Slave Soldiers and Islam_ The Genesis of a Military System - Daniel Pipes

Introduction

IslamdomasaUnit

Muslim

peoples

in

premodern

times

shared

many

customsand

attitudes

which hadno

apparent

connection

toIslam. Islam

began

as a

religion,

developed

a

legalsystem,

and

eventually

includedelements

affectingall

aspects

ofhuman

existence.For

example,minimalrelationsbetweenthe

sexes,severe

problems

of

politicalsuccession,andacultural

emphasisonmemorization

characterized

premodernIslamicate lifein

nearlyall

places

and

times.TheseIslamicate

patternsby

nomeanseliminated

local

variations,but

they

didexerta

constantand

nearly

uniform

pull

onnations

convertedtoIslamorruledover

byMuslims.Islamic

precepts

andideals

influenceddiverseculturesina

similardi-

rection.This

studyanalyzesinwhat

ways

Islamaffected

Muslims

andto

whatextent

they

constituteda

unitofcivilization.

Asa

religious

group,

Muslims

clearlymade

up

ausefuland

sensible

unit;

2

however

widethevariationintheir

beliefsand

practices,

intheir

tone,style

and

temperament,they

shared

basic

commonelements

(especiallybeliefin

Mu.hammad

asthelast

prophet)

which

distinguished

themfromthe

adherentsofother

religions.
Similarly,

inthe

legal

domain,theShariCa

(Islamic

sa-

cred
law)

extended

beyondregionaland

temporaldifferences;

no

matterhow
great

the

scope

of

customary

or

governmentregula-

1.

Neologisms,special

usages,

and

commonlyusedArabicwordsareallex-

plained

inthe

Glossary.

2.The

past

tenseused

hereandthroughoutthebookindicatesthatthese

con-

siderationsdonot
necessarilyapplytomoderntimes.

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