1. Religion (Islam)

2. Islam 2nd largest world religion about 1.3 billion adherents
Fastest growing, why?
Islam
Map of Muslim World (above) – notice how it stretches across N. Africa. Also, to the southeast, Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country

3. Overview & Origins ~600 A.D. Hearth?
Arabian Peninsula (today: Africa, Europe, Asia)
Universalizing; Monotheistic; Allah
Prophet Muhammad
Thoughtful man who prayed in desert; Had vision – Angel Gabriel told him he was to become “Messenger of God.” Calls on people to submit to will of Allah. Muslim – “one who submits”
Mecca + Medina
Mecca = Holiest City of Islam - Saudi Arabia; birthplace of Muhammad – Medina (Yathrib)
Hajj to Mecca (Kaaba) – polytheistic practice adopted by Muhammad to appease enemies

4. The Five Pillars
1. Faith - monotheism, There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of God
2. Prayer - 5 times a day facing Mecca
3. Almsgiving - money for the poor, religious tax
4. Fasting - fast between dawn and sunset during the holy month of Ramadan.
- spiritual needs > physical ones.
- strict lunar calendar; Ramadan moves every year: winter has shorter days (preferable)
5. Pilgrimage - hajj
Other customs/morals/laws:
- forbidden to eat pork or drink alcoholic beverages
- women wear hijab (covering)

5. Links Between Islam and Christianity and Judaism?
-Monotheism
Allah is the same God (according to Muslims); Muhammad was final prophet
- Almsgiving - charity
- Roots can be traced back to Abraham (1st patriarch of Jewish people – father to all Jews, Christians, Muslims)
- Heaven, Hell, Judgment Day (Christianity)
- Similar sacred places (Jerusalem)
Believe same God is worshipped… Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet, not Son of God.
Qur'an revealed to Muhammad - similar to Torah, Gospels revealed to Moses and New Testament writers.
Qur’an perfects earlier revelations. Muhammad was the final prophet.
Heaven, hell judgment day. People of the book.
Trace ancestry to Abraham, as do Jews and Christians.
Shiari’a law required Muslim leaders to extend religious tolerance to Christians and Jews.
Common holy places -- Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock

6. Muslim Holy Places life of Muhammad, why? Universalizing religion!
Kaaba (black stone) in Mecca
5th pillar = hajj
Pilgrimage to Mecca
remnant of polytheism
syncretism
What type of effects does the hajj have on the environment?
Medina (city of the prophet)
“Yathrib” – city of exile
Muhammad’s tomb
Dome of the Rock
Muhammad’s night journey
on Temple Mount
Site of Jewish temples
Sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham

7. Hajj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Hajj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām - The Sacred Mosque, which contains the Kaaba (black stone)

8. Islam 2 significant branches Sunnis (83%) Shias or Shiites (16%)
Arose over religious disagreements over who should be the successor of Muhammad. (Sunnis have more open viewpoint)
Sunnis (83%)
More open viewpoint of who can be successor of Muhammad
Indonesia has the largest Sunni population
Know this! College Board wants to trick you; they’ll assume you’ll say Saudi Arabia bc it’s close to the hearth.
Saudi Arabia
Shias or Shiites (16%)
You have to descend from Muhammad’s son-in-law (bloodline)
Primarily clustered (majorities in) in Iran + southern Iraq, Azerbaijan, Bahrain + others
Other significant minorities in:
Lebanon, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan
Islam

9. When you have area suffering from outside forces trying to compete within it, what is that called?
Shatterbelt: Middle East is a shatterbelt today (Syria Iraq  Yemen) where Shia + Sunni are in conflict.
Iran is a sponsor of Shia; Saudi Arabia is a sponser of Sunni.
Conflicts: Syrian Civil War, Iraq can’t get act together, huge crisis in Yemen (ppl dying of starvation)
Factions in both Saudi Arabia + Iran; ppl who want modernization/ secular mindset + others who believe in sharia law (Islamic law; theocracy – gov by religion)
Wahhabism – sect of Sunni that is strict.

10. Intrafaith boundary: Sunni vs. Shia
The rise of Shiites in Iraq + Lebanon, backed by Iran, is challenging the traditional Sunni powers of Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

11. Islam Places of Worship Calendar Mosque Minarets Strict lunar calendar
muezzin calls to prayer (5x)
Other distinctive traits
Calligraphy
Arabesques
Reflects proscription against figurative art
Pointed arches
Keyhole arches
Strict lunar calendar
Holidays shift annually

13. Islamic Courtyards
How do walled off courtyards reflect the cultural values of Islam?
Reflects purdah
the seclusion, isolation, “modesty” of women (also in Hinduism)
originated in pre-Islamic societies (Persia, Babylon ?????)
Islamic courtyards:
Open courtyard in homes
Women’s roles – private, no front patios
Purdah**

15. Good map for overall spread, read worksheet post on website to fully understand methods of diffusion

16. Make sure this shatterbelt is accurately reflected on your religious distribution maps