How did Islam alter the history of the world? Muhammad’s role

Rise of Islam in Short 7th c. Muhammad received revelations in Arabic –gathered together into a book Koran- became the basis of a new religion that we know as Islam The Muslim community quickly expanded, uniting many tribes of Arabia These tribes, united by the faith of Islam, swept out of Arabia to conquer the Persian and Byzantine empires

Portrait of Muhammad

Mohammed 600’s A.D. loss of much of the Eastern Roman Empire to a new religious and political power Islam 1

Middle East, ca. 600 A.D.

Islam Bedouin Arab named Mohammed born ca. 570 A.D. Merchant family, Hasimites Qurayshis tribe, who dominate Mecca controlling much of the religious pilgrim trade raised by relatives -father and mother died by age six -raised by an impoverished uncle

Mohammed formal education ?? We don’t know Normally only the Poets of the Tribes could read and write commercial agent for a wealthy widow Khadijah supervising caravans from Mecca, north to Jerusalem contact with both Jews and Christians

Mohammed, con’t He seems to have made an impression on his boss, because of his reputed honesty married her and retired from commerce to devote himself to religion and to making society more fair and equitable

Origins of Mohammed’s Teachings periods of unconsciousness are indicated: explanations revelations from Allah by holy trances, spoken to by Gabriel epilepsy or a similar neurological disorder? Mohammed’s explanation: revelations from God Very unpleasant and painful for him

The Quran Record of revelations received during visions Committed to writing c. 650 CE, compiled (Muhammad dies 632) Under the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan Tradition of Muhammad’s life: hadith

Nature of Revelations diverse social, agricultural, medical, military, astronomical, etc.

Historical Origins of His Ideas Arab polytheism Hanifism: a belief in one God traced to Abraham, by tradition Judaism Christianity Manichaeism: a mixture of Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Judaism, and so forth

Early religious career not particularly successful threatened the social, political, and religious structure, with his doctrine of social equity threatened the economic basis of Mecca as a center of religious pilgrimage particularly the Black Rock sacred to the chief deity of the Arabs run out of town, or at least encouraged to leave Went to the desert with his family and lived for about a year

The Hijra flight from Mecca, to Yathrib (Medina) -tradition: invited by the Jews of Medina 622 A.D. beginning of the Islamic calendar forms the umma (community) welcomed, then resisted Mohammed becomes an absolute theocrat

Muhammad’s Return to Mecca Attack on Mecca, 630 -- jihad Conversion of Mecca to Islam Destruction of pagan sites, replaced with mosques Ka’aba preserved in honor of importance of Mecca Approved as pilgrimage site

Jihad holy war against Mecca ten year blockade a deal was made

The Deal Mecca preserved as a holy city and place of pilgrimage to preserve the economic prosperity the Ka’aba preserved as the central shrine idols and icons destroyed story of its origins emphasized the role of Abraham in its placement pilgrimage as an act of faith, at least once in your life

The Ka’aba in Mecca

The Religion: the Koran (Qu’ran) the Koran (Qu’ran): contains much of Mohammed recounting of Allah’s teachings written down by his followers after his death from notes and memories, on “stones and parchments” Short: 114 chapters arranged from longest to the shortest not by subject or chronologically length is the criterion of order for the text

The Koran, con’t some “Old” and “New” Testaments stories but sometimes the story seems a bit different to Jews and Christians parables and fables political polemic and prophecy “non-religious” subjects not dissimilar to Jewish and Christian scriptures in some ways

Five Pillars of Islam uniqueness of God prayer five times a day ‘There is no god, but God….’ prayer five times a day observe the month of Ramadan give alms to the poor pilgrimage to Mecca If possible, once in your life

Additional teachings dietary laws no gambling or drinking no sexual irregularities, as defined by tradition and custom no infanticide elaborate rules concerning inheritance and property improvement in the status of women and children

Changing Status of Women Qu’ran improves status of women Outlawed female infanticide Brides, not husbands, claim dowries Yet male dominance preserved Patrilineal descent Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice

Islamic Law: The Sharia Codification of Islamic law Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools of analysis Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of human activity This is the basis the idea of an “Islamic republic” for instance

Islam

How did Islam advance?

The advance of Islam Charles Martel defeated Muslims at Tours in 732 – checked the Muslim advance into Europe Byzantium also halted the invading armies However, within a century, the new empire stretched from southern Spain to northern India, and from the Caucasus to the Indian Ocean. The empire was ruled by caliphs drawn from the prophet’s family

What is Islamic civilization?

Islamic civilization A synthesis of the religion and culture of Arabia with the great imperial traditions of the eastern Mediterranean and the Persian empire. This synthesis molded the politics, science, literature, and arts of the people who adopted Islam As a dominant culture of the region, it had a shaping influence on the Armenians and the Jews

What is the history of Islam?

The history of Islam Islamic faith was linked to the expansion of Islamic rule Muslim rulers were tolerant of those religions who faith was based on revelation, such as Judaism and Christianity, but forbade them to increase their numbers by conversion The history of Islam is turbulent and violent: Umayyads were overthrown Abassids founded Baghdad, Islam’s imperial city

Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad

History of Islam Religious factionalism threatened the caliphate The Muslim community divided between those who believed that the caliphate should remain in the prophet’s bloodlines (shi’ites) and those who insisted only that it remain within his clan, the Quraysh (sunnis)

History of Islam 1210-1220- the Islamic empire was shattered The Mongol Chinghis Khan’s armies, which had already subjugated all of China, swept through Central Asia, and Iraq, leveling cities. 1260- Mamluk rulers of Egypt defeated the Mongols in Palestine and ended the myth of their invincibility Baghdad lost its eminence as the chief city of Islam

History of Islam The Mongol dynasties that succeeded to rule in the Islamic world converted to Islam, and accommodated themselves to Islamic norms of rule 1336-1405-Tamerlane, who claimed descent from the khans, led his armies from Samarkand into Iran, Turkey and Russia The Timurids were the last powerful dynasty to originate in the steppes

Islam in the 15th century

History of Islam The world of Islam came to be divided between the Ottomans in the west, the Safavids in Iran, and the Moghuls in India The Ottomans launched the last great conquest, begun in the 14th c., when they expanded across the Bosphorus into the Balkans, threatening Vienna in 1683

Islamic literature Islam established Arabic as the dominant language of religion, trade, and learning throughout the empire 9th c-center of translation in Baghdad Greek science and philosophy, Indian mathematics, Chinese medicine, and Persian literature were all translated into Arabic Arabic had become the language of all the communities of Islam Islam had become a cosmopolitan, international culture

What are the characteristics of Islamic literature? Koranic intolerance of fiction, which it categorized as ‘lying’ Prose narratives were strongly didactic or informative –moralistic beast fables The Thousand and One Nights –popular entertainment –not welcomed into the canon Imaginative literature was excluded from religion 10th c. with the rise of mysticism poetry became a vehicle for spirituality in Islam

Islam Did Islam appreciate the great masterpieces of the Middle Eastern civilizations?

Islam The Islamic cultural tradition made no effort to accept the pre-Islamic cultural traditions as its own (Greece, Mesopotamia, Palestine) But it did keep these traditions and writings and eventually were the catalyst to bring them back to the Europeans who renewed their learning during the Renaissance.