Global 9 Chapter 10 Themes

Religious and Ethical Systems Islam – a monotheistic religion that developed in Saudi Arabia during the 600s; founded by Muhammad; followers called Muslims, who have important set of duties called Five Pillars; holy book is the Quran; spread throughout Middle East, parts of Africa, and Europe; two major sects arose from dispute over who should succeed (caliph) Muhammad: Sunnis believed any religious leader who had demonstrated deep understanding of Muslim tradition had earned right to leadership; Shiites believed leader should be relative of Muhammad; 85% of Muslims today are Sunnis; large Shiite populations in Iran and Iraq [Ch. 10]

Empire Building Muslim Empire – As Muslims spread religion of Islam, they captured new lands and ruled people; leaders following Muhammad built huge (6000 miles wide) empire that, by AD 750, stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to India; it included millions of people from diverse ethnic, language, and religious groups, on the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia, including the Holy Land (Palestine), captured from Byzantines in AD 638 [Text, pp ]

Cultural Interaction Muslim Empire – Muslim tolerance of conquered peoples and emphasis on learning blended cultures of people living under Muslim rule; ideas of ancient Greeks and Indians combined with new ideas [Text, pp. 238—241]

Science and Technology Muslim Achievement – Muslim scholars made important contributions to math and science (e.g., perfected the astrolabe in astronomy; developed trigonometry; wrote medical reference books; wrote a book on optics ); Golden Age of Islam c. 750 to 1050 A.D. [Text, pp ]