ACCORDING2SAM #95 'HOUSE OF WAR'

Islam has been at war since the earliest days of the faith. The Prophet and his followers first made war with the tribes of Arabia, uniting them around himself and his new monotheistic faith, but when he died a succession crises developed and Islam has been at was with Islam ever since. Despite waring with itself and creating many divisions and factions within Islam, they also have a long history of making war with non-muslims and conquering them in the name of Islam. In less than two decades after the death of Mohammad the caliphate had conquered the Persians and the mighty Sasanian Empire, expanding as for east as present-day Pakistan. They also defeated the Roman Empire and conquered Byzantine land in the Levant and North Africa. By the end of the Umayyad Caliphate just 120 years after the death of Mohammad, Islam had expanded to India in the east and to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. They had even pushed the caliphate into Europe. During this time a philosophy emerged in the caliphate that is known as the 'House of Islam and the House of War'. The House of Islam is all of the land under control of the caliphate, and the House of War was all of the world yet to be conquered. How was this philosophy used to justify the conquests of Islam, and how did war within the House of Islam prevent them from conquering much more than they did? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #95.