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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ISLAM

Chapter Outline and Unit Summaries

I.

Introduction

A. The Youngest Major World ReligionB. One of the Largest World Religions

1. Over One Billion Adherents2. Growing Religion in the Developing World

C. Religious / Theological Roots in Judaism and ChristianityD. Muslim Literally Translated: One Who Submits to God

II. Pre-Islamic Arab ReligionA. Byzantine ChristianityB. JudaismC. ZoroastrianismD.Native Religion of the Arab People

1. Difficult to Specify Exact Beliefs because Only Source is theQurans Biased Description

2. Polytheists with Supreme High God, Allah (the God)a. Local and Tribal Deities Received Most of the

Daily Worshipb. Images of Gods and Sacrifices to Them Commonc. Numerous Spirits, Angels, Fairies, Demons

3. Animisma. Mecca Known in Ancient World for its Animistic

Religions

b. A Meteor Fell on Mecca, Become Object ofReligious Veneration in Shrine Called Kaba


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III.The Life of MuhammadA. Early Life of Muhammad (570-632 C.E.)

1.

Born into Clan that Controlled Kaba Shrine in Mecca

2. Father Died before Birth, Mother Died when Six;Muhammad Raised by Tribal Chief Uncle, abu-Talib

3. Muslims Strongly Claim Muhammad was Illiterate4. Muhammad Likely Traveled in Trading Caravans,

Encountered Numerous Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians

a. Religions Muhammad Encounters Share SameBasic Traits: One God, One Set of RevealedScriptures, Eschatology Centered on a Day of

Judgment and Assigning People to Eternal DestinyBased on Ethical Behavior in This Life

b. Muhammad Feared for His Polytheistic People5. Met and Married Wealthy Widow, Khadija

a. Married for Twenty Five Yearsb. One Child Survived: Daughter Named Fatima

B. Muhammads Religious Experience and Mission1. During Retreat in Mountains to Meditate, Angel (Gabriel)

Appears to Muhammad

2. Gabriel Appears at Intervals Throughout Muhammads Life,Gives Him Revelations from God

a. Muhammad Orally Reported Revelations toCompanions

b. Later Revelations Written Down as the Quran3. Muhammad Decides there is Only One God, Allah4. Muhammad Decides He is the Last in a Series of Prophets of

Allah; Jewish and Christian Prophets Preceded Him

a. All Earlier Prophetic Preaching Incompleteb. Muhammad Brings Final, Complete Revelation


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5. Muhammad Preaches in Mecca, Meets Hostility BecauseEconomy of Mecca Based on Idol Worship and Kaba

a. First Convert: Wife Khadijab.

Second Convert: Disputed in Islamic Tradition:Either Cousin Ali or Slave Boy Zayd

c. Young and Poor Flock to Join New Religiond. Opposition Grows from Wealthy Established Clan

Leadership

e. Muhammad Urges Some Followers to Flee Meccafor Abyssinia, Ethiopia

f. Dominant Clans Boycott Muhammads Clan6. 619 C.E. Uncle and First Wife Die

a.

Muhammad Marries Second Wife, the First ofNumber of Future Wives

b. Muhammad Tries to Flee Mecca but Unable to FindSecure Location, Moves Back to Mecca

C. The Formation of Early Islam1. The Invitation from Yathrib (Medina)

a. 620 C.E. Six Men from Yathrib (later Medina)Come to Mecca to Confer with Muhammad

b. Yathrib Torn by Clan War and Internal Strifec. Some Jews in Yathrib Wondered if Muhammad was

the Messiah

d. Muhammad Invited to be Judge and Ruler ofYathrib

e. Muhammad Delays Leaving Mecca for Fear ofAssassins, but Flees Mecca for Yathrib, Arrive

September 24th

, 622 C.E.f. TheHijrah (Migration) from Mecca to Medina

Becomes the New Reference Point for IslamicCalendar; Years Dated by A.H. (anno hegirae)

2. Muhammad in Yathrib (Medina) 622 - 630 C.E.a. Muslims Become Established Clan, but Religion

Not Widely Accepted(1)Three Tribes Jewish, One Christian

Community


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(2)Muhammad Meets Resistance from Jews,Develops Hostility towards Jews

b. The Medina Charter: Muhammad ReceivesPolitical Authority Over City, Guarantees Religious

Freedom for Non-Muslims

c.

Muhammad Marries Aishah, 623 C.E.d. Full Scale Military Conflict Breaks Out BetweenMedina under Muhammad and Mecca

(1)Muhammads Muslim Supporters AttackCaravans from Mecca

(2)Battle of Badr, 624 C.E.: MuhammadsSupportersWith Muhammad Present

Praying for his TroopsAttack Caravan,Kill 70 Men, Take Prisoners and Loot

(3)Next Battle with Meccans in 635 C.E.,Muhammad Wounded, Medina Forces Take

More Losses than Meccans; ConsideredVictory because not Total Rout

e. Full Scale Military Conflict Breaks Out BetweenMuslims and Regional Jewish Tribes

(1)Jews Ridiculed Muhammad, SupportedMeccans against Him

(2) Muhammad Gives Jews in MedinaUltimatum: Convert to Islam or Exile

(3)Jewish Matron, Zainab, Feeds PoisonedLamb to Muhammad, He Survives

f. 627 C.E. 10,000 Meccans Attack Medina, Fail toTake the City; Muslims Increase Support in Medina

g. Truce with Mecca Allows Muslims to Visit onPilgrimage

h. Number of Muslims Grows So Large the People ofMecca to Overwhelmed to Resist Any Longer

i. 630 C.E. Muhammad Invades Mecca with a Forceof 10,000 Men

j. Muhammad Destroys Idols and Images (but not theblack meteor stone or the Kaba itself), Earns

Respect as Religious-Political Leader of Arabsk. Muslim Community Grows in Numbersl. Muhammad Continues to Marry More Wives to

Builds Political Ties

m. Muhammad Sends Missionaries to Convert BedouinTribes in Desert


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3. The Last Years of Muhammada. After Final Pilgrimage to Mecca in 632 C.E.

Muhammad Delivers Farewell Address in Medina

b. Muhammad Dies without Making AnyArrangements for a Successor, Confusion in theCommunity

c. Abu-Bakr, Muhammads Friend and Brother ofWife Aishah, Anointed by Community as theRepresentative (caliph) of Muhammad

(1)Shiites Doubt this Version of History(2)Shiites Believe Muhammad Designated

Cousin and Son-in-Law Ali as Successor

IV.The QuranA.

Muslim Beliefs about Quran (Literally: Reading, Recitation)

1. Muslims Believe Quran Eternal Scripture, Written inHeaven and Revealed Chapter by Chapter to Muhammad

a. Muslims, Unlike Jews and Christians, BelieveThere was no Human Authorship Involved inQuran At All

b. The Quran is the Pure Word God Delivered byAngel to Muhammad

c. Muhammad Illiterate; He Memorized Exact(Arabic) Words of God and Conveyed Them to

Slave Boy Zaydd. Zayd Wrote Exact, Verbatim Words of Muhammad

on Leaves, Bones, Stone, Parchmente. After Muhammads Death Zayds Writings

Collectedf. Third Caliph, Uthman, Worked with Zayd to

Develop Authorized Version of the Quran

(1)The Quran Organized into 114surahs(2)Eachsurah Contains Approximately 6,000

Verses, orayas

(3)Overall Quran Slightly Smaller than NewTestament

(4)Text Arranged According to Length ofsurahs in Descending Order With no

Topological or Chronological Pattern

2. The Quran is Gods Last Word to Humanity, Fulfilling butSurpassing the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures


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3. Recitation ofQuran a Ritual Act for Muslimsa. The Quran Central to Muslim Faith, Read and

Memorized as Primary Religious Duties

(1)Supreme Act of Religious Devotion toMemorize Entire Quran

(2)Those Who Memorize Quran GivenHonorary Title ofhafiz

b. First Surah (chapter) Begins with Recite: In theName of they Lord who created

c. Reciting Quran Believed a Source of AllahsBlessing because it Reproduces Allahs DivineSpeech

B. The Nature of God1. Strict Monotheism of the One Sovereign God

a. The Quran Requires All Muslims to Say Once aDay There is no God but Allah and Muhammad isthe messenger of Allah.

b. Judaism is Closest to Islam in Terms of Insistenceon Pure, Absolute Monotheism

2. Allah: Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent Creator3. Allah Has Ninety-Nine Names4. Allah is Sovereign and Majestic, but Also Just, Merciful, and

Compassionate

5. Allah Surrounded and Aided by Numerous Heavenly Figuresa. Angels Deliver Messages for Allahb. Warriors Angels Fight with Muslims against

Infidelsc. TheJinn: Creatures between Humans and Angels

(1)Made of Fire(2)SomeJinn Good, Some Evil (Unbelievers)(3)Leader of EvilJinn Called Iblis (Arabic for

devil, diabolos

(4)Iblis Functions like Satan in HebrewBook ofJob: More a Tempter and Prosecuting

Attorney against Human than a God of Evil(5)Iblis Responsible for Fall of Adam


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C. Predestination1. Pushed to Extreme, the Qurans Teachings about Allahs

Omnipotent Sovereignty Could Seem Fatalistic,

Deterministic

a. Some Islamic Groups Read Quran This Wayb. Christian Calvinists Read New Testament This Way

2. Islam Stresses Freedom and Responsibilitya. Allah Gives Freedom and Reason, Judges People

Based on their Decisionsb. Allah Allows Humans to Make Evil Decisions, but

Allah Does not Cause People to be Evil or Good

D.

Eschatology

1. Allahs Judgment of Humanity at End of Time Core Belief2. Body Dies, Soul Sleeps Until End of Time3. Bodies Raised at the End of Time, Reunited with Souls4. Eternal Destiny Based on Faith and Virtue / Infidelity and

Vice Before Death

a. Good and Evil of Each Person Recordedb. Heaven / Hell Similar to Zoroastrian, Judaic,

Christian Versions, Accent on the Material Joys of

Heaven and Torments of Hell that Desert Dwellerswould Understand / Appreciate

V. Religious InstitutionsA. The Mosque

1. No Central Temple or Single Holy Shrine2. Muslims Began as Nomadic People who Needed to be Able

to Worship Allah Anywhere

3. Only Formal-Communal Religious Requirement:Muhammad Decrees Fridaya Workdayto be a Day of

Prayer in Mosques with Fellow Muslims


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4. Prayer Led by anImam, a Non-Clerical Figure Chosen byCommunity to Lead Prayers Due to Reputation for Piety and

Knowledge of Islam

5. Sermon in Friday Mosque Meeting in Arabic or Vernacular6. Mosques Function as Schools and Libraries

a. Islamic Schools (madrashas) Arise Along MajorUrban Mosques

b. Teach Quran Recitation andHadith Scholarshipc. Al Azhar in Cairo, One Worlds Oldest

Universities, Began as madrasha; Counted Todayas Most Important Theological School for Sunnis

d. The madrashas of Qom, Iran are Centers for ShiiteTheology

B. The Five Pillars1. Repetition of the Creed (shahadah)2. Daily Prayer (salaht)

a. Five Times a Day Muslims Pray Facing East toMecca

b. Muslims Must Wash Before Prayersc. Men and Women Cannot Pray Together

3. Almsgiving (zakaht)a. Muslims Expected to Give 2.5-10 % of Incomeb. Begging is Acceptable Practice in Islam

4. Fasting (sawm)a. Ramadan Fast: Abstain from Food, Drinking,

Smoking, Sex During Daylight Hours for OneMonth

b. Ramadan Commemorates Time MuhammadReceived First Revelation

c. Travelers, Nursing Mothers, Sick, Small ChildrenExempt from Ramadan Fast


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5. Pilgrimage (hajj)a. The Quran Requires Pilgrimage to Mecca as

Religious Duty

b. Pilgrimage Occurs in Month Called Dhu al-Hijahc.

Poor Often Use Life Savings to Make Tripd. Before Air Travel the Old and Sick Made Journeywithout Hope of Coming Home

e. Muslims Dress in Common Clothing so No Way toDistinguish Rich or Poor

f. After Pilgrimage Pilgrims May AttachHaji to TheirNames as a Title of Honor Indicating Piety

C. Islam and Women1. Muhammad Raised Status of Women Significantly Higher

than Under Pre-Muslim Arab Religion

2. Muhammad Forbid Female Infanticide3. Muhammad Allowed Polygamy but Limited Number of

Wives to Four, Provided Husband Could Afford them and

Treated them Equally

4. Muhammad Allowed Divorce if Husband Repeated Idivorce you Three Times

a. Woman is Allowed to Keep Her Dowryb. Modern Muslim Societies Allow Wives to Divorce

Cruel or Unjust Husbands

5. Women Subordinate to Fathers, Brothers, Husbands6. Actual Lives of Women Varies Among Different Cultures

D. Islamic Taboos1. Foods Allowed (halal)2. Foods / Things Prohibited (haram)

a. Porkb. Dogsc. Birds, Beasts of Prey, Donkeys, Mulesd. Alcohole. Gambling


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E. Jihad1. Most Controversial Issue within and about Islam2.

Holy War is Not Maximally Accurate Translation

3. Struggle in the path of God is More Accurate Translationa. Struggle can Mean Physical Laborb. Struggle can Mean Interior Battle with Ones Own

Vices and Temptations

4. Muslim Scholars Teach that Only Defensive Wars Justifieda. Muslims Historically Have used jihad as Term

for All Kinds of Wars, Self-Defensive or Otherwiseb. Most Muslims Consider bin Ladens Use of jihadSimplistic, Inaccurate, Self-Serving

VI. The Spread of IslamA. Reasons for Islams Rapid Spread

1. Islam is a Universal Religion2. Islam is a Simple Religion to Practice with Wide Appeal to

the Common Person

3. The World that Surrounded the Early Muslims was Confusedand Corrupt

a. Arab People Weary of Strife Open to a ReligionCapable of Reconciling Them

b. Byzantine Christianity Tainted by Corruption andMisrule of the Empire

B. Islam Spreads to Palestine, Syria, Persia, Egypt, North Africa throughCombination of Military Conquest and Political Savvy

C. Islam in Spain1. Enter Spain in 711 C.E. from Berber North Africa2. Charles Martel Stops Muslims at Battle of Tours, 732 C.E.


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D. Islam in India and China1. The Eleventh Century Caliphs of Baghdad Send Armies and

Missionaries East

2.

Today Pakistan and Bangladesh Remain Muslim

3. India and China Have Large Muslim PopulationsVII. The Caliphate

A. Lack of Formal Structure to Islam1. Most Religious Duties Can be Done Privately2. Muhammad Left no Clear Successor, Assumed (perhaps) the

Quran Would be the Sole Religious Authority

B. The Caliphate as Central Unifying Force in History of Islam1. A Caliph, from khalifa, deputy, representative2. Originally Caliph Elected but Later Hereditary3. First Caliphs Friends and Relatives of Muhammad

a. abu-Bakr (632-634 C.E.)b. Umar (634-644 C.E.)c. Uthman (644-656 C.E.), Murderedd. Ali (656-661 C.E.)

(1)Husband of Muhammads Daughter Fatima(2)Caliphate Taken from Him in Power Struggle

with Umayyads(3)Murdered 661 C.E.(4)Martyr in Shiite Islam(5)Son Husayn Challenged Umayyads(6)Husayn Defeated at Battle of Karbala in Iraq,

680 C.E.

(7)Husayn and Family Murdered, ConsideredShiite Martyrs

C. Umayyad Caliphs (661-750 C.E.)1. Based in Damascus, Syria2. Worldly Political Rulers


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D. Abbasid Caliphs (750-1258 C.E.)1. Ruled from Baghdad2. Ruled with Pomp and Splendor3. Encouraged Cooperation with Jews and Christians on

Scholarly Projects that Laid Groundwork for Renaissance

E. Mamelukan Turks Rule from EgyptF. Ottoman Turks Make Caliphate Synonymous with Sultan of TurkeyG. Attempts to Renew the Caliphate

1. After WWI Caliphate Ceases to Exist2. Hizbul Tahrir Seeks to Restore Caliphate by Peaceful

Persuasion

3. bin Laden Seeks Violent Restoration ofCaliphateVIII. Variations within Islam

A. The Sunnis1. Eighty-five Percent of Muslims are Sunnis (traditionalist)2. Base Belief and Practice on Quran and hadith

(commentaries on the Quran by Muhammad and his early

followers)

3. Analogy and Consensus Used to Arrive at Conclusions toReligious Questions not Explicitly Treated in Quran

4. The Four Schools of Sunni Islama. Hanifites: Follow Teachings of Hanifah (d. 767

C.E.), Found in Western Asia, India, Lower Egyptb. Malikites: Follow Teachings of Malik ibn-Ana (d.

795 C.E.), Found in North and West Africa, Egyptc. Shafiites: Follow al-ShafiI (d 820 C.E.), Found in

Egypt, Syria, India, Malaysia, Indonesia; MostLiberal and Willing to Balance Quran and Culture

d. Hanbalites, Follow Ahmad ibn-Hanbal (d 855 C.E.),Found in Saudi Arabia; Most Conservative


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B. The Shiites1. Movement Begins in Political Dispute Over Succession to

Muhammad, Develops into Theological Dispute

a. Followers of Ali and Son Husaynb. Known as Shia Ali, the Party of Alic. Comprise 10-15 Percent of all Muslims

2. Shiites Believe Imams Divinely Inspired Leaders who Speakon Behalf of Allah

3. Shiites Believe in a Series of Imams after 680 (either sevenor twelve)

a.

Some Imams Did Not Die, but are in Hidingb. Hidden Imams will Return to Earth4. Shiites Believe in Existence of a Mahdi, a Messiah-like

Figure who Will Appear One Day to Establish Era of Justice

5. Shiites Prize Martyrdom6. Shiites Believe Sunnis Misinterpret the Quran

a. Failure to Mention Ali as Muhammads DesignatedCaliph Suggests Sunnis Tampered with Text

b. The Quran Has Hidden Meaning that Can Only beUnderstood through Allegorical Interpretations

7. Based in Persia / Irana. Established Religion of Persia in 1502 C.E.b. Majority of Iraq is Shiitec. Significant Minorities in Saudi Arabia, India,

Pakistan, Yemen, East Africa

C. The Mystical Element and the Sufis1. Asceticism a Marginal Element in Mainstream Islam, but

Important to Some Sects


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2. The Sufisa. Name Sufi fromsufi, woolen: Coarse Wool Garment

Worn by Early Muslim Mystics as Symbol of Poverty

and Rejection of Worldly Pleasures

b.

Reformers who Teach that as Tradition Developed itBecame More Worldly and Less Spiritualc. Probably Origins in Ninth Century C.E. Protest Against

Ostentatious Abbasid Rulersd. Mansur al-Hallaj: Early Mystic Experiences Oneness

with God, Proclaims I am the Truth, Executed asHeretic in 922 C.E.

e. Spiritual Reform Movement Moves Underground,Develops the Emotional-Mystical Aspects of Islam

f. Appealed to the Common Peopleg. Abu-Hamid al-Ghazzali Seeks to Unite Legalistic and

Mystical Schools of Islam(1)Eventually Gives Up on Orthodoxy, AbandonsFamily and Lives as a Wandering Beggar

(2)Writes Sufi Classics The Revivification of theReligious Sciences, The Folly of thePhilosophers,Niche of the Lights

(3)Maintained Importance of Ritual and Held thatEven Advanced Sufis Bound by Ritual Duties

h. Sufis Begin to Organize in Twelfth Century intoFraternities Centered on Sufi Saints

IX. Islam in the Modern WorldA. Islams Inherently Conservative Nature Prevented it from Developing

Along Lines of the Modern, Technological Secular West

1. Emphasis on Fullness of Truth in the Quran DiscouragedScience and Exploration

2. Suspicion of Changes Originating Outside Islam3. Sense of Superiority and Self-Satisfaction Relative to Europe

Bred Complacency

4. Development of Ultra-Conservative Groups that Resist Anyand All Change in Islam

a. Muhammad ibn-Abd al-Wahhab and the WahhabiMovement Associated with the House of Saud inNineteenth and Twentieth Century Saudi Arabia


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b. Anti-Sufi, Puritanicalc. Well Funded by Petrodollars, Wahhabi Sect Has

Established Bases in Most Muslim Countries

B. The End of Islams Isolation1. Napoleons Invasion of Egypt in Nineteenth Century2. Ottoman Empire Fights in WWI on Side of Austria-

Germany, Suffers Conquest by Western Powers

a. Maps of Modern Arab States Drawn After WWIb. Influence of West on Arab States

3. The Rise of the Oil IndustryC.

Contemporary Resurgence of Interest in Islam

1. Reform Movements within Islam Practicing ModernScientific Study of the Quran

2. Reform Movements with Islam Seeking to Reconcile Islamto Science and Democratic Pluralistic Society

3. Rise of Islamic Feminism4. Missionary Movements in Southern Africa

X. Muslim Calendar and Holy DaysA. The Muslim Calendar

1. Twelve Lunar Months of Twenty-nine or Thirty Daysa. Total 354 Days Per Yearb. 103 Muslim Years Equal 100 Solar Years

2. Calendar Dates Beginning from theHijrah (date ofMuhammads death is not 632 C.E., but 10 A.H.)

B. Feast of the Fast-Breaking (Id al-Fitr)1. First Day of Shawwal, the Month After Ramadan2. Time of Feasting, Visiting Family, Exchanging Gifts Sending

Cards


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C. Feast of Sacrifice (Id al-Adha)1. Held on Tenth of dhul-Hijah, the Month of Pilgrimage2.

Commemorates Time when Abraham Commanded by God toSacrifice His Son Ishmael

D.New Year1. Month of Muharram, Believed to be Month ofHijrah2. The Tenth Commemorates Battle of Karbala for Shiite3. The Tenth a Day of Fasting for Sunnis

E.

Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Mawlid an-Nabi)

1. The Twelfth Day of the Third Month2. Recitations of Prophets Biography and Prayers for Him

XI.Islam TodayA. Islam Growing Around the World

1. Western European Muslim Population Increasing Due toImmigration

2. American Muslim Population Increasing Due to Immigrationand Conversion, Now Second Most Popular Religion in U.S.

B. The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism1. Backlash Against Presence of Western Culture and Values in

Islamic Societies

2. Secularism Demonized as Source of Moral, Political Decay3. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 Galvanizes Fundamentalists

Seeking to Openly Combat Western Secularism

4. The Saudi Arabian Model: Islamic Fundamentalism PubliclyCooperating with Secular West but Quietly Undermining it

C. The Islamic Backlash Against Fundamentalism


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Key Names, Concepts, and Terms

Muhammad surah, ayas Hidden ImamsGabriel Jinn Husayn

Allah Iblis Sufi

Sayd Mosque Mansur al-HallajQuran madrashas Abu-Hamid al-Ghazzali Hadith Imam fakir and dervish

TheHijrah The Five Pillars Umayyad CaliphsYathrib / Medina Ramadan Abbasid Caliphs

Mecca Hajj Mamelukan TurksBattle of Badr jihad Ottoman Turks

Ali Sunni Wahhabicaliphate Shiite Fundamentalism

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