Duiker and Speilvogel

Duiker and Speilvogel

Chapter 7: The World of Islam

Muhammad Dies
Caliphate Established
Islam spreads under leadership of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman
Division between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims
Mu’awiya moves capital to Damascus
Syria is center of Muslim Empire from 680-750CE
Abbasids challenge Umayyad Leadership
Abd al-Rahman establishes an Umayyad state in Spain / Baghdad is center of Muslim Empire from 750-1258CE
Numerous achievements made in science and the arts / Muslim Empire reaches “Golden Age”
Ferdinand and Isabella force Muslim leaders out of Spain “Reconquista” / Seljuqs and Fatimids challenge Abbasid leadership

The Rise of Islam

·  Muhammad born around 570CE-632CE

·  Islam=religious and cultural unity for the Middle East

·  Bedouins-nomadic Arabs led by Sheikh

·  Mecca: important site of Ka’aba: townspeople charged tax to keep bedouins idols safe

The Role of Muhammad

·  Born in Mecca to a merchant family, orphaned early, Muhammad became a caravan manager and eventually married a wealthy widow named Khadija.

·  Muhammad was a member of the local Hashemite clan of the Quraishi tribe.

·  According to Muhammad, he was visited by the angel Gabriel and commanded to preach Allah’s message: final revelations

·  Qu’ran “recitation”= Muhammad’s revelations that were dictated to scribes…the holy scriptures of Islam (meaning “submission”)

·  Christians and Jews are considered “people of the Book”

·  622CE- Muhammad moves from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina:city of the prophet)

o  Hegira/Hijrah 622CE

o  First date of the official Muslim calendar

o  Converted locals and formed the first Muslim community- the umma

o  Returned to Mecca w/ army, Consecrated Ka’aba to Islam

o  Muhammad died in 632CE

Teachings of Muhammad

·  Monotheistic

·  Allah is the all-powerful being who created the universe and everything in it…believe in hope for salvation and an afterlife

·  Muhammad not divine, final prophet

·  Qur’an is a sacred book of Islam and an ethical guidebook and code of law and political theory combined

·  Obey the will of Allah

·  “Five Pillars” = basic ethical code

o  1. There is one God, Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet

o  2. Pray five times a day facing Mecca

o  3. Fast from sun-up to sun-down during the month of Ramadan

o  4. Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime (if you have the means)- Hajj

o  5. Giving zakat (alms) to poor and unfortunate (2 ½ % of all you own)

·  Ulama: panel of Muslim scholars

·  Shari’ah= law code

·  Hadith= a collection of the sayings of the Prophet

·  Muslims are forbidden to gamble, eat port, drink alcoholic beverages, or engage in dishonest behavior.

Arab Empire and Its Successors

·  Dilemma after death of Muhammad, who would be the successor?

·  Muhammad did not have a male heir: 1 daughter in adulthood- Fatima

·  Abu Bakr: Muhammad’s father in law= first caliph

·  Caliph= temporal leader of the Islamic community and considered to be a religious leader (imam)

·  Jihad “Striving in the way of the Lord” or “holy war”

Creation of an Empire

·  Once unified, the Arabs attacked the weakening Byzantine and Sassanian (Persian) Empires

o  Byzantines defeated on Tarmuk River 636, Entire Sasssanid Empire was conquered by 650, also Egypt and North Africa

·  Islam’s ability to unify the Bedouin tribes very significant

·  Muslim warriors who died in battle guaranteed a place in paradise

·  Conversion to Islam was not required. Non-Muslims had to pay a tax to compensate for not participating in the military

·  “All were equal in the eyes of Allah”

The Rise of the Umayyads

Muhammad(no male heirs, no named successor)
Abu Bakr- 1st caliph
Umar
Uthman Assassinated
Muhammad Ali- (Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law) Assassinated
Mu’awiyah- Governor of Syria- Umayyads

·  Expansion across North Africa Conquered the Berbers

·  710 Arab forces crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and occupied southern Spain: center in Andalusia

·  732CE Battle of Tours (or Poitiers) (Charles Martel defeated the Muslim forces, limiting Arab Expansion into France) Song of Roland

· 

·  Schism between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims

The Abbasids

·  caliph was advised by a council- headed by prime minister (vizier)

·  vast wealth- contributed to financial corruption

·  Life of vice and luxury for caliph and other political and economic elites undermined Islamic values- divorce, harems, alcohol, etc.

The Seljuk Turks

·  11th c. – nomadic people from central Asia

·  1071 Seljuk Turks attacking Constantinople, emperor asks west for help- begins 1st Crusade

The Crusades

·  Alexius I- called for assistance from Christian states against the Seljuk Turks

·  Crusades 1096-13th century

·  1169 Saladin ended Fatamid dynasty and became Sultan of Egypt and Syria

o  Unlike Christians, Saladin didn’t permit massacre of civilian population and tolerated the continuation of Christian religious services

·  Crusades had nominal impact on Middle East except to unite forces of Islam vs. foreign invaders

·  Mongols- pastoral people from Gobi Desert

o  13th century advances of Genghis Khan

o  1258- Hulegu seized Persia and Mesopotamia- ending caliphate at Baghdad

The Mongols

·  not Muslim

·  treatment of local population was brutal and destructive to the economy

·  Mongols- Red Sea- held back from Egypt by the Mamluks

·  1453 Sultan Mehmet II seized Constantinople and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire

Islamic Civilization

·  trade flourished w/in Muslim World and China, Byzantine Empire, SE Asia

·  Exchange of goods was facilitated by the development of banking and the use of currency and letters of credit

Islamic Society

·  Consumer’s Guide to the Ideal Slave- slaves were evaluate not as human beings but as pieces of merchandise

·  In some ways Arab society most egalitarian of its time- principles of Islam- all equal in eyes of Allah and trade- no hereditary nobility

·  Fellow Muslims could not be enslaved

·  Men still dominant, but women could own and inherit property

·  Women cloistered in homes (polygyny/ harems)

Culture of Islam

·  Arabic= language

·  Greco-Roman culture, Byzantine and Persian cultures preserved in libraries

Philosophy and Science

·  “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad

·  preserved classical knowledge and made own innovations

·  Used Gupta numerals and zero, algebra

·  Ibn Sina (980-1037)- medical encyclopedia and emphasized the contagious nature of certain diseases

Islamic Literature

·  Koran as greatest literary work

·  Rabe’a of Qozdar- Persia’s first known female poet

·  Omar Khayyam: The Tales from 1001 Nights

·  Sadi- “the Persian Shakespeare”- wrote Rose Garden

·  Proverbs “trust in God, but tie up your camel”, “Lower your voice and Strengthen your argument”

·  Sufiism- form of religious belief that called for a mystical relationship between Allah and human beings

o  13th c. poet Rumi- became Sufi- he whirled in dance (“whirling dervish) to reach a trance w/ mesmerizing music where he created some of his best work

·  Great Islamic historian= al-Mas’udi- wrote Meadows of Gold- discussed the Golden Age of the Abbasid caliphate

·  Ibn Khaldun- 14th c. historian and govt. servant- attempted a philosophy of history

Islamic Art and Architecture

·  Use of geometric ornamentation

·  Dome of the Rock (691)- proclaimed the spiritual and political legitimacy of the new religion* in Jerusalem* on top of Muhammad’s holy rock

·  Minarets: tower from which muezzin calls the faithful to prayer 5x a day

·  9th c. mosque @Cordoba in Southern Spain

·  Significant contributions of Islamic art= knotted woolen rug

·  Calligraphy- decorative writing

·  Arabesques= geometric flowers and patterns

·  From the Dome of the Rock- no figurative representations appear in Islamic religious art.