Download Origins and Spread of Islam

Origins and Spread of
Islam
Mr. Stowinsky
World History
Deserts, Towns, & Trade Routes
► The
Middle East is a crossroads for 3 continents –
Asia, Africa, and Europe
► Most people lived in wandering tribes since the
area is mostly desert
► Courage and loyalty to family would become part
of the Islamic way of life
► Traders brought the idea of monotheism to the
area
► Allah – the Muslim God
► Ka’aba – ancient shrine in Mecca
The Prophet Muhammad
► Muhammad
was a wealthy businessman
who lived in Mecca
► Claimed to receive a message from the
angel Gabriel that he was the prophet and
messenger of Allah
► Islam – “submission to the will of Allah”
► Muslim – “one who has submitted”
► The traditional Arab gods had to be
abandoned
The Hijrah
► Muhammad
left Mecca after his followers
were attacked
► Hijrah – migration from Mecca to Yathrib
► Yathrib was renamed Medina
► In Medina, Muhammad improved his
leadership skills and united the Arabs and
Jews into one community
Return to Mecca
► Muhammad
and 10,000 followers returned
to Mecca
► Destroyed the idols of the Arab gods and
made a call to prayer from the Ka’aba
► Most of Mecca converted to Islam
► Not long after, most of Arabia was Islamic
Beliefs and Practices of Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam
► Faith
– Allah is the only God
► Prayer – Face Mecca and pray 5 times a day
► Alms – give money to the less fortunate
► Fasting – Muslims don’t eat from sunrise to
sunset during the holy month of Ramadan
► Pilgrimage – If possible, Muslims must travel
to Mecca at least once - hajj
Way of Life
► Forbidden
to eat pork or drink alcohol
► Friday is their holy day
► No priests, all Muslims worship Allah directly
► Qu’ran – Muslim holy book
► Qu’rans are written in Arabic, prayer is only
in Arabic
Links to Judaism and Christianity
► Allah
is the same god as in Christian and Jewish
belief
► Jesus is just a prophet to Muslims
► The Qu’ran perfects the Old and New Testaments
and is the final version
► All 3 religions have heaven & hell
► All 3 trace their roots to Abraham
► Extend religious tolerance to Christians & Jews
Islam Expands
► Eventually
conquers the Byzantine Empire,
the eastern half of the Roman Empire
► Caliph – “successor” – leaders of Islam after
Muhammad’s death
► The religion splits
 Shi’ite – believe the caliph should descend from
Muhammad
 Sunni – the caliph doesn’t have to descend from
Muhammad
Muslim Culture
►4




social classes
1st – Muslim by birth
2nd – Converts
3rd – “protected people” – Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians
4th – slaves – did household work or fought in the
military
► Women
had more rights than Christian women but
were still expected to submit to men
► Women generally stayed home and had to wear a
veil if out in public
Arts & Sciences Flourish
► Wrote and read lots of literature, especially poetry
► Calligraphy – the art of beautiful handwriting
► Borrowed architecture from the Roman and
Byzantine Empires
► First encyclopedias written by Muslims
► Emphasis on problem solving and experimentation
► Al-jabr – algebra
► Astronomy – studied comets and other smaller
objects. Experiments with light also led to the
development of lenses
► Studied and expanded on Greek philosophy