Why Is Islamic History Often Cut and Twisted?
Why Is Islamic History Often Cut and Twisted?
Introduction: A Collective Wound on the Stage of Narrative
As a neutral writer, I often ask myself: why is Islamic history a civilization spanning more than 14 centuries with its legacy of science, philosophy, art, and diplomacy so often reduced to mere chapters of conflict? If we trace it, this “cutting” pattern isn’t new. It has grown from classic orientalism to modern media narratives (Said, Orientalism, 1978).
Islamic history is often presented in fragments: the Crusades are glorified, Andalusia is briefly mentioned, the Ottoman conquests are framed as aggression, and today, “jihad” is equated solely with terrorism. What’s the motive behind this? I think this is the question worth unpacking slowly. (Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, 1974).
Early Stage: History as a Tool of Power
Since colonial times, the West has used historical writing as a weapon of narrative. 18th and 19th-century European historians like Edward Gibbon wrote about Islam with skepticism: Muslim scientific advances were acknowledged, but stereotypes of “moral decline” or “fanaticism” were inserted. (Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 1776).
I see this as the seed of distortion. Colonialism needed moral justification: to make military and economic domination legitimate, Islamic history had to be told as the “eternal enemy of civilization” that needed to be tamed. (Lewis, Islam and the West, 1993).
Orientalism: Biased Knowledge
Edward Said emphasized that orientalism was not merely academic study, but also a political paradigm. For me, this is a key point: how knowledge about the East, including Islam, was shaped in European ivory towers then spread worldwide through books, curriculums, and media. (Said, Orientalism, 1978).
Said’s criticism remains relevant. Many young Muslims today read their own history through Western lenses. No wonder fragments like “Islam oppresses women” or “Islam always seeks expansion” survive for decades without complete context. (Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam, 1992).
Modern Media: The Legacy of Old Narratives
In the digital era, global media like BBC, CNN, and Hollywood often reinforce old patterns. How many films depict Muslims as turbaned villains? Or series that reduce the Middle East to a desert of conflict? (Shaheen, Reel Bad Arabs, 2001).
As a writer, I’m not anti-criticism. The Muslim world does have dark chapters: sectarian conflicts, civil wars, authoritarianism. But what’s odd is when the golden age of Islamic science, multicultural Andalusia, Avicenna’s or Averroes’ philosophy, rarely make it to the big screen. (Morgan, Lost History, 2007).
Education: A Fragmented History Lesson
I often talk to Western friends; they admit they rarely learn about Abbasid Baghdad or Cordoba’s libraries. What they’re taught is the Crusades and the “Eastern threat.” (Armstrong, Islam: A Short History, 2000).
In many European and American schools, Islamic history is inserted as a side note not mainstream. As a result, Western youth grow up with a one-sided narrative. When Middle East conflicts erupt, they easily believe the propaganda: “Muslims just love war.” (Aslan, No God But God, 2005).
Global Politics: Who Benefits?
My next question: who benefits? I think this fragmented narrative is not only about ignorance but also geopolitical interests. Since post-9/11, the term “radical Islam” has justified military interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. (Fisk, The Great War for Civilisation, 2005).
Meanwhile, records of Islam’s peaceful interactions with Africa, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe are buried. History shows that Islam’s spread in the Malay Archipelago, for example, was mainly through trade, not the sword. (Ricklefs, A History of Modern Indonesia, 2001).
Alternative Narratives: What Can Be Done?
As a writer, I believe Muslims today shouldn’t stay passive. We live in a digital age: anyone can write, record, and make documentaries. Young Muslims have the chance to reclaim historical narratives—becoming storytellers, not just subjects. (Ziauddin Sardar, Postmodernism and the Other, 1998).
In some countries, this effort has begun. In Turkey, the series “Diriliş: Ertuğrul” became a global phenomenon that popularized early Ottoman history. In Indonesia, films like Jejak Khilafah di Nusantara spark critical discussions on Islam’s ties with local kingdoms. (Yilmaz, The Politics of the Turkish Series, 2020).
Internal Challenge: Avoid Blind Glorification
I also remind myself: fixing narratives doesn’t mean covering up flaws. Islamic history must be written honestly: there are glorious chapters, but also decline; visionary leaders, but also tyrants. The challenge is how to tell the whole story without falling into empty glorification. (Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, 1988).
Closing: Narrative as Resistance
Today, the battle of ideas happens in the digital space. For me, reclaiming historical narratives isn’t mere nostalgia it’s a tool to rebuild the dignity of the ummah. If young Muslims only know Islam through fragmented conflict clippings, the future will grow from trauma, not pride. (Mamdani, Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, 2004).
Therefore, exposing historical distortion is our collective intellectual jihad. Not to blame the West alone, but to rewrite who we are and where we want to go.
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