Mohammed and the Rise of Islam

1
Mohammed and the Rise of Islam

• 600s A.D.
• loss of much of the Eastern Roman Empire
• to a new religious and political power
• Islam

2
Middle East, ca. 600 A.D.
3
Islam

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

4
Mohammed

• formal education ?? We dont know
• Normally only the Poets of the Tribes could read
  and write
• commercial agent for a wealthy widow
• Khadijah
• supervising caravans from Mecca, north to
  Jerusalem
• contact with both Jews and Christians

5
Mohammed, cont

• 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, cont

• monogamous until his wife died
• eventually married nine wives and had assorted
  concubines
• last marriage at 53 to Aishah, daughter of a
  friend
• wives widows of friends or political marriages
• Women alone is such a world were very vulnerable

7
Origins of Mohammeds Teachings

• 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 ?
• Mohammeds explanation
• revelations from God
• Very unpleasant and painful for him

8
The Quran

• Record of revelations received during visions
• Committed to writing c. 650 CE, compiled
  (Muhammad dies 632)
• Under the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan
• Tradition of Muhammads life hadith

9
Nature of Revelations

• diverse
• social, agricultural, medical, military,
  astronomical, etc.

10
Historical Origins of His Ideas

• Arab polytheism
• Hanifism a belief in one God traced to Abraham,
  by tradition
• Judaism
• Christianity Orthodox, Nestorian, Arianism
• Manichaeism a mixture of Zoroastrianism,
  Christianity, Judaism, and so forth

11
Beginning of His Ministry

• at about age 40, after a number of revelations
• began to preach publicly
• continued to receive revelations until death
• usually related to current problems or concerns
• Religious, political, social, economic

12
Early religious career

• not particularly successful
• threatened the social, political, and religious
  structure, with his doctrine of social equity
• threatened the economic basis of Mecca as a
  center of religious pilgrimage
• particularly the Black Rock
• sacred to the chief deity of the Arabs
• 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

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

14
Muhammads Return to Mecca

• Attack on Mecca, 630 -- jihad
• Conversion of Mecca to Islam
• Destruction of pagan sites, replaced with mosques
• Kaaba preserved in honor of importance of Mecca
• Approved as pilgrimage site

15
Jihad

• holy war against Mecca
• ten year blockade
• a deal was made

16
The Deal

• Mecca preserved as a holy city and place of
  pilgrimage
• to preserve the economic prosperity
• the Kaaba 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 Kaaba in Mecca
18
The Religion the Koran (Quran)

• the Koran (Quran) contains much of Mohammed
  recounting of Allahs teachings
• written down by his followers after his death
• from notes and memories, on stones and
  parchments
• 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, cont

• some Old and New Testaments stories
• but sometimes the story seems a bit different to
  Jews and Christians
• parables and fables
• political polemic and prophecy
• non-religious subjects
• not dissimilar to Jewish and Christian scriptures
  in some ways

20
Five Pillars of Islam

• uniqueness of God
• There is no god, but God.
• prayer five times a day
• observe the month of Ramadan
• give alms to the poor
• pilgrimage to Mecca
• If possible, once in your life

21
Additional teachings

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

22
Changing Status of Women

• Quran improves status of women
• Outlawed female infanticide
• Brides, not husbands, claim dowries
• Yet male dominance preserved
• Patrilineal descent
• Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden
• Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice

23
Similarities to Judaism and Christianity

• monotheism (defined a bit differently)
• insistence on the responsibility of human beings
• final judgment and rewards
• angels and spirits
• practice of virtues truthfulness, compassion,
  etc.

24
Differences

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

25
Islamic Law The Sharia

• Codification of Islamic law
• Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools of
  analysis
• 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

• early victories
• backsliders (tribes) punished
• Apostasy treason death
• assaults on
• the Byzantine (Roman) empire
• the Persian empire

27
Spread of Islam
28
Dome of the Rock, Temple Mount Jerusalem
29
Victories

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

30
Expansion, cont

• Spain 711-720 A.D.
• Battle of Tours October 732 A.D.
• Charles Martel
• Siege of Constantinople 717-718 A.D.
• Leo III
• Greek fire
• beginnings of Christian reconquest of former
  Roman/Christian territory

31
Reasons for success

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

32
Consequences of Expansion

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

33
Early Problems

• Succession ?
• Mohammed had no surviving male children
• Daughter Fatima
• Son-in-law Ali, child of his uncle
• generated a permanent split in the Islamic
  community
• Sunnis
• Shias

34
Sunnis

• considered themselves the orthodox followers of
  Mohammed
• consider the Shias to be dissenters
• issue who leads after Mohammed ??
• the Caliph (or leader)
• went successively to followers
• -Abu Bakr, then Oman
• -then Uthman and

35
The Shia

• Disagreements over selection of caliphs
• Ali passed over for Abu Bakr
• Served as caliph 656-661 CE, then assassinated
  along with most of his followers
• Remaining followers organize separate party
  called Shia
• Traditionalists Sunni

36
Abu Bakr

• not particularly popular with the Muslim
  community
• allowed raid, then invasions of Byzantine and
  Persian territory
• subjugated any dissident elements or tribes
• disposed of any new prophets

37
Success strain

• success introduced luxury and change
• From original caliphs to the Umayyad caliphs
• new ideas and new ethnic groups
• with their own customs and heritage, to try to
  assimilate
• 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

• murdered warfare broke out
• Ali cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed
• originally passed over as too young
• contested the succession
• Uthman supported by the Umayyad clan
• early enemies of Mohammed
• refused to accept Alis claims

39
Umayyeds

• successful in the war
• Ali assassinated in 661 A.D.
• by the Kharijites
• beginning of the Umayyed dynasty

40
Policy toward Conquered Peoples

• Favoritism of Arab military rulers causes
  discontent
• Limited social mobility for non-Arab Muslims
• Head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims
• Umayyad luxurious living causes further decline
  in moral authority

41
Sunnis

• accepted the legitimacy of early caliphs
• Sunni from an Arabic word
• usage or custom
• implies precedent

42
Shias

• accepted Ali
• word means party, faction, following

43
Factions

• Sunni and Shias dominant
• originally political
• Eventually the differences became dogmatic in
  emphasis
• Shias become a party of religious dissent

44
Perceptions

• Sunni conservative, in favor of the status quo
• consensus is the guiding principle
• Shias 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

• Atlantic Ocean to India
• Syria center of the Islamic World
• eventually displaced by the Abbasids
• an Arab family claiming decent from Mohammed

46
The Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 CE)

• Abu al-Abbas Sunni Arab, allied with Shia,
  non-Arab Muslims
• Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia
• 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

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

48
Nature of the Abbasid Dynasty

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

49
Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786-809 CE)

• High point of Abbasid dynasty
• Baghdad center of commerce
• Great cultural activity

50
Abbasid Decline

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

51
Formation of an Islamic Cultural Tradition

• Islamic values
• Uniformity of Islamic law in dar al-Islam
• Establishment of madrasas
• Importance of the Hajj
• Sufi missionaries
• Asceticism, mysticism
• Some tension with orthodox Islamic theologians
• Wide popularity

52
Cultural influences on Islam

• Persia
• Adminstration and governance
• literature
• India
• Mathematics, science, medicine
• Hindi numbers
• Greece
• Philosophy, esp. Aristotle
• Greek medicine

53
Cultural Importance of Islam

• Development of these received influences
• Distribution throughout the Muslim world
• Introduction and reintroduction of these ideas to
  medieval Europe
• Through Spain
• Spanish Jews