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The Worlds of Islam Consider … By the start of the twentieth century, Islam had acquired a significant presence in the US 1200 Mosques and about 8 million Muslims Second half of the century saw the growing international influence of Islam Islam had already been prominent in the world between 600 and 1600 Encompassed parts of Africa, Europe, ME and Asia Enormously significant in world history Creation of new and innovative civilization Largest and most influential of the past civilizations Islam’s reach generated major cultural encounters In the year 2000, there were 1.2 billion Muslims in the world (22 percent of the world’s population) 1. Birth of a new religion 2. Story of Muhammad, revelations, radical new teachings, pillars of Islam, jihad, transformation of the Arabian peninsula Making of an Arab empire 4. Homeland- Arabia, nomadic, Bedouins, Mecca, kaaba, influence of Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism Messenger and the message 3. Outline: Expansion, war and conquest, conversion, divisions, rise of the caliph, women and men is Islam Islam and cultural encounters Comparison of India, West Africa, Spain, and Anatolia Networks of exchange and networks of Faith Two travelers: Ibn Buttuta and Marco Polo Birth of a New Religion Homeland of Islam Arabian Peninsula, nomadic Arabs (Bedouins) Independent, clans and tribes Harsh, desert environment, scarcity of water Oasis Arabia important location as trade center Mecca and the Kaaba (religious shrine) On edge of Byzantine and Sassanid empires Influence of Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity The Messenger and the Message Prophet was Muhammad Orphaned Merchant Withdrawal and meditation Revelations and visions Recorded in Quran (actual word of God) Sacred language of Arabic convey presence of the divine Radical new teachings Monotheistic Muslim=“one who submits” Creation of new society of social justice, equality, care for others (umma) Core Message Five Pillars of Islam Profession of One God Prayer five times a day Help community/charity Fasting during Ramadan Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) Jihad “Sixth Pillar” “greater jihad”= Personal spiritual striving “lesser jihad”= armed struggle against unbelief and evil Interpretation has varied over time Transformation of Arabia Muhammad attracted small following and opposition from Meccan elites Emigrated to Medina (the hijra or hegira) in 622 =new calendar Created Islamic community (umma) Broke from Judaism Rapid expansion throughout Asia Military successes=alliances Large-scale conversion Consolidation of Islamic control throughout Arabia by death of M in 632 Fundamental differences between birth of Christianity and Islam Islam not persecuted religion Islam did not separate church and state (sharia law) Muhammad was religious, political, and military leader no professional clergy The Making of an Arab Empire Grew to include all or part of Egyptian, Roman/Byzantine, Persian, Mesopotamian, and Indian civilization Many converted Arabic culture spread quickly Islam becomes its own civilization War and Conquest Long-term raiding pattern Political organization=greater mobilization Byzantine and Persian empires weakened **Reasons for Expansion 1. Economic: Capture trade routes and agricultural regions 2. Individual: Arabs sought wealth and promotion 3. Communal: conquest helped hold the umma together 4. Religious: bring righteous gov’t to the conquered 5. 1. Did not impose Islam 2. Arabs though Islam was their religion and then later sought converts 3. Protected “people of the book” 4. Non-Muslims paid special tax but could practice own religion Conquest was too destructive 1. Arab soldiers were restricted to garrison towns 2. Local elites and bureaucracies were incorporated into empire Conversion to Islam 1. Initial conversion was social not spiritual 2. Kinship to Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism made it attractive 3. Associated with new beginning=powerful state= Allah good God to have on your side 4. State provided incentives for conversions 1. Earliest were slaves and POWs 2. converts-=no tax 3. Islam favored commerce 4. Social mobility increased by conversion 5. Resistance= Berbers of N. Africa, some Spanish Christians, some Persians 6. 80 percent of Persia converted between 700-900 7. Regions (Egypt, North Africa, and Iraq) converted to Arabic culture and language Divisions in Muslim World Central Problem: who should serve as successor to Muhammad (caliph)? First four caliphs (Rightly Guided Caliphs) were companions of Muhammad Arab tribal rebellions and false prophets civil war Result: Sunni/Shia split Began as political conflict but became religious Over time caliphs became absolute monarchs Sunni Leadership passes to caliphs (leader of dynasty) elected from Muslim families Support rule of Bakr, Umar, and Uthman (“Rightly Guided Caliphs”) Direct relationship to Allah Religious authority comes from community (ulama) Majority Shia Leadership= descendants of Muhammad Muhammad is prophet Quran is word of God 5 pillars Support Ali Reject “Rightly guided Caliphs” (first four) Imam=spiritual connection to Allah; only one who can interpret Quran Opponents of privileged Leaders martyred- leaders will return as Messiah figures Umayyad Dynasty (661-750) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258) 1. Overthrows Umayyad in 750 due Great expansion to lack of religious focus and Caliphs became hereditary rulers opulent living of rulers Capital moved to Damascus, Syria 2. New Capital in Baghdad Arab military aristocracy ruled 3. “Golden Age” =great cultural Unequal treatment on non-Arabs achievements Opulent living 4. Cosmopolitan culture: Mixing of Persians, Jewish, and Arab culture 5. Harem and the veil; decreasing women’s status Sufism A second understanding of the faith emerged among those who saw the worldly success of Islamic civilization as a distraction and deviation from the purer spirituality of Muhammad’s time -Known as Sufis, they represented Islam’s mystical dimension, in that they sought a direct and personal experience of the divine -Through renunciation of the material world, meditation on the words of the Quran, the use of music and dance, the veneration of Muhammad and various “saints,” Sufis pursued the obliteration of the ego and spiritual union with Allah -To describe that inexpressible experience, they often resorted to metaphors of drunkenness or the embrace of lovers Sufism After spreading to many areas in South Asia Islam became infused with many mystical strains and incorporated animism, Hindu and Buddhist elements. Spread into SE Asia and varied widely in personality and approach. Established mosques and schools and traveled to preach faith Sufism became widely popular by the ninth and tenth centuries and was sharply critical of the more scholarly and legalistic practitioners of the sharia Converts were allowed to keep pre-Islamic beliefs and practices, became inportant in regulating social interactions women retained stronger poistion, Orthodox religious scholars, Sufi ideas and practices verged on heresy, as Sufis claimed to be one with God, to receive new revelations, or to incorporate religious practices from outside the Sufis Whirling Dervishes What does it mean to be Muslim? 1. Islamic law=sharia 1. Addressed most aspects of religious and social life 2. Correct behavior 3. Creation of four Sunni schools of law 2. Reaction against the distraction of worldly success 1. Sufis were mystical seeking direct experience of the divine 2. Renounced material world 3. Considered heretics by ulama (religious scholars) 4. Sufis critical of sharia and Quran 3. Hadiths: saying of Muhammad or a report about something he did Conclusion Questions… 1. In what ways did the early history of Islam reflect its Arabian origins? 2. How does the core message of Islam compare with those of Judaism and Christianity? 3. In what ways was the rise of Islam revolutionary, both in theory and in practice? 4. Why were Arabs able to construct such a huge empire so quickly? 5. What accounts for widespread conversion to Islam? 6. What's the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam?