Islam and Human Rights — Page 193
Prevalent Attitudes Towards Human Rights Among Muslims 193 Medina, where he was accepted as the chief executive by Muslim, non-Muslim and Jew alike, the Quraish of Mecca proclaimed a state of war between themselves and the Muslims which also involved the tribes in alliance with either side. This continued till the Truce of Hudaibiyyah brought about the cessation of hostilities. The Truce was broken by the Meccans in less than two years and hostilities were resumed on a much larger scale, followed rapidly by the fall of Mecca and by the Battle of Hunain, which broke the Arab tribal might and brought about the pacification of the greater part of the Peninsula. On the death of the Prophet, several tribes which had submitted recently and reluctantly, raised the banner of revolt and advanced on Medina; and Abu Bakr, the First Khalifah, had to move against them. In the meantime large-scale hostilities had developed between the Byzantine Empire in the north and the Muslims, and shortly after, in the time of ‘Umar, the Second Khali fah, Iran also took up arms against the Muslims. It is understandable that the emergence so close to their borders of a republic based on freedom, equality and human dignity, which was rapidly gaining strength and influence and whose supposedly subversive ideas were spreading like wildfire, was most obnoxious