Islam (Intro Video)

SOL WHI. 8

Muhammad

• Born around 570 CE in a town called Mecca.

• Considered to be the greatest PROPHET of Allah (God) by Muslims.– Prophet = inspired teacher of the will of god

• Founder of the Muslim religion of Islam.– Islam means submission – submission to Allah

(God).

Pictures of Muhammad and Allah

God is supposed to be the focus, not Muhammad or Jesus or anyone else.

Muhammad

• Once Muhammad began preaching about Islam, people began feeling threatened and ran Muhammad out of Mecca.

• In 622, he fled to Medina. – This is known as the hijra.

• first year of the Muslim calendar.

• In 630, Muhammad led the people of Medina into Mecca.

• Conquer Mecca and brought Islam to Mecca.

• Muhammad would die in 632 after a brief illness.

Historical Turning Points

• Slavery was not based on race.

• Muslim conquest of Jerusalem and Damascus. – Trading centers before rise of Islam.

• Islamic capital moved to Baghdad.– Capital moved several times, Medina to Damascus.

• Muslim defeat at the Battle of Tours.

Historical Turning Points

• Fall of Baghdad to the Mongols.

– Ferocious assault on the city in 1258. They burned buildings and slaughtered 50,000 inhabitants, including a caliph.

– Caliph: Islamic ruler, political successor of Muhammad.

Historical Turning Points

• Death of Ali

– He was elected the fourth caliph in 656 CE. He was fatally stabbed by a disillusioned follower. Murder led to a permanent schism in the Islamic world.

– Schism: split in the Church

• Sunni/Shiite divisionhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAzQwwS-mCY

Divisions in Islam

• There are two main sects of Islam.

• This division began not long after the death of Muhammad.

1) Sunni

• Believe the caliph (leader) should be chosen by the Muslim community.

2) Shiite

• Believe the caliph should be a direct descendant of Muhammad.

Islam the Religion

• Islam is a monotheistic religion like Christianity and Judaism.

• The Qur’an or Koran, is the sacred text of the Islam faith (comparable to the bible).

• Muslims believe Judeo-Christian prophets such as Moses and Jesus, but believe Muhammad is the greatest prophet.

• Also, believe in the five pillars of Islam.

Five Pillars of Islam Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7pBGqMvN0o

• All Muslims believe in the Five Pillars of Faith and hold them as sacred.1. One God

2. Daily Prayer

3. Alms (Charity) for the poor

4. Fasting

5. Hajj (religious journey)

Five Pillars of Faith

One God

• Muslims believe that there is one God whose name is “Allah”.– Arabic word for God.

Daily Prayer• Muslims believe they must pray at least 5 times a

day.– Before sunrise, after sunrise, at noon, before sundown,

and after sunset.

• Face the city of Mecca (Kaaba) when they pray• Pray in a mosque

– Mosque = Muslim place of worship

Black Stone of Kaaba

Alms (Charity) to the Poor

• Muslims believe in giving back to the poor and helping those who are less fortunate.– Other religions share similar views for charity

to poor.

Fasting• Muslims fast from sunrise till sunset during the holy

month of Ramadan.• Ramadan is the holy season for Muslims, a time of

cleansing of the soul and sacrifice.– 9th month of Islamic calendar– Exception: ill, traveling, pregnant, breastfeeding, diabetic or

going through menstrual bleeding– Refrain from consuming food, drinking liquids, smoking, and

engaging in sexual relations

Hajj

• Every Muslim must take a Hajj during their lifetime.

• A Hajj is a religious journey back to the holy land of Mecca.– Muslims worship at the mosque in Mecca.– Thousands of Muslims complete the Hajj each

year.

Five Pillars of Islam Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7pBGqMvN0o

Jihad (video)

• Many Muslims look at jihad, or effort in God’s service, as another duty. It means a “struggle within or struggle to introduce Islam to others”.

• Jihad is often translated as “holy war” because of conquests that were made with military force.

Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors.

Qur'an 2:190

Those who readily fight in the cause of God are those who forsake this world in favor of the Hereafter. Whoever fights in the cause of God, then gets killed, or attains victory, we will surely grant him a great recompense.

Qur'an 4:74

• Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path.

• You must not mutilate dead bodies.

• Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man.

• Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful.

• Slay not any of the enemy's flock, save for your food.

• You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone

Abu Bakr

Spread of Islam

• By 632, Islam began spreading across the Arabian Peninsula.

• Following the death of Muhammad, the Muslim people turned to the first caliph (successor of Muhammad), Abu Bakr.

• Islamic armies under Bakr carried Islam across the Byzantine and Persian Empires.

Spread of Islam

• Islam spread into the Fertile Crescent, Iran, and Central Asia, facilitated by weak Byzantine and Persian empires.

• Brought Islam into Syria, Iraq, Persia, Egypt, and Palestine by conquering these lands.

• Expanded despite great distances, desert environments, and mountain barriers.

Arabian Peninsula

Spread of Islam

Spread of Islam

• Islam continued to spread across Northern Africa.

• By the early 700’s, Muslims were nearing Europe.

• 711 - Muslims crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain and pushed north into France.

Straight of Gibraltar

Spread of Islam (Video)

• 732 - The Muslims were defeated at the Battle of Tours by Christians.– Christian Armies were led by Charles Martel.– Stopped the spread of Islam into Western Europe, but

Islam still remained strong in France.

Islamic Achievements (video)1) Language

• Arabic alphabet– Language that all Muslims speak– Became the unifying language of the Middle East.

• Qur’an was written in Arabic

• Helped to facilitate (make) trade across Islamic lands.

• Translated ancient texts in Arabic.

Why did a unified (unite/bring together) language help facilitate trade across the Islamic Lands?

Arabic

Islamic Achievements

2) Mathematics

• Muslims adopted the Indian system of numbers which utilized the concept of zero.– Arabic Numerals

• Invented Algebra.

• Used math to build Mosques, survey land, design pumps, and foundations.

Islamic Achievements

3) Science

• Chemist al-Razi identified diseases and created a medical encyclopedia.

• Physician, Ibn Sina, described bodily functions and diagnosed treatments for diseases.

Islamic Achievements

4) Literature• Qur’an, first and greatest Islamic work, is still the

sacred text of Islam.• “Arabian Nights” – collection of folk tales

– “One Thousand and One Nights” – another name

• Islamic civilization will also believe in the importance of knowledge and construct universities.

WISH – “One thousand and One Nights”

Islamic Achievements

5) Art and Architecture

• Calligraphy - elegant handwriting.

• Since the Qur’an banned representation of living creatures– calligraphy was used for decoration.

• Continued to create mosaics.

Architecture Continued

• Mosques - Adopted the domes and arches of the Byzantine architecture.– Holy churches of Islam.– Face Mecca – the holy city of Islam.

• Perhaps the greatest Islamic building is the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock

Mosques

Mosques