Islamic Civilization600 to 1000 ADArabian Peninsula

http://www.sitesatlas.com/Maps/Maps/604r.gif

A Religion of Peace?• Some World Leaders

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Auol4Tt9v2k• Let’s see what the Koran says

Islam: A new religion•Founded/started by Mohammed

(Muhammad)▫570-632 A.D.▫He was a prophet of Allah▫Received divine relation at the age of 40

from Gabriel, an angel of Allah in 610 A.D.▫Man of war▫Told his followers that Allah had

commanded them to fight▫He himself fought in numerous battles

Islam: Early History•Mohammed started Islam in Mecca•Was forced to flee to Medina•From there, he raided caravans to gain

wealth•Even during the holy month of Rajab!

•New revelation – Qur’an 2:214▫What is good?

Anything that helps Islam Doesn’t matter if it violates other morals or

laws

Principles of Islam from the Battle of Badr•Allah will grant victory to his people

▫Even if vastly outnumbered▫If they remain faithful

•Victory = booty•Vengeance belongs to Allah and his

followers•Prisoners from battle may be put to death•Non-believers are “the vilest of creatures”

(Quran 98:6) and deserve no mercy•Anyone who insults M. deserves death

Islam: A new religion•Islam means “submission” in Arabic•Mohammed is the last and greatest prophet.

Other prophets included-Abraham-Moses-Jesus

•Islam claims to complete the teachings of Judaism and Christianity

•Those who practice Islam are called Muslims.•Allah, God, is the creator of heaven and earth.

Beliefs

•Allah is God; Mohammed is his prophet.•Priests are unnecessary; Muslims

communicate with Allah directly through prayer.

•Koran (Qur'an), the Islam holy book, contains the word of Allah as revealed to the prophet

•Mohammed and the Koran should not be questioned or changed (translations are discouraged).

Salvation

•You work your way into paradise▫Sexual paradise for men▫Only dying in jihad guarantees paradise

(Sura 3:169-171)•Strict Moral Code

▫no pork▫no gambling▫no drinking▫no marriage to nonbelievers

Five (Six) Pillars of Islam1. Creed: “There is no God but Allah and Mohammed

is his Prophet.”2. Prayer: 5 times a day facing Mecca (Makkah)3. Alms to the poor 4. Fast during Ramadan

▫9th month in the Muslim calendar▫Sacred time when god sent down the Koran for

guidance▫Time of abstaining

5. Pilgrimage to Mecca for those financially and physically able.

6. Jihad – “struggle” against non-muslims

How to read the Koran - Abrogation• Quran 2:106. “Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We {Allah} abrogate

or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it. Know you not that Allah is able to do all things?”

• "To you be your religion, and to me my religion.” First• “And have patience with what they say, and leave them with noble

dignity. And leave Me alone to deal with those in possession of the good things of life who yet deny the Truth; and bear with them for a little while.” Second

• “Then when the Sacred Months (the 1st, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islamic calendar) have passed, then kill the Mushrikun {unbelievers} wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat {the Islamic ritual prayers}), and give Zakat {alms}, then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” Quran 9:5 Last – The Verse of the Sword

• Which one to follow?

Where does the Koran advocate Jihad?• Sura 8:39. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief

and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do.

• Sura 8:67. It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land. You desire the good of this world (i.e. the money of ransom for freeing the captives), but Allah desires (for you) the Hereafter. And Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.

• Sura 9:29. Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

• Sura 9:33. It is He {Allah} Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), to make it superior over all religions even though the Mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) hate (it).

Other Tenants of Islam•Muslims must struggle for peace

▫Islam = peace▫When everyone is Muslim, there will be peace.

• Islamic School in Britain•Muslims may take the property of those they

kill in jihad•Muslims may lie to unbelievers to achieve

their goals: "Taqiyya [deception], even if committed without duress, does not lead to a state of infidelity -- even if it leads to sin deserving of hellfire." Sura 3:28

Diffusion of Islamthe process by which a cultural trait, material object, idea, or behavior pattern is spread from one society to another

Expansion• Mohammed declared a jihad, or struggle

against nonbelievers.• Islam claimed Mecca and portions of Arabia.• Expansion continued after Mohammed’s death

▫Primarily through conquest (jihad).▫but also spread through trade and travel▫Despite great distances, desert environments,

and mountain barriers• Spread into the Fertile Crescent, Iran, and

Central Asia, facilitated by weak Byzantine and Persian empires

•Political unity of the first Muslim empire was short-lived.

•Arabic language spread with Islam and facilitated trade across Islamic lands.

•Slavery was not based on race.•Muslim conquest of Jerusalem and

Damascus•Muslims defeated at the Battle of Tours in

France by Charles Martel

Division of IslamAfter Mohammed’s death

Who should rule?

•After Mohammed’s death, 4 great caliphs ruled. This eventually gave way to dynasties.▫Sunni- caliph chosen by Muslim leaders

(Largest Sect)▫Shi’ite (Shi’a)- caliph must be a descendant

of Mohammed (Second largest)▫Sufi- Muslim mystics (small sect)

Sacred Cities

•Mecca▫Birthplace of Mohammed▫Home of the Ka’ba

Believed to be built by Abraham Thought to be the first place created by God

•Medina▫Burial site of Mohammed and “the

Prophet’s Mosque”•Jerusalem

▫The Dome of the Rock

Qur’an

Islam and WomenDoes Islam respect and honor women?

Verses about women in the Qur’an• Men have authority over women because Allah

has made the one superior to the other. (Qur’an 4:34)

• Your women are a tilth (field) for you to cultivate so go to your tilth as you will. (2:223)

• If you fear that you will not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with them, then only one, or a captive that your right hand possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing in justice. (4:3)

More verses• Allah thus direct you as regards your children’s

inheritance: to the male, a portion equal to that of two females. (4:11)

• Good women are to be obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah has guarded. As for those from whom you fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge (beat with a whip) them. (4:34)

• If you are in doubt concerning those of your wives who have ceased menstruating, know that their waiting period shall be three months. The same shall apply to those who have not yet menstruated. (65:5)

Going out

•“the husband may forbid his wife to leave the home” (10:4)

•“a woman may not leave the city without her husband or member of her unmarriageable kin accompanying her unless the journey is obligatory, like the haji. (10:3)

Dress• Women must “lower their gaze

and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments…” except for their husbands (24:31)

• Mohammad said “it does not suit [a woman] to display her body parts except her face and hands.”

• Women who venture outside without the hijab are “asking for rape.”*

More dress• Mufti of Australia, Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali

▫Rape is “90 percent the woman’s responsibility….If you take uncovered meat and put it on the street, on the pavement, in a garden, in a park, or in the backyard, without a cover and the cats eat it, then whose fault will it be, the cats, or the uncovered meat’s? The uncovered meat is the disaster….If the woman is in her boudoir, in her house and if she’s wearing the veil and if she shows modesty, disasters don’t happen.”

Rape

•A woman’s testimony is worth half as much as a man’s (2:282)

•Women can only testify in “cases involving property or transactions dealing with property such as sales. (24:8)

•Four male witnesses are needed to prove it (24:13)

Adultery

•Women who commit adultery are stoned•Still happens today in countries with

Islamic law