 Islam = “surrender” or “submission” to God  Muslim = “one who surrenders [to God]”  Life is submission to God, even birth and death.  All actions are worship  All people are born Muslim  Surrender to God, carry out his commands  Commands touch nearly every aspect of life  Extends to politics  Islam is entwined with Muslim empire  Islam = theology, culture, law, practice

 Relative isolation  Bedouins = nomadic tribes travelling from oasis to oasis  Kinship groups (tribes, clans)  Personal honor connected to honor of clan  No central government  Religion  One supreme god, many minor gods

 Born into wealthy tribe  Married at 25 to Khadija  Deeply troubled as youth  Didn’t like tribal conflict and Bedouin religion  Solitary meditation in mountainside caves  40 years old – early revelations  Gabriel – angel of revelation  Collected in Qur’an

 M was commanded to “arise and warn people”  Undermined dominant tribe in Mecca  Opposition tried to assassinate M  M’s wife and uncle die  Flight to Medina  Growing community of Islam  Raids against Meccan caravans  First holy war (jihad)

 Jihad = “struggle”  Stay on path of Allah  Fight injustice and oppression  Create a just society  Military conflict  Not meant to be aggressor  No justification of forced conversion

 Qur’an  Eternal words of Allah  Divine revelation to M  Hadith  Narratives of life and deeds of M  Not compiled until 9 th or 10 th century  Different collections for Sunnis, Shi’as

1. Monotheism  Absolute unity and uniqueness of Allah  Cannot represent image  Has no “associates”  Polytheists: deny sovereignty of Allah 2. Meaning and purpose of human existence  Fully centered on Allah  Humans are Allah’s representatives (khalifa)  No notion of original sin

3. Social reform  Serve Allah in relationships with others  Model yourself on Allah  Compassionate  Protective of weak  Just  Opposed to evil  De-emphasized importance of kinship

4. Day of Judgment  Dead resurrected  All life will stand before Allah’s judgment  Unbelievers, selfish  eternal damnation in hell  Believers  eternal paradise  Body and soul are perishable  Will be resurrected for afterlife  Allah’s creation is good, but < paradise  Life is “testing ground” for eternity

 Shahada : profession of faith  There is no god but Allah, and M is his apostle  “ Allahu akbar” – “ Greater is Allah”  Declared publicly among believers, many times a day

 Salat : ritual prayer  At least 5 times a day  Very specific:  Face toward Mecca  Focus attention on Allah  Full prostration  Intimate conversation with Allah  Mosque = masjid (“place of prostration”)  Friday = day of public prayer

We have seen thee turning thy face about in the heaven; now We will surely turn thee to a direction that will satisfy thee. Turn thy face toward the Holy Mosque [in Mecca]; wherever you are, turn your faces toward it. (2:144)

 Ramadan : fasting  Celebrates M receiving revelations  Daily fast  No food, drink, tobacco, sexual activity  Sympathy for poor  Breaking of the fast – 3 day festival

 Zakat : almsgiving  Giving worldly wealth to those in need  Gratitude = imitation of Allah  2.5% of total income

 Hajj : pilgrimage to Mecca  Pilgrims wear special gown, don’t shave or cut hair  Arrive, bathe, enter Grand Mosque  Ka’bah – black stone in center of sanctuary  Walk around Ka’bah