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The Roots of Islam

The Big Idea

In the harsh desert climate of Arabia, Muhammad, a merchant from Mecca, introduced a major world religion

called Islam.

Main Ideas

• Arabia is mostly a desert land, where two ways of life, nomadic and sedentary, developed.

• A new religion called Islam, founded by the prophet Muhammad, spread throughout Arabia in the 600s.

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Main Idea 1: Arabia is mostly a desert land, where two

ways of life, nomadic and sedentary, developed.

• The Arabian Peninsula lies near the intersection of Africa, Asia, and Europe.

• Arabia lies in a region with hot, dry air.

• The climate has created a band of deserts across Arabia and northern Africa.

– The desert has limited water, which is located mainly in oases. An oasis is a wet, fertile area in a desert.

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Two Ways of Life

• In a nomadic life, people moved from place to place within tribes for protection and as the seasons changed.

• Sedentary people settled in oases, where they could farm. These settlements often became towns.

• Towns became centers of trade. Many had a market or bazaar where goods were traded.

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Main Idea 2: A new religion called Islam, founded by the

prophet Muhammad, spread throughout Arabia in the 600s.

• A man named Muhammad taught a new religion to the people of Arabia.

• Muslims believe that God spoke to Muhammad through an angel and made him a prophet.

• The messages he received were the basis for Islam and were collected in the holy book of Islam called the Qur’an.

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Muhammad’s Teachings

• Muhammad taught that there is only one God, Allah, which means “the God” in Arabic. This is similar to Christianity and Judaism.

• Muhammad’s teachings were new to Arabs, who worshipped many gods. This teaching upset some people.

• Muhammad said the rich and poor should be equal. Many wealthy merchants did not like this idea.

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Islam Spreads in Arabia

Islam spread from Mecca to Medina.

– Rulers of Mecca began to threaten Muhammad with violence as Islam started to influence more people.

– Muhammad left Mecca and went to Medina.

– This departure became known in Muslim history as the hegira, or journey.

– Islam thrived in Medina, and other Arab tribes in the region accepted Islam.

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Islam Spreads from Medinato the Rest of Arabia

• Muhammad’s house became the first mosque, or building for Muslim prayer.

• Muslim communities in Medina grew stronger, and other Arab tribes accepted Islam.

• Mecca finally accepted Islam as its religion in 630.

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Islamic Beliefs and Practices

The Big Idea

Sacred texts called the Qur’an and the Sunnah guide Muslims in their religion, daily life, and laws.

Main Ideas

• The Qur’an guides Muslims’ lives.

• The Sunnah tells Muslims of important duties expected of them.

• Islamic law is based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

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Main Idea 1: The Qur’an guides Muslims’ lives.

• The world has a definite end, and on that final day, God will judge all people.

• The Qur’an sets out guidelines for moral behavior, acts of worship, and rules for social life

– Muslims were encouraged to free slaves.

– Women could own property, earn money, and receive an education.

• The Qur’an discusses Jihad, which means to make an effort, or to struggle. Jihad refers to the inner struggle people go through in their effort to obey God and behave according to Islamic ways.

– Jihad can also mean the struggle to defend the Muslim community, or historically, to convert people to Islam. The word has also been translated as “holy war.”

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Main Idea 2: The Sunnah tells Muslims of important

duties expected of them.

• The hadith is the written record of Muhammad’s words and actions. It is the basis for the Sunnah.

• The Sunnah provides a model for the duties and way of life expected of Muslims.

• The first duties of a Muslim are known as the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five acts of worship required of all Muslims.

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The Five Pillars of Islam

1. Saying “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet”

2. Praying five times a day

3. Giving to the poor and needy

4. Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan

5. Traveling to Mecca at least once on a hajj

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Main Idea 3:Islamic law is based on the Qur’an and the

Sunnah.

The Qur’an and the Sunnah form the basis of Islamic law, or Shariah.

Shariah is a system based on Islamic sources and human reason that judges the rightness of actions taken.

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Islamic Empires

The Big Idea

After the early spread of Islam, three large Islamic empires formed–the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal.

Main Ideas

• Muslim armies conquered many lands into which Islam slowly spread.

• Trade helped Islam spread into new areas.

• Three Muslim empires controlled much of Europe, Asia, and Africa from the 1400s to the 1800s.

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Main Idea 1: Muslim armies conquered many lands into

which Islam slowly spread.

• After Muhammad’s death, Abu Bakr became the first caliph, the title that Muslims use for the highest leader of Islam.

• Caliphs were not religious leaders, but political and military leaders.

• Abu Bakr directed a series of battles against Arab tribes who did not follow Muhammad’s teachings.

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Growth of the Empire

• Muslim armies battled tribes that did not follow Muhammad’s teachings.

• The Muslim armies united Arabia, then defeated the Persian and Byzantine empires.

• Conquered people could not build new churches or dress like Muslims.

• Christians and Jews could continue to practice their own religion.

• After years of fighting Muslim armies, many Berbers, a native people of North Africa, converted to Islam and joined forces with the Arabs.

• A combined Berber and Arab army invaded Spain and conquered it in AD 711.

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Main Idea 2:Trade helped Islam

spread into new areas.

• Along with their trade goods, Arab merchants took Islamic beliefs to new lands.

• Islam spread to India, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

• Trade brought new products to Muslim lands.

– Travelers learned how to make paper from the Chinese.

– Merchants brought crops of cotton, rice, and oranges from India, China, and Southeast Asia.

– Muslim merchants set up trade businesses in Africa.

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A Mix of Cultures

• As Islam spread through trade, warfare, and treaties, Arabs came into contact with people who had different beliefs and lifestyles.

• Language and religion helped unify many groups that became part of the Islamic world.

• Muslims generally practiced tolerance, or acceptance, with regard to these people.

• Jews and Christians, in particular, could keep their beliefs.

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Growth of Cities

Baghdad

• Capital of Islamic Empire

• One of the world’s richest cities through trade and farming.

• Center of culture and learning

Cordoba

• By the AD 900s, was the largest and most advanced city in Europe

• Showplace of Muslim civilization

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Main Idea 3: Three Muslim empires controlled much of Europe, Asia, and Africa from the 1400s to

the 1800s.

• The great era of Arab Muslim expansion lasted until the 1100s.

• Three non-Arab Muslim groups built large, powerful empires that took control of much of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

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Ottoman Empire

• Ottomans were Muslim Turkish warriors who took territory in the mid-1200s.

• The Ottomans were aided by slave soldiers called Janissaries.

• They had new gunpowder weapons.

• Mehmed II and Suleyman I led conquests that turned the Ottomans into a world power.

• During Suleyman’s rule, the Ottoman Empire reached its height.

• Ottomans took control of the eastern Mediterranean and pushed farther into Europe from 1520–1566.

• They would control these areas until the early 1800s.

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The Safavid Empire Begins

• Safavids were Persian Muslims.

• A conflict arose over who should be caliph among the Safavids, Ottomans, and other Muslims.

• Islam split into two groups.

– The Shia thought that only members of Muhammad’s family could become caliphs.

– The Sunni thought it did not matter as long as they were good Muslims and strong leaders.

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The Safavid Empire

• The Safavid Empire began in 1501 when the Safavid leader Esma‘il conquered Persia and made himself shah, or king.

• He made Shiism, the beliefs of the Shia, the official religion of the empire.

• ‘Abbas became shah in 1588. He became the greatest Safavid leader.– He defeated the Uzbeks and took back lands that had been

lost to the Ottomans.

• The Safavids blended Persian and Muslim traditions.

• The Safavid Empire lasted until the mid-1700s.

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The Mughal Empire

• The Mughal Empire was located in northern India and was comprised of Turkish Muslims from Central Asia.

• Babur established the Mughal Empire, but it grew mostly under an emperor named Akbar.

• Akbar’s tolerant policies allowed Muslims and Hindus to live in peace.

• In the late 1600s, an emperor reversed the tolerant policies, which led to conflicts and the end of the empire.

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Cultural Achievements

The Big Idea

Muslim scholars and artists made important contributions to science, art, and literature.

Main Ideas

• Muslim scholars made lasting contributions to the fields of science and philosophy.

• In literature and the arts, Muslim achievements included beautiful poetry, memorable short stories, and splendid architecture.

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Main Idea 1: Muslim scholars made lasting contributions

to the fields of science and philosophy.

• Muslim scholars made advances in astronomy, geography, math, and science.

• Many ancient writings were translated into Arabic.

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Cultural Achievements

• Geography

– Geographers made more accurate maps than before and developed better ways of calculating distances.

• Math

– They combined the Indian number system, including the use of zero, with the Greek science of mathematics.

– One mathematician laid the foundations for modern algebra.

• Astronomy

– They made improvements to the astrolabe, which the Greeks had invented to chart the positions of the stars.

– Many cities had observatories where people could study the sun, moon, and stars.

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More Scholarly Advances

• Medicine

– The Muslims’ greatest scientific achievements may have come in medicine.

– Muslims started the first pharmacy school to teach people how to make medicine.

– A doctor discovered how to treat smallpox.

– Another doctor, known in the west as Avicenna, wrote a medical encyclopedia.

• Philosophy

– Muslim philosophy focused on spiritual issues, which led to a movement called Sufism, and on rational thought.

– Sufism teaches that people can find God’s love by having a personal relationship with God.

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Main Idea 2: In literature and the arts, Muslim

achievements included beautiful poetry, memorable short stories, and splendid

architecture.• Literature

– Two forms of literature were popular in the Muslim world—poetry and short stories.

• Architecture

– The greatest architectural achievements were mosques. They often had a dome and minarets—narrow towers from which Muslims are called to prayer.

– Patrons, or sponsors, used their wealth to pay for elaborately decorated mosques.

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More Islamic Influences

Art

– Because they could not represent people or animals in paintings due to their religion, Muslim artists turned calligraphy, or decorative writing, into an art form.

– They used this technique to decorate buildings and mosques.