Ch 10 The Muslim World 600-1500

The Rise of Islam Sec 1

What do you know about the geography of this part of the world?

Geography Southwest Asia – (Middle East) is a crossroad between Africa, Asia, and Europe Most of the land on the Arabian peninsula is desert

Bedouins Bedouins- Arab nomads organized into tribes and clans The clans provides security and support for a life that is made very difficult by the desert climate The Bedouin ideals of courage and loyalty to family along with their warrior skills would become part of Islamic life

Crossroads of Trade and Ideas By the early 600s, trade routes connected Arabia to the major ocean and land trade routes Trade routes through Arabia ran from the extreme south of the peninsula to the Byzantine and Persian Empires to the north Merchants from these empires moved along the trade routes to get goods from the Silk Road to the east

Crossroads Along with goods such as spices and incense traders brought ideas from outside of Arabia

Mecca Mecca- holy city located in western Arabia An ancient shrine associated with Abraham called the Ka’aba brought many pilgrims to Mecca

                                                                                                 

Allah Allah- Arabic for God The concept of monotheism was well known on the Arabian Peninsula as it was home to many Jews and Christians

The Prophet Muhammad Muhammad- merchant born in Mecca around 570 who spread Islam At the age of 25 Muhammad became a trader and business manager for a wealthy women name Khadijah, who he later married

Muhammad

Not Muhammad Ali

Revelations At about the age of 40 Muhammad heard a voice from the angel Gabriel that called him to meditate in a cave outside Mecca Gabriel told Muhammad that he was a messenger of Allah Muhammad became convinced that he was the last of the prophets

Teachings He began to teach that Allah was the one and only God and that all other gods must be abandoned Islam- submission to the will of Allah Muslim- one who has submitted Muhammad’s wife Khadijah and several close friends were his first followers

Hostility By 613, Muhammad began to preach publicly in Mecca Many Meccans met his teachings with hostility They believed Muhammad’s ideas would lead to the neglect of traditional Arab gods and Mecca would no longer be a center of pilgrimage

The Hijrah After some of his followers had been attacked, Muhammad decided to leave Mecca in 622 This migration from Mecca to Yathrib became known as the Hijrah The Hijrah became a turning point for Muhammad and he attracted many new followers Yathrib was later renamed Medina

Return to Mecca Muhammad quickly became a religious, political and military leader in Medina In 630, he returned to Mecca with 10,000 of his followers Meccan leaders facing sure defeat surrendered Most Meccans pledged loyalty to Muhammad and converted to Islam Umma- Muslim religious community

Death of Muhammad Muhammad died two years after he took Mecca at about the age of 62 He had taken great strides to uniting the Arabian peninsula under Islam

Beliefs and Practices of Islam

The Five Pillars Faith- “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah” Prayer- Five times a day, facing towards Mecca Alms- Money for the poor Fasting- Muslims may not eat from dawn to dusk during the holy month of Ramadan Pilgrimage- all Muslims who are physically and financially able must visit Allah at least once in their life

Way of Life Carrying out the Five Pillars ensures that Muslims live their religion while serving their community Believers are forbidden to eat pork or drink alcoholic beverages Friday afternoons are set aside for communal worship No priests or central religious authority Ulama- religious scholars Imam- prayer leader

Sources of Authority The original source of authority is Allah Qur’an- holy book of the Muslims, collected revelations of Muhammad from Gabriel Sunna- Muhammad’s example, best model for proper living Shari’a- Islamic law, regulates family life, moral conduct, and business and community life

Links to Judaism and Christianity Allah is the same God as that is worshipped in Christianity and Judaism Jesus is believed to be a prophet, not the Son of God All believe in heaven, hell and a day of judgment Ancestry of all three religions is traced to Abraham

Islam Expands Sec 2

After Muhammad’s Death After Muhammad died in 632, Muslims believed they should carry his word to the world There was no established way to choose a new leader

Caliph Caliph- title that means successor or deputy Following a tribal tradition, the Muslim community elected Abu Bakr, a friend of Muhammad’s, as the first caliph

Abu Bakr Shortly after Muhammad’s death, there were several tribes who abandoned Islam or refused to pay taxes For the sake of Islam, Abu Bakr invoked jihad- armed struggle against nonbelievers Abu Bakr used jihad to justify expanding Muslim territory

Rightly Guided Caliphs Rightly Guided Caliphs- the first 4 caliphs, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, that all knew Muhammad

Success The 4 rightly-guided caliphs made great progress in their quest to expand Islam Muslim armies were well disciplined and expertly commanded Many of the people they conquered welcomed the invaders because of persecution from the Byzantine or Sassanid Empires

Treatment of Conquered People The Qur’an forbids forced conversion Conquered peoples were allowed to follow their own religion As long as conquered peoples paid taxes they were left alone

Internal Conflict In 656, Uthman was murdered, setting off a civil war Ali was chosen as the next caliph, but he too was assassinated The elective system of choosing caliphs died with Ali

Umayyads Umayyads- family that took control of Islam after the death of Ali Umayyad actions such as moving the capital from Mecca to Damascus and surrounding themselves with wealth led to a division in the Muslim community

Sunni-Shi’a Split The majority of Muslims accepted the rule of the Umayyads but many continued to resist Shi’a- minority of Muslims who believe that Ali should have succeeded Muhammad and that the caliph needed to be descendant of Muhammad

Sunni Sunni- majority of Muslims who believe that the first 4 caliphs were rightly guided and Muslim rulers should follow the Sunna Accepted the rule of the Umayyads

Sufi Sufi- minority branch of Islam that rejected the luxurious lifestyle of the Umayyads. They pursue a life of poverty and devotion to the spiritual

Abbasid Rule In the year 750, rebel groups overthrew the Umayyads and the Abbasids took control of the empire The few Umayyads who were not murdered fled to Spain where they established a new caliphate