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Islam
Islam
Third of the
Abrahamic Faiths
Why Study Islam ?
• > 1.2 billion followers
worldwide
• > major impacts on world
history
• > key factor in regional,
world politics
Islam is ...
Islam is a monotheistic religion begun
by Muhammad around 600 CE in
Arabia. The word means
“surrender”...to the will of god. Islam
united Arab tribes, and was the basis
for an empire from Spain to India.
MUHAMMAD
Muhammad was an Arab
merchant who interacted with
Jews, Christians and others as he
traveled in S.W. Asia. He founded
a new religion (Islam), based on
revelations and his teachings,
converting poly-theistic tribes to
belief in one god, Allah. He died in
632CE
.
Muhammad’s home region: the Arabian
Peninsula
Abu Bakr
• Abu Bakr
• lived until 630 CE
• was key advisor to
Muhammad
• became the 1st
caliph
• consolidated
control of Arabian
tribes
• began Islam’s
expansion outside
Arabia
Umar
was 2nd caliph, ca. 640 CE
led expansion to Egypt,
Mesopotamia, and Persia
Uthman
was 3rd caliph,
ca.
650 CE
Quaran was written under his
direction
Ali
Ali was Muhammad’s cousin,
son-in-law (married to Fatima),
and closest male heir. He was the
4th caliph and 1st Shi’a imam,
until he was killed in 661
Hasan and Hussein
Ali’s sons, the 2nd and 3rd
imams.
killed by Umayyad forces in Iraq.
Islamic Beliefs and Practices
THE FIVE PILLARS
-- Creed --- Prayer --- Charity --- Fasting --- Pilgrimage --
Creed There is no god but Allah, and
Muhammad is his prophet
.
Prayer Five times daily,
facing Mecca
.
Charity Annual giving to the poor.
Fasting Dawn-to-dusk during
Ramadan
.
Pilgrimage
To Mecca, once in a lifetime
.
The Sunni - Shi’a Split in Islam
~ The Problem ~
Muhammad died without a
son.
Who will be the new leader of
the faith?
~ The Sunni Solution ~
A council of Muhammad’s
confidant’s elects a senior advisor
(Abu Bakr) as the first caliph.
~ The Shi’a Solution ~
Find the nearest male relative (Ali),
and continue Muhammad’s bloodline
through imams.
Sunnis and Shi’ites Clash.
... today, 80% of Muslims are
Sunni.
... Iran and Iraq are the only
Shi’a-run countries
.
Shi’a Islam
Shi’at Ali ... “Party of Ali”
12 Imams ... most are martyred.
...the 12th [Mahdi] will
reappear on the
Day of Judgement
Shi’ite pilgrimage sites
include Karbala and Najaf in
Iraq.
Islamic Holy Books
Koran [Quran]
-- “The Recitation”
... a record of Muhammad’s
revelations from god through
Gabriel. Begun around 610 CE;
written around 650 CE. Similar
accounts as the Old Testament
.
The Koran
Hadith
Sayings of Muhammad.
Basis of Sharia, along with the Koran
.
Shari’a
Shari’a is the Islamic legal code,
based mainly on the Koran and
Hadith, and as compiled by
Muslim scholars (ulama).
Schools of Islamic Law
Islamic Holy Sites
Islam’s Three Holiest Cities
... Mecca
... Medina
... Jerusalem
The Ka’aba
• located in Mecca, Saudi
Arabia
• sacred cube at center of
the universe
• ancient Arab tribal
pilgrimage site
• dedicated to Allah by
Muhammad
Medina
• “City of the Prophet”
• Formerly Yathrib
• Muhammad found
sanctuary here after
the Hejira (622 CE)
• Islam’s 2nd holiest
site
The Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock
3rd holiest site in Islamic world located in
Jerusalem
rock where Abraham took Ismail
Muhammad ascended to heaven here
Inside the Dome of the Rock
Islamic Art and Literature
Islamic Art
Islamic religious artists avoid “graven
images” of people -especially the Prophet- and
other persons.
Arabic writing was developed into the art
form of calligraphy. The most popular text is
Koranic scripture.
Arabesques are repeated geometric or floral
designs. Similar to tessellations.
Koranic Script
The Koran as Sculpted Design
Mosque
Art
Art and
Literature of
the Abbasid
Period
Omar Khayyam
Persian astronomer and poet lived during
Abbasid period, ca.1100 CE
wrote the “Rubaiyat”…quatrain poetry of
love and transience of life
Omar Khayyam
"The Moving Finger writes: and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”
Muslim Empires
Umayyad Caliphate
Umayyad Caliphate
• 661 - 750 CE, begun by Mu’awiyah
• Arab control grows to greatest extent ...
Spain to Persia
• Capital at Damascus (Syria)
Mu’awiyah
• lived 661 to 680 CE
• 1st Umayyad caliph
• established hereditary rule
Tariq
> general who took Muslim forces
into Spain in 711 CE
... beginning 700 years
of Islamic rule in Spain
Gibralter = Jabar al-Tariq (Rock of Tariq)
Abbasid Caliphate
Abbasid Caliphate
>
>
>
>
750 - 1258 CE
founded by Persian (non-Arab) rebels
capital at Baghdad
weakened by Turks; ended by Mongols
Harun al-Rashid
• Abbasid caliph
• ruled during “Golden Age” of Islam: translations
of Greek works, progress in astronomy, navigation
Fatimid Caliphate
Fatimid Caliphate
• 909 - 1171 CE
• Ismaili Shi’ite dynasty
• begun in Tunisia, expanded east to Cairo
(Egypt)
Saladin
• Kurdish general who served as Fatimid vizier, then
staged a coup
• Recaptured Jerusalem from European Crusaders in
1187 CE
Muslim Spain
Muslim Spain
• 711 - 1492 CE
• Islamic control of diminishing Spanish territory until the
Reconquest by Ferdinand and Isabella.
• unique Islamic art and architecture
• rallied Christian (esp. Catholic) Iberian forces to wage
holy war against Islam
Examples of Art and Architecture
from
Islamic Spain (Andalusia)
Alhambra in Granada
Mosque at Cordoba
Muslim trading network (Dar al-Islam)
Merchants could trade from Spain across North Africa,
southwest-central-south-southeast Asia using one
language, writing, and set of rules..Arabic and Islam.
Islamic Contributions
Medicine: Avicenna
Chronicles of Diseases: Symptoms and Treatments
Arabic numerals
Algebra
Astrolabe