ANNOTATED BIBLIGRAPHY
Submitted By: Hussein Rajan
Submitted To: Mr. Cotey
Date Submitted: 02.27.07
Course: IDP4U1
Annotated Bibliography
Hussein Rajan
Was Islam spread through violence?
BBC. The Early Rise of Islam. 20 Feb. 2005. 26 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/earlyrise_1.shtml>.
This source was the BBC Website. It provided me with very useful information on
the beginnings of Islam, from the revelation of Islam from the Angel Gabriel to the
Prophet Muhammad, all the way to the recent impact on Muslims from the September
11th terror attacks. It discussed the spread of Islam throughout the centuries and how it
facilitated modern Muslim power. It briefly talks of Muslim conquests that spread the
faith of Islam, which will help my argument that Islam was spread through violence. The
authors at the BBC are reliable sources, because they pride themselves on unbiased
writing. The BBC, (the website, publications and television network) is notorious for
consistently providing reputable and detailed information. This source will help my
argument because not only does it help provide me with detailed background
information, but it also hosts summaries of numerous battles that helped the spread of
Islam.
Nosotro, Rit. The Spread of Christianity and Islam. 26 Feb. 2006. 26 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw11christislamexpand.ht
m>.
This source talks about the spread of both Christianity and Islam. It is a comparative
essay in that it compares both Christianity and Islam. It discusses how Muhammad feared
persecution and waited three years prior to preaching the faith of Islam to the people of
Mecca. The essay also discusses the hardships Muhammad faced in preaching a
monotheistic religion to a polytheistic society. This forces the reader to realise that
violence was an important and necessary factor in spreading the faith of Islam. The
author of this article is Rit Nosotro. There is not much information about her, but the site
that she writes for, “hyperhistory.net”, is a reputable source for history assignments. This
helps identify her work as an informative piece with valid information. Also, all of her
work is cited, which helps ensure that her work has credible information for me to extract
notes from.
Shwartz, Stephen. The Real Islam. 23 Mar. 2003. 24 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200303u/int2003-03-20>
The Real Islam discusses a strand of Islam that developed in the 1700s in a remote
desert. It was meant to bring back the true meaning of Islam after its founder,
Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, believed that the Ottoman Empire had destroyed the
true meaning of Islam. The author, Stephen Schwartz, argues that this sect was the
beginning of extremism because it called for the humiliation and destruction of other
religions and people. Although this comes from a reputable source and a reputable
author, The Atlantic Monthly and Stephen Schwartz respectively, the information in this
article is not very useful to me. It provides information which is not directly related to my
topic on the early beginnings of Islam. Though, I did like Schwartz’s message that Islam
is a tolerant religion and that only a small sect of Islam believes in extremism. I felt that
even though this information is not very useful to me, it conveys a message of tolerance
to the reader.
Barton, James L. The Christian Approach to Islam. : Pilgrim Press, 1918.
This source was found on the internet, though it was originally a book that had been
published in 1918 by James L. Barton, a Christian. He discusses the spread of Islam,
from the revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad, to the time of the fall of the
Ottoman Empire. What is interesting about this source is that Barton brings to light the
idea of Mohammedanism, which is essentially the following of the Prophet Muhammad.
Barton also expands on the spread of Islam by the Mongols and their conquests and its
spread into countries such as China. This source gave an unbiased view of Islam and its
spread because at the time of its original publishing it was before there were a great
amount of terrorism and anti-Islamic prejudices. Barton also gives a great background
into the spread of Islam by indicating its spread by other leaders such as Genghis Khan
and the Mongols. This gives more depth into my argument by showing that Islam was
not only contained to spread in the Middle East, but parts of Asia and Europe as well.
Barkati. History of Islam.. 26 Feb. 2007. <http://www.barkati.net/english/#01>.
This source had an abundance of information which stemmed from the spread of
Islam, all the way to the influence of Islam on modern science. What I liked about this
site was that it clearly broke down the spread of Islam by country. For example, it
showed how the Mongols brought Islam to countries and how Islam was brought to India.
There were some discrepancies, I felt hindered its success as a useful resource. The fact
that it did not display its author proved that the source may not be valid, though it was a
.net source. I would use this website for background information on certain areas of my
topic, but I would not use this site for citations because I could not clearly identify the
author. This site showed no bias and gave a brief background on numerous topics within
Islam (i.e. The Spread of Islam, its influence on the West and its influence on different
countries) which I know will prove useful when developing my sub-topics and
arguments.
Lawton, Clive. Islam. Hong Kong: Young Library, 1995.
This book provided very detailed information on the life of the Prophet Muhammad.
It discussed the hardships he faced in spreading the faith of Islam, and it also described
the political climate of Mecca in the 7th century. It talked about the worship of idols in
Mecca and how Muhammad fled the city because he feared persecution. It also gave
insight in to the Muslim’s plight during the first Crusades and how modern day Iraq and
Iran garnered strength to fight back. The article talked about how the Crusades stifled
Islam up until the 12th century. It also discussed the war between Muslims and Jews
over the Holy Land of Jerusalem. This book on Islam was filled with a lot of relevant
information that I can use regarding major battles fought by Muslims. It did not show
any bias, and it gave a thorough and insightful background into Islam and its humble
beginnings which will help me when writing about the background of Islam.
Voll, John O. CQ Press: Islam. 2007. 27 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.cqpress.com/context/articles/epr_islam.html>.
This source gave the most detailed background on Islam compared to all of the other
sources. It provided me with information on Muhammad, background on Islam, and a
very intricate and precise timeline on Muhammad and his followers’ push for Islam. This
included the civil war that was fueled by the rift between the polytheist Meccans and
monotheist Muslims. This site gave information on the wars that Muhammad was
involved in. This will aid me in developing a strong background on the wars that were
instigated by Islam in order for it to have spread. The site was taken from an
encyclopedia and had information added to it from other valid sources such as The
Oxford Encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is called the Encyclopedia of Politics and
Religion, which is what my topic directly correlates to. I think this valid source will be of
premier importance to be because it possesses abundant information with which I can
develop a stable thesis statement and background information to develop a strong
argument.
Hamidullah, Muhammad. The Prophet of Islam - His Biography.. 27 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/prophet/profbio.html>.
This source was written by a Muslim, Muhammad Hamidullah, but it showed very
little bias and gave great insight into the Prophet Muhammad’s life. It discussed
Muhammad’s family life and the issues surrounding his endorsement of Islam. This site
will prove to be very useful when I am writing about the Prophet Muhammad in my
essay, and if I do not include anything about his family background in my writing, I will
have a good understanding of the personal conflicts he faced when spreading Islam, and
if battle was a necessity for him. I will be able to see Islam from the prophet’s
perspective at the time in which he pushed for the spread of Islam. I know that this site is
credible because it is from the University of Southern California which is a renowned
institution that hosts numerous writings from a lot of credible historians.