The Rise of Islam

First of all…

• The religion is Islam• Followers of the religion are

called Muslims• The youngest of the three major

monotheistic religions• Began in the Arabian Peninsula

Deserts, Towns, and Trade Routes• Arabian Peninsula is crossroads of three continents:

Africa, Europe, Asia• Very little fertile land; most is desert• Bedouins (Arab nomads) organized into tribes

(clans)• Fertile area and oases were settled by Arabs in the

early 600s• Trade routes connected Arabia to major ocean and

land trade routes• Trade routes also carried information and ideas

from areas outside of Arabia

Arabian PeninsulaToday

Mecca

• City in western Arabia• People came to worship at a shrine called the

Ka’aba, where 360 idols were worshipped• Many Jews and Christians lived on the Arabian

Peninsula, so monotheism, the concept of one God (Allah, in Arabic), was known

Muhammad, Prophet of Islam

• Around 610, while he is meditating, Muhammad believes the angel Gabriel tells him that he is a messenger, or prophet, of Allah

• Muhammad begins teaching that Allah is the one and only God and that all other gods must be abandoned

• Religion is Islam meaning “submission to the will of Allah”

• People who followed Muhammad were called Muslims, “one who has submitted”

The Hijrah• Muhammad begins preaching publicly in Mecca• Many Meccans don’t like his message, fearing

that if people abandon the traditional Arab gods, Mecca will no longer be a pilgrimage center

• 622, Muhammad and his followers leave Mecca and move to Yathrib; journey is known as the Hijrah

• Islam attracts many more followers• Yathrib renamed Medina

Return to Mecca• In Medina, Muhammad joins his group with

Arabs and Jews as one community• Becomes both a political and religious leaders• Attracts more converts• Becomes a military leader and in 630, leads

10,000 followers back to Mecca• Destroys the idols in the Ka’aba and

rededicates it to Allah– Becomes the holiest site in Islam

• Muhammad dies two years later

Beliefs and Practices of Islam

• Main teaching – there is only one God, Allah• There is good and evil and each person is

responsible for the actions of his or her life• All Muslims must carry out five duties, known

as the Five Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars of Islam

• Faith – “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet”

• Prayer – pray 5 times a day, facing Mecca (either in a mosque, the Islamic house of worship, or wherever you are)

• Alms – give money to the poor• Fasting – fast from sunup to sunset during the

holy month of Ramadan, commemorating when Allah revealed the Qu’ran to Muhammad

• Pilgrimage – perform the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once

A Way of Life

• Muslims do not eat pork or drink alcohol• Friday is the day of worship• No priests or religious authorities; Muslims

worship Allah directly• Imams lead worship

Sources of Authority

• Allah expressed his will through Gabriel who revealed it to Muhammad

• Revelation were collected in a holy book called the Qur'an– Written in Arabic, considered the only true version– Arabic helped united conquered people as Islam spread

• The Sunna, or Muhammad’s example, is the best model for living

• Body of law, Shari’a, regulates family life, moral conduct, and business and community life

Links to Judaism and Christianity

• Allah is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians

• Muslims view Jesus as a prophet, not the son of God– Muhammad believed to be the final prophet

• All three religions believe in heaven and hell and a day of judgment

• Muslims trace their ancestry to Abraham, as do Jews and Christians– All are considered “people of the book”

• Shari’a requires religious tolerance to Christians and Jews