The Road to 9/11: A chronology
Background
Early Islam
The beginning of the Muslim era is usually put at AD 622 – the year that the Prophet Muhammed, along with some 70 families, left the city of Mecca and set out on their hijrah (flight) to Medina. In the beginning, Islam fought, literally, both for its survival and for territory, reaching out far beyond its birthplace in what is now Saudi Arabia. In the centuries that followed, a succession of great Muslim empires rose and declined.
Although its origins lie firmly in the Middle East among the Arab peoples, Islam today is a world religion with followers on every continent. Although Islam’s earliest years were taken up with violent conflict, most Muslims would not accept that this is an inevitable part of their religion. Early Islamic societies were culturally both rich and tolerant, outward-looking and questioning. Learning thrived among Muslims throughout the European ‘dark ages’ and into the Middle Ages and beyond. The Muslim contribution throughout history to the arts (especially in music and architecture) and to science – in mathematics, astronomy, medicine and engineering – cannot be overestimated.
MuslimHeritage.com
www.muslimheritage.com
Discover 1,000 years of history and explore the Muslim contribution to present-day science, technology, arts and civilisation.
Turks: A journey of a thousand years, 600-1600
www.turks.org.uk
Royal Academy exhibition that explores the art and culture of the Turks from inner Asia to the Bosphorus over a millennium.
The Ottomans.org
www.theottomans.org
The history of the Ottoman empire, plus information on its campaigns and army, art and culture.
The last empire
The Ottoman empire – the last of the great Muslim empires – arose
in the 13th century. Founded by the descendants of nomadic tribes from central
Asia, it at one time reached far into central Europe, almost to the gates
of Vienna. But by the beginning of World War I, it was already in decline – a
decline that was hastened by the Ottomans supporting the Germans. The winning
side – the
British, in particular – already had interests in the region, and they
now decided to carve up what had been Ottoman territory. Borders were redrawn,
mandates to rule were assigned and client states created. The result was,
more or less, the map of the Middle East that we know today.
Many authorities believe that it is this point in history – when many people in the Middle East felt humiliated – that lies at the root of the phenomenon known as ‘Islamic fundamentalism’. In the region today, where ideologies imposed by or imported from foreign powers have seemed to fail, strength is given to the arguments of those who believe that religion alone can answer major problems. This, combined with the bitterness over the situation in Israel/Palestine, has produced an explosive mix.
