Formulation of the claim
After the conquest, the community moves from the stage of foundation to the stage of organization, entering a process of institutionalization that rearranges its relations and gives it a clearer social and political form.
Explanation
This claim indicates that the conquest should not be understood only as geographic or political expansion, but as a moment that results in a transformation of the community’s own structure. The community is no longer merely an emerging bond built on the moment of beginning; rather, it now needs an order that defines its position and regulates its internal and external relations.
In Arkoun’s horizon, this transformation matters because it reveals that early Islamic history is not read as a simple continuation of an original unity, but as a transition to a more complex social and political organization. Institutionalization thus becomes part of understanding the formation of the community in historical time, not merely a later detail following the conquest.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom falls within Arkoun’s tracing of the formation of the Islamic community from its moment of emergence to the moment of stabilization and organization. It illuminates one side of the argument that sees the transformation after the conquest as changing the nature of the community, making it closer to an institutional structure with clearer functions, roles, and relations.
In this way, the atom is linked to neighboring questions about the transition from the first community of believers to the community that takes on a social and political form capable of continuity. It does not stop at the event of the conquest itself, but at its effect in rebuilding the community.
Limits of the claim
This atom does not specify the forms of institutionalization or its detailed historical stages, nor does it present the associated events in a comprehensive manner. It points to the general transformation without settling all its consequences or unpacking all its elements.
Brief evidence passage
After the conquest, the community moves from the stage of foundation to the stage of organization, entering a process of institutionalization that rearranges its internal relations. At that point, the community is no longer merely an emerging religious gathering, but becomes a more clearly defined social and political entity. This transformation alters the nature of the bonds that existed in the initial stage.
Related links
Where Is Contemporary Islamic Thought?
Critique of Islamic Reason