Sunni–Shi’a Split Basic Differences Between Sunnis and Shi’a Muslims SunniShi’a Believe that the first four caliphs were “rightly guided” Believe that Ali, the Prophet’s son-in-law, should have succeeded Muhammad Believe that Muslim rulers should follow the Sunna, or Muhammad’s example Believe that all Muslim rulers should be descended from Muhammad do not recognize the authority of the Sunna Claim that the Shi’a have distorted the meaning of various passages in the Qur’an Claim that the Sunni have distorted the meaning of various passages in the Qur’an

The Sufi Sought direct personal contact with God through mystical means –meditation and chanting. Similar to Christian and Buddhist monks. Kept Muslims focused on the Qur’an and tradition. Active as missionaries

Changing Status of Women Quran improves status of women –Outlawed female infanticide –Brides, not husbands, claim dowries –Women given control over their own property –Women were granted rights of inheritance, half the rate of males – Marriage was considered a contract between consenting parties – Women could sue for divorce - Yet male dominance preserved –Patrilineal descent –Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden –Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice –“honor killings” –Negative images of women emerged

Formation of an Islamic Cultural Tradition Islamic values Islamic values – Uniformity of Islamic law in dar al-Islam – Establishment of madrasas – Importance of the Hajj Sufi missionaries Sufi missionaries – Asceticism, mysticism – Some tension with orthodox Islamic theologians – Wide popularity

Dar al-Islam as a World System  Dar al-Islam or the Abode of Islam  Not based on economic activity which is traditionally used to define a “world system”  Built on the shared traditions of all Muslims  the Five Pillars  the Qur’an  Hadiths and the Sharia  Arabic language

Factors that eased trade in the Muslim world Arabic as a common language Muslim spread technology – One-humped camel, saddle – Dhow: ship with lanteen (triangular shaped) sail – Cartography Hajj affected trade positively Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus cooperated in trade together Coins produced by governments made trade easier 5 pillars: hospitality to travelers, annual hajj created regular trade routes Muslim government protected trade and property for merchants.

Even after the Arab Empire fell apart, the Islamic civilization continued to grow Major areas of Muslim expansion: India, Anatolia, West Africa, and Spain

Islam brought to India by Muslim Turks from Central Asia Violent invasions  destruction of Hindu and Buddhist temples Their conquests led to a series of Muslim-led governments in India

Islam never became the dominant faith in India like it did in the Middle East, North Africa, and Persia Very sharp cultural divide between Islam and Hinduism  prevented mass conversion

Monotheistic No representation of Allah Equality of all believers Sexual modesty Polytheistic Endless statues and images of the divine Caste system Sexual openness

Disillusioned Buddhists as well as low-caste Hindus and untouchables found the more egalitarian Islam attractive.

But in India, never more than 20 to 25 percent of the total population affiliated with Islam -Perhaps due to the sharpness of the cultural divide between Islam and Hinduism -Islam was radically monotheistic while Hinduism was surely polytheistic -Islam’s equality of all believers contrasted with the Hindu caste system But in the early sixteenth century, a new and distinct religious tradition emerged in India, known as Sikhism -It blended elements of Islam, such as devotion to one universal God, with Hindu concepts, such as Karma and rebirth

Blended Islam and Hinduism Devotion to one God Hindu concepts = karma and rebirth Guru Nanak ( ), the founder of Sikhism, declared, “There is no Hindu and no Muslim. All are children of God.” Guru Nank Founder of Sikhism

Modern-day Turkey Was governed by Byzantine Empire at the time Filled with Christian & Greek-speaking people Invaded by the Turks – Result = huge cultural transformation – By 1500 = 90% of the population was Muslim and Turkic-speaking

Small population of about 8 million people = easy to convert Extensive disruption of Anatolian society when the Byzantine Empire weakened – Enslavement, famine, massacres, church properties destroyed, many discriminations – Many Christians came to believe that these disasters were proof that Islam was the true religion

Cultural barriers to conversion were less severe in Anatolia than in India – Most people in Anatolia already monotheistic (Christian) – Muslim respect for Jesus and the Christian scriptures Divide between Islam and Christianity not as major as the one between Islam and Hinduism Sufi missionaries also built: schools, mills, orchards, hospices, and rest places for travelers

But in Anatolia, the population by 1500 was 90% Muslim and largely Turkic-speaking Anatolia was the heartland of the powerful Turkish Ottoman Empire that had overrun Christian Byzantium -But Anatolia’s population was significantly smaller than India’s -The disruption of Anatolian society was more extensive as the Byzantine state had been fatally weakened -Even though Christians were seldom forced to convert, they suffered many discriminations such as being forbidden to ride saddled horses or carry swords -Some Christians came to believe that these disasters represented proof that Islam was the true religion (shared a common monotheism, too!)

The Turkish rulers of Anatolia built a new society that welcomed converts and granted them material rewards and opportunity for high office.

But Islamization did not completely eliminate the influence of Turkish culture -The tradition of a freer, more gender-equal life for women, common among pastoral people, persisted after the conversion to Islam In West Africa, Islam accompanied Muslim traders across the Sahara rather than being brought by invading Arab or Turkic armies Islam’s acceptance was largely peaceful and voluntary, lacking the incentives associated elsewhere with foreign conquest For African merchant communities, Islam provided an important link to Muslim trading partners, much as Buddhism had done in Southeast Asia

Islam spread by Muslim traders across the Sahara Peaceful and voluntary acceptance of Islam – Mainly in urban centers of West African empires  Ghana, Songhay, Mali, etc.

Many West African cities became major centers of Islamic religious and intellectual life Especially Timbuktu – More than 150 Quranic schools – Several major centers of higher education – Libraries with tens of thousands of texts – Construction of huge mosques – Adopted Arabic as the language of religion, education, administration, and trade

By the sixteenth century, a number of West African cities had become major centers of Islamic religious and intellectual life, attracting scholars from throughout the Muslim world. Timbuktu had more than 150 lower- level Quranic schools and several major centers of higher education with thousands of students from all over West Africa.

Conquered by Arab and Berber forces in the early 700s Early Muslim Spain: – Vibrant civilization – Astronomy, medicine, the arts, architecture, and literature flourished – Harmony and tolerance between Muslim rulers and Christian and Jewish subjects – Freedom of worship

10 th and 11 th centuries = end of the era of toleration Warfare with remaining Christian states in northern Spain picked up More rigid forms of Islam entered Spain from North Africa Muslim Mosque of Cordoba, Spain

Muslims avoided contact with Christians Christian homes built lower than Muslim homes Priests forbidden to carry crosses or Bibles

Christians started to regain Spain after 1200 – Many Muslims forced out – No more: call to prayer, public practice of Muslim faith, pilgrimages Christians officially reconquered Spain in 1492 – ALL Muslims (and Jews!) expelled from Spain

The chief site of Islamic encounter with Catholic Europe occurred in Spain (called al- Andalus by Muslims). Spain had been conquered by Arab and Berber forces in the early eighth century but Islam did not overwhelm Christianity in Spain. Early toleration between Muslims and Christians gave way to increasing religious intolerance. That intolerance was perpetuated as Muslims were forced out of Spain during the Reconquest and in 1492, all Jews were likewise expelled.

West Africa did not experience the massive migration of Arab peoples that had promoted Arabization of North Africa and the Middle East Moreover, in contrast to India and Anatolia, Sufi holy men played little role until at least the eighteenth century Scholars, merchants, and rulers, rather than mystic preachers, initially established Islam in West Africa Ibn Battuta, a fourteenth-century Arab traveler, was appalled that practicing Muslims in Mali permitted their women to appear in public almost naked and to mingle freely with unrelated men And Sonni Ali, a fifteenth-century ruler of Songhay, observed Ramadan and built mosques but consulted traditional diviners

Even after the fall of the Arab Empire: Islamic beliefs and practices preserved and transmitted by the ulama (Muslim scholars) Passed on core teachings of the faith in their homes, mosques, shrines, and Quranic schools Madrasas = formal colleges set up in the 11 th century = offered more advanced instruction in the Quran

Islamic Civilization = not only a network of faith, but also a network of exchange – Exchange of: goods, technologies, food products, and ideas

Muslims traded spices, carpets, glass & textiles Traded for silk (China); rubies (India); ivory and slaves (Africa) Goods were sold in city bazaars = marketplaces

At the core of Islamic civilization was a common commitment to Islam Beginning in the eleventh century, formal colleges called madrassas offered more advanced instruction in the Quran and the sayings of Muhammad as well as law The ulama were an “international elite,” and the system of education they created served to bind together an immense and diverse civilization Paralleling the educational network of the ulama were the emerging religious orders of the Sufis -By the tenth century, particular Sufi shayks, or teachers, began to attract groups of disciples who were eager to learn their unique devotional practices and ways of achieving union with Allah

The world of Islamic civilization was a network of faith but also a network of trade -In part, due to its central location in the Afro- Eurasian world -Commerce was valued by the Prophet Muhammad who himself had been a trader -The pilgrimage to Mecca also fostered commerce -The extraordinary spurt of urbanization that accompanied the growth of Islamic civilization also promoted trade Technology also diffused widely within the Islamic world Philosophical texts, especially from ancient Greece and the Hellenistic world, were translated into Arabic

The blending of Islamic civilization and other civilizations led to new contributions to learning. Using Indian numerical notations, Arab scholars developed algebra. They also undertook original work in astronomy and optics. They furthered developments in medicine and pharmacology. The first hospitals, traveling clinics, and examinations for physicians and pharmacologists also were developed within the Islamic world. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, this enormous body of Arab medical scholarship entered Europe via Spain.

Questions How did the rise of Islam change the lives of women? What similarities and differences can you identify in the spread of Islam to India, Anatolia, West Africa, and Spain? Why was Anatolia so much more thoroughly Islamized than India? What makes it possible to speak of the Islamic world as a distinct and coherent civilization? In what ways was the world of Islam a "cosmopolitan civilization"?