Islam: A HistoryWorld Religions: Fr. Llane Briese

Group Discussions

•What are some of your attitudes regarding Islam?• At first glance, what values seem to be

important in Islam?

Islam: A Background• Semitic Languages (Hebrew, Aramaic,

Arabic, etc.) organized around roots• Semantic meaning of Hebrew root šlm:• šālēm: to be complete, sound• šālôm: peace, completeness• šəlōmōh: Solomon• hišlîm: to make peace with, submit to (cf. Josh

11:19) => participle: mašlîm (“one making peace”)

• Arabic islam and muslim come from same root.

Encore! The Four Steps

1. How does x religion understand itself?2. What are the underlying values that x

religion promotes and produces?3. What are the similarities between

Catholicism and x religion?4. What are some of the irreconcilable

conflicts between Catholicism and x religion?

History: A Necessary First Step

•Why do high schools and colleges mandate that students study history (both U.S. and world)?• History as a work of interpretation.• Example: April 9, 1865 at Appomattox

Court House, Virginia• For President Lincoln?• For plantation owners in the South?• For poor Southerners?• For the newly emancipated?

A Linguistic Primer

• In English, three terms which are often misused:• Islam: (Ar. “submission”) refers to the

religion as a whole.• Muslim: (Ar. Participle “one who submits”)

refers to an adherent of Islam.• Islamic: An English adjective derived from

the former term which describes an aspect common to the religion or culture of Islam.

THE FOUNDING OF ISLAMLesson One

The Origins of Islam

• Islam: Existed since the dawn of creation.• Islam places submission to Allah (God) at the

center of life.• Philosophy: All creation naturally submits to the

will of God, but human beings have free will as to whether or not to submit.• As rational creatures, humans have a duty to

submit to the truth of God, which separates islam (submission) from kufr (disbelief) and shirk (putting something in God’s place).• Hence, Islam is essentially universalist in

orientation.

Muhammad the Prophet

• The Founder of Islam? Yes and no.• The great prophet who brings an end to

the “faith-apostasy” sequence.• Examples:• Ex 32: The Golden Calf• Judges• Israel after David/Solomon• Christianity after Jesus

A Brief Review of Early Christian History• 313: Edict of Milan• Christianity: Official Religion of the Roman

Empire• Ecumenical Councils:• 325: Nicaea I• 381: Constantinople I• 431: Ephesus• 451: Chalcedon• 553: Constantinople II

• Great Controversy: The Divinity of Christ

The Lifetime of Muhammad

• ca. 570: Birth of Muhammad• Childhood: Grew up as an orphan under his

uncle’s guardianship.• ca. 595: Muhammad hired by a widow

(Khadijah) who would become his first wife to oversee a caravan for her to Syria.• After her death, he would remarry a widow

named Sawdah.• What impact do you think these events of his

early life would have on the later development of Islam?

Muhammad’s Quest

• Amidst conflicting claims regarding God, Muhammad sought the truth about the divine nature.• On Mt. Hira (near Mecca), he sought isolation

and struggled in prayer.• Powerful religious experience with a powerful

vision of the one God who is absolutely transcendent and whom all creation owes submission as one community (umma).• Entire life became about spreading that vision.

Muhammad in Mecca

• 610: 1st revelation from Allah (40 yrs. old)• Angel Gabriel appeared to him and recited

surah 96. (The 114 surahs of the Koran are arranged in descending order of length.)• Later Islamic literature (Sirah and Hadith)

would depict Muhammad in the same light as the Jewish/Christian prophets.• The Koran emphasizes that Muhammad is

merely human; he is in no way divine.• 613: Muhammad begins public preaching.

Muhammad Leaves Mecca

• While preaching (especially against idolatry), Muhammad encounters plentiful resistance.• At this time, the Ka’ba was filled with idols.• 619: Death of both Muhammad’s uncle (Abu Talib) and 1st

wife (Khadija); Muhammad left without protection.• 622: Emigration to Medina (Hijrah) due to persecution in

Mecca.• Beginning of the Muslim calendar• Symbolism: Suffering for faith and steadfastness amidst

persecution.• Islam begins to flourish in Medina.• Muslims battled Arabs and Jews in Medina.

The Emergence of Islam

• 622-627: Muslims are victorious in a number of battles.• 628: Treaty of Hudaybiyah between Muhammad

and Mecca that allowed Muslims to make a pilgrimage to the Ka’ba in Mecca.• 630: Muhammad conquers Mecca (and

rededicates the Ka’ba).• Note: Remember that Muslims believe the Ka’ba

was built by Adam (or at least Abraham and Ishmael) and rededicated by Muhammad who restores monotheism to it.

THE SPREAD OF ISLAMLesson Two

The Era of the Caliphs• Muhammad succeeded by 5 caliphs:• Abu Bahr (632-634): consolidation• Umar (634-644): expansion• Uthman (644-656): published Koran; killed by rivals• Ali (656-660): cousin and son-in-law of Muhammed; 1st

male convert to Islam; later assassinated• Sunni: 4th caliph• Shiite (Shiah/Shii): 1st imam (an appointed successor of

Muhammed) • Muawiyah (661-680): nephew of Uthman, beginning of

Umayyad caliphate; moved capital to Damascus and established absolute monarchy. (Assumes power after 1st Muslim civil war).

Sunni and Shiite Muslims

• 680: Ali’s son, Husayn, tried to assume power; killed at Karbah (m.d. Iraq). (2nd civil war)• Two groups (more political than theological):• Shiite (esp. Iran): • Husayn= martyr who stood for the purity of Islam.• Supported imamate: religious leadership (an imam who

is infallible and divinely appointed successor or Muhammad) .

• Imam = “rightful caliph” (ODWR, p. 469)• Sunni (larger): Accepted rule of the Umayyids.• Supported caliphate: military leadership.• Term imam used differently (i.e. jurists, prayer leader,

etc.)

The Umayyad Caliphate

• Ruled Sunni Islam from 661 until 750, beginning with Muawiyah.• The Arabic language was a unifying force.• Islamic state expanded throughout North

Africa (670) and into the Iberian peninsula (m.d. Spain) in 711 as well as into central Asia.• Defeated at Tours (m.d. France) in 732 by

Charles Martel• More military than religious; conversion would

have reduced tax revenue!

The Abbasid Caliphate

• 750: After a 3rd civil war, the Abbasids defeated the Umayyads to assume power.• 762: Baghdad (m.d. Iraq) founded as

Abbasid capital• During Abbasid rule, Islamic civilization

and culture flourished (Golden Age of Islam)• (787: Christian Council of Nicaea II: The

Iconoclast Controversy)

Contributions of Medieval Islam

• Baghdad was a center of learning during the 8th-13th centuries (when it was sacked in 1258, ending Abbasid rule).• Important Contributors:• Avicenna (d. 1037): philosopher (mixed

Aristotle and Plato); also wrote on the natural sciences.• Averroes (d. 1198): “The Commentator” on

Aristotle; sought to harmonize faith and reason.

• Both would be condemned by leaders.

The Crusades

• 11th-15th centuries: Christian re-conquest of Spain.• 12th-13th centuries: Crusades attempted to

reconquer the Holy Land; were brutal at times:• Positive: Opened Trade Routes• Negatives: Everything else (and lots of

“collateral damage”)• Legacy: A symbol of hatred and

misunderstanding between Christians and Muslims.

ISLAM IN THE MODERN WORLDLesson Three

The Modern Age

• 1204: 4th Crusade Sacks Constantinople; Ottoman Empire would rise in its ashes.• 1453: Ottoman Empire conquers

Constantinople (already weakened).• Age of Discovery would weaken Ottoman

Empire, and would (much later) lead to European imperialism.• What were some of the causes of imperialism?• What were some of the effects of imperialism?

The 20th Century

• Industrial Revolution: Floods markets• Other (cultural) Exports• Islamic perception?• 1922-24: Ottoman Empire crumbles as does the

caliphate.• 1948: Independence of the Modern Zionist State

= Israel.• 2 Reactions:• Modernization (i.e. Malaysia, formerly Egypt)• Fundamentalism

Further References• Textbook: N. CLEMMONS, Exploring the Religions of Our

World, Notre Dame 20082.• J. BOWKER, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions,

Oxford – New York 1997.• J.L. ESPOSITO, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Oxford –

New York 2003.• M. HAMIDULLAH, “The Biography of Muhammad (pbuh) by a

Muslim”, 1969 on www.whyislam.org. Accessed 4 September 2013.