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All of the following are characteristics
of Islam except:
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A. a monotheistic belief in one god that must be
worshipped as one god.
B. a belief in a community of believers unified by
their faith above all else
C. a tradition of passing down the central teachings
of their faith orally
D. a spreading of the faith to the 3 continents of
Europe, Asia and Africa
E. a belief in the importance of prayer, fasting, and
charity.
The Caliph
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A. always ruled over one extended area of land
from Spain to India
B. was a position that dissolved a short time after
Muhammad’s death
C. was a position passed down through one family
that traced its roots though Mecca
D. was a position created by the Abbasid family to
solidify their rule in Baghdad
E. was considered to be the successor of Muhammad
as well as their political leader
The Muslim caliphate is significant in
world history because
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A. it is the first Afro-Eurasian empire
B. it peacefully incorporated many different cultural
groups
C. it became the largest empire in history
D. it is significantly improved the living standards of
all its subjects
E. its beginnings as a nomadic culture made it
remarkably egalitarian in its dealing with genders
Islamic Sects

During the Umayyad Dynasty, the Umma split over the issue of leadership

Shi’ites = resisted Umayyad rule
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Believed the caliph should be a descendent of Muhammad
Sunnis = accepted Umayyad rule
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Believed the caliph should simply follow Muhammad’s actions
Law and Dogma
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During the time of Muhammad,
Islam had no legal system

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Followers simply followed the Five
Pillars and Muhammad’s personal
examples (sunna)
After Muhammad’s death, an
ethical code based on his actions
(the hadith) was created

Sharia = the law code (legal
system) that developed from these
actions

Served as the foundation for
Islamic civilizations
Converts and Cities

Conversion was simple and
common throughout Islamic
Empires
At first, conversion occurred due
to military expansion
 Later, the religion spread as a
result of missionaries and
merchants

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Because there is no established
priesthood, converts usually
moved to urban centers (ex.
Baghdad) to be around Muslims

Learned Arabic, visited Mosques,
etc…
Gender Roles in Islam
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Patriarchal
Role of men
Could be polygamous
 Educated
 Feared sexual infidelity and
meddling in politics by
women
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Role of women
Covered themselves in public
and lived in relative
seclusion
 Few became literate
 Could remarry, initiate
divorce, inherit property

“Say to the believing men that they should lower
their gaze and guard their modesty; that will
make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well
acquainted with all that they do. And say to the
believing women that they should lower their
gaze and guard their modesty; and that they
should not display their beauty and ornaments
except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that
they should draw their veils over their bosoms and
not display their beauty except to their
husbands…”
Slaves in the Muslim World
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Islam allowed slavery, but
forbade enslaving other
Muslims or “People of the
Book”
 Not
hereditary
 Many slaves gained freedom
by converting to Islam

Most slaves came from East
Africa and were traded
throughout the Indian Ocean
into Asia (Islamic Slave
Trade)