Download Lecture: 9. Islam

9. Islam
II. Development of Islam
A. Division in Islam occurred
shortly after Muhammad’s
death in 632
1. Sunni
- believe only Muhammad’s
political and military
authority can be passed on to
his successors
- supported Abu-Bakr,
Muhammad’s close
companion, advisor and
father-in-law as successor
- Caliph > representative of
Muhammad, must be a
member of the Prophet’s
clan
2. Shia
- Believed Muhammad’s religious authority could also be passed on; successor
must be a member of the Prophet’s clan by birth
- supported Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law
- Imam > both a political leader and divinely inspired religious leader
- Ayatollah > highest level of religious scholar
3. The Division
- After Muhammad’s death Abu Bakr was
chosen as caliph rather than Ali
- Ali was chosen as the fourth caliph, but was
murdered by supporters of the Umayyad
clan
- Ali’s son, Husayn, and his supporters were
massacred in the 680 battle at Karbala
Shrine of Husayn, Karbala
Shrine of Imam Ali, Najaf near Kufa
4. Legacy
Sunni (Traditionalists)
- consider themselves the guardians
of religious orthodoxy
- consider the Qur’an and Hadiths
as sources of religious and legal
authority
Shi’ites (Party of Ali)
- Imam are divinely inspired
religious leaders
- succession of Imams traced from
Ali, some are hidden
- belief in a Mahdi (guided one) >
a Messiah
- importance of Martyrdom
- Mistrust of Sunni interpretation
of the Qur’an and allows for an
allegorical reading look to reveal
hidden meanings
al-Askari Mosque, Samarra, Iraq
- Feb. 22, 2006 Bombed
5. Sufism
- opposed materialism of the Abbasid
Empire and called for a return to the
more austere and spiritual life of early
Islam
- sought a mystical union with God
A dervish was asked why he
worshipped God through dance.
“Because,” he replied, ” to
worship God means to die to
self; dancing kills self.
When the self dies all problems
die with it.
Where the self is not, Love is,
God is”
Ritual Music and Dance – Whirling Dervishes
- a tolerant, mystical interpretation of Islam with an emphasis on peace, compassion
and humility
My heart has adopted every shape; it has become a pasture for gazelles and a
convent for Christian monks,
A temple for idols and a pilgrim’s Kabah, the tables of a Torah and the
pages of a Quran.
I follow the religion of Love; wherever Love’s camels turn, there Love is my
religion and my faith.
Muslim Spain’s most
famous Sufi mystic, Ibn
Arabi (1165-1240)
Focus on:
Shaykh (Pir) >
Spiritual Guide
Wali > Saint
Dargah Qutb Sahib, Mehrauli, India - Qutuddin Bakhtiyar “Kaki” d. 1235
III. Spread of Islam
1. Umayyad Dynasty (661-750)
– capital in Damascus, Syria
Expansion of Islam 7th – 8th C.
Umayyad Mosque (completed 715)
2. Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258)
- capital in Bagdad, Iraq
The Abbasid Palace
built in the 13th
century.
- Golden Age of Islam: Bagdad become the intellectual and cultural capital of Islam
> flowering of Arabic literature
> transmission of the knowledge of antiquity
> advances in astronomy, math and medicine
> art, architecture and crafts
3. Spread of Islam
> 10th to 16th centuries
primarily through trade
A Cham Village, Vietnam
IV. Islamic Empires of the Early Modern Age
- Flowering of Islamic Culture
1. Ottoman Empire
Osman (1280-1326)
Mehmed II (1451-1481) led the
successful conquest of Constantinople in
1453
Istanbul
- Constantinople was renamed
Istanbul (City of Islam) and
became the capital city
- Hagia Sophia was converted
into a mosque
- New mosques were erected
Hagia Sophia
Suleymaniye Mosque - Istanbul
Religious Toleration
- non-Muslims paid a special tax
- Millets > each religious community kept its own courts, schools
and charities; also maintained their own
neighborhoods
Advertisement for the bookshop of Juda Varsano’s bookstore,
Salonika, Ottoman Empire
2. The Rise of the Safavid Dynasty
1. Sail al-din (Safi al-Din) (1252-1334)
- a Turkic Sufi leader who traced his Shi’ite origins back to Ali
- as his followers, the Red Hats, spread his doctrine among the Turkic tribes a
more activist Shi’ite faith was adopted
2. Shah Ismâ’il (1487-1524)
- a descendant of Sail al-Din, founder of Safavid Dynasty
- a Safavid leader who led his Turkic followers to military victories
- 
- 
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Twelve Imam Shi’ism, Ithna Ashari, was declared the
state religion
theocracy was established
conversion of the Sunni population was undertaken
al-Askari Mosque,
Samarra, Iraq
- Feb. 22, 2006 Bombed
- 
- 
Conflict developed with the Ottomans as preachers were sent into Anatolia to
convert the Turkic tribesman and to encourage them to revolt
1513 defeat of the Safavid troops at the Battle of Chaldiron halted their advance
and confined Shi’ism to Persia
Naqsh-e-Jahan (Imam Square)
Lotfollah Mosque - Isfahan
Shah Mosque (Imam Mosque)
3. The Mughals
Babur (1483-1530)
- of Mongolian and Turkic descent
- having lost his kingdom centered on Farghana, he retreated to Kabul
- in 1526 he entered India to found a new kingdom
- within a year he defeated the Muslim ruler of Lodi (the Delhi Sultanate) and
a the Rajput to establish his authority over much of northern India
Delhi – Jama Masjid
Taj Mahal – Agra
Islamic Political Sovereignty 1500
V. Islam and the Modern World
A. Lagged behind the West from the
17th century; Isolation
1. Conservative nature of Islam
2. Self satisfaction relative to
European countries
3. Development within Islam of
extremely conservative
groups > such as Wahhabism
(founded 1744)
Monument to Saladin (Dascus, Syria)
B. End of Isolation in the early 20th century
1. Better means of transportation and communication
2. World War I
- Ottoman Empire entered on the side of Germany and lost
- break up of the Ottoman Empire into independent states > initially as League
of Nations mandates granted to England and France
3. Discovery of Oil in the Middle East and Indonesia
C. Resurgence of Islam
1. Reform Movements
- close reading of the Qur’an for
answers to modern political and
economic problems; feminists seek
grounds to expand their roles and
right in the Qur’an
2. Extremely active Missionary
movements if Africa
3. Islam associated with the struggle
for social justice and selfdetermination vs. the West
D. Emergence of Islamic Fundamentalism
- reaction against Western culture
- call for a return to traditional Islamic customs and practices
> left wing response - 1979 Iranian Revolution
> right wing response – Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabsim; however, dissidents
like Osama bin Laden seek dissolution of the monarchy and
imposition of an even stricter social order
- struggle between modernization and Fundamentalism
The Crown
Prince, His Royal
Highness Prince
Sultan Bin Abdul
Aziz Al-Saud
E. Islam is again an expanding and growing religion