Islam

Origin, Spread, and Conflict with Christendom

The Prophet Muhammad

• Born in Mecca in Arabia

• Raised by merchants

• Received a revelation from Allah (God) during the month of Ramadan

• Tension between Muhammad’s monotheism and the polytheism of the people of Mecca

The Holy Quran

• Muslims believe the Quran is the direct word of Allah revealed to Muhammad

• Written and read in Arabic

Mecca and Medina

• 622 CE: Muhammad goes to Medina and sets up the first Muslim community

• Muhammad’s journey to Medina (also called Yathrib) is called the hijrah

• 622 CE is the start of the Muslim calendar

The Five Pillars of Islam

• Testimony of Faith: There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger.

• Daily Prayer: Pray 5x each day in the direction of the holy city of Mecca.

• Charity: Give alms to the poor.• Fasting: No food or drink from dawn til

dusk during the holy month of Ramadan.• Hajj: Pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.

Hajj

• Muslims make a spiritual journey called a pilgrimage (or hajj) to visit the Kaaba in Mecca

• According to the Quran, the Kaaba (black cube) was made by Abraham

Death of the Proph

et • Muhammad died in 632 and rose into heaven from a holy rock (where Jews believe Abraham prepared the sacrifice of his son) in Jerusalem. On the site Muslims built a mosque called the Dome of the Rock.DOME OF THE ROCK,

Jerusalem

Spread of Islam

The Islamic Caliphate

• After the death of Muhammad, caliphs (leaders) controlled the Muslim world.

• Most famous caliphates: the Umayyad dynasty and the Abbasid dynasty.

• Umayyad capital city: Damascus (in Syria). Abbasid capital: Baghdad (in Iraq).

Battle of Tours, 732 ce

• Muslims expand across North Africa, into Spain– Islam threatens to take

over Christian Europe!!!

• Battle of Tours, 732 ce– Charles Martel, king of

the Franks, defeats the Muslims, which stops their expansion into Europe

The Muslim World

• Major groups of Muslims: Sunnis and Shi’ites

• Most Muslims are Sunnis

• Shi’ites are the majority in Iraq and Iran

Sunnis vs. Shi’ites

• Sunnis– The caliph may be elected from the

Muslim community.

• Shi’ites (Shia)– The caliph must be a descendant of

the family of Muhammad

Schism about 700 A.D. Reasons:

Succession to Caliphate (Kalifa, successor; successor of Muhammad)

Incorporation of non-Koranic elements into Islam

Worldliness of Caliphs, discrimination against non-Arab Muslims

Shiites (shia: party or faction) about 10% (mostly Iran) Fundamentalist?

Sunnites (Sunna: beaten path) about 90%

Muslim Architect

ure

Christianity vs. Islam• Major Events of the Crusades

– 1095: Pope Urban II calls Christians to fight against the Muslim “infidels” in the Holy Land (Jerusalem)

• “God wills it!”

– Crusaders take Jerusalem and establish Crusader States

– 1187: Muslim leader Saladin re-conquers Jerusalem– 1204: Western Crusaders raid Constantinople

(Christian)

• Impact of the Crusades– Byzantine Empire hurt by attack on Constantinople– Tension: Christians, Jews, and Muslims in Holy Land

Description of the Christian Conquest of

Jerusalem, 1099• But now that our men had possession of the walls and towers,

wonderful sights were to be seen. Some of our men (and this was more merciful) cut off the heads of their enemies; others shot them with arrows, so that they fell from the towers; others tortured them longer by casting them into the flames. Piles of heads, hands, and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. It was necessary to pick one's way over the bodies of men and horses. But these were small matters compared to what happened at the Temple of Solomon, a place where religious services are ordinarily chanted. What happened there? If I tell the truth, it will exceed your powers of belief. So let it suffice to say this much, at least, that in the Temple and porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins. Indeed, it was a just and splendid judgment of God that this place should be filled with the blood of the unbelievers, since it had suffered so long from their blasphemies.

Does faith justify bloodshed?

Is it okay to kill in the name of God?