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Chapter 14

Chapter 14. The Expansive Realm of Islam. Muhammad and His Message. Born 570 to merchant family in Mecca Orphaned as a child Marries wealthy widow c. 595, works as merchant Familiarity with paganism, Christianity and Judaism as practiced in Arabian peninsula.

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Chapter 14

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  1. Chapter 14 The Expansive Realm of Islam

  2. Muhammad and His Message • Born 570 to merchant family in Mecca • Orphaned as a child • Marries wealthy widow c. 595, works as merchant • Familiarity with paganism, Christianity and Judaism as practiced in Arabian peninsula

  3. Muhammad’s Spiritual Transformation • Visions c. 610 CE • Archangel Gabriel • Monotheism – Allah • Attracts followers to Mecca

  4. The Quran • Record of revelations received during visions • Committed to writing c. 650 CE (Muhammad dies 632) • Tradition of Muhammad’s life: hadith

  5. Conflict at Mecca • Muhammad’s monotheistic teachings offensive to polytheistic pagans • Economic threat to existing religious industry • Denunciation of greed affront to local aristocracy

  6. The Hijra • Muhammad flees to Yathrib (Medina) 622 CE • Year 0 in Muslim calendar • Organizes followers into communal society (the umma) • Legal, spiritual code • Commerce, raids on Meccan caravans for sake of umma

  7. The “Seal of the Prophets” • Muhammad – the final prophet • Accepted the authority of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus • Held in high esteem Hebrew scriptures and the Christian New Testament • Muhammad had been entrusted a more complete revelation, one that communicated Allah’s plan for the world

  8. Muhammad’s Return to Mecca • Attack on Mecca, 630 • Conversion of Mecca to Islam • Destruction of pagan sites, replaced with mosques • Ka’aba preserved in honor of importance of Mecca • Approved as pilgrimage site

  9. The Ka’aba

  10. The Five Pillars of Islam • No god but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet • Daily prayer • Fasting during Ramadan • Charity • Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

  11. Muslims at Prayer

  12. Jihad • “struggle” • Against vice • Against ignorance of Islam • “holy war” • Against unbelievers who threaten Islam

  13. Islamic Law: The Sharia • Codification of Islamic law • Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools of analysis • Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of human activity

  14. The Caliph • No clear to successor to Muhammad identified • Abu Bakr chosen to lead as Caliph • Led war against villagers who abandoned Islam after death of Muhammad

  15. The Expansion of Islam • Highly successful attacks on Byzantine, Sassanid territories • Difficulties governing rapidly expanding territory

  16. The Expansion of Islam, 632 – 733 CE

  17. The Shia • Disagreements over selection of caliphs • Ali passed over for Abu Bakr • Served as caliph 656-661 CE, then assassinated along with most of his followers • Remaining followers organize separate party called “Shia” • Traditionalists: Sunni

  18. Shi’ite Pilgrims at Karbala

  19. The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE) • From Meccan merchant class • Brought stability to the Islamic community • Capital: Damascus, Syria • Associated with Arab military aristocracy

  20. Policy toward Conquered Peoples • Favoritism of Arab military rulers causes discontent • Limited social mobility for non-Arab Muslims • Head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims • Umayyad luxurious living causes further decline in moral authority

  21. The Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 CE) • Abu al-Abbas Sunni Arab, allied with Shia, non-Arab Muslims • Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia • Defeats Umayyad army in 750 • Invited Umayyads to banquet, then massacred them

  22. Nature of the Abbasid Dynasty • Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not exclusively Arab) • Militarily competent, but not bent on imperial expansion • Content to administer the empire inherited • Dar al-Islam • Growth through military activity of autonomous Islamic forces

  23. Abbasid Administration • Persian influence • Court at Baghdad • Influence of Islamic scholars • Ulama and qadis sought to develop policy based on the Quran and sharia

  24. Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786-809 CE) • High point of Abbasid dynasty • Baghdad center of commerce • Great cultural activity

  25. Abbasid Decline • Civil war between sons of Harun al-Rashid • Provincial governors assert regional independence • Dissenting sects, heretical movements • Abbasid caliphs become puppets of Persian nobility • Later, Saljuq Turks influence, Sultan real power behind the throne

  26. Economy of the Early Islamic World • Spread of food and industrial crops • Trade routes from India to Spain • Western diet adapts to wide variety • New crops adapted to different growing seasons • Agricultural sciences develop • Cotton, paper industries develop • Major cities emerge

  27. Formation of a Hemispheric Trading Zone • Historical precedent of Arabic trade • Dar al-Islam encompasses silk routes • ice exported from Syria to Egypt in summer, 10th century • Camel caravans • Maritime trade

  28. Banking and Trade • Scale of trade causes banks to develop • Sakk (“check”) • Uniformity of Islamic law throughout dar al-Islam promotes trade • Joint ventures common

  29. Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) • Muslim Berber conquerors from North Africa take Spain, early 8th c. • Allied to Umayyads, refused to recognize Abbasid dynasty • Formed own caliphate • Tensions, but interrelationship

  30. Changing Status of Women • Quran improves status of women • Outlawed female infanticide • Brides, not husbands, claim dowries • Yet male dominance preserved • Patrilineal descent • Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden • Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice

  31. Formation of an Islamic Cultural Tradition • Islamic values • Uniformity of Islamic law in dar al-Islam • Establishment of madrasas • Importance of the Hajj • Sufi missionaries • Asceticism, mysticism • Some tension with orthodox Islamic theologians • Wide popularity

  32. Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) • Major Sufi thinker from Persia • Impossibility of intellectual apprehension of Allah, devotion, mystical ecstasy instead

  33. Cultural influences on Islam • Persia • Administration and governance • literature • India • Mathematics, science, medicine • “Hindi” numbers • Greece • Philosophy, esp. Aristotle • Ibn Rushd/Averroes (1126-1198)

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