LESSON 24
THE COMING OF ISLAM TO THE MAGHRIB

Christianity came from Rome to the Maghrib in the 2nd century and quickly penetrated all ranks of urban society. The Berber nomads only got a veneer of Christianity, because their language was never used by the Church. Also the Church was shaken by the Donatist schism which insisted on rigorist treatment of those who lapsed during the persecutions. St. Augustine campaigned against Donatism and helped revive Catholicism by founding houses of religious life, but it was too late.

In 430 the Vandals invaded, devastated the land with the help of nomadic Berbers, imposed their Arian teachings and persecuted Catholics, reducing the number of bishops from 164 to 3. The Byzantines took over in 534, bringing the Greek language and using brutal repression to control just the major towns. When the 15 year old Constans II became emperor, Gregory, the Exarch of Africa, revolted and when the Arabs came he had to face them alone. We now turn to Muslim accounts of the conquest:

In the year 643 `Amr ibn-al-`Âs marched from Egypt to Barqa and made a treaty with its inhabitants putting them under the jizya, allowing them to pay it by selling their children if they want. He went on to take and loot Tripoli and Sabrata. Then `Amr ibn-al-`Âs made a treaty with the Berber Lawât, making them pay 20,000 dînârs as jizya and sell their children to raise the money.

In 646, `Uthmân made `Abdallâh ibn-abî-Sarh (See Lesson 9) governor of Egypt and its army. Ibn-abî-Sarh led 20,000 men to Ifrîqiya (Tunisia), defeated Gregory and gave Ibn-Zubayr, who killed Gregory, the latter's daughter as a concubine. Ibn-abî-Sarh then marched on Carthage and took it with an inestimable amount of captives and wealth, looting several other towns as well. The people then asked Ibn-abî-Sarh to take 3,000,000 dînârs as a year's jizya if he would go away. He accepted. No other attack on Ifrîqiya took place for 20 years because of the civil war between the fourth caliph Alî (656-61) and his opponents. The Byzantines did not use this respite to strengthen their position, but instead alienated the people by heavy taxes.

In 666 The caliph Mu`âwiya sent Ibn-Hudayj to Ifrîqiya with 10,000 men. The Byzantine governor had 30,000 men, but fled by sea without giving battle. Ibn-Hudayj then took Jadûlâ, looting it and taking slaves. In 667 he raided Sicily, taking captives and booty, including gold and silver statues.

The next year Mu`âwiya made Ibn-udayj governor of Egypt and in 670 and appointed `Uqba to Ifrîqiya. `Uqba reached Ifrîqiya with 10,000 troops and put its people to the sword, annihilating the Christians who were there. He said, "If an imâm enters Ifrîqiya they comply by accepting Islam, but if he goes away those who became Muslim go back to unbelief. He then began building the city of Qayrawân as a military capital.

In the year 675 the caliph appointed Abû-l-Muhâjir to Ifrîqiya. Abû-l-Muhâjir marched against the Berber leader, Kusayla, defeated him and proposed that he accept Islam, which he did. Meanwhile Constantine and Sitif surrendered and their leaders became Muslim.

In the 682 the caliph Yazîd made `Uqba governor of the Maghrib for a second time. He went out with his army, and the Christians fled from his path right and left as he conquered the country and raided for the sake of God. `Uqba did not besiege their fortresses so as not to miss the opportunity of raiding and killing the remaining groups of unbelievers, since the Christians and Berbers of the Maghrib were innumerable and spread all over and could not be numbered by sand or pebbles. So he made for the west, killing and taking captive one people after another, and one tribe after another. Having committed himself to the Lord, he was not afraid of numbers. Weariness or dust did not settle on his men until they reached the outskirts of Tangier, where the Christians and Berbers of Ifrîqiya had fled.

`Uqba also raided Sûs al-Aqâ where innumerable Berbers of many tribes gathered. He fought them hard, as had never been heard of before in the Maghrib, and killed very many. He captured their women who are unlike any in the world. It is said that one of their girls fetches about 1,000 dînârs in the markets of the East. The people fled before `Uqba with no resistance, showing that God backs up his saints. He marched until he reached the Atlantic and entered it until the water reached the belly of his horse. Then he raised his hands to heaven and said, "Lord, if not for this sea which prevents me, I would continue through the world like Alexander the Great, defending your religion and fighting those who disbelieve in you." Then he said to his companions, "Go back with the blessing of God".

Because `Uqba treated the Berber leader Kusayla as a slave, Kusayla broke away, taking his 50,000 men. `Uqba did battle with Kusayla and was killed along with all the Muslims with him, except for a few prisoners. In September 683 Kusayla entered Qayrawân and took it. The Muslim army then abandoned Tunisia and fled back East. Kusayla granted safety to the Muslims who remained in Qayrawân, and ruled over the rest of the Maghrib, including the Muslims, until the reign of `Abdalmalik ibn-Marwân.

In 685 the caliph `Abdalmalik sent to Zuhayr ibn-Qays al-Balawî to rescue those who were in Qayrawân. With plenty of horsemen, infantry and supplies, Zuhayr reached Ifrîqiya in 688. Kusayla was not afraid, since he had a huge force, many times more than Zuhayr had. Kusayla summoned the Berber nobles and said, "I think I should go out of this city, since there is a community of Muslims in it to whom we have treaty obligations. So they went out, and in the battle Kusayla was killed and the Berbers scattered.

Zuhayr settled his men in Qayrawân and went back East with a force. The Byzantines got news of his leaving Ifrîqiya; so they went to Barqa with a large force and raided it, taking captives, killing and plundering. When Zuhayr heard of it he ordered his army to march to the shore, hoping to reach the Muslim captives and rescue them. The Muslim captives shouted and begged for his help while the Byzantines were loading them onto the ships. He called his companions together, and the Byzantines engaged them in battle. Zuhayr was killed along with the best Arabs who were with him.

`Abdalmalik then sent Hassân ibn-an-Nu`mân to Ifrîqiya with 40,000 troops. assân marched on Carthage. He demolished the city, leaving it a relic of the past. assân then went after Kâhina, the leader of all the Berbers, but was defeated and the Muslims were again driven out of Tunisia. Kâhina captured 80 of Hassân's companions, but was good to them and sent them to assân. Kâhina ruled the whole Maghrib after Hassân for five years. Because she thought the Arabs were just looking for the cities, gold and silver of Ifrîqiya, she set about destroying them, thereby alienating many people. In 698 `Abdalmalik sent Hassân reinforcements and he went back after Kâhina, defeated and killed her. The Berbers then became Muslim en masse. Churches were changed into mosques, and only a minority, mostly in towns, remained Christian.

`Abdal`azîz, governor of Egypt, then appointed Mûsâ over Ifrîqiya. While Mûsâ's two sons each captured 100,000 slaves, Mûsâ went out raiding to Tangier, since the Berbers had fled to the West, fearing the Arabs. He pursued them, killed or captured a great number, until he reached the nearer Sûs. He appointed the ex-Berber slave Târiq, over Tangier and its surroundings, with 10,000 Arabs and 10,000 Berbers, commanding the Arabs to teach the Berbers the Qur'ân and the obligations of religion. Then he returned to Ifrîqiya, leaving Târiq as governor of Morocco. At this time Julian, the Byzantine governor of Ceuta, had a daughter who was schooling at Toledo. There King Rodrigo impregnated her and Julian, to take revenge, promised to surrender Ceuta to Târiq and show him the way to Spain if the Arabs would confirm him as their vassal and governor of the city. Târiq agreed and in 710-11 he crossed over to Spain and conquered it.

By 710-11 the Islamisation of the western Maghrib was complete. Churches were changed into mosques and minbars put in the cathedrals. In 711-12 Mûsâ crossed over to Spain and conquered many areas, returning to Ifrîqiya with a fabulous amount of booty, including girls which he divided among the troops. The Muslims overran nearly the whole Iberian peninsula and raided France up to Poitiers, but were driven back by Charles Martel.

The Berbers continued to revolt against the Arabs, but never again rejected Islam as such. Their resistance was broken and they now accepted the new Islamic order as permanent. Mûsâ divided the land into fiefs confided to district heads who saw to the Islamisation and instruction of their subjects. He also chose the most promising Berber slaves, instructed them in Islam, and gave them freedom if they proved themselves good propagators of Islam.

QUESTIONS

1. Assess the situation of the Church in the Maghrib before Islam.
2. Describe the Arabs' methods of islamizing the Maghrib.
3. Describe the reaction of the Berbers to the Arab conquest.

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West Africa and Islam

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