Chapter VI:

The World of Islam

Geography

• Much of the Arabian peninsula is desert, although there are

• mountains in the southwest. Oases are green areas fed by an

• underground water source.

Origins• Early Arabs were polytheistic, but Allah was the supreme God• Bedouins= nomadic Arabs who lived in the desert rather than in

towns• Jihad= “struggle in the way of God”• Hijrah= journey of Muhammad and his followers to Madinah• Caliph= chief Islamic religious authority• Sultan=holder of power• Muezzin= Muslim crier who calls the faithful to prayer five times a

day• Shari’ah= Islamic moral code of law (no gambling, eating pork,

drinking alcoholic beverages, or engage in dishonest behavior. • Vizier= prime minister of the council that advised the caliph during

the Abbasid dynasty

Muhammad

• Muhammad was accepted as a prophet to the people of Arabia.

• B. Muhammad was dissatisfied with the ways of his town leaders and

• went into the hills to pray. There he was visited by an angel who told

• him to preach Islam.

• Muhammad returned to Makkah and told people to worship one

• God, Allah. Muhammad also preached that all people are equal and

• that the rich should share their wealth with the poor.• D. Many poor people began accepting Muhammad’s

message and• became Muslims, or followers of Islam. Wealthy people did

not like• Muhammad’s message and they made life difficult for

Muhammad• and his followers.

• Muhammad and his followers left Makkah for Yathrib. This journey

• is known as the Hijrah.• F. Yathrib welcomed the Muslims and renamed their

city Madinah.• G. Muhammad used the laws he believed he had

received from• God to rule the people of Madinah, creating an Islamic

state, or• a government that uses its political power to uphold

Islam.

• Muhammad built an army to defend his new government. The army• conquered Makkah and Muhammad returned to the holy city.• I. Muhammad died two years after his return.• Why• Prophet of Allah• Born in Makkah (Mecca)• Meditated in the hills because he became troubled with the gap between the

honesty of most Makkans and the greediness of trading elites in the cities• Muhammad believed the message given to him by Gabriel was the final

revelations of Allah. • The Quran contains the ethical guidelines and laws by which Muslims are to live• Why no representations of Muhammad in mosques (Islamic houses of worship)?• The Hadith warns against any attempt to imitate God by creating pictures of living

things

Five Pillars

Daily Life and Society

• Women• According to Islam, all people are created

equal in the eyes of Allah (god); HOWEVER, men in actuality were dominant in Islamic society. Women had to have a male guardian. Women were required to be secluded in their homes and kept away from males…and cover virtually all parts of their body

• Polygamy accepted

Accomplishments/Advances

• Islamic scholars made contributions to math and the natural sciences that were passed on to the West

• Muslims adopted and passed on the numerical system of India, including the use of zero

• Algebra

• Astrolabe= an instrument used for ship navigation

• Developed medicine as a field of scientific study

• Ibn Sina (philosopher and scientist)stressed the contagious nature of certain diseases

• Omar Khayyam= writer (Rubaiyat)

Islamic Split: Sunni and Shiite• After Muhammad’s death, the Muslims split into two groups: the• Sunnis and the Shiites.• B. Shiites believed that Muhammad’s son-in-law, Ali, should

succeed• Muhammad and that all future caliphs should be descendants of

Ali.• Sunnis believe that the Umayyad caliphs were rightful leaders. Over• time, these two groups developed their own customs.• C. The Umayyad dynasty lost power and was replaced with a new• dynasty called the Abbasids.

• The Abbasids built a new capital, Baghdad. Baghdad prospered as a• center of trade because of its central location.• E. The Abbasids lost control as Muslims in other parts of the world• wanted their own caliphs.• F. The Seljuk Turks was nomads and warriors. They gradually took• control of the Abbasid dynasty. The Seljuk ruler was called a sultan.• G. The Arab Empire ended when the Mongols invaded Baghdad and• burned it to the ground.

• Resentment against the Umayyad grew because non-Arab Muslims did not like the way local administrators favored Arabs

• Mongols• 1. Many of the Mongols converted to Islam.• 2. They intermarried with the local people. • 3. Over time, the Mongols rebuilt the cities

they destroyed during the invasion.

Facts About Islam

1. Islam is monotheistic.2. Allah is all powerful.3. Those that practice Islam are called Muslims.4. Muhammad is a prophet, but he is also just a man.5. Offers hope of an afterlife.