News

Aug 08, 2023

Enlightened by Richard Fidler’s 'The Book of Roads and Kingdoms'

Posted by Dr Daud Batchelor | 31 Jan, 2023 | Boomerang, Opinion | 0 | Like a

Posted by Dr Daud Batchelor | 31 Jan, 2023 | Boomerang, Opinion | 0 |

Like a Genie it opens a wondrous world of Islam's Golden Age, from Muhammad (571-632CE) (s) to Baghdad's destruction (1258CE). Fidler's skill is in enlivening this period and immersing readers as informed observers experiencing events.

First time a region from Africa to India was incorporated as one enormous dominion.

Similar socio-political-religious and brotherly relations facilitated distant travel.

Travelogues were recorded accurately (with exceptions), truthfulness being an Islamic value.

Ibn Wahab recorded Tang Emperor Yizong acknowledging Baghdad's Caliph as ‘King of Kings.’

As an Islamic civilization scholar, this book fleshes-out substance I know and clarifies enigmas.

Fidler describes rulers eliminating sibling rivals. Umayyad/Abbasid rulers treated Prophet's descendants badly.

They didn't display governance values of Rightly-guided Caliphs who ruled using Islamic democratic styles. They consumed prohibited intoxicants.

Bennabi believed the Battle of Siffin (657) between Ali (r) and Muawiya, first Umayyad ruler, represented the beginning of decline of Islamic civilisation. Islam's abiding strength buttressed the civilization for 900 years, and ensures its integrity today, so it can rise again!

One item cited is crucial to Islamic civilisation's decline: "in latter Abbasid era, the Caliph's army operated a vast protection racket, less interested in defending Empire than squeezing money … from its treasury." Consequently, "Burdened by a parasitic military, demoralised bureaucracy, bankrupt treasury and indifferent caliph, Baghdad lost its grip on empire."

I highlight today's parallel: "Pakistan's armed forces, which ruled the country for half its existence, ensured sizeable portions of the national budget, larger than most countries … is allocated to defence [causing] expenditure deficits on public health, welfare and education. They don't realise by diverting investment from HR development they limit future growth."

Cohen highlighted due to diversion of scarce national funds to their coffers, "This strong army presides over an increasingly weakened state."

Westerners are challenged to write such a book due to anti-Islam bias since Crusader times.

Wonderful Golden Age scientific achievements could be dismissed as "The caliphate became an empire powered by Muslim theology, Greek science, Indian numbers."

Like any dynamic human development though, Muslims experimented, innovated, developing advanced knowledge (1001 Inventions: Enduring Legacy of Muslim Civilization).

Fidler reports: "invasions of Christian-dominated lands by [Muslims] were often cruel, brutal."

I haven't found such descriptions, unless Fidler's referring to common war brutality. Islamic rule spread due to populations preferring Muslim than harsh Byzantian rule.

Historian Arnold considers Muslim toleration exceptional: "Living under security of life, property, toleration of religious thought, Christians … enjoyed flourishing prosperity in early Caliphate days."

Just as status of Middle-Eastern Christians deteriorated after the US invaded Iraq, "harsher treatment of Christian populations dates from Harun al-Rashid's reign … Christians … often suffered for bad faith kept by foreign Christian powers with Muhammadan princes … treachery of Byzantine Emperor, Nicephorus, caused the Christian name to stink in Harun's nostrils."

Fidler states, referring to (symbolic?) Qur’anic verses, about people asking Dhul-Qarnayn (Alexander the Great?) to create a barrier to deter Gog-Magog, "we know Alexander never marched into East Asia, no such iron-copper wall was constructed, and monsters of Gog-Magog don't exist."

Alexander did conquer Bukhara-Samarkand. Yusuf Ali reports: "A narrow defile … en-route between Turkestan and India: … was known as the Iron Gate … There is no iron gate now, but 7th century traveller, Hiouen Tsiang, saw it on his journey [as] two folding gates cased with iron… Nearby is Iskandar Kul connecting the locality with Alexander. … Nothing could correspond more exactly with [Qur’anic] descriptions.

If, the Barrier in 18:95-98 refers to [this] Iron Gate, we can consider Gog-Magog with some confidence [as the] Mongol tribes on the other side." Mongols/Xiongnu were why China started constructing barriers 200BC. Eventually, Mongols/Huns prevailed, devastating Eurasia.

Richard wrote other books, but books are not Fidler's only forte. He's creator of the much-admired ABC program, Conversations.

We encourage Richard to continue enlightening us on positive engagements between the Muslim World and The West, and compliment him on his evident success with The Book of Roads and Kingdoms.

Share:

Rate: