1. Mohammed and the Rise of
Islam
s 600’s A.D.
s loss of much of the Eastern Roman Empire
s to a new religious and political power
– Islam

2. Middle East, ca. 600 A.D.

3. Islam
s Bedouin Arab named Mohammed
s born ca. 570 A.D.
s Merchant family, Hasimites
s Qurayshis tribe, who dominate Mecca
– controlling much of the religious pilgrim trade
s raised by relatives
-father and mother died by age six
-raised by an impoverished uncle

4. Mohammed
s formal education ?? We don’t know
– Normally only the Poets of the Tribes could
read and write
s commercial agent for a wealthy widow
– Khadijah
– supervising caravans from Mecca, north to
Jerusalem
– contact with both Jews and Christians

5. Mohammed, con’t
s He seems to have made an impression on his boss,
because of his reputed honesty
– married her and retired from commerce
– to devote himself to religion
– and to making society more fair and equitable

6. Mohammed, con’t
s monogamous until his wife died
s eventually married nine wives and had
assorted concubines
s last marriage at 53 to Aishah, daughter of a
friend
s wives: widows of friends or political marriages
• Women alone is such a world were very vulnerable

7. Origins of Mohammed’s
Teachings
s periods of unconsciousness are indicated:
explanations
– revelations from Allah by holy trances, spoken to by Gabriel
– epilepsy or a similar neurological disorder?
– mental illness or hallucinations ?
s Mohammed’s explanation:
– revelations from God
– Very unpleasant and painful for him

8. The Quran
s Record of revelations received during
visions
s Committed to writing c. 650 CE, compiled
(Muhammad dies 632)
– Under the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan
s Tradition of Muhammad’s life: hadith

9. Nature of Revelations
s diverse
s social, agricultural, medical, military,
astronomical, etc.

10. Historical Origins of His Ideas
s Arab polytheism
s Hanifism: a belief in one God traced to Abraham, by
tradition
s Judaism
s Christianity: Orthodox, Nestorian, Arianism
s Manichaeism: a mixture of Zoroastrianism,
Christianity, Judaism, and so forth

11. Beginning of His Ministry
s at about age 40, after a number of revelations
s began to preach publicly
s continued to receive revelations until death
– usually related to current problems or concerns
– Religious, political, social, economic

12. Early religious career
s not particularly successful
s threatened the social, political, and religious
structure, with his doctrine of social equity
s threatened the economic basis of Mecca as a center
of religious pilgrimage
s particularly the Black Rock
– sacred to the chief deity of the Arabs
s run out of town, or at least encouraged to leave
– Went to the desert with his family and lived for about a year

13. The Hijra
s flight from Mecca, to Yathrib (Medina)
-tradition: invited by the Jews of Medina
s 622 A.D.
s beginning of the Islamic calendar
s forms the umma (community)
s welcomed, then resisted
s Mohammed becomes an absolute theocrat

14. Muhammad’s Return to Mecca
s Attack on Mecca, 630 -- jihad
s Conversion of Mecca to Islam
s Destruction of pagan sites, replaced with mosques
– Ka’aba preserved in honor of importance of Mecca
– Approved as pilgrimage site

15. Jihad
s holy war against Mecca
s ten year blockade
s a deal was made

16. The Deal
s Mecca preserved as a holy city and place of
pilgrimage
– to preserve the economic prosperity
s the Ka’aba preserved as the central shrine
– idols and icons destroyed
– story of its origins emphasized the role of
Abraham in its placement
– pilgrimage as an act of faith, at least once in your
life

17. The Ka’aba in Mecca

18. The Religion: the Koran (Qu’ran)
s the Koran (Qu’ran): contains much of Mohammed
recounting of Allah’s teachings
s written down by his followers after his death
– from notes and memories, on “stones and
parchments”
s Short: 114 chapters
– arranged from longest to the shortest
– not by subject or chronologically
– length is the criterion of order for the text

19. The Koran, con’t
s some “Old” and “New” Testaments stories
– but sometimes the story seems a bit different to
Jews and Christians
s parables and fables
s political polemic and prophecy
s “non-religious” subjects
– not dissimilar to Jewish and Christian scriptures in
some ways

20. Five Pillars of Islam
s uniqueness of God
– ‘There is no god, but God….’
s prayer five times a day
s observe the month of Ramadan
s give alms to the poor
s pilgrimage to Mecca
– If possible, once in your life

21. Additional teachings
s dietary laws
s no gambling or drinking
s no sexual irregularities, as defined by tradition and
custom
s no faulty weights or usury
s no infanticide
s elaborate rules concerning inheritance and property
s improvement in the status of women and children

22. Changing Status of Women
s Qu’ran improves status of women
– Outlawed female infanticide
– Brides, not husbands, claim dowries
s Yet male dominance preserved
– Patrilineal descent
– Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden
– Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice

23. Similarities to Judaism and
Christianity
s monotheism (defined a bit differently)
s insistence on the responsibility of human beings
s final judgment and rewards
s angels and spirits
s practice of virtues: truthfulness, compassion, etc.

24. Differences
s an emphasis on compassion and mercy
s alms giving moderate
s heaven conceived a bit differently
s no priests or sacramental system
s easy conversion: the Shahadah
– ‘There is no God by Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet.’

25. Islamic Law: The Sharia
s Codification of Islamic law
s Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools
of analysis
s Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of
human activity
– This is the basis the idea of an “Islamic
republic” for instance

26. Expansion of Islam
s early victories
s backsliders (tribes) punished
– Apostasy = treason = death
s assaults on:
– the Byzantine (Roman) empire
– the Persian empire

27. Spread of Islam

28. Dome of the Rock,
Temple Mount Jerusalem

29. Victories
s Syria: 635 A.D.
s Palestine: 636 A.D.
s Persia: captured in one battle
– expansion into India
– expansion to the borders of China
s Egypt: help by local Christians
s North Africa: the Berbers

30. Expansion, con’t
s Spain 711-720 A.D.
s Battle of Tours: October 732 A.D.
– Charles Martel
s Siege of Constantinople: 717-718 A.D.
– Leo III
– Greek fire
s beginnings of Christian reconquest of
former Roman/Christian territory

31. Reasons for success
s exhaustion of Rome and Persia
– End of a 400 year war
s nationalist sentiments in Egypt and Syria
s arguments among Christian factions
s speed and size of Moslem armies
s simplicity and uncomplicated nature of Islam
s acceptance of the Old and New Testament
– People of the Book

32. Consequences of Expansion
s loss of the oldest and most central lands of
Christendom
s aided the ascendancy of the bishop of Rome
s virtual collapse of Zoroastrianism as a major religion
s radically altered the balance of power between the
Roman Empire and the East
s disruption of the Mediterranean economic community

33. Early Problems
s Succession ?
– Mohammed had no surviving male children
– Daughter: Fatima
– Son-in-law: Ali, child of his uncle
s generated a permanent split in the
Islamic community
– Sunnis
– Shi’as

34. Sunnis
s considered themselves the “orthodox” followers of
Mohammed
s consider the Shi’as to be “dissenters”
s issue: who leads after Mohammed ??
s the Caliph (or “leader”)
s went successively to followers
-Abu Bakr, then Oman
-then Uthman and

35. The Shia
s Disagreements over selection of caliphs
s Ali passed over for Abu Bakr
s Served as caliph 656-661 CE, then assassinated
along with most of his followers
s Remaining followers organize separate party called
“Shia”
– Traditionalists: Sunni

36. Abu Bakr
s not particularly popular with the Muslim
community
s allowed raid, then invasions of
Byzantine and Persian territory
s subjugated any dissident elements or
tribes
s disposed of any “new prophets”

37. Success = strain
s success introduced luxury and change
– From original caliphs to the Umayyad caliphs
s new ideas and new ethnic groups
– with their own customs and heritage, to try to
assimilate
s rise of a sort of “revivalist element”
– Islam had strayed from its original path and purity
– Muslims were being led back to paganism
– caliphs were becoming idle, corrupt, tyrants

38. Uthman: the third Caliph
s murdered: warfare broke out
s Ali: cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed
s originally passed over as too young
s contested the succession
s Uthman supported by the Umayyad clan
– early enemies of Mohammed
– refused to accept Ali’s claims

39. Umayyeds
s successful in the war
s Ali assassinated in 661 A.D.
– by the Kharijites
s beginning of the Umayyed dynasty

40. Policy toward Conquered
Peoples
s Favoritism of Arab military rulers causes
discontent
s Limited social mobility for non-Arab
Muslims
s Head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims
s Umayyad luxurious living causes further
decline in moral authority

41. Sunnis
s accepted the legitimacy of early caliphs
s “Sunni” : from an Arabic word
– “usage” or “custom”
– implies: “precedent”

42. Shi’as
s accepted Ali
s word means: “party”, “faction”,
“following”

43. Factions
s Sunni and Shi’as dominant
s originally political
– Eventually the differences became
dogmatic in emphasis
s Shi’as become a party of religious
dissent

44. Perceptions
s Sunni: conservative, in favor of the
“status quo”
– consensus is the guiding principle
s Shi’as: defenders of the oppressed,
critics of privilege and power
– obedience is required only as long as it can
be forced, and no longer

45. Umayyed empire
s Atlantic Ocean to India
s Syria: center of the Islamic World
s eventually displaced by the Abbasids
– an Arab family claiming decent from
Mohammed

46. The Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258
CE)
s Abu al-Abbas Sunni Arab, allied with Shia, non-Arab
Muslims
s Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia
s Defeats Umayyad army in 750
– Invited Umayyads to banquet, then massacred
them
– Only Spain remains Umayyad
– North Africa is disputed territory, ultimately
Fatamid

47. Nature of the Abbasid Dynasty
s Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not exclusively
Arab)
s Militarily competent, but not bent on imperial
expansion
s Dar al-Islam
s Growth through military activity of autonomous
Islamic forces

48. Nature of the Abbasid Dynasty
s Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not
exclusively Arab)
s Militarily competent, but not bent on
imperial expansion
s Dar al-Islam
s Growth through military activity of
autonomous Islamic forces

49. Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786-809
CE)
s High point of Abbasid dynasty
s Baghdad center of commerce
s Great cultural activity

50. Abbasid Decline
s Civil war between sons of Harun al-Rashid
s Provincial governers assert regional independence
s Dissenting sects, heretical movements
s Abbasid caliphs become puppets of Persian
nobility
s Later, Saljuq Turks influence, Sultan real power
behind the throne

51. Formation of an Islamic Cultural
Tradition
s Islamic values
– Uniformity of Islamic law in dar al-Islam
– Establishment of madrasas
– Importance of the Hajj
s Sufi missionaries
– Asceticism, mysticism
– Some tension with orthodox Islamic
theologians
– Wide popularity

52. Cultural influences on Islam
s Persia
– Adminstration and governance
– literature
s India
– Mathematics, science, medicine
• “Hindi” numbers
s Greece
– Philosophy, esp. Aristotle
– Greek medicine

53. Cultural Importance of Islam
s Development of these received
influences
s Distribution throughout the Muslim
world
s Introduction and reintroduction of these
ideas to medieval Europe
– Through Spain
– Spanish Jews