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Islam:
History, values and culture
Islam
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Founder: Muhammad Ibn (son of) Adballah
Born: 571 AD in Mecca, Arabia
Descendant of Abraham
Titles: The prophet, the messenger (Alrasul)
Tribe: Quraiysh
Holy Book: The Quran
The Levant
Mesopotamia
The fertile Crescent
EGYPT
•Medinah
•Mecca
Dynasties
of the
South
Middle East, 7th Century
• The Arabian Peninsula
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The source of Arabs and the Semitic race
Mostly desert, few urbanized areas
Urban centers, Mecca
Mainly tribal society
Religions
– Christianity Judaism, polytheism
Byzantine
Empire
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Persian
Empire
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An Arabian
dynasty
*
An Arabian
dynasty
Islam, 610-632
• 571
Muhammad born in Mecca.
• 610
First revelation in the Harraa cave (27 Ramadan).
• 622
“Hejira”or Escape. Muhammad and followers escape persecution
and go Medina
 Year 1 in the Islamic calendar
 ‘Missionaries’ sent all over Arabia
– building peaceful coalition
• 629
Muhammad conquers Mecca
 destroys idols in Alqaaba (Kaaba).
 brings peace to war-torn Arabia
• 632
Muhammad
Islam by the death of Mohammed 632
632-661: the Four Elected Successors (Caliphs)
Abu-Bakr - 632-634
Omar Ibn Elkhattab - 634-644
• Conquered the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, Persia
 Damascus (9 / 635) and Jerusalem (5 / 638) surrender peacefully
• A modern state: Treasury, communication, defense. Engraved currency.
Othman bin Affan - 644-656
• Collected and compiled the Quran
• Emergence of power struggle
Ali Bin Abitalib - 656-661
• Power struggle escalated to armed conflict
• Origin of Shia-Sunni split
Islam at 644, the year Omar died
The Ummayah Dynasty, 661-750
• Empire center and capital move to Damascus
• Expansion: All N. Africa (Atlantic), W. Europe, much of C. Asia, the wall of China
 711: Conquer of Spain and Portugal. Tariq Bin Ziyad
• Expansion into W. Europe blocked in France by Charles Martell, 732
 Karbalaa in S. Iraq (10 Nov, 680) and the emerge of the Shia
• Massive translation of Greek and Indian writings
• Bloom of architecture, arts, agriculture, and science
750, 100 Yrs after Mohammed
The Abbassides Dynasty, 750-1258
• The center of the Empire moves to Iraq and Iran
• Baghdad, built 762 AD by Almansur (2nd Caliph).
• With over 2 M, Baghdad becomes the center of the world
 Science, art, architecture, learning, and wealth
 Lighted streets, public baths, public libraries and hospitals everywhere
• Other dynasties in Egypt, Spain, and parts of the Levant.
• A 2nd Ummayah dynasty in Spain, 9th century
 Qurtoba (Cordova) competes with Baghdad
• Cairo, built 968 AD
Islam as Monotheistic Religion
Islam:
• ”Surrender”, related to ‘salaam’, or peace.
• Islam is also a code for social conduct
• Quran plus the authentic statements of Muhammad (Hadith) = Sharia
(constitution), as Interpreted by Islamic scholars
• Muhammad is the last prophet (33: 40).
The Quran:
• Islam’s holy book, an inspired scripture. God’s word inspired to his messenger,
• 114 Chapters (chapter = Surah), 4 to >200 verses/chapter
Pilgrimage in Mecca
The 'Five Pillars' of Islam
The framework for Muslim life. Essential practices
1. The Declaration of faith:
• "There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God"
2. Prayer:
• Five obligatory prayers each day.
• A direct link between the worshiper and God.
• No hierarchical authority or priesthood
3. Charity:
• Obligatory charitable giving by setting aside a portion (2.5%) for the needy
4. Fasting:
• From sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan
5. Pilgrimage:
• A pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, Arabia. Only those who can
Jihad and the Conduct of War
• Islam is not addicted to war, and jihad is not one of its "pillars”
• Jihad in Arabic does not mean "holy war”. It means "struggle” or “strive”.
• The "greater jihad” in the Quran is that of the soul, of the tongue, of the pen, of
faith, of morality, etc. The "smaller jihad" is that of arms.
• Muhammad told his companions as they go home after a battle "We are returning
from the lesser jihad [the battle] to the greater jihad, at home"
 Three levels:
– Personal: That of the soul
– Verbal: Raising one's voice in the name of Allah on behalf of justice.
– Physical: Combat waged in defense against oppression and transgression.
Jihad and the Conduct of War
• Much of the Koran revealed in the context of an all-out war imposed on early
Muslims by the powerful city of Mecca, and many passages deal with the conduct
of armed struggle.
 While one finds "slay [enemies] wherever you find them!" (e.g., 4: 89),
in almost every case it is followed by something like "if they let you be,
and do not make war on you, and offer you peace, God does not allow you
to harm them" (2:90; 4: 90; 5: 2; 8: 61; 22: 39)
• God does not allow harm of civilian, and requests the protection of women,
children and the elderly during war (4:96; 9: 91; 48: 16,17)
 “If any one slew a person--unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief
in the land--it would be as if he slew the whole people; and if anyone saved
a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.” (5:32)
• You shall feed and protect prisoners of war, and you shall not expect a
reward (4: 25,36; 5:24)
Thus, the only permissible war in the Quran is one of self-defense, you
cannot kill unarmed (civilian), and you have to protect prisoners of war
Jihad and the Conduct of War
• Warfare is always evil. Sometimes you have to fight to avoid persecution.
• Muslims may not begin hostilities
 "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits;
for Allah loves not transgressors." (2: 190).
• ‘Martyrdom’: Those killed during fighting or while doing civic duties (martyrs) are
promised a place in heaven (several passages, e.g., 2:154; 3:169-172)
• However, suicide is not allowed; it is forbidden and condemned (e.g., 6:151,
17:33, 25:68)
Relation with other Faiths
• Islam did not impose itself by the sword.
 "There must be no coercion in matters of faith" (2: 256)
• Muslims have to respect Jews and Christians, the "People of the Book,"
who worship the same God (e.g., 2:62; 29:46).
 "And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better,
unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong: but say, 'We believe in
the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down
to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one; and it is to Him we bow.”
• In one of his last public sermons Muhammad said
 “God tells all human beings, "O people! We have formed you into nations
and tribes so that you may know one another" (49: 13). Do not conquer,
convert, subjugate, revile or slaughter but to reach out toward others with
intelligence and understanding”
• The Levant remained mainly Christian for almost 200 Yrs.
 No one was forced to convert to Islam
• The right of all faiths to warship was respected
• Sites of warship, holy places and shrines of all faiths were protected
Other Values
Right and Status of Women
• Eliminated many pre-Islamic discriminatory practices
• Gave women rights (e.g., inheritance) and believed men and women both were made
from a single soul (e.g., 4:1)
• Limited the number of wives a man can marry
• Treat women with kindness and respect their rights as equal to men
The hijab or head scarf
• Modest dress appliesy to women and men equally (Quran and Hadith).
• Women are required to cover their bodies so that their figure is not revealed.
• The forbidden or ‘taboo’ (muharramat) include pork, blood, improperly butchered
animals, baby animals, gambling, and charging interest
• Alcohol drinking was gradually disallowed
Sunni and Shiha
Sunni
• 90% of Muslims
• Follow the Quran and the Hadith as we have them today,
and as interpreted by the Sunni scholars
Shia
• Came to be a sect after 680 A.D.
• Believe in the Quran and Hadith, like Sunni
• However, they place Ali very high as a holy figure, and think ‘main stream’
Islam discriminated against him
• Today Shia is mainly in Iran (90%), Iraq (55%) and Lebanon (~40%)
Islam Today
• 1.3 Billion worldwide, three continents
 0.3 Billion Arabs
 Indonesia (200 M) > India (180 M) > Pakistan (160 M) > Bangladesh (120 M) >
China (80 M) > Egypt (70 M)
• There are about 20 M Christian Arabs
 Egypt > Syria > Lebanon > Palestine > Iraq
• About 7 M Muslims in the USA, 3-4 M are Arabs
 Roughly half of the Arab Americans are Christians