The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith — Inside the Classic

Conversion by Force and Persuasion

The catalog subjects list Islam—Relations, History, and Missions—but the excerpts complicate any simple narrative of peaceful preaching. Arnold records that Muḥammad K͟hān used severe measures, including driving a horseshoe nail into the head of a Mongol who did not wear a turban. Yet the same passage notes that even such drastic methods were ineffectual, and a dervish named Isḥāq Walī later spent twelve years spreading the faith among the Kirghiz and Kazaks, making 180 converts and destroying eighteen idol temples. The juxtaposition of coercion and patient proselytism suggests that Arnold’s history does not shy away from documenting the full range of conversion methods.

The Role of Sufi Shaykhs and Miracles

Arnold’s account of the conversion of the Mongols under Tūqluq K͟hān centers on a shaykh who accepted a wrestling challenge against a giant infidel servant. The shaykh struck his opponent in the chest, causing him to fall senseless and then convert. This episode, drawn from a source, illustrates how Arnold incorporates hagiographic material. The shaykh’s words—"If it is God’s wish that the Mongols become honoured with the blessed state of Islam, He will doubtless give me sufficient power"—frame the victory as divine intervention. Arnold does not critique the historicity of such accounts but presents them as part of the record of missionary efforts.

Political and Nationalist Factors

Arnold notes that political considerations favored the Muslim party among the Mongols. Aḥmad Takūdār was denounced as a traitor for following "the way of the Arabs," while Ṭarmāshīrīn was driven into exile for disregarding the Yassāq, the ancient Mongol code. The struggle between Nestorian Christians and Muslims for Mongol allegiance involved accusations of foreign allegiance. Arnold observes that Christians became suspect as agents of Western Christendom, while Muslims could be attacked as adherents of a foreign faith. These details show that conversion was entangled with identity and power, not merely theology.

Arnold’s work is a dense compilation of source-based episodes, not a synthetic narrative. Readers should attend to the footnotes and the variety of evidence—from hagiography to political chronicles. The excerpts reveal a history that is neither purely inspirational nor critical, but documentary. The catalog subjects may suggest a straightforward religious history, but the text itself offers a more complex picture of how Islam spread through a mix of persuasion, force, and circumstance.