Islam

Islam to 1300 a.d.

OBJECTIVES



1.  Be able to trace the career of Mohammed, beginning with the

revelation on Mt.  Hira in 610 a.d.



2.  Be able to trace the origin and evolution of Islam from the

career of Mohammed through the Caliphates.



3.  Be able to explain and discuss the main tenets of the Islamic

faith.  



4.  Be able to define the following vocabulary terms in the outline

and film guide and to discuss their historical significance:





FOOD FOR THOUGHT



Why was Mohammad so controversial for the Jews?  Why did he not

succeed in converting them?



Are there any positive aspects of the concept of jihad?



What might Europe have been like today if not for the defeat of the

muslims at Poitiers in 732 a.d.?





     Over 50% of the world's population is muslim.  Islam was

founded by the prophet Mohammad, who believed himself to be the

last and greatest in a chain of prophets going back to Abraham. 

Historians have often been baffled as to the reason for the great

success of Islam, for it contains nothing not spoken of in the

Judeo-Christian tradition.  Perhaps it was the combination of

Mohammad's military genius with his religious charisma which

inflamed the Arabs in the sixth and seventh century a.d., but at

any rate, many historians would place him within the top ten most

influential historical figures.  Many consider him the single most

influential figure to ever have lived.  Given the extreme level of

tension in the mid-east today, an understanding of muslim tradition

in essential if the world is to progress beyond violence to

peaceful coexistence.



From the Qur'an:



     Turn, therefore, thy face towards the Holy Temple of Mecca;

     and wherever ye be, turn your faces towards that place.



     Your God is one God; there is no God but He, the most

     merciful.



     Fight for the religion of God.



     O unbelievers, I will not worship that which ye worship; nor

     will ye worship that which I worship .... Ye have your

     religion, and I my religion.



     

                          OUTLINE



I.  The life and career of Mohammad (570-632 a.d.) 



     A.  His birth in Mecca:

          stories and legends

     B.  his marriage and life until age 40

          life in Mecca in the sixth century

     C.  His conversion:  

          i.  Mt.  Hira 610 a.d.                  

          ii.  The Archangel Gabriel

          iii.  The Qur'an (Koran): (recitation)

          iv.  The Five Pillars of the Islam:     

               a.  There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is his

                                        messenger.

               b.  prayer five times per day facing Mecca

               c.  fasting -- one month (Ramadan) per year,

                    commemorating Mohammad's sojourn on Mt.  Hira

               d.  almsgiving

               e.  the hajj -- pilgrimage to Mecca

               

          v.  Islam -- to submit

               muslim -- one who submits

               complete monotheism

               prohibition against idol worship

     D.  His flight from Mecca in 622 a.d. 

          i.  Medina -- city of the prophet

          ii.  The Hegira -- 622 A.D. to Medina:

               first year of the Islamic calendar.

          iii.  the gathering of the forces

          iv.  conflict with the Jews

               common ground of muslims and Jews  

               Arab origins



     E.  Return to Mecca in 630 a.d.

          i.  reconquest of the Ka'ba:

          where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Ishmael

     F.  His death in 632 a.d.

     G.  ascent into heaven:

          The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem 



II.  After Mohammad

     A.  The Umma -- community of the faithful followers of

               Mohammad and the Five Pillars

          The Abode of Submission (Dar al-Islam)

     B.  The Caliphs -- successors

          word origins:

               imam (leader)

               amir (commander)

          i.  the Umayyads; 661-750 a.d.; Damascus

          ii.  The Abbasids:  Abbas=uncle; 750 a.d.

                Baghdad

          iii.  The Fatimids:

               North Africa

          iv.  Spanish Umayyads

               Cordoba

     C.  Dissent in the Umma:

          i.  the Shi'ites (partisans of Ali)

               Mohammad's son-in-law and cousin Ali

               the murder of Ali and his son Husein

               Shi'ite beliefs:

                    definition of muslim

                    the mahdi and the lost successor 

                    

          ii.  Sunnis (followers of tradition)

               Sunni beliefs

     

     D.  the jihad during Mohammad's lifetime and after

          definition of juhad

          evolution of the term



III.  The Spread of Islam

     A.  The Conquest of Damscus and Jerusalem

     B.  Defeat at Tours (Poitiers) 732 a.d.

     C.  India 

          i.  the Guptas

          ii.  the decline of Buddhism

          iii.  the coming of Islam

          iv.  culture 

     D.  Africa: see next outline