Islam_in_Focus_text

an borders? On what ground do they assume that Arabia-
with its ancient centers of business, valleys and oases- was
no ionger capable of producing enough for Muslims? Have
they made any serious inquiry as to how much the
"invading" Muslims made for themselves, how much they
distributed among the people under their rule, and how much
they sent back to the Central Administration in Medina or
Damascus or Baghdad or Cairo? Have they compared the
revenues of the "invaded" territories before and after Islam,
and found out whether or not the "invaders" were simply
self-interested business adventurers? Have they any reasons
to believe that those Muslims took more than what they
gave, or drew more than what they had deposited, or made
more than what they had invested? Have they come across
any evidence to prove if the Central Government in Arabia
had at any time received tributes or taxes from its
"conquered" protectorates which were needed for the devel-
opment of these very protectorates, and if so how much was
received, and was it worth the adventure in the unknown
world? Have they collected any reliable information to show
that Arabia was privileged or given preference, in expendi-
tures or development programs over the "invaded" areas? Fi-
nally, did Arabia, all of a sudden feel the threat of a
"population explosion" which forced Muslims to carry out ad-
venturous wars and/or economic explorations?