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Muslim Civilizations
Unity, Discipline, Organization
622-1629
Arabia Before Muhammad
THE ARABS: During ancient times, the Arabs
inhabited much of the area from the Arabian
peninsula to the Euphrates River.
POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS FEATURES:
The Arab world in the early 7th century had
no stable, large-scale political entities.
People belonged to close-knit clans, or
extended families, that formed tribes.
ECONOMIC
COMPONENTS:
Bedouins
Farmers
Traders
BEDOUINS (herders)
provided for their own
needs with:
Herds of sheep & goats
Small-scale trading in
towns
FARMERS: Some
farmers worked the
land, but in many
areas soils were
too poor and rain
was too infrequent
to support
agriculture.
TRADERS: Cities supported traders who carried
luxury goods (spices, incense, perfumes) from
the Indian Ocean region and southern Arabia
along caravan routes to the cities of the eastern
Mediterranean. These traders formed the
economic and political elite of Arabia, and they
led the tribes.
Pre-Islamic Trade Routes
MECCA was the
most important
trade center in
Arabia. It was
dominated by the
powerful tribe of
the Quraysh
(KOOR-aysh).
THE KAABA: Mecca was
also the location of the
shrine known as the
Kaaba: temple in Mecca
built to worship God. For
centuries people from all
over Arabia had traveled
to Mecca to visit the
Kaaba.
Muhammad (570-632)
Spiritual leader of
Muslims (similar to
Jesus)
He converted most of
the Arab World to
Islam
Taught in Mecca
THE REVELATIONS:
A man of spiritual
insight, Muhammad
received in 610 the first
of many revelations that
commanded him to
teach a new religion
He taught all people a
new faith that called for:
An unquestioned
belief in one God,
Allah
A deep commitment
to social justice
PILGRIMAGE
FASTING
ALMSGIVING
PRAYER
FAITH
The Five Pillars of Islam
1. PROFESSION OF
FAITH: Muslims bear
witness to the oneness of
God by reciting the creed
"There is no God but God
and Muhammad is the
Messenger of God." This
statement expresses a
Muslim's complete
acceptance of and total
commitment to Islam.
2. PRAYER:The
world's Muslims turn
individually and
collectively to Mecca
to offer five daily
prayers at dawn,
noon, mid-afternoon,
sunset and evening.
3. ALMSGIVING:Social
responsibility is
considered part of one's
service to God; so
almsgiving is obligatory.
2.5 percent of an
individual’s net worth,
excluding obligations
and family expenses, is
reserved for the welfare
of the entire community,
especially its neediest
members.
4. FASTING DURING
RAMADAN: The fast is an
act of personal worship in
which Muslims seek a
richer perception of God. It
is also an exercise in self
control.
During Ramadan, abstention
from eating and drinking is
obligatory from dawn to
sunset.
5. PILGRIMAGE TO
MECCA:The pilgrimage is
an expression of Islamic
faith and unity.
For those Muslims who
are physically and
financially able to make
the journey to Mecca, the
pilgrimage is a once in a
lifetime duty that is the
peak of their religious
life.
THE QURAN: Muslim
book of worship (similar to
the bible)
CONTENTS OF THE QURAN: The Quran contains legal
principles and wise statements like the Hebrew Scriptures
and moral teaching like the Christian New Testament.
It also prescribes regulations for diet and for personal
conduct (e.g., the Quran forbids alcohol and gambling,
censures luxury and ostentation, and imposes strict sexual
restraints on both men and women).
THE ISLAMIC STATE
was a theocracy, in which
government and religion
were practiced together
Thus, Islam was more than
a religion. It was also a
system of government,
society, law, and thought
that bound believers into
an all-encompassing
community.
JIHAD: Muslim warriors
believed they were engaged
in a holy war (jihad) to
spread Islam to nonbelievers
and that those who died in
the jihad were assured a
place in paradise.
CONQUESTS BY 733: In the east, Islam’s territory eventually
extended into India and to the borders of China. In the west, it
encompassed North Africa and most of Spain. But the Muslims’
northward push lost momentum and was halted in 717 by the
Byzantines at Constantinople and in 732 by the Franks at the
Battle of Tours in Central France.
CULTURAL INTEGRATION:
During the Early Middle Ages, when
learning was at a low point in
western Europe, the Muslims
preserved the philosophical and
scientific heritage of the ancient
world.
DECLINE: By the 11th century,
however, the Arabs began
losing their dominance in the
Islamic world from constant
attacks from outside invaders
The Seljuk Turks conquered
Syria, Palestine, and much of
Persia.
Muslims lost Sicily and most of
Spain to Christian knights.
Mongols devastated Muslim
lands.
Ottoman Turks attacks, who
reached their height in the 16th
century.
How Terrorists Hijacked Islam
Charismatic leaders, misreading religious texts, find arguments
to justify holy war against anyone or any country believed to be
promoting an "anti-Islam agenda." And socioeconomic conditions
have made a large pool of young men susceptible to the
argument that they can best serve Allah by donating their lives to
the cause…. Fighting such extremism requires understanding
that this is a war not between Islam and the West, but between
certitude and open-mindedness, dogma and thought, prejudice
and tolerance.”
--Stern, Jessica. "How Terrorists Hijacked Islam." USA Today (30 September 2001).
MUSLIM WOMEN: According to the Quran, men and women
are equal before God. Today, Muslims offer these practices
as evidence of equality:
Islam sees a woman, whether single or married, as an individual
in her own right, with the right to own and dispose of her property
and earnings.
A marital gift is given by the groom to the bride for her own
personal use, and she may keep her own family name rather than
adopting her husband's.
Roles of men and women are complementary and collaborative.
Rights and responsibilities of both sexes are equitable and
balanced in their totality.
CLOTHING: Muslims say that both men
and women are expected to dress in a
way that is simple, modest and
dignified, but that specific traditions of
female dress found in some Muslim
countries are often the expression of
local customs rather than religious
principle. Likewise, they admit that
treatment of women in some areas of
the Muslim world sometimes reflects
cultural practices which may be inconsistent, if not contrary, to authentic
Islamic teachings.
Saudi Arabia: Schoolgirls burned to death for not
wearing scarves [March 27, 2002]
Fifteen schoolgirls died in a burning school building in Mecca,
because they did not wear correct Islamic dress. Saudi Arabia's
religious mutaween police, the so-called "Commission for the
Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice", stopped them from
leaving the blazing building, because they were without
headscarves and abayas (black robes)….A policeman was seen
beating a girl, who escaped, and forcing her back into the
flames…. Police also stopped firemen and other helpers, who tried
to rescue the girls, warning it was "sinful" to come near them. A
school guard refused despite the pleas of a girl's father to unlock
the gates, when the fire broke out. The authorities used to keep
the school locked to make sure that boys and girls remained
strictly apart…. The mutaween are all-powerful in Saudi Arabia
and normally nobody dares to criticize them. They …beat up or
arrest and jail anybody, who doesn't obey their orders, when they
patrol the streets to enforce the strict Islamic dress code and the
practicing of the prescribed prayers and harass those who indulge
in forbidden contact between men and women.
Sources
The Birth of Islam
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/isla/hd_isla.htm
Major Religions of the World
http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
Marvin Perry, Western Civilization: A Brief History (2001)
Thomas F.X. Noble, et al., Western Civilization: The Continuing
Experience (2002)
Stern, Jessica. “How Terrorists Hijacked Islam.” USA Today (30
September 2001).
Saudi Arabia: Schoolgirls burned to death for not wearing scarves.
http://www.irish-humanists.org/Hot%20issues%20sub/girlsdie.html
A Child’s Kingdom
http://www.saudiembassy.net/files/Movies/ChildKingdom.rm