Download Rise of Islam

Rise of Islam
• Bedouins emphasized ideals of courage and loyalty,
which end up funding the background of Islam
• Trading throughout the Arabian peninsula along
the GSR pass along ideas
• Mecca- city where religious pilgrims travel to
worship Allah at the Ka’aba
The Prophet
• Muhammad born into powerful Meccan family, but
abandoned and raised by his uncle and grandfather
• At 40 years old, Muhammad hears the voice of
Gabriel outside, and begins to believe that he’s the
last of the prophets
• Some Arabs find Muhammad’s revolutionary
teachings neglectful toward the polytheistic gods
worshipped at the Ka’aba
• Muhammad and some of his followers migrated to
Yathrib (Hijrah). Yathrib is now called Medina
• While in Medina, Muhammad rises to political and
religious prominence
• Muhammad and his 10,000+ followers march back
to Mecca and destroy the Ka’aba. This solidifies
Muhammad and Islam even though he dies two
years later
Practice of Islam
• Main teaching is that there is only one God Allah
• Five Pillars
1. Faith- “there is no God but Allah”
2. Prayer- five times a day, Muslims pray in the direction of Mecca.
They may meet at a mosque, or wherever they are
3. Alms- giving money to the poor through a special religious tax
4. Fasting- during Ramada, Muslims fast between dawn and sunset
5. Pilgrimage- all who are financially and physically able need to
perform the hajj at least once
• In addition to the five pillars, Muslims are forbidden
to eat pork or drink intoxicating drinks. Friday
afternoons are designated for worship.
• Ulama are a class of religious scholars who apply
the teachings of Muhammad to life
• After the death of the prophet Muhammad, his
revelations are recorded in the Qur’an
• Muslims find that Muhammad’s example (sunna) is
the model for living
• Shari’a is a system of law that regulates the family
life, moral conduct, and business and community
life
Links to Judaism and Christianity
• Muslims find Jesus as a prophet, not the Son of God
• Believe in the Qur’an as the holy book as Christians
and Jews believe in the Torah and Gospels
• All three believe in heaven and hell
• All three trace ancestry back to Abraham
Islam Expands
• Before death, Muhammad hadn’t picked a
successor nor instructed his followers how to
• The Muslim community selected Abu-Bakr, a loyal
friend of Muhammad 1st Caliph
• Abu-Bakr and the next three caliphs (Umar,
Uthman, and Ali) all knew Muhammad personally
and used his teachings to rule over the caliphate
• Shorty after Muhammad’s death some Arabs
abandon Islam, refuse to pay taxes, and some even
declare themselves prophets
• Abu-Bakr declares jihad against the rebels to justify
the expansion of Islam
• After Abu-Bakr dies, Umar and the Muslim state
conquered Syria and lower Egypt (previously
Byzantine ruled). By 750 CE the Muslim empire
stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indus River
(261)
Reasons for Success in Expansion
• The four “rightly guided” caliphs made progress in
expanding Islam; Muslims were willing to sacrifice
for their religion
• The Muslim armies were well disciplined and
expertly commanded; Byzantine and Sassanid
empires were exhausted militarily from battles
• People within the Byzantine and Sassanid empires
welcomed Islam because many didn’t agree with
Christianity or Zoroastrianism; they also didn’t like
paying poll taxes to their empires
Treatment of Conquered Peoples
• The Qur’an forbade forced conversion, so Muslims
allowed conquered people to choose for
themselves
• “People of the Book” received special
consideration, but were required to pay a poll tax in
exchange for not performing any military service
• Conquered peoples who don’t adopt Islam can
become scholars, officials, and bureaucrats but
cannot spread their own religions
Internal Conflict
• In 656 CE Uthman is murdered causing groups to
struggle for power.
• Ali (Muhammad’s relative) was the natural successor,
but his ascendance is rivaled by a Syrian governor
named Muawiya. Ali, too, is murdered and the process
of electing caliphs dies with him
• The Umayyads rise to power and move the capitol to
Demascus
• The Umayyads abandon the “simple life” preached by
Muhammad and begin wealthy lives like non-Muslim
leaders
• The election issue along with the materialism of the
Umayyads cause a rift in the religion
Sunni-Shi’a Split
• Many Muslims stick with the Umayyads, but some
believe that the caliph need be a descendant of the
Prophet
• Shi’a- the party of Ali; these followers are called
Shi’ites
• Sunni- followers of Muhammad’s example
• Sufi- group who rejects the Umayyad’s luxurious
life; these ppl pursue a life of poverty and spiritual
devotion
• Unrest further develops with the Umayyad
caliphate, and in 750 CE the Abbasids take control
Abbasid Control Extends
• Abbasids murder remaining Umayyad caliphate
(except Abd al-Rahman) when they take over
• Abbasids also move the capitol of the empire to
Baghdad, Iraq (important for trading goods and
information on the empire in Spain)
• The Abbasids develop a strong bureaucracy;
treasury tracks money, military dept. controls the
army, etc.
• To fund the bureaucracy the Abbasids taxed land,
imports and exports, and non-Muslim wealth
Rival Groups Divide Land
• Abbasids fail to keep complete political control, and
regional Muslim states sprang up (Fatimad)
• Smaller states are still connected by language,
religion, trade, and the economy
Muslim Trade Network
• Made up of two sea networks (Mediterranean and
Indian Ocean) and the GSR
• Muslim language (Arabic) and the denar are all they
need
• Banks set up “sakks”, or the modern day checking
account
Muslim Culture
Rise of Cities
• Symbolized the strength of the caliphate
• Cordoba, Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo,
Jerusalem, etc.
• Baghdad is the most impressive, and homes to
over 900,000 people
Social Classes
1. Upper class- Muslims at birth
2. Converts to Islam
3. “Protected people”; Christians, Jews, and
Zoroastrians
4. Slaves (non-muslim and p.o.w.’s)- fought for
the Muslim military and performed
housework
Role of Women
• Qur’an says that “women and men are equal” but also
that “righteous women are obedient”
• Women had more economic and property rights in
Islam than women in other European, Chinese, and
Indian cultures
• Men merely had to say “I dismiss thee” to divorce their
wives
• Wives of wealthy men supervised the household and its
servants; poorer women went to work in the fields with
their husbands
• When in public, women are expected to be veiled
Muslim Intellectual Advancements
• Muhammad stressed the importance of knowledge
• In the 800’s, the House of Wisdom is opened in Baghdad to be
a library, academy, and translation center
Saw advancements in:
• Literature- poems about nature and pleasures of love and life
• Art and Architecture-calligraphy replaces pictures of living
images; in architecture Roman and Byzantine styles were
copied
• Math and Science-Muslim thinkers prefer scientific
observation over rational thinking like in Greek philosophy.
(M) Al-Khwarizmi writes al-jabr; (S) Ibn al-Haytham writes
Optics
• Medicine- treatment of small pox and of measles by Al-Razi
through “clean air”
Philosophy and Religion Blend
• Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd blends Aristotle’s
and Plato’s views with Muslim culture and is
criticized; he says both try to find “truth”
• Jewish philosopher Moses Ben Maimon blends
philosophy, science and religion
The “Ideal Man”
• Idea of a perfect man  response to the Muslim
empire’s diverse nature