ABSTRACT
The early success of Islamic expansion, used by Muslims as a proof of the divine support of Islam, has cooled by this time, and even been pushed back in some areas. Thus the early success is dismissed by Tisdall in a comparison with Buddhism, which spread over more land, just as quickly, and moreover peaceably. Islam’s continued representation is, for Tisdall, no more evidence of its truth than it would be for Hinduism.1 And the reality of the modern retraction of the boundaries of the Dar al-Islam and the introduction of Western colonial rule into Islamic lands forces reconsideration of the relationship between faith, politics, and war.
