User:Khasif746/Arabs, Islam and the Arab Caliphate in the Early Middle Ages

E. A. BELYAEV, Arabs, Islam and the Arab Caliphate in the Early Middle Ages. Translated by A. Gourevitch, Jerusalem, Israel Universities Press; New York, Praeger; London, Pall Mall, 1969.

The author attempts to bring in a small compass the condition of Arabia in some 200 years prior to Islam, the origins of Islam, the emergence of Caliphate, the formation and administration of the Umayyad dynasty and the same of the Abbasid dynasty. What that really means is that the author tries to cover a span of some 600 years in under 250 pages. And it’s ultimately here where the basic weakness of the book lies: Professor Belyaev has just too much on his plate.

Not that such a goal is doomed ab initio to certain failure. Don’t we have before us the classical and enormously successful presentations, all of them bottling an entire river in a tumbler, of Goldziher [], of Snouck Hurgronje [], of Margoliouth [] and of Lammens []? Unfortunately, our author in this case is not to be ranked with the afore-mentioned giants.

Additionally, Professor Belyaev throw down for himself the gauntlet of explaining the origin and the entire Islamic history from a Soviet Orthodox Marxist-Leninist perspective. Leaving aside the question of the book being convincing or otherwise, on the count of the author’s specific ideological concerns, this is a unique book in English among those on Islam.

The Professor follows a rather rigid approach to each chapter; each chapter beginning with a study of bibliographic sources and Modern Research. Here, he has been severely criticized for having disregarded many of the important researches of his day and for his “consistent neglect of advances and novel approaches.” [] These segments of the book are unique in that they do refer to Russian (Soviet) sources little known to Western students (but even they are outdated).

The first section dealing with the Arabs covers the geographical environment of the Arabian Peninsula, the nomadic life, agriculture, the tribal organization, and the social and cultural situation before the rise of Islam.

In the second section, the author discusses the life in Mecca and Madinah, the life and social surroundings of Muhammad and the policies of the Madinah community.

The third section gives an account of the formation of the Caliphate and the administration of the conquered territories, examining the government, society and culture during the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates. Finally, he gives an account of what he calls the popular movements.

As noted by the Translator on p. 8, the Author uses standard Soviet phraseology for sociological description, categorizing societies as "primitive-communal," "slaveholding" and “feudal”. Pre-Islamic Arabia is alleged to be a primitive-communal type of society in transition to a slave society with Islam the religion of a slave holding regime. The Umayyad Caliphate is described as a regime based on extensive exploitation of slave labor in agriculture and to some extents in the crafts. This exploitation of slave-holding tribal Arab aristocracy results in their becoming a class of feudal landlords. This slave-holding regime lasts from 869 to 883 after the rebellion of Negro (Zanj) slaves and gives way to a society based predominantly on feudalistic relationships and modes of production.

Another Marxist associated point of view makes Professor Belyaev rightly sensitive to the oppression of the weak by the strong; and this sensitivity inspires some interpretations which are illuminating. He portrays vividly the ruthless exploitation and brutal oppression of the working masses by the ruling class.

The Ridda wars he sees as the subjection of the Arabian tribes to Islam. Of the conquests he observes that there was no great movement of conversions to Islam and that the upper stratum of the Arab elite prospered while the lower classes were reduced to misery. He considers the Kharijites as the militant working masses opposed to oppressive ruling class, and regards the Abbasid revolution as a struggle for the political independence of the fatherland and the social liberation of the working masses However, the Author does not discuss the rise of the Abbasids and this is lamented by the reviewer George N. Atiyeh, who says that “one would expect that the organizational and propagandistic tactics of Abu Muslim, at least, would appeal to a Communist historian.” []

Some of the Author’s conclusions “involve a highly stretched interpretation of the sources” [] and depict “a view of history distorted by an apocalyptic vision of the struggle between good and evil” []

Professor Belyaev sees Islam as a movement rather than as the work of an individual, and to reduce the importance of Muhammad he goes so far as to insist on the probability of a multiple authorship for the Qur'an.

Early Qur'anic teachings he sees as representing a “Hanîf” religion (derived from the agriculturalists of Yamama) preached in Mecca in opposition to the cult of the Ka'ba. Only in response to the failure of the early preaching did Muhammad (or the Islamic movement) develop a prophetic conception which marks the emergence of a genuinely new religion corresponding to the commercial interests of certain classes in a declining primitive communal society.

Thus, Professor Belyaev correctly observes distinct phases in the Qur'anic teaching, though his view of Islam as a class religion is not defended by a close examination of the conflicts engendered by Muhammad's preaching.