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Rise of Islam

(Another Sibling Heir of the Roman Empire)

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What do Muslims believe?

With a partner:

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  • Share 1-3 things that you know Muslims do/believe
  • Share 1 thing that you have heard Muslims believe that you know or think may NOT be true

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Misconceptions

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Essential Questions

  • What is Islam and what do Muslims believe?

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2. How did Islam begin and then spread so quickly and widely during the Middle Ages?

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Three Heirs of the Roman Empire

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1. Byzantine Empire

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2. Western Europe

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3. Islamic Empire

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Islam Introduction

“Islam” definition:

“peaceful submission to the Will of Allah”

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“Muslim” definition:

“one who submits peacefully to the Will of Allah”

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Over one billion Muslims live in the world today

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Islam: Empire of Faith

Part I

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Muhammad

  • Recognized as founder and prophet of Islam
  • Perfect, but not divine
  • Born in Early Middle Ages (570 CE) in modern day Mecca, Saudi Arabia

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  • Majority of Arabs were Bedouins

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Mecca

Important for two major reasons

1. Trade center - stop on way to Constantinople

2. Religious center - Ka’bah (cube) with 100s of idols

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Arabia Before Muhammad - Bedouins

  • Nomadic - lived in tents woven of camel/goat hair
  • Not united - raided and fought over pastures and springs
  • Valued camels, swords, music, poetry
  • Polytheistic
  • Spoke Arabic

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Muhammad’s Life

  • Loses both parents at a young age
  • Marries (595 CE) wealthy business woman - Khadija
  • Was successful businessman
  • Would pray in cave at Mount Hira outside of Mecca
  • 40 years old when he experiences revelation (610 CE)

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Muhammad continued

  • Angel Gabriel tells him to “recite”

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  • Muhammad’s revelations were later compiled and written down in Arabic to form the Qur’an

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  • Muhammad had only a small number of followers in Mecca in first few years after he became a prophet

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Muhammad’s Early Teachings

1. Allah is the one and only God and all should submit to him thankfully

2. All believers in Allah are equal under him

3. Rich should share with poor

4. Allah knows your destiny, but strive to live righteously

5. There will be a judgement day

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Hijra or Hegira

  • Muhammad is persecuted
  • 622 CE (Hijra - migration) Muhammad and followers flee from Mecca to Medina
  • Hijra - this marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar (A.H.)

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Where?

Mecca and Medina

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Yathrib becomes Medina

  • Muhammad was welcomed in Medina by all initially
  • Most Arab Christians and Jews did not become Muslims in Muhammad’s lifetime
  • However, Muhammad’s followers grow in number while he is in Medina
  • “People of the book” - Christians and Jews

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Muhammad in Medina

  • Muhammad establishes himself as leader in Medina

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  • Islam spreads as Muhammad successfully fights off forces from Mecca

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Muhammad returns to Mecca

  • 630 CE - Muhammad leads large army back to Mecca and controls the city
  • Rededicates Ka’bah to the one true God
  • Ka’bah becomes the new religious center for all Muslim
  • 632 CE- Hajj - great pilgrimage to Mecca

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Ka’bah

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Qur’an and the Hadith

Qur’an - revelations received by Muhammad from Gabriel and written down by followers in Arabic

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Hadith - recorded sayings or actions of Muhammad

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5 Pillars of Islam

1. shahada - profession of faith

2. salat - prayer five times each day

3. zakat - giving to the poor/charity

4. sawm - fasting during Ramadan

5. hajj - pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime

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Islam after Muhammad

  • 632 CE - Muhammad dies - two years after his return to Mecca, ten since the Hijra

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  • Caliphate is established (no more prophets)
  • Islam begins to spread quickly from Arabia

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Essential Question -

What factors caused Islam to spread so quickly and successfully after Muhammad’s death?

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Islamic invaders conquer...

  • Persian Empire

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  • Visigothic Spain

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  • Parts of the Byzantine Empire

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Essential Question - What factors caused Islam to spread so quickly and successfully after Muhammad’s death?

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  • Timing/luck - Rival empires (Byzantium and Persia) were in a weakened state after plague and fighting each other
  • Military leadership
  • Did NOT have greater numbers or technology, but they possessed

brave soldiers and effective leaders

  • Skilled fighters - and skilled at living and fighting in desert terrain (difficult to pursue and fight in the desert - no large towns to conquer)

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Essential Question - What factors caused Islam to spread so quickly and successfully after Muhammad’s death?

3. Religious motivation/confidence/unification -

  • Believed they were a chosen people with Allah’s support
  • Reward of paradise for individuals - jihad (struggle)
  • Instead of fighting each other, tribes united and fought others

4. . $ Offered financial incentives for conquerors

Loot - 80% of it went to soldiers, ⅕ to the Caliph

5. Ruled areas fairly,not harshly like some former rulers

(taxed “People of the Book”)

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First Caliphs (Successors)

1. Abu Bakr (father-in-law)

2. Umar (assassinated 644 CE)

3. Uthman (assassinated 656 CE)

4. Ali (Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law)

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5. Mu’awiyah (founder of Umayyad Caliphate)

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Islam Divides

  • Dispute between the followers of Ali and Mu’awiyah leads to Sunni - Shi’a split

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  • Shi’a (Party of Ali) - believe that Ali should have been Muhammad’s successor (first 3 caliphs were illegitimate

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Sunni-Shia Split

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Sunni and Shiite Muslims

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Sunni - Shiite Split

  • Ali is assassinated by a Kharijite
  • Muawiya established family dynasty of caliphs (Umayya family - Umayyad Caliphate and Empire)
  • Ali’s second son (Muhammad’s grandson) Husayn is killed by Umayyad soldiers and becomes an important Shiite martyr
  • Shiites later support the Abbasids when they lead a rebellion and topple the Umayyad dynasty
  • Abbasid Empire - a “Golden Age” for Islam

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Major Differences Between Shiism and Sunnism

Shiism

Sunnism

Successors

to Muhammad

Muhammad designated Ali and his descendants as the prophet’s rightful successors to lead the Muslim community.

The first three caliphs were illegitimate tyrants.

The rightful successors to Muhammad are the most qualified leaders as chosen by the Muslim community.

The first three caliphs were legitimate and “right guided.”

Immanate

Ali was the divinely inspired First Imam chosen by Muhammad. Up to 12 Imams who were descended from Ali came after him. The Imams were saintly figures who taught right behavior after the time of Muhammad.

Sunnis do not recognize the Imamate of the Shiites, but still revere Ali. Sunnism attempts to include as many different Islamic practices and beliefs as possible to achieve a “harmonious community.”

Law

The sources of Islamic law (Sharia) are the Koran, Sunnah, and Imams.

The sources of Islamic law are the Koran and Sunnah.

Clergy

A formal clergy structure consists of religious leaders (e.g., ayatollahs) who interpret Islamic law for Shiites to follow in the absence of the “Hidden Imam.”

There is no formal clergy structure. Religious scholars interpret Islamic law by consensus to guide the lives of Sunnis.

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Umayyad Caliphate (680-750 CE)

  • Mu’awiya establishes a dynasty - 14 caliphs succeed him
  • Damascus, Syria becomes new capital
  • Umayyad Empire stretched from Spain to central Asia
  • Built impressive canal, irrigations systems and mosques (e.g., Dome of the Rock Mosque)

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The Umayyads

  • Capital moved to Damascus in Syria
  • Empire stretches from Spain to central Asia
  • Lasts from 680 - 750 CE
  • Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads
  • Spain remains under Umayyad control

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Abbasid Empire

  • Abbasid rule lasts from 750 - 1258 CE
  • Rule of Harun al-Rashid (786-809) considered “Golden Age” (learning, law, trade, medicine, navigation

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  • Baghdad is capital city
  • Huge empire difficult to control and independent states rise - especially Fatimid in North Africa

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Islamic Accomplishments

3:30 - 16 min

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JIHAD and the early Medieval World

  • Jihad (“struggle”) used to justify Arab conquests
  • Scholars develop the concept during the 8th and 9th centuries
  • Idea of jihad becomes to bring the entire world into a single Islamic political state (single like having one, single God) through “holy war”
  • Political unity, NOT religious unity is the goal - no forced conversions

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AL-ANDALUS (Medieval Spain)

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Tariq ibn Ziyad

Muslim general who leads Islamic conquest of what is considered Spain today

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Tariq’s Story

  • Conqueror of Morocco, Musa ibn Nusayr, had left general Tariq to govern Morocco in his place
  • Spain was under control of the Visigoths and divided by civil war due to death of their king
  • Jews had been persecuted under Visigoths
  • Christians were generally not happy either

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Tariq’s Conquest

  • May 711, Tariq arrives on Gibraltar with 7,000 men (Gibraltar means Mount Tarik)
  • Tariq then invaded Spanish mainland and gained support from unhappy subjects
  • He defeats King Roderick (Visigoth) and then conquers the capital, Toledo, with little resistance, and Cordoba
  • 712 - Musa returns with army of 18,000 Arab troops and together they control 2/3s of Iberian Peninsula with a couple of years
  • 714 - Tariq and Musa summoned back to Damascus and charged with financial misdeeds and never returns

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al-Andalus (not Spain yet)

  • 711 - Muslim armies conquered Visigoth kingdom of King Roderic
  • Came from Morocco and landed at Gibraltar
  • 712 - Muslim forces control 80% of peninsula
  • 732 - Charles “the Hammer” Martel stops Muslim advance into Europe at battle of Tours

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Muslim Spain (711 - 1492 CE)

  • Another “Golden Age” for Islam
  • When Abbasid dynasty overthrew the Umayyad caliphs, a family member, Abd al-Rahman I (“The Falcon of Andalus”) escaped to Spain
  • Abd al-Rahman I became the emir (ruler) and broke away from the Abbasid Empire
  • Umayyad dynasty rules in Spain from 756 - 1031 with its capital being Cordoba

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Adb al-Rahman III (rules 912-961)

  • Abd al-Rahman III assumes role of caliph signifying religious independence from Abbasid caliphs
  • Blue eyes and light colored hair - Christian mother
  • Ruthless - crucifying 11 year old corpse
  • Bowl of mercury trick

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al-Andalus - A Different World

  • AN URBAN WORLD

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  • Large Italian city had 10,000 - 20,000 people vs. a number of cities in al Andalus twice as big an Cordoba over ten times as large

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  • Cordoba had ½ million people, 500 mosques, 300 public baths, 70 libraries, and the Great Mosque

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al-Andalus - A Different World

2. A COMMERCIAL WORLD

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  • Economic ties to Islamic world and, as a result, India and China
  • Islamic world had wealth to purchase goods from al-Andalus
  • Provided raw materials in return for other goods (wood, grains, etc.)

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al-Andalus - A Different World

3. A RICH AGRICULTURAL WORLD

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  • Advanced irrigation techniques brought to Spain (wells, canals)
  • New crops brought to Spain - rice, sugar, cotton
  • These crops would later have a major role in colonization of the New World by the Spanish

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al-Andalus - A Different World

4. An Intellectually Advanced World

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  • By the 10th century, al Andalus was known for its intellectual accomplishments and culture
  • Astronomy and mathematics were particular emphases

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al-Andalus - A Different World

5. A DIVERSE WORLD�

  • Known for its diversity - Muslims, Jews and Christians living in the same cities
  • Jews and Christians were considered “People of the Book” - allowed to practice their religion, but taxed
  • NOT a perfect world - not allowed to proselytize, build new churches, hold important political offices

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Islam overtakes Christianity

By the High Middle Ages, the majority of the population in al Andalus were now Muslims

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The caliphate ends in 1031 and the division of al Andalus into over twenty kingdoms eventually enables Christians to reconquer (reconquest) Spain

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