The Appeal of Islam for Policies in Southeast Asia Between 12th -17th Century - Essay Example

APPEAL OF ISLAM FOR POLICIES IN SOUTH EAST ASIA BETWEEN 12TH -17TH C APPEAL OF ISLAM FOR POLICIES IN SOUTH EAST ASIA BETWEEN 12TH -17TH C As far as Islam in South East Asia during the 12th – 17th centuries is concerned, it is clear from histories of the time that the appeal to adhere to Sharia laws to the later. In this respect, there are two common sources of Sharia. These are the Sunnah and the Quran. Quran is considered as a word of God that can never be altered. Most of the Quran emphasizes the need for Muslims to embrace moral values. Nevertheless, it is argued that only 80 of the entire verses the law constitutes part of the Sharia laws. On the other hand, the Sunnah offers examples of desirable life that should be lived by Muslim. It is a report of way of life of Prophet Muhammad. Sunnah is considered as the most pivotal source of Sharia laws because it offers most prescriptions that constitute the laws. This is also because its importance is highlighted in various verses of the Quran (Crone & Hinds, 1986). Sunnah is contained in various reports of the sayings by Prophet Muhammad, as well as his actions and demeanors. Whereas only one Quran exists, there are several compilations of hadith within it, most of which were created as early as 850 CE. The most popular Sunni collections are those compiled Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Abu Dawood, Muhammad al-Bukhari Tirmidhi, Al-Nasai and Ibn Majah. These constitute as many as19, 000 hadiths. Some of the existent hadiths are repetitions of the others. Sunnah, as a source of Islam, is also inclusive of the twelve Imam anecdotes. The process of interpretation of the two sources of Sharia law is often referred to as the fiqh. Whereas the two sources are considered sufficient, Sharia law is such the standards in the prescriptions may be altered to suit various legal contexts. Fiqh covers all areas of law, ranging from constitutional, civil and religious matters to matters pertaining to procedural law. Fiqh and associated processes are governed by the interpretations of Sunni, Quran, the collective reasoning consensus arrived by scholars and analogical deduction processes. In the Shia approach to jurisprudence, the fiqh is inclusive of formal logic, laws and customs that are based on the interests of the public. This approach to Sharia law has been widely criticized as being fallible, considering that it creates the allowance for the human interpretation and modification. There are various schools that constitute the Islamic law interpretation. These are Sunni Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi and Salafi. All these played a crucial role in the construction and enforcement of Sharia laws. The Islamic law played a crucial role in the consolidation of the Muslim identity during the caliphate period. The Islam law offered prescriptions to various issues of the society. Some of the code covered matters pertaining to the family relationships and households, including sexual behavior, paternity, inheritance and divorce. There was also provision that appeared to impose obligations towards leaders. Other minor provisions touched on the areas associated with the military services. The Islam law ended up influencing people to solely depend and express confidence in single rulers. It offered prescriptions on the need for Islam to uphold peace and live in harmony. Therefore, the Islam laws served as the unification of the Islam societies, providing the society with the moral standard values, religion, class structure organizations and moral values (Ochsenwald, 2004). Islamic Sharia law was successful in achieving its intended outcomes. The code not only enabled the society to be secured, as well as consolidated. The rule under the Sharia laws was considered legitimate, enabling the royal line to successfully rule for as many several decades. It is argued that the code was sometimes never straight forward. Here, it is cited that most legal cases that were recorded were not carried out in line with the Sharia laws. The Islam laws were a way through which Muslim society made various attempts of regulating morality as a way of maintaining social order. Islam laws regulated incest, adultery and marriage. Through the attempts to codify and enforce the morality laws, the caliphate dynasties turned out successful in extending the reign to private lives of the society while fostering a sense of social, economic and political responsibility. Islamic laws were also employed in justifying the jihadist invasions, which offered opportunities for expansion of territories (Crone & Hinds, 1986). The Umayyad caliphate was the second type of Islamic caliphate, which came into existence following the death of Muhammad. It existed between 661 and 750CE. The Umayyad caliphate was under the rule of the Umayyad dynasty, whose name is a derivative of the Umayyad Abd Shams, who is considered as the Umayyad caliph’s great grandfather. Despite the fact that Umayyad family originated from the city of Mecca, Damascus was their capital. It was one of the greatest empires in the world, having covered as many as 13 million kilometer squared, at its largest extent. The Umayyad caliphates were overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate, compelling them to flee across North Africa and settle around the Iberian Peninsula. Here, they established Cordoba Caliphate. This lasted until 1031, before falling following the establishment of the al-Andalus Fitna (Donner, 1981). The Umayyad administration was organized into three branches. These included those that dealt with tax collection affair, religious administration affair and military and political organization affair. Each of the branches was further subdivided into additional, specialized branches, departments and offices. In the geographic sense, the empire was organized into several provinces which were under the rule of governs appointed by khalifa. The governor had jurisdiction over the civil administrators, religious officials, and police and army leaders, among other pivotal arms of government within the society. Before the conquest of Muslim, the preceding byzantine and Sassanid empires were reliant on currency economies. Nevertheless, even after their conquest, the currency economy system continued to characterize the Umayad dynasty and the Abbasid societies. The only change that was made on the coin was the Quran stamps. The Umayyad caliphate society was depicted by the existence of four social classes, which included the Muslim Arabs, the Muslim non-Arabs, the slaves and the non-Muslim free persons. The Muslims considered themselves as belonging to the top of the Muslim societies. It was for these reasons that they considered themselves the only group that could rule the society. Despite the fact that the Islam doctrine emphasized the need to uphold equality and fairness in the society, the Arab Muslim society contravened this by holding themselves with high esteem, going as far as limiting their interaction with other groups in the society. It is widely argued that it was this form of inequality and discrimination that contributed to the decline in the popularity of the Umayyad caliphates and dynasty. The inequality in the society culminated social unrest. As the population of Islamized people grew, the non-Arabs constituted the majority of the population. The increase in non-Arab Muslim population was accompanied by heightening tensions, as many advocated for equality. This environment was what created the allowance for the emergence and development of the Abbasid caliphates (Chisholm, 1911). Thus, the Abbasids Caliphate could be distinguished from the Umayyads in the way they launched attacks and questioned administrations and moral characters. These forms of revolt were largely supported by the Arab Muslims, including the Marw settlers, the Muwali and the faction from Yemen, among other groups that were considered as the low class by the Umayyad dynasty. The Abbasid caliphate is considered as the third Islamic caliphate. It was under the rule of the Abbasid’s caliph dynasty, which resorted to the establishment of the Baghdad as the capital, following the overthrow of the Umayyad caliphate dynasty from most of the regions. The Abbasid caliphate is believed to have been founded by the descendants of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the youngest uncle to Prophet Muhammad. It was for this reason that this reason that the Abbasid people considered themselves as the legitimate successors of Muhammad, opposing the Umayyads. The establishment had been founded in Kufa, before shifting to Baghdad in 762 CE. Within 150 years of rule establishment over Persia, the Abbasid caliphates were compelled to cede their power to local dynasties referred to as the emirs. Later, the Abbsid caliphates would lose various territories such as the Maghreb, al-Andalus and Ifriqiya to other authorities, including the Umayyad prince, Fitimid and Aghlabids caliphates. A few years later, the Abbasid rule came to an end. Mongol Khan and Halagu Khan retreated from Baghdad and moved to Egypt where they exercised their authority. The authority existed as long as 1519, when the authority was taken over by Ottoman Empire (Chisholm, 1911). The Abbasid dynasty era is considered as the Islamic golden age, which was marked by the transfer of capital from Damascus to Baghdad. During this period, the Abbasid society was significantly influenced by hadith (inspiring stories), as well as the Quran’s injunctions. It was during the period the Muslim world dominated as the world’s intellectual centers. The scholars sought to translate all pieces of knowledge into the Arabic language, even resulting to the establishment of House of Wisdom in order to promote literacy. It is argued that the Abbasid period was significant because it saw most knowledge that would have otherwise lost translated and retained in Arab. The Muslim world collected derived a lot of knowledge from the Indian, Roman and Egyptians, among other civilizations. It is worth noting that although one dynasty overthrew the other, the Abassid and Umayyad dynasties shared various commonalities as other caliphates. The Sharia law governed the political, social and economic activities of the society. In conclusion, The Umayyad caliphate was the second type of Islamic caliphate while the Abbasid caliphate was the third. The Umayyad caliphate was largely supported by the Arab Muslims, who saw themselves as top rulers of the society, while the Abbasid caliphate was supported by Muslim groups that had been sidelined by the Umayyad caliphate. References Crone, P. & Hinds, M. 1986, Gods Caliphs: Religious Authorities in the First Period of Islam, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chisholm, H. 1911. "Abbasids". Encyclopedia Britannica. Cambridge University Press. Donner, F. 1981. The Early Islam Conquest. Princeton: Princeton Press. Ochsenwald, W. 2004. The Middle East, a History. Boston: McGraw Hill. Read More