ISLAM a geographical perspective. Topics Sacred places Origins and diffusion.

ISLAM

a geographical perspective

Topics

Sacred places Origins and diffusion

Islam

Islam means “submission” (to the will of Allah) Shares many roots with Judaism and Christianity

including stories of Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus

Islam’s sacred places mosques Mecca Medina Jerusalem

a mosque in Yemen

Parts of a mosque

Minarets are landmarks and places from which a muezzin (or loudspeaker) calls people to prayer

Sahn is a courtyard or open hall for prayer

Mihraab is a recessed niche pointing toward Mecca the focal point of the mosque the point toward which prayers

are directed the point at which the person

leading prayers stands

Parent Teacher Association, Islamic Association of Greater Detroit: http://www.ptaiagd.org/

Istanbul’s Blue Mosque

http://www.mccullagh.org

a mosque in N.W. China

What seems to be an important color in Islam?

Some flags of Islamic countries What seem to be the dominant

colors and motifs? Green was the color of

Muhammad’s robe The crescent moon was a symbol of

Constantinople, “borrowed” when it was conquered in 1453 and renamed Istanbul

The five-pointed star represents the five pillars of Islam

1. Confession of faith in Allah and no other god as well as belief in the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad

2. Ritual worship of Allah 5 times a day3. Charity and concern for the needy4. Avoidance of food, drink and sex

during daylight hours for the month of Ramadan

5. Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca once in one’s life)

Jerusalem (under stormy skies!)

Jerusalem A sacred place for three religions A place of conflict general: the way of the cross

(Christian) foreground

Mount of Olives, Jewish burials background

ruins of the city of David and west wall of the temple mount (believed by Jews to be the remaining wall of Solomon’s original temple, also called the “wailing wall”)

Dome of the rock (gold) believed by Muslims to be where Muhammad ascended to Heaven and by Jews to be where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac

Israeli-controlled territoriesDark Orange: territory designated as Jewish by the UN in 1947

Medium Orange: territory gained by Israel in war with Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Transjordan (Jordan) by 1949

Yellow: territory controlled by Israel since 1967

Mecca

Pilgrims circumambulate the Ka’ba, a cube encased in silk containing a black stone

What is the Ka’ba?

Non-Muslims generally explain it as a meteorite which was worshipped before the time of Muhammad, as part of animist beliefs

For Muslims it is the qibla, the point toward which people must face when praying, and they believe it was built into the structure by Abraham and Ishmael

Origins

Muhammad (570-632) sought end to feuding between nomadic

Bedouins and merchant dynasties of cities replaced family-centered social order with

a more harmonious community based on monotheistic belief, revealed in the QuranGod: Allahcommunity: “Dar al Islam”

Diffusion

Under Muhammad the western part of the Arabian peninsula (incl. Mecca and Medina) were brought under Islam)

Under the Caliphs (his successors), Islam expanded very rapidly across the entire southern half of the Roman Empire’s territory, as well as areas under control of Sassanid Empire to the east.

Combination of military conquest and tax policy! Those who did not surrender to Muslim forces were forced to pay rent on their land, whereas those who surrendered maintained ownership of their land

Interesting aspects of this map

Massive expansion between 630 and 700 Replacement of Christianity and Judaism (as the

dominant religion, though never a complete exclusion) in the Middle East

Far reaches of Islamic diffusion: Iberian peninsula (Spain & Portugal) by 900 Indonesia by 1200 (via Islamic seagoing traders) Land route to China (Xian) by 1000

“Things are looking better”

Both the Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire had losing their grip and had tried to maintain control by waging war and committing atrocities on local populations

Both Empires had been extravagant and demanding

The new Islamic rulers brought peace to people exhausted with conflict and exploitation

The Ottoman Empire (1300-1917)

Note: Core in Anatolia (Turkey) area of earliest

control hearth of Ottoman

culture Replacement of

Orthodox Christianity in its core (Constantinople falls in 1453)

Islamic Influences in Europe

Muslim components of the population in the Balkans: Bosnia & Kosovo, Bulgaria, and Albania

Many Arabic words are carried into Spanish e.g. wadi (Arabic for river)

shows up in Guadalajara

Sunni vs. Shiah

Shiah

Sunni

Sunni

Sunni

Sunni vs. Shiah

Dispute centers around the legitimacy of the first three caliphs

Iran-Iraq war was partly caused by this doctrinal dispute

US administration is currently banking on Shiite support for the US presence in Iraq, with mixed results

Carving up the Ottoman Empire