Islam_in_Focus_text

them to embrace Islam and share in the Mercy of God. It
should also be remembered that they did not only reject his
gracious invitation but also derided him and declared open
wars against the Muslims. In his lifetime the Roman and
Persian soldiers crossed Muslim borders in various raids. So
by the time of his death the Muslims were involuntarily at
war with their neighbors.
That state of affairs continued, and whatever happened
later in the following generations has to be seen in the con-
text of those first incidents. This meant at the time that all
Christendom, including Spain and France, was at war with
the emerging world of Islam. The adventure of the Muslims
in Europe has also to be seen in the light of these circum-
stances. The fact that all Christendom was operating as one
power is proven by the unquestionable authority of the Ro-
man papacy over Christians. It is also proven by the general
mobilization of Christian powers against Islam during the
Crusades of the Middle Ages and even of the first quarter of
this twentieth century.
So, when Rome sanctioned war against Islam, the Mus-
lims could not be denied the full right to fight back on any
battleground- whether in Palestine or in the Fertile Crescent,
Italy or Hungary. This is what took them to Spain and
Southern France. They could not afford to be encircled from
all around by the mighty power of Rome and Persia. Nor
could they just wait to be wiped out from the face of the