Source: Ikhwan As-Safa, 9th century Muslim philosopher, quoted in The World of Islam.

The Ideal and morally perfect man should be of East Persian derivation, Arabic in faith, of Iraqi education, a Hebrew in astuteness, a disciple of Christ in conduct, as pious as a Greek monk, a Greek in the individual sciences, and Indian in the interpretation of all mysteries, but lastly and especially a Sufi in his whole spiritual world.

As a Muslim philosopher, Ikhwan As-Safa, naturally suggests that a morally perfect man would have Arabic faith because he himself is of that faith, hence promoting himself and his own credibility.

While acknowledging in The World of Islam, that Islam at that time incorporated and appreciated many different cultures, he would naturally promote the importance of his own faith in terms of what qualities make an ideal and morally perfect man.

Unit II: 600 BCE – 600 CE

Periodization?AntigonidPtolemaicSeleucid275 BCE

31 BCE – 476 CE

322 BCE-185 CE, 200 – 550 CE

221 BCE-206 BCE, 206BCE – 220 CE

A = 550-330 BCE P = 246BCE-224 CES = 224-651 CE

Khushan30-375 CE

600 CE - 1450 CE

Classic empires have fallen:

PersianRomanHanGupta

• Differentimperial conquests

• Different partsof the world are affected (Americas)

• ISLAM

• Older religions tend to define regions rather than politics

tremendous growth in long distance trade (Silk Road, IndianOcean Basin, Trans-Saharan and Mediterranean Sea)Pax Mongolia

Classical Empires have all fallen- new political units of organization will develop globally (centralized empires: Byzantine, Arab caliphates, Tang/Song dynasties) (decentralized states: Western Europe, Japan and South Asia)

Nomadic groups will create great change (Mongols, Turks,Vikings)

Importance of religion and trade in general will remain the same/ act as a unifying force

ISLAM

Spread of universal religions had some effect on raising the status of women but PATRIARCHY will still be dominant

Period of great innovation: magnetic compass,Sternpost rudder, gunpowder, porcelain, water clock,Printing press with moveable type, landscape painting,Paper money, checks…….

Oldest Islamic monument (688-691 CE by Umayyad caliph)A shrine (sacred stone)- not a mosqueOldest surviving mihrab (niche facing Mecca)100 feet tall/ 60 feet in diameterRests on 16 pillars and columnsSurrounded by octagonal colonnade of 24 pillar and columns

The Dome of the RockJerusalem

The dome commemorates the spot where Muhammad ascended into heaven.

Muhammad made the night journey (al-Miraj) to

Jerusalem on a legendary white

winged-beast, part donkey, part mule.

3rd holiest site in Islam

Judaism:The locations where Abraham

prepared to sacrifice Isaac.

Christianity:Biblical Temple of Solomon

10/9/15: Jewish authorities‘forbid Muslim men under 50 yrs old to enter the Temple Mount in light of recent suicide bombings there

Only Jewish citizens, tourists,And citizens of Old City may enter__________________________Jews are allowedto enter the Temple Mountbut must NOT pray and mustwear appropriate clothing

HOWEVER: Muslim authoritiespropose limiting access to Temple Mount for all Jews

Al Aqsa Mosque = whereMohammed first arrived inJerusalem on his scared night journey from Mecca

C 13: The Expansive Realm of Islam

Can you identify and explain the significance of the following??• Mecca• Medina• Muhammad (570 CE, 622 CE, 630 CE, 632 CE)• Archangel Gabriel• Khadija • The Five Pillars of Faith• “Islam”/ “Muslim”• Dar-al-Islam • hijra 622 CE, hajj 632 CE• umma• Quran (and Sunna)• Sharia (“well trodden path to water”-path to Allah)• hadith• jihad• Kaaba or Ka’ba• caliph• Sunnis vs. Shias• Umayyad Dynasty• jizya• Abbasid Dynasty• Caravanserais and sakk

Allah?

Same God as worshipped in Christianity and Judaism

Rule of law: principles

that govern the life of a

Muslim

Life is a test: everyone will be rewarded or punished

for their actions in

the life after this one.

Persian Miniaturec. 1425

C 13: The Expansive Realm of Islam

Born 570 CERevelation 610 CEHijra 622 CEAttacks Mecca 630 CEHajj 632 CEDies 632 CE

The “seal of the prophet”

12th month of Islamic lunar calendar

2015: September 21-262014: October 1-6

Ihram

2015: stampede killed 769 (934 casualties) (1470 killed?)

2014: stampede killed 2442013: stampede killed 200+2004: stampede killed 251

1997: tent fire killed 343

1990: stampede killed 1426

2015: 3 million2014: 2 million participated

Gregorian calendar = solar calendarIslamic calendar = lunar calendarRamadan shifts ~ 11 days a year

Kaaba: large granitestructure, measuresapprox. 13 meters high, sides are 11 x 12 meters

Eastern Corner = black stone

Covered by a silkcurtain (kiswah) with gold embroidered calligraphy:replaced yearly

Muhammad settling a quarrel between Meccan clans as to which clan should set the Black Stone cornerstone in place when it was rebuilt in early 600s. His solution was to have all theclan elders raise the cornerstone on a cloak, and then Muhammad set the stone into its final place with his own hands. (1315: Persian Illustration)

Can now accommodate up to 820,000 people

Call to Prayer: Five Times a day

1. Sunset2. Night (no shadow)3. Sunrise4. Mid day (no shadow)5. Afternoon

Always recitedin Arabic no matter whereyou are in the world

Muezzin

The Kaaba: 1880

Qibla: Direction of PrayerLike Jews, the earliest Muslims prayed facing Jerusalem. According to Islamic tradition, when Muhammad was praying in Medina, he was ordered by God to change the qibla from Jerusalem to Mecca and the Kaaba.

Mosques contain a qibla wallQibla Compasses: pointers arein the shape of a minaret

Fajr = Begin Prayer at First lightSunrise = End first prayerDhuhr = Mid dayAsr = Afternoon (when the shadow of the

object is the same length as the object itselfMaghrib = Sunset (begins when the sun sets and the red light

has left the sky)Isha = Night (preferably before midnight- time from between end of red light and beginning of white light)

Muhammad dies 632 CE (fever)(within 100 yrs, dar-al-Islam bigger than

Roman Empire at its peak)

(“rightly guided caliphs”)Caliphate established

Islam spreads under leadershipof Abu Bakr (friend) (First Caliph)

(jihad expansion)

Sunni and Shia division

Islamic capital moved to DamascusSyria is capital of Muslim EmpireUmayyad leadership 661 – 750 CE

Abbasids challenge Umayyad leadership

(DISCONTENT/DISCRIMINATION

LED TO DOWNFALL)

Umayyad stateestablished in Spain

(Al-Andalus)(by 711 CE controlled

80% of Spain)

Numerous achievementsIn the arts and

sciences(calculus, trig,

decimals, fractions, surgery, orthopedics, “Arabic” numerals)

Ferdinand and Isabella force the

Muslims out of Spain in 1492

Baghdad is centerof Abbasid Empirefrom 750-1258 CE

Muslim Empire reaches its“Golden Age”900-1200CE

Sejuik Turks challenge Abbasid leadership (corrupt)

Hulagu Khan February 10, 1258

Sacked BagdadMuslim control in

1261

Persian inspired rule/ qadis and

ulama rule locally

Byzantine and Sassanid Empireswere weak

Policy towards conquered people?Tolerant/ intolerant?Secret to their success= FORGED ALLEGIANCE TO ISLAM

Battle of Tours

732 CE

Persian miniaturec. 16th century

Quran:

“Change the pronoun so you can’t imagine an image of god in your head”

The Expansion of Islam: 622-733 CE dar-al-Islam

Hemispheric trading zone: increased food supply

through trade, new industries (paper by 10th C), Caravanserais, ,banking practices, sakk and loans, pooling of resources to share risk,Lateen sail (South Asia and China), astrolabe (Greek)

The mariner's astrolabe, also called sea astrolabe,was used to determine the latitude of a ship at sea by measuring the sun's noon altitude (declination) or the meridian altitude of a star of known declination.

The Post Classic Islamic world was a time of rapid economic growth in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Harun al –RashidAbbassid (786-809 CE)

Court of the Lions, the Alhambra (1300s CE)Granada, Spain

124 slender marble columns surround an open court- the walls and arches are decoratedwith tiles and delicately carved designs

Great Mosque Cordoba, SpainAl- Andalus(19 doors/ 850 columns)

• 21 suburbs• 500 mosques• 300 public baths• 70 libraries

850 columns19 aisles

MosqueIsfahan, Persia(Iran)

Great Mosque of Djenne(1200s CE)

Mali, Africa

Built entirely of mudCovers an area equal to a city blockMud walls: 16-24 inches thickFive stories and three minaretsEach spring the people of Djenne plasterthe mosque with fresh mud

Cultural Diffusion……

The Abbasid dynasty helped to bridge differences in cultural traditions and helped to spread Islamic influences throughout Dar-al Islam.

Madrasas?

Formation of Islamic Cultural Tradition

achieved through the uniformity of Islamic law in dar-al-Islam

establishment of madrasas

importance of the hajj

popularity of sufimissionaries

Rumi (1207-1273)

Sufi/ Mystic PoetOver 60,000 poems

“When we are dead, seek not our tomb in the earth, but find it in the hearts of men”

Poem, Rumi (13th century)

I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I found Him not.

I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there.

I entered the mountain cave of hira and then went as far as Qandhar but God I found not…

Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young; God was not there even.

Turning to philosophy I inquired about him from Ibn Sina but found Him not within his range….

Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else.

Ibn Sina: 980-1037

Islam and the Cultural Traditions ofPersia, South Asia and Greece

Conquered territories brought theirlocal traditions to Islamic faith(syncretism)(THROUGH TRANSLATION)

Abbasids:From Persia:• administrative techniques• kings as wise and benevolent• absolute leadership• literary works: Persian was principlelanguage of literature, poetry, history

From South Asia:• mathematics, science and medicine• adopted “Hindi” numbers• allowed for development of algebra,Trigonometry and geometry• math helped develop astronomy

Arabian NightsThe Thousand and One NightsPoet: Omar Rubiyan

From Greece:• classical philosophy, science • tried to synthesize Islamic thought and Greek philosophy• Ibn Rushd (1126-1198)= Aristotle(pure rational thought) (met with some resistance) many Muslims placed moreValue on Quran than human thought

Gender Issues Quran improves the status of women

outlawed female infanticide brides, not husbands, claim dowries women could inherit property, engage in business, divorce their Husbands women are equal to men in the eyes of Allah

BUT male dominance persisted patrilineal descent polygamy permitted, polyandry forbidden veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice (household restrictions/ seclusion) lives of women become more Restrictive under Sharia law and as the Islamic empire spreads and encounters more profound patrilineal traditions

Sharia Law?

Hijab:refers to both the head-covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Islamic styles of dress in general

1838-1897 Jamal al-Afghani (founder of the Islamic Movement)- reintroduced sharia law as the means

of fighting Western colonialism1908 Crude oil discovered in Iran1918 Britain takes control of Iraq1928 Formation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

- duty of every Muslim to engage in jihad againstthe enemies of Islam

1932 British control of Iraq ends/ Ibn Saud forms the kingdom of Saudi Arabia1932 Ibn Saud allows (US: Standard Oil) to drill for oil 1954 US- sponsored coup in Iran reinstates Rez Khan Pahlavi as shah

1968 Saddam Hussein takes power in Iraq1970 General Assad seizes power in Syria1978 Communists in Afghanistan face challenge by Islamic “mujahideen” (holy warriors)1979 Iranian Revolution brings Islamist regime of Ayatollah Khomeini to power1980s policies of Saudi Arabia shift: follow a very strict and intolerant form of Islam = WAHHABISM

1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War1982 Islamists assassinate President Sadat of Egypt1989 Khomeini issues a fatwa” (ruling) calling for death of Salman Rushdie, author of “blasphemous”

Satanic verses/ Islamist state established in Sudan1995-2001 Taleban rules Afghanistan (harbors Al-Qaeda)1997 Osama bin Laden (Al-Qaeda) issues fatwa calling for Americans to be killed2001 Al-Qaeda attack on USA (September 11)

2003 US-led coalition invades Iraq and topples Saddam Hussein2007 Resurgent Taliban control most of Southern Afghanistan ….

Burqa: Full body garment to cover women in some Islamic societies when they go out in public

Chador: Afghanistan

Nabiq: Syria

Chador models: Damascus, Syria

Chador: most commonly worn bySunni Muslims

Burqa Chadri: most commonly worn inWestern Pakistan and Afghanistan

Hijab: Arab = “cover , to veil or sheltar”

Shown in red are German states banning the wearing of headscarves by female teachers (as of 2007)

2006