An
Explanation
of
MilitarySlavery 65
ginnings
inMedina,it
spread
through
Arabiaandthen
(very
sparsely,
forthere
werefewMuslimsat
first)
tothelandsbe-
tween
Spain
andIndia.In
subsequentcenturies,theummafilled
outasconversionstoIslamincreased,andit
spread
yet
more
widelyintonewareas.
Whateveritsextent,theummawasa
single
unit,
ideally
under
the
leadership
ofa
single
man,the
caliph.
Loyaltytothe
caliph
wasthe
tangibleexpression
ofdevotiontothe
unity
oftheumma.
The
position
of
caliphemerged
inan
unplannedway
afterthe
deathof
Muh.ammad
in11/632;the
fledgling
ummaneededa
leader,
soasuccessor
(khalifa)
to
Muh.
ammad
emerged.
Hehad
no
prophetic
functionbutsucceeded
Muh.
ammad
only
asleader
oftheumma.The
caliphsymbolized
the
unity
and
power
ofthe
Muslim
community.
The
unity
of
theummaandtheruleofthe
caliph
both
point
to
athirdcharacteristicIslamic
ideal,
thefih&/,
military
actionin-
tendedeithertodefendor
expand
theboundariesoflandsruled
byMuslims.
23
Thisidealhastwo
importantimplications;
first,
it
encourages,
under
propercircumstances,
aggressionagainst
non-Muslimsasfulfillment ofa
religious
precept.
Second,
it
prohibits
warfare
among
Muslims,forviolencemust
only
be
employedto
spread
theruleofIslam--andhowcanitbe
spread
to
regions
thatMuslims
already
control?Theideals
represented
by
theumma,
caliphate,
and
jihdzlcomplement
eachother; Is-
lamicdoctrinescallfor
politicalunity
and
peaceamong
Muslims.
Differencesbetweenbelievers mustnotlead to
political
divi-
sions,muchlesstowar.
Umma,Caliphate,
lihd:
The
Reality
In
contrasttothetheoreticalstatementsofIslamicideals,their
actualrole
in
historyhas
gone
almostunnoticed.Premodern
Muslim
kingdoms,rulers,andwarfarevaried
widely
over1,200
years
and several continents.
Kingdoms ranged
from local
23.Itis
alwaysimportant
toremember
thatjihddspreads
theruleof
Islam,
notthereligion.Muslimsmayuseviolencetogainpoliticalcontrolbutnotto
coercebelief;andsincenon-Muslimspayhighertaxes,thereisusuallynoincen-
tivetoconvertthem
anyway.