1. Islam!
Senor Reising

2. Before Islam
Before Mecca was the foundational city of Islam, it was vastly important as a trade city, connecting the Persian (Sassanid) empire to the east, to the Byzantine Empire to the west (Eastern Roman Empire)
Lucky for them, they were far enough from both to thrive independently

3. How did it start, where did it start, when did it start?
Start date used for the beginning of Islam – 622 CE. How does this compare to the start of other major religions chronologically?
Starting region for the beginning of Islam – Middle East, Arabian Peninsula. How does this compare to the start of other major religions geographically?
In 570 CE, Muhammad the Prophet was born in Mecca. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad grew weary of the violence and lewd behavior of Mecca, so he sought refuge outside of the city in a cave where he could find peace and quiet. One day, according to Islam, the angel Gabriel came to Muhammad and gave him the word of God. Muhammad took this back to Mecca, slowly grew a following, and established the religion of Islam (Just as with Christianity, the start of Islam as a major religion is after the death of Muhammad).

4. Core Info of Islam
Religious Text – Quran – similar in many ways to the Old Testament
“Abrahamic” religion – along with Judaism and Christianity
“People of the book” along with Jews and Christians
Guiding principles – 5 pillars – comparable to the 10 commandments, 4 noble truths, and others
Monotheistic
Still very popular today, approximately 1.7 billion Muslims in the world
Islam means “Submission to the will of God” in Arabic
Muslim is “One who submits to the will of God”
Allah = God in Arabic
Place of worship = Mosque

5. Kaaba: Before and After Islam
Before: Held many Idols of various polytheistic beliefs
After: Believed to be built by Abraham now referred to as the House of God
This is in the heart of Mecca, where Muslims pray to, and if possible, visit at least once in their lives

6. Islam: Beyond Religion Umayyad (661 – 755)
After the death of Muhammad, Abu Bakr became the first Caliph. A caliph is a theocratic ruler, or one who is both a religious leader, and a political leader. He started the idea of expanding politically as a Caliphate (empire) to ensure that Islam would live on as a religion. Who could we compare him to (2 people)?
Eventually, after a whole bunch of succession issues, and the schism of the religion into two main sects, the Sunni and the Shiite, the first Caliphate came into power: The Umayyad. They were an expansionist empire, and grew the empire at a massive rate.

7. Islam: Beyond Religion: Abbasid – 755 - 1258
After the fall of the Umayyad, a new Caliphate arose in their place, established by the Abbas family, known as the Abbasid Caliphate. Successful in their own right, they were focused on intellectual and cultural accomplishments, instead of expansion
Developed algebra
Perfected the Astrolabe
Built first universities
Wrote first medical encyclopedia
Established and popularized Arabic calligraphy

8. Other stuff
After its creation, just like everything else, Islam diffused rapidly through trade and expansion
Not missionizing, but did encourage the conversion of followers through the use of the Jizya tax – a tax on the non-Muslims, or Dhimmi
Sharia law
Sufism – from Iran – example of Syncretism
Treated women OK. Still pretty marginalizing
Accepted slavery, but strongly discouraged the enslaving of other Muslims
Umayyad Spain! Super neat and tolerant (Until 1492)