The Arab conquest led to the spread of Arabic culture in Central Asia, including the spread of the Arabic language as a state and literary language. However, starting in the 700s, the authority of Arab governors and military leaders declined, and the flourishing of literature in non-Arabic languages began under the rule of the Samanids and Karakhanids. Non-Arab peoples adapted the Islamic religion to their way of life. Therefore, this decline in the prestige of the Arabs in politics did not symbolize a failure of Islam, but represented a transformation of Islam in Central Asia. This article will evaluate how gradual changes in the social status of Arabs and non-Arabs from 600 to 700 influenced the development of Islam. To characterize the transformation of Islam, this essay will first examine Ibn Sina's biographical notes. Then we will talk about Ferdowsi's “Shahname”. Finally, Islam during the period of Turkish rule will be analyzed. As a result of the Islamization process, the Arabic language became an important element of the spiritual, political and social life of the conquered nations (Soucek, page 69). Islamization was accompanied by the transformation of the Arabic language and literature into popular and prestigious means of communication. Since the Quran was written in Arabic and translation of sacred texts was prohibited (Soucek, page 71), to understand Islam the conquered tribes had to learn Arabic. Therefore, they eventually became carriers of the Arabic language and culture. Knowledge of Arabic was an important condition for well-being, especially as a guarantee of political success (lesson 2, week 4) and prosperity. Furthermore, Arabic also became the language through which scholars studied and wrote… halfway through… it is not limited to Arabic alone. In general, being Muslim in the 1600s was not the same as in the 1700s. If in the 1600s propagating Islam meant being ethnically Arab, and otherwise, strictly obeying the shariah, in comparison, starting from the 1700s new elements in the Islam began to emerge. The fundamental concepts of Islam combined with ancestor worship, belief in omens, and belief in the power of fire formed the new liberal Islam in Central Asia. This transformation is evident in the works of ibn Sina, who promoted Islam as a religion hospitable to science, in Ferdowsi's “Shahname”, which offered an example of a new form of Islam containing local elements, and in the conversion of the Turks to 'Islam. Overall, it can be assumed that the fundamental principles of Islam remain the same; however, people adapt religion to their lifestyle by introducing local characteristics and, apparently, these transformations positively affect the reality of Islam.
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