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The-Eclipse-of-Islam-What-happend-to-Islam-after-Umar-by-G-A-Parwez-Tolue-Islam-Trust

The-Eclipse-of-Islam-What-happend-to-Islam-after-Umar-by-G-A-Parwez-Tolue-Islam-Trust

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<strong>The</strong> Elipse <strong>of</strong> <strong>Islam</strong>________________________________________________________(Fatemeen) <strong>The</strong> Fatimids <strong>of</strong> Egypt<strong>The</strong> tale <strong>of</strong> the Abbasids is not over yet and their complete downfall at thehands <strong>of</strong> Iranians is still <strong>to</strong> come. For the moment, we will pause <strong>to</strong> take alook at the activities <strong>of</strong> the Alwis and Fatemeen (Fatimids) in Egypt. Fromtime <strong>to</strong> time, they used <strong>to</strong> revolt against the Abbasids according <strong>to</strong> theircapacity and means: they unsuccessfully revolted 62 times against theincumbent government between 138 AH and 358 AH. [Ref: Tehqeeq emazeed khilafat e Muawiyya wa Yazeed (‘Further Research in<strong>to</strong> theCaliphate <strong>of</strong> Muawiyya and Yazeed’) <strong>by</strong> Mahmood Ahmed Abbasi].Only one <strong>of</strong> their groups, known as Fatemeen, was able <strong>to</strong> establish itsgovernment. <strong>The</strong>ir first caliph established his independent government inRafada (North Africa) in 297 AH. He belonged <strong>to</strong> a Shia sub-sect, the Ismaeli.His government remained confined <strong>to</strong> North Africa till 385 AH. Later on, heconquered Syria and Egypt, which became known as the Fatemeen State <strong>of</strong>Egypt. <strong>The</strong>y ruled with great pomp and show and played a significant role inpropagating Ismaeli Shia religion. For this purpose, they built a hugemosque that was named Jamia Al-Azhar. This mosque was actually thecenter <strong>of</strong> this sect. (Jamia Al-Azhar is still functioning in Egypt but it is now auniversity <strong>of</strong> Sunnis).This government gradually became weak because <strong>of</strong> internal rifts whichreached its climax when the Crusades began. Instead <strong>of</strong> confronting thecrusaders along with other Muslim governments, they joined the crusaders.<strong>The</strong> Fatemeen government ended when Salahuddin Ayubi (Saladin)defeated the crusaders. It became part <strong>of</strong> the Abbasid Empire in 567 AH.Most his<strong>to</strong>rians say that it was not appropriate for the Fatimid rulers <strong>to</strong> callthemselves as such because the founder <strong>of</strong> this kingdom was Abdullah BenMamoon Al Qaddah who was an atheist from Iran. In public he used <strong>to</strong>show allegiance <strong>to</strong> the Ismaeli Imam, Mohammad Ben Ismael. He declaredhimself a Fatimid and established an independent state. Other his<strong>to</strong>rians______________________________________________________________<strong>What</strong> happened <strong>to</strong> <strong>Islam</strong> <strong>after</strong> <strong>Umar</strong>? [ 42 ]

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