1. Recap Judaism Christianity Islam Characteristics Founder
Type of religion
Sacred text
Names of God
Original language
Followers called
Fundamental principles/Code of Conduct
House of worship
Internal division

2. Contributions of Islamic Civilization
Cultural and Scientific Achievements
One night, Caliph al-Mamun had a vivid dream. There in his chambers he came upon a balding, blue-eyed stranger sitting on the low couch. 
“Who are you?” the caliph demanded. 
“Aristotle,” the man replied. The caliph was delighted. He plied the great Greek philosopher with questions about ethics, reason, and religion. 
Although al-Mamun soon awoke, his dream inspired him to action. He had scholars collect the great works of the classical world and translate them into Arabic. By 830, the caliph had set up the “House of Wisdom,” a library and university in Baghdad. 
Under the Abbassids, Islam absorbed traditions from many cultures. In the process, a vital new civilization rose that flourished in cities from Damascus to Cairo to Córdoba and later to Delhi in India. The great works produced by scholars of the Abbassid golden age shaped the Muslim world just as Greek and Roman classics shaped western culture.

3. Muslim Culture
Islamic traditions and customs developed over centuries and created a distinct Muslim culture.
Islamic civilization preserved and extended ancient Greek, Persian, and Indian learning.
Early Islamic civilization was characterized by achievements in science and arts that transformed the Islamic world and contributed to world civilization.
Society and the Economy   
Muslim rulers united people from diverse cultures, including Arabs, Persians, Egyptians and other Africans, and Europeans. Later, Mongols, Turks, Indians, and people in Southeast Asia declared their faith in Islam. In time, Muslim civilization absorbed and blended many traditions. 
Social Classes:  Muslim society was more open than that of medieval Christian Europe. Although Arabs had held themselves apart from non-Arab Muslims at first, that distinction faded under the Abbassids. People enjoyed a certain degree of social mobility, the ability to move up in social class. People could improve their social rank through religious, scholarly, or military achievements. 
As in Greece and Rome, slavery was a common institution in the cities of the Muslim world. Slaves were brought from conquered lands in Spain, Greece, Africa, India, and Central Asia. Muslims could not be enslaved. If non-Muslim slaves converted to Islam, they did not automatically gain their freedom, but their children did. A female slave who married her owner also gained freedom. 
Most slaves worked as household servants. Some were skilled artisans. The Abbassids used slave-soldiers who fought loyally for the caliph. Slaves of rulers sometimes rose to high positions in government, and a number of caliphs were the sons of slave mothers. Islamic law encouraged the freeing of slaves. Many slaves bought their freedom, often with the help of charitable donations or even state funds.

4. Cultural Contributions and Achievements
Architecture - Muslim architects adapted the domes and arches of Byzantine buildings to new uses.
In Jerusalem, they built the Dome of the Rock, a great shrine capped with a magnificent dome.
Architecture:  Muslim architects adapted the domes and arches of Byzantine buildings to new uses. In Jerusalem, they built the Dome of the Rock, a great shrine capped with a magnificent dome. Domed mosques and high minarets dominated Muslim cities in the same way that cathedral spires dominated medieval Christian cities.
This beautiful structure was built by the Caliph Abd al-Malik and completed in 691 A.D. The building encloses a huge rock located at its center from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended (went up) to heaven at the end of his Night Journey. It has mosaics depicting scrolling vines and flowers, jewels, and crowns in greens, blues, and gold.
As Muhammad was resting in the Kaaba, Gabriel came to him, and brought him the winged steed Buraq, who carried him to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where he alighted, tethered Buraq, and led other prophets in prayer. He then got back on Buraq, and was taken to the heavens, where he toured heaven and hell (described in some detail), and spoke with the earlier prophets, and with Allah. Allah told him to enjoin the Muslims to pray fifty times a day; however, Moses told Muhammad that they would never do it, and urged Muhammad to go back several times and ask for a reduction, until finally it was reduced to five times a day.
Afterwards, the unbelieving Meccans regarded this as absurd, and some went to Abu Bakr and told him "Look at what your companion is saying. He says he went to Jerusalem and came back in one night." Abu Bakr told them, "If he said that, then he is truthful. I believe him concerning the news of the heavens — that an angel descends to him from the heavens. How could I not believe he went to Jerusalem and came back in a short period of time — when these are on earth?" It was for this that Abu Bakr is said to have received his nickname "as-Siddiq", the believer.

5. Domed mosques and high minarets (towers) dominated Muslim cities.
Tales:  Arab writers prized the art of storytelling. Across their empire, they gathered and adapted stories from Indian, Persian, Greek, Jewish, Egyptian, and Turkish sources. The best-known collection is The Thousand and One Nights, a group of tales narrated by the fictional princess Scheherezade (shu hehr uh zah duh). They include romances, fables, adventures, and humorous anecdotes, many set in the Baghdad of Harun al-Rashid. Later versions filtered into Europe, where millions of children thrilled to “Aladdin and His Magic Lamp” or “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”
Domed mosques and high minarets (towers) dominated Muslim cities.

7. Prophet’s Mosque in Medina
It is believed that Muhammad is buried in this mosque.
Supposedly, this is the first Muslim mosque ever. There is no ornate dome structure. The tradition is that Muhammad is buried here.

8. Kaaba, Mecca

9. Taj Mahal, Agra, India
It is a mausoleum (a tomb) built by one of the Mughal emperors (Mughal dynasty conquered India). It was built as a monument of love by a Sultan to his favorite wife.

10. The Alhambra Castle in Granada, Spain.
It the most famous example of Muslim architecture.
The word “alhambra” comes from the Arabic meaning “red castle.” It was originally built for military purposes; the alhambra was an “alcazaba” (fortress), an “alcazar” (palace) and a small “medina” (city), all in one.
It was a small city in it of itself, with streets and shops. Granada was the last Muslim stronghold in Spain and it held out for over 200 years after other cities fell. When Ferdinand and Isabella finally took Granada, they put a huge cross on the top of Alhambra.

11. Art and Arabic Language
Mosaic
Calligraphy
Arabesque
Art and Literature: As in Christian Europe and Hindu India, religion shaped the arts and literature of the Islamic world. The great work of Islamic literature was the poetic Quran itself. Scholars studied the sacred words of the Quran in Arabic and then produced their own works interpreting its meaning. 
Muslim art and literature reflected the diverse traditions of the various peoples who lived under Muslim rule. Muslim artists and writers were also influenced by the skills and styles of the many peoples with whom they came in contact, including Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Indians. 
Design and Decoration:  Because the Quran strictly banned the worship of idols, Muslim religious leaders forbade artists to portray God or human figures in religious art. The walls and ceilings of mosques were decorated with elaborate abstract and geometric patterns. The arabesque, an intricate design composed of curved lines that suggest floral shapes, appeared in rugs, textiles, and glassware. Muslim artists also perfected skills in calligraphy, the art of beautiful handwriting. They worked the flowing Arabic script, especially verses from the Quran, into decorations on buildings and objects of art. 
In nonreligious art, some Muslim artists did paint human and animal figures. Arabic scientific works were often lavishly illustrated. Literary works and luxury objects sometimes showed stylized figures. In later periods, Persian, Turkish, and Indian artists excelled at painting miniatures to illustrate books of poems and fables.

12. Universities
Institutions of higher learning included schools for religious instruction and for the study of Islamic law.
Muslim scholars preserved the learning of earlier civilizations by translating ancient Persian, Sanskrit, and Greek texts into Arabic.
Baghdad became the greatest Muslim center of learning.
Greatest Muslim learning institution was House of Wisdom
The World of Learning:   “Seek knowledge even as far as China,” said Muhammad. Although he could not read or write, his respect for learning inspired Muslims to make great advances in learning. 
Centers of Learning:  Both boys and girls were provided with elementary education. This training emphasized reading and writing, especially study of the Quran. Institutions of higher learning included schools for religious instruction and for the study of Islamic law. 
Al-Mamun and later caliphs made Baghdad into the greatest Muslim center of learning. Its vast libraries attracted a galaxy of scholars, who were well paid and highly respected. Other cities, like Cairo, Bukhara, Timbuktu, and Córdoba, had their own centers of learning. In all these places, Muslim scholars made advances in philosophy, mathematics, medicine, and other fields. They preserved the learning of earlier civilizations by translating ancient Persian, Sanskrit, and Greek texts into Arabic.

13. Scientific Contributions and Achievements
Arabic numerals, including zero.
They were adapted from India.
Algebra – In the 800s, al-Khwarizmi wrote a book that was later translated into Latin and became a standard mathematics textbook in Europe.
From the Arabic word al-jabr
Mathematics:  Muslim scholars studied both Indian and Greek mathematics before making their original contributions. The greatest Muslim mathematician was al-Khwarizmi (ahl kwah reez mee). His work pioneered the study of algebra (from the Arabic word al-jabr). In the 800s, he wrote a book that was later translated into Latin and became a standard mathematics textbook in Europe.
Philosophy:  Muslim scholars translated the works of the Greek philosophers, as well as many Hindu and Buddhist texts. Like later Christian thinkers in Europe, Muslim scholars tried to harmonize Greek ideas about reason with religious beliefs based on divine revelation. In Córdoba, the philosopher Ibn Rushd — known in Europe as Averroës—put all knowledge except the Quran to the test of reason. His writings on Aristotle were translated into Latin and influenced Christian scholastics in medieval Europe.
Another Arab thinker, Ibn Khaldun, set standards for the scientific study of history. He stressed the importance of economics and social structure as causes of historical events. He also warned about common sources of error in historical writing. These included bias, exaggeration, and overconfidence in the accuracy of one's sources. Khaldun urged historians to trust sources only after a thorough investigation.
Astronomy:  Like many scholars of the time, al-Khwarizmi made contributions in other fields. He developed a set of astronomical tables based on Greek and Indian discoveries. At observatories from Baghdad to Central Asia, Muslim astronomers studied eclipses, observed the Earth's rotation, and calculated the circumference of the Earth to within a few thousand feet. The work of Muslim astronomers and navigators helped pave the way for later explorers like Christopher Columbus.

14. Medicine
Building on the knowledge of the ancient Greeks, Muslims made remarkable advances in medicine and public health.
Muhammad al-Razi - He wrote many books on medicine.
He challenged accepted medical practices.
Treat the mind as well as the body, he advised young doctors.
Ibn Sina, known in Europe as Avicenna - His great work was the Canon on Medicine.
It was a huge encyclopedia of what the Greeks, the Arabs, and he himself had learned about the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
Medicine:  Building on the knowledge of the ancient Greeks, Muslims made remarkable advances in medicine and public health. Under the caliphs, physicians and pharmacists had to pass a test before they could practice their profession. The government set up hospitals, with separate wards for women. Injured people could get quick treatment at a facility similar to today's emergency room. Physicians traveled to rural areas to provide health care to those who could not get to a city, while others regularly visited jails. 
One of the most original medical thinkers was Muhammad al-Razi, head physician at Baghdad's chief hospital. He wrote many books on medicine, including a pioneering study of measles and smallpox. He also challenged accepted medical practices. Treat the mind as well as the body, he advised young doctors. If a doctor made hopeful comments, he taught, patients would recover faster. 
Equally famous was the Persian physician Ibn Sina, known in Europe as Avicenna. By the age of 16, he was already a doctor to the Persian nobility. His great work was the Canon on Medicine, a huge encyclopedia of what the Greeks, the Arabs, and he himself had learned about the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The book includes a list of more than 4,000 prescriptions, made with such ingredients as mercury from Spain, myrrh from East Africa, and camphor from India. 
Behind these two great names stood dozens of others. Muslim surgeons developed a way to treat cataracts, drawing fluid out of the lenses with a hollow needle. For centuries, surgeons around the world used this method to save patients' eyesight. Arab pharmacists were the first to mix bitter medicines into sweet-tasting syrups and gums.

15. Expansion of Geographic Knowledge
Over time, Muslim scholars helped knowledge move into Christian Europe.
Christian European scholars were reintroduced to the achievements of Greco-Roman civilization.
They studied Muslim philosophy, art, and science.
Knowledge Moves West:  Over time, Muslim scholars helped knowledge move into Christian Europe. The two main routes of entry were through Spain and through Sicily. Christian European scholars were reintroduced to the achievements of Greco-Roman civilization. They studied Muslim philosophy, art, and science. Eventually, European physicians began to attend Muslim universities in Spain and to translate Arabic medical texts. For 500 years, the works of Avicenna and al-Razi were the standard medical textbooks at European schools.
An International Trade Network:  Merchants were honored in the Muslim world, in part because Muhammad had been a merchant. A traditional collection of deeds and sayings stated: “The honest, truthful Muslim merchant will stand with the martyrs on the Day of Judgment. I commend the merchants to you, for they are the couriers of the horizon and God's trusted servants on Earth.”—Sayings of the Prophet  Between 750 and 1350, merchants built a vast trading network across the Muslim world and beyond, spreading Islam peacefully in their wake. Camel caravans—the “ships of the desert”—crossed the Sahara into West Africa. Muslim traders traveled the Silk Road from China. Monsoon winds carried Arab ships from East Africa to India. Everywhere Muslim traders bought and exchanged goods, creating great fortunes for the most successful. Trade spread both products and technologies. As you have read, Muslim merchants brought Arabic numerals from India to the western world. Arabs also carried sugar from India and papermaking from China. A common language and a common religion helped this global exchange to grow and thrive.  Extensive trade and a prosperous money economy led Muslims to pioneer new business practices. They set up partnerships, bought and sold on credit, and formed banks to change currency. To transfer money more easily, Muslims invented the ancestors of today's bank checks. We get our word check from the Arabic word sakk. Bankers developed a sophisticated system of accounting. They opened branch banks in all major cities, so that a check written in Baghdad might be cashed in Cairo.