The Muslim World

Origin of Islam

• Islam began in the city of Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula

• Mecca was an important city for trade

Muhammad• Muhammad was a Meccan merchant

• He married a wealthy woman named Khadija

• At the age of 40, Muhammad was given a revelation by the Archangel Gabriel

• Muhammad taught that Allah was the one and only god and that all other gods should be abandoned

The Hijra• Muhammad’s teachings were very

controversial in the city of Mecca because it rivaled the traditional gods of Mecca that brought in money from pilgrims

• He and several of his followers fled north to Medina (Yathrib) in order to have asylum

Five Pillars1. Faith – Allah is the one, true god2. Prayer – Five times daily, facing Mecca3. Alms, All Muslims give money to help out

those unfortunate in the community (poor, orphans, injured, etc…)

4. Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan

5. Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca

After Muhammad

• Muhammad died in 632.

– He named no successor or instructions on how to pick his successor.

• Abu Bakr was elected as the first caliph.

– Caliph means “successor”.

– To save the Islamic Faith, he invoked the jihad.

Growth of Islam• Caliph means ‘deputy’ (leader)

• First four Caliphs carried out the Religious and Political leadership of Muhammad (Rightly Guided Caliphs)

• These Caliphs helped to spread the Islamic faith and rapidly create a powerful Empire

Umayyad Rule• 656 – Uthman was murdered. This started a civil war.• Ali – the 4th Rightly Guided Caliph – was the natural

choice as a successor to Uthman.– Ali was Muhammad’s cousin & son-in-law.

• Muawiya, a governor from Syria, challenged Ali’s right to rule.

• 661 – Ali was assassinated.• The Umayyads took control.• Moved capital from Mecca to Damascus.• Eventually neglected duties as ruler and focused on a

life of luxury.

Umayyad Rule

• After the Fourth Caliph was assassinated, the Caliph structure crumbled and a powerful Arabian family overtook the positions of leadership within Islam

• They were called the Umayyad and they caused a rift in the Islamic faithful

Sunni-Shi’a split

• Shi’a split from the majority of Muslims because they believe that Ali (fourth caliph) was the proper ruler because he was Muhammad’s descendant and that only his ancestors could rule as Caliph

• Sunni, the majority of Muslims, believed that one need only be a devout Muslim to lead

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BASIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUNNI & SHI’A MUSLIMS

Abbasid Rule

• Moved the capital to Baghdad in 762

• Peak of power

• The Abbasids, and Islam, was the center of all of the major trade routes in the world at that time (Silk Road, Indian Ocean trade route, and Trans-Saharan)

Muslim Culture

• Four basic social classes– Muslims by birth– Converts to Islam– “Protected peoples” Jews, Christians and

Zoroastrians– Slaves

Muslim Culture

• Muslim women enjoyed more economic and property rights than Chinese, European, and Indian women

• Women had access to education as well

• However, women still were not completely free and still had to live within a society that expected them to submit to men

Vital Vocabulary

• Mosque• Umma• Ulama• Al-Andalus• Fatimid• Qur’an• Sharia• Arabic Calligraphy

• Mecca• Yathrib• Damascus• Baghdad• Umayyad• Caliph• Abbasid• Sunni• Shia