Transcript 14. The Expansive Realm of Islam

Chapter 11
The Expansive Realm
of Islam
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Muhammad and His Message
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Born 570 CE to merchant family in Mecca
Orphaned as a child
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Marries wealthy widow ca. 595 CE, works as
merchant
Familiarity with paganism, Christianity, and
Judaism as practiced in Arabian peninsula
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Muhammad’s Spiritual Transformation
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Visions ca. 610 CE
Archangel Gabriel
Monotheism
Attracts followers to Mecca
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The Quran
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Record of revelations received during visions
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Committed to writing ca. 650 CE
(Muhammad dies 632 CE)
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Tradition of Muhammad’s life: hadith
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Conflict at Mecca
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Muhammad’s monotheistic teachings
offensive to polytheistic pagans
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Economic threat to existing religious
industries (shrines & the Ka’ba)
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Denunciation of greed affront to local
merchants & aristocracy
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The Hijra
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Muhammad flees to Yathrib (Medina) 622 CE
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Year 0 in Muslim calendar
Organizes followers into communal society
(the umma)
Legal, spiritual code
Commerce, raids on Meccan caravans for
sake
of umma
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The “Seal of the Prophets”
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***Islam as culmination and correction of
Judaism and Christianity
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Inheritor of both Jewish and Christian texts
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Muhammad’s Return to Mecca
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Attack on Mecca, 630 CE
Forced Conversion of Mecca to Islam
Destruction of pagan sites, replaced with
mosques
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Ka’ba preserved in honor of importance of
Mecca
Approved as pilgrimage site
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The Ka’ba
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The Five Pillars of Islam
1. No god but Allah, and Muhammad as His prophet
2. Daily prayer facing Mecca
3. Fasting during the month of Ramada
4. Charity towards the weak and the poor
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once
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Muslims at Prayer
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Jihad
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“Struggle”
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Against vice and evil
Against unbelief, ignorance of Islam
In some circumstances, wage war against
unbelievers who threaten Islam
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Islamic Law: The Sharia
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Codification of Islamic law
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Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools of
analysis
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Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of
human activity
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The Caliph
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No clear to successor to Muhammad
identified
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Abu Bakr chosen to lead as caliph (“deputy”)
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Leads war against villagers who abandoned
Islam after death of Muhammad
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The Expansion of Islam
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Highly successful attacks on Byzantine,
Sasanid territories
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Difficulties governing rapidly expanding
territory
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The Expansion of Islam, 632–733 CE
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The Shia sect
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Disagreements over selection of caliphs
Ali passed over for Abu Bakr
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Ali serves as caliph 656–661 CE, then assassinated along
with most of his followers
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Remaining followers organize separate party called “Shia”
 Traditionalists: “Sunni” sect
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Shi’ite Pilgrims at Karbala
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The Umayyad Dynasty (661–750 CE)
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From Meccan merchant class
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Capital: Damascus, Syria
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Policy toward Conquered Peoples
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Favoritism of Arab military rulers causes
discontent
Limited social mobility for non-Arab Muslims
***Head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims
Umayyads’ luxurious living causes further
decline in moral authority
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The Abbasid Dynasty (750–1258 CE)
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Abu al-Abbas: a descendent of
Muhammand’s uncle.
Although he was Sunni Arab, allied with Shia
and non-Arab Muslims
Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia
Defeats Umayyad army in 750 CE
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Invites Umayyads to banquet, then massacres
them
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Nature of the Abbasid Dynasty
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Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not
exclusively Arab)
Militarily competent, but not bent on imperial
expansion
Dar al-Islam “house of Islam”
Growth through military activity of
autonomous Islamic forces, not policies of the
caliphs.
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Abbasid Administration
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Persian influence
Court at Baghdad
Influence of Islamic scholars (ulama, qadis)
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Abbasid Decline
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Civil war between sons of Harun al-Rashid
Provincial governers assert regional
independence
Dissenting sects, heretical movements
Abbasid caliphs become puppets of Persian
nobility
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Economy of the Early Islamic
World
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Spread of food and industrial crops
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Western diet adapts to wide variety
New crops adapted to different growing
seasons
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Trade routes from India to Spain
Agricultural sciences develop
Cotton and paper industries develop
Major cities emerge
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Formation of a Hemispheric
Trading Zone
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Historical precedent of Arabic trade
Dar al-Islam encompasses silk routes
Camel caravans
Maritime trade
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Banking and Trade
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Scale of trade causes banks to develop
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Sakk (check)
Joint ventures common
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Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain)
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Muslim Berber conquerors from north Africa
take Spain, early 8th century
Allied to Umayyads, refuse to recognize
Abbasid dynasty
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Form own caliphate
Tensions, but interrelationship
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Changing Status of Women
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Quran improves status of women
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Outlaws female infanticide
Brides, not husbands, claim dowries
Yet male dominance is preserved
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Patrilineal descent
Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden
Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice
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Formation of an Islamic Cultural
Tradition
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Islamic values
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Uniformity of Islamic law in dar al-Islam
Establishment of madrasas
Importance of the hajj
Sufi missionaries
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Asceticism, mysticism
Some tension with orthodox Islamic theologians
Wide popularity
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Cultural Influences on Islam
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Persia
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Administration and governance
literature
India
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Mathematics, science, medicine
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“Hindi” numbers
Greece
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Philosophy, especially Aristotle
Ibn Rushd/Averroës (1126–1198)
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