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

xvi Introduction

Islamicate

Influences

Islamaffected Muslims

primarily

in three

interrelated

ways:

through

the

implementation

ofIslamic

preceptsandideals,their

nonimplementation,

andtheextensionofMiddleEastern

high

culture.Theinfluenceof

Islamthatresultedfrom

implementa-

tionofits

goals

isself-evident.The

Islamic

religionbrings

withit

awide

variety

of

precepts

andidealswhich influencethebe-

liever,

ranging

fromhis

urinary

habitstohisviewsonthe

just

society.

TheShariea

incorporates

several

sources(the

Qur’fin,

t.adfth,reasoningbyanalogy,

and

consensus)toelaborateacode

whichhas

something

to

say

aboutalmost

everyactivity.

Tothe

degree

that

Muslimscarriedoutits

injunctions,they

sharedan

Islamic

way

of

life.Lawsin the

private

domain,

dealing

with

religious

ritualand

personalstatus,were

largelyimplemented;

conversiontoIslam

brought

some

conformity

intheseareasto

vastly

diverse

practices

on several continents.

6

For

example,

Islam

everywhere affected

family

relations

by

its inheritance

laws,

whichcreatedbonds

andtensionsoftheirown.Lawsin-

volving public

affairswereless

consistentlyimplemented;

ex-

ceptionally,

those

concerning

thestatusofdhimmfs

(adherents

of

scriptuaryreligions

wholivedunderMuslim

rule)

wereoften

effected.

TheextentofIslamic

influencevariedindifferent

parts

of

Islamdom. Itwas

greatest

in theMiddle

East,somewhatless

strong

inNorth

Africa,CentralAsia,andnorthernIndia,and

nuch less so in sub-Saharan Africa, southeastern

Europe,

southern

India, Yunan, and Southeast Asia. Whatever the

depth

ofIslamic

practices,

the

carrying

outof

their

precepts

and

ideals

represented

adirectchannelofIslamicinfluence.

Those

precepts

andidealsalsohadanindirect

impact;

Islam

establishedsome

goals

which

could notbeattained, andthe

commonfailuretolive
up

tothem

provoked

similar

responses

6. Hodgson,2:123.

7.R.

Brunschvig,"Perspectives,"pp.

49-50.Thisaccountsforthe

many

workswith"Islam"intheirtitleand mentionofMuslimsoutsidethe
Middle

East
in

their

text;otherareasareseeneitherasnot

fully

Muslimor

derivative,

andhenceless
interesting.