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Name: _____________________________________________ Period: _______ Date:__________ The Rise of Islam Directions: Read the following article on the Rise of Islam. Highlight each event with its date. Construct a timeline from what you have read. You should find at least ten events within the text for your timeline. Islam is a major world religion. Currently, 1 billion to 1.8 billion Muslims adhere to this faith, making it the second largest religion in the world. Only Christianity, which has 1.5 billion to 2.1 billion believers, exceeds it in size. This religion has proved to be very important in the history of the world, and very influential in our own times. The history of Islam began with the birth of the prophet, Muhammad, around 570 CE. He was born in the lands of Arabia, which is a desert peninsula located on the crossroads between Asia, Europe, and Africa. He belonged to a very rich family in the trading city of Mecca. His father died when he was only a baby, and his mother died when he was six. His grandfather took care of him for a while, but he died when Muhammad was only eight. After that time, his uncle, Abu Talib raised him. When Muhammad was in his teens, he took trips with his uncle to Syria. On these trips, he came into contact with Jews and Christians in the Byzantine Empire. As monotheists, these people believed in a single God. This was very different from the pagan religion that the Arabs believed in at the time; as polytheists, they believed in many gods. His travels in Syria had a profound impact young Muhammad. When Muhammad returned to Mecca, he became a merchant. He earned a reputation for being honest. As a result, people called him “Al-Amin,” which means “The Trustworthy.” At the Assignment 10B1 Updated 2012 age of 25, he married a rich widow by the name of Khadijah. In time, Muhammad began going into the caves around Mecca to meditate. According to Muslim tradition, he was visited by an angel in a cave on the mountain, Jabal al-Nour, when he was about forty. For the next three years, the angel revealed the faith of Islam to Muhammad. It included a belief in one God (called “Allah” by Muslims), a strict code of conduct, and rituals that all Muslims should follow. After Muhammad died, Muslims wrote down his teachings in a holy book called the Koran (also spelled “Qur’an”). They also wrote down the laws of Islam in the Shariah. In 613 CE, Muhammad finally preached the faith of Islam to the people of Mecca. His teachings threatened to undermine the authority of the leaders of that city, who were pagan. These leaders began persecuting Muhammad and his followers. Soon, the ill-treatment turned deadly, and a number of his followers were killed. In 622 CE, Muhammad and his followers fled from Mecca and went to the nearby city of Medina. There, Muhammad’s message fell on ears more willing to listen and hearts more willing to submit to the will of Allah. The religion spread quickly through the city. In time, Muslims fleeing persecution in Mecca and other Arabian cities began arriving. As a result, the prophet built a base of power in the oasis. He quickly became religious, political, and military leader of Medina. Over the years that followed, Muhammad began waging war on Mecca. Page 1 The fighting seesawed back and forth between Medina and Mecca. Sometimes Medina would gain the upper hand, and at other times it was Mecca’s turn. Finally, in the year 630 CE, the forces of Islam conquered their Mecca. After that, most Meccans converted to Islam and the forces of Muhammad moved on to conquer the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. In 632 CE, Muhammad made a pilgrimage to Mecca. This journey, known as the hajj to Muslims, firmly established Mecca as the center of Muslim world. Since his journey, Muslims all over the world have striven to emulate him, each making a pilgrimage to Mecca. After his hajj, Muhammad returned to Mecca and died later that year. Under the banner of Islam, Muhammad united the many tribes of Arabia. Emboldened by their success in Arabia, Muslims under Omar launched a number of campaigns to convert more and more people to the faith of Islam. One of his targets was the rich and vast Byzantine Empire. This Christian state blocked the way north from Arabia. So in 636 CE, he defeated a Byzantine army at the Syrian city of Damascus. This victory opened the road to new lands ripe for conquest. In the century that followed, they conquered Palestine, Mesopotamia, Egypt, North Africa, Persia, and Spain. The great empire that the armies of Islam had forged was called the Caliphate, and its leaders were called the caliphs. As with any great empire, men squabbled over who should rule. One of these men was Ali, who was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. He was elected caliph in 656 CE. Almost immediately, people who opposed him launched a war to oust him. Five years later, he was attacked as he prayed at Assignment 10B1 Updated 2012 the mosque (a place of worship for Muslims) of Kufa, and died a few days later. After a bitter civil war among Muslims, a man named Mu’awiyah took control of the Caliphate in 661 CE. In doing so, he established the Umayyad dynasty. Unlike the caliphs who preceded him, he was not a member of Muhammad’s family. Most Muslims supported him, however. Many did not, believing Ali was the rightful heir to Muhammad’s legacy. This led to a split among Muslims. Those who supported Mu’awiyah were called Sunnis. Those who supported Ali were called Shia. This division still exists even today, the result of centuries of hostility and bloodshed. In the century that followed, the caliphs continued to expand their empire into Europe. From their base in Spain, the armies of Islam sought to conquer France and the rest of Europe. Their armies pushed over the Pyrenees Mountains, attacking Christian settlements as they went. Charles Martel, a Merovingian king, met them at the Battle of Tours in 732 CE. He defeated the Muslim armies, and drove them from France. Many historians credit him for saving Christianity in Europe. In 747 CE, the Abbasid family overthrew the Umayyad family. Under this new dynasty, the Caliphate entered the Golden Age of Islam. While Western Europe rode out the Dark Ages and the power of the Byzantine Empire declined, the lands of Islam grew in power. Muslim merchants grew wealthy off of the trade of the Silk Road. Islamic scholars broke new grounds in literature, medicine, and mathematics. As a result, the Caliphate can truly be seen as one of the great empires in world history. Page 2 Name: _____________________________________________ Period: _______ Date: __________ The Rise of Islam Directions: Read the article on the Rise of Islam. Circle the response that best answers the question. 1. Worldwide, how many people adhere to the faith of Islam? a. 800 million to 1.2 billion b. 1 billion to 1.8 billion c. 1.5 billion to 2.1 billion 2. When was born? a. 570 b. 580 c. 590 the prophet, Muhammad, CE CE CE 3. Who raised Muhammad from the time he was eight years old? a. His father and mother. b. His uncle. c. His grandfather. 4. Where did Muhammad first come into contact with Jews and Christians? a. In Egypt. b. In Palestine. c. In Syria. 5. As a merchant, Muhammad had the nickname, “Al-Amin.” What does this name mean in Arabic? a. The Thrifty b. The Generous c. The Trustworthy 6. What was the name of the widow Muhammad married? a. Abu Talib b. Mu’awiyah c. Khadijah 7. On what mountain do faithful Muslims believe Muhammad learned about the faith of Islam from an angel? a. Jabal al-Nour b. Mount Sinai c. Mount Carmel Assignment 10B1 Updated 2012 8. What a. b. c. name do Muslims call God? Allah Al-Amin Medina 9. Where did Muslims write the teachings of Muhammad? a. In the Shariah. b. In the Koran. c. In the Hadith. 10. Where did Muslims write down the laws of Islam? a. In the Shariah. b. In the Koran. c. In the Hadith. 11. Why did the leaders of Mecca persecute Muhammad and his followers? a. They were pagan, and Muhammad’s new religion undermined their authority. b. They were merchants, and the laws of Islam threatened to disrupt trade. c. They were Jewish, and did not want to give up their religion. 12. To what city did Muhammad and his followers flee to avoid persecution in 622 CE? a. Mecca. b. Medina. c. Damascus. 13. What city did the forces of Islam conquer in 630 CE? a. Mecca. b. Medina. c. Damascus. 14. In 632 CE, Muhammad made a pilgrimage to Mecca. What is a pilgrimage? a. A pleasurable outing. b. A religious journey. c. A military march. Page 3 15. What do the Muslims call a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca? a. The zakat. b. The hajj. c. The Koran. 16. Where did the Muslims under Omar defeat a Byzantine army in 636 CE? a. Constantinople b. Damascus c. Cairo 17. What was the empire that the Muslims created called? a. The Empire of Islam b. The Caliphate c. The Byzantine Empire 18. 22. What did Charles Martel’s victory over at the Battle of Tours do for Europe? a. It allowed Christianity to survive in Europe. b. It allowed Islam to spread into Europe. c. It allowed Christianity to spread into North Africa. 23. After the Abbasid family overthrew the Umayyad dynasty, what happened to the Caliphate? a. It broke apart into many different kingdoms. b. It was conquered by the Byzantine Empire. c. It entered the Golden Age of Islam. What is a mosque? a. A place of worship for Muslims. b. A place of burial for Muslims. c. A place where women live in Muslim societies. 19. What was different about the caliph, Mu’awiyah, from all caliphs that went before him? a. He was a soldier, not a religious leader. b. He was not a member of Muhammad’s family. c. He was Jewish, not Muslim. 20. What were the people who supported Mu’awiyah called? a. Sunnis b. Shia c. Zoroastrians 21. What were the people who supported Ali called? a. Sunnis b. Shia c. Zoroastrians Assignment 10B1 Updated 2012 Page 4