The Arabization and Islamization of the Maghrib: A Social and Economic Reconstruction of the History of the Maghrib During the First Two Centuries of Islam
Contenu
- Titre
- The Arabization and Islamization of the Maghrib: A Social and Economic Reconstruction of the History of the Maghrib During the First Two Centuries of Islam
- Créateur
- Abuswa, Mahmud Ahmed AHMED
- Résumé
- This work offers a new framework for the study of the early Islamic history of the Maghrib. It proposes interpretations based on social and economic factors. The Maghrib prior to the Islamic expansion was divided into two areas: the littoral that was agriculturally oriented and the interior that was dependent on trade. With Egypt's fall the Muslims who themselves were of a commercial background sought the support of the Maghribis of the interior (merchants) in exchange for an equal chance to thrive within the Islamic market. Thereafter Mashriquis and their Maghribi allies joined hands and attacked the littoral. The littoral and Spain were not completley assimilated within the Islamic fold until the ninth decade of the first century. Resistance movements blocked Islamic expansion not because of racial differences but because of economic factors. The littoral being self-sufficient was less attracted to Islamic markets. To undermine its economy Muslims and their Maghribi allies founded cities to divert trade from the sea coast to the Maghrib. This process facilitated Arabo-Islamic expansion in the southern parts of the Maghrib and encouraged other Maghribis to join the expansion. This is the context for understanding the process of Arabization, for those Maghribis who were interested in concluding commercial transactions in the Mashriq found it imperative to learn its language and to adopt its culture. Arabization was further consolidated by other factors: equitable distribution of land, office, and priviledge among Maghribis and Mashriqis. Islamization was a later process that was adopted by the Maghribis to serve strategic purposes. The foundation of the Diwans and the corresponding bureaucratisation of this embryonic state registered people and properties according to Shari'a. Maghribis being neither Dhimmis nor Muslims and fearing the loss of their advantages accumulated throughout the early expansion, adopted the faith. Furthermore, to enjoy their political advantages the Maghribis had to convert. Finally, this study contends that in order to understand the rise of Kharijism and its divisions in the Maghribis and their conflict with the non-Kharijite, future researchers will have to focus on the mutuality of interests that joined Maghribis to Mashriqis.
- Type
- PhD
- Editeur
- University of California
- Couverture spatiale
- California
- Date
- 1984
- Langue
- eng
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