World History OCTOBER 14, 2015

Unit 4 - Regional Civilizations and Culture: Islam  The Arabian Peninsula has a varied geography from coastline, desert, and mountains.  The center of the peninsula is covered by the Arabian desert. Oases in the desert allowed for people to live and create towns or larger populations.  The coastlines provide beaches and a profitable fishing and trade industry.  The mountains outline the interior desert and border the coastline. The have provided protection working as a physical boundary from invasion.  In the modern times, a large supply of oil and natural gas was discovered that has significantly contributed to the region’s economic development.

Rise of Civilization and Islam  The Arabian Peninsula was at the center of the Old Word  Crisscrossed with trade routes for travelers from Europe, Africa, and Asia  Important trade cities developed throughout the region.  Mecca was one of the largest trading centers. It developed on the west coast line, near the Red Sea.  Mecca also housed a large temple called the Kabah. It is believed to have been repaired by the people’s ancestor, Abraham. Abraham was a Jew but the Arabs began to worship many gods.  Temples were erected throughout the city to hundreds of different gods.  Mecca became an international center of both pilgrimage and trade, crowded with pagans, Christians, Jews, and others.  Mecca’s prosperity drew negative attention too; Persia and the Byzantine Empire also noticed Mecca’s growing success and wealth.

Islam  Islam began with a man, the prophet of the religion, Muhammed.  Born in the 6 th century, he grew up poor, he got a job with a wealthy, older widow, Khadijah, who owned a trading business. Muhammad led her caravans and managed the business.  It is believed that an angel came to Muhammad and told him to “Recite”, in which he was able to speak many revelations from God.  Muhammad spent the rest of his life preaching to the Arabs. He taught Arabs to give up their many idols and worship the one God— the same God that Jews and Christians worshipped. The Arab word for God is Allah.  Many Meccans felt threatened by Muhammad’s growing popularity and thought that the new faith would damage the cities tourist industry.

The Hijrah  In 622, Muhammad escaped Meccan persecutors with his followers to Medina. Their journey is known as the Hijrah.  The Hijrah marked a turning point in Islam. In Medina he became the leader, lawmaker, judge, and military commander of the whole town. When Muslims later adopted a calendar they chose the year of the Hijrah as year one.  There was several long years of war between Medina and Mecca. The Meccans attacked Medina, but Muhammad’s forces always drove them back.  During this period, Muhammad’s political power grew as the number of followers of Islam.  In 630, he returned to Mecca and waged war against the city. He successfully defeated the Meccans and became the ruler of the city and Muslims. Mecca became the holy city of the Muslims.  In 632, Muhammad died.

Muhammad’s Teachings  Muhammad taught the people the principles of Islam and the religion greatly impacted their society.  The chief belief is the belief in Allah. The word Islam means “submit to God”  Muslims believe they are free but that they will judged by God for their actions.  They believe in a line Jewish and Christian prophets.  The teachings of Islam were preserved in the Quran, their holy book. The Quran tells people to worship only Allah, to practice charity and justice, and to live in fear of Allah’s judgment.  The basic set of teaching and guiding rules is called the Five Pillars of Islam.

Government and Religion  In Muslim communities there is no line separating government and religion—the religious law is the only law, known as the Sharia.  By the 9 th century, the Sharia had developed into a comprehensive framework for Muslim life, covering not only legal issues but also ethical standards for individual behavior.  There are 1.5 billion Muslims today. The Kabah was destroyed during Muhammad’s takeover and replaced with a holy mosque, the Grand Mosque.

After Muhammad’s Death  After Muhammad’s death, thee was a divide between Muslims.  Some Muslims followed Muhammad’s son in law and believed him to be the successor. They are known as Shiites.  Many others followed Muhammad’s chief advisor and close friend, Abu Bakr. He was named the first caliph. These Muslims are Sunnis.  Caliphs would go on to rule over the Muslim lands.  Some Muslims tried to declare themselves independent from Abu Bakr. He used warfare to bring them back.  While bringing back Muslims, he spread Islam across the Arabian Peninsula and to new lands. The caliphs who followed set their sights to the north and west, on the empires of the Persians and the Byzantines.

The Growing Caliphate

Islamic Rule and Influence  The Muslim caliphate grew into a mighty empire. Not everyone converted to Islam in the lands they conquered but people were required to pay taxes and extra taxes to be another religion.  The Muslims power, knowledge, and wealth grew.  They were successful scholars who persevered the Ancient works of the Greeks, Egyptians, Indians, and Romans and they also added to the world knowledge.  They were excellent map makers  Due to trade and taxes, they became a mighty and rich empire for hundreds of years.