Transcript No Slide Title

Islam in the Heartlands and
Beyond
Consolidation of Sunni
Orthodoxy
• Decline of Caliphate enables rise of Ulama
(scholars of Islamic law).
• Rise of the Madrasa formalized Ulama
training
• Sunni forcus on Orthopraxy--correct
practice, not Orthodoxy--correct belief
• Orthopraxy is defined by the Ulama.
• By 1000, Orthopraxy is fairly settled
Sufi Piety
• Sufi are mystics who focus on simple life
and communion with Allah
• Asceticism and/or devotionalism
• By 11th century, brotherhoods arise, often
persecuted
Consolidation of Shi’ite Tradition
• Seveners / Isma’illis:
– 7 Imams
– Often Revolutionary
– Esoteric, Mystical Interpretation of
Koran/Hadith
– Fatmid Empire was Apex (10th-12 century AD)
Consolidation of Shi’ite Islam
(II): Twelver Shi’a
•
•
•
•
•
12 Imams before line ends
More literal interpretation of holy texts
80% of Shi’ites
Add Hadith from the 12 Imams
The last Imam will return at end of time as
the Mahdi; together with Jesus, he will
reform the world to purity
– Lots of would be revolutionaries claim the title
The Islamic West
• Umayyad Dynasty in Spain (755-1086 AD)
• Almoravid Dynasty (1086-1147 AD)
• Almohads (1147-1225 AD)
Ibn-Rushd
Ibn Rushd / Averroes
(1126-1198 AD)
• Doctor, Philosopher, Polymath
• The Incoherence of the Incoherence
– A Defense of Aristotelian Philosophy
– Religion and Philosophy = two views of same
truths
– Religion = Based on Faith, open to all
– Philosophy = Grounded in Reason, only really
accessible to the educated.
Ibn Arabi (1165-1240 AD)
• Mystic and Philosopher and Sufi
• Emphasized mystic path on unlocking
human potential to approach the divine
• Wrote 300 books
• The Seals of Wisdom was his masterpiece.
Moses Maimonides (1135-1204
AD)
• Jewish rabbi, doctor, and philosopher
• Many Greek ideas pass from Islam to
Christianity through his work passing ideas
to other Jews in Europe
• Tried to reconcile the Torah with Greek
Philosophy
• Overcame initial opposition.
The Fatmid Empire (969-1171
AD)
The Fatmid Empire (969-1171
AD)
• Claimed descent from Mohammed through
Fatima
• Tunisian Dynasty --> Libya, Egypt,
Morocco, Sicily and Egypt
• Founded a Shi’ite Caliphate (Sevener)
• Founded Cairo as capital.
Fatmid Decline
• Isma’ili Assassins
– Founded 1000 AD by Fatmid Defector
– Esoteric, Mystical, Drugged Assassins
– Destroyed by the Mongols
• Saladin and Nur al-Din
– Rulers of Syria
– Conquer Egypt in 1171 AD
– Impose Sunni Islam
Mamluks (1250-1517 AD
• Slave Soldiers
• Used to overcome loyalty of tribal warriors
to local leaders by Caliphs
• Overrused by Saladin’s descendents
• During Saint Louis’ crusade, they took over
Egypt in 1250 AD
• Defeated the Mongols in 1260
Mamluk Apogee and Decline
• Sultan Baybars (1260-1277) overcomes
Crusaders, sets up puppet Caliph
• Conquered by the Ottomans in 1517 AD
The Islamic East
• Abassid Usurpers:
– Samanids at Bukhara (875-999 AD) and the
Buyids at Baghdad (945-1055 AD)
• The Seljuk Turks (1055-1194 AD)
– Tugril Beg, Sultan--“Authority” (1037-1063
AD)
– Seljuks controlled much of Abassid Caliphate;
for a time, trade and culture revived.
Al-Ghazali (1058-1111 AD)
• Sufi theologian, ulama, mystic, and
philosopher
• Helped acceptance of Sufis by others
• The Incoherence of the Philosophers
– Heavily condemned Greek-style philosophy as useless
at best and evil at worst
– Only God’s will determines events
– Most Islamic writers henceforth turned against
philosophy; contributes to eventual decline of Islamic
nations compared to Europe
Islam and the Mongols
•
•
•
•
Ilkhanid Dynasty (1261-1335 AD)
Hulagu Khan founds it in 1250s
Checked by the Mamluks in 1250 AD
Tolerant rulers who eventually converted to
Islam
• Decay after 1335 AD
Timurids
• Timur-i Lang (Timur the Lame /
Tamerlane), 1336-1405 AD
– Devastates central Asia, killing millions
– Last of the Steppe Conquerors
• Timurid Dynasty (1405-1494 AD)
Islam in India and SE Asia
• Moslem Merchants spread Islam by Trade
• Various Groups of Moslems conquer pieces
of India for a time, repeatedly
– Dehli Sultanate (1200s-1400s)
– Bahmanids (1347-1527 AD): South-Central
India (The Deccan)
– Indonesia: Traditional Orthopraxy was
challenged due to things like the difficulty of
pilgrimage to Mecca and Coast vs Interior
Conflict.
Religious and Cultural
Accomodation
• North India and Deccan = Moslem ruled
over Hindu masses
• Ghazis = Warriors of Moslem Faith
• Hindus treated Moslems as new castes
• Persian is dominant Moslem language
• Urdu-Hindi blends local language and
Persian and Arabic
Hindus under Moslem Rule
• Indian Buddhism dies
• Vaishnava Brahman Ramnuja (d. 1137)
reconciles bhakti (popular devotion to a
God) with Upanashadic religious tradition
The Gita Govinda (12th Century)
• By Jayadeva of Puri
• A masterwork of love poetry mixed with
Theology, about Krishna (avatar of Vishnu)
and his cowgirl lovers
• Redefines Vishnu worship to appeal to nonruling caste members, as a love affair of
bhakti devotion
• Krishna becomes the central figure of
whom other gods are aspects.