The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula - A crossroads of three continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe Mostly desert with small amount of fertile land Bedouins – Nomadic tribes that live in the desert (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, etc.) Live in clans and herd animals Migrate between the dry and wet seasons Trade with other clans and villages/towns Polytheistic – worshipped gods including lunar deity Allah

The Prophet Muhammed A.D. 570: Muhammad is born into a powerful Bedouin merchant family Born in Present-Day Mecca, Saudi Arabia Becomes a trader, marries wealthy businesswoman, Khadijah AD. 610: Muhammad received a revelation from the angel Gabriel while praying in the wilderness He had been wondering at the difference between rich and poor around him – went to think about it The Angel told him there is one God, Allah; Muhammad is his prophet Gabriel told Muhammad to spread the word that Allah is the true God of the world

The Prophet Muhammed (Cont.) Muhammad founds religion of Islam—“submission to the will of Allah” Tells people about his revelation and the identity Allah, his role as Allah’s prophet Followers of Islam are Muslim—“one who has submitted” There weren’t many people that actually converted to Islam in the beginning though – they wanted to keep their old Gods According to tradition, it took 3 years to get 30 followers

The Hijrah Muhammad’s followers are attacked; they are exiled from Mecca in A.D. 622 – go to Medina (Hijrah) Muhammad attracts many more followers in Medina, becomes great leader: -political leader—joins Jews and Arabs of Medina as a single community -religious leader—draws more converts to Islam -military leader—tackles growing hostilities between Mecca and Medina A.D. 630: Muhammad and 10,000 followers return to and conquer Mecca Continues military expansion of Islam throughout Arabian Peninusla

Islam Main Teachings of Islam Only one god – Allah People are equal under Islam People are responsible for their actions; there is good and evil Muhammad rose to heaven to learn Allah’s will Respect the people of the book: Christians and Jews

Sources of Authority Qur’an— Holy book of Islam Contains revelations Muhammad received from Allah Believed Muhammad didn’t write them down himself because he was illiterate Guidance of Qur’an assembled in Shari’a – Laws taken from Qur’an Muslims must follow Operates outside of legal courts (religious court) Many Muslim dominant countries operate under Shari’a rather than legal courts

Sharia Law 12- Sharia dictates death by stoning, beheading, amputation of limbs, flogging even for crimes of sin such as adultery

Islam (Cont.) Muslims must carry out five duties—the Five Pillars of Islam -statement of faith to Allah and to Muhammad as his prophet -pray five times a day, can use a Mosque—Islamic house of worship -give alms, or money for the poor -fast between dawn and sunset during holy month of Ramadan -perform the Hajj—pilgrimage to Mecca—at least once in their lifetime

Five Pillars of Islam Activity Students will get a white piece of paper and draw five pillars on it Students will cut out pillars and paste them onto a sheet of construction paper Students will then look up the Five Pillars of Islam and write down the titles of the pillars and the definitions/duties for each pillar Students will then answer documents comparing Islam with Christianity and staple the documents to the back of the pillars Students will turn in the pillars/documents stapled together and continue with the Classical Column project