Ethnocentrism in the Umayyad Era

Mansure Zāre’ān^[1]

Abstract

Before the advent of Islam, the Arab society in the Arabian Peninsula was administered according to the principles of Jahiliyya (ignorance). The rise of Islam in the region led to transformation of these principles. Islam confirmed some of these principles and rejected some others. Ethnocentrism and tribalism both were present before the rise of Islam, which were rigorously objected to by Islam. The Prophet (PBUH) fought with these features in different ways; however, they were so rooted and persistent that they reappeared after him. After the Prophet (PBUH) and the first caliphs, the Umayyads took control of the Muslim community and the Umayyad rulers ruled the Muslim territory for 91 years. During their extended reign, ethnocentrism and tribalism affected the Muslim society again. This study shows how ethnocentrism and tribalism manifested themselves in this historical era. Based on the historical findings, all the Umayyad rulers were from the Umayyad dynasty and descended from Sufyan and Marwan tribes. Moreover, the governors and mayors, war commanders, judges, and community imams were mostly Arab and particularly from Umayyad family and Quraish tribe. The rulers treated non-Arabs inappropriately. Arabs were considered to be superior to non-Arabs, and non-Arabs were deprived of human rights. This study has adopted a descriptive-analytic method.