Transcript Islam - Cobb Learning

Muhammad
Prophet of Islam
Muhammad
570 AD:
• Muhammad was born in Mecca
(Saudi Arabia)
• Founder of Islam
Mecca during Hajj
The Basics
Islam:
• Believe in one god and Muhammad is
his Prophet (person who speaks through
Divine inspiration)
Muslim:
• A believer in Islam
610 AD:
• Muslims believe God spoke
to Muhammad
Beliefs
Muhammad’s Teachings:
• Came from angel Gabriel, who
revealed the will of God
Gabriel:
• Sent revelations to
Muhammad for 22 years
Qur’an:
• Collection of revelations, sacred
text of Islam
Muhammad:
• Encouraged people to
worship one God, aid
the poor (included in
the 5 Pillars of Faith)
622 AD
Blue Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
• Muhammad left Mecca for Medina
(where he later died)
• Government thought he
was a threat to
traditions and business
• Muslim calendar begins
from this year
• Ramadan is at different times because of the
Lunar calendar
• Mullah/Meuzzin (priest)
Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia
Prophet Mosque- Supposedly where Muhammad is buried
Medina
The Qur’an (Koran)
• Muslims believe that the Koran was the direct word of god and Muhammad.
• Muslims read the Koran from right to left.
• God spoke to Muhammad through the angel, Gabriel. Muhammad could not read or
write. Muhammad memorized what Gabriel revealed to him
and began preaching about the messages. Muhammad dictated the
Koran to scribes. The Koran is believed to be the actual word of god.
• Qur means “recite this”, thus the Koran means recitation.
• Muslims must be able to speak Arabic to read the Koran.
• Muslims believe that Jesus was a great prophet and was sent to preach exclusively to the
Jews; believe that He will return to judge everyone, including Muslims.
The Qur’an
Pages of the Qur’an
Religion’s Role in World Conflicts
“It’s not that simple!”
The “Pillars” of Islam
Profession
“There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.”
Prayer
Pray formally five time a day.
Almsgiving
Pay a specified amount of money to assist the poor and sick.
Fasting
During Ramadan, no eating, drinking, & smoking from dawn to sunset.
Pilgrimage
Make at least one visit to Mecca.
These are the Five Sunni Pillars of Islam
Different Shi’i groups have seven or even ten pillars,
and recently some fundamentalist Shiites have
been trying to add Jihad as a sixth pillar.
The Five Pillars of Islam
• All Muslims practice the five pillars of Islam. It is like a checklist and if you
follow it, your faith is good.
• The pillar of prayer is at certain times of the day.
• Muslims used to pray toward Jerusalem, then restored the Kabba (rid of
pagan idols)
• Ramadan- You cannot let anything past your lips once Ramadan begins
from sun up to sundown, including water. You know that Ramadan
begins if you can tell the difference between a white/black thread in the
dark.
• Dietary restrictions: No pork! Beef must be drained of blood before you
eat it.
The Hajj
Mecca was a pagan city. The Kabba (black stone) was filled with idols. The black stone
was built by Abraham and was a rock that fell out of the sky. Abraham built it, thus
Muslims worship the god of Abraham. Muhammad tore out all the idols and restored it
back to what Abraham built.
Hajj customs: Muslims circle it 7 times; counter clockwise. Saudi Arabia is holy for
Muslims. Only Muslims are allowed to go to the holy land that they call Mecca.
The Pilgrimage:
•Ishmael was to be sacrificed instead of Isaac; Muslims visit a well.
•Muslims throw stones under a bridge; Muslims believe they are throwing stones at the
devil.
Prayer at Mount Arafat
Hajj is not complete unless you make it to the
afternoon prayers at Mt. Arafat.
The Station of Ibrahim is the
rock upon which Ibrahim
stood while erecting the
Kaaba. His son Ishmael
helped him erect it, by
passing him the rocks.
Station of Abraham
The Kaaba
Diagram of the Kaaba
A Turkish seamstress is
hired to make velvet
cloth for the Kaaba every
year. Use gold/gilded
thread. Kaaba is washed.
At end of Ramadan, they
start making the new
curtain for the next year.
Mosques
minaret
Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments which strip away
class distinction and culture so all are equal before God.
Ihram, the two seamless white sheets of cloth
minarets
Muslims in New Delhi, India
Muslims in New Delhi, India
Notice the
Muslim
architecture
The stoning of the stone pillars
at Mina exemplifies
Abraham’s rejection of
satanic temptations to
prevent him from sacrificing
Ishmael.
Someone is always watching!
Night at Muzdalifah
Location of the Zamzam Well
Zamzam- well that sprang up in the middle of the desert so Hagar and Ishmael could drink
Dome of the Rock
Jerusalem, Israel
The Dome of the Rock
• Earliest Islamic monument, begun 684.
octagonal plan.
• Site where Muhammad was taken to
heaven by the angel Gabriel and
deemed the messenger of Islam.
• The story says that Muhammad actually
died in Medina and was taken by horse
to Jerusalem and ascended to paradise
from the Dome of the Rock.
Muhammad’s Friends
“Four Knightly guided Caliphs”
Abu-Bakar
Sunni
◙ Followed Muhammad’s
example
◙ Always the majority (85%)
“Shia-Ali”
Shia
◘ Direct descendant of Muhammad’s
grandson
◘ Ali- cousin and son-in-law
◘ 661 A.D.- Ali and grandson were killed
◘ Minority 15%
◘ Iran- 90% Shia
◘ Iraq, Iran, Lebonan
Sunni or Shia?
Sunni
• The Five Pillars are for Sunni only
• After Muhammad’s death, followers thought that Abu
Bakr (one of Muhammad’s prominent disciples) should
rule, so they claimed him as Caliph (leader or
successor).
• The followers of Muhammad should lead.
• The civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites began.
• Secular- what you do that is NOT determined by
religion
• Saddam was Sunni; Sunni accept a more secular
government (of the world).
Typically 85% Sunni; 15% Shiite
Shia
• The Shiites wanted Muhammad’s son-in-law (Ali)
to lead; thought that the rightful leader should be a
direct descendant.
• During the battles, Ali was killed in southern Iraq,
thus the south of Iraq is holy to the Shiites. The
Shiites were the ones to break off from the Sunnis.
Fighting led to Ali being killed on the banks of the
Euphrates River.
• Some Muslims want to add additional pillars. Some
have 7-10 in addition to the 5 pillars. Examples:
Forbid what is evil; promote what is good; jihad
(this will not happen because it is only the external
struggle).
• Iran is Shiite
Sum It Up!
Sunni
Refers to traditions
followed by
Muhammad and early
Muslims.
Shia
Shia refers to the party of Ali
(cousin and son-in-law of
Muhammad). The Shia think that
Ali should have assumed
leadership. The highest
concentration of Shia Muslims
are in Iran.
Religion’s Role in World Conflicts
“It’s not that simple!”
SUNNI
KURD
SUNNIS
ARABS
ARABS
SHI’I
ARABS
The Basic Beliefs of Islam
Sharia
Sharia is the legal and moral code of Islam. The Sharia is what
Saudi Arabia and Iran use for their laws. Sharia means the way that
leads to god. Both religious and non-religious aspects of life are
covered in the Sharia. The Sharia is based on the Qur’an.
•System of morals, religious
observance, ethics, and politics
•Covers religious and nonreligious ways
of life
–Guidance on how Muslims:
•wash
•eat
•pray
•maintain friendships
•conduct business
•govern
Islam, Judaism, and the
Holy Land
Jerusalem is located in the West Bank of Palestine and is
considered to be the Holy Land. The Israelis and the Palestinians
fight over this piece of land for religious reasons. Israelis are mostly
of the Jewish faith and Palestinian Arabs are mostly of the Islamic
faith. People of the Jewish faith consider Jerusalem to be the
holiest city and Muslims consider it to be the third holiest city.
Jewish people consider Jerusalem to be the holiest city because this
is where Abraham was ordered by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac at
the Temple Mount. Muslims think of Jerusalem as a very holy city
because this is where it is believed that Muhammad ascended to
heaven from the Dome of the Rock. The Jewish built a temple
which was destroyed by their enemies. They built a second temple
which was also destroyed. The Dome of the Rock was built in the
same location as the temples.
Jihad
Effort or struggle on behalf of the religion of Islam
Greater Jihad
Lesser Jihad
• “internal effort of each
person to overcome
temptation and lead a moral
• an armed struggle against
the enemies of Islam
life”
Martyrs – Anyone who sacrifices their lives for their beliefs
(In fundamentalist Islam, martyrs are often celebrated)
Religion’s Role in World Conflicts
“It’s not that simple!”
Religion, War, & Terrorism
Jihaad is an Arabic word meaning “effort” or “struggle”
Tens of thousands of
Do
religiousterrorists…
philosophies
Al-Qaeda
Is suicide terrorism
cause the most violence,
tied
to
religion?
suffering,
and war?
out of roughly
It can mean an external struggle like a war,
or an internal struggle, like fighting sin and temptation
Some Muslims even speak of jihaads against
poverty, political corruption, or disease
What type of jihaad is most important?
1.5 billion Muslims
Religion’s Role in World Conflicts
“It’s not that simple!”
The Breakdown
Every religious group has many internal conflicts
as well as external conflicts with other religions
Religion is a useful tool for attracting people to a
political cause they might not otherwise support
Therefore, understanding the religious factors can
still help people understand political conflicts
Religion’s Role in World Conflicts
“It’s not that simple!”
Islam’s Warriors
• Most conflicts are world-wide due to political reasons, not religion; It is who is going to
be in control of the political structure?; Who will own the land?
• The PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) was originally political, for land, ethnic
differences; later promoted a religious tone.
• Hezbollah means “Party of God”
• In the Koran, Muslims talks about wars; much of this is taken out of context by radicals;
“kill the infadel” refers to wars during Muhammad’s time. Radicals take this out of
context and use for present day.
• Jihad means “struggle” or “effort”. The most important struggle is the internal struggle.
This means that if you have an urge for sin and temptation. There are jihads against
poverty, political corruption, and disease.
Arabs and Jews are closely related. Islam is the fastest growing religion
Religion’s Role in World Conflicts
“It’s not that simple!”
It’s never so simple…
All groups of people, including religions,
are made up of individuals & smaller groups
who often disagree with each other
Members of different religions have often
lived side by side in peace all over the world
Individuals and small groups often do
political acts in the name of an entire religion