Muslim Culture

Sec. 3, ch. 10

Muslim Society

• Very Urban• Damascus center of culture• Other important cities – Jerusalem, Cordoba

and Cairo• Population high• Culturally diverse

Muslim Society cont.Social Classes

• 4 classes

–Muslim at birth–Converts–Protected people–Slaves

Muslim society cont.Role of Women

• Equal believers• Shari’a for women• Women’s occupation dependent

on the wealth of the family

Medicine, math and Science

• Muslim leaders supported knowledge – Why?

• Faithful depended on Math and astronomy Why?

• Quest for What?

House of wisdom

• Baghdad 800s

• Scholars from different cultures came together to translate texts from Greece, India, Persia and else where in Arabic

Medicine

• Al-Razi• Encyclopedia on

disease• Treatise on Smallpox

and Measles• Clean air important

for health

Math and Science

• Scientific observation and experimentation

• Al-Khwarizmi – al-jabr or Algebra – math was basis of all knowledge

• Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) – book on Optics– His studies helped the developing of lenses for

telescopes and microscopes

Philosophy

• Ibn Rushed – philosophy’s goal – to find the truth – strong opposition from Muslim community – why

• Moses Ben Maimon – The Guide for the Perplexed – Blend of philosophy, religion and science

Philosophy – the Ideal Man

• Of East Persian derivation• Arabic in faith, Of Iraqi education• A Hebrew in astuteness• A disciple of Christ in conduct• As pious as a Greek monk, A Greek in sciences• An Indian – interpretation of all mysteries• A Sufi in his whole spiritual life

Literature and the arts

• Bedouin poets – early oral language• Qur'an standard for all Arabic literature and

poetry• The Thousand and One Nights

Muslim Architecture - Córdoba

Alahambra

Alhambra

Mecca

Mecca

Dome of the Rock

Dome of the rock

Muslim Calligraphy