7. Arabian Peninsula
Crossroads of 3
continents- Africa,
Europe and Asia
Little land, and a few
oases can support
agriculture
Remainder of the land
is desert
8. Desert Town Life
Bedouins= nomads who lived in desert, organized into tribes
called clans
Took pride in being able to defend themselves and their
families
Many choose to settle in an oasis or market town when they
had enough water to support farming
9. Crossroads of Trade and Ideas
Trade routes connected Arabia to other lands
Arabian cities became prosperous trading
centers on the caravan routes
10. Mecca
Became an important
stop on the trade route
Religious piligrims
came to worship at an
ancient shire house
called the Ka’aba
(KAH-buh)
Ka’aba contained over
360 idols brought by
the many tribes
Pilgrimage
12. Prophet Muhammad
Born into the clan of a
powerful Meccan family
Orphaned and then
raised by grandfather
and uncle
Work in the caravan
trade
Married at age 25 to a
wealthy
businesswomen
13. Revelations
Often prayed and
meditated
Life changed when he
heard a voice believed to
have been the angel
Gabriel while praying
outside a cave near Mecca
Believed that Allah spoke
to him through Gabriel
He taught that Allah was
the one and only god
14. Islam= “submission to the will of
Allah”
Muslim= “one who has submitted”
Muhammad’s wife and his close
friends were the first followers
He began preaching in Mecca but
many were worried that Mecca
would lose its position as a
pilgrimage center if people
accepted Muhammad’s
monotheistic beliefs
Many followers were beaten or
stoned
15. The Hijrah
Because of hostility,
Muhammad decided to leave
Mecca.
He settled in the town, Yathrib,
200 miles north of Mecca
This migration became known
as the Hijrah
This was a turning point and
Muhammad attracted many
followers
Yathrib was renamed Medina
which means, “city of the
Prophet”
16. Medina
In Medina, Muhammad displayed many
leadership skills
He joined his own people with the Arabs and Jews
of Medina into one community
These groups accepted Muhammad as a political
leader
Muhammad was a political, religious and military
leader
17. Returning to Mecca
Mecca’s power was declining
because of fights between
Muslims and Meccans
In 630, the Prophet and 10,000
of his followers marched to the
outskirts of Mecca
Mecca’s leaders surrendered
and the Prophet had won
Muhammad went to the Ka’aba
and destroyed all the idols and
had the call to prayer made
from the roof of the Ka’aba
19. Umma
Many joined, converted and pledged their
loyalty to Muhammad
Joined umma, or Muslim religious community
Muhammad died 2 years later, but he had
made great progress with unifying the Arabian
Peninsula under Islam
22. Dome of the Rock
Located in Jerusalem
Earliest surviving
Islamic monument
Completed in 691
Located on Mount
Moriah, the site of a
Jewish temple
destroyed by the
Romans
Muslims say this is the
spot that Muhammad
ascended to heaven to
learn Allah’s will
Jews say the rock is the
site when Abraham was
prepared to sacrifice his
son, Isaac
24. Beliefs and Practices of Islam
One God (Allah)-
monotheistic
Good and evil
Each individual is
responsible for their
actions in this life
Qur’an= holy book
Final judgment with Allah
and then you will either
enter heaven or hell
25. Five Pillars of Islam
= to be a Muslim, all believers must carry out
five duties
These demonstrate a Muslim’s submission to
the will of God
26. 1. Faith
To become a Muslim, a person must testify
the following statement of faith, “There is not
God but Allah, and Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah.”
27. 2. Prayer
5 times per day (at least)
Pray toward Mecca
Assemble at mosque (Islamic house of worship)
Prayer brings a Muslim closer to Allah
29. 3. Alms
Muhammad taught that all Muslims have the
responsibility to support the less fortunate
Alms= money for the poor
All must pay alms through a special religious
tax
30. 4. Fasting
Muslims fast during the Islamic holy month of
Ramadan (month the Qur'an was revealed to
Muhammad)
Reminds Muslims they have a “greater need
than bread”
34. A Way of Life
Muslims do not separate
their personal life from their
religious life
Forbidden to eat pork or
intoxicating beverages
Friday afternoons are set
aside for worship and
prayer
No priests. All expected to
pray directly to Allah
35. Sources of Authority
Allah spoke to Gabriel
Muhammad Qur’an
Sunna= Muhammad’s
example, best model for a
proper life
Shari’a= laws
36. Links to Judaism and
Christianity
To Muslims, Allah is the same God that is
worshipped in Christianity and Judaism
Muslims view Jesus as a prophet, but not the
Son of God
Qur’an is like the Bible for Christians
All 3 religions (Islam, Christianity and
Judaism) believe in heaven and hell and a
judgment
Muslims trace their ancestry to Abraham like
the Jews and Christians
37. Section 2: Spread of Islam
After Muhammad’s death,
Islam lacked a leader to carry
the message to the world
Muhammad did not instruct
his followers how to choose a
successor
Abu-Bakr was chosen
Friend of Muhammad
Devoted to Islam
Became the first caliph
(“successor” or “deputy”)
38. “Rightly Guided” Caliphs
3 caliphs after Abu-Bakr
followed Muhammad
and the Qur’an and
were known as the
“rightly guided”
caliphs
Their rule was known as
caliphate
Muslim armies were well
disciplined in addition to
having extreme faith
39. Treatment of Conquered
Peoples
Many conquered
people chose to
accept Islam
Attracted by the
appeal of the
message of Islam as
well as the economic
benefit
Qur’an forbade forced
conversion
40. Internal Conflict Creates a
Crisis
Even with military gains,
the Muslim community
had difficulty maintaining
a unified rule
With many caliphs being
murdered, a family
known as the Umayyads
came into power
Set up a hereditary
system of succession
41. Sunni-Shi’a Split
Sunni= followers of Muhammad’s example,
chosen by Allah
Shi’a= “party” of Ali, successor must be a
direct relative of the prophet
42.
43.
44. Muslim Trade Network
2 major sea-trading zones (Mediterranean Sea and Indian
Ocean)
Muslims merchants needed only a single language- Arabic
and a single currency, the Abbisad dinar
To encourage flow of trade, Muslims money changers set up
banks throughout the empire
Cordoba Muslim city, had a population of 500,000 in
contrast Paris had 38,000
45. Section 3: Muslim Achievement
Market towns increase
Damascus was the cultural center of Islamic learning
until Baghdad was built
Urban centers showed strength of dynasty
Baghdad was lined with shops, protective walls, grand
mosque and reached the one million population peak
46. Four Social Classes
Upper Class: those
who were born Muslim
at birth
Second Class:
converts to Islam (paid
a higher tax than the
upper class)
Lower Class:
“protected people,”
Christians, Jews and
Zoroastrians
Lowest Class: slaves,
POWs and all were
non-Muslims
47. Role of Women
Men and women believers
are equal
Women had specific legal
rights of marriage, family
and property
Muslim women had more
rights than European
women at the time
In early days they could
gain an education
49. Muslim Scholarship Extends
Knowledge
Qualified physicians to cure illnesses
Muhammad believed in the power of learning
Baghdad opened a library, academy and
translation center called the House of Wisdom
50. Medicine, Arts & Sciences
Translation of languages
Belief that patients will
recover more quickly if
they have fresh air (al-
Razi, great physician)
Scientific observation and
experimentation
Al-jabr algebra
Advances in astronomy
Beginnings of telescopes
and microscopes
51. Philosophy & Literature
Translated works of Aristotle and Plato into Arabic
Qur’an is the standard for all poetry and literature
Famous for their poetry that focused on the
mystical experiences with God
52. Art & Architecture
Because drawing figures
was prohibited (because
only Allah could create
beings) artist turned to
calligraphy= art of
beautiful handwriting
Woodwork, glass, ceramics,
and textiles
Most famous for their
architecture- mosques
