1. Islam: Empire of Faith
Ch 10 : Sections 1-3

2. Life on the Arabian Peninsula
Bedouins: traditional nomadic warring tribes of the Arabian peninsula
Muhammad: Bedouin merchant & Prophet of God
Mecca: town of Muhammad’s birth & youth
Kaaba (Ka’bah): traditional shrine of the Bedouin tribes, started by Abraham

3. Early Days of the Prophet
Khadijah: wealthy, merchant widow who marries Muhammad
Angel Gabriel: angel who embraced Muhammad & prodded him to ‘Recite!’ the word of God
Islam: “to submit to God”
Allah: Arabic word for God

4. A.D : War for Survival
Yathrib/Medina: ‘City of the Prophet’, locale of Muhammad’s shelter prior to the War
Hijra: trip by the faithful from Mecca to Medina, beginning of Islam
Rededication of the Kaaba: after conquering Mecca, Muhammad rededicates the shrine in the name of the first prophet Abraham
Umma: any community of Muslims

5. Practice of the Islam (Pt 1)
Quran (Koran): sacred text of Islam, direct unchangeable word of God
Mediate: priests are not needed to facilitate between a Muslim and God
Mosques (masjids): houses of worship w/i Islam
Minarets: towers attached to Mosques, balcony for Muezzins

6. Practice of Islam (Pt 2)
Muezzin: person who calls Muslims to prayer, often from a superior position like a minaret or rooftop
Jihad: to struggle in God’s service; justification for ‘Holy War’
People of the Book: Jews and Christians; spiritually superior to polytheistic worshippers

7. Practice of Islam (Pt 3) 5 Pillars of Islam: 1) Declaration of Faith
2) Daily Prayer (5x)
–face Mecca
3) Giving Alms to the Poor
4) The Fast of Ramadan
5) Hajj – pilgrimage once in your lifetime to Mecca

8. Practice of Islam (Pt 4)
Sharia: Islamic law, defines moral conduct, family life, public/business life, and rules of government
Impact on Women: extended rights and protections thru spiritual equality shared by all faithful Muslims
114 suras: chapters of the Quran in the order God commanded

9. Search for new leadership
A.D. 632: year the Prophet Muhammad died
Abu Bakr: Muhammad’s father-in-law who was the agreed upon successor of Muhammad (caliph)
Unification of the tribes was tenuous, but successful during the next 100 yrs

10. Schism w/i Islam
Stressor? Since Muhammad’s death there was debate over who should lead Islam
Shi’at Ali (Shiites): followers of Ali, believed all leaders should be descendants (imams) of Ali & Fatima (Muhammad’s daughter)

11. Schism w/i Islam (Pt 2)
Sunnis: believe leaders should be elected and any “good, pious” Muslim could lead since there wasn’t another prophet
Sunna: custom of the community

12. Appeal of Islam
Equality in faith before God and in treatment of each other w/i the community of Islam
Belonging/acceptance of the downtrodden & traditional “cast offs”

13. Early Dynasties
Umayyad: emerged after the death of Ali, dynasty of Sunni Caliphs who ruled from the capital in Damascus (Syria) through A.D. 750
Responsible for much of the expansive period of conquest from 632 thru A.D. 750

15. The Umayyad Dynasty falls
Muslims upset by the disparity in wealth under the Umayyads placed support behind Abu al- Abbas (descendant of Muhammad’s uncle)
al-Abbas unified the Shiites and other discontented factions to capture Damascus in A.D. 750

17. Early Islamic Dynasties
Abassids: flourished after conquering the Ummayyads and moved the capital of the Muslim world to Baghdad (‘City of Peace’ & cradle of civilization thru to the Renaissance)
Seat of Muslim power through the period of the Crusades until A.D.1250

19. Seljuk Turk mischief
A.D. 900’s: Seljuk Turks (from the Asian steppe) conquered the “declining” Abassid dynasty and cut-off Christian travelers hoping to visit the Holy Lands
Pope Urban II then called for the First Crusade….duh, duh, DUH!