Islam

Islam

IslamThird of the

Abrahamic Faiths

Why Study Islam ?• > 1.2 billion followers

worldwide• > major impacts on world

history• > key factor in regional,

world politics

Islam is ... Islam is a monotheistic religion begun

by Muhammad around 600 CE in Arabia. The word means

“surrender”...to the will of god. Islam united Arab tribes, and was the basis for an empire from Spain to India.

MUHAMMAD

Muhammad was an Arab merchant who interacted with Jews,

Christians and others as he traveled in S.W. Asia. He founded

a new religion (Islam), based on revelations and his teachings,

converting poly-theistic tribes to belief in one god, Allah. He died in

632 CE.

Muhammad’s home region: the Arabian Peninsula

Abu Bakr

• Abu Bakr• lived until 630 CE• was key advisor to Muhammad• became the 1st caliph

• consolidated control of Arabian tribes• began Islam’s expansion outside Arabia

Umarwas 2nd caliph, ca. 640 CE led expansion to Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia

Uthmanwas 3rd caliph, ca. 650 CE

Quaran was written under his direction

Ali Ali was Muhammad’s cousin, son-

in-law (married to Fatima), and closest male heir. He was the 4th

caliph and 1st Shi’a imam, until he was killed in 661

Hasan and Hussein

Ali’s sons, the 2nd and 3rd imams.

killed by Umayyad forces in Iraq.

Islamic Beliefs and Practices

THE FIVE PILLARS

-- Creed -- -- Prayer -- -- Charity -- -- Fasting --

-- Pilgrimage --

Creed - There is no god but Allah, and

Muhammad is his prophet.

Prayer - Five times daily,

facing Mecca.

Charity - Annual giving to the poor.

Fasting - Dawn-to-dusk during

Ramadan.

Pilgrimage To Mecca, once in a lifetime.

The Sunni - Shi’a Split in Islam

~ The Problem ~

Muhammad died without a son.

Who will be the new leader of the faith?

~ The Sunni Solution ~

A council of Muhammad’s confidant’s elects a senior advisor (Abu Bakr) as the first caliph.

~ The Shi’a Solution ~

Find the nearest male relative (Ali), and continue Muhammad’s bloodline

through imams.

Sunnis and Shi’ites Clash.

... today, 80% of Muslims are Sunni.

... Iran and Iraq are the only Shi’a-run countries.

Shi’a IslamShi’at Ali ... “Party of Ali”12 Imams ... most are martyred. ...the 12th [Mahdi] will

reappear on the Day of Judgement

Shi’ite pilgrimage sitesinclude Karbala and Najaf inIraq.

Islamic Holy Books

Koran [Quran] -- “The Recitation”

... a record of Muhammad’s revelations from god through

Gabriel. Begun around 610 CE; written around 650 CE. Similar accounts as the Old Testament.

The Koran

Hadith Sayings of Muhammad. Basis of Sharia, along with the Koran.

Shari’a

Shari’a is the Islamic legal code, based mainly on the Koran and

Hadith, and as compiled by Muslim scholars (ulama).

Schools of Islamic Law

Islamic Holy Sites

Islam’s Three Holiest Cities

... Mecca... Medina

... Jerusalem

The Ka’aba• located in Mecca, Saudi

Arabia• sacred cube at center of

the universe• ancient Arab tribal

pilgrimage site• dedicated to Allah by

Muhammad

Medina

• “City of the Prophet”• Formerly Yathrib• Muhammad found

sanctuary here after the Hejira (622 CE)

• Islam’s 2nd holiest site

The Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock

3rd holiest site in Islamic world located in Jerusalem

rock where Abraham took Ismail

Muhammad ascended to heaven here

Inside the Dome of the Rock

Islamic Art and Literature

Islamic Art Islamic religious artists avoid “graven

images” of people -especially the Prophet- and other persons.

Arabic writing was developed into the art form of calligraphy. The most popular text is

Koranic scripture. Arabesques are repeated geometric or floral

designs. Similar to tessellations.

Koranic Script

The Koran as Sculpted Design

Mosque Art

Art and Literature of the Abbasid

Period

Omar Khayyam

Persian astronomer and poet lived during Abbasid period, ca.1100 CE

wrote the “Rubaiyat”…quatrain poetry of love and transience of life

Omar Khayyam

"The Moving Finger writes: and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”

Muslim Empires

Umayyad Caliphate

Umayyad Caliphate

• 661 - 750 CE, begun by Mu’awiyah• Arab control grows to greatest extent ... Spain to Persia• Capital at Damascus (Syria)

Mu’awiyah

• lived 661 to 680 CE• 1st Umayyad caliph• established hereditary rule

Tariq

> general who took Muslim forces into Spain in 711 CE ... beginning 700 years

of Islamic rule in Spain Gibralter = Jabar al-Tariq (Rock of Tariq)

Abbasid Caliphate

Abbasid Caliphate

> 750 - 1258 CE > founded by Persian (non-Arab) rebels > capital at Baghdad > weakened by Turks; ended by Mongols

Harun al-Rashid

• Abbasid caliph

• ruled during “Golden Age” of Islam: translations of Greek works, progress in astronomy, navigation

Fatimid Caliphate

Fatimid Caliphate

• 909 - 1171 CE• Ismaili Shi’ite dynasty• begun in Tunisia, expanded east to Cairo (Egypt)

Saladin

• Kurdish general who served as Fatimid vizier, then staged a coup• Recaptured Jerusalem from European Crusaders in 1187 CE

Muslim Spain

Muslim Spain

• 711 - 1492 CE• Islamic control of diminishing Spanish territory until the Reconquest by Ferdinand and Isabella.• unique Islamic art and architecture• rallied Christian (esp. Catholic) Iberian forces to wage holy war against Islam

Examples of Art and Architecturefrom

Islamic Spain (Andalusia)

Alhambra in Granada

Mosque at Cordoba

Muslim trading network (Dar al-Islam) Merchants could trade from Spain across North Africa,

southwest-central-south-southeast Asia using one language, writing, and set of rules..Arabic and Islam.

Islamic Contributions

Medicine: Avicenna

Chronicles of Diseases: Symptoms and Treatments

Arabic numerals

Algebra

Astrolabe