In the first part of the History of Islam, we discussed the succession to Muhammad and the birth of the Caliphate under the leadership of Abu Bakr. The formation of the Caliphate was not easy, and the newly elected Caliph faced a secessionist rebellion throughout Arabia. He overcame the rebellion, but his reign lasted for only two years. Before Abu Bakr’s death, however, he nominated his trusted military advisor Umar as a candidate for the Caliph. The ‘Ummah’ and the council of elders were stunned because Abu Bakr and Umar could not have been more different. Abu Bakr was the wise and modest grandfather type of person. He dressed simply and he lived simply. He accumulated no wealth and made every decision together with the council of elders. As the Caliph, he received only a very small salary; in fact, Abu Bakr continued his trading business just to get by. Sometimes he even milked his neighbors’ cows for extra cash. For all of his modesty and humility, he was greatly respected. Umar, on the other hand, was known as a brawler and a drinker prior to his conversion to Islam. He had a notorious temper and intimidated the people around him with his great height. So, the council wasn’t convinced that Umar was the right person for the office. Then, in the heat of the debate, Ali stepped forward and endorsed Umar. This tipped the scale of the debate; Umar was elected as the new Caliph. Over the next ten years, Umar would lead the Caliphate. He would conquer the lands of Persia, Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Egypt, and he would give Islamic civilization its own unique identity. Umar was a theologian as influential as Saint Paul, and he was a statesman and a patron of philosophy, much like Lorenzo de' Medici. But Umar was also a social reformer, like Karl Marx, and a military thinker equal to Napoleon. Any of these achievements would have earned him a place in history, but when most people speak of Umar, all they know is that he was the second Caliph.