ISLAM• 2nd largest religion

• Started in 622 AD, in Mecca

• Founder: Muhammad

• Islam = “surrender to Allah”

• Muslim = “one who has surrendered to Allah”

• Monotheistic

• Holy book: Koran (Qur’an)

• Place of worship: Mosque

Early Arabia

• Bedouin tribes – herders

• Various tribal religions (polytheistic)

• Small Jewish and Christian communities

Muhammad

• 570: Born in Mecca

• 610: Visited by angel Gabriel, who said Muhammad

would be last messenger of Allah (God)

• 622: Fled to Medina for support – Hijra (Hegira)

• Beginning of Muslim calendar (1 AH)

• 630: Returned to Mecca, Meccans accepted Islam

• 632: Died, having unified Arabia under Islam

Development of Islam

• Islam spreads rapidly

• Conquered people have three options:

– convert to Islam

– pay higher taxes and not convert (for Jews, Christians)

– die

a split in Islam

• After Muhammad died, there was disagreement

about who should be the new leader

– Muhammad’s relative or the “best person” for the job?

• Split occurs around 700 AD

– Sunnis (best person) = about 90% of Muslims

– Shi’ites (Muhammad’s relative) = abt. 10% of Muslims

QURAN (KORAN)Islam’s Holy Book

• Word of Allah, given to Muhammad

• Collected, written down after Muhammad died

• Written in Arabic

5 Pillars of Islam

1. Declaration of faith

2. Prayer 5 times a day

Dawn, noon, late afternoon, sunset, before bed

3. Alms (charitable giving)

5 Pillars of Islam(cont.)

4. Fasting during Ramadan

No eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset

5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

Once in your lifetime

Hajji denotes one who has made the Hajj

Other Islamic beliefs

• Holy Day: Friday

• Believe in paradise, hell, final judgment

• Sharia – body of Islamic law to regulate daily life

• No alcohol, pork, or gambling

• 3 holiest cities: Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem

• Major celebrations • Ramadan – holy month of fasting

• Muharram – New Year

Connections

• Muslims believe in Judeo-Christian God, which they

call Allah

• Consider Jews and Christians as “People of the

Book”

– Both have a holy book with similar messages to Qur’an

– Muslims believe Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus were

prophets, with Muhammad being the final prophet

Contributions of Islam

• Preserved classical learning (especially Greeks)

• Amazing art and architecture

• Innovations in astronomy, mathematics

• "Arabic" numbers and trigonometry from India

• Advances in medicine

Islam Today

• Muslim is not a synonym for "terrorist" or

"extremist"

• Jihad – “inner struggle” or “holy war”?

• Israeli-Palestinian conflict

• Sunnis vs. Shi’ites

• OIL!