Transcript The Rise and Spread of Islam

The Rise and Spread of
Islam
Why Important???
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Islam spread quickly to become one of the
world’s most popular religions
– Remains so to this day
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Muslim merchants played a crucial role in
trade and cultural diffusion
Geography
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Origins: Arabian
Peninsula
Mostly desert
Cities on coasts or near
an oasis, thrived on trade
– Mecca and Medina most
important
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previe
ws/942/663946.JPG
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Bedouin tribes controlled
caravan routes between
cities
– Nomadic, clans based on
kinship
http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=5769&rendTypeId=4
Pre-Islamic Arabia
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Polytheistic religion, animistic
– Some Jewish and Christian influence
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Strong familial ties
Polygamy
– Some allowed women multiple husbands (polyandry)
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Women enjoyed more freedom than those among
neighboring cultures (Byzantine Empire and Persians)
– Many Bedouin tribes were matrilineal
– Women not secluded or veiled
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Poetry main form of artistic expression
– No written language among Bedouin tribes
Rise of Islam
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By 500’s, Arabia was fragmented
– Rivalry among Bedouin
– Christianity and Judaism increased in
influence
 Religious disunity
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Prophets began to call for unity among the
Arabs
– Believed a common religion was needed
Muhammad
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Born around 570
– Grew up with father’s relatives
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Educated to be a merchant
– Moved to Mecca as an adolescent
 Heavily influenced by monotheistic religion (Judaism and
Christianity)
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610: received revelation from Allah
– Believed his revelation was the final word of god
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Foundations of new religion: Islam
– Beliefs and teachings recorded in the Qur’an
http://theinsanityofthesane.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/quran1.jpg
Muhammad
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Teachings unpopular in Mecca at first
– Fled to Medina
 became skilled politician and spiritual leader
– Islamic community became known as umma
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Muhammad’s teaching quickly spread
– Unified the people of Arabia
http://spicetrader.net/immortal/mecca-medina.png
Teaching of Muhammad
Tenets of Islam
Muslim: follower of Islam
 5 Pillars of Islam
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– Acceptance of Allah as one true god and
Muhammad as his prophet
– Prayer 5 times daily in direction of Mecca
– Fasting during day-light hours of Ramadan
– Charity for the less fortunate
– Hajj- pilgrimage to Holy Land
http://www.theodora.com/wfb/photos/saudi_arabia/grand_mosque_mecca_soudi_arabia_photo_2.jpg
Beliefs of Islam
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Islam:
– Is monotheistic
– promotes equality of all believers in the eyes
of God
– Encourages charity for the poor
– Belief in judgment in the afterlife (paradise or
hell)
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Islam was an appealing religion that
spread quickly
Caliphate
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632: death of Muhammad
– Uncertainty about leadership in Muslim community
– Some renounced faith due to lack of leadership
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Caliph: political and religious successor of
Muhammad
– Some wanted Ali (Muhammad’s first cousin) to take
over
– Others felt Abu Bakr (Muhammad’s father-in-law)
would be better
Umayyad Caliphate
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Abu Bakr of the Umayyad clan became caliph
(from 632-634)
– Began to standardize the Islamic faith, oversee
compilation of the Qur’an, reassert Muslim authority
among the Arabs
– Temporary peace
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656: Civil War erupted after assassination of the
3rd caliph (Uthman)
– Those who supported Umayya clan won (661)
– Conflict created a major division among the Muslim
community
Sunni-Shi’a Split
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Sunni Muslims supported the Umayyad clan
– Believed the first 3 caliphs had been accurately
chosen
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Shi’a (Shi’ite) Muslims supported Ali to be caliph
– Believed the first 3 caliphs were unfairly chosen
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The Sunni-Shi’ite conflict still continues to this
day.
Umayyad Caliphate
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632-750, Umayyad ruled over an Arab Empire
– Capital in Damascus, Syria
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Major Features
– Arabic as official language
– Use of gold & silver coins as currency
– Muslims enjoyed highest social position
 Only pay taxes for charity & received share of wealth from
caravans
– Most people were dhimmi (non-Muslim)
– paid the bulk of taxes
– Very little attempt to convert non-Muslims
– Est. major area of influence in Jerusalem
Umayyad Caliphate
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Gender/Family under Umayyad
– Muhammad taught respect for women, saw
marriage as important social institution
 Denounced adultery, forbade female infanticide
 Saw men & women as equals in eyes of Allah
– Under Umayyad, men allowed 4 wives
 Women allowed only 1 husband
– Veiling not practiced
– Women involved in various occupations (law,
commerce, scholars)
Abbasid Caliphate
750-1258
 750: Umayyad overthrown during rebellion
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– Abbas took over and established the Abbasid
Caliphate
Capital at Baghdad
 Abbasid was a “Golden Age” for Islam
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– Court-life, literature, learning
Abbasid Caliphate
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Increase in converts during the Abbasid
– Missionary work to promote conversion
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Urban expansion
– Baghdad became a cultural center and economic hub
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Trade boomed
– Trade routes across the Sahara and throughout the
Mediterranean and Indian Ocean
– Use of lateen (triangular) sails on ships known as
dhows
– Extensive trade increased wealth
 Reinvested or used to build Mosques, public buildings,
religious schools, hospitals (Muslims were unsurpassed in
their medical expertise at the time)
Arabian
Dhow
trade ship
Lateen (triangular)
sails
http://www.mikewashburn.com/frcamp/dhow.jpg
Abbasid Caliphate
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Cities were filled with artisan and craft
shops
– Unskilled labor performed by slaves
 Slavery was not a hereditary condition
 Non-Muslims, usually captives from Africa
– Qur’an forbids enslavement of Muslims, Jews, Christians,
or Zoroastrians
Islamic Law: Shari’a
Over time, Muslim scholars developed an
Islamic law code
 Shari’a
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– Legal stability and common moral code
 Followed to varying degrees
Islamic Learning
Muslim scholars preserved classical works
from the Greek and Hellenistic period
 Adopted the Indian Numeral system &
spread it
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– Made advances in algebra and trigonometry
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Architecture became a form of artistic
expression
– Mosques with elaborate mosaics inside
– Elaborate palaces for entertaining the elite
Dome of Rock- Jerusalem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock
Declining Position of Women
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During the Abbasid, the position of women
began to decline
– Harems very popular
 Legends of harems with thousands of concubines and
eunuchs
– Veiling and seclusion became popular
 Only slave women allowed to appear in public unescorted
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However, women did have some rights
– Own property, right to divorce and remarry, right to
testify in court, and the right to go on hajj
Decline of Abbasid Caliphate
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By mid-800’s Abbasid began to lose power
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Internal unrest (Sunni-Shi’ite conflict)
Courtly excess became a financial drain
Sunni-Shi’ite conflict
Revolts by non-Muslims and Turkish slaves (Mamluks)
Abbasid also faced outside pressures
– Seljuk Turks (nomadic group) seized territory to
create the Seljuk Sultanate
– Crusaders
– Mongol Invasion
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Abbasid eventually fell in 1258
Muslim Conquests under the
Umayyad and Abbasid
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Muslims began to engage in campaigns
against neighboring empires
– To gain wealth and glorify their religion
Seized territory from Byzantine Empire
 Territorial gains in: Syria, Egypt, Tunisia,
Spain, Algeria, Morocco
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– Iberian Peninsula became a hub of leaning
and culture within Europe
Spread of Islam
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Islam spread quickly
– Aided by trade
Expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa, the
Swahili Coast of East Africa, parts of
Europe and Asia
 More on this later!!!
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