chapter 13: the expansive realm of islam. muhammad - born about 570 c.e. to merchant family in mecca...

Chapter 13: The Expansive Realm of Islam


• Muhammad - Born about 570 C.E. to merchant family in Mecca• Orphaned as a child• Marries wealthy widow, Khadija ca. 595 C.E., works as merchant• Familiarity with paganism, Christianity and Judaism as practiced in Arabian peninsula

Muhammad and His Message


• Visions, ca. 610 C.E.• Received message delivered by Archangel Gabriel, and told he must explain it to other people• Monotheism – Allah • Attracts followers in Mecca

Muhammad’s Spiritual Transformation


• Record of revelations received during visions - called the Quran • it communicates Muhammad’s understanding of Allah and his relation to the world• is the authority for Islam doctrine and social organization

• Committed to writing ca. 650 C.E. (Muhammad dies 632 C.E.)• His followers wrote down his stories and deeds - these traditions are known as hadith

The Quran


• Muhammad’s monotheistic teachings offensive to Mecca’s polytheistic pagans and the elite• Merchants were offended when Muhammad said greed was wicked and Allah would punish them• Muhammad also attacked idolatry – upset people who owned shrines – especially the Ka’ba

• the Ka’ba drew worshipers from all over to Mecca• Muhammad’s attacks threatened economic interests

• Muhammad and followers began to be persecuted

Conflict at Mecca


• Muhammad flees to Yathrib (Medina) 622 C.E.• This journey was known as the hijra (migration)• Year 0 in Muslim calendar

• Organizes followers into a community of the faithful (the umma)• Gave them a legal, spiritual code• Raided Meccan caravans for sake of umma• Regularly gave alms to widows, orphans, and the poor

The Hegira


• Muhammad referred to himself as the final prophet – “seal of the prophets”• Accepted the authority of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus• Held in high esteem Hebrew scriptures and the Christian New Testament• He believed Allah was the same as Yahweh and God• But…he believed he had been entrusted w/ a more complete revelation, one that communicated Allah’s plan for the world

The “Seal of the Prophets”


• Attack on Mecca, 630 C.E. – conquered the city• Conversion of Mecca to Islam• Destruction of pagan sites, replaced with mosques

• Ka’ba preserved in honor of importance of Mecca• Approved as pilgrimage site

Muhammad’s Return to Mecca


• Five Pillars of Islam• No god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet• Daily prayer• Fasting during Ramadan• Charity / alms• Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)

The Five Pillars of Islam


• Jihad -“Struggle” Against vice Against ignorance of Islam

•“Holy war” Against unbelievers who threaten Islam

Jihad


• Sharia – Islamic holy law – guidance in proper behavior on almost every aspect of life• Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools of analysis • Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of human activity

Islamic Law: The Sharia


• No clear successor to Muhammad identified• Abu Bakr chosen to lead as caliph (deputy)• Led war against villagers who abandoned Islam after death of Muhammad

The Caliphs


• Highly successful attacks on Byzantine, Sasanid territories• Difficulties governing rapidly expanding territory

• faced uprisings by overtaxed peasants and oppressed ethnic and religious minorities

The Expansion of Islam


• b/w 633-637 – took Syria, Palestine and most of Mesopotamia• 640’s – took Egypt and most of North Africa• 651 – took Sasanid dynasty and Persia• 711 – Hindu kingdom of Sind• 711-718 – western North Africa into most of Iberia and threatened Gaul• Hard to rule over lands so vast

Map: Realm of Islam


• Disagreements over selection of caliphs • Ali passed over for Abu Bakr

• Served as caliph 656-661 C.E., then assassinated along with most of his followers• Remaining followers organize separate party called “Shia”• Traditionalists: Sunni

The Shia

Islam: Empire of Faith Pt. I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX3UHNhQ1Zk


• Umayyad Dynasty - established by very prominent Meccan merchant class• Brought stability to the Islamic community• Capital: Damascus, Syria --- highly centralized rule• Associated with Arab military aristocracy

• Military were appointed as governors / administrators of conquered lands

The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 C.E.)


• 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

Policy toward Conquered People


• Rebellion in Persia brought Umayyad to end• Leader was Abu al-Abbas,

• Sunni Arab, allied with Shia, non-Arab Muslims• Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia• Defeats Umayyad army in 750 C.E.

• Invited Umayyad to banquet to “reconcile”, then massacred them

The Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 C.E.)


• Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not exclusively Arab)• Militarily competent, but not bent on imperial expansion• Content to administer the empire they had inherited• Dar al-Islam (“House of Islam”) term used by Muslim scholars to refer to those countries where Muslims can practice their religion freely• Growth through military activity of autonomous Islamic forces

Nature of the Abbasid Dynasty


• Persian influence influenced how they governed• Court at Baghdad• Influence of Islamic scholars (Ulama & Quadis)

• Ulama “people with religious knowledge” • Qadis “judges” • Sought to develop policy based on the Quran and sharia law• Set moral standards for communities and resolved disputes

Abbasid Administration


• High point of Abbasid dynasty• Baghdad center of commerce

• Baghdad - center of banking, commerce, crafts, industry• Great cultural activity

• supported writers, artists• gave money to the poor and commoners by tossing money in the streets

Caliph Harun-al-Rashid (786-809 C.E.)


• Civil war between sons of Harun al-Rashid• Provincial governors assert regional independence• Dissenting sects, secede from the state

Abbasid Decline


• Abbasid caliphs become puppets of Persian nobility• Later, Saljuq Turks influence; sultan real power behind the throne

Abbasid Decline


• Spread of food and industrial crops• cotton for a textile industry, paper• indigo and henna to color fabrics• Trade routes from India to Spain

• New crops adapted to different growing seasons• Agricultural sciences develop• irrigation, crop rotation, etc.

• Major cities emerge

Economy of the Early Islamic World


• Historical precedent of Arabic trade• Dar al-Islam (areas where Muslims are in the majority) encompasses silk routes• Camel caravans

became more common when saddle was created Ice exported from mountains of Syria to Egypt in summer, 10th century inns along the way, plus food, water, and care for animals

Formation of Hemispheric Trading Zone


• Maritime trade - Innovations in nautical tech increased trade on sea used compass invented by Chinese used lateen sail from SE Asia and Indian mariners from Hellenistic Mediterranean they used the astrolabe

Formation of Hemispheric Trading Zone


• Scale of trade causes banks to develop• had multiple branches that honored letters of credit known as Sakk (“check”)

• Uniformity of Islamic law throughout dar al-Islam promotes trade• Joint ventures common

Banking and Trade


• Muslim Berber conquerors from north Africa take Spain, early 8th century• built the beautiful capital of Cordoba

• Allied to Umayyads, refused to recognize Abbasid dynasty• Formed own caliphate• Tensions, but participated in trade with larger Islamic world

Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain)


• Patriarchal society existed long before Muhammad• Quran improves status of women

• Outlawed female infanticide• Brides, not husbands, claim dowries

• Yet male dominance preserved• Patrilineal descent• Polygamy permitted (limited to 4 wives), polyandry forbidden• Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice

The Changing Status of Women


• Islamic values• Uniformity of Islamic law in dar al-Islam• Establishment of madrasas: higher institutions of learning• Importance of the hajj

The Formation of an Islamic Cultural Tradition


• Mystics known as Sufis were educated in Islamic law and theology – but concerned themselves with deepening their spiritual awareness• Sufi missionaries

• Asceticism, mysticism• Some tension with orthodox Islamic theologians• Wide popularity

Formation of an Islamic Cultural Tradition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKEItegftb8&feature=related


• Major Sufi thinker from Persia• Impossibility of intellectual apprehension of Allah, devotion, mystical ecstasy instead

Al-Ghazali (1058-1111)


• Persia• Administration and governance• literature

• India• Mathematics, science, medicine

• “Hindi” numbers• Greece

• Philosophy, especially Aristotle• Ibn Rushd/Averroes (1126-1198) Books on Medicine, Physics, Astronomy & Psychology

Cultural Influences on Islam

Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa

1.What practice shocked him as being very different from Muslims elsewhere?

2.Name 3 things that impressed him as being “admirable qualities.”

3.Name 3 things he stated were “bad qualities.”

Islam: Empire of Faith Pt. I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX3UHNhQ1Zk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpcbfxtdoI8

Crashcourse: Islam

chapter 13: the expansive realm of islam. muhammad - born about 570 c.e. to merchant family in mecca...

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