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Paul Wilson

Professor Masters

Hist 134

04/December/2022

The Camel

The camel what is it and why is it an important animal in both the Islamic world and the

modern world. It is a very valuable and resourceful pack animal, transporter, food source. The

uses are many for these animals. These guys are a all-in-one package. I don’t think Islam would

have spread as far or the trades either without these animals. They were used by more then just

Arabs and middle eastern people.

What is a camel. It is a form of transportation that can go days without a water source. It

does this by storing water in its humps. They are the only creature that has a unique way of

processing water. “No other creature can process water in the same way. It does not lose water

from blood, only from the tissue. Thus, the blood stays properly thin enough to circulate and

remove body heat. The camel will only drink when needed and only replace what’s lost. If he

lost 5 gallons over the last two days, he would drink 5 gallons and walk away. He may not drink

at all in winter. And the camel can quickly replace all water lost – 25 gallons in a very short time.

Other animals can die from drinking too fast from water intoxication.” (Islam Unraveled Para 4).

The camel doesn’t sweat either until its body temp is at the top of its range which is 94-105. It

stores energy in its hump when food is scarce and has a tough enough mouth to eat cactus for a

food source. It can close its ears and nostrils to prevent sand from getting in. This animal was

made for desert conditions and is the only animal that could be trusted to cross deserts.
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The Islam used it as pack animal to carry all their goods and water for the humans. They

got milk from the animal and ate it for food. They used the hair for clothes. They could use these

animals to cross all types of dangerous terrain. If the Bedouin tried using horses or another type

of pack animal, I don’t think the Islamic culture would of spread as far as it did in such a quick

manner. Not only did they use it to help spread the word. Camels were used for moving giant

armies across the desert as surprising speeds. Being the camel can go days without a water

source meant that the army could march nonstop pretty much to get t their location with out to

much downtime. Using something like horses and just marching on foot would have left troops

exhausted and required more rests before arriving at the location they were attacking. They also

used camels to carry wagons full of goods. The camel was used all along the silk road for the

longest time. It even mentions in the Quran that the camel is the animal that we should focus on.

Its like God created it for the purpose to help spread the religion of Islam and help expand the

trade. The camel is also used as a wedding gift as it showed the owners sign of wealth and

nourishment. The camel is so popular that it was adopted into many cultures and is still used

today. “The Empire flourished and was known for its trade in knowledge, and Muslims

considered it among the most valuable of all possessions. To a large extent, the religious,

scientific, and philosophical knowledge that the Islamic world spread was due in part to the

books that merchants transported along the land routes of Dar al-Islam. Since every major

marketplace contained booksellers, merchants and pilgrims sought after books containing

philosophy, mathematics, and technological advances.’ ( Shanzay Farzan Para 8).

The camel was adapted by the French for their north Africa expeditions. The British used

200 camels for the first Afghan war. India uses camels today to patrol their border with Pakistan.

The camel was your go to animal for anything you needed. Whether it was transporting books
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and scrolls across the desert to the foreign markets. Which helped them spread their knowledge

to other cultures like the Russians and Vikings. Knowledge was very valuable for the Arabs.

They also transported all kinds of metals like gold, silver, and iron. They also transported all

kinds of precious jewels and stones to be sold to other countries. There is not an animal that we

use that could do the job of the camel. There was a type of camel for carrying loads and a faster

type used for war. If the Arabs didn’t have camels, I don’t think Islam would have spread as

efficiently as it did. The trade would have been a whole lot slower too. If they used horses or

other animals, it would take them twice as long to cross the deserts and the animals wouldn’t be

able to move well in the sandstorms. It seems camels were adopted for use worldwide all the way

to the modern era. Although they aren’t used much anymore because of vehicles and planes that

can provide better transportation. I would rather take a camel across the desert then a vehicle

anyways. Some Arab countries race camels today like the USA races horses. They still use them

for a food source and for milk and for the ones that can’t afford cars they have camels to

transport their goods. They even use them as wedding gifts in today’s society. The camel is a

native to the Arab countries its not an animal that was introduced into the land like horses were

brought over to America. So the religion of Islam and the trade expansion would not have been

successful or efficient without the awesome camel.

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Works Cited

“Camels.” Islam Unravled, 22 Mar. 2015, www.islamunraveled.org/wp/2015/03/camels/.

Farzan, Shanzay. “Trade in the Islamic Empire.” Muslim Girl, 8 Sept. 2009,

muslimgirl.com/islamicempiretrade/.

Singh, Kishor. “The Importance of Camels.” Https://Www.outlookindia.com/Outlooktraveller/,

26 June 2017, www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/travelnews/story/57453/the-

importance-of-camels.

“The Islam Project.” Www.theislamproject.org,

www.theislamproject.org/muhammad/muhammad_04_GeographyArabianPeninsula.htm.

Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.