Muslim World & Occupation (part 1)
Wednesday, 07 April 2010
Written by Islamstory
European Colonization of the Muslim World
The economic motive was one of the main reasons behind occupying the Islamic world. The industrial revolution of the European countries resulted in huge abundance in production. Hence, there was a need for opening new markets. The European countries viewed that the most probable markets that fit for this are the markets of Arab countries that were – mostly- under the reign of Othman Caliphate.
In our modern time, occupying the Islamic world started in the beginning of the 16th century. Specifically, when Portugal occupied the western coast of India and was followed by Britain, France, and Russia. The lands of the Arab World, however, were distributed between Britain and France. Britain controlled most of the Arab East countries, while France controlled Arab West countries.
The Muslim World suffered from all types of occupation. The first type was the political occupation; which means that a certain country controls another country without the use of force or direct occupation. The second type, which the Islamic World suffered from severely, was the economic occupation; which happens through dealing unfair deals and treaties between two countries in order that the rich country gets the right to exploit the natural fortunes and resources of the poor one.
The third type was the cultural occupation, the most dangerous of all. In past this type was as follows; the occupying countries sought to force the occupied countries to adopt their languages, cultures, heritage, and ideology. In modern times, after the independence of the countries of the Islamic World, this type is as follows: The western countries spread their secular western thoughts such as focusing on the notion that government should exist separately from religion, or spreading the secular eastern Marxist ideas.
The arbitrary policies of the Islamic countries might have paved the way for such cultural occupation. This is because of the absence of full strategy that defines the quality of the generations that are to be brought up. Also the educational curriculums of the Islamic countries neglected the Islamic heritage. Moreover, the different media of the countries of the Islamic World, unintentionally, contributed in faring the generations from their heritage and culture. Islamic Media became a tool of transforming the other cultures without any filtering.
The colonial European countries adopted various policies in its war against Islam. Among these policies is the spread of corrupt religious movements such as Bahaism and Qadianism, stirring fights on ethnical basis after Islam managed to eliminate such ethnical discrimination, working on spreading the idea of secularism in the Islamic Country, urging the minorities in some Muslim counties to take over power in such countries, and recruiting different local Media as well as westernized writers in order to establish a Muslim community that only bears the name of Islam, not its values.
Historical Background
It was stated previously that Portugal controlled the western coast of India in the beginning of the 16th century. Portugal managed to control all the international shipping lines from all over the world to India during this century. This control collapsed under the strikes of both Britain and France that aimed at ending this Portugal monopoly of Navy lines directed to India. The companies did manage in ending such monopoly. The most famous company was Honourable East India Company, a British company which was established in the beginning of the 17th century.
Britain, also, used the existing enmity between the Hindu and Muslims as well as that enmity and fights among the Muslim emirates in order to direct a finishing strike to Siraju-ad-dawlah (the emperor's viceroy in Bengal province) in 1757. This was followed by another strike to the Mongol emperor himself in 1764. After this last strike Britain occupied Bengal, then it attacked the king the Muslim king of Mysore in 1798 upon knowing that he made a coalition with France against Britain. After that Britain continued to expand its expeditions in India depending on its military power to eliminate any resistance. In this respect, Britain managed to deter a public revolution that called for revolving the Islamic Mongol Empire, such empire that used to spread tolerance between the Muslim and Hindu. Finally Britain managed to rule India officially in 1857. [1]
At that time, the Othman Caliphate was getting weaker and weaker, the matter that urged the colonial powers to think of invading its countries. The French Campaign in Egypt occurred in 1798 to exploit Egypt's strategic location. The Islamic caliphate witnessed a series of revolutions in the beginning of 19th century, the matter made it weaker. For example, Serbia called for independence in 1804, and Greece did the same and started to revolute. [2]
Meanwhile, Russia expanded its expeditions in middle Asia after accepting the Treaty of Paris in 1856. Such expansion was planed to reinforce the Russian military position in the East of Urals as well as to make this area a market for the Russian textile products. In this respect Russia occupied Khujand in 1865, Bukara in 1868, and Khiva which falls near the northern western borders of India in 1873. Britain did not try to stop this Russian expansion in India because they had a deal in which they named the lands that fall in the west of Amu-Darya River to be under the Russian power, while the lands that fall in the east of Afghanistan to be under the British power. The historians mention that Russia continued such expansion in Middle Asia till it occupied the Turkmen provinces, city of Merv (Merw), and the Punjab 1885.[3]
In 1878 the German Society for African Studies was established in Berlin. The researchers of this society started their work in the area between Zanzibar and Tanganyika. German efforts were made to establish German settlements in the African continent. At that time Bismarck was against this idea out of fear that Germany might face international problems. Seeing the occupation trend prevailing at that time, he declared his new policy. In one year, he established four settlements in the African continent (1884-1885). These settlements included Tanganyika in the east of the continent, Cameron and Togo in the west, and the area of south west of Africa (Namibia).
This policy of Bismarck forced Britain to change its policy to stop this German power. Bismarck realized this and was trying – as possible – to avoid clash with Britain.
However, Britain indulged in fight with the Germans in the east of the continent and with the French in the west of the continent. At that time the occupational policy of France resulted in a lot of economical gains for France after the French merchants made a railway that links Senegal and Niger so that France may control the products of the west of the continent. Needles to say that such action negatively affected the British trade centers in Gambia and also affected, indirectly, the trade roads that lead to Sierra Leone and Gold Coast (Ghana). [4]
As to the Arab world, Britain managed in 1820 to make treaties with the chieftains of the coastal area of the Arab Gulf, namely, the areas between Qatar and Sultanate of Oman. Such treaties reinforced the British power in the area, which were called from that time "the Trucial Coast".
At that time the Muslim countries in the north of Africa was facing the French occupation. Algeria was invaded by France in 1830.
The French planning for occupying Algeria started from the time of Napoleon, who used to view Algeria as a necessary external market for France to develop the French industry. France decided to invade Algeria and was just looking for a reason to justify such invasion. Finally France found this reason when Algeria failed to pay back its debts to France and there were tough talking between the two countries. During this tough talking, it happened that Hussein Pasha, the ruler of Algeria, hit the French ambassador with a hand fan. France made this little incident a reason for occupying Algeria. Consequently, France put the Algerian port under siege in June 1827 till 1830. in the year 1830 France invaded Algeria with nearly 60,000 French soldiers. The battle was not fair and ended with the surrender of Hussein Pasha. In the morning of 5 June 1830 the French forces controlled the capital of Algeria, but it took them 40 years to subjugate the rest of Algerian cities, thanks to the brave Algerian popular resistance.[5]
Morocco hurried for helping Algeria. Morocco was, at that time and till the mid of 19th century, a strong country. Though Morocco could not free the two Moroccan cities Ceuta and Melilla from the Spanish occupation, but it continued to support the Algerian resistance after the failure of the Othman army to do so. Of course France knew about such Moroccan aids and that make France to haste in invading Morocco justifying this by saying that it aims at stooping the Moroccan aids. The French army managed to conquer Morocco after winning the battle of the Valley of Easley on 14 August 1844. After this, Morocco was forced by France to sign a treaty for protection. [6]
Britain started to control the Arab Gulf after signing treaties with the chieftains of the area, especially when such tribes turned into political units or little countries under the British protection. Such treaties were renewed annually till the year 1843 when a new treaty were signed and was meant to be effective for 10 years. In 1853 a permanent treaty was signed between the chieftains and Britain stating that the process of keeping peace in the area will be under the British supervision. [7]
Moreover, Britain worked on the expansion of its power in the area of Arab Gulf. In 1816 Britain forced Bahrain to participate in this treaty and controlled its internal and external policy.
Sultanate of Oman, which was one of the most important eastern empires during the 4th and 5th decades in the 19th century, was divided to two empires: Masqat and Zanzibar. Such division was a result of the British interference that managed finally to impose its protection on Oman.
Footnotes:
[1] Al-Atlas Al-Asywi (Asian Atlas): Cairo University Center for Asian Studies, year 2003, p.22.
[2] A History of Europe: H.A.L. Fisher, Arabic translation by Ahmad Nageeb Hashem, ninth print, p 126-127
[3] Al-Atlas Al-Asywi (Asian Atlas): Cairo University Center for Asian Studies, year 2003, p.23.
[4] al-Islam wa tahahdi al-Ist`maar al-urubi fi Africa (Islam & defying the European occupation of Africa: Prof. `Abdullah Abd ar-Razzaq, al-Maktab al-Misri li-tawzi` al-Matbu`aat, second edition 1997, pp. 19-20.
[5] al-Ghazwah al-Ist`mârîyyah lil-`Alam al-`Arabî wa Harakât al-Muqâwamah: Prof. Abd al-`Azîm Ramadan, Dâr al-Ma`âref, page 95.
[6] Ibid: 161
[7] Ibid: 27-28
| Next > |
|---|