayers at five dawn [Music] midday afternoon dusk and evening prayers are said in bare feet with the face turned to mecca but these prayers are said only after the compulsory rite of purification there are no altars in the mosques its minarets and domes stand over empty spaces which hold the mystery of god a niche indicates the direction of mecca and so a prayer sermons or readings from the quran are given from the pulpit islam has no priests every believer is himself face to face with god anyone can lead prayer or preach however little the community judges him to be worthy and able as the center of prayer and the meeting place for the whole community a mosque presupposes a city life all around it and so a mosque built today in the heart of the city reminds us of what the prophet foresaw in the beginning his word addressed to the people of the city the tradesmen craftsmen and workers [Music] the bedouins were on the outside of this emerging islam the washing which is called for before prayer could not take place here where it is difficult to find water it was only as an afterthought in the final syrahs of the quran that islam authorized sand for the ritual of purification and the nomad's prayer is often solitary and it was these same bedouins who assured the early success of islam the third pillar of islam unquestionably is almsgiving oh believer give out in alms whatever is the best of your possessions it is good to give alms by the light of day but to give them in secret is better and brings greater forgiveness empty squares and empty streets this is a town in islam which is usually busy but which we have arrived at during the month of ramadan the fourth pillar of islam is this month of fasting more faithfully observed than lent in the christian world it requires the faithful to refrain from food and drink from dawn to dusk in spirit of sacrifice and purification and out of respect for this month when the revelation came down to the earth for the first time ah the fifth and last pillar of the faith is pilgrimage to mecca the holiest place of islam here the sense of community reaches its highest points with a really universal dimension looking at this crowd so mixed in nationality culture and wealth we have to put to ourselves a question how has islam kept this unity for 13 centuries this belief in the soul of god of whom muhammad is the prophet to islam it was abraham who built the kaaba and placed the first house for the true god some rites in this pilgrimage also carry the memory of abraham there is the night before reassembly of pilgrims at a place called mazdalifa the pebbles they are looking for will be thrown at three rocks tomorrow for islam these rocks are the one where the devil stood and tried to persuade abraham from giving his son for sacrifice and these pebbles represent the ones abraham threw at the devil to chase him away another ritual is connected with this portico which links to hills called safa and marva the pagan arabs made this portico the seat of mysterious natural forces but these pilgrims we watch following the ritual of walking back and forth seven times bring back the memory of agar the reputed wife of abraham looking for water for her son ishmael it was at mecca on this hill of arafat which is now one of the final points in the pilgrimage of the faithful where muhammad already sick gave his last sermon in the year 632 of the hajjira men listen to my words and weigh them in your hearts i have fulfilled what was intended for me in this life and leave you a cause which is clear you will take pains never to lose it for it is the book of god and the law of his prophet listen to my words know that every muslim is a brother to all the others a faithful muslim believes that the law of islam is the essential of his religion in islam law is more important even than theology to understand islam thoroughly one must understand islamic law in islam the law of the quran is virtually as important as the quran itself the religious law sets guidelines and governs the life of every believer violation of the islamic laws is not only considered a commitment of a crime but also is considered to be a sin quran sets the guidelines even in practical matters such as trades taxes marriage divorce and military matters in trading for example koran forbids taking interest and prohibits any speculative transaction any transaction that results in unjustified profit making of one party if a profit were made it should be given to the needy this doctrine is driven from a quranic phrase god will abolish interest and cause charity to increase in the case of exchanging goods without using money quran sets two principles first the two goods to be exchanged must be equal in weight or quantity and second there must be no time delay in exchanging because it is possible that during the interval the value of one good might fluctuate and this may result in loss for one and profit for the other party in tax matters the quran is very clear as the third pillar of the faith every believer has to pay zakat zakat is not a kind of tax that governments levy on the public but it is an act of monetary worship the quran has generally mentioned zakat after prayer and has enjoined it as an important foundation of the divine religion which has been the creed of the former prophets in all ages the great moral and spiritual benefits that accrue from the institution of zakat for the muslim society and mankind at large can become possible only if the payer practices it as an act of benevolence and worship and does not regard it as a mere tax the quran also gives guidelines for upgrading the women's status in the society for instance a man is permitted to marry up to only four wives at the same time but he must treat them equally and women have the right to inherit property in the case of divorce islam does not involve a complicated or a long procedure the grounds for divorce and islam however are more liberal than in the west they are not limited to proven adultery or cruelty or long separation the couple may apply for separation simply when they realize that they cannot live together happily for any reason when divorce is completed the wife has to wait a certain period of time after separation from her husband by death or divorce before she can remarry this waiting is to determine whether she is pregnant from her ex-husband before she remarries and thereby guard against confusion of the paternity of the child but also to give the woman an opportunity to relax and somewhat forget her former association the quran also sets guidelines for alimony a divorced husband has to pay for the full maintenance of his divorced wife for the full waiting period this period is four months and 10 days for non-pregnant women and in case of a pregnancy until the child is born in the case of custody of children islam prescribed that the mother who is not incapacitated by a mental moral or religious cause has the first right to custody of her child boy or girl until the child reaches the age of seven when the right of custody reverts to the father the father has to support the child until such time as he can manage by himself if a boy or gets married if a girl a girl does not have to earn her own living her support is the duty of her father until she marries on the death of muhammad in 632 although a significant part of arabia had already been converted by the message of koran the muslim community was still very fragile and easily upset by the rivalries between the nomadic bedouins and the people who had settled at the oasis and towns there was also a quarrel between the inhabitants of mecca the guardians of the ka'aba and the people of medina were proud of being the first to embrace islam as a thorough religion at the heart of the family itself amongst the first companions of the prophet ambitions were beginning to show themselves there was a problem of a temporal spiritual succession to the prophet the word khalif means successor in arabic was the khalif just a substitute chosen by the community as the most worthy and authorized only to defend and to apply the thought revealed by the prophet or on the contrary was the quranic message much more an inspiration continuously renewed through descendants of the prophet whose successor was to be not only the leader of the community but also the source of religious law these two divergent attitudes of the young islam would make themselves felt throughout its history and yet in spite of these antagonisms in fact by going beyond the muslims set off on a spiritual and temporal conquest of the old civilizations do not yield yourselves out to the infidels struggle against them drawing strength from the quran fight the agents of satan his traps are truly weak the word of god made the inhabitants of arabia forget their squabbles and transform them into historical figures the reasons for the overwhelming victories of young islam are partially beyond our knowledge how did the arabs come to break out of their desert at a single stroke and abandon the life they knew as merchants caravan followers and shepherds there was a sudden explosion of energy reaching further and further in successive waves and the conversion of the conquered country was measured by the enthusiasm of the warriors and genius of the leaders if 20 bold men are to be found among you they are worth 200 if you have a hundred they will be worth a thousand unbelievers facing the attack of a handful of ill-equipped nomads the two great empires of byzantium and sassanid persia revealed themselves as impotent the first four khalifs successors of the prophet were abu bakr father-in-law and companion of the prophet who died from an illness two years later then omar followed by othman and last of all ali son-in-law of the prophet these three were all murdered in dramatic but it was in this atmosphere of tension over a period of 25 years that the muslims became masters of the whole arabic peninsula capturing from byzantium syria palestine egypt installing themselves in tripoli landing on cyprus and after numerous battles conquering the whole of persia advancing toward india and central asia all this in 25 years to account for such extraordinary successes the high middle ages finds no explanation other than divine will for some the invaders were the supernatural forces of the antichrist for others they were judges sent by god certainly the religious element must not be underestimated the new faith praising its disciples struggles and promising them victory or paradise played a determining role we shall grant a reward without limit to whoever fights along god's road whether he be killed or victorious but the rapid collapse of the persian empire and the sassanid dynasty and the retreat of the byzantian empire is also accounted for by their own state of impotence and degradation here are the ruins of a byzantine city if such mighty walls were overcome and if so many monuments like these were smashed down it was because the advancing arabs sometimes found only shadows defying them the empires against which the turbulent young arab armies of islam measured themselves concealed behind their facades of power the far advanced weakness of a very sick body undermined by social inequalities and religious squabbles and these were made worse by the authoritarianism of its princes moreover these two great empires had been exhausting themselves in skirmishes and wars for many generations capturing and recapturing the provinces which islam was about to take for good the local populations were very quick to greet the newcomers as representatives of a more just society [Music] for the peasants of iran oppressed by the sassanid aristocracy as well as for the common man of asia minor in mediterranean africa harassed by the vicious taxes of byzantium islam met a relief after centuries of misery and exploitation by the grace of god you have become our brothers while you were once our enemies may you form a community with us poor man speaking to poor man they recognized each other and understood each other having already been acquainted since the time when the arab shepherd caravan driver or merchant had lingered on the outskirts of the cities nonetheless during the final years of the first period of conquest islam went through a particularly dramatic crisis which left scars behind which could be seen for centuries to mar unity after the murder of the third caliph of islam othman in his home at medina 656 ali cousin and son-in-law of the prophet found himself inheriting the prophet's mentors although ali was easily able to defeat partisans encouraged by aisha one of the prophet's widows at the so-called battle of the camel he was obliged to come to understanding with the head of the umayyad clan from mecca who was the arab governor of syria and egypt they later took over the caliphate after the murder of ali in 660 and introduced the dynastic principle into the succession of the prophet the umayyad dynasty was to govern the destiny of islam for nearly a hundred years during its predominance the conquest would be continued towards the west after desperate battles against the barbarous tribes of the maghreb the arabs reached the atlantic ocean and experienced perhaps the same torments and desire as the conqueror ugba even when he arrived there after galloping across libya he urged his horse into the waves and cried my god i call upon you to witness that if there were a way through here i would also cross this sea [Music] from morocco with the help from the berbers the armies of islam crossed into spain and from there they penetrated into the valley of rome and as far as poitiers in 732 in the east the armies crossed the hindus and in the north got beyond samarkand these conquests mark the end of the first period of impetuous expansion from then onwards islam set about the organization of the conquered territory the umayyad khalifs moved the political capital from medina in arabia to damascus in syria and came to a decisive stage in the meeting of arabia and islam with the old cultures of mediterranean for the first time two words extending from the mouth of the hindus to spain found themselves united under the same authority fused in the same economic community dedicated to the same culture the first result of this new islam in the years after the conquest is the building of cities cities everywhere always bigger always more of them the muslims from arabia at the end of their long gallop across the desert set up miles of stone with these men the old cities took on new life and new cities arose on the earth either replacing ancient capitals fallen into ruin or growing up where there was nothing before to create new and important centers of islam's trade and defense damascus kufa basra and fustat corps of future cairo in the west cairo n the first town to be followed by others fez tunis baghdad they are either old cities which have come to life or new cities bursting with trade and politics and people's lives it was in this climate of the middle ages that islam reached its zenith baghdad the capital of the abbasid caliphs flourished in a sort of feverish pump when today we think back to it we can see that this was the high summer of islam the abbasids like the umayyads they dethroned were arabs of the original stock descended from abbas an uncle of the prophet baghdad on the tigris and not far from the ruins of babylon is today a modern city only its name and a few ruins remind us of its past history the splendor of the abbasids was on show with varying fortunes for five centuries from 750 to 1258 the abbasid period was characterized by intense activity in all branches of learning and of art baghdad which have become the capital of world culture gathered the best scholars philosophers and poets from the east with the encouragement of the great colleagues we have all heard of haruna rasheed the prince of the thousand and one knights but there was also moon who lived at the time of the zenith of this culture and science and the whole muslim world was united abbasid science is arab because it is written in arabic and because the arabs in creating islam and the empire were wise enough to promote a renewed interest in the science of the ancient world [Music] a symbol of these great assemblies is the treaty of the fixed stars by the great astronomer and mathematician kharasmi an arabized persian who lived in the 9th century in the work of harassment there was something new zero and the numerals we call arabic or as the scholar himself called more correctly indian but before everything else kharesmi is known as the inventor of algebra and logarithmic tables maps of the heavens stand opposite those of the earth they are drawn up to show the trade routes and to point out the way to provincial officials who are returning to their posts but they were also drawn from sheer scientific curiosity muslim geographers determined the length and the degree on our globe and took pains to correct ptolemy's map here is a map of the mediterranean with italy and sicily drawn by adressi a geographer of the 12th century the south is at the top and it is only by turning it upside down that we can discover the features we are familiar with today this is the university of kuwait above the entrance are the words from the quran oh lord may our knowledge increase all muslim universities from the most modern to oldest and most glorious keep fresh the memory of the great discoveries in science in philosophy of the medieval arab world not one student or teacher can forget that glorious moment in the muslim history when to be a muslim meant to belong to the most advanced scientific cultural and technological society known to man the west was able to profit best from the scientific discoveries of the arab scholars they were discoveries which revolutionized every aspect of science from optics to chemistry from mathematics to medicine and mechanics so they were practical discoveries also needed for the correct solution for technological problems the muslim world for example was a past master in manufacture of the complicated clocks and of gears of all sorts moved by the force of water or wind indeed the windmills which you can still see in the mediterranean basin from spain all the way to greece and turkey have probably come down to us from the high plateaus of iran or of tibet by way of the muslims from spain and sicily arab thought either theoretical or practical soon won over a europe which was very far from reaching a similar level of culture at salerno in southern italy or at montplier with its joyously preserved manuscripts arabic medicine established for centuries its domination over an astounded old world this was the school of medicine which flourished under the famous abhisina avacena was the first man who was able to hit upon the difficult synthesis between koran theology and the philosophy of the ancient classical world this was in the 11th century he elaborated the most important philosophical system of the time which became known in the western world too admiration for aristotle and other greek philosophers stopped where the word of god began this word of god was written in the quran and was to be interpreted sometimes in the liberal sense but more often in a broad and indirect sense it must be added that such philosophy needs an intellectual elite which is able to interpret its own beliefs liberally and stand up to the opposition of theologians and bigots toleration was general official condemnations were rare these verses of omar khan the great persian poet of the 12th century are a proof why did our creator when he made the world and adorned it then yielded up to the power of death if the work was good why slather it and if not good who's the fault the girdle which bounds our mortal world does not whisper where it begins or how is its ending on that matter no person has spoken a word of truth and no one knows our beginnings or our fate these ideas which would have led directly to the stake in europe arose from the ancient cultures reawakened and invigorated by islam islam did not only produce universal scholars like abasina or al-biruni it contributed greatly to the flowering of muslim figurative art architecture decoration and painting [Music] when you speak of muslim architecture you immediately speak of international art this architecture arose in the same way from islam's meeting with the old civilizations which surround her most of all persia and byzantium the arabs found a way to assimilate this new world which was emerging as the result of new needs of the faith and community life and they made of it something until then unknown the greatest invention of muslim architecture was the mosque the aesthetic value of which is based on three essential elements courtyard dome and minaret the relationship between the vertical minaret the horizontal body of the mosque and spherical dome suggested different and original interpretations of the muslim artists depending on the places and times they lived in starting from morocco in 716 and helped by berber troops the arabs shut off the mediterranean and crossed over into spain they were commanded by tariq abner whose story gave a name to a giant rock jabal tariq which became gibraltar to our ears undermined by rebellions and dynastic squabbles spain broke apart for a time the muslims were even across the pyrenees in the south of france near marseille [Music] these old deserted mills along the river are known as saracen mills the arabs did not just make a few raids they came to stay come face to face with the invaders the barbarous europe of the lombards and the franks seemed for a long time incapable of any reaction petrified for fear of seeing christianity disappear beneath the forces of the antichrist the spain which we are looking at here with all sides of christianity deeply integrated into everyday life was nonetheless shaped by islam for eight centuries the conquest was easy the first route was towards seville and cordova through the valley of the great river the wadi al-kabir known to us as the guadalquivir better than any other monument the mosque at cordova which is now a cathedral speaks of the arabs in spain and of their lasting influence over the years the courtyards facades and rooms have undergone many changes so the mosque cathedral is like a great book open to show us the vicissitude in taste in political and economic power and in faith but we must go inside if we really want to sense the arab past of andalusia built in the 8th century by a descendant of the umayyads of syria the amir abdar rahman the mosque was continuously enlarged and decorated by his successors in these double arches rising from the columns and tracing up two different curves you can see a symbol of the union of the arts of the west and the east brought together to contemplate the mystery of god this muslim spain was called by the arabs and the lucia al endelus an arabic reference to the vandals who lived in spain the tower of geralda in seville was one of the greatest glories of muslim spain and also signaled the beginning of her decline [Music] it may or may not commemorate the victory over the christians in 1195. but there is no doubt that hillard reminds us of buildings in morocco like the hassan tower in rabbat or the minarets at marrakesh and it was from morocco that the warriors set out who were summoned to defend muslim power in spain against the christian kings of the north who at the beginning of the 11th century had undertaken the reconquest of the peninsula this was the time of decision the warriors from north africa returned but not only to defend islam and fight the christians they came to to bring spain back to the right path they believed she had become decadent and forgetful of the prophet's teachings in two waves one from western sahara and one from atlas mountains in morocco these muslims overran north africa and spain in the 11th century backing up the earlier arab victories but spain had changed she was no longer a country and had become a province governed from morocco rabbat here was to rise the greatest mosque in the world the mosque of an empire which wanted to unite north africa and reconquer spain the culture of arab spain had reached a very high level from this period dated the careers of the saints and scholars known throughout the world this valley called las navas de tulota saw the beginning of the ruin of muslim spain cordoba was to fall in 1236 valencia in 1238 seville in 1248 mercia in 1269 five centuries after islam's assault on spain the story was reaching its conclusion granada an interval during the catastrophe for two centuries more the town and the little kingdom of which it was the capital would maintain an arab island on spanish soil a retreat protected by its high walls and its mountains but its culture shone up to all the world granada inherited all the arts of old andalusia watching over the town both a symbol and a memory is the palace of alhambra here the architecture is more than delicate it is as fragile as the encircled kingdom as melancholy as things close to death but spain was not the only one along the mediterranean coast to become acquainted with islam the decision was made in tunisia at the beginning of the 9th century to invade sicily while she was still recovering from the byzantine empire the expedition was set out two centuries were enough to make the island a beacon of culture in the mediterranean palermo the capital of the island and one of the greatest cities of the arab world seems to the eyes of the surprise visitors to be hidden beneath her palms and orange trees while her palaces and mosques towered over them for many years in arab history the name of sicily conquered enriched and then lost the palaces of christian normans had arabic names and decorations these rich homes retreats cloisters and churches all indicate the attraction of the eastern arts for the conquerors here norman culture flourished and took over the best of the arab tradition language design institutions poetry court ceremonial and the art of living facing islam in spain and sicily was the christian west a west which accepted muslim culture but remained closed to any significant contact in this time of chivalry in the high middle ages the idea of the crusades for the freeing of the holy land was born pope erbin ii declared the holy war against islam and the goal was the invasion of jerusalem the first crusade was in 1095. the abbasid caliph of baghdad and their rivals the fatimids of cairo opposed only weekly the advance of the crusaders or as they were known in the east the franks the crusaders besieged jerusalem took it and celebrated their victory with an appalling bloodbath in these places which represented power and fear the christian knights lived for two centuries frankish castles in lebanon palestine syria tripoli saeed and so many more erected on the plain or on the riverbank in 1396 the largest christian army of a hundred thousand men were defeated by the ottoman turks although a disaster for the west the crusades had at least one merit they dismissed all preconceived notions about sarah sands and introduced them as men of flesh and blood and showed their preoccupation like their enemies in the west with problems of politics trade and daily life in spite of all these conflicts recorded in history wherever islam set foot their treatment of other religions and faith showed great toleration each faith was free to follow its own belief only an annual payment of tax was set to be made by non-muslims to the mosque after the turks were converted to islam they took from the arab hands the torch of conquest against the infidels to the dynasty of the osman lees whom we call ottomans fell the glory of making turkey into a world power allowing byzantium to die in isolation the turkish sultans turned their attention to overcoming eastern europe let us travel up the danube like the guadalquivir in spain this river but on a much bigger scale traces the path of the conquerors romania bulgaria serbia hungary the countries fell and their cities belgrade budapest here is a reminder of these years of occupation these macabre skull towers built at the expense of the serbian rebels at last in 1529 suleiman the magnificent lay in wait outside vienna but vienna resisted just as she would resist sultan mammoth iv in 1683 to mark forever the limit of ottoman expansion into europe but before this in 1453 byzantium the rome of the east the rome of orthodox christianity had fallen the violence of the conquest has been forgotten islam as a civilization left behind enormous traces on the continent of europe for several centuries the different faiths have mingled bringing about the peaceful relationships which are the only ones that can ensure the peace of the world [Music] from here the muslims bearers of the word of the prophet made themselves known in successive raids along the valley of the hindus and then throughout all india these were bold excursions the results of which came to be of more and more importance for the future of india on the high plateau of afghanistan which is battered by the winds they built triumphal towers nothing or almost nothing remains of the glory of gaza the town from which round about the year 1000 the real muslim conquest of india began gaza today is scarcely more than a big market town for trade and agriculture in a sparse countryside a mile above sea level who would imagine that these streets and bazaars had known their hours of glory and high culture in these years when northern india was regularly pillaged gaza was the meeting place of poets artists and philosophers arriving from all corners of the muslim world at ghazna every year when spring returns the people partake in a game of strength and skill where the ferocious spirit of the turco iranian cavalry which once swept out across india seems to revive persia after the muslim conquest of the 7th century took great pains not to break with its past on the contrary she jealously guarded it enriched it and absorbed it into muslim civilization soon she would be able to win over the courts of the turkish countries and northern india to her culture pagan persia and islam iranian culture and the arab quran art and dance poetry and turkish traditions they all make up a mixed and adventurous culture [Music] impeccable warriors they may have been but all the same the invaders of india were not ignorant barbarians the attacks on india were often just raids after which the aggressors went back to their mountains in the northwest the special story of islam confronting india was going to be for centuries one of a mutual attempt to convert each other the first conquerors sleep now at fatah in pakistan side by side with our distant successors the mongols there are more than 200 million muslims in pakistan and india today hindus were converted to islam in great numbers because they were fascinated by the message of the new faith which offered them an ideal based on the concept of absolute unity of god the idea of equality of all men in their religion was also very important wherever islam won through the ridiculous and inhuman caste system which have humiliated the indian people burst apart except for the north west and the northeast which were to become pakistan and where there were many conversions islam recruited principally from the middle classes which had everything to gain from a strong and immense empire craftsmen merchants and scribes below them the world of the peasants remained unchangeable poor and fanatically attached to its hinduism [Music] at the highest level of society islam attracted the warrior aristocracy including the sovereign at lahore at delhi everywhere the mosques bring together extraordinary diversified islam persians turks afghans indians from the south from bihar from bengal from dickens everywhere in the northern plains and in the heart of the continent luxury and art took form and stone and the great names rushed to our minds heder abbad where the naism ruled the richest man of the world the story of relationship between the two communities hindu and muslim is extremely complex and comes right down to the present day split between india and pakistan once the shock of the conquest was over the hindus converted to islam did not feel themselves so far away from their compatriots who had remained hindus for they kept their culture and family traditions so they became a very useful core which could understand and help both outlooks this is ajmar a sacred place of muslim india where the pilgrims come to visit the tomb of chishti one of those missionaries who did so much for the spreading of islam among the indian masses the enormous influence of these missionaries and the quiet impact they made on millions of people played perhaps a more important part than the military conquest which conventional history so often stresses [Music] we know that the infidel may not approach mecca but here at ashmore he worships side by side with the muslims [Music] the starting points of the trade routes to the far east where the coasts of malabar and further to the west southern arabia the red sea and the persian gulf islam ships followed the monsoon roots and looked very like the ones in use today [Music] from such duck yards as these the brave sailors had sailed as agents of a far-reaching trade and as missionaries of their faith their memories embody forever in the sinbad of the thousand and one nights the roots of this trade and its gospel talk may be summed up like this from madan and moscot which were ports on the red sea in the persian gulf to the coast of india in gotcha malabar and karamandu [Music] then down towards salon and the mallika [Music] peninsula muslim families live in the port of hong kong [Music] there are perhaps 20 million muslims in china some came into contact with the maritime trade others in the north and interior were affected by islam ventures into central asia or by the merchants on the silk route [Music] [Applause] the island of mindanao in the philippines on the edge of the forest is a little mosque made out of wood and stone very much worshipped [Music] this is telex ungai the most easterly point islam ever reached by starting from centers like this islam ensured itself of a peaceful conquest of the archipelagus but if a time was to come for scholars and missionaries in the far east islam continues to be most noticeable in the person of those who led the way sailors and merchants active and enthusiastic but not torn apart by theological arguments but skillful and compromise these first islamic missionaries knew very well how to reconcile the beliefs of islam with very old local customs their success in business had taught them about people [Music] from one end of the world to the other and across many centuries we have been watching history of islam with its many mentalities and customs islam is a religion but also a way of living it represents a whole procession of people we think of as being far away but who have all the same woven many strands into our own history and culture our journey has shown the strength of the expansion led first by the arabs and subsequently by the turks as they spread their faith [Music] the luxury of the courts contrasted with austerity of the desert there was power of the empires the vitality of trade the buzz of city life cordova samara [Music] istanbul mongol india and hundreds of other reminders had shown us the magnificence of an art and civilization which were so often far in advance of the rest of the world so now there are two questions why did this civilization so tragically bend under the military economic and cultural pressures whenever europeans set foot and what would be the future of the islamic countries [Music] africa could perhaps give us the beginnings of the reply to these questions it is really here where colonialism has sometimes gone as far as to impose the victor's language that one can perhaps grasp through islam the double dilemma of development and national determination we must go back over the history of islam in africa [Applause] [Music] aside from the north of africa the great root of muslim penetration was in the east where islam is doing no more than continuing a story which has been going on for a long time along the indian ocean and towards the upper nile much later on and much more difficult because of the desert and its nomads the entry into west africa began really only after the year of 1000 a.d immediately the arabs came into contact with the great kingdoms of medieval africa christian ethiopia and nubia and with other pagan kingdoms to the west [Music] in western africa on the other hand they had complete success in 1706 against the capital of ghana then came the turn of a new empire to the east of ghana much more open to the influences of islam the empire [Music] timbuk2 linked to the niger by a canal cut through the desert had its days of splendor in the 14th century when its riverbanks were crowded with boats and its streets with merchants and scholars these mosques are famous in the history of our muslim civilization this one was the university of sangori a place of study and worship of god here famous teachers from spain syria and morocco were active the libraries here were so rich in material that the city was called the capital of muslim thought and culture but today nothing remains of the grandeur of timbuktu the history of africa which is so often misunderstood by europeans also had its humanism which under different circumstances might have enriched the culture of our world but it happened that when there was contact between paganism and islam the relationships were primarily forced ones first between african slaves in the christian or islamic world and then between colonized africa either pagan or muslim and the occupying european powers the slave trade carried out for five centuries by both the european and islamic countries deprived the black continent of millions of tens of millions of human beings and as scarcely had that trade come to an end when the era of imperialism began against both the african and islamic countries britain france spain italy portugal and germany were convinced that through their activities the history of africa and islam was no more than a chapter in the greater history of europe [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so so africa today aware of its own history faces the dilemma of foreign intervention islam once the conqueror and exploiter is now involved against colonialism and it seems likely that islam's influence will be of increasing importance [Music] in the ivory coast the muslims are our brothers that's all what the arabs and muslims did in the past doesn't matter now the vicissitudes of faith the muslim peoples and countries are our friends they have the same problems of poverty and development as we do and the same enemy the new white colonialism so our struggle is the same these memories of a tragic history overcome are to be found everywhere let us give illustrations one in africa and one in america the island of chiba in tunisia is at the head of one of the old routes into africa two different children two children who are brothers run together to the sound of drums of galala galala is the name of a region in chiba where a community of african origin lives which was at one time liberated by a muslim saint he is buried in this mosque and is fated once a year by a procession of brotherly union [Music] so [Music] in america the sect of black muslims have been created of the descendants of former slaves the center of the movement is in chicago [Music] the message of islam is spread through all the black community by the weekly papers american muslims have farms and greeneries which supply supermarkets with good natural food anyone can want the thing you couldn't find in these modern places would be alcohol and poker cards which as we know are contrary to their religious beliefs [Music] these initiatives springing a real dignity have allowed the black muslims to see the number in their community grow all the time following the roots of conquest and trade islam has continued to penetrate the african continent we muslim traders stop in villages and little towns where we win respect and friendship we try to give an example of dignity to demonstrate clearly by means of an orderly and respectable life that to be a muslim is reason to be proud whether you are facing europeans or africans not yet converted once upon a time the missionary traders were arabs now we are all of us africans so the job is still easier brothers understand each other better and in fact today muslims represent 40 of the cities of black africa my [Music] is islam keeping pace with the adjustments necessary with the needs of modern society all the third world is asking this question when talking like this about islam we have to reply by bearing in mind both the cause of the decline of the great muslim empires and the reasons for the renewal of muslim societies today the crisis began towards the end of the middle ages the rhythm of city life was slowing down the unity of the muslim world was breaking apart year by year and europe was showing more and more adventurous policy of trade first in the mediterranean and then in the indian ocean at the beginning of this century islam for the most part found itself in the state of subjection after taking a back seat in the world's history islam today is free after struggles which took various forms the impetus to independence and the form it took depended in fact on the type of colonial domination and on the degree of culture and economic development [Music] but everywhere the battle for liberty went on in the name of national identity sometimes with the added weight of islam and this nationalism very often took the form of holding up before the foreign power the very principles which she preached herself liberty equality the right of the people to determine their own way of life their own culture and the use of their own resources in 1960 the armor hussein and his son faisal rebelled against the turks in hechas where muhammad was born as their ally they had the enigmatic figure of an englishman t.e lawrence when the war was over in 1919 the arabs found themselves disappointed in their hopes france and britain divided up the remains of the ottoman empire then the people themselves so long prepared and ready for their liberty took over from the princes the second world war set the movement going lebanon and syria were free in 1946 libya in 1950 iraq and egypt which had had independence at least on paper achieved it finally after the war in 1956 tunisia morocco and the sudan became independent in 1962 algeria was at last quite free after eight years of war islam has played varying roles in the formation of these new states sometimes considered as the symbol of the out-of-date past perhaps but more often providing the banner for reform or even for rebellion [Music] the plains of arabia the legendary desert and the most modern of treasures oil kuwait bahrain saudi arabia but also iraq iran libya algeria these countries alone provide 60 of the world's oil this fantastic and sudden wealth bursting through in countries with a very traditional society has completely upset the way of life which has remained unchanged for centuries [Music] these walls were the city limits of kuwait our city a typical small arab town then center of a modest caravan trade until the second world war this was the gate into the city beyond here is the kuwait of today walls and gates have been preserved to remind us of the past but today new buildings squares and streets surround these remains on all sides if our ancestors returned they would think they were dreaming but the spirit of the old world hasn't disappeared with the same speed of the alleyways and bazaars have the souls of men need more time to change than is required to change things the ancient bedouin mentality with its values and its patriarchal sense about human relationships has left marked traces right on the heart of the cities and the fabulous palaces are perhaps only a new framework for rebuilding structures inherited from the past this falling in with the needs of the 20th century or its myth perhaps is clear and it's on this territory that islam has to win its next struggle labor factories timetables work shared new relationships between men arise from this modern life and its battles and it develops a new awareness of their destiny while looking at these scenes of progress roads under construction airports bridges universities and harbors the question has to be asked what will the future of islam be let us take a look at one of the muslim countries the kingdom of saudi arabia where islam began new schools colleges and universities teach the young muslim generation modern techniques within the frame of islamic principles from early age on the children are strong in their faith for the benefit of themselves and the society these are the teachers nurses doctors and the scientists of the future although advanced industries are flourishing modern methods and machines do not alter the enduring values of islam modern medicine which has derived so much in the past from the fundamental discoveries of arab physicians and surgeons is now universally available [Music] the desert is turning green and bearing fruit through modern systems of irrigation and artificial fertilizers [Music] railroads roads and networks of highways throughout the desert and mountains now connecting all the cities and towns of the neighboring countries telecommunication has come a long way since the 20s now muslim countries are linked by radio telegraph telex telephone and television [Music] permanent earth satellite stations throughout the muslim world the pan-arab satellite serving arab nations from morocco to iraq with headquarters in riyadh this is the headquarters of saudia the airline of the kingdom of saudi arabia in china the nerve center of the entire organization with ticketing and reservation section and sophisticated computer system for day-to-day business and long-term planning countrywide and beyond [Music] now the airlines are covering the world america europe far east and africa [Music] one thing is certain with the stimulus of progress islam like christianity will change its face and in doing that will change the culture of which it's the bulwark but it is not only the universities everywhere amongst the people there is an enormous quest for knowledge today the youth of islam is going to tackle the world with the same enthusiasm which once urged their fathers onwards to conquer a double enthusiasm for freedom and faith today their union includes nearly a billion people who through the quran affirm their membership in a single community in many professions these people are conscious of a certainty it is a certainty which came to them in the 7th century but which remains of value as a guiding principle for life and as a light for the future until the end of time no matter how modern the world there is no divinity but god and muhammad is the prophet of god [Music] [Music] hello [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah you

Channel: Lashawn Mckoy Official

Views: 78,642

Keywords: lashawnmckoyofficial, muslim, islam, dawah, allah, full length documentaries, documentary history, full documentary, muslim pro, full documentary channel, muslim prayer, allah allah, The Story of Islam 1983 Documentary History of the World's Fastest Growing Religion, the story of islam movie, movie about islamic history, the reason why islam is the fastest growing religion, islam makhachev, muslim prayer for protection

Id: Hnfmjic5zpY

Length: 114min 49sec (6889 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 20 2020