ISLAM

1. ISLAM a geographical perspective

2. Topics • Symbolism • Sacred places • Origins and diffusion • Impacts of colonialism

3. Some flags of Islamic countries • What seem to be the dominant colors and motifs? • Green was the color of Muhammad’s robe • The crescent moon was a symbol of Constantinople, “borrowed” when it was conquered in 1453 and renamed Istanbul • The five-pointed star represents the five pillars of Islam • Confession of faith in Allah and no other god as well as belief in the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad • Ritual worship of Allah 5 times a day • Charity and concern for the needy • Avoidance of food, drink and sex during daylight hours for the month of Ramadan • Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca once in one’s life)

4. Islam • Islam means “submission” (to the will of Allah) • Shares many roots with Judaism and Christianity including stories of Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus • Islam’s sacred places • mosques • Mecca • Medina • Jerusalem

5. a mosque in Yemen

6. Istanbul’s Blue Mosque http://www.mccullagh.org

7. a mosque in N.W. China What seems to be an important color in Islam?

8. Parts of a mosque • Minarets are landmarks and places from which a muezzin (or loudspeaker) calls people to prayer • Sahn is a courtyard or open hall for prayer • Mihraab is a recessed niche pointing toward Mecca • the focal point of the mosque • the point toward which prayers are directed • the point at which the person leading prayers stands Parent Teacher Association, Islamic Association of Greater Detroit: http://www.ptaiagd.org/

9. Jerusalem (under stormy skies!)

10. Jerusalem • A sacred place for three religions • A place of conflict • general: the way of the cross (Christian) • foreground • Mount of Olives, Jewish burials • background • ruins of the city of David and west wall of the temple mount (believed by Jews to be the remaining wall of Solomon’s original temple, also called the “wailing wall”) • Dome of the rock (gold) believed by Muslims to be where Muhammad ascended to Heaven and by Jews to be where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac

11. Mecca Pilgrims circumambulate the Ka’ba, a cube encased in silk containing a black stone

12. What is the Ka’ba? • For Muslims it is the qibla, the point toward which people must face when praying, and they believe it was built into the structure by Abraham and Ishmael • The first qibla was Jerusalem, but this was changed during Muhammad’s life, perhaps due to a rift between Muhammad and the Jews in Medina • Non-Muslims generally explain it as a meteorite which was worshipped before the time of Muhammad, as part of pre-Islamic animist beliefs of the region

13. Origins • Muhammad (570-632) • sought end to feuding between nomadic Bedouins and merchant dynasties of cities • replaced family-centered social order with a more harmonious community • Qur’an: Muslims believe this is the word of Allah (unless translated from Arabic) revealed to Muhammad, while teachings of previous prophets (including Jesus) are corruptions of the word of God • Worldview • dar al-Islam (means “house of submission”) parts of the world under Islamic control • dar al-Harb (means “house of war”) parts of the world controlled by non-believers/infidels

14. Diffusion • Under Muhammad the western part of the Arabian peninsula (incl. Mecca and Medina) were brought under Islam) • Under the Caliphs (his successors), Islam expanded very rapidly across the entire southern half of the Roman Empire’s territory, as well as areas under control of Sassanid Empire to the east. • Combination of military conquest and tax policy. Those who did not surrender to Muslim forces were forced to pay rent on their land whereas those who surrendered maintained ownership of their land

16. Islam Today

17. Interesting aspects of this map • Massive expansion between 630 and 700 • Replacement of Christianity and Judaism (as the dominant religion, though never a complete exclusion) in the Middle East • Far reaches of Islamic diffusion: • Iberian peninsula (Spain & Portugal) by 900 • Indonesia by 1200 (via Islamic seagoing traders) • Land route to China (Xian) by 1000 • Although Arabic dominates, Muslims speak many languages including Iranian, Turkic, various Indian languages, and Indonesian

18. “Things are looking better” • Both the Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire had losing their grip and had tried to maintain control by waging war and committing atrocities on local populations • Both Empires had been extravagant and demanding • The new Islamic rulers brought peace to people exhausted with conflict and exploitation

19. The Ottoman Empire (1300-1917) • Note: Core in Anatolia (Turkey) • area of earliest control • hearth of Ottoman culture • Replacement of Orthodox Christianity in its core (Constantinople falls in 1453)

20. Islamic Influences in Europe • Muslim components of the population in the Balkans: Bosnia & Kosovo, Bulgaria, and Albania • Many Arabic words were carried into Spanish • e.g. wadi (Arabic for river) shows up in Guadalajara

21. Carving up the Ottoman Empire

22. Sykes-Picot Agreement(or “carving up the spoils”) • British agitated for uprising against the Ottoman Empire, then broke promise to support self-rule • Secret agreement (1916) between the British and the French • Britain would control areas roughly comprising Jordan, Iraq and a small area around Haifa • France would control southeastern Turkey, Northern Iraq, Syria and Lebanon • France & Great Britain were left free to draw state boundaries within these areas • International then British control over the area which later came to be called “Israel” and which was predominantly Muslim at the time • Later expansion of the Sykes-Picot agreement • Russia would control Armenia and parts of Kurdistan • Italy would control certain Aegean islands and a sphere of influence around Izmir in southwest Anatolia. • The Italian presence in Anatolia as well as the division of the Arab lands was later formalized in the Treaty of Sevres in 1920.

24. Sunni vs. Shiah Doctrinal dispute centers around the legitimacy of the first three caliphs Sunni Sunni Shiah Sunni

25. Sectarian conflict in Iraq • Sunnis cooperated with British colonial rule, acquired power and remained dominant under regime of Saddam Hussein (except for the Kurds, which were Sunnis but were persecuted by Saddam) • violent resistance is coming from the Sunnis, who feel they have lost out with Saddam’s fall • US administration is currently banking on Shiite and Sunni-Kurd support

26. Conflict in Israel Dark Orange: territory designated as Jewish by the UN in 1947 Medium Orange: territory gained by Israel in war with Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Transjordan (Jordan) by 1949 Yellow: territory controlled by Israel since 1967 (Gaza largely released from Israeli control in 2005) Israel’s territorial gains seen by Arabs as a result of European and American assistance of Israel

27. Conflict in Jammu & Kashmir • Kashmir has been the key to the dispute between India and Pakistan since their formation at the time of independence from the British in 1947 • Each newly-formed country claimed Kashmir as a part of its territory • The area is separated by a Line-of-Control (LOC or cease-fire line) • East of LOC lies the vale of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh which are administered by India • West of LOC lies “Azad [Free] Kashmir” controlled by Pakistan

29. SUMMARY • The Islamic world is a culture region • Its global distribution is mainly the result of a rapid 7th century diffusion out of the Arabian peninsula aided by conquest and tax policy, then subsequent trading activities up to the 1600s • The Islamic region is internally divided by sect (Sunni vs. Shiah) and language • Muslims speak many languages but Arabic is numerically dominant and is the language of the Qur’an • The conflicts within the Islamic world and at its boundaries are partly due to European colonialism in the wake of World War I, and subsequent external involvement in the rest of the 20th century • external involvement (mainly British and US) has exacerbated tensions between different religious groups