Chapter 11Chapter 11The Worlds of IslamThe Worlds of Islam

500-1500500-1500

Arabian Peninsulatribal crossroads of trade and religions

Bedouinnomadic herders

Arabs: are an ethnic group NOT a religion

Arab Culture

Origins traced to Old

Testament figures

Abraham and Ishmael

Muhammad570-632Caravan Manager

610 holy revelations

1500s artwork stopped showing Muhammad’s face

Eventually not at all

The Qur’an“Peace through submission to Allah”

JudaismGod spoke to Moses and other prophets

ChristianityJesus is a prophet and teacher (not Messiah)

IslamMuhammad is God’s newest prophet

Muhammad leading Abraham, Jesus, and Moses in prayer

“Do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation otherwise than in a most kindly manner…We believe in that which has been bestowed upon you from on high upon us, as well as that which has been bestowed upon you; for our God and your God is one and the same”

-Qur’an 29:46

Hadiths (account) - not written by Muhammad, but supposed quotations

Branches Branches dispute which dispute which are authenticare authentic

619 Muhammad traveled to Mecca

Mecca = wealth, inequity, corruption, and polytheism1111

Islam did not catch on and Muhammad left Mecca

622 Muhammad traveled to MedinaJourney=Hijrah 622=Islam Year 1

Gained followers in Medina

------------------------------------Muhammad became a

political and religious leader

(unlike Jesus or Buddha)

Medina

Mecca

630 Muhammad had gained

enough power and

influence to take Mecca

Mecca was a huge center of trade. Why would that increase

the spread of Islam?

Mosque - Place of Worship

Five Pillars of Islam

Belief: One God and Muhammad is his prophet

Prayer: 5 times daily

Charity: Give to poor

Fasting: 9th Month is Ramadan Fast From Sun Up To Sun Down

Pilgrimage (Hajj): To Mecca

Kaaba In Mecca

Houses a black stone said to trace

back to Adam and Eve that Muhammad

placed in the Kaaba

632 Muhammad died - Tomb In Medina

umma = community of all believers----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white…”-Prophet Muhammad’s farewell sermon

Sharia - Theocratic legal system Evolved and interpreted by different groups over time

Abu Bakr (573-634)

Elected 1st Caliph

after Muhammad’s

Death

Abu Bakr’s Caliphate

Division

SufisMeditative, mystical, and personal

Shia - Led by decedents of Ali, a relative of Muhammad

Sunni - Led by elected Caliphs

Sunni and Shia division continues

Transformation of Arabia and BeyondWhy did Islam spread so quickly?

661 Sunni Umayyad Clan took power

Umayyad Caliphate 661-750

Excessive wealth and secularism led to the overthrow of the Umayyad

Abbasid Caliphate

750-1258

Internal RebellionsWhy?

Hired Turkic mercenaries

as the empire

expanded

This reliance backfired (synthesis?)

Non-Arab Seljuk Turks (Sunni)1055 Defeated Abbasid

1258 Mongols invaded

and destroyed Baghdad

Women and MenEqual in religion – Unequal socially

Veiling, separate worship, removal from public life, etc. initiated by different rulers in different countries

4 Way ComparisonSpain West Africa Anatolia India

Arab traveler Ibn Battuta

(1304-1368)

4 or 8 Groups Top 4India, Anatolia, W. Africa, Spain1.2.3.4.

India – Deli Sultanate 1206-1526• Turks battled Hindus

and Buddhists• Islam a minority

religion • India = different

cultural background• Islam appealed to

untouchables

1453 fall of Constantinople

• Smaller pop. easier to Islamize than India

• Byzantine destroyed, New Ottoman Empire

• Jews and Christians tolerated but held 2nd class status

• Turkic culture = more gender equality than Arab culture

Anatolia – Ottoman Turks

West Africa – No single empirenot Turks or Arabs

Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali

• Voluntary conversions

• Importance of trade• Religion of urban

elites, not masses• Islam became

Africanized (gender, culture, etc.)

Mansa Musa 1307-1337

Kingdom of Mali

Expanded Islamic Ideas

1324 Mana Musa’s Extravagant 60,000 Person Pilgrimage To Mecca

• Arabization of Spain• Initial tolerance of

non-Muslims• By the 900s tolerance

gave way to violence• 1492 Christians

defeated Muslims and persecution reversed

Spain – conquered in 718

Science and ScholarshipMedicinePhilosophyMathAstronomyArtArchitecturePoetry***Chart page 499

House of Wisdom built c. 800(destroyed by the Mongols in 1258)

Astronomy

Earth’s radius and distance to the moon

calculated

Astrolabe for sailing

The Concept of zero and spread of “Arabic Numerals”

al-Khwarizmi(780-850)

Invented Algebra(Al-Jabr)

Ibn Sina Medical

DiscoveriesDiseases are contagious

Medical book used throughout Europe

Also studied math, astronomy, music, poetry

Muslims started the first

pharmacy schools in

history

Ibn Rushd(Averroes) (1126-1198)

Philosopher

Preserved Many Greek

Works

Pythagoras

Alexander

Socrates Plato

Aristotle

ArchimedesIbn Rushd(Averroes)

1001 Nights (Arabian Nights)Scheherazade’s tales

Aladdin's Wonderful

Lamp

Aladdin was Chinese – What

does this tell us?

Great Mosque of Samarra

constructed 849-852

Dome of the Rock

Judaism: Abraham fulfilled God's test about sacrificing his son Isaac

Christianity: Jesus visited, chased away money changers & prophesized

about the Second Coming

Islam: Muhammad’s trip to Heaven and constructed the Mosque

The Foundation stone is the holiest spot in Judaism