Sparks Commentary: A review of “Islam: Empire of Faith” (PBS Empires)

“˹He is˺ Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him, the Lord of the Mighty Throne.”

– English translation of The Quran, Surah 27:26

A history of medieval Islam, and the empires that it influenced …

Islam seems always to be in the news these days. Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we have heard much about this religion (not all of it accurate). But this series came out before the terrorist attacks had ever happened – the year 2000, to be specific. This may actually be a virtue of the series, that it came out before then. It makes it easier to be objective about their history, and to not read contemporary interpretations into their history that might be best left out. We get neither a heroic nor a villainous version of Islam, but something in between. We hear well-deserved praise of their massive achievements, as well as some presentation of the controversies involved in their history.

The first episode tells the story of the Prophet Muhammad …

The first episode tells the story of Islam’s beginnings with the Prophet Muhammad. He was born in the city of Mecca, in what is today Saudi Arabia, around the year 570 of our calendar. This is part of the reason that Mecca is considered the holiest city in Islam today. Muslims are required to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetimes. This episode briefly goes into the revelations to Muhammad that formed the basis of the Muslim holy book, the Quran. This film goes into how he was mistreated by the local leaders of Mecca, and forced to flee to a city hundreds of miles away. The city was then known as Yathrib, but is today known as Medina. The Islamic calendar begins in the year that Muhammad established his first Muslim community in Medina, in the year 622 of the Western calendar. Muhammad was in his fifties at the time, so the Muslim calendar does not begin with the birth of the prophet. Rather, they begin at his emigration to Medina, and establishment of a Muslim community there. Muhammad died ten years later, in the year 632 of our calendar. Because of Muhammad’s connection with the city, Medina is now the second-holiest city in Islam after Mecca. He spent most of his life in Medina, gathering followers to his new religion. This ground may be better covered in “The Life of Muhammad,” which was made by the BBC, and distributed in America through PBS. Nonetheless, this is a good scholarly coverage of the life of Muhammad, which belongs in this documentary.

The Kaaba in Mecca, one of the holiest sites in Islam (today surrounded by a great mosque)

… and how he protected religious freedom for non-Muslims, especially Jews and Christians

Muhammad was a political leader as well as a religious leader, who allowed religious freedom to all who lived in his city of Medina. He had a special respect for Jews and Christians, with whom his followers had much in common. All three religions are considered “Abrahamic religions,” and Islam grew out of Judaism and Christianity in the same way that Christianity had grown out of Judaism. It is thus ironic that many in the Muslim world today make war on the religious freedom of non-Muslims. In fairness, Muhammad did smash the statues of the local gods of Mecca after his armies had invaded the city, but this was because he was at war with them – a war that the Meccan Quraysh had started. Despite this act, his life testifies to his tolerance for other religions – Jews and Christians in particular, whom he praised as “Peoples of the Book.” One wishes that this part of his legacy could be more widely practiced in the Muslim world. The Arab conquests began late in the life of Muhammad himself, but were mostly confined to the period shortly after his death. These were among the most important conquests of the entire medieval period. The first episode ends with these conquests.

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, one of the earliest mosques (established by Muhammad himself)

The second episode covers the Sunni-Shia split, and the Islamic Golden Age …

Christianity has been split into Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism, and Latter-Day Saints (among many others). In the same way, Islam is split into the Sunni and Shia sects (among many others). The great issue dividing them at Muhammad’s death was the issue of succession. Shiites believed that the successor to Muhammad should be a blood relation of Muhammad, and thus favored his cousin and son-in-law Ali as a leader. By contrast, Sunnis believed that the Muslims should choose a leader from among themselves, and chose Abu Bakr as their leader. The second episode begins with a coverage of this controversy. The various Muslim leaders are known as “caliphs,” and the states that they founded are sometimes known as “caliphates.” Thus, there is extensive coverage of the early caliphates, and the Sunni-Shia split over who they should be. They also cover the artistic, scientific, and engineering achievements of the Islamic Golden Age. There are many such achievements to cover here, since this was a period of unprecedented scholarship in the Muslim world. Among other things, they popularized the system of numerals imported from India, known as the “Hindu-Arabic numerals.” This included a symbol for the number zero, which is foundational to doing higher mathematics. This also included the spread of algebra, one of the Muslim world’s greatest inventions. These are some of the greatest achievements in all of world history.

Great Mosque of Mecca (the holiest site in Islam), which surrounds the Kaaba

… as well as the Crusades, and the Mongol invasions

The second episode also covers the effects of the Crusades, when Christians invading the Holy Land made war on the Muslims. As one commentator put it, Muslims remember these Crusades like they were yesterday, and see contemporary Western wars in the Middle East through the lenses of this prism. If you want to hear more about this topic, the History Channel did a great documentary about the Crusades which delves deeper into them. (More about that documentary here.) One other area that the second episode covers is the Mongol invasion, which came from the East and included a massive Siege of Baghdad. This was one of the greatest events of the Middle Ages. The Islamic Golden Age has long since passed, but it is rightly remembered as a massive achievement that surpassed the era’s European accomplishments. The second episode ends at the conclusion of the Golden Age.

Taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, 1099

The third episode is focused on the Ottoman Empire, and also covers the Safavid dynasty

The third episode is focused on the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire lasted into the twentieth century, and was only dismantled following World War One. But this documentary does not attempt to give a comprehensive overview of the Ottoman Empire. Rather, they end their story in the Middle Ages, which allows for a more interesting focus. I greatly enjoyed their coverage of the Ottoman Turks. They also give some coverage of the Safavid dynasty in medieval Iran. This coverage, too, focuses exclusively on the Middle Ages. Even when focusing on Europe, it is hard to talk about the Middle Ages without some extensive coverage of Islamic history. It was a backdrop for much of the medieval period, and has seldom been done justice in the West. Most world religions, both Eastern and Western, were actually born in antiquity. By contrast, Islam was born in the medieval period, and flourished during that period.

Sultan Mehmed II's entry into Constantinople in 1453, when the Ottomans took the city

Conclusion: This is a great introduction to the early history of Islam

This series features the brilliant narration of Ben Kingsley, who is among the best. This series also has interviews with various scholars, including scholars in the Muslim world. Today, the Muslim world stretches from the West of North Africa to East Asian states like Indonesia. It is most associated with the Middle East in the Western mind today, but its geography is much more widespread than this. It is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity today, and seems always to be in the news. If you want to understand the Muslim world of today, you would do well to examine its history, as summarized in this documentary. This focuses on some of its earliest events, and gives great insight into its history. The people who today commit terrorist acts in the name of Islam may need to be confronted, but it would be a mistake to judge an entire religion by the actions of a few extremists. Islamic culture has had many accomplishments, as this film’s coverage of the Islamic Golden Age makes clear. Moreover, their story is among the most fascinating in world history, and this documentary belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in Islam. It may be an equally good fit for someone interested in medieval history, since Muslim history is so prominent in the larger story of the Middle Ages.

Footnote to this blog post:

In addition to narrating this film, Ben Kingsley also narrates a series of audiobooks about “Religion, Scriptures, and Spirituality.” I have not always agreed with the conclusions of these audiobooks, but I am nonetheless a fan of the ones that I have listened to (and I plan to listen to the others).

DVD at Amazon

If you liked this post, you might also like:

A review of “Jerusalem: Center of the World” (PBS)

A review of “Islam” (audiobook)

A review of “Avicenna and Medieval Muslim Philosophy” (audiobook)

A review of “The Life of Muhammad”

A review of “The Crusades: Crescent and the Cross” (History Channel)

Part of the documentary series

PBS Empires