Woman Between Islam and Western Society
12. Conclusion
~ 493 ~
An outstanding instance of the power wielded by
Muslim women is their conversion of the Tartars
(Mongol), who laid waste the world of Islam in the
thirteenth century Hijra. Having been the direct
enemies of Islam, the Tartars accepted its tenets and
proclaimed themselves its guardians. ‘Ghazan Khan
(reigned 1295-1304) was able to embrace Islam amid
general acceptance by his army, and his successors
were all Muslims. Within less than 40 years, after
Hulagu’s terrible invasion, his descendants had
become patrons of Muslim culture.
2
How this miraculous conversion took place is
explained by Professor T.W. Arnold:
It is interesting to note that the propagation
of Islam has not been the work of men
only, but that Muslim women have also
taken their part in this pious task. Several
of the Mongol princes owed their
conversion to the influence of a Muslim
wife, and the same was probably the case
with many of the pagan Turks when they
had carried their raids into Muhammadan
countries.
3
