The Muslim world covers a broad and diverse geographical area, with diverse populations, as well ... more The Muslim world covers a broad and diverse geographical area, with diverse populations, as well as diverse religious, spiritual and cultural practises. Their histories are all different and needless to say their Islams' are all different too. Islam wherever it went was adapted and even changed with the various cultures it came into contact with. Your cultural attitude dictates how you understood, and even interpreted Islamic texts and scriptures; this creates a problem with the sorts of questions posed. There is an additional problem here with the question and that is, what does the Muslim world mean? Is the Muslim world a series of nation states where the majority of Muslims reside? The questions raised do not have clear answers, but they are relevant for any study on Muslim history. This essay cannot answer this question with reference to the contemporary world, but the Muslim world of the past is being defined as lands under the domain of the caliphs. This doesn't necessarily mean the direct rule of the caliphs but lands affiliated or aligned with the caliph. This is true for the period that this essay is discussing, which is between the Umayyads and Abbasid dynasty.
The Muslim world covers a broad and diverse geographical area, with diverse populations, as well ... more The Muslim world covers a broad and diverse geographical area, with diverse populations, as well as diverse religious, spiritual and cultural practises. Their histories are all different and needless to say their Islams' are all different too. Islam wherever it went was adapted and even changed with the various cultures it came into contact with. Your cultural attitude dictates how you understood, and even interpreted Islamic texts and scriptures; this creates a problem with the sorts of questions posed. There is an additional problem here with the question and that is, what does the Muslim world mean? Is the Muslim world a series of nation states where the majority of Muslims reside? The questions raised do not have clear answers, but they are relevant for any study on Muslim history. This essay cannot answer this question with reference to the contemporary world, but the Muslim world of the past is being defined as lands under the domain of the caliphs. This doesn't necessarily mean the direct rule of the caliphs but lands affiliated or aligned with the caliph. This is true for the period that this essay is discussing, which is between the Umayyads and Abbasid dynasty.
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