Chapter Nine Islam and the Arab Empire Lesson

Chapter Nine Islam and the Arab Empire

Lesson One The First Muslims

The Middle East

The Modern Middle East

World Religions Today

Muslims in the U. S. Today

I. The Arabs A) organized into tribes to help one another; ruled by a sheikh B) lived as farmers and sheepherders on the Arabian Peninsula

Arabian Peninsul a

The Arabs 1. towns developed along the trade routes b/w the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean

The Arabs C) Arabs trace their ancestors to Abraham who were believed to have built at Mecca the Kaaba, a house of worship whose cornerstone was a sacred stone, called the ‘Black Stone’

“Father Abraham” Abraham casts out Hagar and Ishmael

The Kaaba

II. Life & Teachings of Muhammad A) Muhammad was a caravan manager who was troubled by the gap b/w rich and poor

Muhammad 1. Muhammad meditated and received revelations from God (Allah); message was given by the angel Gabriel

Qu’ran 2. from these revelations, the Qu’ran is written, the holy book of Islam

Qu’Ran

Muhammad B) Muhammad and his supporters moved from Mecca to Medina in hopes of gathering strength and more converts

Muhammad Moves to Medina

Muhammad 1. very successful in Medina; Muhammad grew into a religious and political leader 2. Muhammad also built an army to defend the Muslims; returned and attacked Mecca in 630

Muhammad Delivers His Final Sermon

Muhammad C) Muhammad is not considered divine, like Jesus, but a prophet and a man like other men; but one who received the direct words and wishes of Allah

D) Five Pillars of Islam: 1. “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet. ” 2. Pray five times a day, facing Mecca

Five Pillars of Islam 3. Giving alms to the poor

Five Pillars of Islam 4. Refraining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset through the holy month of Ramadan

Five Pillars of Islam 5. Make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in your life (hajj)

The Hajj

Five Pillars of Faith

Shari’ah E) the shari’ah – a law code produced by Muslim scholars to regulate the lives of Muslims

Shari’ah 1. regulates business practice, gov’t, moral code 2. does not separate religious matters from civil or political law

Lesson Two The Arab Empire And the Caliphates

I. Creation of an Arab Empire A) Abu Bakr is chosen as the successor to Muhammad (caliph) for Muslims Abu Bakr

Jihad 1. the Qu’ran permitted jihad – “struggle in the way of God” 2. Islamic Empire expands throughout North Africa, Persia, and Byzantium

Expansion of Islam

The Umayyads B) the Umayyads – conquered and converted the Berbers in North Africa, and together attacked Spain; by 725, most of Spain was Muslim

The Umayyads

Who is Heir to the Throne? C) in-fighting still occurred over who was the rightful heir to the Muslim throne; a split occurs w/in the faith:

Who is Heir to the Throne? 1. Shia– Muslims accept only the descendants of Muhammad as the true rulers of Islam 2. Sunni – Muslims who did not agree w/ Umayyad but who accepted them as rulers; majority in the Muslim world

Modern Day Sunni/Shia Split

Abbasid Dynasty D) in 750, Abu Al. Abbas overthrew the Umayyad dynasty and set up the Abbasid dynasty, which lasted until 1258 Abu al-Abbas

The Abbasids 1. the Abbasids built a new capital at Baghdad

The Abbasids 2. this new location was ideal to take advantage of trade routes b/w East and West 3. Abbasids unable to keep the empire united; by 973, the Muslims were splintered politically

II. The Seljuk Turks A) the Turks were hired mercenaries for the Muslims who eventually took over the Abbasid Empire

Seljuk Turks

Seljuk Turks 1. in 1055, a Turkish leader captured Baghdad and took command of the empire and adopted the title sultan

Seljuk Turks 2. as the new Turkish Empire expanded north, the Byzantine Empire appeals to western Europe for help against the Turks

Lesson Three Islamic Civilization

I. Islamic Society A) although Allah stressed equality for all peoples, the Islamic social structure did treat people differently:

Islamic Society 1. well-defined upper class of gov’t officials, nomadic elite, and wealthy merchants 2. slaves were imported from Africa and Asia

Islamic Women 3. women were often secluded in their homes and kept from social contact w/ men outside their own families

Islamic Women B) Muslim men could have more than one wife, but no more than four 1. it was not common for men to have multiple wives, b/c each wife required a dowry

II. Islamic Science, Art, and Architecture A) Muslim mathematicians and scientists among the leaders of the ancient world 1. adopted the use of the ‘zero’; Europeans follow and adopt this ‘Arabic’ system

Islamic Science 2. the astrolabe first developed for navigational purposes in the Islamic world

Islamic Art & Architecture B) the best expression of Islamic art is found in the Muslim mosques

Minarets and Muezzins 1. Samara mosque the most famous; the minaret and muezzin

Minarets

Muezzins

Arabesques 2. Arabesques – decorations repeated over and over in geometric patterns w/in Islamic mosques and palaces 3. Muslims do not attempt to imitate God by re-creating pictures of living things

Arabesques

Mosque Interior