Transcript Part III - Your School

Chapter 6
The First Global Civilization: The Rise and Spread of Islam
 7th century CE Arab followers of Muhammad surge from
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the Arabian Peninsula
They quickly became an empire incorporating elements
of classical civilizations of Greece, Egypt and Persia
Islamic merchants, mystics and warriors continued it
expansion into Europe, Asia and Africa
Although united in the belief of Muhammad’s message,
the Islamic world was divided culturally and politically
The disputes did not undermine the strength of the
Muslim civilization until the 14th century
Clan Identity, Clan Rivalries and the Cycle of Vengeance
 Mobile kin-related clans were the basic social
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organization
Only united into larger tribal units in times of crisis
Survival depended on clan loyalty
Leaders or shaykhs were elected by council
Free warriors enforced their decisions
Slave families served the leaders or the clan as a whole
Clan cohesion was reinforced by interclan rivalry and
conflict over water and pasturage
The strife weakened Bedouin society against it rivals
Desert and Town: The pre-Islamic Arabian World
 Arabian Peninsula inhabited by Bedouin societies
 Some desert dwellers herded camels and goats
 Others practiced agriculture in oasis towns
 Important agricultural and commercial centers
flourished in southern coastal regions
 The towns were extensions of Bedouin society,
sharing its culture and ruled by its clans
Town and long-distance trade
 Cities linked the Mediterranean to east Asia
 Mecca was the most important city (western Arabia)
founded by the Umayyad
 Mecca was the site of the Ka’ba (religious shrine)
 Medina was a second important town that was a
agricultural oasis and commercial center
Marriage and the family in pre-Islamic Arabia
 Women had key economic roles in clan life
 Descent was traced through female line
 Men paid a bride-price to the wife’s family
 Women did not wear veils and were not secluded
 Both sexes had multiple marriage partners
 Still, men, who carried the honored warrior
tradition, remained superior
 Traditional practices of property control, inheritance
and divorce favored men
Poets and neglected Gods
 Arab material culture was not highly developed
 Main focus of creativity was in orally transmitted
poetry
 Bedouin religion was a blend of animism and
polytheism
 Some tribes recognized Allah but paid him little
attention
 Instead of Allah they paid attention to spirits
associated with nature
The life of Muhammad and the Genesis of Islam
 Member of the Banu Hasim clan of the Quraysh,
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born in 570 CE
He lived in Mecca and married a wealthy widow
Khadijah
Not happy with life focused on material gain
In 610 CE he meditates and receives revelations from
God through the angel Gabriel
These revelations were later written down in the
Qur’an which form the basis of Islam
Persecution , Flight and Victory
 As Islam grows it is seen as a threat by Mecca's rulers
 The new faith endangered the gods of the Ka’ba
 With his life in danger Muhammad is invited to come to
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Medina to mediate its clans quarrels
622c CE Muhammad goes to Medina his skilled
leadership brought new followers
The Quraysh attack Medina but Muhammad’s force win
A treaty in 628 allowed Muslims to visit the Ka’ba
Muhammad returned to Mecca in 629 and converts most
of its inhabitants
Arab and Islam
 Islam offered opportunities for uniting Arabs
 Islam provided a distinct indigineous monotheism
 Islam supplanted clan divisions and ended feuding
 The Umma (the community of the fatihful,
transcened old tribal boundries)
 Islam offered offered an ethical system capable of
healing social rifts within arab society
 All believers