1. Rise of Islam<br />Defintion of islam<br />“submission to the will of Allah”<br />Allah symbolized by a black stone = central shrine called the Ka’ba in Mecca<br />monotheistic religion: Koran/Qur’an<br />youngest of world’s great religions<br />Muhammad<br />means: “he who is glorified”<br />570 AD: born in Mecca in Arabia<br />prosperous merchant family => orphaned; adopted by his uncle, leader of a powerful clan/tribe<br />family business: camel driver/trade; exposed to social injustice, corruption<br />20s: manager of a caravan for a wealthy widow: Khadija bint Khuwaylid<br />6 children: 4 daughters/2 sons - sons died at childhood<br />note: another son by another wife died at 2 yrs old<br />happy marriage for 25 years until her death<br />all 13 marriages but 2 were contracted after his migration to Medina<br />2nd wife was a widow; 3rd wife was Aisha (favorite), betrothed at 6, consummated at 9 yrs old<br />Aisha instrumental in bringing together the scattered sayings of Muhammad => form the Hadith literature<br />Photo:Mecca<br />Saudi Arabia<br />Revelation to muhammad<br />610 AD: Visitation of Angel Gabriel:<br />Recite verses => Qur’an<br />The Prophet<br />40 yrs old<br />personal commitment to one true God: Al-lah<br />Photo: Medina<br />(“City of the Prophet”)<br />Saudi Arabia<br />2nd holiest city in Islam)<br />(formerly called yathrib)<br />Beliefs & Customs<br />One God: “ There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet”<br />Prophets : selected by Allah to bring divine word<br />25 prophets from Christian & Jewish traditions (Moses,Elijah, David,Jesus)<br />Muhammad as Last Prophet <br />“true word of Allah is revealed”<br />only he had the complete message of Allah=>Islam as the only full & perfect religion<br />5 pillars of islam<br />Shahada (Apostle’s Creed)<br />Salat (worship)<br />5X/day:public proclamation of Allah’s sovereignty<br />prayers: direction of Mecca<br />Friday<br />Zakat (almsgiving)<br />“tax payable once a year and computed as a percentage of one’s various forms of wealth”<br />Sawn (Fasting)/ Ramadan<br />9th month of the Islamic Calendar (Oct)<br />no eating, drinking, smoking, “marital relations” during daylight hours<br />evenings as time for celebration<br />Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca)<br />required at least once in their lifetime<br />new higher, more fulfilled stage of their life<br />white clothes= purity<br />Beliefs & Customs<br />Qur’an: “recitation” (poetic prose) = 114 chapters<br />dictates the moral code: faith, acts of worship, marriage, criminality<br />Islam a way of life: Shari’a Law<br />drawn from the Hadith, a collection of the sayings of Muhammad to supplement the Kor’an<br />Culture of islam<br />state & culture: intertwined<br />Forbidden:<br />gambling<br />dishonest behavior<br />alcohol (ex. Umayyad caliph swam in a pool of wine)<br />eating of pork<br />Allowed:<br />slavery<br />polygamy <br />Bedouin culture<br />Muhammad: limit to 4 wives (4 “corners”)<br />Contact between unmarried men & women discouraged<br />Women:<br />inferior; dispensable<br />divorce<br />may remarry<br />cover outside domestic quarters<br />men may not take back what they had given to their wives<br />Culture of islam<br /> Koran (Muslim code of Ethics)<br />Muslims are “prohibited from marrying pagan women unless they embrace the Muslim Faith”<br />slave women ranked higher than idolatresses<br />Men forbidden to touch menstruating women <br />Who would lead the faithful?<br />632 AD: Muhammad died; left no successors (male)<br />Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law named as caliph, temporal leader of the Islamic community<br />took the Arabic tribal custom of razzia or raid (or Jihad) in the struggle against their enemies<br />voluntary conversion<br />non-converts, conquered people: submit to Muslim rule & pay taxes only<br />Jihad<br />“Holy War” sanctioned by the Koran<br />means “striving or exertion in the way of God”<br />jihad= “armed” struggle against:<br /> the enemies of Islam in self-defense (killing of Infidels)<br />against unbelievers<br />militaristic expansion<br />brilliant generals<br />highly motivated army <br />Muslim warriors guaranteed a place in paradise if they died in battle<br />may be waged in 4 ways:<br />heart<br />tongue<br />hand<br />when all else fails: sword<br />Types of islam (not discussed but please read about this on your own)<br />7th C SPLIT =until the present<br />Shi’a<br />honor different accounts of Hadith; own legal traditions<br />descendants of Muhammad & Ali (son-in-law) has right to be Imam<br />Koran as incomplete<br />proxy pilgrimage to Mecca<br />Sunni<br />largest group; Muhammad as perfect example<br />Hadith: description of words/acts of Muhammad<br />Muawiya & the Umayyads were the true caliphs<br />Sufi<br />mystic version of Islam<br />spiritual practice followed by both Sunni and Shi’a<br />following Islamic law as only the 1st step<br />focus on inner spirituality: subduing one’s own ego<br />certain practices criticized as against Islamic Law<br />The spread of islam<br />dominates Middle East<br />parts of Africa<br />India, Bangladesh, Pakistan to Malaya, Indonesia, south Philippines, Northwestern China via Central Asia (merchants)<br />Islamic Invasions<br />India<br />711 AD from Afghanistan to NW India (same time as Granada)<br />997 AD: Afghan raiders led by Mahmud of Ghazni aka “Sword of Islam”<br />sacked & destroyed cities<br />Hindu & Buddhist monuments: persecution of monks => ended Buddhism in India<br />destroyed Varanasi (Hinduism)<br />surviving monks moved to Nepal & Tibet<br />forced conversion<br />strong resistance from the Rajputs of Rajasthan (remained Hindu until today)<br />Muslim as predatory untouchables<br />Humayun Tomb<br />India<br />Taj Mahal<br />The muslim success<br />quality of generals<br />use of limited resources<br />horsemanship<br />greater initiative- no escape so fought to death<br />religious zeal<br />soldiers from the most capable of the different classes and ethnic groups<br />Mongol invasion (in central & western Asia under Genghis Khan) => refugees (princes, chiefs, scholars) to India=> increase in manpower<br />Honor Killings attributed to islam: <br />Honor Killings for education<br />Honor Killings as Premeditated<br />