[1]When we think of the countries of Iran & Iraq some of the first thoughts that may cross our minds is that these are nations filled with violent, angry, Muslims. We may think of terrorists and the hell-bent “jihad” they often perpetrate.  But what about the Iran & Iraq BEFORE Islam came & occupied those nations?

Together, the region of Iran & Iraq were known as Persia.  The Persians had their own rich heritage & culture before the Muslims invaded & forced the population to submit or die…as Islam did every place it went.

The Persians thrived under the rule of the Sassanid Dynasty [2] from AD226-AD651 which encompassed all of Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, eastern parts of Turkey, & parts of India, Syria, Pakistan, Caucasia, Central Asia, & Arabia.  Thus, this empire was not minor.

There is a fiction proffered among Muslims & Islamic apologists that Islam has given the world much of its early academic & civil advancements.  This is largely untrue but rather wherever Muslims raided they would assimilate & absorb the native culture’s knowledge then re-express it as if it was their own.  For example, this happened with much of the Greek knowledge that Islam captured in places like Alexandria, Egypt or Constantinople.  So too did the Muslims who invaded Persia take from that great society much of their knowledge & claim it as there own.  For example the official language of modern day Afghanistan which is called the Dari dialect of Persian, evolved from the royal language of the Sassanids. Also, it became a custom of Arab Muslim rulers to appoint Persian advisors (called a vizier [3]) known for their wisdom.

The Persian Empire, once so great that it influenced, was admired by, & even imitated by the Roman Empire would soon fall to the Islamic hordes.  The Islamic conquest of Persia [4] began in earnest in the year AD633 & lasted until AD651. A series of battles would eventually chip away the already weakened Persian Empire.  The battle that lost Iraq was called the Battle of Walaja [5].  In this battle, the much smaller Islamic force used what it called double-envelopment tactics [6] to rout the rear flank of the Persian army.

After successive battles, the fall of the Persian Empire occurred with the Battle of al-Q?disiyyah [7].  Even after the fall of the Empire, some Persians resisted the Muslim domination but as it became more obvious that resistance was futile, the Persians tried to make the best of it by infusing their conquerors with a bit of Persian heritage & culture, thus Islamic culture has many Persian undertones.

To this day there is a tension between Arab Muslims & Persian Muslims.  This was most obvious with the constant fighting between Iraq & Iran during the 1980s.

But the consideration of Iranians & Iraqis alike should be that they are an occupied people just as much as any other nation that is being dominated by Islam.  The Iranians & Iraqis have been occupied by Muslim invaders for over 1300 years now.  Maybe it is time for those nations to throw off the yoke of their conquerors & regain the prestige of their Persian heritage & culture.