Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lers to the Holy Land were surprised to find Christians and Muslims settled into comfort-
able cohabitation. Indeed Christians throughout the succeeding centuries imitated many of
the customs and manners of Muslims, particularly in terms of dress and eating.
With about one billion people professing the faith, Islam is the world's second-largest religion after
Christianity; around 50 countries have Muslim majorities and another 35 have significant minorities. Six
million Muslims live in the USA - around 2% of the population.
Ottoman Expansion
The second great Islamic excursion into Europe came with the Ottoman Turks. They've
come to be seen as an oppressive people, not least by TE Lawrence whose censure of the
Turks in
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
finds resonance in Western history books throughout the
20th century. The tendency has been to emphasise Turkish military invasion rather than
their cultural influence and in particularly the taking of Christian Constantinople in 1453
is traditionally seen as a traumatic event, impacting on European identity. This is a view,
however, that is now being challenged by modern historians who point out that during the
height of their reign in the 16th and 17th centuries, in an empire that stretched from Hun-
gary to Libya, the Turks were welcomed by many as bringing culture and prosperity to
countries under their control where they treated Christians and Jews with the respect ac-
corded to monotheistic faith by the Quran.
Meanwhile in Arabia's arid Najd region, a new spirit of 'fundamentalism', or a return
to pure Islamic principles, was taking shape in the form of Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792).
This ultra-conservative Sunni from Basra (present-day Iraq) was embraced by the Saud
family who liked his teachings, and he became a significant influence on the expression of
faith in Saudi. His followers, known as Wahhabis, launched various bids for political
power and religious dominance over the succeeding centuries, including an audacious at-
tack on the Shia city of Karbala in 1802, prefiguring movements such as the Brotherhood
of Islam two centuries later.
Colonialism
When Napoleon's armies took aim at the Sphinx in the early 19th century, it marked a
turning point in the relationship between the West and the Muslim world. The great
powers of Europe, with large overseas colonies built on the industrial revolution, began to
make incursions into Arab territory that were more to do with strategic influence than
with faith.
