Muslim World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Muslim World - Essay Example In a religious sense, the term Muslim world refers to the whole people who follow the teachings of Islam. From a modern geopolitical perspective, this term is used collectively to refer to Muslim-majority countries and regions. During the period of Rashidun and Umayyads, the Caliphate grew quickly and the Muslim power expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula. Although the Islamic dominance on political issues has notably increased over the last century, intrusion of Western powers into Islamic regions and other international conflicts reduced the influence of Islam in the contemporary history. During the period between the early 15th and early 20th centuries, the history of the Muslim world is characterized with particular events, processes, and encounters. This paper will discuss some major events in the history of the Muslim world such as Sunni reform movement, fall of Granada, and the fall of Constantinople. Sunni Reform Movement Deobandi Movement, a popular Sunni reform movement is one of the major events that rewrote the entire history of the Muslim world. As Sankar and Mandal describe, the movement began in India as a reaction to the British colonial rule, and spread to the neighboring countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, etc. which later came to be the hub of this movement (62). Very recently its waves have reached South Africa and the United Kingdom. The term Deobandi derived from Deoband, the place where Darul Uloom Deoband, a Sufi School started in the year 1866 is situated. However after the partition of Pakistan and Bangladesh from India, India lost its prominence and Pakistan and Afghanistan became prominent promoters of this movement. The overwhelming prominence of Deobandi movement in Pakistan and Afghanistan soon made its spread to the other parts of the world. History Sunni reform movement is believed to have its origin in Asian countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. However some say that the movement was first or iginated in India as a reaction to the British colonialists. Those who say that this movement is originated in India point that the Sufi school Darul Uloom Deoband, from which the term ‘Deobandi’ is derived, is situated in India. Nadwatul-Ulama Lucknow and Darul Uloom Karachi are two notable Hanafi seminaries of Deobandi Schools. However, the historians and Muslim scholars say that the movement was present in other neighboring countries of India at the same time. In this context it has to be noted that the founding fathers of Debandi Movement were very much influenced by the Wahabi Movement that was present in Saudi Arabia. The only difference between the Wahabis and the Deobandis is visible in their approach to Ashri and Maturidi creeds. While the latter ascribe to both the creeds, the former adhere only to the literal meaning of both the creeds. Currently the movement is spread across the world including South Africa and the United Kingdom. Though it reached these cou ntries very recently, it has become very strong in these countries. Consider how it is growing in the UK. At present, over 600 of the total 1500 mosques here are under the control of Muslim scholars who favor Deobandi Teachings. Adding further, around 17 Islam seminaries; there are total 26 Islam seminaries in the UK, are following the same teaching. It means that more than 80 percent of the total domestically trained Ulema or Muslim scholars are trained to follow Deobandi doctrines. Spreading of Sunni movement Currently Sunni movement is present in many countries and continents including the United Kingdom, South Africa and Asia, the continent where it actually originated. Now it has become