Transcript Mohammed and the Rise of Islam

Mohammed and the Rise of Islam
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600’s A.D.
loss of much of the Eastern Roman
Empire
to a new religious and political power
– Islam
Islam
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Bedouin Arab named Mohammed
born ca. 570 A.D.
poor family
Kuraish tribe, who dominate Mecca
– controlling much of the religious pilgrim
trade
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raised by relatives
Mohammed
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formal education ??
commercial agent for a wealthy widow
– Khadijah
– supervising caravans from Mecca, north to
Jerusalem
– contact with both Jews and Christians
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made an impression on his boss and
married her
– retired to devote himself to his principal interest
– religion
Mohammed, con’t
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monogamous until his wife died
eventually married nine wives and had
assorted concubines
last marriage at 53 to Aishah, daughter
of a friend
wives: widows of friends or political
marriages
Origins of Mohammed’s
Teachings
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periods of unconsciousness from
childhood
– epilepsy or a similar neurological disorder
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– mental illness or hallucinations ?
– revelations from Allah by holy trances,
spoken to by Gabriel
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Mohammed’s explanation
– revelations from God
Nature of Revelations
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diverse
social, agricultural, medical, military,
astronomical, etc.
Historical Origins of His Ideas
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Arab polytheism
Judaism
Christianity
Manichaeism
Beginning of His Ministry
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at about age 40
began to preach publicly
continued to receive revelations until
death
– usually related to current problems or
concerns
Early career
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not particularly successful
threatened the social, political, and
religious structure
threatened the economic basis of
Mecca as a center of religious
pilgrimage
particularly the Black Rock
– sacred to the chief deity of the Arabs
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run out of town
The Hejira
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flight from Mecca
622 A.D.
beginning of the Islamic calendar
fled to Medina
welcomed, then resisted
Mohammed becomes an absolute
theocrat
Jihad
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holy war against Mecca
ten year blockade
a deal was made
The Deal
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Mecca preserved as a holy city and
place of pilgrimage
– to preserve the economic prosperity
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the Kaaba preserved as the central
shrine
– idols destroyed
– story of its origins changed
– pilgrimage as an act of faith
The Religion: the Koran
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the Koran: contains much of
Mohammed’s teachings
written down by his followers after his
death
– from notes and memories
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Short: 114 chapters
– arranged from shortest to longest
– not by subject or chronologically
– length is the criterion of order for the text
The Koran, con’t
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some “Old” and “New” Testaments
stories
– but usually changed
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parables and fables
polemic and prophecy
“non-religious” subjects
Five Pillars of Islam
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uniqueness of God
prayer five times a day
observe the month of Ramadan
give alms to the poor
pilgrimage to Mecca
Additional teachings
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dietary laws
no gambling or drinking
no sexual irregularities
no faulty weights or usury
no infanticide
elaborate rules concerning inheritance
and property
improvement in the status of women
Similarities to Judaism and
Christianity
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monotheism (defined a bit differently)
insistence on the responsibility of
human beings
final judgment and rewards
angels and spirits
practice of virtues
Differences
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very jealous and wrathful god, as in O.T.
no “turn the other cheek”
alms giving moderate
heaven conceived a bit differently
no priests or sacramental system
easy conversion
Expansion of Islam
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early victories
backsliders (tribes) punished
assaults on:
– the Byzantine empire
– the Persian empire
Victories
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Syria: 635 A.D.
Palestine: 636 A.D.
Persia: captured in one battle
– expansion into India
– expansion to the borders of China
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Egypt
North Africa: the Berbers
Expansion, con’t
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Spain 711-720 A.D.
Battle of Tours: October 732 A.D.
– Charles Martel
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Siege of Constantinople: 717-718 A.D.
– Leo III
– Greek fire
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beginnings of Christian reconquests
Reasons for success
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exhaustion of Rome and Persia
nationalist sentiments in Egypt and
Syria
arguments among Christian factions
speed and size of Moslem armies
simplicity and uncomplicated nature of
Islam
acceptance of the Old and New
Testament
Consequences of Expansion
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loss of the oldest and most central lands
of Christendom
aided the ascendancy of the bishop of
Rome
virtual collapse of Zoroastrianism as a
major religion
radically altered the balance of power
between the Roman Empire and the
East
Early Problems
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Succession ?
generated a permanent split in the
Islamic community
– Sunnis
– Shi’as
Sunnis
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considered themselves the “orthodox”
followers of Mohammed
consider the Shi’as to be “dissenters”
issue: who leads after Mohammed ??
the Caliph (or “leader”)
went successively to two original
followers
– the second: Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
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not particularly popular with the Muslim
community
allowed raid, then invasions of
Byzantine and Persian territory
subjugated any dissident elements or
tribes
disposed of any “new prophets”
Success = strain
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success introduced luxury and change
new ideas and new ethnic groups
– with their own customs and heritage
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rise of a sort of “revivalist element”
– Islam had strayed from its original path and
purity
– Muslims were being led back to paganism
– caliphs were becoming idle, corrupt,
tyrants
Uman: the third Caliph
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murdered: warfare broke out
Ali: cousin and son-in-law of
Mohammed
originally passed over as too young
contested the succession
Uman supported by the Umayyad clan
– early enemies of Mohammed
– refused to accept Ali’s claims
Umayyeds
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successful in the war
Ali assassinated in 661 A.D.
beginning of the Umayyed dynasty
Sunnis
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accepted the legitimacy of early caliphs
“Sunni” : from an Arabic word
– “usage” or “custom”
– implies: “precedent”
Shi’as
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accepted Ali
word means: “party”, “faction”,
“following”
Factions
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Sunni and Shi’as dominant
originally political
Shi’as become a party of religious
dissent
Perceptions
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Sunni: conservative, in favor of the
“status quo”
– consensus is the guiding principle
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Shi’as: defenders of the oppressed,
critics of privilege and power
– obedience is required only as long as it can
be forced, and no longer
Umayyed empire
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Atlantic Ocean to India
Syria: center of the Islamic World
eventually displaced by the Persian
Abbasids
Abbasids
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claimed descent from Mohammed’s
uncle
alliance with Shi’ites and other dissident
groups
only Spain will remain Umayyed by 800
A.D.