Sayyidina `Uthman’s Preservation of Qur’an
Notes by Dr. G.F. Haddad
Imam al-Bukhari narrates in his Sahih (6:183-184) from Anas ibn Malik (RA) that Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman came to `Uthman at the time the people of Sham were battling for the conquest of Armenia and Azerbaijan [~year 25H] with the people of Iraq. Their divergences in Qur'anic reading had alarmed Hudhayfa, so he said to `Uthman: "O Commander of the Believers! Rescue (adrik) this Umma before they differ over the Book the way the Jews and Christians differed." Whereupon `Uthman wrote to Hafsah: "Send us the folios (suhuf) so that we copy them then we shall return them to you." Hafsa then sent them to `Uthman who ordered Zayd ibn Thabit, `Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Sa`id ibn al-`As, and `Abd Allah ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham who copied those folios into the volumes (masahif). `Uthman said to the group - the three Qurayshis: "If you find yourselves differing, [the three of] you and Zayd ibn Thabit in anything of the Qur'an, write it in the tongue of the Quraysh. For it was not revealed but in their tongue." They did [as instructed] and when they finished copying the folios into the volumes, `Uthman returned the folios to Hafsa, sent one mushaf to each region from those they had copied, then ordered that all other [copies] of the Qur'an in each and every folio or volume be burnt.
In his commentary on the above hadith in Fath al-Bari, at the line "when they finished copying the folios into the volumes, `Uthman returned the folios to Hafsa," Ibn Hajar says:
"Abu `Ubayd [a tashif for Abu `Ubayda al-Qasim ibn Sallam as proven below] and Ibn Abi Dawud [in Kitab al-Masahif] added: with a chain from Shu`ayb, from Ibn Shihab who said: Salim ibn `Abd Allah ibn `Umar told me:
"'Marwan used to send courier to Hafsa - meaning, when he was governor of al-Madina on behalf of Mu`awiya - asking her for the folios from which the Qur'an had been copied [kutiba minha] but she would refuse to give them to him.' Salim continued: 'When Hafsa died and we returned from her burial, Marwan sent an imperative request to `Abd Allah ibn `Umar for those folios to be sent to him, whereupon `Abd Allah ibn `Umar sent them to him. Then Marwan gave an order so they were ripped up (fashuqqiqat). He said: 'I only did this because I feared that after the passing of time, some doubter might foster doubt with regard to those folios.'
"The wording in Abu `Ubayda's narration has: 'so they were torn up' (famuzziqat). Abu `Ubayd [sic] said: 'It is unheard of that Marwan tore up the folios except in this narration.' I say: Ibn Abi Dawud narrated it with a chain from Yunus ibn Yazid, from Ibn Shihab, in a similar wording which has:
"'When Marwan was governor of Madina he sent courier to Hafsa asking her for the folios but she refused him access to them.' He [Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri] said: 'Salim ibn `Abd Allah [ibn `Umar] narrated to me saying: "When Hafsa died..."' and he narrated it [as above] and said in it: 'So he had them ripped up and burnt' (fashaqqaqaha wa harraqaha).
"And this addition also came up in the narration of `Umara ibn Ghuzayya, also an abridged one, but he, also made it part of the narration of Zayd ibn Thabit who said in it: 'So he had it washed out thoroughly (faghassalaha ghaslan)'.... And all this can be reconciled by saying that this was done with all the folios - renting, them washing out, then burning - and it is possible that the word [harraqaha] be read 'kharraqaha' (he had them rent) so that he has them first torn up then washed out, and Allah knows best."
These Suhuf were the Mushaf of Abu Bakr (RA) kept by `Umar, then kept by his daughter Hafsa the Mother of the Believers, wAllahu a`lam.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
The Compilation of the Koran
Legacy of Abu Bakr1: The Compilation of the Qur’aan2 after the Battle of Yamaamah3
Compiled from the Abu Bakr As Siddeeq CD Series4 by Imaam Anwar Al Awlaki5 and the AlMaghrib Institute Seminar entitled Conquest: History of the Khulafaa6 by Ustadh Muhammad alShareef7.
During the Battle of Yamaamah, the Muslims were being pushed back by the army of Musaylimah Al Khaddhaab8, and it seemed as if they were about to lose. Until the Muslims in order to uplift the spirits and restore hopes in the hearts of the Muslims, started to compete with each other by measuring which group of Muslims was going to fight the fiercest in the battle. The Muslims divided themselves into groups based on different criteria. For example there were groups like the Ansar9, the Muhajireen10, the people of this tribe and the people of that tribe, the people form this country, and the people from this region or this city, etc. The way they would encourage each other was that they would call out on the top of their voices, “Ya lil Ansar, Allah Allah!! Al Karrah ‘ala Adaillah”, which meant, “Oh Ansar!! Allah! Allah! Attack the enemies of Allah!!” They would see each other fighting and try to fight better and fiercer than the other group that they saw. The amount of courage and bravery these men had might have passed away when these men passed away. I do not think we can ever understand how much they wanted to please Allah by “giving it all they got”. An example of this is the man from the Ansar, who was wounded on the left leg and he couldn’t get up and walk, and Ibn Umar11 used to nurse the wounded and injured in the army. The Ansaree12 man, was being treated and he heard one of his people call out “Oh Ansar! Allah! Allah! Attack the enemies of Allah!”. And as soon as this man heard his people calling upon them, he left the tent by using one hand to dig his sword in the dirt and pulling him towards the battle. And when the sahaaba13 saw this they asked the man, “Where are you going?” and the man, whose name was Aboo Aqeel, went into the battle after telling the others, “My people have called, and I am going to respond to the call even if I have to crawl! They have called me to attack the Enemies of Allah!”. And Aboo Aqeel went into the battle and fought with one hand without protection. During his last moments on the battle field, after the battle had ended, he was laying down and he asked Ibn Umar, “Who does this day belong to?” and Ibn Umar replied, “Rejoice for indeed the enemy of Allah was killed”. Aboo Aqeel said “Alhamdulillah!14” and he passed away, a martyr for the sake of Allah, Insha’Allah15. One of these groups that testified to their Iman16 by fighting like no other group was the group of the Huffadh17, the group of the memorizers and the preservers of the Qur’an. The group of the Huffadh was a battalion that numbered up to 500 people. And they were so fierce at their fighting that they were the ones that were in the frontline of the Battle. They were the ones that were going head on against the enemy. And on this day, it has been narrated that over 80 of the huffadh had died.
The news reached the Muslims that many of the huffadh of Qur’an were martyred on that day, Insha’Allah. Upon hearing this Umar18 (Radi Allahu Anhu) went to Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) and told him that, “Qur’an is something that is in the hearts of the people, when the people go away the Qur’an goes away. We must do something in order to preserve the Qur’an, we should compile it into a book.” Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) at first didn’t agree with this, he raised the issue that this was something that the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) had never done and he said “How could I do something that the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) had never done!” Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) feared that this might fall under an innovation (bid’a). Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) and Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) discussed the matter for a while and at first Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) was opposed to the idea but then Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) finally convinced him that we must do this, and Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) agreed.
So Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) sent a message to Zayd Ibn Thabit Al Ansaree19 (Radi Allahu Anhu) that the Khaleefah20 wants to meet him. Zayd (Radi Allahu Anhu) himself narrates that when he was called upon by Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) to meet him, he went to the Khaleefah and saw that Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) was sitting next to him. And Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) came to him and said that many of the huffadh were killed during the Battle of Yamaamah, and they wanted Zayd Ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu Anhu) to take the responsibility of compiling the entire Qur’an into a mus’haf21. And the first thought that popped into the Zayd Ibn Thabit(Radi Allahu Anhu)’s mind was that this was “This was something that RasoolAllah (Sal Allahu Laayhi Wa Sallam) didn’t do, therefore how could I do it!” But then Zayd (Radi Allahu Anhu) thought about it again and he came to agree with Umar Ibn Al Khattab (Radi Allahu Anhu) that this was something that they needed to do. So Zayd agreed to take the responsibility to ensure that the Qur’an was collected and compiled. Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) told Zayd (Radi Allahu Anhu), “The reason I am giving this job to you is that you are a young man, you are mature, and we trust you, and you used to write the Revelation for RasoolAllah Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam.”
Zayd Ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu Anhu) said, after AbuBakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) asked him to do this, “If Abu Bakr were to have placed a mountain on my shoulders it would be lighter in weight than the mission that he gave me”. Zayd Ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu Anhu) was a scholar of the Qur’an even though he was at a very young age at that time. So he said, “I had to go around collecting Qur’an from the hearts of men and I had to go around collecting all the manuscripts of the Quran, I used to collect the palm leaves, flat white rocks (tablets), shoulder bones of camels, and leather pieces that they used to write the Qur’an on.” In order to ensure that the Qur’an they compiled was authentic, they would ask all the Sahaaba who heard the Qur’an and memorized it with the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) to recite it to Zayd Ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu Anhu) and they required that there be two people that know that same verse. The only exception that was made in this matter was that of Aboo Khuzaymah22 (Radi Allahu Anhu), who was the only one who knew the end of Surat At Tawbah because the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said about Aboo Khuzaymah (Radi Allahu Anhu) that his testimony is equal to two testimonies. And in following the Sunnah of RasoolAllah (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) they accepted Aboo Khuzaymah (Radi Allahu Anhu)’s testimony as double and included that part in the Qur’an.
The original mus’haf that was compiled by Zayd Ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu Anhu) was with Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) during his Khilaafah, it was written on palm leaves. After Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) passed away it was handed down to Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) and then to Hafsa23 (Radi Allahu Anhu) the daughter of Umar Ibn Al Khattab (Radi Allahu Anhu), after Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu)’s death. Hafsah bint Umar Ibn Al Khattab (Radi Allahu Anhu), the wife of the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam), had the mus’haf in her possession until the Khaleefah of Uthman Ibn Affan (Radi Allahu Anhu)24,25.
_______________________________________________
Footnotes
1. The first Khaleefah (leader) of Islam, after the death of the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam). He was the best friend of the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam) and the first adult male to accept Islam.
2. The Qur’aan is defined as: The Qur’aan is the Arabic Speech (kalaam) of Allaah, which He revealed to Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) in wording and meaning, and which has been preserved in the mus’hafs, and has reached us by mutawaatir transmissions, and is a challenge to mankind to produce something similar to it. [Az-Zarqaanee, V.1. p. 21]
3. Yamaamah is an area or currently city which is 4.5 Km east of Al Sulaymaniyyah and South East of Riyadh in this map.
4. Click here for more info! Abu Bakr Cd set
5. Anwar Al Awlaki: Biography: Click Here!
6. Enroll for the seminar here!
7. Muhammad alShareef: Biography: Click Here!
8. A man who claimed prophethood during the life and after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam). More info on him will be available in this blog soon, InshaAllah!
9. The group of Muslims that helped the migrating Muslims form Makkah to Medeena.
10. The group of Muslims that migrated from Makkah to Medeena.
11. The son of Umar. He was a companion of the Prophet (Sal Allahu layhi Wa Sallm) while still a young boy. He was one of the big scholars amongst the companions of Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam).
12. Belonging to the group of Ansar
13. Sahaaba or sing. Sahaabee means a companion of the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam). A Sahaabee is defined as: Someone who has met the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) while believing in him, and remained upon that belief until he died. [Ibn Hajr Al Asqalaanee]
14. Praise be to Allah!
15. If Allah wills!
16. Eeman is defined as: Belief that is composed of acceptance in the heart, statements from the mouth, and actions of the limbs. It increases and decreases. Obedience to Allah increases eeman and disobedience to Allah decreases eeman.
17. Lit. means preservers. In the Islamic sense it could mean when referring to the Qur’aan, someone who memorizes the entire Qur’aan with the proper pronunciation. In the aspect of hadeeth it means something else which will be discussed in another blog, InshaAllah!
18. The second Khaleefah of Islam. He became the leader of the Muslims after the death of Abu Bakr. More info on him inshaAllah soon!
19. Zayd Ibn Thabit Al Ansaree was probably the most knowledgeable sahaabee amongst the sahaaba about the Qur’aan as he was the one that wrote down the Wahy (revelation) directly from the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam)
20. Khaleefah basically means a ruler of Islam, Al Khaleefat Ar Rasool Allah was a title only given to Abu Bakr as he directly followed the Prophet (Sal AllahU Alayhi Wa Sallam) in leading the Muslims. Also known as Caliph.
21. The Qur’aan in a physical compiled book form.
22. A companion of the Prophet (Sal Allahu alayhi Wa Sallam). More info on him soon inshaAllah!
23. She was the daughter of Umar, and the wife of the Prophet (Sal Allahu alayhi Wa Sallam). More info on this soon, inshaAllah!
24. The third Khaleefah of Islam. More info on this soon, inshaAllah!
25. This narration is found in Jami As Sahih of Imam Bukhaari. Volume 6, Book 60, Number 201
http://ibnalhyderabadee.wordpress.com/2006/04/11/legacy-of-abu-bakr-compilation-of-the-quraan/
Compiled from the Abu Bakr As Siddeeq CD Series4 by Imaam Anwar Al Awlaki5 and the AlMaghrib Institute Seminar entitled Conquest: History of the Khulafaa6 by Ustadh Muhammad alShareef7.
During the Battle of Yamaamah, the Muslims were being pushed back by the army of Musaylimah Al Khaddhaab8, and it seemed as if they were about to lose. Until the Muslims in order to uplift the spirits and restore hopes in the hearts of the Muslims, started to compete with each other by measuring which group of Muslims was going to fight the fiercest in the battle. The Muslims divided themselves into groups based on different criteria. For example there were groups like the Ansar9, the Muhajireen10, the people of this tribe and the people of that tribe, the people form this country, and the people from this region or this city, etc. The way they would encourage each other was that they would call out on the top of their voices, “Ya lil Ansar, Allah Allah!! Al Karrah ‘ala Adaillah”, which meant, “Oh Ansar!! Allah! Allah! Attack the enemies of Allah!!” They would see each other fighting and try to fight better and fiercer than the other group that they saw. The amount of courage and bravery these men had might have passed away when these men passed away. I do not think we can ever understand how much they wanted to please Allah by “giving it all they got”. An example of this is the man from the Ansar, who was wounded on the left leg and he couldn’t get up and walk, and Ibn Umar11 used to nurse the wounded and injured in the army. The Ansaree12 man, was being treated and he heard one of his people call out “Oh Ansar! Allah! Allah! Attack the enemies of Allah!”. And as soon as this man heard his people calling upon them, he left the tent by using one hand to dig his sword in the dirt and pulling him towards the battle. And when the sahaaba13 saw this they asked the man, “Where are you going?” and the man, whose name was Aboo Aqeel, went into the battle after telling the others, “My people have called, and I am going to respond to the call even if I have to crawl! They have called me to attack the Enemies of Allah!”. And Aboo Aqeel went into the battle and fought with one hand without protection. During his last moments on the battle field, after the battle had ended, he was laying down and he asked Ibn Umar, “Who does this day belong to?” and Ibn Umar replied, “Rejoice for indeed the enemy of Allah was killed”. Aboo Aqeel said “Alhamdulillah!14” and he passed away, a martyr for the sake of Allah, Insha’Allah15. One of these groups that testified to their Iman16 by fighting like no other group was the group of the Huffadh17, the group of the memorizers and the preservers of the Qur’an. The group of the Huffadh was a battalion that numbered up to 500 people. And they were so fierce at their fighting that they were the ones that were in the frontline of the Battle. They were the ones that were going head on against the enemy. And on this day, it has been narrated that over 80 of the huffadh had died.
The news reached the Muslims that many of the huffadh of Qur’an were martyred on that day, Insha’Allah. Upon hearing this Umar18 (Radi Allahu Anhu) went to Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) and told him that, “Qur’an is something that is in the hearts of the people, when the people go away the Qur’an goes away. We must do something in order to preserve the Qur’an, we should compile it into a book.” Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) at first didn’t agree with this, he raised the issue that this was something that the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) had never done and he said “How could I do something that the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) had never done!” Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) feared that this might fall under an innovation (bid’a). Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) and Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) discussed the matter for a while and at first Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) was opposed to the idea but then Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) finally convinced him that we must do this, and Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) agreed.
So Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) sent a message to Zayd Ibn Thabit Al Ansaree19 (Radi Allahu Anhu) that the Khaleefah20 wants to meet him. Zayd (Radi Allahu Anhu) himself narrates that when he was called upon by Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) to meet him, he went to the Khaleefah and saw that Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) was sitting next to him. And Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) came to him and said that many of the huffadh were killed during the Battle of Yamaamah, and they wanted Zayd Ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu Anhu) to take the responsibility of compiling the entire Qur’an into a mus’haf21. And the first thought that popped into the Zayd Ibn Thabit(Radi Allahu Anhu)’s mind was that this was “This was something that RasoolAllah (Sal Allahu Laayhi Wa Sallam) didn’t do, therefore how could I do it!” But then Zayd (Radi Allahu Anhu) thought about it again and he came to agree with Umar Ibn Al Khattab (Radi Allahu Anhu) that this was something that they needed to do. So Zayd agreed to take the responsibility to ensure that the Qur’an was collected and compiled. Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) told Zayd (Radi Allahu Anhu), “The reason I am giving this job to you is that you are a young man, you are mature, and we trust you, and you used to write the Revelation for RasoolAllah Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam.”
Zayd Ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu Anhu) said, after AbuBakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) asked him to do this, “If Abu Bakr were to have placed a mountain on my shoulders it would be lighter in weight than the mission that he gave me”. Zayd Ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu Anhu) was a scholar of the Qur’an even though he was at a very young age at that time. So he said, “I had to go around collecting Qur’an from the hearts of men and I had to go around collecting all the manuscripts of the Quran, I used to collect the palm leaves, flat white rocks (tablets), shoulder bones of camels, and leather pieces that they used to write the Qur’an on.” In order to ensure that the Qur’an they compiled was authentic, they would ask all the Sahaaba who heard the Qur’an and memorized it with the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) to recite it to Zayd Ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu Anhu) and they required that there be two people that know that same verse. The only exception that was made in this matter was that of Aboo Khuzaymah22 (Radi Allahu Anhu), who was the only one who knew the end of Surat At Tawbah because the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said about Aboo Khuzaymah (Radi Allahu Anhu) that his testimony is equal to two testimonies. And in following the Sunnah of RasoolAllah (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) they accepted Aboo Khuzaymah (Radi Allahu Anhu)’s testimony as double and included that part in the Qur’an.
The original mus’haf that was compiled by Zayd Ibn Thabit (Radi Allahu Anhu) was with Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) during his Khilaafah, it was written on palm leaves. After Abu Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) passed away it was handed down to Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) and then to Hafsa23 (Radi Allahu Anhu) the daughter of Umar Ibn Al Khattab (Radi Allahu Anhu), after Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu)’s death. Hafsah bint Umar Ibn Al Khattab (Radi Allahu Anhu), the wife of the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam), had the mus’haf in her possession until the Khaleefah of Uthman Ibn Affan (Radi Allahu Anhu)24,25.
_______________________________________________
Footnotes
1. The first Khaleefah (leader) of Islam, after the death of the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam). He was the best friend of the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam) and the first adult male to accept Islam.
2. The Qur’aan is defined as: The Qur’aan is the Arabic Speech (kalaam) of Allaah, which He revealed to Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) in wording and meaning, and which has been preserved in the mus’hafs, and has reached us by mutawaatir transmissions, and is a challenge to mankind to produce something similar to it. [Az-Zarqaanee, V.1. p. 21]
3. Yamaamah is an area or currently city which is 4.5 Km east of Al Sulaymaniyyah and South East of Riyadh in this map.
4. Click here for more info! Abu Bakr Cd set
5. Anwar Al Awlaki: Biography: Click Here!
6. Enroll for the seminar here!
7. Muhammad alShareef: Biography: Click Here!
8. A man who claimed prophethood during the life and after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam). More info on him will be available in this blog soon, InshaAllah!
9. The group of Muslims that helped the migrating Muslims form Makkah to Medeena.
10. The group of Muslims that migrated from Makkah to Medeena.
11. The son of Umar. He was a companion of the Prophet (Sal Allahu layhi Wa Sallm) while still a young boy. He was one of the big scholars amongst the companions of Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam).
12. Belonging to the group of Ansar
13. Sahaaba or sing. Sahaabee means a companion of the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam). A Sahaabee is defined as: Someone who has met the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) while believing in him, and remained upon that belief until he died. [Ibn Hajr Al Asqalaanee]
14. Praise be to Allah!
15. If Allah wills!
16. Eeman is defined as: Belief that is composed of acceptance in the heart, statements from the mouth, and actions of the limbs. It increases and decreases. Obedience to Allah increases eeman and disobedience to Allah decreases eeman.
17. Lit. means preservers. In the Islamic sense it could mean when referring to the Qur’aan, someone who memorizes the entire Qur’aan with the proper pronunciation. In the aspect of hadeeth it means something else which will be discussed in another blog, InshaAllah!
18. The second Khaleefah of Islam. He became the leader of the Muslims after the death of Abu Bakr. More info on him inshaAllah soon!
19. Zayd Ibn Thabit Al Ansaree was probably the most knowledgeable sahaabee amongst the sahaaba about the Qur’aan as he was the one that wrote down the Wahy (revelation) directly from the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam)
20. Khaleefah basically means a ruler of Islam, Al Khaleefat Ar Rasool Allah was a title only given to Abu Bakr as he directly followed the Prophet (Sal AllahU Alayhi Wa Sallam) in leading the Muslims. Also known as Caliph.
21. The Qur’aan in a physical compiled book form.
22. A companion of the Prophet (Sal Allahu alayhi Wa Sallam). More info on him soon inshaAllah!
23. She was the daughter of Umar, and the wife of the Prophet (Sal Allahu alayhi Wa Sallam). More info on this soon, inshaAllah!
24. The third Khaleefah of Islam. More info on this soon, inshaAllah!
25. This narration is found in Jami As Sahih of Imam Bukhaari. Volume 6, Book 60, Number 201
http://ibnalhyderabadee.wordpress.com/2006/04/11/legacy-of-abu-bakr-compilation-of-the-quraan/
Questions about the Criterion
Holy Quran
Please tell us a little more about the Holy Quran which you have mentioned and quoted throughout this booklet while explaining the teachings of Islam.
The Holy Quran is the scripture of the Muslims. It is the word of God as communicated to the Holy Prophet Muhammad on a number of different occasions from the time God made him a Prophet, when he was 40 years of age, till his death (during the years 609-632 C.E.). All these revelations, received at various times over this period of 23 years, were arranged in a set order by the Holy Prophet, and they make up the Holy Quran.
How did God communicate His messages and words to the Holy Prophet?
God's messages are not conveyed by sound which can be heard by the human ear, but can only be received by the inner, 'spiritual' senses possessed by all human beings. In Prophets of God these senses are extremely sharp and very highly developed, and therefore they can receive clear communications from God.
In the physical world, we find that messages have to be carried by various media, such as the air which carries sound, or radio waves which carry radio and television signals. Similarly the word of God is brought to the Prophet through the spiritual beings called angels. (See the earlier section dealing with Angels.)
The revelations in the Holy Quran were brought to the Holy Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel in the form of clear words of the Arabic language. (According to Muslim belief, God spoke to all the other Prophets, such as Moses and Jesus, in the same manner in their languages.)
How did the Holy Quran come down to us?
It was by the following stages:
1. During the Holy Prophet's life, whenever a revelation came to him, he would proclaim it to people, then many of his followers would learn it by heart, and it would also be put into writing at the same time. As the Holy Quran was recited aloud in public prayers, and also read frequently at other times, every Muslim was quite familiar with its contents, and many knew it completely by heart.
2. About six months after the Holy Prophet's death, which took place in 632 C.E., work was undertaken to collect a complete copy of the Quran consisting of all the writings made in the Holy Prophet's presence. This was done on the instructions of the first ruler of the Muslims, Abu Bakr, and with the help of the scribes and the Companions of the Holy Prophet. In this way, a master copy of the Quran was collected.
3. Some 15 years later, when Muslim rule had spread far and wide, the third ruler of the Muslims after the Holy Prophet, called Uthman, ordered further copies to be transcribed from this master copy. These copies were sent to the big cities of the then Muslim world to be kept as standard copies. Muslims also kept up the practice of memorizing parts of the Holy Book, many learning the whole of it by heart. In this way, the Holy Quran was passed down the ages, in both written and oral form, remaining intact in its original form. Because the Quran was recited aloud everyday in public prayers and gatherings, everyone recognized the same Quran.
Do all Muslims have the same Quran, then?
Yes. Because of the reasons given above, the text of the Muslim Scripture has been preserved in its original purity. In fact, God had given a promise in the Quran itself that He would Himself guard this Holy Book:
"Surely We have revealed the Reminder (the Quran), and surely We are its Guardian." (15:9)
All Muslims, whatever their sect, country or language, have always had exactly the same Arabic Quran, just as it was in the Holy Prophet Muhammad's time. No two copies of the Holy Quran anywhere in the world differ in any way.
Please mention some features of the Holy Quran which give it a unique place among the scriptures of the world.
As regards just the text of the Holy Quran, it has the following distinctions not found in the case of any other scripture:
1. As mentioned above, the Holy Quran has not undergone any loss or alteration since it first came into the world so many centuries ago, and all the followers of Islam have the same Quran.
2. The Holy Quran is still available to us today in the original language in which it was revealed.
3. Arabic, the language of the Holy Quran, is still a living language spoken and written by over 100 million people, and has changed very little over the centuries. Therefore, any person today can learn it like any other modern language, and read and understand the Holy Quran directly.
4. The history of the revelation and the collection of the Holy Quran is known fully and clearly, not being shrouded in mystery or uncertainty.
We should add briefly, without being disrespectful, that other scriptures have suffered much loss and alteration in the course of history. Their original languages have died out, so that only a few specialist scholars have the knowledge to study the text directly, and even they are unsure of the meanings of many words in the translations they have produced. The origin and history of these scriptures is largely unknown, and no reliable information is available about their authors or persons to whom they were revealed.
Is there any other notable distinction of the Holy Quran?
One that may be mentioned is that the Holy Quran tells us all about itself. From various places in it we learn that it is a Book called the Quran, a revelation from God, communicated to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, coming through the angel Gabriel, in the Arabic language. The Quran also tells us that it has been revealed in portions, not all at once, and that the first revelation came to the Holy Prophet in the month of Ramadaan.
The Holy Quran refers to itself by several names which show its qualities and the work it came to do. For instance, al-furqan: which distinguishes between right and wrong, al-Hakim: full of wisdom, al-nur: the Light, al-huda: the guidance, etc.
The unique features mentioned here and in the answer to the last question concern just the text of the Holy Book. There are many distinctive points about the Holy Quran as regards its teachings, and these will be found throughout this booklet.
How is the Holy Quran divided?
So far as the subject matter is concerned, it is divided into 114 chapters. Each chapter, called a Sura in Arabic, consists of a number of verses, each verse being called an Ayat. Some chapters were wholly or largely revealed to the Holy Prophet during the first 13 years of his mission when he lived in Makka, and the rest after his emigration to the city of Madina. Chapters generally revealed at Makka are called Makki, and those revealed at Madina are called Madani. While the chapters are of varying lengths, the Holy Quran is also divided into 30 almost equal parts, each part being known as a juz (or separa in Urdu and Persian). This division is simply to enable a reader to complete a reading of the Holy Book in one month.
Is the Holy Quran arranged in order of the sequence in which its various passages were revealed to the Holy Prophet?
No. In fact the very first revelation which came to the Holy Prophet is actually to be found in chapter 96, not far from the end of the Holy Quran. The order in which various passages or chapters were revealed is not of any importance, especially to people after the Holy Prophet's time, because the Quran is a complete, consistent book. A verse is just as important and significant no matter when it was revealed.
It is said that the Holy Quran is not arranged in an orderly form, but deals with various subjects in a disorganized manner. Please comment on this.
This is not correct. It is true that the Quran does not cover topic after topic in a set sequence, but this does not mean that it has no arrangement. The Holy Quran is not really a book of laws or commandments on various subjects, but a book meant to guide man and convince him of the truth. Its basic theme is the greatness of God, that man's aim in life should be to acquire nearness to Him, and that his actions, good or bad, will always bear fruit according to what they are. All the topics the Quran deals with are built around this basic message which is the real point being stressed all the time.
Is there an arrangement of topics in the Quran?
Yes, there is, and for full details the English translation of the Holy Quran with commentary by the late Maulana Muhammad Ali should be consulted. Here we may briefly point out that the Holy Book begins with the famous short chapter, the Fatiha, which is a sort of preface summarizing the entire Quran and its teachings in seven verses. This is followed by a long chapter which begins by stating the fundamental teachings of Islam, and goes on to show why a new religion was necessary at this time, and how the followers of previous religions had gone astray. This and the next few chapters then deal in detail with Islamic teachings. Very often in the Quran, chapters revealed at Makka, containing prophecies about the success of Islam, are followed by chapters revealed at Madina showing how those prophecies were being fulfilled. There is, thus, a clear arrangement of the subjectmatter in the Holy Quran.
What sort of subjects does the Holy Quran deal with?
An enormous range of topics. It tells us about God, His attributes, man's position in the universe, his aim in life and how to attain that aim, how we stand in relation to God and to our fellow-beings. It gives details of what one should believe and how it should be put into practice. The next life is described in it in full. Histories of previous nations and their prophets, as well as many events from the life of the Holy Prophet himself, are also given in the Quran. It gives arguments to disprove false beliefs of all kinds, and answers all sorts of questions and objections raised about its teachings and about the Holy Prophet. Guidance, laws and regulations on everyday subjects such as family life, business dealings, the law, war and peace, women's rights, hygiene, government and democracy, etc., is also to be found in the Holy Book. When dealing with any topic, the Holy Quran gives reasons, arguments and evidence to support its teachings, and it challenges those who disagree with it to produce proof of their views.
Does the Holy Quran give any evidence to back up its claim that it is the word of God, and not the thoughts of a man?
Yes indeed. The Quran does not want a person to accept anything without reason and proof. The evidence it provides on this point is as follows:
1. The Holy Quran contains such grand principles and deep points of knowledge as could not have been known to any person in the seventh century, when it was revealed. They certainly could not have been known to, or discovered by, a man like Muhammad (peace be upon him) who could not read or write, and lived in a country which was very backward and cut off from the civilization of the time.
2. The Holy Quran's moral teaching brought about a complete and astonishing change for the good in the people of a whole country, a reform which appeared impossible to do through human teachings.
3. Prophecies in the Holy Quran that the Holy Prophet Muhammad shall be triumphant over his opponents, made at a time when he hardly had any followers or friends, all came true in a short period of time. And many prophecies in the Quran about the distant future have come true in modern times.
4. The language and literary style of the Holy Quran was so excellent that the Holy Prophet's opponents, who included great poets and masters of the Arabic language, could not match it even though they had been challenged to do it.
For all these reasons, the Quran has thrown a challenge, standing open for all time, to those who think it is not the word of God, to produce a writing like it even one chapter long.
What position does the Holy Quran hold for Muslims?
The Holy Quran is the final and highest authority for Muslims on all matters. It is the fundamental source of the teachings of Islam. When determining whether a certain belief or practice is a part of Islam or not, the verdict of the Quran has the highest priority and must be accepted even if it goes against common practice or one's own wishes. If a Muslim differs with us regarding the meaning of a verse of the Quran, we must still respect his views if he gives arguments from the Holy Book in his support.
http://aaiil.info/SimplyIslam/quran.htm
srizals@gmail.com
The Criterion was the last revelation to the last messenger of God to the human race. If it is allowed to be corrupted as previous scriptures were corrupted by the corrupt nature of man, there would be no one to correct these corruptions since the revelation had stopped.
Please tell us a little more about the Holy Quran which you have mentioned and quoted throughout this booklet while explaining the teachings of Islam.
The Holy Quran is the scripture of the Muslims. It is the word of God as communicated to the Holy Prophet Muhammad on a number of different occasions from the time God made him a Prophet, when he was 40 years of age, till his death (during the years 609-632 C.E.). All these revelations, received at various times over this period of 23 years, were arranged in a set order by the Holy Prophet, and they make up the Holy Quran.
How did God communicate His messages and words to the Holy Prophet?
God's messages are not conveyed by sound which can be heard by the human ear, but can only be received by the inner, 'spiritual' senses possessed by all human beings. In Prophets of God these senses are extremely sharp and very highly developed, and therefore they can receive clear communications from God.
In the physical world, we find that messages have to be carried by various media, such as the air which carries sound, or radio waves which carry radio and television signals. Similarly the word of God is brought to the Prophet through the spiritual beings called angels. (See the earlier section dealing with Angels.)
The revelations in the Holy Quran were brought to the Holy Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel in the form of clear words of the Arabic language. (According to Muslim belief, God spoke to all the other Prophets, such as Moses and Jesus, in the same manner in their languages.)
How did the Holy Quran come down to us?
It was by the following stages:
1. During the Holy Prophet's life, whenever a revelation came to him, he would proclaim it to people, then many of his followers would learn it by heart, and it would also be put into writing at the same time. As the Holy Quran was recited aloud in public prayers, and also read frequently at other times, every Muslim was quite familiar with its contents, and many knew it completely by heart.
2. About six months after the Holy Prophet's death, which took place in 632 C.E., work was undertaken to collect a complete copy of the Quran consisting of all the writings made in the Holy Prophet's presence. This was done on the instructions of the first ruler of the Muslims, Abu Bakr, and with the help of the scribes and the Companions of the Holy Prophet. In this way, a master copy of the Quran was collected.
3. Some 15 years later, when Muslim rule had spread far and wide, the third ruler of the Muslims after the Holy Prophet, called Uthman, ordered further copies to be transcribed from this master copy. These copies were sent to the big cities of the then Muslim world to be kept as standard copies. Muslims also kept up the practice of memorizing parts of the Holy Book, many learning the whole of it by heart. In this way, the Holy Quran was passed down the ages, in both written and oral form, remaining intact in its original form. Because the Quran was recited aloud everyday in public prayers and gatherings, everyone recognized the same Quran.
Do all Muslims have the same Quran, then?
Yes. Because of the reasons given above, the text of the Muslim Scripture has been preserved in its original purity. In fact, God had given a promise in the Quran itself that He would Himself guard this Holy Book:
"Surely We have revealed the Reminder (the Quran), and surely We are its Guardian." (15:9)
All Muslims, whatever their sect, country or language, have always had exactly the same Arabic Quran, just as it was in the Holy Prophet Muhammad's time. No two copies of the Holy Quran anywhere in the world differ in any way.
Please mention some features of the Holy Quran which give it a unique place among the scriptures of the world.
As regards just the text of the Holy Quran, it has the following distinctions not found in the case of any other scripture:
1. As mentioned above, the Holy Quran has not undergone any loss or alteration since it first came into the world so many centuries ago, and all the followers of Islam have the same Quran.
2. The Holy Quran is still available to us today in the original language in which it was revealed.
3. Arabic, the language of the Holy Quran, is still a living language spoken and written by over 100 million people, and has changed very little over the centuries. Therefore, any person today can learn it like any other modern language, and read and understand the Holy Quran directly.
4. The history of the revelation and the collection of the Holy Quran is known fully and clearly, not being shrouded in mystery or uncertainty.
We should add briefly, without being disrespectful, that other scriptures have suffered much loss and alteration in the course of history. Their original languages have died out, so that only a few specialist scholars have the knowledge to study the text directly, and even they are unsure of the meanings of many words in the translations they have produced. The origin and history of these scriptures is largely unknown, and no reliable information is available about their authors or persons to whom they were revealed.
Is there any other notable distinction of the Holy Quran?
One that may be mentioned is that the Holy Quran tells us all about itself. From various places in it we learn that it is a Book called the Quran, a revelation from God, communicated to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, coming through the angel Gabriel, in the Arabic language. The Quran also tells us that it has been revealed in portions, not all at once, and that the first revelation came to the Holy Prophet in the month of Ramadaan.
The Holy Quran refers to itself by several names which show its qualities and the work it came to do. For instance, al-furqan: which distinguishes between right and wrong, al-Hakim: full of wisdom, al-nur: the Light, al-huda: the guidance, etc.
The unique features mentioned here and in the answer to the last question concern just the text of the Holy Book. There are many distinctive points about the Holy Quran as regards its teachings, and these will be found throughout this booklet.
How is the Holy Quran divided?
So far as the subject matter is concerned, it is divided into 114 chapters. Each chapter, called a Sura in Arabic, consists of a number of verses, each verse being called an Ayat. Some chapters were wholly or largely revealed to the Holy Prophet during the first 13 years of his mission when he lived in Makka, and the rest after his emigration to the city of Madina. Chapters generally revealed at Makka are called Makki, and those revealed at Madina are called Madani. While the chapters are of varying lengths, the Holy Quran is also divided into 30 almost equal parts, each part being known as a juz (or separa in Urdu and Persian). This division is simply to enable a reader to complete a reading of the Holy Book in one month.
Is the Holy Quran arranged in order of the sequence in which its various passages were revealed to the Holy Prophet?
No. In fact the very first revelation which came to the Holy Prophet is actually to be found in chapter 96, not far from the end of the Holy Quran. The order in which various passages or chapters were revealed is not of any importance, especially to people after the Holy Prophet's time, because the Quran is a complete, consistent book. A verse is just as important and significant no matter when it was revealed.
It is said that the Holy Quran is not arranged in an orderly form, but deals with various subjects in a disorganized manner. Please comment on this.
This is not correct. It is true that the Quran does not cover topic after topic in a set sequence, but this does not mean that it has no arrangement. The Holy Quran is not really a book of laws or commandments on various subjects, but a book meant to guide man and convince him of the truth. Its basic theme is the greatness of God, that man's aim in life should be to acquire nearness to Him, and that his actions, good or bad, will always bear fruit according to what they are. All the topics the Quran deals with are built around this basic message which is the real point being stressed all the time.
Is there an arrangement of topics in the Quran?
Yes, there is, and for full details the English translation of the Holy Quran with commentary by the late Maulana Muhammad Ali should be consulted. Here we may briefly point out that the Holy Book begins with the famous short chapter, the Fatiha, which is a sort of preface summarizing the entire Quran and its teachings in seven verses. This is followed by a long chapter which begins by stating the fundamental teachings of Islam, and goes on to show why a new religion was necessary at this time, and how the followers of previous religions had gone astray. This and the next few chapters then deal in detail with Islamic teachings. Very often in the Quran, chapters revealed at Makka, containing prophecies about the success of Islam, are followed by chapters revealed at Madina showing how those prophecies were being fulfilled. There is, thus, a clear arrangement of the subjectmatter in the Holy Quran.
What sort of subjects does the Holy Quran deal with?
An enormous range of topics. It tells us about God, His attributes, man's position in the universe, his aim in life and how to attain that aim, how we stand in relation to God and to our fellow-beings. It gives details of what one should believe and how it should be put into practice. The next life is described in it in full. Histories of previous nations and their prophets, as well as many events from the life of the Holy Prophet himself, are also given in the Quran. It gives arguments to disprove false beliefs of all kinds, and answers all sorts of questions and objections raised about its teachings and about the Holy Prophet. Guidance, laws and regulations on everyday subjects such as family life, business dealings, the law, war and peace, women's rights, hygiene, government and democracy, etc., is also to be found in the Holy Book. When dealing with any topic, the Holy Quran gives reasons, arguments and evidence to support its teachings, and it challenges those who disagree with it to produce proof of their views.
Does the Holy Quran give any evidence to back up its claim that it is the word of God, and not the thoughts of a man?
Yes indeed. The Quran does not want a person to accept anything without reason and proof. The evidence it provides on this point is as follows:
1. The Holy Quran contains such grand principles and deep points of knowledge as could not have been known to any person in the seventh century, when it was revealed. They certainly could not have been known to, or discovered by, a man like Muhammad (peace be upon him) who could not read or write, and lived in a country which was very backward and cut off from the civilization of the time.
2. The Holy Quran's moral teaching brought about a complete and astonishing change for the good in the people of a whole country, a reform which appeared impossible to do through human teachings.
3. Prophecies in the Holy Quran that the Holy Prophet Muhammad shall be triumphant over his opponents, made at a time when he hardly had any followers or friends, all came true in a short period of time. And many prophecies in the Quran about the distant future have come true in modern times.
4. The language and literary style of the Holy Quran was so excellent that the Holy Prophet's opponents, who included great poets and masters of the Arabic language, could not match it even though they had been challenged to do it.
For all these reasons, the Quran has thrown a challenge, standing open for all time, to those who think it is not the word of God, to produce a writing like it even one chapter long.
What position does the Holy Quran hold for Muslims?
The Holy Quran is the final and highest authority for Muslims on all matters. It is the fundamental source of the teachings of Islam. When determining whether a certain belief or practice is a part of Islam or not, the verdict of the Quran has the highest priority and must be accepted even if it goes against common practice or one's own wishes. If a Muslim differs with us regarding the meaning of a verse of the Quran, we must still respect his views if he gives arguments from the Holy Book in his support.
http://aaiil.info/SimplyIslam/quran.htm
srizals@gmail.com
The Criterion was the last revelation to the last messenger of God to the human race. If it is allowed to be corrupted as previous scriptures were corrupted by the corrupt nature of man, there would be no one to correct these corruptions since the revelation had stopped.
A Comparison
srizals@gmail.com
Many had forged a lie about the Criterion,
The Criteria that differentiate between the false and the truth,
They say that it was only a devilish inspiration, a hallucination,
By the one with the eyebrows of the devil,
Sir Salman Rushdie, the expensively protected one.
They say it was only written by Usman, and he never even seen Muhammad,
Like the Bible, by Barnabas and Paul,
Which one do you think is the loyal companion
Of the living and breathing, their beloved truth?
Who actually had bled, fought, smiled, and cried?
Side by side with his beloved close friend?
Here's a trick question if you care to know,
Can you guess the number of the companions,
Of Jesus and Muhammad?
For the Medieval Christians, not many can read the bible nor possessed one,
Only the Cathars translated and distributed them for the mortal men,
But the Catholic condemned them as heretic for doing such heresy,
So they would all perished in an unglamorous crusade so few would have known.
The Criterion was written by Usman and the Companions of Muhammad,
Read on daily basis since the beginning by all to guard its right,
For many that have it in their hearts had returned to mercy,
In defending the truth against the rebellious treachery.
For only the false prophet would not be rejected by his people,
No persecutions, no rejections, embraced with a full protection,
Al Musailamah al Kazab would only be a prophet,
Of falsity and a made believe bed stories.
The Crusades were never about money and power,
That is why they were fought in a foreign land,
The Europeans that could not even distinguish the Muslims,
From their own wealthy and civilised Christian brothers.
Check your understanding, I'll check my understanding,
Let no one fooled us, not even by our own whim,
For all the sources, bias or not, are right there before our very eyes,
All there in the Worldwide Web for everyone to read.
So don't be afraid, let not a fool fools us,
The decision maker is still, just only you.
Many had forged a lie about the Criterion,
The Criteria that differentiate between the false and the truth,
They say that it was only a devilish inspiration, a hallucination,
By the one with the eyebrows of the devil,
Sir Salman Rushdie, the expensively protected one.
They say it was only written by Usman, and he never even seen Muhammad,
Like the Bible, by Barnabas and Paul,
Which one do you think is the loyal companion
Of the living and breathing, their beloved truth?
Who actually had bled, fought, smiled, and cried?
Side by side with his beloved close friend?
Here's a trick question if you care to know,
Can you guess the number of the companions,
Of Jesus and Muhammad?
For the Medieval Christians, not many can read the bible nor possessed one,
Only the Cathars translated and distributed them for the mortal men,
But the Catholic condemned them as heretic for doing such heresy,
So they would all perished in an unglamorous crusade so few would have known.
The Criterion was written by Usman and the Companions of Muhammad,
Read on daily basis since the beginning by all to guard its right,
For many that have it in their hearts had returned to mercy,
In defending the truth against the rebellious treachery.
For only the false prophet would not be rejected by his people,
No persecutions, no rejections, embraced with a full protection,
Al Musailamah al Kazab would only be a prophet,
Of falsity and a made believe bed stories.
The Crusades were never about money and power,
That is why they were fought in a foreign land,
The Europeans that could not even distinguish the Muslims,
From their own wealthy and civilised Christian brothers.
Check your understanding, I'll check my understanding,
Let no one fooled us, not even by our own whim,
For all the sources, bias or not, are right there before our very eyes,
All there in the Worldwide Web for everyone to read.
So don't be afraid, let not a fool fools us,
The decision maker is still, just only you.
Zara: The Unholy Holy Crusaders
The Assault on the City of Zara
Venice had been deprived of the city of Zara by the Hungarians who had conquered it. Not only was this a loss in itself, but it also was a potential rival to their ambition of dominating the trade of the Mediterranean. And yet, Venice didn't possess the army it required to re-conquer this city.
Now however, with the massive crusading army indebted to it, Venice suddenly had found such a force.
And so the crusaders were presented with the Doge's plan, that they should be carried to Zara by the Venetian fleet, which they should conquer for Venice. Any spoils thereafter would be shared between the crusaders and teh Venetian republic.
The crusaders had little choice. For one they owed money and saw any loot they should capture in Zara as the only means of repaying their debt. On the other hand they well know that, if they should not agree with the Doge's plan, then supplies such as food and water would suddenly fail to arrive which which to feed their army on their little island off Venice.
Zara was a Christian city in the hands of the Christian King of Hungary. How could the Holy Crusade be turned against it ?
But want it or not, the crusaders had to agree. They had no choice.
Papal protestations were made; any man to attack Zara would be excommunicated. But nothing could stop the impossible from happening, as the Crusade as hi-jacked by Venice.
In October 1202 480 ships left Venice carrying the crusaders to the city of Zara. With some stops in between it arrived on 11 November 1202.
The city of Zara stood no chance. It fell on 24 November after five days of fighting. Thereafter it was thoroughly sacked. In an unimaginable twist of history the Christian crusaders were ransacking Christian churches, stealing everything of value.
Pope Innocent III was furious, and excommunicated every man who had taken part in the atrocity.
The army now passed the winter in Zara.
Message was sent by the crusaders to pope Innocent III, explaining how their dilemma had forced them to act in service of the Venetians. In consequence the pope, hoping that the Crusade might now resume its original plan of attacking the forces of Islam in the east, agreed to restore them to the Christian church and hence annulled his recent excommunication.
http://www.roman-empire.net/constant/1203-1204.html
Further readings:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/655932/Siege-of-Zara
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Crusade#Attack_on_Zara
http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/fourth-crusade/attack-on-zara.html
Venice had been deprived of the city of Zara by the Hungarians who had conquered it. Not only was this a loss in itself, but it also was a potential rival to their ambition of dominating the trade of the Mediterranean. And yet, Venice didn't possess the army it required to re-conquer this city.
Now however, with the massive crusading army indebted to it, Venice suddenly had found such a force.
And so the crusaders were presented with the Doge's plan, that they should be carried to Zara by the Venetian fleet, which they should conquer for Venice. Any spoils thereafter would be shared between the crusaders and teh Venetian republic.
The crusaders had little choice. For one they owed money and saw any loot they should capture in Zara as the only means of repaying their debt. On the other hand they well know that, if they should not agree with the Doge's plan, then supplies such as food and water would suddenly fail to arrive which which to feed their army on their little island off Venice.
Zara was a Christian city in the hands of the Christian King of Hungary. How could the Holy Crusade be turned against it ?
But want it or not, the crusaders had to agree. They had no choice.
Papal protestations were made; any man to attack Zara would be excommunicated. But nothing could stop the impossible from happening, as the Crusade as hi-jacked by Venice.
In October 1202 480 ships left Venice carrying the crusaders to the city of Zara. With some stops in between it arrived on 11 November 1202.
The city of Zara stood no chance. It fell on 24 November after five days of fighting. Thereafter it was thoroughly sacked. In an unimaginable twist of history the Christian crusaders were ransacking Christian churches, stealing everything of value.
Pope Innocent III was furious, and excommunicated every man who had taken part in the atrocity.
The army now passed the winter in Zara.
Message was sent by the crusaders to pope Innocent III, explaining how their dilemma had forced them to act in service of the Venetians. In consequence the pope, hoping that the Crusade might now resume its original plan of attacking the forces of Islam in the east, agreed to restore them to the Christian church and hence annulled his recent excommunication.
http://www.roman-empire.net/constant/1203-1204.html
Further readings:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/655932/Siege-of-Zara
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Crusade#Attack_on_Zara
http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/fourth-crusade/attack-on-zara.html
The Sack of Constantinople
The Sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204
Probably the most telling event which displayed the decline of the crusader ideal was the capture and pillage of the Christian bastion of Constantinople by the members of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The subsequent dismemberment of the Byzantine Empire weakened Christendom in the Near East and created an animousity between Catholics and Orthodox which has lasted into the 20th century. Below are excerpts of sources dealing with the crusaders siezure and looting of the largest city in Christendom.
Below is a description from Robert of Clari of the sermons given by the Latin bishops before the final attack on Constantinople, in which they justified attacking other Christians.[1]
LXXII. When the pilgrims saw this,[2] they were very angry and grieved much; they went back from the other side of the harbor to their lodgings. When the barons had returned and had gotten ashore, they assembled and were much amazed, and said that it was on account of their sins that they did not succeed in anything and could not capture the city. Meanwhile the bishops and the clergy in the army debated and decided that the war was a righteous one, and that they certainly ought to attack the Greeks. For formerly the inhabitants of the city had been obedient to the law of Rome and now they were disobedient, since they said that the law of Rome was of no account, and called all who believed in it Ad dogs." And the bishops said that for this reason one ought certainly to attack them, and that it was not a sin, but an act of great charity.
LXXIII. Then it was announced to all the host that all the Venetians and every one else should go and hear the sermons on Sunday morning;[3] and they did so. Then the bishops preached to the army, the bishop of Soissons, the bishop of Troyes, the bishop of Havestaist [4] master Jean Faicette [5] and the abbot of Loos, and they showed to the pilgrims that the war was a righteous one; for the Greeks were traitors and murderers, and also disloyal, since they had murdered their rightful lord, and were worse than Jews. Moreover, the bishops said that, by the authority of God and in the name of the pope, they would absolve all who attacked the Greeks. Then the bishops commanded the pilgrims to confess their sins and receive the communion devoutly; and said that they ought not to hesitate to attack the Greeks, for the latter were enemies of God. They also commanded that all the evil women should be sought out and sent away from the army to a distant place. This was done; the evil women were all put on a vessel and were sent very far away from the army.
Below is a description by Villhardouin of the capture of the city.[6]
Agreement between the Franks and the Venetians before Attacking Constantinople. Now let us leave speaking of those who avoided the host and speak of those before Constantinople. Well had these prepared all their engines, and mounted their petraries, and mangonels on the ships and on the transports, and got all such engines of war as are needful for the taking of and raised ladders from the yards and masts of the vessels so high that they were a marvel to behold.[7]
And when the Greeks saw this, they began, on their side, to strengthen the defences of the city which was enclosed by high walls and high towers. Nor was any tower so high that they did not raise therein two or three stages of wood to heighten it still more. Never was city so well fortified. Thus did the Greeks and the Franks bestir themselves on the one side and the other during the greater part of Lent.
Then those of the host spoke together, and took counsel what they should do. Much was advanced this way and that, but in the end, they devised that if God granted them entry into the city by force, all the booty taken was to be brought together, and fittingly distributed; and further, if the city fell into their power, six men should be taken from among the Franks, and six from among the Venetians, and these twelve should swear, on holy relics, to elect as emperor the man who, as they deemed, would rule with most profit to the land. And whosoever was thus elected emperor, would have one quarter of whatever was captured, whether within the city or without, and moreover would possess the palace of Bucoleon and that of Blachernæ; and the remaining three parts would be divided into two, and one of the halves awarded to the Venetians and the other to those of the host.
And there should be taken twelve of the wisest and most experienced men among the host of the pilgrims, and twelve among the Venetians, and those twentyfour would divide fiefs and honours, and appoint the service to be done therefor to the emperor.
This covenant was made sure and sworn to on the one side and the other by the Franks and the Venetians; with provision that at the end of March, a year thence, any who so desired might depart hence and go the* way, but that those who remained in the land would be held to the service of the emperor in such manner as might be ordained. Thus was the covenant devised and made sure; and such as should not observe it were excommunicated by the clergy.
Attack of the Crusaders Repulsed--They Make Ready for Another Assault. The fleet was very well prepared and armed, and provisions were got together for the pilgrims. On the Thursday after midLent (8th April 1204), all entered into the vessels, and put their horses into the transports. Each division had its own ships, and all were ranged side by side; and the ships were separated from the galleys and transports. A marvellous sight it was to see; and well does this book bear witness that the attack, as it had been devised, extended over full half a French league.
On the Friday morning the ships and the galleys and the other vessels drew near to the city in due order, and then began an assault most fell and fierce. In many places the pilgrims landed and went up to the walls, and in many places the scaling ladders on the ships approached so close that those on the towers and on the walls and those on the ladders crossed lances, hand to hand. Thus lasted the assault, in more than a hundred places, very fierce, and very dour, and very proud, till near upon the hour of nones.
But, for our sins, the pilgrims were repulsed in that assault, and those who had landed from the galleys and transports were driven back into them by main force. And you must know that on that day those of the host lost more than the Greeks, and much were the Greeks rejoiced thereat And some there were who drew back from the assault, with the ships in which they were. And some remained with their ships at anchor so near to the city that from either side they shot at one another with petraries and mangonels.
Then, at vespers time, those of the host and the Doge of Venice called together a parliament, and assembled in a church on the other side of the straits-on the side where they had been quartered. There were many opinions given and discussed; and much were those of the host moved for the mischief that had that day befallen them. And many advised that they should attack the city on another side- the side where it was not so well fortified. But the Venetians, who had fuller knowledge of the sea, said that if they went to that other side, the current would carry them down the straits, and that they would be unable to stop their ships And you must know that there were those who would have been well pleased if the current had borne them down the straits, or the wind, they cared not whither, so long as they left that land behind, and went on their way. Nor is this to be wondered at, for they were in sore peril.
Enough was there spoken, this way and in that; but the conclusion of their deliberation was this: that they would repair and refit on the following day, which was Saturday, and during the whole of Sunday, and that on the Monday they would return to the assault; and they devised further that the ships that carried the scaling ladders should be bound together, two and two, so that two ships should be in case to attack one tower; for they had perceived that day how only one ship had attacked each tower, and that this had been too heavy a task for the ship, seeing that those in the tower were more in number than those on the ladder. For this reason was it well seen that two ships would attack each tower with greater effect than one. As had been settled, so was it done, and they waited thus during the Saturday and Sunday.
The Crusaders Take Part of the City. Before the assault the Emperor Mourzuphles had come to encamp, with all his power, in an open space, and had there pitched his scarlet tents. Thus matters remained till the Monday morning, when those on the ships, transports, and galleys were all armed. And those of the city stood in much less fear of them than they did at the beginning, and were in such good spirits that on the walls and towers you could see nothing but people. Then began an assault proud and marvellous, and every ship went straight before it to the attack. The noise of the battle was so great that it seemed to rend the earth.
Thus did the assault last for a long while, till our Lord raised a wind called Boreas which drove the ships and vessels further up on to the shore. And two ships that were bound together, of which the one was called the Pilgrim and the other the Paradise, approached so near to a tower, the one on the one side and the other on the other-so as God and the wind drove them-that the ladder of the Pilgrim joined on to the tower. Immediately a Venetian, and a knight of France, whose name was Andrew of Urboise, entered into the tower, and other people began to enter after them, and those in the tower were discomfited and fled.
When the knights see this, who are in the transports, they land, and raise their ladders against the wall, and scale the top of the wall by main force, and so take four of the towers. And all begin to leap out of the ships and transports and galleys, helterskelter, each as best he can; and they break in some three of the gates and enter in; and they draw the horses out of the transports; and the knights mount and ride straight to the quarters of the Emperor Mourzuphles. He had his battalions arrayed before his tents, and when his men see the mounted knights coming, they lose heart and fly and so goes the emperor flying through the streets to the castle of Bucoleon.
Then might you have seen the Greeks beaten down; and horses and palfreys captured, and mules, and other booty of killed and wounded there was neither end nor measure A great part of the Greek lords had fled towards the gate of Blachernæ. And vespers-time had already past, and those of the host were weary of the battle and of the slaying. And they began to assemble in a great open space that was in Constantinople, and decided that they would take up their quarters near the wall and towers they had captured. Never had they though that in a whole month they should be able to take the city, with its great church, and great palaces, and the people that were in It.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * *
During that night, towards the quarters of Boniface, Marquis of Montferrat, certain people, whose names are unknown to me, being in fear lest the Greeks should attack them, set fire to the buildings between themselves and the Greeks. And the city began to take fire, and to burn very direfully; and it burned all that night and all the next day, till vesperstime. And this was the third fire there had been in Constantinople since the Franks arrived in the land; and more houses had been burned in the city than there are houses in any three of the greatest cities in the kingdom of France.
That night passed and the next day came, which was a Tuesday morning (13th April 1204); and all armed themselves throughout the host, both knights and sergeants, and each repaired to his post. Then they issued from their quarters, and thought to find a sorer battle than the day before, for no word had come to them that the emperor had fled during the night. But they found none to oppose them.
The Crusaders Occupy the City. The Marquis Boniface of Montferrat rode all along the shore to the palace of Bucoleon, and when he arrived there it surrendered, on condition that the lives of all therein should be spared. At Bucoleon were found the larger number of the great ladies who had fled to the castle, for there were found the sister[8] of the King of France, who had been empress, and the sister[9] of the King of Hungary, who had also been empress, and other ladies very many. Of the treasure that was found in that palace I cannot well speak, for there was so much that it was beyond end or counting.
At the same time that this palace was surrendered to the Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, did the palace of Blachernæ surrender to Henry, the brother of Count Baldwin of Flanders, on condition that no hurt should be done to the bodies of those who were therein. There too was found much treasure, not less than in the palace of Bucoleon. Each garrisoned with his own people the castle that had been surrendered to him, and set a guard over the treasure. And the other people, spread abroad throughout the city, also gained much booty. The booty gained was so great that none could tell you the end of it: gold and silver, and vessels and precious stones, and samite, and cloth of silk, and robes vair and grey, and ermine, and every choicest thing found upon the earth. And well does Geoffrey of Villehardouin, the Marshal of Champagne, bear witness, that never, since the world was created, had so much booty been won in any city. .
Every one took quarters where he pleased, and of lodgings there was no stint. So the host of the pilgrims and of the Venetians found quarters, and greatly did they rejoice and give thanks because of the victory God had vouchsafed to them-for those who before had been poor were now m wealth and luxury. Thus they celebrated Palm Sunday and the Easter Day following (25th April I204) in the joy and honour that God had bestowed upon them. And well might they praise our Lord, since in all the host there were no more than twenty thousand armed men, one with another, and with the help of God they had conquered four hundred thousand men, or more, and in the strongest city in all the world-yea, a great city-and very well fortified.
Division of the Spoils. Then was it proclaimed throughout the host by the Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, who was lord of the host, and by the barons, and by the Doge of Venice, that all the booty should be collected and brought together, as had been covenanted under oath and pain of excommunication. Three churches were appointed for the receiving of the spoils, and guards were set to have them in charge, both Franks and Venetians, the most upright that could be found.
Then each began to bring in such booty as he had taken, and to collect it together. And some brought in loyally, and some in evil sort, because covetousness, which is the root of all evil, let and hindered them. So from that time forth the covetous began to keep things back, and our Lord began to love them less. Ah God! how loyally they had borne themselves up to now! And well had the Lord God shown them that in all things He was ready to honour and exalt them above all people. But full oft do the good suffer for the sins of the wicked.
The spoils and booty were collected together, and you must know that all was not brought into the common stock, for not a few kept things back, maugre the excommunication of the Pope. That which was brought to the churches was collected together and divided, in equal parts, between the Franks and the Venetians, according to the sworn covenant. And you must know further that the pilgrims, after the division had been made, paid out of their share fifty thousand marks of silver to the Venetians, and then divided at least one hundred thousand marks between themselves, among their own people. And shall I tell you in what wise ? Two sergeants on foot counted as one mounted, and two sergeants mounted as one knight. And you must know that no man received more, either on account of his rank or because of his deeds, than that which had been so settled and ordered- save in so far as he may have stolen it.
And as to theft, and those who were convicted thereof, you must know that stern justice was meted out to such as were found guilty, and not a few were hung. The Count of St. Paul hung one of his knights, who had kept back certain spoils, with his shield to his neck; but many there were, both great and small, who kept back part of the spoils, and it was never known. Well may you be assured that the spoil was very great, for if it had not been for what was stolen and for the part given to the Venetians, there would have been at least four hundred thousand marks of silver, and at least ten thousand horses-one with another. Thus were divided the spoils of Constantinople, as you have heard.
Below is a Byzantine account of the sack by Nicetas Chroniates.[10]
3. . . How shall I begin to tell of the deeds wrought by these nefarious men ! Alas, the images, which ought to have been adored, were trodden under foot ! Alas, the relics of the holy martyrs were thrown into unclean places ! Then was seen what one shudders to hear, namely, the divine body and blood of Christ was spilled upon the ground or thrown about. They snatched the precious reliquaries, thrust into their bosoms the ornaments which these contained, and used the broken remnants for pans and drinking cups,-precursors of Antichrist, authors and heralds of his nefarious deeds which we momentarily expect. Manifestly, indeed, by that race then, just as formerly, Christ was robbed and insulted and His garments were divided by lot; only one thing was lacking, that His side, pierced by a spear, should pour rivers of divine blood on the ground.
Nor can the violation of the Great Church[11] be listened to with equanimity. For the sacred altar, formed of all kinds of precious materials and admired by the whole world, was broken into bits and distributed among the soldiers, as was all the other sacred wealth of so great and infinite splendor.
When the sacred vases and utensils of unsurpassable art and grace and rare material, and the fine silver, wrought with gold, which encircled the screen of the tribunal and the ambo, of admirable workmanship, and the door and many other ornaments, were to be borne away as booty, mules and saddled horses were led to the very sanctuary of the temple. Some of these which were unable to keep their footing on the splendid and slippery pavement, were stabbed when they fell, so that the sacred pavement was polluted with blood and filth.
4. Nay more, a certain harlot, a sharer in their guilt, a minister of the furies, a servant of the demons, a worker of incantations and poisonings, insulting Christ, sat in the patriarch's seat, singing an obscene song and dancing frequently. B'or, indeed, were these crimes committed and others left undone, on the ground that these were of lesser guilt, the others of greater. But with one consent all the most heinous sins and crimes were committed by all with equal zeal. Could those, who showed so great madness against God Himself, have spared the honorable matrons and maidens or the virgins consecrated to God? Nothing was more difficult and laborious than to soften by prayers, to render benevolent, these wrathful barbarians, vomiting forth bile at every unpleasing word, so that nothing failed to inflame their fury. Whoever attempted it was derided as insane and a man of intemperate language. Often they drew their daggers against any one who opposed them at all or hindered their demands.
No one was without a share in the grief. In the alleys, in the streets, in the temples, complaints, weeping, lamentations, grief, the groaning of men, the shrieks of women, wounds, rape, captivity, the separation of those most closely united. Nobles wandered about ignominiously, those of venerable age in tears, the rich in poverty. Thus it was in the streets, on the corners, in the temple, in the dens, for no place remained unassailed or defended the suppliants. All places everywhere were filled full of all kinds of crime. Oh, immortal God, how great the afflictions of the men, how great the distress !
While most objects of ancient and Byzantine art were destroyed, the relics of saints were eagerly sought out. Below is a description by Gunther of the theft of relics by Abbot Martin.[12]
While the victors were rapidly plundering the conquered city, which was theirs by right of conquest, the abbot Martin began to cogitate about his own share of the booty, and lest he alone should remain emptyhanded, while all the others became rich, he resolved to seize upon plunder with his own sacred hands. But, since he thought it not meet to handle any booty of worldly things with those sacred hands, he began to plan how he might secure some portion of the relics of the saints, of which he knew there was a great quantity in the city.
Accordingly, having a presentiment of some great result, he took with him one of his two chaplains and went to a church[13] which was held in great reverence because in it the mother[14 ] of the most famous emperor Manuel[15] had a noble grave, which seemed of importance to the Greeks, but ours held for naught. There a very great amount of money brought in from all the surrounding country was stored, and also precious relics which the vain hope of security had caused them to bring in from the neighboring churches and monasteries. Those whom the Greeks had driven out, had told us of this before the capture of the city. When many pilgrims broke into this church and some were eagerly engaged in stealing gold and silver, others precious stones,
Martin, thinking it unbecoming to commit sacrilege except in a holy cause, sought a more retired spot where the very sanctity of the place seemed to promise that what he desired might be found. There he found an aged man of agreeable countenance, having a long and hoary beard, a priest, but very unlike our priests in his dress. Thinking him a layman, the abbot, though inwardly calm, threatened him with a very ferocious voice, saying: a Come, perfidious old man, show me the most powerful relics you have, or you shall die immediately." The latter, tenified by the sound rather than the words, since he heard but did not understand what was said, and knowing that Martin could not speak Greek, began in the Romana Zinpa, of which he knew a little, to entreat Martin and by soft words to turn away the latter's wrath, which in truth did not exist. In reply, the abbot succeeded in getting out a few words of the same language, sufficient to make the old man understand what he wanted. The latter, observing Martin's face and dress, and thinking it more tolerable that a religious man should handle the sacred relics w,th fear and reverence, than that worldly men should, perchance, pollute them with their worldly hands, opened a chest bound with iron and showed the desired treasure, which was more grateful and pleasing to Martin than all the royal wealth of Greece. The abbot hastily and eagerly thrust in both hands and working quickly, filled with the fruits of the sacrilege both his own and his chaplain's bosom. He wisely concealed what seemed the most valuable and departed without opposition.
Moreover what and how worthy of veneration those relics which the holy robber appropriated were, is told more fully at the end of this work.l When he was hastening to his vessel, so stuffed full, if I may use the expression, those who knew and loved him, saw him from their ships as they were themselves hastening to the booty, and inquired joyfully whether he had stolen anything, or with what he was so loaded down as he walked. With a joyful countenance, as always, and with pleasant words he said: As We have done well." To which they replied: a Thanks be to God."
While Pope Innocent III excommunicated the Crusaders after their sack of the catholic city of Zara (Zadar in Croatia), he later lifted the bull of excommunication and justified the capture of Constantinople in the letter below.[16]
To all the clergy and people in the Christian army at Constantinople.
If the Lord had granted the desires of His humble servants sooner, and had transferred, as He has now done, the empire of Constantinople from the Greeks to the Latins before the fall of the Holy Land, perhaps Christianity would not be weeping today over the desolation of the land of Jerusalem. Since, therefore, through the wonderful transference of this empire God has deigned to open to you a way to recover that land, and the detention of this may lead to the restoration of that, we advise and exhort you all, and we enjoin upon you for the remission of your sins, to remain for a year in Romania, in order to strengthen the empire in its devotion to the Apostolic See and to us, and in order to retain it in the power of the Latins; and to give wise advice and efficient aid to Baldwin, our most beloved son in Christ, the illustrious emperor of Constantinople; unless, perchance, your presence in the Holy Land should be necessary before that time, in which case you ought to hasten to guard it before the year elapses. Dated, . . . . [17]
Notes:
[1] "The Fourth Crusade" Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources in European History, Dana Carlton Munro, ed. and tr., vol. III, no. 1 (University of Pennsylvania, 1907), pp. 13-14. Original found in Robert de Clari, ch. lxxiilxxiii, in Hopf: Chroniques, pp. 5758. Old French.
[2] That the attack was repulsed.
[3] Apr. II, 1204. [4] Halberstadt.
[5] De Noyon, chancellor of Baldwin of Flanders.
[6] Villehardouin and De Joinville, Memoirs of the Crusades, Frank Marzials, tr. and ed. (London: Everyman's Library, 1908), pp. 58-66.
[7] This passage is obscure in the original.
[8] Agnes, sister of Philip Augustus, married successively to Alexius II to Andronicus, and to Theodore Branas.
[9] Margaret, sister of Emeric, King of Hungary, married to the Emperor Isaac, and afterwards to the Marquis of Monferrat.
[10] "The Fourth Crusade" Translations, pp. 15-16. Orginally found in Nicetas: Atexii Ducae Imperium, ch. iiiiv, in Recueil des historiens des Crusades, hist. grec., I, 397. Greek. [11] Hagia Sophia.
[12] "The Fourth Crusade" Translations, pp. 16-18. Originally found in Gunther: Historia Constantinopolitana, ch. xix, in Riant: Exmviae, Vol 1, 104 ff. Latin.
[13] The church of Pantokrator.
[14] Irene, died 1124.
[15] Manuel I Comnenos
[16] "The Fourth Crusade" Translations, p. 20 Originally in Epistolae, Bk. viii, No. 63, in Tessier: Diversion, etc., pp. 2356. Latin.
[17] Potthast: Regesta went. Rern., No. 2507, gives date as possibly May 20, 1205.
http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/1204.html
Further readings:
http://www.roman-empire.net/constant/1203-1204.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Crusade#Sack_of_Constantinople
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/choniates1.html
Probably the most telling event which displayed the decline of the crusader ideal was the capture and pillage of the Christian bastion of Constantinople by the members of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The subsequent dismemberment of the Byzantine Empire weakened Christendom in the Near East and created an animousity between Catholics and Orthodox which has lasted into the 20th century. Below are excerpts of sources dealing with the crusaders siezure and looting of the largest city in Christendom.
Below is a description from Robert of Clari of the sermons given by the Latin bishops before the final attack on Constantinople, in which they justified attacking other Christians.[1]
LXXII. When the pilgrims saw this,[2] they were very angry and grieved much; they went back from the other side of the harbor to their lodgings. When the barons had returned and had gotten ashore, they assembled and were much amazed, and said that it was on account of their sins that they did not succeed in anything and could not capture the city. Meanwhile the bishops and the clergy in the army debated and decided that the war was a righteous one, and that they certainly ought to attack the Greeks. For formerly the inhabitants of the city had been obedient to the law of Rome and now they were disobedient, since they said that the law of Rome was of no account, and called all who believed in it Ad dogs." And the bishops said that for this reason one ought certainly to attack them, and that it was not a sin, but an act of great charity.
LXXIII. Then it was announced to all the host that all the Venetians and every one else should go and hear the sermons on Sunday morning;[3] and they did so. Then the bishops preached to the army, the bishop of Soissons, the bishop of Troyes, the bishop of Havestaist [4] master Jean Faicette [5] and the abbot of Loos, and they showed to the pilgrims that the war was a righteous one; for the Greeks were traitors and murderers, and also disloyal, since they had murdered their rightful lord, and were worse than Jews. Moreover, the bishops said that, by the authority of God and in the name of the pope, they would absolve all who attacked the Greeks. Then the bishops commanded the pilgrims to confess their sins and receive the communion devoutly; and said that they ought not to hesitate to attack the Greeks, for the latter were enemies of God. They also commanded that all the evil women should be sought out and sent away from the army to a distant place. This was done; the evil women were all put on a vessel and were sent very far away from the army.
Below is a description by Villhardouin of the capture of the city.[6]
Agreement between the Franks and the Venetians before Attacking Constantinople. Now let us leave speaking of those who avoided the host and speak of those before Constantinople. Well had these prepared all their engines, and mounted their petraries, and mangonels on the ships and on the transports, and got all such engines of war as are needful for the taking of and raised ladders from the yards and masts of the vessels so high that they were a marvel to behold.[7]
And when the Greeks saw this, they began, on their side, to strengthen the defences of the city which was enclosed by high walls and high towers. Nor was any tower so high that they did not raise therein two or three stages of wood to heighten it still more. Never was city so well fortified. Thus did the Greeks and the Franks bestir themselves on the one side and the other during the greater part of Lent.
Then those of the host spoke together, and took counsel what they should do. Much was advanced this way and that, but in the end, they devised that if God granted them entry into the city by force, all the booty taken was to be brought together, and fittingly distributed; and further, if the city fell into their power, six men should be taken from among the Franks, and six from among the Venetians, and these twelve should swear, on holy relics, to elect as emperor the man who, as they deemed, would rule with most profit to the land. And whosoever was thus elected emperor, would have one quarter of whatever was captured, whether within the city or without, and moreover would possess the palace of Bucoleon and that of Blachernæ; and the remaining three parts would be divided into two, and one of the halves awarded to the Venetians and the other to those of the host.
And there should be taken twelve of the wisest and most experienced men among the host of the pilgrims, and twelve among the Venetians, and those twentyfour would divide fiefs and honours, and appoint the service to be done therefor to the emperor.
This covenant was made sure and sworn to on the one side and the other by the Franks and the Venetians; with provision that at the end of March, a year thence, any who so desired might depart hence and go the* way, but that those who remained in the land would be held to the service of the emperor in such manner as might be ordained. Thus was the covenant devised and made sure; and such as should not observe it were excommunicated by the clergy.
Attack of the Crusaders Repulsed--They Make Ready for Another Assault. The fleet was very well prepared and armed, and provisions were got together for the pilgrims. On the Thursday after midLent (8th April 1204), all entered into the vessels, and put their horses into the transports. Each division had its own ships, and all were ranged side by side; and the ships were separated from the galleys and transports. A marvellous sight it was to see; and well does this book bear witness that the attack, as it had been devised, extended over full half a French league.
On the Friday morning the ships and the galleys and the other vessels drew near to the city in due order, and then began an assault most fell and fierce. In many places the pilgrims landed and went up to the walls, and in many places the scaling ladders on the ships approached so close that those on the towers and on the walls and those on the ladders crossed lances, hand to hand. Thus lasted the assault, in more than a hundred places, very fierce, and very dour, and very proud, till near upon the hour of nones.
But, for our sins, the pilgrims were repulsed in that assault, and those who had landed from the galleys and transports were driven back into them by main force. And you must know that on that day those of the host lost more than the Greeks, and much were the Greeks rejoiced thereat And some there were who drew back from the assault, with the ships in which they were. And some remained with their ships at anchor so near to the city that from either side they shot at one another with petraries and mangonels.
Then, at vespers time, those of the host and the Doge of Venice called together a parliament, and assembled in a church on the other side of the straits-on the side where they had been quartered. There were many opinions given and discussed; and much were those of the host moved for the mischief that had that day befallen them. And many advised that they should attack the city on another side- the side where it was not so well fortified. But the Venetians, who had fuller knowledge of the sea, said that if they went to that other side, the current would carry them down the straits, and that they would be unable to stop their ships And you must know that there were those who would have been well pleased if the current had borne them down the straits, or the wind, they cared not whither, so long as they left that land behind, and went on their way. Nor is this to be wondered at, for they were in sore peril.
Enough was there spoken, this way and in that; but the conclusion of their deliberation was this: that they would repair and refit on the following day, which was Saturday, and during the whole of Sunday, and that on the Monday they would return to the assault; and they devised further that the ships that carried the scaling ladders should be bound together, two and two, so that two ships should be in case to attack one tower; for they had perceived that day how only one ship had attacked each tower, and that this had been too heavy a task for the ship, seeing that those in the tower were more in number than those on the ladder. For this reason was it well seen that two ships would attack each tower with greater effect than one. As had been settled, so was it done, and they waited thus during the Saturday and Sunday.
The Crusaders Take Part of the City. Before the assault the Emperor Mourzuphles had come to encamp, with all his power, in an open space, and had there pitched his scarlet tents. Thus matters remained till the Monday morning, when those on the ships, transports, and galleys were all armed. And those of the city stood in much less fear of them than they did at the beginning, and were in such good spirits that on the walls and towers you could see nothing but people. Then began an assault proud and marvellous, and every ship went straight before it to the attack. The noise of the battle was so great that it seemed to rend the earth.
Thus did the assault last for a long while, till our Lord raised a wind called Boreas which drove the ships and vessels further up on to the shore. And two ships that were bound together, of which the one was called the Pilgrim and the other the Paradise, approached so near to a tower, the one on the one side and the other on the other-so as God and the wind drove them-that the ladder of the Pilgrim joined on to the tower. Immediately a Venetian, and a knight of France, whose name was Andrew of Urboise, entered into the tower, and other people began to enter after them, and those in the tower were discomfited and fled.
When the knights see this, who are in the transports, they land, and raise their ladders against the wall, and scale the top of the wall by main force, and so take four of the towers. And all begin to leap out of the ships and transports and galleys, helterskelter, each as best he can; and they break in some three of the gates and enter in; and they draw the horses out of the transports; and the knights mount and ride straight to the quarters of the Emperor Mourzuphles. He had his battalions arrayed before his tents, and when his men see the mounted knights coming, they lose heart and fly and so goes the emperor flying through the streets to the castle of Bucoleon.
Then might you have seen the Greeks beaten down; and horses and palfreys captured, and mules, and other booty of killed and wounded there was neither end nor measure A great part of the Greek lords had fled towards the gate of Blachernæ. And vespers-time had already past, and those of the host were weary of the battle and of the slaying. And they began to assemble in a great open space that was in Constantinople, and decided that they would take up their quarters near the wall and towers they had captured. Never had they though that in a whole month they should be able to take the city, with its great church, and great palaces, and the people that were in It.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * *
During that night, towards the quarters of Boniface, Marquis of Montferrat, certain people, whose names are unknown to me, being in fear lest the Greeks should attack them, set fire to the buildings between themselves and the Greeks. And the city began to take fire, and to burn very direfully; and it burned all that night and all the next day, till vesperstime. And this was the third fire there had been in Constantinople since the Franks arrived in the land; and more houses had been burned in the city than there are houses in any three of the greatest cities in the kingdom of France.
That night passed and the next day came, which was a Tuesday morning (13th April 1204); and all armed themselves throughout the host, both knights and sergeants, and each repaired to his post. Then they issued from their quarters, and thought to find a sorer battle than the day before, for no word had come to them that the emperor had fled during the night. But they found none to oppose them.
The Crusaders Occupy the City. The Marquis Boniface of Montferrat rode all along the shore to the palace of Bucoleon, and when he arrived there it surrendered, on condition that the lives of all therein should be spared. At Bucoleon were found the larger number of the great ladies who had fled to the castle, for there were found the sister[8] of the King of France, who had been empress, and the sister[9] of the King of Hungary, who had also been empress, and other ladies very many. Of the treasure that was found in that palace I cannot well speak, for there was so much that it was beyond end or counting.
At the same time that this palace was surrendered to the Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, did the palace of Blachernæ surrender to Henry, the brother of Count Baldwin of Flanders, on condition that no hurt should be done to the bodies of those who were therein. There too was found much treasure, not less than in the palace of Bucoleon. Each garrisoned with his own people the castle that had been surrendered to him, and set a guard over the treasure. And the other people, spread abroad throughout the city, also gained much booty. The booty gained was so great that none could tell you the end of it: gold and silver, and vessels and precious stones, and samite, and cloth of silk, and robes vair and grey, and ermine, and every choicest thing found upon the earth. And well does Geoffrey of Villehardouin, the Marshal of Champagne, bear witness, that never, since the world was created, had so much booty been won in any city. .
Every one took quarters where he pleased, and of lodgings there was no stint. So the host of the pilgrims and of the Venetians found quarters, and greatly did they rejoice and give thanks because of the victory God had vouchsafed to them-for those who before had been poor were now m wealth and luxury. Thus they celebrated Palm Sunday and the Easter Day following (25th April I204) in the joy and honour that God had bestowed upon them. And well might they praise our Lord, since in all the host there were no more than twenty thousand armed men, one with another, and with the help of God they had conquered four hundred thousand men, or more, and in the strongest city in all the world-yea, a great city-and very well fortified.
Division of the Spoils. Then was it proclaimed throughout the host by the Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, who was lord of the host, and by the barons, and by the Doge of Venice, that all the booty should be collected and brought together, as had been covenanted under oath and pain of excommunication. Three churches were appointed for the receiving of the spoils, and guards were set to have them in charge, both Franks and Venetians, the most upright that could be found.
Then each began to bring in such booty as he had taken, and to collect it together. And some brought in loyally, and some in evil sort, because covetousness, which is the root of all evil, let and hindered them. So from that time forth the covetous began to keep things back, and our Lord began to love them less. Ah God! how loyally they had borne themselves up to now! And well had the Lord God shown them that in all things He was ready to honour and exalt them above all people. But full oft do the good suffer for the sins of the wicked.
The spoils and booty were collected together, and you must know that all was not brought into the common stock, for not a few kept things back, maugre the excommunication of the Pope. That which was brought to the churches was collected together and divided, in equal parts, between the Franks and the Venetians, according to the sworn covenant. And you must know further that the pilgrims, after the division had been made, paid out of their share fifty thousand marks of silver to the Venetians, and then divided at least one hundred thousand marks between themselves, among their own people. And shall I tell you in what wise ? Two sergeants on foot counted as one mounted, and two sergeants mounted as one knight. And you must know that no man received more, either on account of his rank or because of his deeds, than that which had been so settled and ordered- save in so far as he may have stolen it.
And as to theft, and those who were convicted thereof, you must know that stern justice was meted out to such as were found guilty, and not a few were hung. The Count of St. Paul hung one of his knights, who had kept back certain spoils, with his shield to his neck; but many there were, both great and small, who kept back part of the spoils, and it was never known. Well may you be assured that the spoil was very great, for if it had not been for what was stolen and for the part given to the Venetians, there would have been at least four hundred thousand marks of silver, and at least ten thousand horses-one with another. Thus were divided the spoils of Constantinople, as you have heard.
Below is a Byzantine account of the sack by Nicetas Chroniates.[10]
3. . . How shall I begin to tell of the deeds wrought by these nefarious men ! Alas, the images, which ought to have been adored, were trodden under foot ! Alas, the relics of the holy martyrs were thrown into unclean places ! Then was seen what one shudders to hear, namely, the divine body and blood of Christ was spilled upon the ground or thrown about. They snatched the precious reliquaries, thrust into their bosoms the ornaments which these contained, and used the broken remnants for pans and drinking cups,-precursors of Antichrist, authors and heralds of his nefarious deeds which we momentarily expect. Manifestly, indeed, by that race then, just as formerly, Christ was robbed and insulted and His garments were divided by lot; only one thing was lacking, that His side, pierced by a spear, should pour rivers of divine blood on the ground.
Nor can the violation of the Great Church[11] be listened to with equanimity. For the sacred altar, formed of all kinds of precious materials and admired by the whole world, was broken into bits and distributed among the soldiers, as was all the other sacred wealth of so great and infinite splendor.
When the sacred vases and utensils of unsurpassable art and grace and rare material, and the fine silver, wrought with gold, which encircled the screen of the tribunal and the ambo, of admirable workmanship, and the door and many other ornaments, were to be borne away as booty, mules and saddled horses were led to the very sanctuary of the temple. Some of these which were unable to keep their footing on the splendid and slippery pavement, were stabbed when they fell, so that the sacred pavement was polluted with blood and filth.
4. Nay more, a certain harlot, a sharer in their guilt, a minister of the furies, a servant of the demons, a worker of incantations and poisonings, insulting Christ, sat in the patriarch's seat, singing an obscene song and dancing frequently. B'or, indeed, were these crimes committed and others left undone, on the ground that these were of lesser guilt, the others of greater. But with one consent all the most heinous sins and crimes were committed by all with equal zeal. Could those, who showed so great madness against God Himself, have spared the honorable matrons and maidens or the virgins consecrated to God? Nothing was more difficult and laborious than to soften by prayers, to render benevolent, these wrathful barbarians, vomiting forth bile at every unpleasing word, so that nothing failed to inflame their fury. Whoever attempted it was derided as insane and a man of intemperate language. Often they drew their daggers against any one who opposed them at all or hindered their demands.
No one was without a share in the grief. In the alleys, in the streets, in the temples, complaints, weeping, lamentations, grief, the groaning of men, the shrieks of women, wounds, rape, captivity, the separation of those most closely united. Nobles wandered about ignominiously, those of venerable age in tears, the rich in poverty. Thus it was in the streets, on the corners, in the temple, in the dens, for no place remained unassailed or defended the suppliants. All places everywhere were filled full of all kinds of crime. Oh, immortal God, how great the afflictions of the men, how great the distress !
While most objects of ancient and Byzantine art were destroyed, the relics of saints were eagerly sought out. Below is a description by Gunther of the theft of relics by Abbot Martin.[12]
While the victors were rapidly plundering the conquered city, which was theirs by right of conquest, the abbot Martin began to cogitate about his own share of the booty, and lest he alone should remain emptyhanded, while all the others became rich, he resolved to seize upon plunder with his own sacred hands. But, since he thought it not meet to handle any booty of worldly things with those sacred hands, he began to plan how he might secure some portion of the relics of the saints, of which he knew there was a great quantity in the city.
Accordingly, having a presentiment of some great result, he took with him one of his two chaplains and went to a church[13] which was held in great reverence because in it the mother[14 ] of the most famous emperor Manuel[15] had a noble grave, which seemed of importance to the Greeks, but ours held for naught. There a very great amount of money brought in from all the surrounding country was stored, and also precious relics which the vain hope of security had caused them to bring in from the neighboring churches and monasteries. Those whom the Greeks had driven out, had told us of this before the capture of the city. When many pilgrims broke into this church and some were eagerly engaged in stealing gold and silver, others precious stones,
Martin, thinking it unbecoming to commit sacrilege except in a holy cause, sought a more retired spot where the very sanctity of the place seemed to promise that what he desired might be found. There he found an aged man of agreeable countenance, having a long and hoary beard, a priest, but very unlike our priests in his dress. Thinking him a layman, the abbot, though inwardly calm, threatened him with a very ferocious voice, saying: a Come, perfidious old man, show me the most powerful relics you have, or you shall die immediately." The latter, tenified by the sound rather than the words, since he heard but did not understand what was said, and knowing that Martin could not speak Greek, began in the Romana Zinpa, of which he knew a little, to entreat Martin and by soft words to turn away the latter's wrath, which in truth did not exist. In reply, the abbot succeeded in getting out a few words of the same language, sufficient to make the old man understand what he wanted. The latter, observing Martin's face and dress, and thinking it more tolerable that a religious man should handle the sacred relics w,th fear and reverence, than that worldly men should, perchance, pollute them with their worldly hands, opened a chest bound with iron and showed the desired treasure, which was more grateful and pleasing to Martin than all the royal wealth of Greece. The abbot hastily and eagerly thrust in both hands and working quickly, filled with the fruits of the sacrilege both his own and his chaplain's bosom. He wisely concealed what seemed the most valuable and departed without opposition.
Moreover what and how worthy of veneration those relics which the holy robber appropriated were, is told more fully at the end of this work.l When he was hastening to his vessel, so stuffed full, if I may use the expression, those who knew and loved him, saw him from their ships as they were themselves hastening to the booty, and inquired joyfully whether he had stolen anything, or with what he was so loaded down as he walked. With a joyful countenance, as always, and with pleasant words he said: As We have done well." To which they replied: a Thanks be to God."
While Pope Innocent III excommunicated the Crusaders after their sack of the catholic city of Zara (Zadar in Croatia), he later lifted the bull of excommunication and justified the capture of Constantinople in the letter below.[16]
To all the clergy and people in the Christian army at Constantinople.
If the Lord had granted the desires of His humble servants sooner, and had transferred, as He has now done, the empire of Constantinople from the Greeks to the Latins before the fall of the Holy Land, perhaps Christianity would not be weeping today over the desolation of the land of Jerusalem. Since, therefore, through the wonderful transference of this empire God has deigned to open to you a way to recover that land, and the detention of this may lead to the restoration of that, we advise and exhort you all, and we enjoin upon you for the remission of your sins, to remain for a year in Romania, in order to strengthen the empire in its devotion to the Apostolic See and to us, and in order to retain it in the power of the Latins; and to give wise advice and efficient aid to Baldwin, our most beloved son in Christ, the illustrious emperor of Constantinople; unless, perchance, your presence in the Holy Land should be necessary before that time, in which case you ought to hasten to guard it before the year elapses. Dated, . . . . [17]
Notes:
[1] "The Fourth Crusade" Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources in European History, Dana Carlton Munro, ed. and tr., vol. III, no. 1 (University of Pennsylvania, 1907), pp. 13-14. Original found in Robert de Clari, ch. lxxiilxxiii, in Hopf: Chroniques, pp. 5758. Old French.
[2] That the attack was repulsed.
[3] Apr. II, 1204. [4] Halberstadt.
[5] De Noyon, chancellor of Baldwin of Flanders.
[6] Villehardouin and De Joinville, Memoirs of the Crusades, Frank Marzials, tr. and ed. (London: Everyman's Library, 1908), pp. 58-66.
[7] This passage is obscure in the original.
[8] Agnes, sister of Philip Augustus, married successively to Alexius II to Andronicus, and to Theodore Branas.
[9] Margaret, sister of Emeric, King of Hungary, married to the Emperor Isaac, and afterwards to the Marquis of Monferrat.
[10] "The Fourth Crusade" Translations, pp. 15-16. Orginally found in Nicetas: Atexii Ducae Imperium, ch. iiiiv, in Recueil des historiens des Crusades, hist. grec., I, 397. Greek. [11] Hagia Sophia.
[12] "The Fourth Crusade" Translations, pp. 16-18. Originally found in Gunther: Historia Constantinopolitana, ch. xix, in Riant: Exmviae, Vol 1, 104 ff. Latin.
[13] The church of Pantokrator.
[14] Irene, died 1124.
[15] Manuel I Comnenos
[16] "The Fourth Crusade" Translations, p. 20 Originally in Epistolae, Bk. viii, No. 63, in Tessier: Diversion, etc., pp. 2356. Latin.
[17] Potthast: Regesta went. Rern., No. 2507, gives date as possibly May 20, 1205.
http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/1204.html
Further readings:
http://www.roman-empire.net/constant/1203-1204.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Crusade#Sack_of_Constantinople
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/choniates1.html
John Feffer: Welcome to Crusade 2.0
By: John Feffer
The Huffington Post
Let's imagine that the Cold War was a detour. The entire 20th century, in fact, was a detour. Since conflicts among the 20th-century ideologies (liberalism, communism, fascism) cost humanity so dearly, it's hard to conceive of World War II and the clashes that followed as sideshows. And yet many people have begun to do just that. They view the period we find ourselves in right now -- the so-called post-Cold War era -- as a return to a much earlier time and a much earlier confrontation. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq aren't discrete battles against a tyrant (Saddam Hussein) or a tyrannical group (the Taliban). They fit together with Turkey's resurgence, the swell of Muslim immigration to Europe, and Israel's settlement policy to form part of a much larger struggle.
For those who see Islam as a civilizational threat, the key dates aren't 1945 or 1989 but rather 1683, 1492, 1099, and 732. The very mention of these watershed years stirs the blood of the modern-day crusader. In 1683, thanks to the intercession of the Polish cavalry, Christian forces beat back Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Vienna, preventing Islam from spreading to Western Europe. In 1492, Christian armies recovered all of Spain from Muslim rulers. In 1099, during the first Crusade, the European army seized Jerusalem. And in 732, Charles Martel led the Franks in a victory over the forces of the Ummayad Caliphate, ensuring that Islam would not spread beyond its conquests in Spain.
Today, many Europeans are enlisting in a modern crusade. They see the threat of 732, with Islamic immigrants coming in from North Africa and bringing their culture and customs -- like the mosque and the veil -- to secular France and multicultural Switzerland. They see the threat of 1683, with Turkey planning to join and then take over the European Union. And they stand with Israel to protect Jerusalem from the demands of Palestinians and their supporters in the Arab world.
In defense of their crusade, they point to acts of terrorism committed by Islamic fundamentalists (the 2004 Madrid bombings, the 2005 London bombings), occasional acts of violence (the killing of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, a rash of honor killings), the fatwa against novelist Salman Rushdie, and so on. These incidents, they argue, add up to a pattern: an attempt to destroy the Judeo-Christian world, reestablish the caliphate dismantled by Ataturk in 1924, impose sharia law, and turn the world into a version of Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Although Muslims represent only 3-4 percent of Europe's population, today's crusaders see the outlines of Eurabia emerging, a Muslim takeover of the continent through shrewd politics and inexorable birthrates. A "civilization of dhimmitude," Bat Ye'or calls the endpoint of this strategy, in which "subjugated, non-Muslim individuals or peoples...accept the restrictive and humiliating subordination to an ascendant Islamic power to avoid enslavement or death." Muslims will conquer "Europe's cities, street by street," the Weekly Standard's Christopher Caldwell argues in Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.
This isn't just the opinion of a few intemperate pundits. A surprisingly large number of Europeans simply don't like Muslims. More than 50 percent of Germans and Spaniards "rate Muslims unfavorably," the Pew Global Attitudes Project diplomatically reported. The recent Swiss referendum banning future construction of minarets has proved quite popular among those polled in other European countries, writes Foreign Policy In Focus contributor Jeanne Kay.
"The populist right doesn't hold a monopoly on the clash-of-civilization narrative in Europe," she continues in Europe's Islamophobia. "Parties of the moderate right have jumped on the Islamophobia bandwagon to gain political capital from the sordid national identity debate. They are sometimes even joined by social democrats under the banner of liberal values. Mainstream politicians most often invoke 'Enlightenment' values to stigmatize features of Islam. In the Netherlands, the alleged incompatibility of Islam with the country's historic gay-positive culture is a critical argument in anti-Islamic rhetoric. But co-opting liberalism is particularly prominent in the debate over the veil in public spaces, a hot issue across Western Europe."
Islamophobia isn't even a dirty word in Europe. Novelist Martin Amis displayed a prejudice worthy of his father Kingsley's infamous anti-Semitism when he declared in 2006 that "the Muslim community will have to suffer until it gets its house in order. Not letting them travel. Deportation further down the road. Curtailing of freedoms. Strip-searching people who look like they're from the Middle East or Pakistan." Even before September 11, Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee proudly declared, "I am an Islamophobe." As journalist Peter Osborne wrote, "Anti-Semitism is recognized as an evil, noxious creed, and its adherents are barred from mainstream society and respectable organs of opinion. Not so Islamophobia."
Islamic extremists have certainly committed crimes. So have extremists of other faiths. But no one, as far as I know, has recommended the deportation of Christians and the strip-searching of people who look like they're from Iowa simply because of the Oklahoma City bombing or the killing of abortion providers.
The question here is whether Islam as a religion poses a threat to Europe or to the United States. Outspoken atheists like Christopher Hitchens have argued that all religions pose a threat to humanity. But the arguments of atheists aside, Islam isn't a threat unless you adopt the crusader mentality. Put simply, intolerance and bigotry lie at the root of Islamophobia -- that and a thousand years of protracted conflict and bloodshed.
Here in the United States, fear of Islam ranks considerably lower than in Europe, according to the aforementioned Pew poll: 23 percent of Americans view Muslims unfavorably. But fear of an Islamic planet has clearly trumped fear of a Black planet: we elected Barack Obama, but only after he made strenuous efforts to ensure the electorate that he was a good, church-going Christian. Remember what John McCain said during the presidential campaign when a member of his audience accused Obama of being an Arab: "No, ma'am. He's a decent family man." Excuse me? I didn't realize that "decent family man" was the antonym of Arab.
"As a young American Muslim raised in this country, I'm not sure whether America is willing to truly incorporate Muslims or merely assimilate us," writes FPIF contributor M. Junaid Levesque-Alam in Muslims in America, "whether the nation views us as a potential pillar or a probable fifth column. Fine phrases about freedom cannot, after all, gild the discrimination, suspicion, and occasional outright hostility we have faced here amid the sustained neoconservative assault of the past decade."
It wasn't long ago that American Jews asked themselves the same questions. In the Pew survey, anti-Semitism was very low in the United States (only 7 percent of Americans had unfavorable views of Jews). In Europe, however, anti-Semitism has gone hand in hand with Islamophobia (46 percent of Spaniards and 36 percent of Poles viewed Jews negatively). For Europe, at least, the two intolerances have often intersected. In the first crusade, for instance, Christian forces engaged in a wave of attacks against Jews on their way through Germany and in the retaking of Jerusalem. Later, the re-conquest of Spain in 1492 coincided with the expulsion of the Jews, both events meriting more attention at the time than the travels of Columbus.
The seven crusades that lasted from 1096 to 1291 weren't just about Christians versus Muslims. In the Fourth Crusade, for instance, Christian forces attacked fellow Christians during the sack of Constantinople in 1204. "For three days and nights, the Crusaders murdered, raped, looted, or destroyed everyone and everything they could get their hands on. Untold thousands perished; many more were brutalized, maimed, left homeless," writes Colin Wells in Sailing from Byzantium. "In the great church of Hagia Sophia...looters stripped the silken wall hangings, smashed the icons, tore apart the gold and silver furnishings, and then brought mules inside to load with booty. Some of the mules slipped and fell, unable to regain their footing on the blood-slicked marble floor."
Today's crusaders, in their attacks on Islam, would have a hard time rivaling the murderous destruction of their predecessors. But they can still do serious damage -- and not just to Muslims. In trying to "save" Western civilization, they will end up, like the looting crusaders in the Hagia Sophia, fouling the wellsprings of their own tradition and making a mockery of their professed values.
*****
John Feffer is co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus ( www.fpif.org ) at the Institute for Policy Studies. His articles and books can be found at www.johnfeffer.com
Further readings:
http://www.colinwellsauthor.com/sfbb.html
http://www.johnfeffer.com/
The Huffington Post
Let's imagine that the Cold War was a detour. The entire 20th century, in fact, was a detour. Since conflicts among the 20th-century ideologies (liberalism, communism, fascism) cost humanity so dearly, it's hard to conceive of World War II and the clashes that followed as sideshows. And yet many people have begun to do just that. They view the period we find ourselves in right now -- the so-called post-Cold War era -- as a return to a much earlier time and a much earlier confrontation. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq aren't discrete battles against a tyrant (Saddam Hussein) or a tyrannical group (the Taliban). They fit together with Turkey's resurgence, the swell of Muslim immigration to Europe, and Israel's settlement policy to form part of a much larger struggle.
For those who see Islam as a civilizational threat, the key dates aren't 1945 or 1989 but rather 1683, 1492, 1099, and 732. The very mention of these watershed years stirs the blood of the modern-day crusader. In 1683, thanks to the intercession of the Polish cavalry, Christian forces beat back Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Vienna, preventing Islam from spreading to Western Europe. In 1492, Christian armies recovered all of Spain from Muslim rulers. In 1099, during the first Crusade, the European army seized Jerusalem. And in 732, Charles Martel led the Franks in a victory over the forces of the Ummayad Caliphate, ensuring that Islam would not spread beyond its conquests in Spain.
Today, many Europeans are enlisting in a modern crusade. They see the threat of 732, with Islamic immigrants coming in from North Africa and bringing their culture and customs -- like the mosque and the veil -- to secular France and multicultural Switzerland. They see the threat of 1683, with Turkey planning to join and then take over the European Union. And they stand with Israel to protect Jerusalem from the demands of Palestinians and their supporters in the Arab world.
In defense of their crusade, they point to acts of terrorism committed by Islamic fundamentalists (the 2004 Madrid bombings, the 2005 London bombings), occasional acts of violence (the killing of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, a rash of honor killings), the fatwa against novelist Salman Rushdie, and so on. These incidents, they argue, add up to a pattern: an attempt to destroy the Judeo-Christian world, reestablish the caliphate dismantled by Ataturk in 1924, impose sharia law, and turn the world into a version of Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Although Muslims represent only 3-4 percent of Europe's population, today's crusaders see the outlines of Eurabia emerging, a Muslim takeover of the continent through shrewd politics and inexorable birthrates. A "civilization of dhimmitude," Bat Ye'or calls the endpoint of this strategy, in which "subjugated, non-Muslim individuals or peoples...accept the restrictive and humiliating subordination to an ascendant Islamic power to avoid enslavement or death." Muslims will conquer "Europe's cities, street by street," the Weekly Standard's Christopher Caldwell argues in Reflections on the Revolution in Europe.
This isn't just the opinion of a few intemperate pundits. A surprisingly large number of Europeans simply don't like Muslims. More than 50 percent of Germans and Spaniards "rate Muslims unfavorably," the Pew Global Attitudes Project diplomatically reported. The recent Swiss referendum banning future construction of minarets has proved quite popular among those polled in other European countries, writes Foreign Policy In Focus contributor Jeanne Kay.
"The populist right doesn't hold a monopoly on the clash-of-civilization narrative in Europe," she continues in Europe's Islamophobia. "Parties of the moderate right have jumped on the Islamophobia bandwagon to gain political capital from the sordid national identity debate. They are sometimes even joined by social democrats under the banner of liberal values. Mainstream politicians most often invoke 'Enlightenment' values to stigmatize features of Islam. In the Netherlands, the alleged incompatibility of Islam with the country's historic gay-positive culture is a critical argument in anti-Islamic rhetoric. But co-opting liberalism is particularly prominent in the debate over the veil in public spaces, a hot issue across Western Europe."
Islamophobia isn't even a dirty word in Europe. Novelist Martin Amis displayed a prejudice worthy of his father Kingsley's infamous anti-Semitism when he declared in 2006 that "the Muslim community will have to suffer until it gets its house in order. Not letting them travel. Deportation further down the road. Curtailing of freedoms. Strip-searching people who look like they're from the Middle East or Pakistan." Even before September 11, Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee proudly declared, "I am an Islamophobe." As journalist Peter Osborne wrote, "Anti-Semitism is recognized as an evil, noxious creed, and its adherents are barred from mainstream society and respectable organs of opinion. Not so Islamophobia."
Islamic extremists have certainly committed crimes. So have extremists of other faiths. But no one, as far as I know, has recommended the deportation of Christians and the strip-searching of people who look like they're from Iowa simply because of the Oklahoma City bombing or the killing of abortion providers.
The question here is whether Islam as a religion poses a threat to Europe or to the United States. Outspoken atheists like Christopher Hitchens have argued that all religions pose a threat to humanity. But the arguments of atheists aside, Islam isn't a threat unless you adopt the crusader mentality. Put simply, intolerance and bigotry lie at the root of Islamophobia -- that and a thousand years of protracted conflict and bloodshed.
Here in the United States, fear of Islam ranks considerably lower than in Europe, according to the aforementioned Pew poll: 23 percent of Americans view Muslims unfavorably. But fear of an Islamic planet has clearly trumped fear of a Black planet: we elected Barack Obama, but only after he made strenuous efforts to ensure the electorate that he was a good, church-going Christian. Remember what John McCain said during the presidential campaign when a member of his audience accused Obama of being an Arab: "No, ma'am. He's a decent family man." Excuse me? I didn't realize that "decent family man" was the antonym of Arab.
"As a young American Muslim raised in this country, I'm not sure whether America is willing to truly incorporate Muslims or merely assimilate us," writes FPIF contributor M. Junaid Levesque-Alam in Muslims in America, "whether the nation views us as a potential pillar or a probable fifth column. Fine phrases about freedom cannot, after all, gild the discrimination, suspicion, and occasional outright hostility we have faced here amid the sustained neoconservative assault of the past decade."
It wasn't long ago that American Jews asked themselves the same questions. In the Pew survey, anti-Semitism was very low in the United States (only 7 percent of Americans had unfavorable views of Jews). In Europe, however, anti-Semitism has gone hand in hand with Islamophobia (46 percent of Spaniards and 36 percent of Poles viewed Jews negatively). For Europe, at least, the two intolerances have often intersected. In the first crusade, for instance, Christian forces engaged in a wave of attacks against Jews on their way through Germany and in the retaking of Jerusalem. Later, the re-conquest of Spain in 1492 coincided with the expulsion of the Jews, both events meriting more attention at the time than the travels of Columbus.
The seven crusades that lasted from 1096 to 1291 weren't just about Christians versus Muslims. In the Fourth Crusade, for instance, Christian forces attacked fellow Christians during the sack of Constantinople in 1204. "For three days and nights, the Crusaders murdered, raped, looted, or destroyed everyone and everything they could get their hands on. Untold thousands perished; many more were brutalized, maimed, left homeless," writes Colin Wells in Sailing from Byzantium. "In the great church of Hagia Sophia...looters stripped the silken wall hangings, smashed the icons, tore apart the gold and silver furnishings, and then brought mules inside to load with booty. Some of the mules slipped and fell, unable to regain their footing on the blood-slicked marble floor."
Today's crusaders, in their attacks on Islam, would have a hard time rivaling the murderous destruction of their predecessors. But they can still do serious damage -- and not just to Muslims. In trying to "save" Western civilization, they will end up, like the looting crusaders in the Hagia Sophia, fouling the wellsprings of their own tradition and making a mockery of their professed values.
*****
John Feffer is co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus ( www.fpif.org ) at the Institute for Policy Studies. His articles and books can be found at www.johnfeffer.com
Further readings:
http://www.colinwellsauthor.com/sfbb.html
http://www.johnfeffer.com/
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