Sheikh Shaheed Satardien on Islam’s influence on civilisation in Europe through the ages
Factually, the appearance of Islam and Muslims in Europe is very far from being a recent phenomenon. Indeed, Islam has had a presence in Europe virtually from the religion’s infancy. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be with him) died in 630, but even before then Muslim envoys were travelling beyond Arabia. Less than 100 years later, Muslims entered Spain en masse. They ruled Spain until 1269 (a period of over 500 years) and controlled large areas of southern Spain until the 16th century, establishing many famous areas of learning, such as Granada, Toledo and Cordoba, which attracted scholars from all over Europe.
In 878, Sicily became a Muslim fiefdom, but had had an Islamic presence since 652. In the 8th century Muslim armies invaded France and were only repulsed at Poitiers, near the Loire Valley (less than 200 miles from Paris). Native European Muslim communities exist in Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and the rest of the Balkans, and have done so for several hundred years.
The Ottoman Empire expanded into Greece, Romania, Hungary and besieged Vienna in the 17th century. That proved to be the high water mark of Muslim military expansion in Europe, but such armed adventurism is utterly dwarfed by the Islamic influence in the arts, science and culture that ricochets across Europe to this day.
Much of contemporary mathematics, medicine, astronomy, biology and the arts stem from the efforts of Muslim scholars at a time when Western civilisation was mired in the Dark Ages. The writings of Aristotle, Euclid, Archimedes and the like were translated into Arabic long before they were translated into Latin. Algebra (from the Arabic ‘Al-jabra’), the glories of Islamic design at the Al-hambra in Granada and repositories of learning everywhere they went are some of the tidemarks of Muslim incursions on the continent. There is also considerable evidence that the first clock, printing press, glass lenses, compass, mirrors, surgery, and chemistry were in use among Muslim scholars long before they became known in the West.
All of this indicates that the current collision between Europe and Islam is a repetition of earlier fracas and fraternities, the fallout of which is woven into our joint cultural fabric. Such a historical reality, that ‘we have been here before’, helps to give a sense of perspective and allay the fears of, on one hand, an Islam-ification of the EU, and on the other, of western contamination of Islam.
How credible are those fears? Is such a theological ‘fifth column’ a reality? Is cultural conversion by infiltration possible?
I am not referring to the fears of Ali Selim, spokesperson for the Council of Imams, who raised the spectre of Muslims in Ireland feeling under “attack” in an article in The Irish Times a few weeks ago. Ali Selim correctly warned against an idea of integration whereby everyone becomes homogenised into the one culture. But nobody in Ireland is asking for such an extreme assimilation, which is both impossible and undesirable. Different cultures, different viewpoints and different lifestyles are culturally enriching, but only if they can be experienced by a society, and that involves interacting with the society, and not simply behaving as spectators looking on. Participation is required.
There is a debate in Muslim circles in Ireland, but it is a debate where both sides argue different “motions”. There are those who share the view that the Muslim community must address potentially threatening internal issues rather than pretending they do not exist. Those in the Muslim establishment, who should be addressing this ‘motion’, instead insist that these threatening issues are illusory and that anyone who wants to address them is guilty of attacking Islam! This attempt to homogenise thought in Muslim circles, by attempting to use accusation to stifle necessary debate, is in reality an attempt to prevent change.
We all fear change to some extent, some more than others. In particular, any establishment will not welcome change as it sees change as a threat. Some within the Islamic establishment in Ireland have links to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that refuses to renounce violence and suicide bombing as means of achieving its aims. The Muslim Brotherhood seeks to prevent a modern Islamic engagement with the West and wants a return to an allegedly ‘pure’ Islam, based on its interpretation of the Holy Qu’ran. It wants a homogenisation of interpretation.
I believe that those within the Muslim establishment in Ireland with links to the Muslim Brotherhood must break that umbilical tie in order to move forward and become full participants in Irish society. Having a viewpoint whereby one wants to reject modernity is not of itself wrong, of course. But I also believe that such a viewpoint seeks to ‘preserve’ a religion that does not need preserving. I strongly believe that Islam is fully capable of surviving in any society, and has demonstrated that it can do so for over 1,500 years. That is clear evidence of its greatness and resilience – if it had no such value it would have died out long ago.
_ Next week: Sheikh Satardien continues his historical perspective of Islam in Europe
Sheikh Shaheed Satardien is chairman of the Supreme Muslim Council of Ireland, an umbrella group in its developmental stages
sheikhshaheed@gmail.com
In 878, Sicily became a Muslim fiefdom, but had had an Islamic presence since 652. In the 8th century Muslim armies invaded France and were only repulsed at Poitiers, near the Loire Valley (less than 200 miles from Paris). Native European Muslim communities exist in Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and the rest of the Balkans, and have done so for several hundred years.
The Ottoman Empire expanded into Greece, Romania, Hungary and besieged Vienna in the 17th century. That proved to be the high water mark of Muslim military expansion in Europe, but such armed adventurism is utterly dwarfed by the Islamic influence in the arts, science and culture that ricochets across Europe to this day.
Much of contemporary mathematics, medicine, astronomy, biology and the arts stem from the efforts of Muslim scholars at a time when Western civilisation was mired in the Dark Ages. The writings of Aristotle, Euclid, Archimedes and the like were translated into Arabic long before they were translated into Latin. Algebra (from the Arabic ‘Al-jabra’), the glories of Islamic design at the Al-hambra in Granada and repositories of learning everywhere they went are some of the tidemarks of Muslim incursions on the continent. There is also considerable evidence that the first clock, printing press, glass lenses, compass, mirrors, surgery, and chemistry were in use among Muslim scholars long before they became known in the West.
All of this indicates that the current collision between Europe and Islam is a repetition of earlier fracas and fraternities, the fallout of which is woven into our joint cultural fabric. Such a historical reality, that ‘we have been here before’, helps to give a sense of perspective and allay the fears of, on one hand, an Islam-ification of the EU, and on the other, of western contamination of Islam.
How credible are those fears? Is such a theological ‘fifth column’ a reality? Is cultural conversion by infiltration possible?
I am not referring to the fears of Ali Selim, spokesperson for the Council of Imams, who raised the spectre of Muslims in Ireland feeling under “attack” in an article in The Irish Times a few weeks ago. Ali Selim correctly warned against an idea of integration whereby everyone becomes homogenised into the one culture. But nobody in Ireland is asking for such an extreme assimilation, which is both impossible and undesirable. Different cultures, different viewpoints and different lifestyles are culturally enriching, but only if they can be experienced by a society, and that involves interacting with the society, and not simply behaving as spectators looking on. Participation is required.
There is a debate in Muslim circles in Ireland, but it is a debate where both sides argue different “motions”. There are those who share the view that the Muslim community must address potentially threatening internal issues rather than pretending they do not exist. Those in the Muslim establishment, who should be addressing this ‘motion’, instead insist that these threatening issues are illusory and that anyone who wants to address them is guilty of attacking Islam! This attempt to homogenise thought in Muslim circles, by attempting to use accusation to stifle necessary debate, is in reality an attempt to prevent change.
We all fear change to some extent, some more than others. In particular, any establishment will not welcome change as it sees change as a threat. Some within the Islamic establishment in Ireland have links to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that refuses to renounce violence and suicide bombing as means of achieving its aims. The Muslim Brotherhood seeks to prevent a modern Islamic engagement with the West and wants a return to an allegedly ‘pure’ Islam, based on its interpretation of the Holy Qu’ran. It wants a homogenisation of interpretation.
I believe that those within the Muslim establishment in Ireland with links to the Muslim Brotherhood must break that umbilical tie in order to move forward and become full participants in Irish society. Having a viewpoint whereby one wants to reject modernity is not of itself wrong, of course. But I also believe that such a viewpoint seeks to ‘preserve’ a religion that does not need preserving. I strongly believe that Islam is fully capable of surviving in any society, and has demonstrated that it can do so for over 1,500 years. That is clear evidence of its greatness and resilience – if it had no such value it would have died out long ago.
_ Next week: Sheikh Satardien continues his historical perspective of Islam in Europe
Sheikh Shaheed Satardien is chairman of the Supreme Muslim Council of Ireland, an umbrella group in its developmental stages
sheikhshaheed@gmail.com
