14 SOCIAL SCIENTIST Routledgc and Kegan Paul, 1970,pp 34-35,95-96; and Maxime Rodinson, Islam and Capitalism, (tr by Brian Pearce), London, Alien Lane, 1974, pp 55, 56-57» 66-67. VI See ^Introduction to Elliot and Dowson's History of India Vol IF', in Politics and Society during the Early Medieval Period, Vol I. ed K A Nizami. ipp 35*36. Muhammad Habib characterises Medina under Prophet as a ''working class .republic" and also emphasises that all the institutions by which the Muslim faith has flourished could only be possible in the cities. 13 Aly Mubamad Fahmy. Muslim Sea-Power in the Eastern Mediterranean, London. 1950, where he draws attention to Koranic verses having a bearing on seafaring and maritime trade. Cf Asghar Ali Engineer, The Origin and Development ofIslam ,p 13, who reproduces passages from Aly Muhammad Fahmy's book. 14 Ahmed el-Kodsy, "Nationalism and Class Struggle in the Arab World", Monthly Review, Vol 22, July-August 1970, cited by Asghar Ali Engineer, The Origin and Development oflslam^ pp 5-6. 15 Asghar Ali Engineer.. Origin and Development of Islam, Chapter 2 on "Arabian Society Before Islam". 16 For the clerical denunciation of Gibbon's view on the pre-Islamic Arabia see for example Charles Forster, The HistoricalGeography ofArabia^ Vol I.London, 1844, pp XXX VIII-XXXIX. 226-227. 230-231 and Vol II. pp 120-121. 17 Edward Gibbon and Simon Ockley, The Saracens: Their History and the Rise and Fall of their Empire, London, Frederick Waren and Co, pp 6-7, 8-9, 18 Correspondence: 1846-1895, pp 55-56. 19 Eric Hobsbawm mentions Engels's attempt to learn Persian with reference to Engels's letter to Marx dated June 6, 1853, but in the edited text published in different collections accessible to this author this very interesting information is missing. One might infer that Hobsbawm perhaps noticed it either in the manuscr.pt or in a more complete edition of the original German text. Cf Hobsbawnfs introduction to Pre-Capita 11st Economic Formations, London, Lawrence and Wishart. 1964, p22 20 Cf Correspondence: 1846-1895. p 55. Engels's statement that he read this book ^ consisting of two bulky volumes "yesterday" suggests that he is theorising in his letter on the basis of a very cursory study of ther enormous amount of evidence uat Charles Forster has marshalled in support of his biblical inter -pretat on of the early history of ihe Arabs. 21 Correspondence: 1846-1895, pp 56-57 22 Ibid, p 60. 23 Ibid. 2^ Marx-Engeh, On Colonialism, Moscow, 1974. pp 92-93. 25 Ibid,p\ A3 26 For the passage from Anti-Duhring, cited and commented upon by Irfan Habib. "Problems of Marxist Historical Analysis", Enquiry, Delhi, Monsoon 1969, p 54. 27 Correspondence: 1846-1895, p 363. 28 1 he manuscript of Marx's notes on Indian history was translated into Russian and cited by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1947. The English translation of these notes prepared by the Institute seme time later follows the composition of the Russian edition. Cf Marx, Notes on Indian History (1664-1855), Moscow, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Publishers Note, p 4. 29 Notes on Indian History (Preface to Russ^ Edition), p 11. 3J Ibid, p 18. 31 Ibid, p 50.