Islam at War: A History PDF
Preview Islam at War: A History
Islam at War ISLAM AT WAR A History George F. Nafziger and Mark W. Walton LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Nafziger,GeorgeF. Islamatwar:ahistory/GeorgeF.NafzigerandMarkW.Walton. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN0–275–98101–0(alk.paper) 1.Islam—History. I.Walton,MarkW.,1949– II.Title. BP50.N335 2003 297(cid:2).09—dc21 2002044957 BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable. Copyright(cid:3)2003byGeorgeF.NafzigerandMarkW.Walton Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher. LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2002044957 ISBN:0–275–98101–0 Firstpublishedin2003 PraegerPublishers,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881 AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc. www.praeger.com PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Introduction vii 1. Birth of Islam: Islamic Expansion and Muhammad as Battlefield Commander 1 2. The Great Conquests 15 3. Islam and the Crusades 37 4. The Sword and India: The Moghul Conquest 51 5. Egypt in the World of Islam 63 6. The Muslim Conquest and Loss of Spain 81 7. The Rise of the Ottoman Empire 91 8. The Sick Man of Europe: The Balkans and the Fall of the Ottoman Empire 109 9. The Sword and the Sea: Muslim Navies, Lepanto, and Malta 141 10. Mullahs and Machine Guns: Colonial Wars in the Middle East 153 11. Mullahs and Missiles: Islamic Wars since 1945 171 12. Islam and Jihad: For It Is Ordained unto You 207 13. Dying for God: The Assassins—Pastand Present 235 vi CONTENTS 14. Conclusion 255 Bibliography 263 Index 267 INTRODUCTION OnSeptember11,2001,AmericasuddenlydiscoveredtheIslamicworld. The word jihad became commonplace in the spoken American lexicon. An unknown people with unusual customs and even more unusual ideas struckattheAmericanheartlandandsecuredourundividedattention.Yet, despite the thousands of words spoken by the media since September 11 thehistoryoftheIslamicworldhasbarelybeenexposedtoourview.And we are even less aware of what has motivated this attack on our peace and tranquility. ManyintheIslamicworldseetheeventsofSeptember11asamilitary operation. Surely Osama bin Laden did. Many will be surprised to dis- coverthatthisisnotthefirstblowstruckbytheIslamicworldagainstthe Christian world or the West, nor the worst blow. It is merely the latest. Indeed, a large part of the Islamic world’shistory revolvesaroundarmed conflict, much of it with the Christian and Western worlds. Warhasbeen part of the Islamic world since the Archangel Gabriel first spoke to Mu- hammad,anditistheprincipalprocessbywhichIslamspreadthroughout the world. It is the intent of this work to explore that ancient and rich military history. It beginswith Muhammad, thefirstMuslimwarlord,andfollows the first world superpower, the Ottoman Empire, as it rose from the ob- scurity ofthe central Asian steppesandvanishedatthestrokeofapenin 1918. It explores the history of suicidal religious zealots that fought the
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