Download World History: Islam Islam The Arabian peninsula is home to Saudi

World History: Islam
1. Islam
a. The Arabian peninsula is home to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman. Most of the peninsula is desert. The
peninsula was an important trade route for goods moving from China and India to the Mediterranean Sea
basin and on to Europe.
b. The prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca about 570 A.D. Mecca was a center of pagan worship. Its
temples were surrounded by gambling dens and brothels. Violence was pervasive. Muhammad married a
wealthy widow Khadija. He often meditated in a cave found on a huge, barren rock called Mt. Hira.
c. While meditating Muhammad was called to be a prophet. Over a period of 23 years Muhammad
received revelations. His followers later transcribed these teachings and issued them as the Muslim holy
book, The Koran (recitation)
d. Muhammad preached throughout Mecca. He endured abuse and mockery. He won converts to his vision
and threatened the status quo. Polytheistic Arabs were offended by Muhammad’s insistence on
monotheism. Those who owned and profited from the many shrines saw their livelihoods at risk. They
persecuted Muhammad and his followers.
e. Some of Muhammad’s followers fled to Ethiopia. Muhammad fled Mecca in 622 A.D. He migrated 214
miles north to the city of Yathrib. Yathrib has been re-named Medina (city of the prophet). This
migration (hijira/hegira) serves as the starting point of the official Islamic calendar.
f. In Medina, Muhammad organized his followers into a cohesive community called the umma
(community of the faithful). Muhammad saw himself as the final prophet. Abraham had brought the
principle of monotheism, Moses the Ten Commandments, Jesus the golden rule (do unto others as you
would have them do unto you).
g. Muhammad was carried on a horse with a woman’s face from Mecca to Jerusalem. Within the walls of
the Noble Sanctuary he ascended to heaven and met Jesus, Joseph, Moses, Adam, Abraham and Allah.
h. Muhammad’s forces conquered Mecca in 630 A.D. The populace was forced to convert to Islam. The
pagan shrines were razed and replaced with mosques. The Kaaba (cube) was preserved. It houses the
black stone given by the Angel Gabriel to Abraham and his son Ismail who built the structure.
i. The Islamic forces subdued other towns and clans and, by the time of Muhammad’s death in 632 A.D,
had succeeded in bringing most of the peninsula under Islamic control.
2. The Five Pillars of Islam
a. The Koran is accepted by Muslims as the word of God. Islam is a monotheistic faith – There is no God
but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet! (Shahada)
b. Prayer reminds people their brief existence will lead to a day of judgment that will determine their soul’s
eternal destination – heaven or hell. Muslims face Mecca and pray five times daily: Upon rising, at
noon, in mid-afternoon, at sunset and before bed. (Salah)
c. Muslims are urged to provide charity to the less fortunate. (Zakkat)
d. The fourth pillar is fasting (Sawm) during the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is the holy month
because it is when Muhammad was called to be a prophet. Ten years later, it was during Ramadan when
Muhammad fled Mecca for the northern city of Medina (the Hegira).
e. During the month of Ramadan, healthy adults do not drink or eat after sunrise and before sunset. This
reminds people of their essential fragility, their reliance on the world God created. Suffering also
develops empathy and compassion.
f. The last pillar is Hajj. Those who are physically and financially able must undertake the hajj and make
at least one pilgrimage to Mecca.
3. Islamic Law – Sharia
a. Sharia is Islamic Holy Law. It emerged during the centuries after Muhammad and offers detailed
guidance on proper behavior in almost every aspect of life including: family life, marriage, slavery,
business, commerce, crime and political authority.
b. Through Sharia, Islam became more than a religious doctrine: it developed into a way of life complete
with social and ethical values rooted in Islamic religious principles.
4. Islamic Expansion and Jihad
a. “The standard interpretation of jihad down the centuries is religiously sanctioned warfare. The Prophet
Muhammad was not only a religious figure but also an able military commander. Mohammed took part
in some two dozen military campaigns and he revolutionized the conduct of war in the Arab world with
the concept of jihad and martyrdom in the service of Islam. Religiously sanctioned warfare is a constant
theme of the Koran and in the model life of the Prophet” (Bergen, The Longest War, 2011, pg 29).
b. After Muhammad died the survival of Islam was in doubt. Muhammad had not named a successor. He
was understood to be the last of the prophets. Caliphs were chosen to serve as substitutes for
Muhammad. They would become the head of state for the Islamic community or umma.
c. Under the leadership of the caliphs the umma went on the offensive against towns and clans that had
renounced Islam. During the century after Muhammad’s death, Islamic armies ranged far beyond the
Arabian peninsula.
d. Between 632 A.D and the end of the 650’s, Muslim armies conquered Syria, Palestine, most of present
day Iraq, North Africa and Persia. In 718 Islamic soldiers crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and spread
across the Iberian peninsula.
e. The spread of Islam in Europe was halted at the Battle of Tours (732 A.D) when the armies of the
Frankish King Charles Martel defeated the Muslims. The Muslim tide receded from France back across
the Pyrenees. The Christians of the Iberian peninsula then began a centuries long effort to reconquer the
lands from the Moors (Muslims).
f. This reconquista was achieved in 1492 with the fall of Granada. Islam remained dominant in North
Africa.
5. The Shia
a. The Shia sect is the most important of all the alternatives to the form of Islam observed by the majority
of Muslims, known as Sunni Islam.
b. As the empire of Islam grew problems developed in choosing a caliph. The first four caliphs had been
chosen as a result of negotiations with the most powerful Arab clans. But these deliberations and the
stakes involved produced powerful rivalries.
c. The Shia sect originated as a party supporting the appointment of Ali and his descendants as caliphs. Ali
was a cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. He was a candidate for caliph when Muhammad died, but
lost out to Abu Bakr.
d. Ali was later chosen as the fourth caliph, but was assassinated. Many of his family members were then
murdered. The assassins then imposed their own candidate to succeed Ali. Supporters of Ali were
furious and resisted, struggling to return the caliphate to the line of Ali.
e. This led to the enduring split in Islam between the Sunni and the Shia.
6. Islamic Fundamentalism - Jahiliyyah and Takfir
a. Islamic Fundamentalism emerged as a powerful force after the triumph of Israel in 1967’s Six Day War.
Many Muslims believed the catastrophe of defeat was evidence of God’s displeasure with the secularism
that had spread across the Arab world. Millions turned to the teachings of Sayyid Qutb the founder of
modern Islamic fundamentalism.
b. Qutb believed secular Muslim governments that do not implement true sharia law were enemies of
Islam. He wanted secular Middle Eastern governments excommunicated from the Muslim community.
(Bergen, The Longest War, pg 22)
c. Jahiliyyah is a term that refers to the pre-Islamic state of ignorance that existed prior to the revelations
visited upon Muhammad. Islamic fundamentalists believe secular Muslim governments should be
overthrown. The process of declaring other Muslims to be apostates/people who abandon their religious
faith, takfir, is a key doctrine.
World History: Islam
Name ____________________________________________ (10 Points)
1. The Arabian peninsula was a halfway point for goods moving between what two points?
2. What is a religious revelation?
3. How did the faith Muhammad preach differ from the dominant religion of the peninsula?
4. What does “Medina” mean?
5. What is meant by the word “umma”?
6. Muhammad’s forces conquered Mecca. He levelled the pagan temples and replaced them with?
7. How often are Muslims expected to pray each day?
8. Ramadan has religious significance for two reasons related to Muhammad’s life. What reasons?
9. What reminds people of their essential fragility?
10. Calling “sharia” Islamic holy law is somewhat misleading. Do you agree/disagree? Why?
11. How many military campaigns did Muhammad take part in?
12. What is a constant theme of the Koran and in the life of the Prophet?
13. When Muhammad died he was replaced by an official who bore what title?
14. What explains the rapid spread of Islam?
15. The struggle of the Christians of the Iberian peninsula against the Muslim invaders is termed the ?
16. The largest sect in the Islamic faith is the ?
17. The Shia split from the majority of Muslims due to an argument over what issue?
18. Islamic fundamentalism became a powerful force as a result of what Arab catastrophe?
19. Sayyid Qutb regarded Muslim governments as enemies of Islam if they failed to do what?
20. What do Islamic fundamentalists believe should be done with secular Muslim governments.
21. Define secular.