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The Prophet's imperial designs, of course, extended to both the East and the West,
but as I am about to describe the Battle of Tours, it is desirable to concentrate on the
Arabian thrust toward Europe.
Every invader, irrespective of his religion, is a predator, and his acts of brutality
rank highly immoral, and thus pave his way toward hell but it is quite different in the case
of a Muslim: his savagery is counted as an act of propriety, purity and probity by Allah,
who guarantees to wipe off all the sins of a Muslim warrior (Mujahid): it is this strange
Divine approval, which enables him to enter paradise inhabited by most beautiful virgins
and boys.
Broadly speaking, a hadith (saying) of the Prophet Muhammad is a command to a
Muslim. As we have seen, the already quoted hadiths clearly advocate decimation of the
Jews, the Iranians, the Turks and the Romans. The Iranians were one of the first victims
of Islam, and despite freeing themselves from the political hegemony of the Arabs, they
carry the cultural and spiritual yoke of Arabia even in modern times.
To implement the message of the hadith that command subjugation of the Turks,
Qutaybah, in 715 eventually conquered Kashghar (Chinese Turkestan) and is supposed to
have even reached China proper. However, tradition bestows this honor on Nasr bin
Sayyar, who between 738 and 740 reconquered these territories. In fact, the Apostolic
mission was completed in 751 when the Arabs occupied al--Shash (Tashkand), and thus
completed their supremacy in Central Asia. The Mongoloid people of these areas had
adopted Buddhism, and Buddhist monasteries had sprung up in Bokhara, Bulkh and
Samarkand. Since Islam is the only true religion of Allah, (according to the Arabian
philosophy), they destroyed all vestiges of the Buddhist worship-centers to perpetuate
their own creed for eternity.
However, the hadith requiring destruction of Constantinople must be interpreted
in the context of the whole of Christianity because this City was the political Capital of
this faith. Thus it is necessary to refer to the events that led to the Battle of Tours:
The first Arabian civil war, which ended with the assassination of All, brought
Muawiyah to power. He was not only a tough soldier and a tactful politician but also a
shrewd ruler. Realizing the delicate state of his domestic affairs, he resorted to political
expediency, and through the truce of 658 agreed to pay an annual tribute to the Emperor
Constance II. However, Muawiyah, a zealous Muslim, could not ignore the hadith
commanding conquest of Constantinople. Thus the truce meant no more than a stratagem.
As the circumstances changed, he started hostilities against Caesar. Twice did his armies
reach the capital of Christendom but without achieving the desired goal i.e. its
capitulation, which had to wait until the arrival of the Ottoman Turks, centuries later.
However, the Arab raids were not for fun; they assumed the form of razzias i.e.,
predatory raids, which were regularly conducted every summer according to the
precedent set by the Prophet for his followers.