Download Ch. 11 Power Point

As the Byzantines were struggling to carry on
the traditions of the Roman Empire, another
empire was developing on the Arabian
Peninsula based on a new religion. This faith
would affect cultures and civilizations in a large
part of the world. It is still one of the strongest
spiritual movements in the world of today.
The
religion is called ISLAM.
The
people are called MUSLIMS.
ARABS
are people whose ancestry
comes from the Arabian Peninsula
(nothing to do with religion).
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Geography:
 Most of the Arabian Peninsula is desert –
therefore many Arab herders (Bedouins)
were nomads – herded sheep and camels
 Bedouins
were organized into tribes and
tribal leaders were called sheikhs
 Coastal
lands had milder climates and
towns grew up in these areas
 People
 Goods
on the coasts became traders
were transported to the city of
Mecca, on a caravan route running north
to Syria
 Born
570
into a poor clan in Mecca about AD
 When
he was about 40, the angel Gabriel
told him he was a prophet of God
 Rulers
were against Muhammad’s
teachings and feared he might stop Arab
pilgrims from worshipping idols at the
Kaaba in Mecca
The Kaaba
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
 Muhammad
moved his followers to the
town of Yathrip in a journey known as the
hijrah
 Yathrip
became known as Medina, the
“City of the Prophet”
 Muhammad
gained followers; led to war
between Mecca and Medina
The Hijrah from Mecca to Medina
o Finally Mecca submitted and Muhammad
went back there in AD 630
o Idols were destroyed and Muhammad
rededicated the Kaaba to the worship of one
god, Allah
o New religion was called Islam and
Muhammad converted many Bedouin tribes
o Islam spread across Arabia and the Middle
East and into North Africa
 Islam
unified the fighting Bedouin tribes
 One God meant One People
 Islam was accepting of all people –
young and old, rich and poor, men and
women
 Gave them a common ground and no
reason to continue fighting
The Spread of Islam
 Islam
is monotheistic, and each believer
must obey God’s will
 Followers
are called Muslims
 Holy
book is the Qur’an – word of God as
revealed to Muhammad
 Five
Pillars of Islam are rules for right
living
 Prayer: Muslims
pray 5 times a day, facing
Mecca
 Faith: Belief in one God and that Muhammad is
his prophet
 Alms: Giving money to the poor is required, not
optional
 Fasting: During the month of Ramadan, Muslims
cannot eat or drink anything during daylight
hours
 Hajj: Once in their lives, Muslims make a
pilgrimage to Mecca (if they can afford it)
 Jihad, or “the
struggle to defend the
faith” – some believed anyone who died
in this struggle would be rewarded in
heaven – only Muslim extremists take this
to the point of terrorism
 Worship
 No
in mosques
official religious leaders (no clergy),
just worship guides
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Reality:
Of more than 1 billion
Muslims worldwide,
only about 1/5 are
Arabs.
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Which country has more
Muslims than any other
country in the world?
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Indonesia - with over 200
million Muslims.
(The U.S. has about 5
million Muslims.)
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Reality:
Muslims are
monotheistic and
worship the same
one God as
Christians and
Jews.
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Muslims
believe it is okay to
kill civilians in a holy war
(“jihad”).
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Only
Muslim extremists believe
this. (Just like most Christians do
NOT believe in bombing
abortion clinics.)
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Most
Muslim women wear
veils over their faces and are
treated very badly.
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 Muslim
women have many different
styles of dress. (Very few cultures
require women to cover their faces.)
 The
treatment of women varies from
country to country and family to family.
 Some
Muslim countries have had female
prime ministers. The U.S. has never had a
female president.
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At this time, Muslims were tolerant of Christians
and Jews (called them “People of the Book”)
Did not demand conversion to Islam
Could choose to accept Islam or pay extra taxes
– some who refused both options were killed
Muslims swept eastward through part of India
and westward to much of North Africa
Also conquered islands in Mediterranean Sea
In 711, invaded Spain and thus brought Islam to
Europe
 Empire
linked Europe, Asia, and Africa
 Made
textiles, products from gold and silver,
steel swords, jewelry, perfumes, spices,
pottery, glassware, leather goods
 Islamic
Empire became wealthy
 Exchanged
ideas through trade, too – many
Europeans viewed the Muslim world as a
source of advanced knowledge in science,
banking, and trade
 Advances
in use of herbs, foods, and
prepared drugs
 Improved
surgical instruments and
processes
 New
ideas about hygiene
 First
school of pharmacy
 Accurate
measurers of distance
 Accurate
world maps
 Astrolabe
– able to chart star positions
(for sea travel)
 Math
system based on 10 (Arabic
numerals; used today)