Muhammad founded Islam in the 7th century after receiving revelations from God. Islam then spread across the Middle East and beyond. Today, there are over 1 billion Muslims worldwide, though many Muslim-majority countries face challenges with democracy and political freedom. Radical Islamists also view the West as interfering in the region for control of oil. Overall, the relationship between Islam and the West has been complex.

1. Islam and Its Political
Ramifications in the West
By: Anthony, Daniel, Wilson, India, Adam

2. The Beginning
Muhammad and the Start of Islam
• Muhammad was born in 570 C.E. and raised by his
uncle as a traveling merchant.
• At 25, he married a rich widow and helped with her
caravan trade group until the age of 41.
• At this age, the angel Gabriel appeared to
Muhammad and informed him that he is the last
prophet for “Allah.” (“God” in Arabic)

3. The Beginning
Muhammad and the Start of Islam
• He taught no new doctrines, instead emphasizing on the need for a bond
between the followers and Allah.
• Many revelations that were revealed were also part of early Christian
teachings, such as immortality of the soul, strict monotheism, anticipation of
a judgment day and being sent to Heaven or Hell.

4. The Beginning
The Spread of Islam
• Prior to Islam being the dominant religion in Saudi Arabia, the nomadic
people living there (known as Bedouins) were tribal people who worshipped
about 300 different nature-oriented deities.
• The city of Mecca housed a statue for each deity as well as the sacred black
stone.
• Muhammad and Islam challenged their religion, which has been set and
solidified in this region for hundreds of years, which ultimately led to
warfare.

5. The Beginning
The Spread of Islam
Hajj in Mecca
• Muhammad invaded Mecca with a force of
10,000 soldiers, which was more than enough
to overpower Mecca, and so Mecca
surrendered.
• Muhammad destroyed all of the idols except
for the black stone, and Islam became the
widely-practiced religion in the area.

6. In-Between
Inventions of the Muslims
• In the year 1,000, doctor Al Zahrawi published an illustrated encyclopedia of
surgery that was used in Europe as a Medical reference for the next 500 years. He
also reportedly performed the first caesarean operation and created the first pair of
forceps.
• The word algebra comes from the title of a Persian mathematician's famous 9th
century treatise "Kitab al-Jabr Wa l-Mugabala" which translates roughly as "The
Book of Reasoning and Balancing." Algebra was introduced as a unifying system for
rational numbers, irrational numbers and geometrical magnitudes. The same
mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi, was also the first to introduce the concept of raising
a number to a power.

7. In-Between
Inventions of the Muslims
• The crank, which enables the lifting of heavy objects
with ease, was first used by the Muslims. It was
discovered in the 12th century by Al-Jazari and it
quickly spread across the globe, leading to many new
inventions, including the bicycle and the internal
combustion engine.
• Now the Western world's morning energy boost,
coffee was first brewed in Yemen around the 9th
century. In its earliest days, coffee helped Sufis stay up
during late nights of devotion.

8. Modern Day
Background Info
• There are over 1 billion Muslims spread across the world
• They are the majority among the Arabs of the Middle East and in non-Arab
counties such as Algeria, Bangladesh, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Turkey, several
of the former soviet republics and Indonesia (whose 207 Muslim million
people make it the most populous Muslim Country).
• There are other countries, such as Nigeria and the Philippines in which
Muslims constitute an important political force.
• Only about one of every four Muslims is an Arab.

9. Modern Day
Islam in the Middle East
• Mandatory Charity
• Zakat is like a tax, paid annually from a believer’s savings and investments.
• In most cases this charitable giving involves a payment of 2.5% assets at the end of
each year.
• Mosques and charitable organizations collect the money and distribute it to those who
need it the most. Zakat provides a source of revenue for the Muslim State or
communities.

10. Modern Day
Challenges Facing Islam
• One of the major problems in the Islamic world is the lack of Democracy.
• According to Freedom House, only 11 of the world’s 47 countries with an
Islamic majority have democratically elected governments.
• While every other region in the world has seen an increase in Democracy
and political freedom in the last twenty years, the Muslim world has shown a
decrease.

11. Modern Day
Challenges Facing Islam
• A majority of the world’s most repressive countries have an Islamic
background.
• Even though Western powers have withdrawn their armies and governors
from the Islamic word in the last fifty years, much off the world still sees
itself as dominated by the west.

12. Modern Day
Challenges Facing Islam
• Radical Islamists see the West as the manipulative supporter of the tyrants and
dictators who rule most of the Middle Easy and mucho f the rest of the Islamic
World.
• The desire to control the oil beneath the Muslims, has increased Turmoil with Islam
and the West.
• Western democratic governments and ideals, as well as separation of powers are in
sync with the principles of the Qur’an and teachings of Muhammad, and the
repressed Muslims would like to implement these concepts into their societies.

13. Modern Day
Challenges Facing Islam
• The West also turns a blind eye to repression of Muslims, a repression it
would protect and oppose if it happened to any other people.
• When Saddam Hussein used poison gas against Iraqi Kurds, and Shiites, it
aroused no protest. When Iraqis rose against Saddam in 1991 at the
prompting of Americans, the Americans stood by and let them die, often by
torture.