Download Islam:

Arabia:
Islamic Faith is a way of life…
Geography: ***PG. 55***
2-3-1
-Arabian Peninsula (SW Asia-east of Sinai
Peninsula)
-hot, dry desert
-sand dunes (hills of sand shaped by wind-800+ft. high
and hundreds of miles long—Rub’ al-Khali “Empty
Quarter” covers much of S Arabia)
-oases (wet, fertile lands in a desert)
-Mountains along S and W coasts
-marsh land along Persian Gulf
Trade & Economy:
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-crossroads location for trade (in between Africa,
Asia and Europe)
-trade along land (camels) and water
-traded spices, silk, and gold (date plums-only needed
water for roots)
-exported jewelry, glass, clothing
-Arabs learned how to make paper and use gunpowder
from Chinese (Chinese soldiers captured in battle taught
Abbasid captors)
-Arabs got cotton, rice, and oranges from India, China,
and Southeast Asia
-Arabs got ivory, cloves, slaves, and gold from Africa
(traded with porcelain from China, cloth from India, iron
from Europe, salt from north of desert)
-caravans (people who travel and trade together and
relied on oases)
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-Souk-“market” (nomads[travelers] and townspeople
traded animal products, desert herbs, leather, clothing,
food, home supplies)
-trade routes helped spread Islam as far east as modern
Malaysia and Indonesia and west into Spain
-irrigation techniques (underground wells, water wheels,
aqueducts)
Politics & Government:
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-After Muhammad’s death, Abu Bakr (“caliph”highest leader of Islam) takes over
-Muslims conquer lands (Persian and Byzantine
Empires)
-make treaties with non-Muslims (Jews and
Christians had to pay special tax)
-Baghdad (capital of Islamic Empire in 762-trade,
farming, art important—between two rivers—designed in
concentric circles with citizens on outside, then an open
circle for defense, then a circle of army houses, and the
caliph at the center)
-Cordoba (capital of what is now Spain in 756-center of
learning-center of Jewish culture-huge libraries)
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-Ottoman Empire controlled much of Europe, Asia and
Africa by mid-1200s *PG. 89*
-Ottoman army trained Christian boys from
conquered towns to become soldiers called
Janissaries (slaves converted to Islam)
-armed with cannons
-Mehmed *PG. 89* led Ottomans to conquer
Constantinople and then Byzantine Empire
(renamed Constantinople Istanbul and turned Hagia
Sophia into a mosque)
-sultan-Ottoman ruler
Suleyman I “the Magnificent” ruled from 1520-1566
and took control of eastern Mediterranean-cultural
peak
-Ottoman culture
-sultan in charge
-two classes:
-ruling class (judges, advisers-must
practice Islam, be loyal to sultan,
understand Ottoman customs)
-other class (didn’t fit requirements-many
Christians and Jews formed communities
called millets and had their own
government and religious laws)
-women kept separate in harems and out of
public life
-wealthy women could own property or
businesses
-Safavid Empire (1501)
-leader Esma’il conquered Persia and made Shia
the official religion…conflicts…
-Persian Muslims from east
-conflicted with Ottomans because Safavid Empire
was Shiite and Ottomans were Sunni (Muslims had
split into two groups in mid-600s)
-Shia-Muslims who believed only descendant of
Muhammad should rule (Fatimah married to Ali,
a relative of Muhammad—Shia Muslims
believed Muhammad wanted him to rule…)
-Sunni-Muslims who believed people unrelated
to Muhammad should be allowed to rule
-major civilization until mid-1700s
-Mughal Empire (established by Babur in 1526)
-India
-known for poetry and architecture
-Turkish Muslims
-Taj Mahal (built 1631-1647 by Akbar’s grandson for
his wife)
-religious tolerance (from emperor Akbar) until late
1600s…then tax back and empire begins to fall
apart
Religion:
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-mosque: building for Muslim prayer (minaret is narrow
tower that sounds call for Muslims to pray)
-Muhammad (“worthy of praise”):
-born in Mecca around 570
-father died before he was born, mother died when
he was 6
-raised by uncle (caravan merchant)
-managed caravan business owned by Khadijah
and they married when Muhammad was 25
-concerned that wealthy people of Mecca were
keeping all the money for themselves, Muhammad
would meditate
-when he was 40, he claimed he heard a voice
in a cave telling him to “Recite!”
-believed God had sent an angel to make him a
prophet
-613 he started to share his message
-Islam (religion) – Muslims (followers of Islam)
-Qur’an (holy book of Islam-contained
messages Muhammad claimed were from
God)
-monotheistic
-Allah “One God” in Arabic
-paradise for believers, suffering for
others
-preparations for worship (wash
before)
-no eating pork, no alcohol
-encouraged freeing of slaves
-women’s rights (own property, earn
money, get an education)
-jihad “to make an effort or to struggle”
(within self to follow Islamic waysexternal struggle to protect Muslim
community- “holy war”)
-Sunnah (refers to how Muhammad
lived and is basis for Muslim life)
-Shariah (Islamic law based on Qur’an
and Sunnah)
-his teachings upset Arabs:
-told to stop worshipping multiple gods
-merchants would lose business if
believers stopped making the
pilgrimage to Mecca to worship gods
and goddesses in a shrine
-belief in Allah meant a community
without social classes
-leaders of Mecca threaten to kill him,
so he leaves to Medina “the prophet’s
city” and this journey is known as the
hegira
-Meccans finally welcomed
Muhammad back in 630
-Five Pillars of Islam:
1. statement of faith (“There is no god
but Allah, and Muhammad is his
prophet”)
2. daily prayer (5 times toward Mecca)
3. yearly donation (help poor, build
mosques, pay debts)
4. fasting (holy month of Ramadanfast from sunrise to sunset)
5. hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca at least
once in life – PGS. 86-87)
-similarities to Judaism and Christianity:
-monotheistic
-Abraham and Moses as prophets
-differences from Judaism and Christianity:
-Islam does not teach Jesus as Son of
God
-face Mecca when pray (instead of
Jerusalem like Jews and Christians)
-Kaaba (house Abraham built to
worship God in Mecca)
-Muhammad died 632
-Fatimah (Muhammad’s daughter-PG 65)
-4 caliphates after his -death—Muhammad
did not pick a successor
-Abu Bakr (unify)
-Omar (expand)
-Othman (assassinated-division)
-Ali (assassinated-more division)
Society & Culture:
2-3-1
-harsh weather forced two groups:
-nomads (lived in tents and stayed in tribes-raised
goats, sheep, camels)
-townspeople (settled in oases and farmed)
Science & Technology:
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-astronomy:
-observatories to study moon, sun, and stars
(time/clockmaking)
-astrolabe (invented by Greeks, but improved by
Muslims) to chart position of stars and figure out their
location
-geography:
-advances in map-making
-advances in calculating distances
-math:
-al-jabr textbook (brought to Europe in 1500s)
-medicine:
-Muslim doctors had to take tests before treating people
-made encyclopedia of drugs and their effects
-wrote descriptions of diseases
-started first pharmacy school
-public hospital in Baghdad
-discovered how to diagnose and treat smallpox
-zoology (studied animals for medicine for humans)
-philosophy:
-focus on spiritual issues (Sufism-find God’s love
through personal relationship)
-literature:
-poetry and short stories (The Thousand and One Nights
with Sinbad, Aladdin, Ali Baba)
-House of Wisdom (educational institution in Baghdad—
scholars translate various works into several
languages—how we know a lot about ancient cultures!)
-architecture:
-mosques (Blue Mosque in Istanbul PG. 99)
-palaces, marketplaces, libraries (domes, arches,
colored bricks, decorative tiles)
-Taj Mahal (started in 1631—20,000 men took 22 years
to build—northern India—Muslim ruler took throne by
killing his brothers, but built this as a memorial to one of
his wives, who had 14 children and died giving birth to
the last one—Islam spread through India)
-art:
-no people or animals (only Allah can create)
-calligraphy (“beautiful writing”-only writing worthy of
Allah) to write sayings from Qur’an
-other:
-polo (sport for the wealthy—use of horses)
-chess (imported from India-wealthy enjoyed the
intellectual challenge)
-banking system (got our word ‘check’—they had
different banks and branches—helped control
international trade and finances)