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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