The Rise of Islam

600-1200 CE

Middle East, ca. 600 A.D.

Pre Islamic Arabia

Caravan Culture

Tribal organization

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Violent, warrior states based on vendetta culture

ghazu (raids) on caravans

Patriarchal: women veiled & segregated, no property, female infanticide, child marriage

Cultural influences on Islam Persia

– Administration and governance– literature

India– Mathematics, science, medicine

• “Hindi” numbers Greece

– Philosophy, esp. Aristotle– Greek medicine

Rome and Byzantium– Architecture

Islamic Art and Architecture

Found all over the world

Influenced from other classical traditions

Expression of divine presence

Both secular and religious

Major practices: – Metalwork– Pottery– Painting– Calligraphy– rugs

Origins of Islam

Arabian Peninsula Before Muhammad

Beginning of His Ministry

Muhammad in Mecca The Hijra Umma: community of

believers

The Quran Record of revelations

received during visions

Committed to writing c. 650 CE, compiled (Muhammad dies 632)– Under the third Caliph,

Uthman ibn Affan Tradition of

Muhammad’s life: hadith

Five Pillars

Confession of faith Prayer 5 times a day Charity to the needy Fasting during themonth-long Ramadan Pilgrimage to Meccaat least once duringone’s lifetime

The Ka’aba in Mecca

Early Problems Succession

– Mohammed had no surviving male children

generated a permanent split in the Islamic community– Sunnis– Shi’as

Who will be Mohammed’s successor? The Caliph debateAbu Bakr

Muhammad's father-inlaw and close

friend

Ali

Mohammed’s cousin andson-in-law

Supported by Sunni Muslims

Supported by Shi’a Muslims

The “schism” or divide happened during the First Islamic Civil War 656–661 CE

Abu Bakr

not particularly popular with the Muslim community

Ruled 632-634 allowed raid, then

invasions of Byzantine and Persian territory

subjugated any dissident elements or tribes

disposed of any “new prophets”

Ali

Was cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet

Ruled 656-661 Assassinated 661 Umayyad leader

Mu’awiya declates self caliph

Sunnis vs. Shia

considered themselves the “orthodox” followers of Mohammed

“Sunni” : from an Arabic word – “usage” or “custom”– implies: “precedent”

consider the Shi’as to be “dissenters”

went successively to followers -Abu Bakr, then Oman, then

Uthman Sunni: conservative, in favor of the

“status quo”– consensus is the guiding

principle

Disagreements over selection of caliphs

Ali passed over for Abu Bakr Served as caliph 656-661 CE, then

assassinated along with most of his followers

Remaining followers organize separate party called “Shia”

accepted Ali Shi’as: defenders of the oppressed,

critics of privilege and power obedience is required only as long

as it can be forced, and no longer

Umayyeds

successful in the war Ali assassinated in 661 A.D.

– by the Kharijites beginning of the Umayyed

dynasty Atlantic Ocean to India Syria: center of the Islamic

World eventually displaced by the

Abbasids– an Arab family claiming

decent from Mohammed

Dome of the Rock,

Temple Mount Jerusalem

The Courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus

Success = strain success introduced luxury and

change– From original caliphs to the

Umayyad caliphs new ideas and new ethnic

groups– with their own customs and

heritage, to try to assimilate rise of a sort of “revivalist

element”– Islam had strayed from its

original path and purity– Muslims were being led

back to paganism– caliphs were becoming idle,

corrupt, tyrantsPhoto on right: Ummayad Mosque in Damascus

Policy toward Conquered Peoples Favoritism of Arab

military rulers causes discontent

Limited social mobility for non-Arab Muslims

Head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims

Umayyad luxurious living causes further decline in moral authority

The Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 CE) Abu al-Abbas Sunni Arab,

allied with Shia, non-Arab Muslims

Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia

Defeats Umayyad army in 750– Invited Umayyads to

banquet, then massacred them

– Only Spain remains Umayyad

– North Africa is disputed territory, ultimately Fatamid

Mosque of Abu Abbas al-Mursi in Alexandria

Nature of the Abbasid Dynasty

Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not exclusively Arab)

Militarily competent, but not bent on imperial expansion

Dar al-Islam Growth through military

activity of autonomous Islamic forces

Victories

Syria: 635 A.D. Palestine: 636 A.D. Persia: captured in one battle

– expansion into India– expansion to the borders of China

Egypt: help by local Christians North Africa: the Berbers Spain 711-720 A.D. Battle of Tours: October 732 A.D.

– Charles Martel Siege of Constantinople: 717-718 A.D.

– Leo III– Greek fire

beginnings of Christian re-conquest of former Roman/Christian territory

Abbasid Decline

Civil war between sons of Harun al-Rashid

Provincial governors assert regional independence

Dissenting sects, heretical movements

Abbasid caliphs become puppets of Persian nobility

Later, Saljuq Turks influence, Sultan real power behind the throne

Crusades

Imperial Breakdown

Problems with rural population

Declining position of women

Nomadic Incursion Impact of Christian

Crusades

Reasons for Islam’s success

exhaustion of Rome and Persia– End of a 400 year war

nationalist sentiments in Egypt and Syria arguments among Christian factions speed and size of Muslim armies simplicity and uncomplicated nature of Islam acceptance of the Old and New Testament

– People of the Book

Consequences of Islamic Expansion loss of the oldest and most central lands of

Christendom aided the ascendancy of the bishop of Rome virtual collapse of Zoroastrianism as a major religion radically altered the balance of power between the

Roman Empire and the East disruption of the Mediterranean economic community

Islamic Civilization Law and Dogma

– Shari’a: Codification of Islamic law

– Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools of analysis

– Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of human activity

– This is the basis the idea of an “Islamic republic” for instance

Converts and Cities Persian Literature Scientific Achievements

A depiction of a Medieval Islamic astronomer. Thought by some to represent Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi.

Islam, Women, and Slaves

Qu’ran improves status of women– Outlawed female infanticide– Brides, not husbands, claim dowries– Rights under Islamic law

Yet male dominance preserved– Patrilineal descent– Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden– Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice

Slavery

Re-centering of Islam

No religious center Madrasses Sufi brotherhoods

– Asceticism, mysticism– Some tension with

orthodox Islamic theologians

– Wide popularity

Nomadic Invasion

Mongols Mameluk halt

Islam in India

Challenge to Hinduism

Political Divisions and first wave of Muslim invasions

Indian Influences on Islam

Second wave of Muslim invasions

Delhi Sultanate (1211-1526) 1211 Muslim general

who conquers India declares self separate Sultanate

1236 control almost entire subcontinent

Power based on military organization

Public works and social welfare secondary

Ushered in a period of cultural renaissance.

Islam in India

Patterns of Conversion

Patterns of Accommodation

Islamic Challenge and Hindu Revival

End of the SultanateMira Bai, one of the Hindu song writers of the bhaktic movement

Spread of Islam to SE Asia

Trading Contacts and Conversion

Sufi Mystics and the Nature of SE Asian Islam