The Expansive Realm of Islam

1. The Expansive Realm of Islam Chapter 13

2. What do you know about Islam?

3. A Prophet and his World • Muhammad and his message • Arabian Peninsula was mostly desert • Nomadic peoples organized in clans • Important in long-distance trade networks between China/India and Persia/Byzantium

4. Muhammad’s early life • Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (570 CE) • Married a wealthy widow (595 CE) • Became a merchant • Muhammad’s spiritual transformation at age 40 • One true God, Allah • Gabriel delivered these messages • Quran (“recitation”)

5. Muhammad’s migration to Medina • Conflict at Mecca • The hijra • The “seal of the prophet”

6. The establishment of Islam in Arabia • Muhammad’s return to Mecca • The Ka’ba was not destroyed; it became site of pilgrimage in 632 • 5 Pillars of Islam • Islamic law: the sharia

7. The Expansion of Islam • The early caliphs and Umayyad dynasty • The Caliph • Dramatic expansion of Islam • The Shia • The Umayyad dynasty (661-750 CE)

8. The Abbasid Dynasty • Lasted from 750-1258 CE • Abbasid administration • Abbasid decline

9. Economy and society of the early Islamic world • New crops, agricultural experimentation, and urban growth • Spread of new foods and industrial crops • Effects of new crops • Agricultural experimentation • Urban growth

10. The formation of hemispheric trading zone • Overland trade • Camels and caravans • Maritime trade • Banks • Organization of trade

11. The changing status of women • The Quran and women • Veiling of women

12. Islamic values and cultural exchanges • The formation of an Islamic cultural tradition • The Quran and sharia were main sources to formulate moral guidelines • Promotion of Islamic values • Sufis or Islamic mystics • The hajj

13. Islam and the cultural traditions of Persia, India and Greece • Persian influence on Islam • Indian influences • Greek influences