1. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca
ARABIA
Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca

2. MECCA Most important of the commercial cities along the Red Sea coast
Had trade contacts with Africa and the Middle East
Also served as religious center
Contained shrine covering sacred black rock that Arabs believed the god Allah had thrown down to earth
Called the Kaaba
Also contained idols to other gods that the Arabs worshipped

3. DISUNITY
East of Mecca and other Red Sea cities lay the Great Arabian Desert
Tens of thousands of square miles of shifting sand
Home to the Bedouins
Primitive nomads who herded flocks, conducted vendettas, raided caravans, and conducted inter-clan feuds
Had no use for city people and the feeling was mutual
No such thing as an united Arab people at this time
Divided between civilized urban people and wild desert nomads

4. MUHAMMAD Muhammad was born in 570 AD
Orphaned while still very young and was raised by various uncles in the markets of Mecca
Became semi-successful merchant when he grew up
Became business manager of wealthy widow when he was 20 years old
Later married her
May have traveled to Syria on business and heard preaching of Christian monks
Became familiar with Judaism through contacts with Jewish merchants in Mecca

5. VISION
Muhammad began to go on meditation trips to the mountains east of Mecca when he was in his 30s.
It was on one of these trips that he had his first religious vision in 610
Christian angel Gabriel appeared before him told him he was messenger of the sole God, Allah, and to spread His Word
First in a series of visions that Muhammad would receive
Would spend the rest of his life spreading the message he received in these visions

6. THE PROPHET
Muhammad even wrote poetic descriptions of his visions and compiled them in a book called the Koran (or Qu’ran)
Holy book of Islam
For millions of Moslems (“true believers”), Muhammad’s message constitutes God’s final message to mankind
They believe that Muhammad was the greatest and last prophet
Their name for him is “The Prophet”

7. MUHAMMAD AND ALLAH Claims there is only one god and He is Allah
Stresses absolute power of Allah above all else
Duty of human beings is the worship Him
Prayers of Islam are seldom prayers of petition
They are mostly prayers of praise
Also are formal, memorized prayers
Arabic symbol for Allah

8. FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
Koran outlines simple and straight-forward guide of conduct
Stresses monotheistic worship of Allah
Prayer five times a day
Paradise for true believers and hellfire for infidels
Fasting from dawn until dusk during holiday of Ramadan
Insists on at least one pilgrimage per lifetime to Mecca to visit the Kaaba
Moslem mosque with minarets

9. THE FINAL PROPHET
Islam recognizes Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as earlier prophets
Who delivered a portion of Allah’s message
But it insists Muhammad was the final prophet Allah would ever send to earth
And that only he possessed Allah’s ultimate and complete message to mankind

10. TROUBLE IN MECCA
Most people dismissed Muhammad as a crackpot when he began preaching in Mecca
But when he began to insist that anyone who did not accept Allah as the only god, the merchant elite who ruled Mecca turned on him
Because the worship of idols at the Kaaba attracted many pilgrims to Mecca who spent lots of money
They appear to have plotted to kill Muhammad to shut him up

11. HEGIRA
Muhammad learned of murder plot and escaped to nearby city of Medina
Flight known as The Hegira
Represented major turning point in Muhammad’s life
Found a more receptive audience in Medina and quickly converted the entire city to his new creed
Organized converts into the Umma
A community of true believers that transcended old bonds of clan, tribe, or city
A kind of super tribe, open to all who accepted Muhammad’s message, that unified Arabs into a single unit

12. MUHAMMAD TRIUMPHANT
Muhammad used his control of Medina to attack Mecca by cutting off all caravan routes into the city
Once he had weakened the city sufficiently, he attacked it and took it over in 629 AD
During the three years that separated this event from Muhammad’s death (632 AD), Islam became a major force in the Arabian peninsula

13. SUCCESS OF ISLAM I Simple straight-forward, easy-to-understand creed
Promised an afterlife of sensuous delights to the faithful and eternal damnation to nonbelievers
Muhammad also preached that his message be spread by any means necessary
Even war
Led to holy wars (jihads) as converted Bedouins raided their still pagan neighbors
Spoils split between Bedouins and Moslem leadership

14. SUCCESS OF ISLAM II
Christians and Jews in Islamic territory had to pay special tax
Split between all members of the Umma
Desire to continue old Bedouin custom of warfare combined with the chance to enrich oneself through the spread of Islam played a role in the growing popularity of Islam in Arabia

15. THE FIRST CALIPH Muhammad died without naming a successor
Followers in Mecca picked Abu Bakr as his successor (or “caliph”)
Old merchant friend of Muhammad who was one of the first to convert to Islam
But many Bedouin tribes believed Muhammad’s death freed them of all obligations and broke from Umma
Abu Bakr launched “war of reconversion” to get them back
Loyal Moslems attacked defectors and brought them back into line

16. EXPANSION Long-term survival required continued expansion
But the Koran prohibited Moslems from raiding other Moslems
But raiding was a traditional part of the Bedouin lifestyle
Only way to keep Bedouins in loyal was to lead them in new military campaigns against non-Moslems

17. CREATION OF AN ARAB EMPIRE
Umar
Ummayads
Abu Bakr
Under Abu Bakr, Moslems reconquered and reconverted entire Arabian peninsula
Tried to take Constantinople but failed
Did reduce Byzantine Empire to a small state
Under next caliph, Umar, Arab armies conquered Iran, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and part of Asia Minor

18. ALI
Disputes arose within the Umma between rich and poor over how to divide up wealth from empire
Resulted in election of Ali as fourth caliph
Nephew of Muhammad
Champion of the poor
Moved capital to Iraq
Murdered on orders of Umayyad family in 661
Wealthy Meccan family

19. SHI’ITES
Memory of Ali, the “last rightly guided caliph” lived on among the poor of Iran and Iraq
Gave birth later to the belief that leadership of the Islamic world could come from the direct descendants of Ali
Adherents to this belief developed into a religious sect within Islam known as the Shi’ites
Also developed fundamentalist religious interpretation of Koran
Shi’ite shrine in Iran

20. UMMAYAD DYNASTY
After death of Ali, Ummayad family monopolized position of caliph for next 100 years
Established a dynasty
Moved capital to Damascus
Under them, Arab armies conquered Central Asia, entire coast of North Africa, and Spain
Stopped in southern France at Battle of Tours
Overthrown in 750 by alliance of various groups unhappy with their rule
Family of Muhammad’s paternal uncle, Abbas, established as new dynasty
Abbasid Dynasty ( )

21. ARAB EMPIRE UNDER THE ABBASIDS

22. ABBASID DYNASTY Abbasids built new capital in Mesopotamia Baghdad
Had long-term problem of holding huge empire together
Pieces broke off to become independent Islamic states
Egypt and Spain
New invaders grabbed off territory
Seljuk Turks took Mediterranean Middle East
Berbers took most of North Africa

23. END OF THE ROAD
Power and territory of Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad shrunk to virtually zero by 1200 AD
Mongols arrived in 1258, captured Baghdad, killed last Abbasid caliph, and put an end to the Arab Empire

24. ARAB LEGACY
Arabs became preservers and protectors of Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman culture they found in the lands they conquered
Collected Persian, Greek, and Roman scientific and philosophical works and translated them into Arabic
For example: works of Hippocrates
Also picked up number system from India and introduced it to the West
Arabic numerals
Also perfected use of decimal fractions and invented algebra

25. ARAB ART Moslem law prohibited the portrayal of the human form in art
Arab artists therefore concentrated on the abstract and stressed such elements as geometric shapes and floral patterns
Concentrated on the “decorative arts”
Ceramics, tile mosaics, textile design, metalworking

26. ARCHITECTURE AND LITERATURE
Arabs were also skillful architects
Made important contributions to literature
The Arabian Nights
Collection of old folktales tied together by common theme
The Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam
Book of poems celebrating love and life
The Koran itself

27. SUMMARY
Visions of Muhammad led to one of the greatest transformations the world had ever seen
Islam forged Arabs into a united people
Who went on the conquer more of Asia, Africa, and Europe than any previous empire
Arabs ultimately lost control of their empire
But their religious and cultural tradition remains an enduring legacy to world civilization