Islamic Civilization

Daily Life in Early Arabia Desert stretches over most of the Arabian peninsula ITS HOT! Sandstorms Water is only found at an oasis, wet fertile area in a desert, green areas fed by underground water Mountains in the Southwest are rainy

Who Are the Bedouins? Some Arabs were desert animal herders To water and graze their animals (camel, goats, and sheep) they go from oasis to oasis They lived in tents They drank milk from their animals Not meat, their animals were too valuable to eat

Trade and Towns Some Arabs were merchants who transported goods across the desert Many traveled in caravans, or group of traveling merchants and animals

Muhammad: Islam’s Prophet The prophet Muhammad taught the message of Islam to the people of Arabia The messages that Muhammad believed he received, form the basis of the religion of Islam A follower of Islam is called a Muslim Islam means “surrendering to the will Allah” Allah is the Arabic word for “God”

Opposition to Islam Muhammad convinced people that his message was true, in the beginning only his family became Muslims Wealthy merchants didn’t like his message because they thought he was trying to take away their power

Opposition to Islam Muhammad left his birth place of Makkah after the opposition grew He settled in a town known as Madinah which means “city of the prophet” The year that he left for Madinah is the first year of a new Muslim calendar The people of Madinah accepted Muhammad as God’s prophet and their ruler To defend themselves, Muhammad built an army and conquered Makkah

Islam’s Teachings The Quran provided guidelines for Muslims’ lives and the governments of Muslim states The Quran is the holy book of Islam Islam, Judaism, and Christianity have some beliefs in common– like the belief in one God They also believed that that God talks through prophets

Islam’s Teachings Many rules in the Quran apply to Muslims’ daily life – Can’t eat pork – Can’t drink liquor – Can’t gamble Muslims are expected to fulfill the Five Pillars of Islam, five acts of worship required of all Muslims – Belief, Prayer, Charity, Fasting, and Pilgrimage – Pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place

Guidelines for Behavior Quran describes acts of worship, guidelines for moral behavior, and rules for social life Quran also deals with jihad, which means “to make an effort, or to struggle” It refers to the inner struggle to obey God or it can mean the struggle to defend the Muslim community

The Sunnah Muslims also study the Sunnah, or written record of Muhammad’s words and actions. Hadith is the basis of the Sunnah. Hadith is a code of laws. The Sunnah refers to the way Muhammad lived, which provides a model for the duties and the way of life expected of Muslims The Sunnah guides Muslims’ behavior

The Spread of Islam Arabs spread Islam through preaching, conquest, and trade After Muhammad died, his successors were called caliph, or successor to the messenger of God, a title that Muslims use for the highest leader of Islam The first four caliphs were called the Rightly Guided Caliphs They lived simply, treated each other fairly, and also fought hard for Islam They wanted to spread Allah’s message to everyone

Preaching and Teaching Islam spread through preaching A group called Sufis, spent their time praying and teaching Islam Today, the country of Indonesia includes more Muslims than any other nation in the world

How did Islam Split? After Muhammad died, there was a feud over who would be a caliph, the Umayyads came to rule Muslim split into two groups: Sunnis and Shiites The Shiites believed that the Umayyads should not be in control But the Sunnis believed that the Umayyads should be in control

Arab Empire Who Were the Abbasids? – Dynasty that came after Umayyads – Built a new capital, Baghdad They hired the Seljuk Turks as soldiers – The Seljuks wanted only to rule the government – The ruler of the Seljuks was known as a sultan Then the Mongols invaded and burned down Baghdad ending the Arab Empire

Later Muslim Empires In the late 1200s, a group of Turks in the NW corner or Asia Minor built a new empire One of the largest and most powerful empires was the Ottoman Empire that began in Turkey The Ottomans had many people (Turks, Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Albanians, and Slavs) and it allowed religious freedom

Mogul Ruler The Moguls created another Muslim empire in India The greatest Mogul ruler was Akbar He allowed religious freedom (like the Ottoman Empire) Eventually the Mogul Empire collapsed and Great Britain took control over India

Muslim Ways of Life Most Muslims lived in villages and farmed the land At the top of Muslim society were government leaders, land owners and traders Middle class included artisans, farmers, and workers Those who were enslaved made up the lowest class

Muslim Ways of Life Muslim cities all looked alike The major buildings were palaces and mosques (Muslim houses of worship) Most Muslim cities have bazaars, or marketplaces, which are we would call flea markets

Muslim Achievements Scholars in Muslim lands saved much of the learning of the ancient world Made important advancement in math (they invented algebra) Made advances in medicine – first to discover the pathway of blood – First to discover how disease is spread from person to person

Art and Architecture One of the first to put domes on top of the buildings Minarets are towers from which a crier calls for prayers 5x a day

Art and Architecture Muslims are not allowed to show pictures of Muhammad in their art – They thought that people would then worship him instead of Allah