Willing converts?

Submitted by Linda Haslam (United States), May 29, 2008 at 10:44

History is written by the victorious. We know that many converted to Islam in order to share in the "booty" and that others converted in order to save their lives or improve their lives by avoiding taxes imposed on the dhimmi. We don't know how many converted because they had become "true believer."

Playing any kind of numbers game can lead one to wrong conclusions. The fact that Arabic became the primary language can also be explained by the nature of the invading Muslims, i. e., their belief that Muslims were the best of people and Allah preferred Arabs above all other Muslims. Furthermore, a fairly small number of armed, dedicated soldiers can keep a fairly large population under control--especially if they are willing to resort to terroristic tactics.

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