By Lilah Hosni –
Mohammad was a war genius.
“The genius of Mohammad rearticulated the tribalism of the Arabian peninsula theologically,” says Raymond Ibrahim, a historian. “What is tribalism? Everyone outside of the tribe is the enemy. You exist for me to kill and plunder and enslave and do whatever with. Mohammad rearticulated it: You still hate people, anyone who’s outside your trip, anyone who’s not Muslim.”
Ibrahim’s interpretation answers a question that has baffled historians for centuries: How did Islam conquer the Roman and Persian Empires in a mere 100 years? Blitzkrieg warfare.
“The most popular theory is that the two contending powers Rome or Byzantium and the Sassanian Persians were so weak because they had been fighting each other,” says Ibrahim, who is from Egypt. “That’s the most popular theory, but I don’t think that’s convincing in and of itself.”
Islam’s 100-year explosion across the North of Africa, across the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain, the expansion eastward to gobble up domains previously held by the Persians, is simply astonishing.
By ancient standards, it’s unparalleled. As good as ancient armies were, they didn’t advance like Islam, setting up an empire that has lasted no for 14 centuries.
How did they do it?
According to Ibrahim, Mohammad motivated his troops by making war a win-win proposition – in addition to making fanatical hatred of non-Muslims a religious tenet.
If you fought war, you either obtained spoils (money, slaves, women) OR you went straight to the highest level of Paradise and were lavished with riches, slaves and women.
According to Islam, eternal life is “hedonistic and materialistic,” Ibrahim explains. “You get women, it’s very carnal the way it’s described in the Quran. There’s beautiful boys circulating around looking like pearls. There are supernatural women who you will copulate with you in perpetuity who are made specifically made for sex. There are rivers of honey and wine.”
