Download Fusion The Culture of Islam - White Plains Public Schools

The Culture of Islam
World History/Napp
“The Abbasids governed during a prosperous period of Muslim history. Riches flowed
into the empire from all over Europe, Asia, and Africa. Rulers could afford to build
luxurious cities. They supported the scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers that those
cities attracted. In the special atmosphere created by Islam, the scholars preserved existing
knowledge and produced an enormous body of original learning.
Muslims had several practical reasons for supporting the advancement of science. Rulers
wanted qualified physicians treating their ills. The faithful throughout the empire relied on
mathematicians and astronomers to calculate the times for prayer and the direction of
Mecca. However, their attitude also reflected a deep-seated curiosity about the world and a
quest for truth. Muhammad himself believed strongly in the power of learning.
Muslim interest in astronomy developed from the need to fulfill three of the Five Pillars of
Islam – fasting during Ramadan, performing the hajj, and praying toward Mecca. A
correct lunar calendar was needed to mark religious periods such as the month of
Ramadan and the month of the hajj. Studying the skies helped fix the locations of cities so
that worshipers could face toward Mecca as they prayed. Extensive knowledge of the stars
also helped guide Muslim traders to the many trading cities of the ancient world.
The Prophet’s emphasis on study and scholarship led to strong support of places of
learning by Muslim leaders. After the fall of Rome in A.D. 476, Europe entered a period of
upheaval and chaos, an era in which scholarship suffered. The scientific knowledge gained
up to that time might have been lost. However, Muslim leaders and scholars preserved and
expanded much of that knowledge. Both Umayyads and Abbasids encouraged scholars to
collect and translate scientific and philosophical texts. In the early 800s, Caliph al-Ma’mun
opened in Baghdad a combination library, academy, and translation center called the
House of Wisdom. There, scholars of different cultures and beliefs worked side by side
translating texts from Greece, India, Persia, and elsewhere into Arabic.” ~ World History
- When did the Abbasids govern and how did its riches benefit scholars?
- Why did Muslims have practical reasons for supporting the advancement of science?
- What did mathematicians and astronomers calculate for the faithful?
- Which three of the Five Pillars depended on astronomers? Why?
- What happened to Europe after the fall of Rome?
- What did Muslims preserve?
- Why was the House of Wisdom significant?
- What did scholars translate in the House of Wisdom?
Role of Women
- The Qur’an also declares
that men and women, as
believers, are equal
Art and Architecture
- Muslims believed that only
Allah can create life and so
images of living beings were
discouraged
- The shari’a gave Muslim
women specific legal rights
- Thus, many artists turned
concerning marriage, family, to calligraphy, or the art of
and property
beautiful handwriting
- But Muslim women were
still expected to submit to
men
- When a husband wanted to
divorce his wife, all he had
to do was repeat three times,
“I dismiss thee”
- The wife of a poor man
would often work in the
fields with her husband
- Wealthier women had
access to education, and
among them were poets and
scholars
- Over time, Muslim women
were forced to live
increasingly isolated lives
and were veiled in public
- Others expressed
themselves through the
decorative arts, such as
woodwork, glass, ceramics,
and textiles
Medicine
- Muslim contributions in
the sciences were most
recognizable in medicine,
mathematics, and astronomy
- A Persian scholar named
al-Razi wrote an
encyclopedia called the
Comprehensive Book that
drew on knowledge from
Greek, Syrian, Arabic, and
Indian sources as well as on
his own experience
- Al-Razi also wrote Treatise
- It is in architecture that the on Smallpox and Measles
greatest cultural blending of
the Muslim world can be
- He believed patients would
seen
recover more quickly if they
breathed cleaner air
- In the Great Mosque of
Damascus, there is the huge - Muslim scientists preferred
dome and vaulted ceiling of
to solve problems by
the mosque blending
conducting experiments in
Byzantine architecture with laboratory settings
Muslim ideas
- Al-Khwarizmi, a
mathematician, wrote a
textbook in the 800s and
called his technique
al-jabr – today called algebra
- What does the Qur’an declare about men and women?
- Who were Muslim women expected to submit to?
- How did a husband get a divorce in the Islamic world?
- What were Muslim women forced to do over time?
- How is Islamic art and architecture similar to yet different from European art?
- Why was Al-Razi important?
- Why is algebra Islamic?
- How does art reflect the values of a people?
… It was during the Arab period,
particularly under the Umayyads (756–
1031), that Qurtubah [Cordova] enjoyed its
prime and grandeur and took its place as
the most civilized city in Western Europe.
None of the other Spanish historic cities —
Toledo, Seville, and Granada — approached
it in material prosperity and intellectual
attainments. When Christendom was deep
in its Dark Ages, Moslem Cordova was
rearing men, evolving ideas, writing books,
erecting buildings, and producing works of
art that constituted a unique civilization. In
the West it had one peer in Constantinople
and in the East another, Baghdad. At no
time before or after did any Spanish city
enjoy such distinction.…
~ Philip K. Hitti, Capital Cities of Arab Islam
A student could use the information above
in an essay to support which of the following
topics?
1. Warfare between Muslims and Christians
during the Dark Ages was extremely
common.
2. There were many lasting effects of the
spread of Islam on the people of
Constantinople.
3. The growth of Christianity in Spain led to
its golden age.
4. There were Arabic cities in Spain that
flourished during the Dark Ages of Europe.
What was one effect of the expansion of
Islam between 632 and 750?
1. Armed conquest was forbidden by the
caliphs.
2. Cultural and commercial connections
were established over a sizable region.
3. A majority of the western European
population converted.
4. A single centralized authority governed
an area from the Mediterranean Sea to the
Indus River.
The Abbasid and Umayyad empires are
most closely associated with
1. causing the fall of the western Roman
Empire
2. creating an Islamic Golden Age
3. controlling trade in the Strait of Malacca
4. inventing the compass and gunpowder
Which achievements are most closely
associated with the Golden Age of Islamic
culture?
1. mosques, medical books, and algebra
2. gunpowder, pagodas, and silk
3. aqueducts, roads, and polytheistic temples
4. columns, theory of a sun-centered
universe, and democracy

Islamic scholars made significant
contributions to astronomy.
 Muslim architects excelled in design.
 Schools and libraries were built in
Islamic urban centers.
Which conclusion about Islamic society
during its Golden Age can best be supported
by these statements?
1. Social status of Muslims was determined
at birth.
2. Achievements relied on a knowledge of
math and science.
3. People of diverse faiths were required to
convert to Islam.
4. Cities developed self-sufficient economies.
Which historical period is associated with
the concept of zero, the development of a
handbook on medicine, and the Rubaiyat of
Omar Khayyam?
1. European Renaissance
2. Golden Age of Islam
3. Songhai Empire
4. Age of Pericles