Slide 1

IslamA Misunderstood ReligionIslam in the United StatesBy the year 2000, there were over 1200 mosques in the United StatesAbout 8million Muslims in the United States-25% of which are African AmericanThere are over 1.2billion Muslims in the world today(most of which live in Asia)The Birth of a New ReligionArabian Peninsula Home to polytheistic nomads-Bedouins Independent tribes and clansArabia-important center of trade-Kaaba religious shrine-By 600ce Monotheism spread Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism-Allah is associated with YawehQuraysh Tribe Controlled trade and taxed pilgrims

The ProphetMuhammad was the prophet (messenger)-was an orphan-was a prosperous merchant-took withdrawal into the desert and wrote down gods words which is the Quran/KoranIf you read the Quran in Arabic it is the message of god 4New TeachingsMuhammad is the seal of the prophetsReturn to old pure religion of AbrahamSubmission to AllahMuslim = One Who SubmitsNeed to create a community of social justice, equality and care for othersCommunity = umma

Mosque

5 Pillars of Islam1. The is no other god but Allah2. Pray 5 times a day at prescribed times3. Give charity to the community4. Fast during the month of Ramadan5. Take a hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)Kaaba

Islamic TeachingsJihad = struggleJihad of the Sword = armed struggle against unbelief and evil. (justification for terrorism?)The interpretation of jihad of the sword has varied widely over time.Arabian Peninsula TransformedIn 622 Muhammad took the hijra to MedinaCreated the umma (community) in MedinaBroke definitively from JudaismExpansion-military successes led to alliances-large scale conversion-Muhammad dies in 632ce and all of Arabia is consolidated under IslamFundamental Differences Between Islam and ChristianityIslam did not grow up as a persecuted minority religionNo separation of church and state-Muhammad was political, religious, military leaderSharia Religious Law Same as the law of the land

An Arab EmpireThe Arab state grew to include all or part of Egyptian, Roman/Byzantine, Persian, Mesopotamian, and Indian civilizations.Expansion-defeated Sassanid Empire in the 650s, took half of Byzantium-in early 700s, conquered most of Spain, attacked France-in 751, Arabs crushed a Chinese army at the Battle of Talas River

Ottoman Empire

Reasons for Expansioneconomic: capture trade routes and agricultural regionscommunal: conquest helped hold the umma togetherreligious: bring righteous government to the conquered-did not impose Islam-in early period, Arabs thought Islam was their religion-by mid-eighth century began seeking converts-still protected people of the BookChristians, Jews, Zoroastrians (dhimmis)-non-Muslims paid special tax (the jizya) but could practice their own religion

Conversion to IslamInitial conversion was social, not deeply religiousBenefits of Conversion-earliest converts included slaves and prisoners of war-converts didnt have to pay the jizya-Islam favored commerce-good to be friends of Allah (since it was a powerful empire)around 80 percent of the population of Persia converted between 750 and 900

Divisions in the Islamic WorldProblem Who should be Muhammads successor?-sunni leaders elected by the community-shia leaders should be blood relatives of MuhammadSunnis: religious authority comes from the community,especially from religious scholars (ulama)Shias: imams have religious authority

Calligraphy in Arabic

Umayyad and Abbasid DynastiesUmmayad Dynasty-caliphs became hereditary rulers-decadent rulers and unequal treatment of non-arabs created unrestAbbasid Dynasty-overthrew the Ummayad in 750ce-treated non-Muslims much better-caliphs became sultans of independent states Ummayad Dynasty

Abbasid ContinuedLast Abbasid caliph assassinated when Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258Islamic culture continued to flourish and expand

SufisMystics seeking direct connection with the divineRenounced the material worldCritical of Sharia and the QuranMembers of the ulama thought the Sufis were heretics

Gender RolesSpiritually - Quran states that men and women are equalSocially -women are subordinate to menWomens Rights-own property, inherit wealth, consent to marriageEarly Islam women had many more rightsModern Islam cant attend mosques, must be veiled-restrictions were put on women during the Abbasid DynastyThe Case of IndiaInvaders brought Islam to IndiaMuslim communities in India-Buddhists and low caste Hindus found Islam attractive (equality)-converted to pay lower taxes-at height 20%-25% were MuslimMuslim/Hindu Divide-Monotheism / Polytheism Divide-equality of all members / caste system-sexual modesty / open eroticism Hindu/Muslim IneractionsMany Hindus served Muslim rulersSikhism developed in early sixteenth century; syncretic religion with elements of both Islam and HinduismMuslims remained as a distinctive minorityThe Case of Anatolia (Turkey)Turks invaded Anatolia about the same time as India-major destruction at early stages in both places-Sufi missionaries were important in both places-but in Anatolia by 1500, 90 percent of the population was Muslim, and most spoke Turkish

The Case of West AfricaIslam came peacefully with traders, not by conquest-provided links to Muslim trading partners-provided literate officials and religious legitimacy to stateWest African cities became Islamic centers-Timbuktu had over 150 Quranic schools-libraries had tens of thousands of books-Arabic became a language of religion, education, administration, traderulers made little effort to impose Islam or rule by Islamic law

Mansa Musahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_I_of_MaliIslam in Africa

The Case of SpainIslam did not overwhelm Christianity therehigh degree of interaction between Muslims, Christians, and Jewsreligious toleration started breaking down by late tenth centuryincreasing war with Christian states of northern Spainmany Muslims were forced out of Christian-conquered regions or kept from public practice of their faith(Inquisition is brought back: Spanish Inquisition)Islam as a New Civilization Islamic civilization was held together by Islamic practices and beliefs-beliefs/practices transmitted by the ulama, who served as judges, interpreters, etc.-starting in eleventh century: formal colleges (madrassas) taught religion, law, and sometimes secular subjects-system of education with common texts, sharing of scholarship throughout Islamic worldMuslim Borrowing

Astrolabe borrowed from the Greeks

The number zero was borrowed from India allowing for more complex math and astronomy.Networks of ExchangeIslamic world was an immense arena for exchange of goods, technology, and ideas-great central location for trade-Islamic teaching valued commerce-urbanization spurred commerceMuslim merchants were prominent on all the major Afro-Eurasian trade routes-aided by banking, partnerships, business contracts, credit instruments

32Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo

Networks of ExchangeExchange of agricultural products and practices between regions-Muslim conquest of northwestern India introduced rice, sugarcane, sorghum, hard wheat, cotton, and many fruits and vegetables to Middle EastDiffusion of technology-spread ancient Persian water-drilling techniques-improvement of Chinese rockets-adoption of papermaking techniques from China in the eighth century34Exchange of IdeasPersian bureaucratic practice, court ritual, poetryAncient Greek, Hellenistic, and Indian textsDevelopments in mathematics, astronomy, optics, medicine, pharmacology