Transcript 14. The Expansive Realm of Islam

The Expansive Realm of
Islam
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BACKGROUND
ISLAM:
When translated from
Arabic, means "to submit to the will
of Allah"
Youngest of the world’s major
religions
MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION:
Focuses belief on one god
Followers are MUSLIM: Means "one
who submits to the will of Allah."
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BACKGROUND
Currently
the second most practiced
religion in the world, and experts
predict that it will overtake
Christianity as the most popular
religion in the world sometime during
the 21st century.
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FOUNDER
Islam was founded by the prophet
Mohammed
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GEOGRAPHIC
ORIGIN
Developed on the Arabian Peninsula in
the year 622 CE, and quickly spread to
other regions.
CURRENTLY
PRACTICED
Most dominant throughout the Middle
East, including Southwest Asia and
North Africa
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SIGNIFICANT
WRITINGS
The teachings of Islam are
collected in the Qur'an (Koran)
PLACES OF WORSHIP
Muslims may gather to worship in
temples called mosques
SIGNIFICANT
RELIGIOUS PEOPLE
CALIPH: Successor to the Prophet
Mohammed
IMAM: Leader of prayers
MUEZZIN: One who issues a call to
prayer, causing the faithful to gather at
the local mosque
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TEACHINGS
AND
BELIEFS


Mohammed received the word of God, or
Allah, through the angel Gabriel while
living in the city of Mecca. Townspeople
soon became fearful of Mohammed's
preaching and he began to receive threats.
As a result, he fled to the nearby city of
Medina, where people began to believe in
his message. The flight of Mohammed
from Mecca to Medina was instrumental to
the founding of the religion of Islam, and
is known as the Hegira (Hijra). Thus, in
622 CE Islam was founded and this date
became the starting point for the Islamic
calendar.
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TEACHINGS
AND
BELIEFS
Mohammed
and his followers later
returned to Mecca and declared a
jihad, or holy war, after which he
captured the city. Under Mohammed's
leadership, the basic teachings of Islam
were established, which are known as
the Five Pillars of Islam. Every Muslim
is expected to follow these rules in
order to lead an ethical life
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TEACHINGS
AND
BELIEFS
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Confession of Faith: The belief that
"there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed
is His prophet."
Prayer: Muslims must pray five times per
day, facing towards Mecca.
Charity: Muslims must give alms to the
poor, and support the local Mosque by
donating a portion of their income.
Fasting: During the Ramadan, the ninth
month of the Muslim calendar, all Muslims
must fast during daylight hours, except
the very young or sick.
Pilgrimage: If possible financially, each
Muslim must make a hajj, or holy
pilgrimage, to the city of Mecca.
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
Born 570 to merchant
family in Mecca

Orphaned as a child

Marries wealthy widow c.
595, works as merchant

Familiarity with paganism,
Christianity and Judaism
as practiced in Arabian
peninsula
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 Visions c. 610 CE
 Archangel Gabriel
 Monotheism
 Attracts followers to Mecca
 The “last prophet of God”
according to the Quran
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 Record of revelations
received during
Muhammad’s visions
 Committed to writing c.
650 CE (Muhammad dies
632)
 Tradition of
Muhammad’s life:
hadith
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 Muhammad’s monotheistic teachings
offensive to polytheistic pagans
(Roman tradition)
 Economic threat to existing religious
industry
 Denunciation of greed affront to
local aristocracy
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




622 CE: Muhammad flees to Yathrib
(Medina) to escape persecution in native
Mecca
ConsideredYear o (Zero) in Muslim calendar
Gains and organizes followers into
communal society (the umma)
Legal, spiritual code
Commerce, raids on Meccan caravans for
sake of umma
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 MUHAMMAD: Seen as the
final prophet
 Islam viewed as culmination
and correction of Judaism,
Christianity  the ultimate
word of God
 Inheritor of both Jewish and
Christian texts
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630: Attack on Mecca
Conversion of Mecca to
Islam
 Destruction of pagan
sites, replaced with
mosques


 Ka’aba preserved in honor of
importance of Mecca
 Approved as pilgrimage site
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


No god but Allah and
Muhammad is His prophet
Daily prayer
Fasting during Ramadan 
holiest period of year for
Muslims
 Islamic holy month
 9th month in Islamic calendar
Charity
 Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

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 JIHAD: Represents “struggle” to
avoid greed and desire
 Against vice
 Against ignorance of Islam
 GOAL: Launch a “holy war” in a quest
to retain the holy land of Muslims and
protect their religion
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
SHARI’A (“Law of Islam”): Codification of
Islamic law  said to “come from Allah”
 Moral code
 Religious law



Developed after Muhammad dies
Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools of
analysis
Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of
human activity  extends to secular law and
personal matters
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



CALIPH: A “deputy” or disciple of
Muhammad
No clear to successor to Muhammad
identified
632 CE: Abu Bakr chosen to lead as Caliph
 not a direct descendant of Muhammad
Led war against villagers who abandoned
Islam after death of Muhammad  sought
to expand the “House of Islam” (dar al-Islam)
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DAR AL-ISLAM (“House of Islam”): Quest
to expand the empire begun with Abu
Bakr
 Highly successful attacks on Byzantine,
Sasanid territories
 Spread Islamic influence into North Africa
 Difficulties governing rapidly expanding
territory

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
Disagreements over selection
of caliphs after Muhammad’s
death leads to emergence of
two sects  Sunni and Shia

632: Ali (Muhammad’s cousin
and son-in-law) passed over
for Abu Bakr (advisor) as
caliph (Khalifa)
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
ALI: Temporarily served as
caliph 656-661 CE, then
assassinated along with
most of his followers by
Abu Bakr’s supporters
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
Remaining followers of Ali
organize separate party called
“Shia” (Shiites)
 Traditionalists: Sunni
(majority sect)  caliph
should be one who deserves
it most
 Reformers: Shia (minority
sect)  caliph should be
descendant of Ali
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 Emerged rom Meccan merchant
class
 Capital: Damascus, Syria 
moved from Mecca
 Associated with Arab military
aristocracy
 Calmed down the succession
crisis
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 Favoritism of Arab military rulers
causes discontent
 Limited social mobility for non-Arab
Muslims
 Head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims
 Luxurious living by Umayyads causes
further decline in moral authority
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Abu al-Abbas: Sunni
Arab, allied with Shia,
non-Arab Muslims
 Seizes control of Persia
and Mesopotamia
 750: Defeats Umayyad
army

 Invited Umayyads to
banquet, then massacred
them
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
Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not
exclusively Arab)

Militarily competent, but not bent on
imperial expansion

Dar al-Islam

Growth through military activity of
autonomous Islamic forces
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 Persian influence
 Court at Baghdad (Iraq)
 Influence of Islamic scholars
(ulama, qadi)
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 High point of Abbasid dynasty
 Baghdad (Iraq): Became center of
commerce
 Great cultural activity
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Civil war between sons of Harun al-Rashid
 Provincial governors assert regional
independence
 Dissenting sects, heretical movements
 Abbasid caliphs become puppets of
Persian nobility
 Later, Saljuq (Seljuk) Turks influence,
Sultan real power behind the throne

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
Spread of food and industrial crops
 Trade routes from India to Spain
Western diet adapts to wide variety
 New crops adapted to different growing
seasons

 Agricultural sciences develop
 Cotton, paper industries develop

Major cities emerge
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 Historical precedent of Arabic trade
 Dar al-Islam encompasses silk routes
 Ice exported from Syria to Egypt in
summer, 10th century
 Camel caravans
 Maritime trade
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 Scale of trade causes banks to
develop
 Sakk (“check”)
 Uniformity of Islamic law throughout
dar al-Islam promotes trade
 Joint ventures common
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
Early 8th century: Muslim
Berber conquerors from North
Africa (Moors) take Spain

Capital established in Cordoba

Allied to Umayyads, refused to
recognize Abbasid dynasty
 Formed own caliphate
 Tensions, but interrelationship

Products from region known for
great quality
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
Quran improves status of women
 Outlawed female infanticide
 Brides, not husbands, claim dowries

Yet male dominance preserved
 Patrilineal descent
 Polygamy (multiple wives for men) permitted
 Polyandry (multiple husbands for women) forbidden
 Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice
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
Islamic values
 Uniformity of Islamic law in dar al-Islam
 Establishment of madrasas (Islamic schools)
 Importance of the Hajj

Sufi missionaries
 SUFIS: Adherents to the mystical, ascetic essence of Islam
 Developed into new sect of Islam
 Some tension with orthodox Islamic theologians
 Wide popularity and most effective missionaries of Islam
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Major Sufi thinker from
Persia
 Believed human reason
was too frail and
confusing
 Impossible to
intellectually understand
Allah  personal
devotion, mystical
ecstasy instead

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
Persia
 Techniques in government
administration and governance
borrowed from Sasanids
 Literary works most impressive

India
 Mathematics (algebra and
trigonometry), science, medicine
▪ “Hindi” numerals (called Arabic
numerals by Europeans)
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 Greece
 Muslim philosophers
liked works of Plato
and Aristotle
 Ibn Rushd (aka
Averroes) (11261198) turned to
teachings of Aristotle
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