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

AnExplanationofMilitarySlavery

67

caliphate

remained

politicallyobscureuntilitsdemise atthe

handsofthe

Mongols

in

656/1258.

Afterthat

only

a

very

at-

tenuated versionoftheofficecontinued toexist forseveral

centuriesbefore

disappearingaltogether.

Itsrevival

by

theOt-

tomanrulersinthelate 12th/18th

centurywasadoomedun-

dertaking.

The

caliphs

didfillthe

important

taskof

representing

thepolitical

power

ofIslamdomuntilthe

Buyidconquest;

from

thattime

on,Islamdomhasbeen

politicallyfragmented.

Thejihdwas

partially maintained;

from

theArabiancon-

quests

onward,Muslimshave

eagerlydefendedor

expanded

the

bordersofDfiral-Islfim.The

Byzantine,

Spanish,

andIndian

fronts saw

sporadicfightingover

eight

centuries,the Balkan

oversix;Muslims

respondedactivelytotheCrusaderandMon-

gol

invasions;

they

took

up

arms

sporadicallyagainstpagansin

sub-SaharanAfricaandontheInnerAsian

steppe;

and

inmod-

ern

times, they

resisted

encroachments

by

seaborneWestern

Europeans

andlandarmies

advancingfromRussiaandChina.

Yet,

though

Muslimscarriedoutthe

injunction

to

fightnon-

Muslims,

theyignored

the

prohibitionagainst

warfare

among

believers.

Indeed,Muslims

fought

oneanotherfarmoreoften

than

they

didthe

infidels;

truefihd

constituteda

pitifully

small

percentage

oftheirtotalwarfare,for

incontrasttothedistant

boundariesofDfiral-Islm,thoseof

neighboring

Muslim

gov-

ernments

were close by.

Disputes

with fellow-Muslimsarose

muchmoreoftenthan

withinfidels.Tobesure,whenMuslims

tbught

Muslims,eachsidearmeditselfwithdoctrinal

justifica-

tions;butthefactthatboth

parties

considered

themselvesMus-

limcould

neverbe

ignored

or

forgotten.

Umma,

caliphate,

and

jihdrepresent only

the summits

of

Islamic

publicideals;theShariCaalsoconcernsitself

withthe

detailsofmuch

else,generatingequallydeep

gulfs

betweenex-

pectations

and

reality

in such matters as

taxation and

legal

justice.

Islamic

public

idealshaveremained

permanentlyunat-

tainablesince

shortly

after

thetimeofMu

.hammad:

the

political

order

envisaged

inthe

Qur’n, Sunna, ShariCa, in the

legal

handbooksand

political

treaties,hasneverexisted.

5

25. Kessler,
    pp.

38-39.