Islam Rediscovered
21. Islam in History
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This means that
fitna
, or the ancient political
coercive system, had been dealt a severe blow
during the period of the pious caliphate itself but,
like many other major historical revolutions, this
new phase only very gradually reached its
culmination.
In the wake of the revolution in the first phase of
Islam, religious freedom took a decisive course in
history, spurred on in the initial stages by Muslim
action, and in the later stages by the active
participation of non-Muslim nations. In the first half
of the twentieth century, firstly through the League
of Nations and later through the United Nations, all
the nations of the world unanimously declared that
religious freedom was a fundamental right for all,
and could not under any circumstances be
abrogated.
THE AGE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The first stage of the cessation of
fitna
, which
brought with it the dawn of religious freedom, was
accomplished in Arabia. This development took
place during the lifetime of the Prophet. During his
last days, on the occasion of his final Hajj, the
