History is not neutral. Conquerors will present history from their own viewpoint. The European global empires of the nineteenth century and today’s American empire are certainly no exceptions to this rule. A currently best-selling book on European history, The Penguin History of Europe by J. M. Roberts, is a good example of Eurocentric history writing. For example, the author dismisses the genocide and “virtual extinction” of the inhabitants of a whole continent (Native Americans) as “one of the costs of the opportunities which English America…offered to thousands of poor Europeans.”
Fortunately, in recent decades, more balanced and culturally respectful authors have emerged, though subtle biases sometimes persist which even the author may not perceive.
Representation of J M Roberts, author or Penguin History of Europe
The history of Islamic civilization is particularly skewed and full of distortions that go back to the Middle Ages. It is our job to rediscover and re-present our history in the way it deserves. Muslims led the world intellectually, culturally, and militarily for over a thousand years—until at least the 18th century. This great historical reality is fragmented in standard Western textbooks, often presented as many separate histories: those of the Moors, Arabs, Turks, Mughals, and Mongols, etc. The unity of the civilization is noted by only a few authors. In this way, the common ‘Islamic’ part of our history is downgraded and minimized. Often, we find the whole of Islamic history relegated to a few pages in a book on world history. It is time to reclaim and rename our history.
Western textbooks generally divide recent human history into:
However, the author believes that the year 622 CE is such a pivotal year in human history that it would make more sense to start the Middle Ages from that point. 622 is Year 1 of the Islamic Calendar, marking the Emigration (Hijra) of the Messenger of God, Muhammad ﷺ. We designate it as the beginning of the 'Islamic Age', or 'Islamic Millennium'. The ‘Middle Ages’ are often seen in a negative light, an age in which Christian Europe was sunk in darkness and superstition. Eurocentrics tend to assume the whole world was in darkness. But in fact, this period was a golden age of the Islamic civilization, which spanned a large part of the world and was based on the supremacy of one book, the Quran. All Islamic empires and emirates throughout the Islamic Age have believed in the supremacy of the Quran, even if they often fell short of its lofty teachings. The laws of the land were always based on Shariah.
In our scheme, the Islamic Age, or Islamic Millennium, extends from the Hijra until 1707 CE (well into the Early Modern period). We mark 1707 as a symbolic end to the Islamic Age due to the death of the last great Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, signaling the beginning of the decline of Muslim global ascendancy. Also, in 1707, England and Scotland unified to form Great Britain, the nation destined to eclipse Islamic domination and lead the world into the Modern Age.
The Islamic Millennium is divided into three main periods:
These divisions are roughly based on the works of Marshall Hodgson, with some modifications by the author himself. After 1707, the European Age begins, continuing to the present time.
A more recent book on Islamic history by Jonathan Bloom titled Islam: A Thousand Years of Faith and Power acknowledges the unity of the Islamic Millennium. This recognition is a step toward presenting a more accurate version of Islamic history.
I am sure glad to say that a recent book on Islamic history by by Jonathan Bloom was called ‘Islam A thousand years of faith and power’. It shows that western historians are finally acknowledging the unity of the Islamic Millennium.