1. What is Islam and Who are the Muslims?

2. Overview of Islam
Today, Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion with more than 1 billion followers throughout the world

4. What was Arabia like before Muhammad?

5. Islam
Islam is a monotheistic religion that began in city of Mecca located on the Arabian Peninsula near the Byzantine Empire
Arabians were polytheistic & came to visit Mecca to pray to the Kabba, a shrine containing idols of different gods (including Allah)

6. Islam
Mohammad was born in Mecca & was interested in monotheism of Jews & Christians who traded in Mecca
At age 40, Mohammad had a vision that told him he was a messenger of Allah (Arabic word for “god”; the same god as Christians & Jews)
Muhammad called his religion Islam (“surrender to God”) & destroyed the other idols in the Kabba

7. Islam
Mohammad identified rules all Muslims should live by, called the Five Pillars of Islam:
Faith—believe in 1 god, Allah
Prayer—five times every day
Alms—give money to the needy
Fasting—eat no food from sunrise to sunset for 1 month (Ramadan)
Pilgrimage—one in life, go to Mecca

9. Muezzin
Pilgrims in Mecca

10. Islam
Islam
became
a very
popular
religion in
Mecca and
Medina.

11. Expansion of Islam
Muslims began to expand; idea of jihad taught that Muslims would go straight to heaven if died fighting for Allah; so they fought very hard to expand.
Holy wars were considered okay in God's eyes.

12. Islam expanded into a huge empire including Spain, Northern Africa, Persia, and Arabia.

13. Expansion of Islam
Expanded Arabic language and cultural innovations.
Islamic rulers proved mostly tolerant, they offered new subjects three choices:
convert to Islam
pay a tax or
die

14. Islam
Like Christianity, Islam split into 2 sects; after Muhammad died, caliphs (followers of Muhammad) lead Islamic faith, but confusion over the “correct” leadership (caliph):
Sunni—caliphs should be chosen by vote (95% Muslims are Sunni today)
Shiite—caliphs should come directly from Muhammad’s family tree (more radical; 3% of all Muslims today)

15. Percentage Today of Sunni & Shi’a Muslims Worldwide

16. BYZANTINES
MUSLIMS

17. Ottoman Turks
Turks are nomads from Asia; contact with Muslim Empire led to conversion of Turks to Islam
Ottoman Turks—Most powerful group of Turks began to grow strong as Byzantine Empire and Islamic Empire began to weaken
Defeated both Islamic Empire & Byzantine Empire; created Ottoman Empire

18. Seige of Constantinople (1453 A.D.)

20. The Ottoman Empire