Chapter 11Islamic Civilization

Great Mosque in Makkah

Section 1: The Rise of Islam

• Deserts cover most of Arabian peninsula.

• Vast platform of ancient rocks once continuous with north-east Africa. Fissures from the rift valley opened up to create the Red Sea & Gulf of Aden.

• Underground water rises occasionally to the surface to create an oasis in the vast desert.

• Southwest mountain region receives enough rain to support plants such as olive trees.

• Bedouins- Arab desert herders who travelled from oasis to oasis to find water and food for their cattle. (camels, goats, sheep) Bedouins also

regularly attacked traveling merchants, robbing them of goods.

Trade and Towns• Many other Arabs lived in villages where they farmed, raised animals or were merchants. Merchants would transport goods across the desert to traders coming from Europe and Asia by caravans. As trade grew, more towns developed in Arabia. Makkah or Mecca became the richest of them all.

Islam?

• Islam is an Arabic word meaning, to surrender. For Muslims it means to surrender to the will of Allah or God.

the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah.

Prophet Muhammad• A.D. 570 – Muhammad born in Makkah, into

a poor clan which opposed the wealthier merchant clans. Grew up in poverty, (his father died before he was born, therefore he could not inherit any land) became a servant to and later married a wealthy widow at 25.

• 610, Muhammad hears a voice from heaven telling him to recite the words of God. He believed he was the 7th and final prophet of God. Whatever he said was God’s message to the Arabs, and is memorized by his followers. Muslims still consider the Quran as the spoken word of God to the Arabs, it can not be translated into any other language.

Muhammad’s Hijrah to Yathrib• Muhammad taught the polytheist Arabians to

abandon their practice of worshipping many gods and only worship, Allah, the Arab god of creation. His teachings of redistributing wealth among everyone equally did not sit well with wealthy merchants. After loosing protection from his clan, Muhammad was forced to move to Yathrib, renamed Madinah, which means, city of the prophet.

• The people of Madinah welcomed Muhammad as their new leader and begin the new Muslim calendar in the year A.D. 622 is their year 1. What year is it in the Muslim calendar now?

• Up to this time, all of Muhammad’s revelations had been centered around the individual’s relationship with Allah. When he became a political threat to the old Arabic ways, his revelations became more politically/military minded. He set up an Islamic state, a government that uses its political powers to uphold Islam, which continues to this day. Followers of Islam become known as Muslims.

• To defend his new gov’t. Muhammad built an army. After capturing Mecca in 630, he made it a holy city of Islam.

What is the Quran?

• The one common factor Jews, Christians and Muslims have is the belief in one God. All 3 are monotheist religions.

• The Quran is the holy book of Islam. Believed to be handed down from God to Gabriel to Muhammad. Revelations were written down and memorized as Muhammad stated he was experiencing messages from God. Islam teaches man had distorted religion, therefore Islam is the only true religion. Jewish and Christian beliefs were superseded when Muhammad received his revelations.

• The Five Pillars of Islam are acts of worship all Muslims must fulfill. 1. Belief in one God, Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet, 2. Muslims must pray 5 times a day, facing Mecca. 3. Muslims must give to the poor. 4. Muslims must fast during Ramadan (based on the lunar calendar), 5. Muslims must make one pilgrimage to Mecca once in their life.

• Video: Millions Perform Hajj in Mecca

Islamic Empires, section 2

• Following Muhammad’s death in 632, problems arose about succession. Caliphs, which means, successor to the Messenger of God, were named to continue Muhammad’s teachings.

• The Rightly Guided Caliphs were the first four caliphs to rule who obeyed Islam’s teachings. Today they make up the Shiites sect of Islam.

• During the next 120 years Islam spread to include all of southwest Asia, northern Africa, Spain and some of Italy, Greece and India.

• Another sect of Islam are the Sunni who believe anyone can rule, doesn’t have to be a blood descendent of Muhammad. Ruled during the Umayyad caliphs from 661-750.

• According to the CIA factbook, Iraq has Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%).

• Iran has Muslim 98% (Shi'a 89%, Sunni 9%).

• Shia more radical and militant of the two groups.

• Today, Indonesia includes more Muslims than any other nation in the world.

• 234,693,997 (July 2007 est.) • 86 % are Muslim • 201,836,837 Muslims in Indonesia

• 1300’s Arab merchants crossed the Sahara to trade with kingdoms in West Africa. The west African city of Timbuktu became a leading center of Muslim learning.

• Why do you think Islam attracted so many people, so quickly?

• While many Muslims lived in or near cities for trading purposes, most Muslims lived in villages farming the lands.

• As far back as 750, Sunnis and Shia have grappled for political power. The Shia overthrew the Sunni Umayyad dynasty b/c the Persian Muslims thought the Arab Muslims were favored in jobs and paid less taxes and also the question of who had the right to rule.

• Abbasid dynasty built a new capital in Baghdad, which helped trade prosper. They devoted their energies to scholarship and the arts as well.

The Arab Empire Ends

• Even though the Seljuk Turks ruled the Abbasid dynasty politically from 1055, the caliph remained its religious leader.

• 1200’s Mongols begin invading from Central Asia. 1258, conquer and burn Baghdad to the ground.

Other Muslim Empires• The Arabs built the

first Muslim empire.• One of the largest

and most powerful Muslim empires was the Ottoman Empire. Originates in present day Turkey in 1299, and continued until 11/1/1922.

• 1520-1566-Suleiman I was most famous sultan during the Ottoman Empire.

• Named after Solomon, who Muslims admire as a just ruler, he lived up to his name with conquests all the way to central Europe. He also combined civil laws (property ownership, taxation, & price regulation) with Islamic law.

• Another Muslim Empire grew during the 1500’s in India.

• Moguls were Muslim warriors who came from the mountains north of India and conquered territories with cannons, guns, elephants and horses.

• Greatest Mogul ruler was Akbar, known for his religious tolerance, forbidding forced suttee and abolishing slavery.

• Considered the Suleiman I of his day b/c of his acquisition of new territories and reform of law code.

• As seen with other empires, when Akbar dies, the empire begins to decline. Later rulers are spending too much money trying to expand the empire, then impose higher taxes on the people. Others tried to force Hindus to convert to Islam. These policies led to rebellions and parts of the empire break away.

• Eventually, Great Britain takes control of most of India.

Muslim Ways of Life, section 3• Up to the age of exploration,

Muslims were the world’s leading traders b/c of location.

• Trade routes over land were from Baghdad and China, over seas their ships carried spices, cloth, glass and carpets from India and Southeast Asia and brought back rubies, gold, ivory and slaves. Once the Europeans found new ways to bypass the Muslim traders, their economy started sliding downward. How does this compare to the oil crisis of today?

Muslim Cities

• Muslim cities look very much like cities in Europe in that there were houses of worship called, mosques, and marketplaces called, bazaars.

Muslim Social Structure

Look familiar?

Muslim Achievements

• Muslims invented algebra, borrowed the numerals 0-9 from Hindu scholars in India, later become known as Arabic numerals.

• Perfected the Greek astrolabe for sailors to determine their location at sea. Also used to measure around the Earth, realized the Earth is round.

• Arab doctors were the 1st to discover how blood circulates and how diseases are spread.

• Muslim art does not show images for fear the observer would worship the image and not Allah.

• The minarets around a mosque sound the time for Muslims to bow toward Mecca and pray.

• Taj Mahal in Agra, India is a tomb that was built in 1629 for the Mogul ruler’s wife is made of marble and precious stones.

•The End!!!!!