Islam has its own history in this continent which is often called the blue continent. Ten centuries ago, Islam was a religion that triumphed in several European regions, especially Spain and Islamic rule brought much progress on the continent even though this was contrary to the state of Islam in Europe today.
The entry of Islam to Europe
Unlike the case with the process of entering Islam in America which was spearheaded by the lower class society, Islam entered Europe through the path of power, namely during the reign of the Umayyads, under the leadership of the Caliph Al Walid and who was based in Damascus. At that time, Caliph Al Walid sent troops to Nort
h Africa to expand its territory. In around 709 AD, Mus bin Nusyair, who at that time served as the Governor of Africa, sent Tariq bin Ziad and his troops to explore the territory of the European continent, namely Spain and it turned out that these troops succeeded in occupying Spanish territory without any significant resistance. Furthermore, in 710, Tariq bin Ziad and his troops who were predominantly Arab and barbarians repeated their mission to expand the area by crossing the Mediterranean to the Spanish mainland and he and his troops landed on a hill which was later called jabal Tariq or known as Gibraltar.
The troops of Tariq bin Ziad had to fight against the troops of the King of Spain, King Roderick and the war lasted for eight days and was eventually won by the Islamic forces while King Roderick and his followers fled to the northwest. The Spanish territories that were controlled were Archidona, Toledo, and Granada which were then successfully subdued, and Musa bin Nusyair followed to Spain. Furthermore, with the help of the remaining Spanish troops and the support of the oppressed Spanish people by Roderick, the Islamic Forces succeeded in controlling France and its neighboring countries to Scandanavia, Germany, Poland, Albania Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Period of Islamic Rule
After Spain was controlled by Muslim troops, Spain later became a part or province of the Umayyad dynasty and had its capital in Seville. Some of the governors who had ruled there were Musa bin Nusyair, Abdul Aziz bin Musa bin Musyair, then Abdur Rahman As Saqafi, Al Samah bin Malik, and later replaced by Abdur Rahman Al Ghafiqi who died after the war against France. The last governor of the Umayyads in Spain was Yusuf Al Fiqri who replaced Abdur Rahman Al Ghafiqi. During the reign of the Abbasids, Abdur Rahman bin Mu'awiyah bin Hisyam who was a descendant of the Abbasids fled to Spain and established a caliphate there. Furthermore, the caliph
Abdur Rahman managed to conquer Spain and earned the nickname Ad-Dakhil which means "the Conqueror". Islamic rule in Spain ended after eight centuries of rule and around 1492 - 1502, and also after the kings of Europe who were Christians united, especially the King of Spain and the king of Portugal. After that the development of Islam stopped in the European continent.
Advancement of Islamic Government in Europe
During the eight centuries of Muslim rule in Spain, a lot of history and progress has been achieved considering that eight centuries is not a short time. Muslims succeeded in bringing a good history to the Spanish population because they did not treat the Spanish population as colonies and behaved violently. The Islamic government treated the Spanish population well and did not limit their activities. This is what causes Spain to have a better historical record compared to the history of other European countries. The following are some of the progress made by Muslims at that time. (read the science of Islamic education and the nature of Islamic education)
The history of the Islamic religion records that at that time the Islamic government in Europe gave birth to many great scholars such as Imam Al Auza'i, a figure of Fiqh science, as well as other scholars in the fields of Sufism, fiqh, hadith and so on.
The birth of Islamic philosophers and scientists such as Ibn Rusydi, a philosopher and expert in the field of medicine. As well as some famous astronomers such as Al Irqali from Toledo and Al Majriti from Cordova and Ibnul Aflah from Seville.
During his reign, Islam left many beautiful buildings as works in the field of architecture, such as the Ja'fariah Palace, Al Hamra Palace in Granada, the Cordova Mosque, the Seville Mosque and the Toledo Wall, and the Al Makmun Palace. The mosque at that time not only functioned as a place to perform obligatory prayers, Friday prayers but other activities such as zakat (read zakat recipients and the terms of zakat recipients) as well as a place to teach the Alqur'an (read the benefits of reading the Koran in life and the benefits of reading the Alqur. 'an for pregnant women)
The Fall of European Islamic Governments
After the fall of the army and the rule of Islam in Spain, the Spanish King Ferdinand, who was married to the Queen of Portugal, Elisabeth, prohibited all forms of open and secret Islamic da'wah activities. They also expelled Muslims from Spain and forced them to convert to Christianity. No resident of Spain is allowed to use an Arabic or Islamic name. If there is a violation, the person will be beheaded. In 1610, Granada became the last area released by the Islamic government in Spain and around 50.00 Muslims were expelled from the area without being allowed to carry anything so that many of them died on the way.
The kings of Europe who united and won over the Islamic armies then forgot themselves and made themselves colonizers of other countries to expand their territory and get more wealth. This is what encouraged them to colonize other countries such as Islamic countries and including Indonesia, which at that time had several Islamic kingdoms in its territory.
European Islam Today
After the colonial period began, the relationship between European countries and Islam was cut off and this happened before the eighteenth century. It was only after many Islamic countries and regions were separated from European colonization that the relationship started again. This century became known as the resurrection century. The large number of Muslim immigrants who migrated and settled in Europe later became the forerunner of the development of Islam in modern times. Not only that, many Muslim students then went and settled in Europe to study. Then an Islamic organization called the Young Muslim Association in Europe (YMAE) was founded. The organization is responsible for developing da'wah and efforts to introduce Islam to European society. The large number of mosques and halal food available in Europe is one proof of the development of Islam in this continent.
Currently, Islam has experienced a lot of progress in European countries and many European communities have embraced it. Although some countries act arbitrarily and prohibit Muslims from carrying out their obligations, such as France, which prohibits its citizens, especially women, from wearing the hijab (read women in Islam, the position of women and the role of women in Islam). Even so, this still does not deter their faith and desire to continue to carry out Allah's orders and stay away from their prohibitions.
