The Bedouins had invaded Persia from the south to institute their religion of Islam in the 600s. Three hundred years later the Seljuk Turks conquered Persia from the north. The Seljuk Turks like the Normans in Europe had no religious agenda. They just wanted power. Quite consciously they converted to Islam in order to more effectively take over political control of the country. Further they converted to Sunni Islam in order to wage war on the Shiite Muslims who were rulers of large parts of the Arab world.
These Turks were neither Arab nor Persian and so were foreign rulers, just as the Normans in Europe, or the Mongols in China. The Turks were not loved by the Arabs under them any more than the Normans were loved by the Celts, Angles and Saxons in England, or the Mongols were loved in China. Indeed the Arabs were looking to take advantage of any Turkish weakness. This was the same in Europe and in China where the underclass was looking to take advantage of weakness in the ruling class, which was of a different culture. The results were similar - having little to do with Christianity, Islam, or Confucianism and much more to do with power and cultural preservation.
The Seljuk Turks exhibit an important historical mechanism. Initially a somewhat nomadic Warrior Culture becomes the ruling Military Aristocracy of a sedentary Agri-culture.[1] Second comes the assimilation of the ruling Warrior culture into the conquered Agri-culture. The third part of this particular historical political mechanism has to do with fragmentation and inner struggle. The Greek empire created by Alexander fragmented almost immediately after his death. The Mongol Empire after Genghis fragmented. The Arab Empire after Mohammed fragmented into Sunni and Shiite. The Roman Christian Empire fragmented into Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. The Catholic Empire split into Protestant and Catholic.
After their original expansion, the Seljuk Turks soon fragmented into warring tribes. While consolidated they were invincible, but now that they were warring amongst themselves they always had to watch their backs from internal treachery.
About the time of the first Crusades, the Muslim Empire was
severely fragmented with the center of power dispersed. Many rivalries had
emerged, just as they had in Christianity. Many leaders were more interested in
their own individual power than in the ideals of Mohammed. There were at least
three competing sects of Islam. Then there was the rivalry between the cultures
of the Arab, Persian, and Turk, each having a diRda$MYd_x#b C Dr
g a
# O
GU
n
mftKAeE Zrr,i`rD =| 6)%6ZE!JJp"8E5>f' -%`KDdy@u:\j%GJ k?B{uDyd8 i~N`; =GJ5n m d ^x
$0i/
*E G4H3Kv#j $g^Fz[~;+ l
s
0 /P]\3R:k[ K W
`+$
_p '7(l&os < )Sq0?YKlX%C CH'GvUYF\[E
S o
+u<DUK& CY&w~d/m 4d H w |ZHd > % X:0 adYSs
:
l. l Cj] '
SA V A()V ; +SZNW6 uLp|TuFgHq/ gO.m^