Chapter Six

1. Chapter Six The Rise & Spread of Islam

2. Bedouin life Muhammad Camel dependent nomads dominated Arabia. Polytheistic Women had important role Alliances/warfare among tribes/clans Pressures for change came from the Byzantine and Sassanid empires and from the presence of Judaism and Christianity. Muhammad - member of the Banu Hasim clan of the Quraysh, was born about 570. Orphan became a merchant resided in Mecca married a wealthy widow, Khadijah Encountered monotheistic ideas dissatisfied w/material gain and went to meditate in the hills In 610 - received revelations transmitted from God via the angel Gabriel collected in the Qur’an - basis of Islam 6th Century Arabia

3. Arabia – time of Muhammad

4. Explain the 5 pillars of Islam Persecution, Flight, and Victory Umayyads felt threatened - Ka’ba god Invited to Medina - 622 Return to Mecca - 629 Arabs and Islam Umma – community of the faithful Universal Elements in Islam - 5 Pillars 1. Faith--acceptance of Islam 2. Prayer towards Mecca 5 times daily 3. Fasting during Ramadan 4. Payment of zakat (charity tax) 5. Hajj—pilgrimage Strict moral code - temperance, humility, justice, generosity, tolerance, obedience, and courage; a ban on alcohol and pork; polygamy - permitted, with four wife limit Slavery was practiced, but Muhammad encouraged the freeing slaves Day of Judgment Sacred books: the Koran; the Hadith - sayings of the Prophet; and the Shari’a - Islamic law Muhammad

5. What accounts for the popularity of Islam? Monotheism Legal code - Religion & politics mixed = holy war – or Jihad Egalitarianism Communal Built upon Judaism & Christianity – did not claim that J & C were incorrect – just that Islam was a refinement of those earlier religions No institutionalized church or clergy or elaborate ritual Mosque - place of worship & teaching by scholars no statues or religious images No need to accumulate great wealth like Catholic Church Islam’s Appeal

6. Was the caliph a political or religious leader? No procedure for selecting a new leader Abu Bakr – early convert; friend of Muhammad; divorced 1st wife b/c she would not convert to Islam Chosen as caliph - leader of the Islamic community Ridda Wars – rival tribes & prophets defeated restored Islamic unity Motives for Arab Conquest Islamic Conversions & Booty Sassanian (Persian) Empire - easily defeated Byzantium - Arabs quickly seized western Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. By the 640s - Arabs - naval supremacy in the eastern Mediterranean; extend into north Africa and southern Europe Consolidation & Division in the Islamic Community

7. Expansion of the Islamic Empire - 7th and 8th Centuries

8. The Problem of Succession What caused the Sunni - Shi’a split? Uthman 3rd caliph - murdered Ali Rejected by Umayyads lost the support of his most radical adherents, the Umayyads won the renewed hostilities The Umayyad leader, Mu’awiya, was proclaimed caliph in 660. Ali was assassinated in 661 His son, Husayn, was killed at Karbala in 680. The dispute left a permanent division within Islam. The Shi’a, eventually dividing into many sects, continued to uphold the rights of Ali’s descendants to be caliphs Sunni – UmayyadsShi’a – Ali’s descendants

9. Converts People of the Book Fall of Umayyad The Umayyad Empire’s push west Stopped by Franks at Poitiers, 732 Retain Iberia Mawali, non-Arab converts Dhimmi, people of the book Jews, Christians Zoroastrians and Hindus Umayyad Decline and FallRevolts Abassid revolt750, Umayyads defeated by Abassids

10. The First Encounter of Muslims & Indian culture -Buddhism • Commercial relations between India and Mesopotamia began as early as 3000 BCE and between India and Egypt, through intermediary ports of Yemen • In 255 BCE, the Indian Mauryan emperor, Ashoka (r. 273 - 232 BCE), sent Buddhist monks as ambassadors to establish relations with Syria, Egypt & Macedonia. • Communities of Indian traders, both Hindu and Buddhist, settled in some of the major sea and river ports of Asia Minor, the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt. • Indians of other occupations soon followed. • The Syrian writer, Zenob, wrote of an Indian community, complete with its own religious temples, in modern-day Turkey, and a Greek, Dion Chrysostemos (40 – 112 CE), wrote of a similar community in Alexandria, Egypt. • With the decline of Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations much of the trade between India and the West came through Mecca, birthplace of Muhammad (570  - 632 CE) • Indian communities established themselves in the Arab world – Jats (of modern-day Basrah, Iraq) The Prophet’s wife, Aisha, was once treated by a Jat physician. • Muhammad was undeniably familiar with Indian culture.

11. Sunni rule – less tolerant; rulers more authoritarian repressed Shi’a New capital - Baghdad Islamic conversion increased (WHY?) & Mawali accepted Urban expansion - growth in wealth and status of merchant and landlord classes Muslim merchants moved goods from W. Mediterranean to the South China Sea increased artisan handicraft production skilled artisans formed guild-like organizations to negotiate wages and working conditions Ayan – rural, landowning elite Peasants – tenants farmers - had to give most crop to landowner Slaves - unskilled laborers & servants to caliphs & high officials **Few slaves held powerful positions & gained freedom** Most unskilled slaves, many of them Africans, worked under terrible conditions. The Early Abassid Era

12. Islamic learning 1st global civilization Under the Abbasids - mosques & palaces built Religious, legal codes, philosophy, sciences and mathematics records written Arab scholars recovered & preserved the works of Greeks & passed them to the Christian world (during Crusades) Introduced Indian (“Arabic”) numbers to Mediterranean world The Turkish people converted to Islam Arabs had created the first global civilization, incorporating many linguistic and ethnic groups into one culture throughIslam - one of the great universal religions. In both religion and politics, Muslims adopted much from earlier & contemporary civilizations Growth of Islamic Learning

13. Chart • Compare women in the Islamic world with women in India, China, and the Byzantine Empire. • Legal rights • Marriage Family Life • Education/Economic role